NOVEL NEXT 766. News of Grandis
The atmosphere of the Nexus shifted as the news reached their ears. Black Wings stationed at the Hyperlink Relay Site located at Central Grandis returned at once. A high-ranking Black Wing adorned with 6 golden feathers appeared in the Central Relay of the Lower Sanctums.
Thousands of Blessed passed through the Central Relay on a daily basis. Not all of them were up to date on the situation of the Nexus, as there was still a plethora of Blessed that had yet to return to the Nexus.
Despite this, the infamy surrounding the Black Wings was known far and wide. The countless forms of the Blessed – be it Humans, Demons, Orcs, or Demi-Humans – noticed the Black Wing and immediately gave her space.
One could almost see a faint outline of an aura surrounding her.
She tilted her peaked cap upwards to reveal a pair of droopy, tired eyes as she strode with measured steps towards the nearest Star of the Nexus.
“Relay this to the Archetypes immediately.” The Black Wing urgently announced to the Star. “A red star has appeared over Mount Saris. Grandis’ skies are bleeding. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
She was the first person to directly report the happenings in Grandis. Of course, this was not the only channel where news was funneled into the Nexus. The throes of the Nexus for example allowed the Starts to understand the situation surrounding the Amalgam, and the Aspiring Moons could report directly to Nav.
However, many of them were inside of the Memento Mori’s illusionary smoke. They did not know what was happening to Grandis on a grand scale. The north and the western towers were their primary focus.
The Star of the Nexus, who was present in the Central Relay to help orientate new arrivals, raised their chin as if to permit the Black Wing to speak further. Though they were the Wings of the Head and her right hand it did not change that the Stars represented the light of the Nexus – and the Amalgam by extension.
“Lunas fighting in Frontier reported the same thing. It’s only a matter of time before the Nexus hears it from them.”
“I presume there is a reason why you came to me directly?” The Star pondered, already knowing that a Black Wing would not go through the extra effort for something so meaningless.
This was not said out of malice. This Star in particular was quite empathetic compared to the vast majority of Stars. This was the appropriate mannerism of the Ateliers and Nexus personnel.
“The northern front will be hit by the flow of blood in a matter of hours! There are as many monsters falling through the cracks as there are droplets of blood! I can’t stress this enough!”
Her voice was raised just enough to amplify the severity of the news, but not enough for the onlookers to notice. In fact, the Star had deployed a miniature Isolation Sphere the moment the Black Wing approached him to ensure that this did not reach the ears of the Blessed.
However, that was unnecessary.
The sound of a trumpet rang like an alarm across the Central Relay and the Common Hub.
Then, the voice of an Archetype spoke through an invisible intercom. This was accompanied by a prompt given to every Blessed within the Nexus.
“The Nexus will be closing the Central Relay in the next 30 minutes.”
“An unexpected event has occurred in Grandis. Please remain within the Residential Floors. Your safety will not be guaranteed.”
//////// < WARNING > ////////
< UNKNOWN THREAT >
“It’s already reached them.” The Star hummed.
“… I was too late, then.” The Black Wing muttered to herself.
“If possible, they will want to hear you regardless. The Floors of the Archetypes are open for us. It is the same for the Black Wings. The more information they receive the better. Charming, no? The war is so far away, but they have decided to lock down the Nexus~”
The Star removed his Isolation Sphere. Countless Blessed began to funnel into the corridors leading to the Residential Floors. The panic was thankfully controlled thanks to the large presence of Stars, Moons and even Atelier personnel stationed within the Nexus.
Additionally, the vast majority of the Blessed were combatants to begin with, some with experience of fighting against the Corrupted.
Still, it did not alleviate their confusion and growing concerns. One wrong move and it would be pandemonium.
“Follow.” The Star urged, twirling around and making the drapes of his coat dance. “We’ll report directly to an Archetype. The situation calls for it.”
* * *
Michaela heard the news. Every channel reported the same thing: a red star had appeared over Grandis. The meaning was lost to the Aspiring Moons and the Black Wing who reported the findings.
As soon as the Star and the Black Wing said their piece, they left Michaela and the Beholders present to ruminate on the news. They stood around the ring-shaped table of the Arbiter’s Council. Standing here were all Beholders save for the exiled Marduk, the missing Abyssal Mother, Marionette, Carpalis and those who were at war.
Replacing them were the Archetypes and Nav.
“The Red Wing has found one of the few places my chains can’t reach.” Beholder Umbra was the first to break the silence. “Has it always been an Angel’s power to tear open a portal into the Subcut Layer?”
“It’s an Angel’s attachment to the world that allows them to manipulate space.” Michaela explained.
Lailah then elaborated.
“Warp is the given name to an Angel’s Ability to bend space. As Caldera Industries Spatial Distortions can open holes into the Derma Layer, an Angel can open one into the Subcut. But our concerns are not about an Angel’s power, but the implications of the Red Wing’s tampering with the Subcut Layer.”
“The monsters… those are the ‘Sins’ I’ve heard so little about.” Descartes 3 said. “Grandis will be overrun in how many days?”
“Less than a week.” Umbra claimed.
Michaela’s silence confirmed this as well.
“Then shouldn’t we be mobilizing now? I can send as many Repenters we need to assist Grandis.” Descartes 3 urged but was quickly denied by Lailah.
“The Iron Stars can repair the fissures left behind by the broken chains and the Red Wing. As for the Sins, we have time before they can reach the north. The problem are not the Sins. It is Uriel and what the Impuritas have in mind.” Lailah answered.
Lailah was responsible for the Nexus’ lockdown. She deemed it far too risky to allow the Blessed to move when they were in the middle of a war with the Impuritas. Should the Nexus be attacked, then the Blessed would be the first to perish.
A machine like her had few things she cared about. Needless suffering, whilst beneficial from a Nex standpoint, would ultimately cause countless to lose confidence in the Nexus.
“Meaning we’ll be staying back here to protect the Nexus.” Enoch summarized Lailah’s words. “Beholder Jury did say that what’s happening in the north and elsewhere could be a ploy to split us up.”
“There has been reports of an abnormally low amount of Impuritas as well.” Magus added. “It’s not a farfetched thought that our enemies will make a gallant effort to strike somewhere dear to us, but at the same time – how much confidence do we have that the Impuritas aren’t actually fools themselves?”
“They have more than enough numbers to support multiple fronts, but I tend to agree with you… ‘Star’.” Umbra spoke in an odd, longing yet careful manner to Magus.
“Please, don’t address me with such terror. We’re friends here.”
“A perceived Star deserves nothing less. As you wish.”
No one else knew Magus’ past identity save for a select few, but Umbra could sense his true nature. It was the first time she had made this known, and it was possible that she also knew that the Arbiter was once a Star.
“Defeating Uriel will not stop the leaks from the Subcut. It will take years before we can begin to repair it. The sooner the Red Wing has her wings snipped, the easier it will be to wrap Grandis around our finger.” Umbra uttered.
All eyes fell onto Michaela.
