blueteamnovel 495. A Colorful Road Ahead
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.
< Canvas Tales >
< Res Stats cannot be read yet >
< Like with all Corrupted that become Original, it will take some time before it settles in >
< Think of it as the resting process after taking out a steak from the oven >
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?”
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.