Frost’s arrival was met with the applause of Enoch in dark chamber. The Retrofitter that once called this place home had long been relocated into ImpusleWork’s Headquarters – M-A1.
“Amalgam! I’m honored – No, I’m completely enraptured that you’ve trusted me with something so unbelievably important!” Enoch’s neuroticism was amplified now that they were alone.
I should’ve brought someone along. Doesn’t matter. Enoch’s not that bad.
“Ahaha! My blood’s burning! So this is what it’s like to be alone with someone higher than the Beholders!”
Never mind. They’re all batshit insane.
Frost cleared her throat, pretending she didn’t hear anything as she approached the woman.
“Calm yourself, Enoch. I was called here by Galia because she wished to present me with a gift.”
Enoch erected her posture as she proudly tucked her hands behind her back.
“Beholder Galia entrusted me to create your gift. She was here not a minute ago. You should have passed by her in the corridor.”
“She must’ve disappeared before I noticed her. If I’m getting this correct – Galia called me here to meet you rather than herself?”
“As expected of a mastermind of your caliber.”
“Then that simplifies things.” Frost said, approaching Enoch with a hand. “I was going to consider Kissaria but you’re an Artificer too.”
“Sorry, I apologize if you’re aware of this already.” Enoch tilted her head at Frost’s extended hand, wondering what the gesture was supposed to be. “But Kissaria would’ve been a terrible call. Oh. Did you want my heart? No, my hand?”
“It’s a handshake.” Frost clarified, causing Enoch’s eyes to sparkle as she quickly took it without a hitch. “I thought all Artificers were capable of creating Atelier Items?”
“Generally speaking, yes. That’s the role of an Artificer in the first place. The difference between regular Artificers and us is that we specialize in other fields.” Enoch sadly had to break her hand away as she slit her wrist.
Four orbs of blood hovered above her head.
“Kissaria the Artificer of Restoration; Ifrit the Artificer of Annihilation; Samyaza the Artificer of Alteration; and myself – the Artificer of Rupturing. Our namesakes define our specialization. But there are more distinct abilities that separate us.”
Each orb morphed into a statue vaguely resembling each of the Artificers, with the last being an arrow that pointed down at her.
“For example, Kissaria can make restorations of not only Atelier Items, but even Corrupted Items. Ifrit can destroy both and that self-proclaimed Watcher Samyaza can change the form of an Atelier Item.”
Enoch sucked the blood back into her body. The wound sealed before Frost could even blink. Her regenerative powers were inhuman.
“So what is my power?” A blueprint of a Justica Arm was taken from inside of her suit. “Creation and power. Atelier Items require the blueprint of a person’s heart. We can create items without them, but none can compare to I.”
The air around Enoch drastically changed. An aura of reverence filled those crimson eyes as she bored them into Frost’s, begging her to choose her for this task. Frost didn’t sense any ulterior motives, and to begin with Enoch was far from the least trustworthy ‘Beholder’.
“That explains why Galia wanted us to meet. I don’t endorse this approach, but it has made things faster.”
“Forgive me for asking but… why here? If it’s a Justica Arm you want, then we could have set up a place to make it up there. The Corrupted can be sourced as valuable material too. Unless it’s because I’m kicked out…?”
“Nonsense.” Frost assured.
“So why?” A perplexed Enoch could not figure out the reason why Frost wanted to do this privately. “A Justica Arm shouldn’t warrant this much secrecy. The blueprints don’t even have a novel concept. It doesn’t reek of magic. It follows conventional laws. Even a Dwarf can build this.”
“The materials. That’s the key difference.” Frost revealed deeply. “Dwarfs are metal workers. They cannot work with the materials I plan to put towards my Justica Arm. I’m going to need something with precision. Range. Anything to make up for shortcomings. But no ordinary material will work. I know that much.”
“All the more reason to source it from a Corrupted, no? I can’t think of anything better than the Woe of the Fallen Star Corrupted.”
“That’s where you’re mistaken. And why I wanted to avoid prying eyes.”
“I’m listening...” Enoch silently panted, salivating at the proposal Frost teased.
“And why I also needed to confirm things. If I were to source you with the materials now, then will you be able to create the weapon immediately?”
“It depends on the materials. A Woe of the Fallen Star might even take me a minute. But anything beyond that will take days.”
“Six – no, five. I can guarantee you it’ll be done in five days.”
Frost liked that she was confident even without seeing the materials first. What were the mateirlas in the first place? What made them so taboo that Frost had to hide from the others?
“Enoch. I have one last question. Do the DEF stats of a person carry over if a limb is severed?”
“Indeed. The remains of a Moon can be highly valuable.” Enoch still didn’t know what Frost meant, but guessed that perhaps the Moons would be sourced as materials for her weapon.
“I was curious. Enoch.” Frost commanded once more, her eyes brimming like stars. “What part of the body do you think is the strongest?”
“Easy. The skull.” She tapped her head.
“No.” Frost wore a sly grin as she then slithered a hand down to her own thigh.
Enoch’s heart raced, her crimson eyes matching Frost’s glow as the slow, burning realization of the ‘material’ branded itself into her mind.
“A-Amalgam… Don’t… Don’t tell me…!”
“It’s exactly what you think.” Frost severed her right light without a second thought. The dull thud of her limb caused Enoch to audibly gasp. “I’m sourcing myself as material for my own Atelier Item.”
Enoch stared at the clothed limb with widened eyes, then back at Frost’s stump that quickly regenerated, beginning with bone as muscle and tendons coiled around it like ivy. The Artificer shuddered. She had seen multiple lifetime’s worth of insanity, but this was nothing like she had ever seen before.
The fact that the Amalgam did not flinch was also an indication of how tempered she was. Her balance was entirely unaffected as she stood there on a single leg as if bolted to the ground.
“A-Aha… ahahahaha… You’re insane. I got it. A Justica Arm made from a leg…”
“Will five days be enough?”
“Five days will be more than enough. To think bone can be used a barrel for a gun. An Atelier Item created with the essence of the Amalgam herself.” Enoch drooled at the thought. “You’ll be leaving shortly afterwards, I recall.”
“I’ll be departing to Grandis. That’s why I’m going to require a weapon with zero compromises.” Frost’s AGI still had room for improvement.
Her crutch would therefore be a weapon that will never allow a pest of the likes of the Bloody Herring to pester her ever again. And when paired with her marksmanship –
– Nothing could ever flee her reach.