The Milinid's abnormal resistance suddenly made sense. One could not see the DEF stats of a Genesis Stone, let alone the Nexus itself. Only Beholders were capable of damaging a Genesis Stone.
And a Beholder the Hired Arm was not.
"Yes, Beholder Jury. Anids are Magicallis. Originally, a Magicallis before they split off to beco their own."
There was one person it shocked more than Jury.
Frost
< Magicallis are the only creatures I've been able to gain Abilities from. I thought it was strange how the Anids kept granting Abilities. They're Magicallis. All this ti… That explains their pale appearance, huh… >
Jury could only imagine what kind of face Frost was making right now.
Suddenly, the five legs of the Milinid hissed. A transparent spray of steam ca out of a series of pores found along the sides of its legs. They resembled eyes.
"The Nexus is a wonderful ark of creation. The Strings – they once told of a tale of how the Nexus produced Pallid Beings in the thousands in a garden of white. A sight I would sacrifice my purpose to witness. A sight theocrats yearn to end their life-long journey of understanding creation."
"The Nexus is different from whatever you're thinking." Jury believed otherwise.
The Nexus was often interpreted as many things.
A heaven (the Celestial Heaven).
A hub (for the Blessed).
The Axis Mundi (center of the world).
An infection (according to the Impuritas).
Their ho.
"But is that not why it is called the Advent of Amalgamation? Alas, what we know is not the truth. What we believe in, is. Beholder Jury. Think not of what it may be, but what you believe it to. Do not let my ramblings pull you astray. I see how it whitens your face."
"Then what is the point of telling this, if not to shake ?"
Jury felt that this was a psychological attack on her. In her heart she knew that it was nothing but truths offered to her on a silver platter. But for it to co now of all tis made her question the intentions of Lachesis once more.
Lachesis tapped on the spindle by her hip and wore a solemn expression.
"Beholder Jury. You must beco strong. They were not ant to disillusion you. My words were offered as a ans to grant you clarity. I was like you once. Clouded by truths. Confronted by the unchangeable… But you are not tethered like us. Nor are you enslaved by instinct. Truths can be interpreted. You are blessed with that capacity."
Jury's mouth moved to speak, but no words ford. When she finally found her voice, the hissing from the Milinid Legs reached a crescendo. They peeled open like the wings of an unfurling butterfly. The crystalline material beca soft, and its interior lining was eerily red.
It reminded her of a womb.
What erged were five Corrupted.
"A child born from the extension of a Queen's authority. Those who are not them shall be reshaped to fit the colony."
A mound speckled with honeycomb-holes wriggled from a womb. It shuffled over, its imnse fra jiggling with each movent. A pair of antennae wiggled above, each tipped with teeth. The pores oozed with sweet syrup, and they opened and closed like eyelids. It had no mouth, no legs, nor arms to manipulate.
Black and yellow stripes decorated it. It was the only resemblance it had with a bee.
Converted Drones squeezed from the honeycombs in the hundreds, seeking but only one thing.
One Queen Bee
< Two stripes of a fresh coat of paint, a sword, and a belief to make us all the sa >
AFFINITY : Purpose
LEVEL : 165
ORIGIN : Disorder
HP : 1,400,000
ATT : 1,900
MAG ATT : 1,300
ATT DEF : 900
MAG DEF : 300
MP : 13,000
RESIST : 325
AGI : 5
"A Construct of ours who wished to beco a real boy. Now he is forever devoted to his strings."
A tal doll draped in the robes of a Herald erged from another. Its twelve-ter fra dwarfed its surroundings. A pair of enormous great blades arranged like scissors hung overhead. Strings dangled from them, hoisting the doll to its feet.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Its face was smooth, and its chest was a hollow cage containing a heart that was wrapped with Scripts. The sa Scripts decorated its body, and long banners carrying the insignia of Act X draped from its four arms which were positioned across its body, rather than vertically.
Its legs were fused into a single point. This allowed it to spin freely and use its long claws as a blade.
Indoctrinated Dolly Boy
< Its list of commandnts grow longer for every lie spoken >
AFFINITY : Purpose
LEVEL : 155
ORIGIN : Trauma
HP : 900,000
ATT : 3,800
MAG ATT : 2,650
ATT DEF : 1,600
MAG DEF : 500
MP : 35,000
RESIST : 900
AGI : 40
"One who laughed to burry its sorrow. It sought the sa worldly joys that failed to entertain kings. If destruction is unavoidable, then do as they do with a smile. Every night ends with the first rays of sunshine. Every night begins with a red sun."
A genderless figure balanced atop a burning orb. It wore a jester's outfit and possessed a mask that was split down in the middle. One side was an orange smile, and the other a red grimace.
It exhaled speech bubbles with the text: "Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!", and with two hands, it reshaped the bubbles into Corrupted Denizens.
Sunshine Jack
< Happy as can be to be a part of your misery >
AFFINITY : Purpose
LEVEL : 135
ORIGIN : Trauma
HP : 1,100,000
ATT : 3,100
MAG ATT : 2,300
ATT DEF : 800
MAG DEF : 700
MP : 15,000
RESIST : 120
AGI : 35
"A King who saw beauty in the Scripts. Ironic, that a king born rule its subjects subjected himself to the rule of another. Heavy is the crown of responsibility. The Scripts and their truths were a lifeline cast into his well of despair. But there was a line he could not cross. He betrayed the Script and was reborn to serve again."
A crowned figure left the fourth leg. A pale-blue halo of light surrounded him. It carried the sa celestial light as the moon. Light sources nearby were swallowed by his light. He was chained to a crystal throne, and he sat slumped over with a scepter clasped in one hand, and a crescent-shaped moon in the other.
Teardrops fell from his hollowed sockets. They rippled into the marble as though it were the surface of a lake. Shortly after, a Templar surfaced from the earth, brandishing their crescent blades as they joined the ranks of their brothers.
King of Midnight
< Heavy is the weight of the crown >
AFFINITY : Purpose
LEVEL : 150
ORIGIN : Trauma
HP : 630,000
ATT : 2,300
MAG ATT : 2,000
ATT DEF : 2,000
MAG DEF : 2,000
MP : 120,000
RESIST : 340
AGI : 1
One last leg remained.
"Tragedy spun into creation. Its depiction is, if anything, a water down version of what transpired that day."
The last leg opened, but nothing ca out. Jury's instincts warned her of an unprecedented danger. Every enemy she had faced had always been entities she had been able observe. Eyesight was the most important sense when it ca to combat.
But what if there was a Corrupted that could not be seen?
There were screams. A horrific choir of a thousand screams echoed around it. It ca from everywhere at once, assailing her senses as her mind unintentionally attempted to piece cause of these screams. It did not compare to the musical screams of countless that made up the song of Leitmotif.
Between the screams were whimpers. Sobbing of countless souls. Not a word spoken, but Jury's mind filled in the blanks. It was a Corrupted that overstimulated one's imagination. However, it had a definite origin that was not based on simple fear.
It was based on a past event.
"Twenty-six years ago, there was a Nilhinid who learnt of the necessity of the strings. To live, unburdened of the past, present and future, was to let oneself be strung by purpose. Act X was the youngest Atelier, having only existed formally for twenty-five years."
1st of the 9th, 325 PA
< May they never forget the screams of that day >
AFFINITY : Purpose
LEVEL : 160
ORIGIN : Trauma
HP : 120,000
ATT : 2,500
MAG ATT : 2,500
ATT DEF : 500
MAG DEF : 500
MP : 10,000
RESIST : 230
AGI : 65
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