blueteamnovel 83. Trusting the… Devil?
83. Trusting the… Devil?
83. Trusting the... Devil?
Frost, Carpalis and Magus drowned in each other’s company for the next 5 hours, all the while Cer emptied the casino slot machines right under their noses. The lack of fatigue and drowsiness was an anomaly shared between them all.
The casino saw many begin to leave as the hours went by, and before long, it was only a handful of people who remained, glued to the slot machines like their lives depended on it.
This was the perfect opportunity for Frost to learn much about the Beholders, Ateliers, and the state of the world itself. Additionally, and depending how things went, it would also serve to deepen her trust with this Beholder and her Atelier, although to what degree depended entirely on Carpalis’s motives alone.
Similarly, Carpalis wished to understand Frost more. The Beholder was a businesswoman first and foremost. One with countless years carved into her back, no less.
An exchange of equal proportions needed to be made, although, Frost did have the better outcome as the Amalgam and as the one Carpalis yearned to establish a firm relationship with.
Not with her contracts thankfully. Carpalis could not use her technology on the Archetypes to begin with anyway. Frost and Magus seemed to possess some sort of innate immunity against whatever binding power her Faustian Bargain boasted.
Carpalis mentioned that a person’s soul determined whether a binding contract could be made or not, as her technology quite literally took either a piece or all of a person’s soul.
Every citizen within the Golden Index had their soul partially taken once they were finally inducted as one of their personnel, whereas her most esteemed few had their souls encased within the gemmed rings on her golden hand.
And while this power could not affect her, it did not detract from the fact that she was strong.
No. Strong could not even begin to describe these Beholders.
To Frost’s advantage, they were in a cold war of sorts. Neither could easily gauge each other’s power or strength. Carpalis was also under the assumption that Frost carried a similar strength to the Arbiter who easily wiped out 20 of her Exalted.
For reference, the Exalted were mostly non-Blessed beings with levels that ranged between 120 – 130 and primarily focused on worldly interactions on behalf of the Beholders. They were hired arms essentially, anointed by a Beholder that had favored them to serve directly under their Atelier.
The Golden Index was known to house nearly all of the Exalted. Many other Ateliers did not even have a single Exalted serving them either. Additionally, there were level 200, Blessed Exalted who operated independently, providing anomalous services for the Nexus when requested.
That aside –
– The one deal that was closed between Frost and Carpalis was the protection of her rescued friends and to leave their soul as it is. In return, Frost agreed to help her with realizing her wish which was no more than to make people ‘smile’.
Or in other words, to help people. To stop people from dying and falling into despair.
“I want to see people... laugh. Smile... be happy. But they must understand that despair is of the same coin. When you gamble your coins or your life away there is a certain euphoria before the inevitable fall. We are beings of greed... and I am perpetually trapped in that fall. I always despaired that false euphoria. Frost. Can you make people happy from the bottom of their hearts?”
It was a strange request. One that left her oddly silent for some time as she tried to process this. As the Beholder belonging to the Archetype of Hope it perhaps made some sense, but it brought into question just what exactly happened to Carpalis throughout her long life to wish for but only one thing.
A tragedy, no doubt...
“... this city... I am essentially it’s heart, wouldn’t you say? Hehe... no. I’m really not. There are... plenty underneath our Nex Megalopolis. But if you plan to eat me, then please know that over a hundred thousand will die upon my death... That is the downside of my Faustian Bargain. Our lives are intertwined... quite a tangle, hm? Ahaha.”
Beholder Carpalis revealed in an unthreatening manner, merely wanting Frost to understand this.
“I am their hope... and I am their despair. The hand that gives, and the hand that takes. My life and all its value are tied to theirs. Without them, I’d be worth nothing. As usual. Haha...”
“Don’t call it nothing when you’ve been invited to the Eternal Library. I don’t really know much about you, but at least you can still laugh... and smile.” Frost spoke semi-casually, a little more at ease in this woman’s presence as they sat around the poker table. “Carpalis. Are all Beholders...” She trailed off, trying to find a word to supplement ‘broken’ but to no avail.
Carpalis easily picked up on this and pointed at herself.
“Like me? No... they have already lost themselves... I am just on the cusp of it. Other than I there is Beholder Galia. I’ve only seen the others above a handful... haha... of times. Beholder Marduk used to be a human at one point. I hardly recognize the man anymore. Beholder Marionette never had limbs and she’s hoisted like a puppet to the whims of fate itself... with her own unsnippable strings no less. It is all very ironic... don’t you think?”
“Is that why they refuse to make needed changes in this world? That they’re too shattered to do anything anymore?” Frost spoke judgingly, her voice becoming increasingly louder. “Does that necessarily make them incapable of standing by and watching countless suffer!?”
This one was somewhat difficult for Carpalis to answer because there was no one true answer to begin with. It was a meld of necessity as some Ateliers required the power of others like how nearly everyone utilized Galia’s Warped Stone. Then there was the threat of total mutual destruction should a war ever break loose, and wars themselves much like the ones that led to the rise of the Nexus 150 years ago.
