blueteamnovel 600. The Icon of Judgement
600. The Icon of Judgement
600. The Icon of Judgement
Frost struggled to keep herself upright under the immense weight of her sins. Her knees buckled as her legs cracked the stone. The weight was tangible, and it brought those from the upper floors of the homes around her crashing down to the bottom.
Strangely enough, in the corner of her eye she spotted people who were able to flee. The silent hysteria disorientated her as she felt something resonate deeply from inside of her. It was not a ticking like what she had expected. Rather, it was something that desperately wished to come out as she felt the roar of a silent trumpet emanate like a foghorn from the bird itself.
Desperation nearly consumed her. Frost didn’t know if dying here meant a true death. She couldn’t gauge her stats at all. Nothing save for the Paradise Lost prompt was shone. Even her inner voice, which called for Nav could not be heard.
Suddenly, a deafening voice spoken from the sharp beak of the humanoid, bipedal Icon of Judgement caused her heart to wrench.
< “Arbitration began when thy kin made a collective cry to the reaches elsewhere.” >
< “Fear not what hath fallen from elsewhere. Embrace the laws etched into the gifts I bestow.” >
The voice was inaudible. It was something that could only be felt. The divine mannerisms alluded to a God-like entity, proven by its Risk Classification of Paradise Lost.
Something wriggled deep inside of Frost. The sensation caused her to clasp the earth, crushing stone between her fingers as the wingbeat of all twelve wings manipulated what she could only describe as her soul.
< “Believe in my blessed teachings. It will bring thee ever closer to the fruition of my kingdom come.” >
Countless trampled over those who prostrated as red liquid left through all orifices. Red, bony tendrils shot out from their upper backs, which were then spread like wings.
< “Abandon thy flesh.” >
But those wings did not allow them to fly. Instead, the people that prostrated were instantly pierced by their red wings, pulling back their flesh to expose their ribs and backbones to the light of the Icon of Judgment.
< “Become reborn anew.” >
And before Frost realized it, pale, cross-shaped markers emerged from their backs as golden and red, bloody particles rose from their bodies. Those who prostrated were transformed into Markers of a Price of Paradise.
A blue stream of Liquid Nex gushed from their orifices. The golden and red particles that burst forth from each victim combined into giant tendrils which were syphoned into the chest of the Icon of Judgement.
Frost was shaken by the event as she desperately fought this terrible urge to transform. Something pale and abstract was born from the reconstitution of the human flesh. The wingbeats of the Icon of Judgment caused ripples to form along the earth as a red, golden glow emerged from within, carrying an abnormal power.
That wave eventually reached the fleeing crowds of countless. Screams suddenly accompanied the mass transformation. People were temporarily lifted from the ground before their bodies exploded as a Marker of a Price of Paradise unwillingly emerged from within.
< “Thy will constitute the walls of my kingdom. Thou will become the decree of the earthly paradise I promised to create.” >
Frost managed to turn onto her side. The remnants of her one thousand golden eyes showed a pale Paradise that was swept in sea of gold, red and blue. The initial pulse of red and gold had only just reached the second wall, completely transforming countless into Markers.
A white forest of Markers formed within the city of Paradise as a million screams were caried by the red and golden particles, as though the Icon of Judgement was a black hole in disguise.
< “Behold. The forest of pale that lies beyond the borders of understanding. I hail from a place bearing gifts for a most excellent purpose.” >
< “Absolve all sins before my grace, for I have descended to create my earthly paradise.” >
< “On this rock I told thee to call home that I shall create walls. They will withstand the agents of hell.” >
< “As thee will heed, regardless of the One Sin of thy kind, repentance shall arrive in the form of pale abstraction derived from reverence. It shall be thy salvation and the nine walls of my kingdom.” >
Frost finally caught her breath. Her Painkiller Passive reached a level where she could now withstand the agony. Her body was still incredibly sluggish, but she could at the very least move now.
I shouldn’t be alive... When I faced this thing with the Arbiter, we both died immediately. So how come I’m still alive? Just barely, though.
Her surroundings were ripped apart by the wingbeats of the Icon of Judgement. The lands beyond the walls of Paradise were torn asunder by its divine powers. Frost still did not understand the meaning of this Corrupted, but considering it mentioned the existence of nine walls.
A warning appeared unexpectedly. Was it only the warnings that could be shown? Frost didn’t know as she kept her distance from the entity, not knowing whether it was friend or foe. Her instincts ordered her to shoot, but a part of her rational self-wondered if shooting it would only hurt her.
It’s a Judgement Affinity Corrupted. If I attack it first, then wouldn’t that be a bad thing? The Icon of Judgement is seeking repentance from people. So, if I commit a sin first, then I’ll probably be hit by that damned sensation again.
It took a step forward. She did not have enough time to weigh her options.
However, a voice suddenly spoke to her, causing her mouth to curve into a grin.
< Hello? Can you hear me? >
< Of course you can. This is a cognitive message >
< You must be surprised. This is not the same person you know who is speaking to you >
What do you mean? This isn’t Nav? You sound just like her.
< You’re not that far off from the truth. Introductions will have to wait. For now, I sincerely hope you are prepared. I did not expect to Awaken so soon.” >
That means –!
< Indeed. I am an Archetype. I am now, strangely enough >
< That aside, please pay attention. This is the Rewound – the domain of Dark Memoria. All events of the past will be reenacted as accurately as possible. The consequence of this means that it can also be interacted with in an accurate manner >
Meaning?
< The past is not a closed storybook. It can be changed, but the future will not be altered. In the end, it is a manifestation of the Nex of this domain >
< The past is a tale that yearns to be told. Other times, it seeks to be rewritten >
< Frost. Maintain your Mana. You have less than 30% left. When it reaches 0% you will be susceptible to the Icon of Judgement’s [Salvation] >
< The Conditions and the Stats of the Icon of Judgement will come soon >
< For now, you must deal with... >
The voice didn’t say the name of the entity. The way its voice trailed off caused Frost to wonder if it had a deeper connection with whoever it represented. Instead, only a prompt was shown.
< ‘That’ >
The First Apostle
< “What I saw beyond our earthly horizons was a mockery of the Dark Forest conjecture. There, at the borders of understanding and place we cannot observe lies a forest encased in white. I heard the call, and so I called back to it. May we who have touched the forbidden be unforgiven.” >
AFFINITY: Judgement
LEVEL : 150 ORIGIN : Trauma
HP : 350,000
ATT : 17,000 MAG ATT : 17,000ATT DEF : 4,000MAG DEF : 4,000
MP : 200
RESIST : 250AGI : 80