29. Onwards to a New Beginning!

29. Onwards to a New Beginning!

Frost followed the dirt path towards the Village of Virt. The aftermath of Iscario’s massacre was almost exactly as how it was left. The stench of death and decay filled the air as she walked along its primitive roads in solemn silence.

She paid her respects to the innocent people that were killed by Iscario that night. They hung lifelessly on their pale stakes, imprisoned with their last expression before their death. Jury still held onto her hand as they traversed through the village remains, surrounded by decaying ghosts.

“… Children. Women. The elderly. The men. He didn’t spare anyone at all.” Frost softly spoke as she closely examined a familiar body that sat atop a small hill, which overlooked the entire village.

The body was riddled with tens of stakes, completely unlike the rest of the corpses. The stakes were like giant, invasive fungi. It was hardly recognizable at all, but Frost knew who this person was straight away.

This body belonged to the Village Mother without doubt.

“Village Mother. I was happy that I was able to bring you some happiness by restoring your sight. But I am also sorry that things turned out like this. I hope you were truly happy until your last moments.”

It was not her first time seeing off the dead.

Her profession required her to work with corpses, and to watch the unsavable draw their last breaths. She briefly recalled the first time she had to clean a body before it was sent off to the morgue.

How she had to speak to a cadaver knowing that it couldn’t reply. Just like now. This was different, of course. It was more… melancholic because these people did not die from natural causes or an illness. They were murdered without a second thought by a monster.

“Do you blame yourself for their deaths?”

“Partially.” Frost admitted. “But I’m not so self-loathing to let their deaths weigh down my consciousness. I didn’t kill them. Iscario is the one to blame. But I doubt that thing would spare them any room in his head.”

She looked up to Jury then asked:

“… Jury. Can you give me a hand? I want to give them a burial. It’s the least we can do for them in exchange for their stuff.”

She hoped to use this moment to further fuel her fury towards Iscario.

What he did was unacceptable.

Jury suddenly took her hand and pushed her face close to hers. She could tell Jury hadn’t a clue of what a burial was, but the eagerness in her bright eyes caused Frost to smile in response.

“Alright. Just follow my lead. And… try not to eat them.” A part of her said this as a joke.

She actually didn’t know if Jury ate humans. Originally, the woman was a Corrupted. One of those things…

But then her mind went back to the helpless, young child that endured the stoning from the kids. She could have easily killed them, and easily lured unsuspecting victims into the forest.

Yet all she did was warn people about the monster. For… a long, long time.

No. Jury’s heart is as pure as anyone’s. She wouldn’t eat anyone.

The woman tilted her head. Frost could have sworn she saw question marks appear over her head. Jury’s overt curiousness and confusion always sobered her, no matter the situation.

With a small smile, Frost took her around the village as the sun steadily fell across the horizon.

* * *

Individual graves were excavated around the Relay Site at the furthest end of the village. The crystal Relay Site was shattered now. Fissures ran through its crystalline body as an enigmatic light sept into the air.

Something, or someone had destroyed this. Iscario was the likely culprit. Returning to the Nexus from here was impossible now, although, if it meant leaving Jury behind then she would rather keep it that way.

She thought of where to head off next they lowered each body one by one into their graves. What was next from here? What direction should they follow? Their freedom in this boundless world felt constricting all of a sudden, but nevertheless, so long as she could live in this world with Jury and the System by her side then she was… content.

Almost content. The Corrupted were another source of her curiosity, as was the Nexus itself.

Then there was the invitation of the Arbiter.

Iscario was afraid of something. The doors of the other floors of the Nexus. He didn’t want them to open. Does that mean other Archetypes exist besides the Arbiter and myself?

A beautiful graveyard surrounded the broken Relay Site. Small, white flowers which naturally grew in the woodlands were bundled atop each grave.

These flowers were one that Frost recognized. They were chrysanthemums. A flower known on Earth to symbolize death.

They laid in front of their respective pile of rocks that acted as their headstones. They were finished now. All 50 of the villagers were laid to rest. Frost looked down at her hands and used [cleanse] on them. The sensation of having the dirt disappear like magic was always odd to her, but she digressed and took Jury around the village for a brief tour.

Along the way Frost explained some of the village facilities. If she was going to take Jury with her, then it would be wise to teach her these things while she had the chance.

From the kitchen in the central hut, to the oil press and the tanning racks – Jury received her very first ounce of knowledge in the world beyond her dark forest.

They eventually found themselves at the foot of a small hut. It was the humble home of the Village Mother.