To summarize, the direct involvement of a Beholder would only invite devastation onto the world; the same with the Moons, Stars and high-levelled Exalted. This reasoning alone wasn’t easy for Frost to wrap her mind around.
However, the very fact that these Beholders were partially... broken added a layer of unpredictability.
The strongest needed to be restrained and utilized only when necessary... and yet it was exactly that which they failed to do, as she saw in Divas Pass.
... this woman really doesn’t have a sense of personal space. But she’s not that bad at all. Rather... she’s more like a victim in all this madness. I didn’t think the Beholders would be so saddening. I thought they’d be completely ruthless. Complete megalomaniacs. It’s tragic.
“It is a recurring theme, no? Power is not gained freely. If it is, then expect there to be some form of consequence.” Nav pointed out as Carpalis pinched the side of Magus’ face, trying to stretch the card-like material.
“It doesn’t stretch...” Carpalis sadly said, almost as if she was about to shed tears at this revelation.
“I... am of no use? As Hope itself!?” This shattered the man as he slumped back into his seat defeatedly.
“Frost... what about you?” Carpalis kindly asked.
“Hm? Oh, sure. Go for it.” She accepted with little internal debate, understanding the kind of love Carpalis required.
Being a Beholder meant that she had to remain secluded for the most part, so there was little opportunity for her to experience the warmth of others.
“Just don’t pull them apart. And by the way... you never told me about the Hearts. The Hungry you all call are actually named the Crimson Hunger.” Frost added, right as Carpalis touched her face and to her surprise, the woman’s eyes lit up.
Likely because of the Touch of the Black Dove... it’s a nostalgic warmth.
“Hearts... ah... the Hearts. We don’t quite know. They were a recent threat that arrived shortly after the rise of the First Advent. But it is possible that they are somehow connected to us. The Hungry always struck me as similar to the Scarlet Logic.”
She revealed a similar train of thought she had, and while unconfirmed, it was more than enough to convince her that they were indeed connected in some way.
“What do you want Frost?” The woman suddenly asked from out of the blue.
“People. I want to help people. Nothing more, and nothing less. Aside from wanting to snuff out the light of a certain Star. But to do this, I need to keep searching for the Corrupted, and now that I’m here I’d like to start talking with the other Ateliers just like this. Figure what lays deeper in this mess, get stronger and then –” Frost snapped her fingers. “Return to Grandis to finish off that piece of shit Iscario.”
“Vengeance. How honorable! I’d help you but as you can see, I am but a fledging Archetype!” Magus proclaimed.
“The Ateliers... you first need to carry notable renown to speak with them directly.” Carpalis added, still playing with Frost’s face...
Frost had to wonder how Jury would react if she so happened to see this. She had to see this Beholder as a patient to justify allowing her to touch her so freely, although if her hand did happen to touch elsewhere then nothing would be left.
She ended up sighing, trying to hide her smirk at that corny pun.
“The Black Dove has inherent meaning, but it requires proof. Aha... Black Dove is fitting for a healer that eats and fight. Please don’t bite my hand. I won’t be able to point you to a place that can help.” She pleaded, right before smiling... instead of creepily, Frost now saw it as somewhat endearing.
Cute in a bizarre kind of way.
“A newly arisen dungeon appeared in D3 a few days ago. It’s a Monsoon-levelled dungeon. A stroll in the rain. Ah haha. Get it? Sorry. The Ateliers don’t like listening to others, so only the Guilds can help. But you’re in luck because I partially control them... I just need you to prove your strength. Get your name out there. Become a legend like an Incandescent Color.” She finally removed her hand and looked somewhere far underneath past the transparent floor.
She then added:
“That way they’ll let you into their reception... and personally speak to you. If you’re lucky, they’ll recognize the name of the Amalgam. But please do not attack an Atelier. You will likely plunge us all into a total war.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Frost assured her. “Haah. I’m not that violent. I’d rather we keep things civil as much as possible. Just like this.”
“Civil indeed!” Magus exclaimed. “Oh! We have some esteemed visitors! Oh my! I spot a... a little Amalgam!? On a giant spider!?”
“That’s my Innocent. An entity created by one of my skills... how hasn’t it disappeared yet?” Frost had to wonder as she too looked down to see everyone walk into the near empty lobby of the Carpal Tower.
“The Jesters... Aha... I now have grounds to fine them three times the amount for cheating in my own home.” Carpalis cackled, having obviously noticed Cer’s antics right from the beginning.
They were dressed in various outfits, some more revealing than others but they were ‘normal’ for the most part. Save for the bunny-woman who wore the skimpy bunny-suit. Even Snap wore a bowtie, perfect for the occasion.
And thankfully, her pale-haired lover did not wear any of those revealing outfits...
That was until she spotted a certain bowtie on her neck, and with her bird’s eye view, she could see a devilishly black-fabric outfit worn underneath her Mantle of Sin. It caused a rift to open in her heart as both pain and an insurmountable curiosity wracked her chest.
“No... Jury... she’s – she’s become corrupted.” Frost ended up uttering, deeply wounded by this.
Indeed. What Jury wore underneath her Corrupted attire was a bunny suit.