blueteamnovel 113. Trouble in the Midst
113. Trouble in the Midst
113. Trouble in the Midst
Carousels. Tents lined with countless mirrors. Archery galleries where a person was made to hold a target for the shooter. Dart throwing games where one needed to pop an inflated balloon; which was actually a disfigured lung disguised in gold.
There were even fishing games where one could successfully fish an organ from a murky pool of black and red liquid. The prizes won were usually food and organs. Stella knew where the sweet fruits were stored. Her occupation within this section of the Triple Paw Complex was essentially a guide.
The meaning of Star was very similar to the ones belonging to the Nexus.
Stella elaborated as they wove through a busy intersection, with Res and Ber glued closely to Frost. Both remained silent to the best of their abilities to blend in, whilst Frost had her eyes sealed. Even with her eyes closed she could easily make out her surroundings thanks to her Eyes of Judgement.
The number of observing eyes drastically dropped as a result.
“A Star is someone who guides people. A part of the city skies and the city nights. When sleep soundly knowing that we have a Star to protect us from the monsters.” Stella spoke.
The cities were huge according to her. A Star was essentially a person who oversaw a city and encompassed a great, big heart. If one listened closely within such a city, then they’d be able to hear its thumps reverberate beneath their feet.
The Monkey Paw Complex was considerably smaller in scale according to her and was like a prison in a way. She said this quietly to avoid being heard by the sea of observant ears around them.
“We must be happy. B-Because we were unhappy with the cities we came from. The closest is the City of Vocals. My h-home. Um. I used to be an instrument. But they didn’t like my voice anymore.” Stella added as they descended a flight of stairs and entered a dimly lit underpass.
The only source of light came from the vibrant orb above. It barely managed to peak into this gloomy place, where they found many blind children huddled here. They slept in groups for warmth and had a small pile of what appeared to be fresh, red apples.
She carefully approached one of these ill-protected piles and clasped one, quickly analyzing it.
It’s normal. With all the talk about a forbidden apple, I was half expecting to find something sinister.
“P-Please... please don’t steal...” A young boy timidly pleaded.
“I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention. Here.” She returned it to the pile after cleaning the apple with [Cleanse].
The young boy didn’t understand a word she said, but he understood her intentions after their food was left alone. Upon checking his status, she found out that he was an emasculated Demi-Human. His ears were missing entirely. His fluffy tail suggested that he must’ve been part dog from what she could tell.
“Stella. Are we close?” Frost asked as the girl stood still, recognizing the subtle, echoing voices around them.
“W-were here... this is where the food is. U-um... T-take... take what you want.” The girl stated, causing Frost, Res and Ber to stare at her like she was insane.
“You want me to steal from them?” Frost questioned her intent, feeling the girl hold onto her palms as she clarified meekly. “This isn’t the food cache.”
“No... it’s ours. But... if it means that you won’t hurt anyone then –”
“Our goal isn’t to hurt you. It’s to help. We are not going to take your food away from you.” Frost assured, shocked that the girl even offered them this in the first place. “... and I think your heart is slightly in the wrong place. If you all share the food here, then what happens to everyone else? They’ll starve.”
“The hell is that giant tube for?” Ber questioned, preparing for a fight.
But none of that arrived. For them, at least.
Frost recognized the shape of that structure. If there truly was a Heart somewhere within the castle, then that arcing structure was the equivalent of an aorta. When this realization hit, she watched as the silhouettes of thousands of Reorganizers shoot up the tube and disappear into the ceiling.
They were being pumped straight into Brandar.
“That’s how they get to us?” Res was frozen in place, stunned by the horrifying spectacle.
With Frost knowing how the aorta worked, they were also being pumped somewhere deeper beneath. In fact, she could feel them travel beneath her feet as if the entire place was built atop a network of veins.
Get Ignis to warn everyone! Trouble might be coming! And let Jury know as well!
Before long, the streets were quickly vacated. Silence befell the world in only the blink of an eye. Suddenly, the bricks beneath them split like the sticky maws of a creature. The fingerless hands of a slimy, gold-bearing entity emerged before them.
They were hideously close in appearance to a newborn bird, for their body was sickly thin with skin so transparent that their organs could be seen through the light. But these organs were misplaced. In fact, they didn’t appear like organs at all.
Gears churned within like the innards of a clock, and when their mouth opened she saw their tongue and throat lined with similar cogs.
They were tall and looked as if their legs were made of stilts.
A beautiful dark blue robe draped their being. A pair of boney protrusions extended from their back, stretching the fabric behind them into false wings.
But what stood out to her the most was the strand that hung from its head.
Attuned Messenger
Sect of Gears
< Envoy >
LEVEL : 90ORIGIN : Impuritas
HP : 4,500
ATT : 20MAG ATT : 1,600ATT DEF : 300MAG DEF : 500
MP : 8,000
RESIST : 35AGI : 30
“A meeting of two false birds. One with the aspiration to realize themself, and the other who deems it unnecessary.”
It began, speaking in a deep, reverent voice like they were reciting sacred scripture.
“How bizarre that our great leaders were incapable of interpreting your fate from the mechanism itself, Black Dove. Come, Color. And descended Moons of the parasitic rock.
Allow us to become acquainted through civilized means.”