“This is a house. There’s a bed over there. And that’s a mirror. Aha! – Jury – you haven’t seen yourself before, have you?” Frost laughed when Jury instantly took a defensive stance as soon as she stepped foot in front of the mirror.

“J-Jury?” She asked confusedly, pointing at her own reflection. “F-Frost!? Frost! Frost…? Frost.”

“Ah! So that’s why you were looking at my eyes all the time!” Frost also exclaimed as the woman rapidly shifted her eyes between Frost’s reflection and the real one.

It was beautiful. They were exactly the type of eyes that were… her type so to say. The razor-sharp ones that pierced straight into your soul. Not to mention they were a brilliant gold, just like Jury’s.

Additionally, her body overall hadn’t changed much. Somehow her hair hadn’t grown an inch longer either. It was bizarre looking at her pristine self. There was not a scar to be found on her body despite the number of times she was torn, cut, and stabbed.

Magic… It’s a convenient way of explaining the impossible, huh?

It took a while for Jury to understand that what she saw was a reflection. The mirror infatuated her enough to carry it around the village as they took what they could.

A pair primitively made, brown leather boots for the two of them.

Brown pants and a tunic made from a combination of linen, cloth, and leather.

And finally, a white blanket that Frost retrofitted as a hooded robe for Jury. Knowing of the extreme prejudice that existed towards non-humans like Jury, it was for the best that they hid her animal-like features.

Her fuzzy, flapped ears; the bundle of feathers that protruded from various places around her body; the tail with the feathered, bulbous organ at the end and finally – her left, clawed hand.

All of these made her susceptible to the prejudices of the world.

Frost vowed to not let a single person judge her for as long as she remained by Jury’s side… Just as she had protected her from the judgement of the One Thousand Eyed Bird. She could tell it was uncomfortable for Jury to wear, but the woman didn’t complain. She seemed almost aware of this and wore a rare, solemn face.

“Jury. Smile.” Frost reached up to the taller woman’s face and pushed her thumbs to create a smile. “We’ve been through the worse already. It can’t get any lower than our hell.”

A warm hand clasped onto one of Frost’s as Jury pleasantly smiled.

“Mhm!”

* * *

“You know, I’m actually surprised their bodies were still mostly intact.” Frost randomly said.

They were travelling along the main road now, with the black forest on one side and the emerald woodlands on the other. The celestial Nexus loomed over them alongside a rising full moon. The darkness of their night sky was not like the lonely one from the Black Forest.

Jury stared up in awe, marveling at the billions of shimmering lights and the colorful cosmic dust.

“The villagers?” The System replied.

“Yeah. It only takes around 30 days for the body to start liquifying. They were still in the bloating phase. A state that usually happens right at the 10-day mark after death. Does decomposition work differently in Elysia?”

“The rate should not be different from your world. That is odd. We have been inside of the Black Forest for over a month now.”

“50 days, depending on the environment, is enough to completely decompose a body naturally… strange. It’s like we weren’t even gone for that long.”

“The domain of a Corrupted can manifest peculiar anomalies. The alteration of time can be one of them. It is possible that we have only been absent from this world for roughly 10 days as you pointed out.”

“50 days were condensed into 10 days. The laws of what I know are nowhere to be found again. At least my knowledge of the body hasn’t let me down just yet.” Frost stretched out her arms as she looked out towards the sky. “And speaking of nowhere in sight – Grandis really doesn’t have any mountains, does it?”

“Grandis is not flat region mind you. Its mountains tend to be on the larger side.”

“I know we’re in a forest, but all I can see are the stars.”

“Stars!” Jury yelled excitedly.

“Only the stars you say? You can’t see any mountains?”

“No, I can’t. Can you?” Frost asked it as the road took an abrupt turn.

The System remained silent for an unknown reason.

The woodlands and the scorched, black forest ended at this point of the trail. A small, flowery path of land stretched for what Frost believed as far as the ocean.

But this was an illusion. Because the moment they approached its edge –

– Frost’s eyes lit up with boundless wonder to the world that unfolded before her very eyes.

“A-Ah… S-So that’s why there weren’t any mountains. W-woah…” Frost was at a loss for words, her voice sounding exhausted as Jury idly stood beside her at the small patch of land at the edge of the world.

“The… the world…?” Jury’s voice brimmed with awe to the sprawling lands that laid beneath the cliff and afar.

“Unbelievable. The Nexus really does sit above a city. It’s huge. Like an archipelago, except surrounding the city are ruins of an old one.” She spoke to herself in a quiet voice.

