There was no compassion left in her heart. The defiance of the weak in the face of insurmountable strength wounded her more than Cer every could.

"Strength, Frost, is truth. Cut the thoughts. Let the strings guide you!"

The strings of the greater being hidden behind the ceiling had herded Cer away. A Glimmer of Cer's caliber could do little to suppress the power that granted them this dream.

But likewise, the same strings that had granted Jury her newfound role and namesake were the ones trying to leash her. Her defensive shield was impenetrable. They swarmed her as a fissure grew in the ceiling, revealing the azure light of the being beyond.

"Ah…? You too? Was this not what you offered to me? Why do you wish to cast me out of here as well?"

It did not engage in dialogue with her.

She knew what these strings meant. Cer, who should not be here, was treated like a pathogen. And now, as more of Jury's feathers corroded, the strings shifted from guidance to a noose.

"How quickly they change their mind. Exhume me. I'll break through this fragile Zone of Arbitration of yours and take hold beyond!"

Spears of light and darkness assailed the Floor of Judgement. The portals rapidly fired them indiscriminately. The puppetted Moons were shredded, limbs impaled and dragged along spears before they were consumed my maggots.

The pillars bled the same dark fluid as they shattered. The ceiling sank without the pillars holding them, and debris hailed like meteorites. Cer had retreated, her trails arcing around the blue backdrop beyond the broken walls of the Floor of Judgement.

The azure world was plagued with distant clouds. Faint glimmers of light glowed further beyond. Each were held by invisible strings, puppeted to simulate an audience. Stair trails were shaped ethereal strands in this world. Among them were gears and mechanisms belonging to ancient civilizations, which were once used to navigate the stars or predict the end of the world.

One prominent construct, which Jury came to understand was a constellation made by the strings, was an orrery with a cyclic doomsday calendar behind it. Thread was spun by the orrery. Likewise, many of the devices that were used to predict events were retrofitted to produce the ethereal thread.

Jury knew what kind of being they were in the presence of, even if it was no more than a glimpse. No, the correct analogy was that they were insects enduring a monsoon, which was in actuality the mere tears of a higher being.

"Frost… This is our only chance before we are expelled. Take this hand, and we can still remain here forever! If not, then we can escape as we are!"

Jury unleashed a devastating wave of energy. Her shell expanded, and tiny black knives cut through the strings attempting to cocoon her. Once freed, a pair of dark wings sprouted from a portal behind her back.

Frost had been dodging to the best of her abilities but had received tremendous damage from the spears. Her pitiful, bloody appearance roused desire in her heart, and she clasped the air, creating another shockwave.

The mere, simple actions of a Glimmer were no different than a natural disaster. If she were allowed to fight with all her strength, then she would already have wedded the human Frost.

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"But you still try to fight. Throwing Corrupted Skills won't change a thing. Cer has abandoned you. She herself can't fend off the influence of what resides within the Fate Mechanism and at the heart of Act X."

Frost remained defiant. No matter how injured she was, her eyes did not waver. Whilst they stung, and damp patches glistened on her cheeks, she would rather choose death than to submit.

"What good is it to us to live a lie in someone else's world? Being held by a string… it's no different than confirming the labels I've been given by the Impuritas."

"Humanity. You get to remain human."

"You're wrong Jury. Being human… is far from being a slave to a single role. Being strung to one thing, never allowed to change. To submit to the easiest path because the others lead to endless misery… I know what you really are."

"When you frame it that way, I barely resemble the likes of Elysia. Her methods are closer to yours, in fact. To allow the individual to prosper. But I offer stability. The guarantee of total prosperity, rather than leaving it in the hands of the individual. The Shadow and the Ego are constructs of cognition."

A dark, double helix spear formed in her clenched hand. She spun it, cutting down another assault of strings before aiming its tip precisely at Frost. The human could not fight her. She was floating in midair, making her impossible to attack. Furthermore, her conventional firearm relied on blood to utilize.

She is out of options. To run, scream, and suffer because she couldn't see the way we can make the world prosper. Walls of so called stability must fall to bring the way of strength. An Angel is never wrong. An Angel can only do right. To disagree is blasphemy. To agree…

"Animals live tranquil lives without knowing the value of another. An Angel's nature is the same. But we are merciful. We allow the good to prosper in our worlds. Uriel offers ascension to the weak in a cruel world. Without thought, there is no suffering."

The inner murmurs of Jury were drowned by the murmurs of the spear. It was a replica of the Spear of Annihilation, a weapon Elysia had wielded to protect her paradise from evil. Tipped on the spear was a rotting apple.

"FROST!"

Cer's voice was met with the sound of ripping thread. Walls made of strands were woven to prevent her approach. Each strand was thicker than the pillars that once held the Floor of Judgement. A golden-blue electric aberration of a maw cut through the strands. She zipped through the gaps in the walls and barreled her way to Jury like a flash of lightning.

"The hell are you doing!? You have any idea what you're doing!? You'll die the moment you kill Frost!"

She was locked in an inescapable clash with Jury's tail. The resulting fireworks warded another assault by the strings.

"I am imposing what the perfect Healers do, and my beloved does. Salvation."

"You're… dead wrong, Jury. We still feel pain. Acedia's sole purpose of becoming me formed cracks because she was afraid of bearing the same burdens. You'll allow good to form. Uriel gives people a better form. Elysia grants the Shadow… But what you don't understand, Jury…"

Two fragments of light formed above Frost's head.

"Is that not everyone wants to be saved. We can't enforce it. We can only offer it. Try to convince them. Ultimately, it is up to them to decide. The Wandering Healers' salvation are one sided. If they knew what Serum S did… would those Demi-Humans take it? A world where people aimlessly obey… is the same kind of world where people will live in terror."

"It is only a problem when we think about it."

"Cut the root of it."

"Then, may we never grieve again."

"Jury is the weakest of your group. The deaths of Moons – beings designed to fight… There is no greater loss than a God who bleeds for their creation."

She did not understand Jury's grief. All things died. The Moons were soldiers. They fought for a brilliant cause. Their deaths, if anything, produced new Healers and heightened the morale of the Nexus.

Yet, the pitiful Jury wept for them. Her heart ached for transitory life. Life propagated. Beings like Stars did not reproduce.

Thus, which life had greater value? Years, decades, centuries from now… Would Jury still remember it?

Such were the thoughts of the White Glimmer Jury. They were not out of spite, envy or love. They were purely pragmatic under the simple reason of 'Good and Evil.' There was no Ego to hone it, nor a Shadow) to weigh her down.

It was fundamental instinct (Arbitration).

No matter the love she had for Frost, her defiance solidified her as evil.

Therefore, this could only end in one way.

"Scatter and disperse. May you be judged and skewered by the light of my spear!"

Cer disengaged and wrapped around to redirect the spear. However, as soon as she sent it flying elsewhere, another two appeared. Two became four. And four to eight, to sixteen, to thirty-two…

"FROST! I CAN ONLY DEFLECT SO MANY!"

No amount of speed could help Cer when the enemy's attack was so numerous. This was paired with the strings which had finally latched onto her back.

"TCH! FROST!"

It yanked her into the air and then reeled her into the distant clouds. With Cer gone, Frost only had [Shortform Warp] to avoid the onslaught. But with each passing second, more and more spears struck the earth.

Eventually, Frost was trapped between the spears. Her arm was jammed between two overlapping spears.

"G-Gah…!"

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