495. A Colorful Road Ahead

495. A Colorful Road Ahead

When the cries died down, and as Frost went to fix her long, grey hair that tumbled over her shoulders, Cer and Ber took all the time in the world to pamper Res. Frost had already reached the Second State, having manifested the Listening Bird and the One Thousand Eyed Bird.

She looked over at the huddled Triplets, her eyes sore with fresh tears. A part of her chuckled at how Cer, the self-proclaimed eldest sister – was now the smallest of trio. Another part of her wanted to cry again, but those emotions were apprehended by a certain presence.

“Never missed an opportunity so save another person from Corruption.” Jury spoke tenderly from beside her, fondly watching over the triplets like they were their children. “Res is no longer the big wolf of the pack. She looks like the little sister now.”

“And Cer doesn’t?”

“Cer’s starting to feel more mature lately. If you can ignore…” Jury then began counting Cer’s recent antics on her fingers. Before long, her fingers were no longer enough. “Never mind.” She sighed, happy that Cer was still herself.

Their sorrows were something only the warmth of loved ones and time could amend. Right now, Res needed her sisters and all the respite in the world before she could walk on her too feet. Ber was ready as soon as she hatched, but Res moved like a newborn fawn, her eyes still adjusting to the colors of this world that she had feared for the longest time.

Res noticed their gazes, and her abnormally fluffy ears perked up as her bushy, brush-like tail waved at them. Her appearance had matured, her body now completely free from the shackles of Serum G.

“Serum G. Goldilocks. For her it was Guilt. Haaaah.” Frost sighed, resting her head on Jury’s shoulder. “Remind me to admit all of us into Hora Therapeutics when we’re done here.”

“You’re going too?” Jury poked her cheek.

“Yep. Send me in. I thought we lost Res for a second there. I really… thought it was over. We’re strong, but not everything is straight forward. Up till the last moment I thought everything was fine.” Frost gushed in a soft, somber voice as she heard the patters of the others cautiously approach. “You do everything you can, and even that’s still not enough.”

Frost was in a terrible state of mind. She was still shaken from nearly losing Res. Her mind went to a dark place. To a time when she tried saving people in pale rooms, where the constant beeping of heart monitors would inevitably flat line no matter what she did.

“As I thought, it’s impossible to get over death.” Suddenly, Frost’s eyes lit up as she smiled at Jury. “But I’m not complaining. I’d rather be like this than to become like the Beholders. Res is back. That’s all that matters now.”

She dug out of her well and saw the silver lining in the light beyond. Jury agreed, holding onto Frost’s small hands as Nav flashed a prompt.

Nav succeeded in making Frost laugh. Suddenly, they were interrupted by several approaching figures.

“S-Sorry if you’re having a moment!” The Cheshire Cat began, her hands squeezing the air nervously. “You’re… that, am I correct? The person I heard? You know, the one who the White Rabbit was speaking to?”

“The Captured Star?” Frost gave her the name that was most recognizable, and the cat-woman’s face beamed as her tail shot above her.

“That! So you’re Frost! Incredible! You’re the thing the White Rabbit was always musing about whenever she wasn’t drowning in fantasies and fairytales!” She said matter-of-factly, her jester form disappearing, revealing her semi-naked self in all its glory. “Wow! You’re much smaller than I thought! Golden eyes too!”

She circled them like a curious animal with sparkles in her eyes.

“I almost thought you were the White Rabbit!” She suddenly exclaimed in surprise, pointing a finger towards Jury. “You’re so big. Bigger than I’m willing to admit. Are you… a relative? Her sister? Mother!?”

“It’s more complicated than that.” Jury pushed the woman’s finger away.

Frost ignored the Cheshire Cat for the moment as she set her sights onto Sana, Revy, Stella and Alice. The four huddled together, with Stella holding onto Alice’s hand to help comfort her. The girl’s sapphire eyes stared wondrously up at Frost, the words “Black Dove.” Slipping past her lips.

“I’m sorry you all had to go through this.” Frost apologized, walking towards them as she placed hand onto their heads, cleaning them up with [Cleanse]. “I’m happy you’re all safe. I came as fast as I could. I didn’t expect something like this to happen so soon.”

“I-It’s not like it was –!” Revy tried to say it was ok, but Sana jabbed her shoulder with an elbow, insisting that she keep her mouth shut. She glared at her, her eyes saying “Don’t speak. Just enjoy the headpat.”

