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278. The Blood of the Covenant

The trumpets of the Augurists reverberated throughout the City of Clubs. It began within C3, and it spread to C4 and finally reached C5 where all eyes returned to the skies. No one knew what was wrong, but it was clear that a Corrupted was amongst them.

Jury wondered if it was the doing of Mimicry. The others believed that maybe Frost was the cause for concern. Her column of flames had already reached the escarpment separating the City of Spades and the City of Clubs by now, nearly elap...

277. Arriving in Spades

As Scarlet Logic’s Midnight Teams were met with an abrupt end, the Dawn, Noon and Dusk teams swarmed through the ruins of C3 and C4.

Flight was no longer a viable option due to the Infusion bombardments, which smeared the skies with a permanent shade of red. Inhaling or merely exposing one’s flesh to the red mist spelt immediate death. It was acrid in nature, and breathing grew difficult as complications arose as a result.

The golden hand of Carpalis was another major cause fo...

276. Signs of an Impending Corrupted

Jury always wondered who she was in the past. She knew her history was intertwined with Frost’s, Nav’s and the Archetypes. Optimism swirled in her heart during those nights spent with Frost as she imagined the past world where they must have held hands and exchanged passionate kisses.

But in the light of her precious fantasies, there was a darkness of equal proportions. Something always dwelled in the back of her mind. She recalled Frost’s assurance on that night they spent in the...

275. Pushing On

Carpalis’ hand returned to her side. It fell in slow motion, polluting the world with superheated vapor. She could not catch or cradle her arm as it flailed loosely from its socket. Blood steamed down her hands like rivers, and they dripped from her fingers like miniature, falling crimson moons. They were tangible. Her blood was so thick that it partially turned into red mist.

It eroded the edges of the escarpment as the world, for the first time, witnessed one of their esteemed deiti...

274. Along Carpalis' Hand!

A Beholder alone was enough to shift the tides. Carpalis’ presence instilled fear into both the Scarlet Logic and those who hid in their homes, watching their skies bloom with crimson fireworks.

But unbeknownst to the Scarlet Logic and the Impuritas was that there was another Beholder who took the fight into her own hands. Running along the highway that was Carpalis’ arm was a certain Angel.

Jury moved like a bullet, shattering the sound barrier.

They were a full day beh...

273. The Dawn of an Atelier War

Act X’s initiative prepared the City of Clubs to receive the full brunt of Scarlet Logic’s assault. All Atelier personnel involved with the defense rapidly began mobilizing across all Sectors when the news broke out. Justica Arms Peace Flocks that acted as the City of Clubs judiciary ceased all activity and took up their arms.

They marched through the crowded streets, warning all residents with a masked Augurist who played their dreaded trumpet. Caldera Industries lackeys abandoned ...

272. The White Wing Remembers

If there was a person that held a fraction of the Arbiter’s overwhelming presence, then it was the White Wing. The Angel was adorned in tight, otherworldly military garbs. They folded over her chest, anchored with rows of golden buttons.

She adorned a peaked cap bearing the symbol of three trumpets, and an embellished octagonal badge showcasing an image of a pale wing. Her pants were trimmed with gold, and golden chains dangled from her pockets, each attached to multiple hidden pocket...

271. Inflow Direct's Inner Circle

The Nest spanned across all three Sectors within the inner walls of the City of Clubs. A highly sophisticated urban network sprawled like industrial pipework. Bands of colored buildings ran like organized cable work, each containing glass tubes that funneled liquid at extreme pressures.

Steam cascaded from below, rising and collecting beneath iron pipes. The condensate dripped, watering indoor garden complexes. All manners of messages, items and liquids were delivered around the Nest vi...

270. Figure Heads Meet Up!

6 hours ago, Caldera Industries began an information sweep of the City of Clubs. C3 and C4 were specifically searched by bands of intermediary personnel – the Footsoldier Protectorates – for traces of seismic activity. It was overtly apparent that they were despised by the general.

Wherever they wandered they’d garner grimaces and spiteful eyes as they fiddled with the operational equipment they equipped, scratching their heads at how to actually use it. Due to the destruction of ...

269. Evacuation of the City of Clubs

The Nex Megalopolis was impervious to all external threats, designed to ward out even the most dangerous of Corrupted. At the time of its inception external threats were the only things in their mind. The loss of Paradise had brought them together to create the new megacity of Elysia.

The Nex Megalopolis was a powerhouse, backed by multiple Ateliers. Each city brought invaluable assets, further empowering their combined might.

