“Have you ever seen a red tide?”

Acedia asked this question from out of the blue.

Nothing prompted her to speak.

It had been an hour since anyone had spoken on the Leviathan, and yet, after sitting at her desk without moving an inch, she asked this inconspicuous question.

The few figures who were allowed in her office turned to the ceiling in deep contemplation. When they attempted to speak, she tilted her head; a silent reminder that this question was not for them to answer.

“What kind of question is that?”

Frost asked from a sofa. She had been enjoying two books titled: “Reminiscence of The Girl Far Away From Home,” and “The Phenoms of Contempt.” They were written in a universal language, hence how she was able to comprehend the words.

It was obvious who this question was for.

“Depends on what you consider a ‘red tide’. If you mean fire, then yes, I’ve seen plenty of red tides before.”

Acedia couldn’t care less about the presence of Horus, let alone Icara whose gaze had not moved from Frost for over an hour. She was the only Repenter who knew of Frost’s true identity as the Head of the Nexus.

“Red tide. Heh. Are you being literal or metaphorical?”

Cer smugly responded.

The question was open to interpretation. The Moon leaned against a bookshelf as she watched sceneries pass by through the sole window.

“Metaphorical, I think.”

Jury replied, imagining Acedia was thinking about a wave of bloodshed, or how blood moved through the body.

But none of these answers satisfied her.

“The Director means it in a literal sense.”

Abigail corrected, her tone apologetic like it was a sin to correct a Beholder.

Acedia then addressed the last person in the room directly.

“What about you, little sister?”

“Malgam?”

Joy squeaked from Frost’s lap, curious as to what Acedia meant. She wasn’t familiar with the term, nor had she seen such a sight as a Corrupted. Joy also tilted her head cutely at the mention of ‘little sister’.

To her knowledge, age was the sole factor that determined whether a person was the little or elder sibling in a relationship. As a result, Joy could not help but ponder silently at Acedia’s age.

Tens? Hundreds? Thousands?

No one truly knew. If Joy were to count all her years spent as a Corrupted, then it would not equal one tenth of Acedia’s age.

“Neither.”

Acedia coldly answered.

“The memories of a stray cat showed me what it’s like to dream as a human. Sleep is a lovely reprieve. But to be met with a nightmare is certainly unexcepted. It was interesting trying to piece her mind together. Quite tasty too.”

“Try not to get used to the flavor. You’ll never become human if you develop a taste for them.” Frost warned as she snapped the book shut. “Haaah. Icara. We’re on course to H9, right?”

“We’ll have to make a temporary stop at H9 since we’re about to spill over to the next week.” Horus answered for her. “From there, the only way forward will be through the discrete transit lines. We should reach H10 less than two days. We’re delayed by sudden rail work.”

“Are we parting already, mother?” Acedia uttered, her voice and expression cold, but there was a tinge of childish attachment that caused Frost to silently groan.

“No, I’m thinking of a change of plans. I was going to return to the Nexus, but there’s a place I’m due for soon. Either way, it’s not like I can’t communicate with the people up, or head to the nearest Relay Site to instantly return.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The encounter within Site G-Y0 had caused Frost to accelerate her plans. She was due to meet Beholder Marionette later this week, but she had pushed it a few days forward. To make up for the experiments she was poised to conduct on the White Light Apparatus, Nav sent out an order to Weave to meet her in the following days at the City of Strings.

Frost would conduct all of her experiments with Beholder Marionette’s designated White Light Apparatus while she was there.

Furthermore…

“You’d think an event like this would have been predicted by Act X.”

Frost complained, adding: “At least the Fragment’s been recovered.”

“Ber personally retrieved her. I can’t tell if she trusted Ber because it’s Ber, or because we have the same face.”

Cer shrugged.

Earlier, the Fragment: whose true name was the Fragment of Consolidated Essence: had been recovered by Ber. The command came from Lailah, who unsurprisingly wished to see the child again. The reason was so transparent that she could not hide her motherly glee, according to Ber.

“Hora Therapeutics will look after her until she gets acquainted with the Nexus. Lailah didn’t want to overwhelm her.”

“Not to overwhelm a million-year-old ‘child’?” Cer raised a brow. “Good one, Jury. Just because they look the part doesn’t make them a kid.”

She spoke from experience, given how small she used to be up until recently.

“Who knows. Worst case scenario, that ‘child’ you’re up against a CogitO-restrained Thrum that had their mental growth stunted at the age of twelve. The real loonies.”