“… I mean… It was an honor!”

Sana nodded firmly.

“I found this to be good experience.”

Frost frowned. Hearing those dismissing words pained her because in her eyes, they were all still children.

“Still, it’s not something I expect you to walk away from and forget. Aspiring Moon or Black Wing doesn’t change that. I’ll tell you right now that I hate that this is the norm in this world. Maybe that’s why so many children tend to block out the world with wonderlands of their own.”

Frost looked down at Alice, then over to Res.

“But I’m not going to demean you for doing your best.” Her hands scrubbed their heads harder, displacing their hair as Sana wore a happy look. “That’s why I’m also proud of you all. Good job protecting these ones. Stella. If it weren’t for you, then we probably never would’ve been able to save Res.”

She then knelt down to pat Alice and Stella. Alice held onto her hand, whilst Stella smiled like it was only natural for her to help.

“U-Um. Res felt like the old me, so I knew I had to help her. I know better than anyone how navigate through the dark!”

“Res would love to hear that.” Frost hummed.

“By the way! Where did the painting go?” Stella wondered.

Frost saw it still cradled in Res’ arms.

“It’s in good hands.”

“I’m glad. I’m really glad. And… what about the others? We’re not the only ones trapped here.”

Frost lifted her hands from their heads. A look of disappointment overcame both Stella and Alice, but Frost couldn’t stay here forever. Instead, a certain other Frost came to take her spot.

It was the Hired Arm, and the Innocent.

“Big Black Dove…” Alice’s eyes sparkled as she looked up at the Hired Arm, but that light quickly disappeared as she uttered: “No. You’re not Frost. But I’ll take it!”

“You’re back, Big Frost!” Stella happily exclaimed.

“The little one.” Sana allowed the Innocent to hug her waist.

“Oh. It’s you again.” Revy waved at the adorable, tiny Frost.

Alice had never called Frost by name before. The illusions that once acted as a blinding lens were dispelled, and she saw the world for what it was. Her experiences here had ironically opened Alice’s eyes rather than reinforced her hallucinations of reality.

Still, Frost didn’t think illusions were a bad thing. A child’s fantasy was a precious thing. Too much was certainly a problem, and too little would cause them to become too cold to be ‘children’.

“The White Rabbit’s going to get them out.” Frost assured. “Either she does, or we’ll have a problem. Right now, I want nothing more than to get my hands on the thing that did that to Res.”

“You have a lot more influence than I thought. You must be someone really special to the White Rabbit!” Stella said.

“I can only imagine what she thinks of me. But it’s not like she’s doing it for free. Plus…”

“Frost. We have a few hours at most.” Jury reminded, tapping on a wristwatch that counted down from exactly six hours.

There were laws that needed to be obeyed in the White Rabbit’s Escape. It was functionally a Corrupted Zone, governed only by the White Rabbit. She called it her ‘Well’; a term used to ominously describe a person’s inner self. They were in a way, inside of the White Rabbit herself rather than a different plane of reality.

A small facet of herself was imposed onto them, and it sept into the cracks of people that fell within her. It was an abstract concept that Frost was barely able to conceptualize thanks to [Comprehension I].

What Jury meant by the few hours was how long an adult could survive within the White Rabbit’s domain before they were totally consumed by her. It was why adults that stuck their arms into the rabbit holes lost themselves, for they were completely devoured, from body to soul.

The only reason why they were able to enter was because she stopped all processes within. It was akin to stopping all digestive processes. However, the other reason was because they carried fragments of the ‘light’, which made them readily resist its effects.

She wondered where Ber fell into this, because Ber was a normal Demi-Human. The same with the Triplets. The White Rabbit never mentioned why, but she would when all of this was over.

Azure the Blue Moon on the other hand, was not physically present. A projection of herself hunted the Fractured Nilhim. In that form she would not be able to do it any harm, however, that was fine with Frost.

Because she’d be the one to rend its mind to nothing but mush.

“Six hours is plenty of time. I can stay here for as long as I need to. Res. When you’re ready, tell me everything you know about the Fractured Nilhim.”

Res, picking up the shards of her Atelier Lenses, retold as much as she could. Cer joined in, revealing that the Disciple knew who trapped the twins in the Leviathan.

Frost’s eyes widened like never before.

And before long, a blue, celestial object could be seen rising in the distance. It was Azure’s signal.

She had found the Disciple of Nilhim.