"Bring me the Decanid. You can cease fighting the Anids after."

Acedia was torn between relief and humiliation.

A part of her desperately wanted to keep fighting. To surrender meant that she had failed to utilize her Mother's body to its maximum potential.

She could not understand how she was the problem.

"This is the same pain you feel…?" Acedia took Frost's advice, and she used the legs of the Octanid as a spear to strike the eye of a Decanid. "… I still can't believe it."

"You're missing out on the combat technique's I've had to learn. How to hold back and not exert myself. Know when to stop, and when to push onwards. When I can take a hit or not. It comes naturally for people. But you've never known what pain is or had limits. Your limbs can bend in whatever shape they want. We don't have that luxury."

"You can still eat the same amount as me…"

"That doesn't mean I'm happy with what I eat."

"Mother. This body is indestructible. In the best case, would it not be easier to walk on the riverbed?"

"I'm not in it for myself."

"… I do not understand that sentiment of wanting to protect people who have no connection to you. That sinner Raoul is no exception."

"Did you have a reason to protect Abigail?"

Acedia yanked the Decanid down with widened eyes.

She had never thought about why she had spared Abigail in the first place. Was it because she was a Healer? Weak? Was she saving her for later? No matter how hard Acedia thought, she did not understand why Abigail was allowed to live even when she was a Corrupted.

Even now, and with emotions embedded in her, she could not come up with a reason. She then hurled the mass to Frost, and with a cruel smile, she uttered:

"It is no more than how an owner keeps a dog for entertainment."

There was no malice in her reasoning. It was the undeniable truth.

"I see." Frost said nonchalantly and popped the eye. She didn't expect anything more from Acedia. Still, she could not hide the disappointment in her voice.

"Oh. And try this. Glare at the Anids."

Acedia glared and immediately, the Anids in her field of view froze. The mass of Anids clinging to the masts slipped into the river. Their sheer weight caused them to sink to the bottom like rocks.

"… Amalgam…? They've… They've stopped…?"

"[Scrutiny]. It would have been easier to tell you from the start. But from what I've seen – you would not have let this many come aboard." Frost casually stated. "You did well. I just expected more from a Corrupted with your body count."

"… such a difficult body to manipulate… emotions… this sensation of pain… they are troubling..."

Acedia let out her true feelings. The caveats that came with Frost's body were weighing on her spirit.

"Welcome to my world." Frost hollowed out the Decanid and finally received her final Anid Ability.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

< Unique Ability Gained >

< ABILITY: Eye In The Sky >

< EFFECT: Gestate unique Denizens capable of observation. They will relay information to the Nest. Denizens with higher levels of cognizance cannot be converted to another Denizen >

< TEXTURE: Watery. Soupy >

< TASTE: Fatty. Marrow-like richness. Leaves your mouth dry >

"I have no idea how I'm supposed to use any of this." Frost attempted to create a new Denizen using one of her invisible eyes.

Light formed in the palm of her hand and diffused into a child-like form. Another Judge's Pride was created much to her disappointment. Suddenly, the Anid swarm coming from the opposite of where Acedia was staring abruptly ceased.

Anid body parts scattered onto the ship, and the rain that pelted the ship was blocked by a transparent cloth.

"A Black Wing, the Amalgam, and the Beholder of her heart."

A Missionary of Act X appeared on the edge of a fallen mast. A casual swipe of their five-meter-long bastard sword cut the Anids piled on the mast into twelve pieces. They had only cut somewhere above the Anids, and it resulted in utter decimation.

Frost however saw it for just a second. The faintest glimmer of string was severed.

"They're connected to the Fate Mechanism too?"

"A Black Wing knows it by name?" Mused the Missionary. "No doubt forbidden knowledge from the Head herself. I would keep my mouth sealed, Healer. Our quarrels lie neither you nor your caretaker. We wish to reap the strings of the traitors abord your vessel."

She set foot aboard the ship in perfect synchrony with another fifteen Missionaries.

Their blades stabbed into the deck with each imposing step. A crowd of Acolytes led by Heralds followed. Harpoons slammed into the edge of the ship as vessels emerged from crevasses along the way.

Several of these vessels were ripped apart by the cliff face. Others could not withstand the speed and were torn by the water's surface. Jury internationally weaved from side to side, eliminating as many as possible despite Frost's warning to avoid killing Act X personnel.

"Pay them no heed. Death is a setback in the Audition. Consider it a mercy." The missionary, who revealed herself to be a giant, fluffy moth-woman hollowly hummed.

Her head twisted until her chin pointed to the sky.

"How kind of a Healer to worry. But they are looked after by the Scripts. Amalgam. It is our honor to be meeting an Archetype of the Nexus, no less of an Advent, in person. Your presence is said to be comparable to the Living Loom and the lights of heights above the Grand Stage. But I could not help but notice that you barely shine as your namesake entailed."

It was a slight disguised as a formality, and Acedia, fueled by emotion, acted rashly.

"You insolent Insectid husk–!"

"Enough. It's shocking that a Missionary of Act X cannot differentiate the Amalgam from an imposter." Frost glared at Acedia, urging her to stand down. "I half expected the users of the Scripts to be competent enough to know the presence of the Head."

"It must be an unnamed Ability of yours. Shape shifting. Could it be age reversal? A form shift? You do not appear surprised. You were expecting us." The Missionary concluded with a neutral tone.

It was impossible to tell what they were thinking, but Frost's presence alone had caused them to cease entirely.

They did not have any information about her. Therefore, neither did they know what she was thinking

"Naturally. The Anids made for an interesting introduction to your battlefield. If I were rash to judge, then I would have believed that you had intentionally led them to us. But Act X, neither you, are foolish enough to turn your swords towards the Head."

Frost embraced her role as the Amalgam and bluffed. She took the diplomatic approach and sought to end this peacefully rather than having to spill blood. It had worked before with the Arbiter's Council.

But would it work on the followers of the Script?

"The 'traitors' are under my protection. All Healers are sanctioned under me and me alone. I can overlook your transgression if you walk away. I'm due for a meeting with Beholder Marionette. I trust you will let us sort this ourselves."

She was not asking them for permission. As tiny as Frost was, her presence was infinitely larger than she knew. Several Missionaries murmured amongst themselves. Few unfurled their scrolls and recited: "Sever the Strings of the traitors."

Others attempted to spin the order in a manner that fit Frost's order. But alas, the commotion ceased, and all hollow eyes fell back onto Frost with unshakable conviction.

"In every interpretation of the Commandment there was not one outcome that can allow us to let them free. They must be severed with our hands. As with all traitors."

"One act is enough to mark them as a traitor? Why?" Frost wanted to know their reasoning. "Don't give me 'because it's written in the Script'. Do you understand why one act is enough to sever them?"

"Do you not see it, Amalgam? Their String?"

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