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1056. End Of The Maze
🕑 Added 2025-08-24 02:22:40 +0000 UTCThey had been running for over an hour and half now. Jury periodically rammed Death through the walls to pave new pathways for them. Because of this, they had to run in a single line behind Frost to avoid being run over by Jury.
Of course Frost knew this wasn’t Jury. But given how closely their roles were to their original personalities…
I don’t believe Jury had those thoughts. Ever. I can’t disregard Joy claiming this is fundamentally Jury either. Fuck… If I could just get an ounce of strength back, then I’d wake her up.
She shook her head and cleared her thoughts.
“Good call Raoul. Back there.” Frost commended once they reached the last few walls of the maze.
The fog had reduced to the point where they were able to see up to a kilometer out. Surrounding them like guards beside were nine Judge’s Prides.
Further ahead, beyond the walls were scenes of war. Battlefields depicting naval combat, dragon-back dogfighting, and land-based skirmishes between Act X, the Anids and the Corrupted Denizens was a sight to truly behold.
It was also a battlefield they’d have to navigate through once they were out of the maze.
“You can thank me when we’re out of here.” She hissed. “Looks like more plays. They need to substitute the lack of Actors one way or another.”
“Looks like combat training if anything under that guise.” Res had a different train of thought. “Where are they getting the Denizens from? I can spot thirty unique Denizens.”
“… We’re finally getting out of here. No more Misery… I could cry.” Acedia wiped away what one would believe to be crocodile tears. However, she was truly moved by the sight of freedom.
Even if freedom came in the image of war. Her relief spread to the others. Gradually, smiles formed on their faces, aside from the twins who did not appear to care either way. They were concerned about whether Raoul’s legs were ok, if she was tired, or hungry for that matter.
“We seem to be in the clear…” Frost paused. She didn’t dare confirm it yet until a good ten seconds passed. “Stop here. We’re almost out. Catch your breath. Rest. You’ll need it the most Raoul. You too Joy.”
“Gam?” Joy tilted her head, since she had been carried by Acedia this entire time.
Still, she happily took the offer and hopped out of Acedia’s arms. They stopped to make camp in an open field. The debris provided cover and shelter from the elements, such as the winds and the light rain that was brought over from the fractured scenery ahead.
However, Frost had chosen this place in particular because they would have ample time to react if they were attacked again. Her Judge’s Pride guarded them and served as their first measure of defense if that happened to be the case.
As the others settled down, Frost looked off into the distance, noticing how the world was slightly tilted at obscure angles, yet the figures fighting along that plane were unaffected by the pull of gravity.
“Each area looks spatially isolated. It’ll be problematic if it turns out to be a barrier. But we can use the cracks between each landmass.”
Indeed. From what she could see, there was a large body of water that ran between each battlefield. Incidentally, there was a harbor nearby housing an array of boats from small fishing vessels to behemoths requiring a crew of over a hundred men to operate.
“Ever sailed before?” Raoul raised a brow.
“My first time was a cargo boat through the Underflow. I have a basic understanding of it.”
“Then you have more experience than me.”
“I thought you’d have more experience.”
“What gave you that impression?”
“Just a hunch.” Frost smiled, reaching into her [Dimensional Storage]. “I have some food. Pass it around. Don’t be shy.”
“How cordial.” Acedia hummed. “As expected of Mother. Her kin require sustenance.”
She retrieved several paper-wrapped sandwiches, as well as a dish resembling pizza, only that it was triple layered and stuffed full of mincemeat.
If anything, it was closer to a mesh between a burger and a pizza.
A feast for many, but a mere snack for Jury.
I already miss her.
They dug in. Various levels of table manners were made apparent. Frost, Res and the twins were by far the most civilized, taking hand-held pieces of pie that were completely intact. Acedia and Joy however, took handfuls and stuffed their faces.
“Delicious… It’s… Incredible… Is this… It does not compare to the mud I had to swallow…!” Acedia was in disbelief that food could taste so good.
“Gam… Gam… GAM!” Joy’s eyes dazzled with stars.
She was barely able to resist eating from the pie-pizza-burger like a dog from a dog bowl.
“Raoul. Raoul.” (Orth).
“Open up. Open up.” (Thras).
“… This is a waste.” Raoul murmured as Orth hovered a sandwich in front of her, whilst Thras held a slice of pizza.
“The sandwich is all meat. Wolf’s favorite. Raoul. It’s seasoned with the black sauce you love so much.” (Orth).
“930g of protein. You need to be stronger.” (Thras).
“Food will not satisfy us here…” Raoul suddenly tailed off when she met with Frost’s disarming glare. “… Hah. Do as you wish.”
“Aaaah. Open up.” (Orth).
“Me too. Please Raoul… Let us feed you back.” (Thras).
“Mm. Mm. You used to feed us too.” (Orth).
Raoul surrendered when they brought this up. She didn’t speak another word and allowed them to feed her without resistance. It was unclear if it was because of the debt owed, or because Raoul did not want them to continue talking about that time.
As Frost thought about this, another presence appeared behind her. A small shockwave cleared the area of debris. Frost did not need to turn to know who this was.
“Oooh! Lunch! So thoughtful of you, my Frost~”
A pair of powerful hands embraced Frost from behind, lifting her until she could no longer touch the ground. Her head perfectly rested inside of her bosom as she purred and nuzzled against her lover.
Frost looked like a cat held in a bear hug by its owner. Even the face she made was hardly amused.
“Welcome back Jury. How nice of you to almost kill us.”
“But I didn’t in the end~ That’s all that matters. You’re so grumpy~!”
“… You think so?” A vein popped on her forehead. “Haaaah. Jury, wanna go over what’s really gotten into you?”
“Nothing at all! I’m happy as can be. As always~!”
“Also, what happened to Death?” Frost calmly asked, raising her only hand to pat her lover’s head.
“He moved on. I did it. All. For. You~”
Indeed.
They were so close to the end of the maze that Misery no longer followed.
Death had also changed course and descended upon the battlefield. Trails of starlight followed each swipe of his scythe, expanding to over hundreds of meters as they claimed the lives of countless who were in the process of being killed.
“We’re gonna have to chart across the river. Don’t know how fast the current is moving, so there’s no way we can plan ahead right now.” Frost announced. “Eat up, Jury.”
“Don’t mind if I do~” She rubbed Frost’s belly.
“… Haaaah. I really can’t hate you sometimes, but… now isn’t really the time.”
As much as Frost loved her, it felt incredibly inappropriate and almost insulting to flirt in front of the same people Jury almost killed.
Furthermore, Frost was still furious about her recklessness.
But she hid this fury under a perfect veil of forgiveness. Either Jury already knew, or, she was entirely oblivious to this. She wouldn’t put it past Jury being aware. As a result, there was a palpable tension between them despite how close they seemed.
“… Go ahead. Eat up Jury.”
“Oh, I absolutely will. Starting with the sandwich. You know, sandwiches are like burgers.”
“Where are you going with this?”
“How do you tell one apart from the other, aside from the name? The bun? Appearance? Aren’t they both the same fundamentally?”
Jury slowly brought the sandwich to her mouth and chewed.
“It’s the idea that counts.”
“Good answer~ One idea just has to dominate the other~ That way, we can all be on the same page and get along. Right, Frost?”
“… No. That’s a miserable way of thinking.” Frost’s suppression did not stop her from blurting this out, and Jury could not help but giggle in response.
“Ahaha… Aren’t you so funny.”
