The island sat directly beneath the star. A tranquil sea surrounded the island.

So clear was the water that an undisturbed seabed could be seen kilometers beneath. Residual Heavy Water caught on the ship sank into the sea and was purified after a hundred meters.

Silent gasps of awe came from Joy's lips whenever she peered into the sea. Her eyes reflected its shimmering surface, and she could not help but occasionally tug on Frost's sleeves whenever she saw a creature swimming alongside the ship.

The others did not share the same childish joy as she did. The sight, as breathtaking as it may be, did not change that they were deep inside of enemy territory. Raoul and Cer had seen many gorgeous sights that could bring Adventurers to tears. It was hardly special.

They were far more concerned about the island and crystal monolith. The structure was a deep opaque purple. Light barely refracted more than a few meters into its glass-like material. Its irregular smoothness gave off the impression that it was manmade, but in truth, this Looking Glass had originated from the depths of Elysia.

It was the largest Looking Glass they had come across, and even from their great distance they were able to sense its siren call. Once again, she had to ponder why Act X were in possession of the Looking Glass when it was closely associated with Desire and Attachment over Purpose.

She recalled the words the Moth Missionary spoke to her moments ago.

"Pre-written selves. The role that is bestowed upon by Act X, or whoever's high enough up there to decide it." Frost mused loudly for the others to hear. "Doesn't work with a superposition."

"It doesn't~! But it does! Because it wouldn't be here otherwise!" Jury hummed, adding nothing to what they already knew. "Isn't it tiring? Asking asking and asking when you can just know by breaking it!"

She spoke simply because she wanted to be seen beside Frost. Jury hadn't left her side since she returned to the ship.

"Absolutely not. For all we know it'll break Act X." Frost scolded. "How about we stick to that date idea?"

"Hmm… Okay~!"

Jury was glued to Frost's back, with her left, unclawed hand secured around her waist like a belt. Furthermore, Jury secured her neck with a single loop of her tail.

Were this the Jury she knew and loved, then her tail would not have felt like a noose ready to strangle her. Frost brushed her hand along Jury's tail and looked up to see her humming innocently as though nothing was awry.

She's playing a dangerous game. Does she think I don't recognize what she's doing? Or that I'm suppressed enough to let her do what she wants?

Under normal circumstances? Frost would have asked Jury to tighten her tail. But she wasn't so naïve to recognize the difference between a loving squeeze and an imprisoning grip. She wasn't subtle either, though only Res and Raoul were alarmed with every slight readjustment Jury made.

Wolf Demi-Humans and feline Demi-Humans were among the only races capable of sensing tension in the air. A form of flow, as Raoul called it under a mutter beneath her breath. It was the same way they were able to distinguish Frost from a human.

"Soft as ever, huh? Even when you're this strong." Frost feigned ignorance, floofing Jury's tail.

It instantly diffused her, and the tip began wagging like that of an excited puppy.

"For your comfort of course!"

"Hah. Just mine?" Frost fake laughed. She wanted to see if anyone else was on Jury's mind. Joy should have been mentioned at the very least.

"Yup! Only you~!"

"Wanna let Joy ride on your shoulders?"

"Only." Jury's eyes darkened with possession. "You."

She ignored Joy entirely. Frost was her world. Joy was only shown a sliver of concern earlier solely because if she was hurt, then Frost would also be hurt. For now, Frost sought to play along with Jury, at least until something came up.

They were in the clear for now. Thankfully, it was not all gloom. Joy didn't take it to heart either, mostly because she wasn't able to read between the lines.

Acedia was seen at the edge of the ship with a brazen smile on her face.

Acedia peered into the waters with renewed vigor, though it wasn't because she enjoyed the scenery. Reflected upon its undisturbed surface was herself, and she struck glorious poses in Frost's body.

"–[Scrutiny]. Savor that breath you took. It will be your last." She cackled as she held a hand in front of her face and struck another pose in front of an invisible audience.

Frost had never seen herself perform a monologue in third person before. Technically, she had thanks to her omnidirectional vision which allowed her to see herself in third person.

Or was it in second person?

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Her cheeks squeezed with slight secondhand embarrassment. Seeing her body perform so flamboyantly rather than her typical cold, dominating manner didn't sit well with her.

"I know I say cheesy lines from time to time, but I don't strike poses. At all. Ever." Frost felt like she needed to defend herself.

"You just stand there. Menacingly. I'm sure there's a term for that when you stand and monologue in front of an enemy~" Jury hummed, squishing the cheeks of her little lover.

"Try 'Time to eat'." Res proposed to Acedia. "Frost has several catchphrases she likes to use when she puts on her Amalgam persona."

"Half the time it's performative. I don't even like Amalgam-Speak. Also, what catchphrases? None of my monologues are the same."

"'I hate this' is when I know you're about to power up." Res nodded to herself. "Or how about, 'Is that what you think?'"

"The latter came more recently after I became able to invade people's minds. Besides, that's Elysia's catchphrase."

"Don't put it that way." Res complained. "It doesn't paint you in a good light when you talk about invading minds."

"Worried about my image?" Frost teased.

Res didn't bite back. She was mature enough to know Frost was being playful. Still, she answered her honestly as she lightly dusted Frost's face with her tail.

"Is that a problem? You know what I consider you as. I want to say Cer's the reason why. But you and I know that I was the one who relied on you first." She shrugged, pulling away as she leaned against the only surviving guardrail on the ship.