The vast world of Elysia was cascaded by the moonlight. Woodlands, rivers, civilizations, valleys, and mountains dotted the world below as Frost realized the reason why she hadn’t seen any mountains.

It was because they were atop the highest point in Grandis already. The high winds swept by, causing the flowers to dance around them as their clothing fluttered aside. Their hair joined into one momentarily.

This was the sight she needed to see. The sight that really proved that this world wasn’t just filled with an abyssal darkness like that of the Black Forest. That it was in fact as beautiful as any other fantasy world depicted in fiction.

Under the starlight sky the world seemed truly alive for the first time. And she was proud to be alive to witness such a sight, and happy that she was able to share it with Jury and…

“Frost. Can I make a confession? I cannot call what I sense ‘sight’. They are not comparable to your traditional senses.”

“You couldn’t see anything this entire time?” Frost was genuinely surprised by this, but in retrospect, the System never really stated that it saw anything now that she realized it.

“No. All I think I can see is a color I cannot describe. But… there is a strange sensation I feel when you describe the world.” The System spoke with a voice different from its usual cold, monotone one.

It was filled with warmth.

“It makes me wish I could see it for myself.”

“Then how about this. One day… One day – we’ll come back here.” Frost suddenly promised.

“For what reason?”

“To show you the world. What else?” She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I don’t know how hard it’ll be, what tribulations we’ll have to face but I think I’ll be worth it if you can see the same things we can.”

“Why… Why would you make a promise on such an impossibility?” It asked.

“Because it’s the first thing you’ve wanted, System. You call yourself an artificial consciousness, but you don’t realize that you have aspirations.” Frost explained with a hopeful smile.

The System fell into a long silence.

It was taken aback by her words.

Frost devoured the world with her brimming eyes. Before long, her eyes fell towards a place in the far south. Past a faraway city located at the side of a mountain, she saw a massive stretch of land by the ocean.

The land was carved like the stage of an unholy battle. A kingdom larger than anything she had ever seen before laid in ruins upon those lands. A strange light rose to the sky from the center, like the embers of an invisible flame.

If the city underneath the Nexus was Atlas, then those broken lands to the far south of Grandis must be the remains of the mega city of Paradise.

Paradise Lost. It wasn’t an exaggeration after all. A dozen winged bird annihilated all of that in a singe night. It makes the One Thousand Eyed Bird sound like a hatchling in comparison.

“Aspirations from a heart I don’t even own… You can say some bizarre things, Frost. Can this really be called an aspiration?”

“You’re the one who called it a wish. Don’t backpedal on me. I won’t let you.” Frost smirked. “And besides, I’m not the only one who says weird things from time to time… Nav.”

“Nav?” The System questioned.

“Nav?” Even Jury wanted to know what this word meant.

Frost, after drawing a long breath of air, explained with a comforting smile.

“I thought about for a while, but System isn’t really a name, is it? If we’re going to be travelling together, then you may as well have a name.”

“And Nav is what came to mind?” The Syst – Nav, tried to comprehend the train of thought that even landed her at that name.

“Nav. Short for Navigate. You’ll be our point of reference and referral for our journey. Like a GPS. An electronic guidebook!” Frost hummed before her eyes gently narrowed. “And, as a friend.”

“Nav… I shall take it as my own. Until you find a better name.” Nav accepted it.

“System Nav?” Jury leaned in and asked.

“Yeah. The System is called Nav now.” Frost nodded right as the woman’s face lit up.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Jury! Frost! Nav! Let’s see the world together!”

* * *

After their excitement died down the group of three followed the trail with the scenery of the world at their side. The path twisted and turned down a gradual slope which was connected with the lands below. Now that she realized it, they were at least a few kilometers up in elevation.

“Frost. Do you have a place in mind?”

“Where else other than the Nexus? We’ll head in its direction and see where it takes us.” Frost looked out to the floating mass.

It was useful as a universal point of reference.

“A journey to return to the Nexus. To the floor that awaits your presence. We are located towards the south of Grandis. The next region over will be Brandar. Northeast is the way.”

“Then our first objective is to leave Grandis. Wherever this trail may lead, and wherever we may find ourselves – Let’s take comfort in knowing that none of us are alone.”

“Together!” Jury cheered.

“Well said. You have a way with words.”

“Well, my whole job revolved around buttering my words… for better or worse. I just want people to smile.” Frost spoke from the heart as she set her sights to the trail ahead.

They didn’t know what else awaited in their journey.

But if there was one thing for certain –

– It was that all that stood in Frost’s way was destined to be devoured.

“So, let’s get those skewers I promised you Jury!”

“Skewers!”