The Guilds of the City of Diamonds commanded a network...

268. The Forbidden Garden

Within was a beautiful garden.

A matryoshka of worlds.

This place was a paradise within multiple worlds of ruin and sorrow.

Flowers bloomed as far as the eye could see, with rolling, lush hills and beautiful meadows inhabited by tiny specks of light like those of the Fairies found in Elysia.

Everything seemed alive. From the roots of trees to the blades of grass. Nothing ever seemed to stand still. But at the same time, nothing made a sound. Only the scrunches of their...

267. At the Depths of the World

A gargantuan object reminiscent of the Site Core sat suspended by thick cabling in a dazzling world of black and white. It sat in the endless skies like a black moon, pierced by a pale crystalline stake that infinitely rose. Crystal offshoots branched from the stake like the thorns of a rose, taking root into the dark-steel flooring far underneath.

It was like a lonely tree in the middle of midnight. Or a seed that had sprouted.

Red sludge cascaded down from the pierced Site Core ...

266. A Core Memory

A total of 26 floors ran through these ruins, each labelled after a letter of the English alphabet. It was the biggest surprise to them, since this entire time they had been speaking the universal, 56-character language, as a result of being Blessed. The auto translation power they wielded was amplified here, and it caused all languages to appear as English to Frost at least, whereas the Archivist saw them for what they were.

This indeed followed the English alphabet, confirmed by the A...

256. A Heart to Heart With the Archivist

Dull thumps and the croak of decaying steel followed with each step they took. A catwalk this long violated both every safety rule Frost knew on Earth, as well as physics. Unless this was made from an exotic metal, it should not be able to hold itself without any supporting structures.

Never in its skeletal state. The hand railings were cut with ridged marks, like something had bitten into them. Running one’s hand along it would result in a bloody mess.

Deviating too far to the ...

264. When Angels Cry

“Those things? No one knows where they came from. But they have the power to create whatever you want. All 12 Bodies have miracles and technologies created by them, called the Pillars of the World. Arms are just much smaller versions. Things changed drastically in the city when a big chunk fell from the sky.” Elysia said as the Archivist flickered through pages to find this information but found nothing at all.

So instead, she jotted them down both on paper, and in mind.

Anoth...

263. Elysia, One of Seven Angels

Elysia.

When those words left the past Jury’s lips, Frost and the Archivist stiffened like statues. The air rushed from their lungs as their minds went blank. Seconds later, as Jury wondered what was wrong with the two, a plethora of interpretations filled the void of their mind like Pandora’s Box had just opened.

“Elysia… That’s your name?” Frost blurted out loud, causing Jury to blink, pouting slightly. “How come… wait no, that was the name of your Corru...

262. The True Name of a Beloved Angel

Beyond the city were the flower fields from that one memory. Due to the lack of transportation options, cultures and groups were allowed to thrive in complete isolation. Some didn’t even know most of the world. The outermost 2 rings were a worse version of the City of Spades, and it was a place where they witnessed books being burned by zealots, one group claiming that it was spreading falsities, and another claiming that it was a cardinal sin to preserve knowledge.

Frost and the Arch...

261. A Future World? A Past World?

Immediately, there were several discrepancies with Frost’s appearance. His eyes were not golden. Granted, when he arrived in Elysia his eyes weren’t either, but it was odd that the Magus, the Archetype of Hope, recognized Frost’s face. He could have sworn he mentioned something about his eyes.

So why were they red now?

Another thing was his abilities. He was, as far as he was concerned, an entirely normal human being. Aside from being able to wield flames. Frost, as he walke...

260. Onset of the Present War, and Reverberations of the Past

In lands far away from the Nex Megalopolis, whether past the mountains of Dwarhelven, the seas which separated the major landmass of Elysia from the magical continent of Spiratas or the Demon motherland, Zelmori.

No matter how far away these places were the Nexus would always be in plain view, its pale veneer splitting the sky into two. Each settlement, big or small, had their own interpretation of what the Nexus was. A gargantuan monolith that rose into the darkness of space could not ...

259. The Fire To Cleanse The World

//////// < WARNING > ////////

Nav constantly blared out warnings for a reason it could not understand. The emotional turmoil was the only thing it could describe as familiar. It was at a total loss for words, unable to comprehend the foreign sensation.

Why was it this that was so eerily familiar to it?

“Jury. Ignis. Ber – Please do not engage! Please distance yourself immediately! Vague memories have returned. While I do not recall fire, I do r...