"Gam?" Joy tilted her head.

Her quizzical stare asked: "Relied on you? What does that mean?", and the golden glint said: "We're they found too?"

It humored Frost. She could tell what was going on in Joy's mind, and she couldn't blame her since she was still learning how the world worked. Frost was also largely to blame for her ignorance.

Joy doesn't know how we met, huh. Does she think I gave birth to them? Haha.

Res sensed this as well, and she stuck two fingers behind Frost's head whilst carefully avoiding direct contact with Jury.

"She has no ears. I'm double her age too."

"G-Gam…? GAM!?" Joy let out a breathless squeak before exploding with shock. Her eyes bulge out of her sockets, unable to believe that Res was older than Frost. "Gam… Malgam… M-MALGAM!?"

She waved her hands around after failing to count how many years that was in fingers. She looked like a frustrated bird vying for its mother's attention.

"Frost is… Twenty something. Allegedly." Res said.

"Or one year old, if you wanna go with how the Nexus tallies up my age. No, Joy. I'm not actually one year old. You're not zero years old either, right?"

"G-Gam…" Joy calmed down, placing a thumb beneath her chin as if to say: "You have a point."

Joy allowed this to settle in her. But the moment Frost tried to retell how they first met, Joy pointed at Raoul, stating: "Malgam!"

"… Did you think she was one of mine too?"

"Gam…?" Her head tilt said: "They weren't?"

Joy wouldn't be wrong for assuming this. Frost had given Raoul special treatment despite her wrongdoings. Furthermore, Raoul was the older sibling of the triplets, who were also Joy's siblings since they considered Frost to be a parental figure.

Naturally, she assumed that Raoul must have been her older sibling too. As it turned out, Joy had indeed thought Cer, Ber and Res were Frost's biological children. She didn't know any better, since she didn't know how reproduction worked.

"We imprinted. There's no rule saying you can't change packs." Res spoke.

"You're starting to sound like Cer." Frost laughed.

"I hope you're joking." The wolfwoman sighed before a warm smile appeared on her face. "Frost did what no one else bothered to do for us. Stick around."

"Cer didn't make it easy."

"She was a moron. But looking back, she probably wanted to protect us in her own way. She always wanted to be seen. Never made it easy for herself." Frost and Res reminisced as they shared laughs and precious memories.

Joy stood between them, enraptured by their stories. Raoul kept to herself and feigned disinterest, but her eyes never pivoted away from the two. Jury however, only smiled. But eyes were dismissive of their conversation. In fact, Frost wagered that this Jury did not even know what they were talking about.

"Ahaha~ Mhm. That was… quite the time." Jury's laugh was eerily genuine. "Res never strayed from the side of good~ Ber was always such a good girl. So was Cer. Especially Cer. She knew what she wanted, and she never felt remorse for the people she sacrificed along the way to reach her Awakening~ They were all put to good use."

Acedia found herself nodding, suddenly approving of Jury. The warmth from the pleasant atmosphere was sucked as quickly as it arrived, and it was replaced by a frigid silence.

It lasted until they finally set foot onto the island.

* * *

Palm trees surrounded the perimeter of the island. A long beach stretched for a few hundred meters into the island before it transitioned to an open jungle. Birds flew above the canopies, and animals could be heard stomping from deep within the jungle.

A deer passed by, followed by a newborn fawn that could barely find its footing along the sand. An entire ecosystem thrived here. She had expected it to be as barren as the Waiting Room. There should have been no point for Act X to allow an ecosystem outside of the Anids and the Corrupted Denizens to exist here.

But it did, and her only explanation was just that 'it did'.

"Jury. Take a look around the island. Report back when you're done."

"Right away~"

Plumes of sand exploded behind her. She flew around the island at a breakneck speed. Frost's group waited at the shores for several minutes before Jury returned to her side with a seismic slam.

"Nothing of interest. There is only the Looking Glass in the center of the island."

"Perfect. We'll head towards the Looking Glass. Did you find anything else worth mentioning?"

"I saw an interesting sight when flew~! Ahhh~ The way the water glistens remind me so, so, soooo much of your eyes~!"

"Is that what you found?" Frost hid her irritation beneath an innocent smile.

"The water shouldn't be shimmering in that color! If it's a bright gold, almost orange, then that can only mean one thing!"

Jury danced around the sand bank. She kicked off her boots and used her bare feet to draw the ocean. Then, she drew a setting sun.

"You know what I'm talking about~ C'mon~"

She spoke condescendingly, like she was addressing a group of children. She expected them to know what she was implying. Anything less was ridiculed with silent giggles and soft hushes of: "It's right in front of you~"

"Sunset." Frost sighed. "Why sunset?"

"Because that's what I saw. A sunset! Night is coming~!" Jury hummed, clapping her hands together in delight. "I knew you'd figure it out Frost~ A bit slow, but that's why I'm here."

Something almost snapped inside of Frost. Her mental suppression kicked into overdrive, and for a split second, her eyes glowed a bright gold.

"Frost?" Jury tilted her head innocently.

Frost bit her tongue, and she savored the sweet tang of blood.

… Out of anything that could have set me off… This nearly got me. Holy shit, this version of Jury is insufferable.

It was a difficult thing to admit about her wife. This would be where a marriage ended. However, that was only true if the marriage was weak or if the person they were insulting was someone else to begin with.

"C'mon~! Our date is waiting for us!"

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