Cer tapped the window as the train came to a temporary stop. Standing outside on a cornfield was a Party consisting of five Adventures. Two of the Adventurers were dressed in strange garbs, with the much smaller of the two wrapped in a straitjacket.

“Cute, huh? CogitO loves the mind so much, that they have a whoooooole list of Thrums. Shells are the other half of the coin of what happens when someone breaks down. The worst that can happen is that they develop an entirely separate personality. You’d think it’s a blessing, but…”

Cer trailed off, puffing her chest up and sighing.

“I think it’s worse than becoming a Shell. At least Shells have the mercy of being numb.”

She had a soft spot for them, mostly because her closest friends were Shells themselves.

“An alter ego, huh.” Frost responded, wandering off to the window behind Acedia. “Hm. I wouldn’t know where to start to help them. Shouldn’t CogitO be asking Time Reverbeation for assistance?”

The mimic silently smiled, her olfactory organs etching Frost’s scent to her mind.

Jury raised a hand after munching on her fifteenth cookie from the coffee table.

“I’ve had a look at Thrums before. It’s not as simple as regular mental conditions. There’s a lot of mania involved. Psychosis. Violence, as well.”

She then added with puffed cheeks.

“Multiple personalities, or Egos if you want to call it that, makes it even harder to investigate. The memories of one Ego aren’t necessarily the memories of that same person. It’s dangerous as well. Really, really dangerous!”

“Hey, no disrespect to anyone… Most certainly not to you, Fr… Amalgam. But it feels like we shouldn’t be listening to this conversation.” Abigail whispered.

“Doesn’t matter. We’re all friends here.” Frost smiled, tapping her head with a newly formed black and white tail. “I just feel like letting it out.”

“Letting what out?” Cer fenced with Frost’s tail.

“Secrets. What else?” Frost stuck her tongue out at Cer teasingly. “You sure you wanna head to H10? You know what’s happening there in a few days’ time.”

“Oh please. I know, I know. Think big ol’ me’s gonna care what goes on? Condemned, executed, imprisoned– I really couldn’t care less what happens to him. But…”

Cer took a sheet from the desk. It carried a mugshot of Raoul, drawn crudely with a sketchy ink pen. Beneath it were numbers and an assortment of censored information that her mind easily filled in, for she knew precisely what they were.

“… A Repenter, huh. Don’t make me laugh. The same Raoul who took command of the S.P (Solemn Paw), is now going to be a servant of Acedia? Hah. It suits him. The idiot never really was in control of his life. Some guidance might help him.”

Cer truly did not care what became of him.

To her, Raoul was already dead.

“Either way, not like I care. The best-case scenario would be to kill him before he ends up fucking the Acedia Special Division over as well.”

“Skoll will not be the most dangerous Repenter.” Acedia’s tone caused Horus to loosen her tie. “The Sin of Treachery, unlike Gluttony, Wrath and Lust; is a sin committed once. It is the one sin that triumphs hundreds of good deeds.”

“I don’t like agreeing with our Director. However, a Star’s a Star. Through and through. Dead stars give birth to new stars. That hasn’t been the case for a long time. We’re in the Degenerate Era, if we believe those babes in black dresses and bondage chains. Never did get to know one by name. Hnngh~ Their loss.”

The conversation was getting nowhere.

Frost clapped her hands and reset the room’s mood.

“Alright. Icara. You’re with me.”

Icara pointed at herself with sudden confusion.

“Yes, you. Give us a tour around the Leviathan. I’m done reading books. And I doubt this place has a private space to spend time with my wife. Let’s go. Direct orders from the Head.”

The hunger she experienced earlier still weighed heavily on her mind. For now, she hoped to distract herself until they reached H9 to cool off in more ways than just a ‘date’.

Plus, it would give her time to prepare herself to finally address her darkest urges to Jury.

It was also why she had sent the Fragment back to the Nexus.

Because deep down, even though she was in control, she did not completely trust herself to hold back should she be overwhelmed by the urge to consume.

That urge came from Alisa. I don’t even know if I was on the verge of Corrupting. Shadows surrounded me. That’s all I remember. No Skill, no warning… I couldn’t even predict it.

Before she left, she asked Acedia a question.

“Why do you consume?”

It was an innocent question–

“Did you forget? Ahh. I apologize. How dare I. A test. For me. Why, it’s to become like you.”

–As was Mimicry’s answer.

The answer satisfied Frost.

However, she hoped that the ‘Frost’ Acedia aspired to become would not be in the shape of a monster.