Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)-Chapter 1128. Zodizygotmortem

< Zodizygotmortem >

Orth & Thras

< For our next act, we will make our hearts disappear! >

AFFINITY : Despair

LEVEL : 280ORIGIN : TraumaHP : 11,000,000

ATT : 60,000MAG ATT : 60,000ATT DEF : 50,000MAG DEF : 50,000MOR (Morale): -10

RESIST : 3,500AGI : 65

Where Dreams Begin

< The zygote dreams. A metacarpal receives the gift of life. It cannot choose what it wants to be. So it dreams in hopes of prospering. It lives a life of contradiction. The alleviation it promised spread a painful poison to loved ones. Now it draws its blade inwards. What does it need? >

< EFFECT : Targets may not leave until the dream ends >

< CONDITION: The Zodizygotmortem despairs over its contradictions. It seeks to inflict the pain it had dealt upon itself. It cycles throughout lifespans, seeking an answer. If life is a matter of creating life, then why was it given the power to take it? The Zodizygotmortem is immune to all physical and magical attacks. It may only be damaged by Corrupted or Awakened Skills. When damaged by the [Reason for Living], it restores 1% of its total HP, and restores a variable amount of Morale >

< ADDITIONAL CONDITION: The Zodizygotmortem is comprised of multiple segments. HP is split across each segment. When one segment takes damage, the final segment also receives damage. Inversely, when an outer segment is healed, the inner segment is also healed. May only be healed through the effects of [Reason for Living] >

< SUPPRESSION REQUIREMENT: The Zodizygotmortem is Suppressed when Morale reaches +100. When Morale reaches +100, Zodizygotmortem enters [???]. When Morale reaches -100, it receives 100 stacks of [Euthanasia] >

< SUBJUGATION REQUIREMENT: The Zodizygotmortem is Subjugated when the final segment’s HP reaches 0. Release a cleansing blast that returns all living matter to their original state. May cure Qliphoth Corrosion and Realization effects. If HP drops to 0 through [Euthanasia], revive all available targets within an 11-kilometer radius >

There was no such thing as true resurrection in Elysia. The closest was the revival of Ilya, and when Frost had first Awakened into the Archetype of Amalgamation. But these were extenuating circumstances. The former required the Fruit of Light, and the latter was a phenomenon of a being connected to the Nexus.

Additionally, Frost and Ilya were incarnations of the Captured Star, meaning that if resurrection was possible, then it was likely limited to them.

Faux resurrection came in the form of puppet corpses, or the Constructs who possessed the soul of the dead. Then, there were Corrupted who could use corpses past their expiry, as could the Mycelli race.

Other than this, there were no other forms of resurrection.

If Raoul thought in a purely utilitarian manner, then the death of two girls greatly outweighed the miracle of reviving potentially millions of people. Worst case they’d return incomplete. But in the best case, they would return to living ordinary lives.

But was it worth it?

Raoul could not accept this.

A prompt appeared in front of her as her greatsword: an ordinary weapon with no name from a distant kingdom: was enveloped in a black light. Dark particles lifted from its silver edge, which grew streaks of black veins.

The weapon had manifested alongside her Corrupted Persona.

Moonfang

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< Mastery over weaponized obliteration >

ORIGIN : HatiAFFINITY : Desire

TYPE : Weapon < EFFECT: Transform any held weapon into the Moonfang. If a different weapon is used or swung while another Moonfang is active, transform that weapon into the Moonfang. Damage and stats increase the higher the user’s Emotional State becomes >

Raoul was competent with more than just a greatsword. He had used it as a weapon of choice because of its destructive capabilities. Pair this with a Star’s extreme strength, and it was no wonder that he preferred it over the likes of a longsword, since it did not possess the same weight disadvantage.

A flicker of light also appeared on her right wrist. A scribble made of lines of light. It had no discernable picture, but it grew brighter when she lifted it towards the Corrupted twins.

< Temporary Passive Skill Gained >

< PASSIVE: Reason for Living >

< The reason why you can stand another day >

< EFFECT: Damage that you deal is reduced to 0. Instead, heal HP per attack while this Passive Skill is in your possession. Lasts as long you are inside of Where Dreams Begin >

Raoul rolled the greatblade around her waist, like how one twirled a stick around their wrist during a performance. It was an old method she used when she was younger to test a weapon’s center of gravity…

That was before she knew how dangerous weapons were.

The sudden flair in her movements surprised the triplets. Raoul had been stoic for as long as her sisters remembered. Flashy attacks were nonsense. Wasted movements only served to give the opponent an opening.

Yet, Raoul moved as though she was finally unchained for the first time in her life.

“I’ve read the Conditions.” Raoul caught the blade and held it in a reverse grip.

“So have we! Guessing you’re the one it’s talking about!”

Cer barked at one of the statues, instantly eliminating it when another spear was about to be thrown at the twins. She had taken up the role of dealing with the statues without saying another word, and with that, she disappeared and began cleaving several more.

“My attacks will heal Orth and Thras.” Raoul stated, as Res stepped beside her.

“Then we’ll cover you. We’ll make as many openings as you need. But Raoul. Do you know how we fight Corrupted?”

“I’m not sure how.”

“Imagine you’re talking to a lost child, and you’ll figure it out from there! Remember how Frost dealt with you on the train!?”

Raoul steadied her heart as denizens of the Corrupted spilled from the cavity where the fused butterfly had fallen from. They were giant twin zygotes entombed within a transparent egg. A bright blue fluid burst from them as fired electrical beams from a distance, clearing the path for Raoul.

“Compassion.”

“Less than that.” Ber nudged Raoul’s shoulder with her own. “You want to drill the truth into them! They’re blind sighted by their self-loathing, to the point where they can’t see how important they are to you, let alone us! Put that Wise Black Wolf name to good use and let them know what they mean to you!”

“I’ve abandoned that name. Raoul is all I am…”

She trailed off. The creature was an insurmountable wall. A Woe of the Fallen Star could not be dealt with by merely a handful of Moons. It was also likely that the Corrupted Zone had leaked out of the Isolation Sphere. If it hadn’t, the Moons stationed outside would have already arrived to assist.

However, the triplets had infamously held their own against the Heart of Ours and the Blood of the Covenant before, and this was before they had gained a Corrupted Persona.

Enough.

Raoul cleansed her mind. She did not allow herself to see this creature as a Corrupted. With a clear mind, she twirled the blade again and held it forward. The black wing that was affixed to Ber’s right arm descended alongside it, and they pointed the blade at the twins.

“Pave the way for me! I will bring them back, no matter the cost!”

The acedia in Raoul’s heart had lifted. As she ran across the scrapyard, she understood that leaving it alone was not enough to remove it entirely. There were two people still inside of their own forests of despair, and the only person who could bring them was her.

< “Is it worth it?” >

< “Persisting?” >

< “Hello.” >

< “Goodbye.” >

< “I woke up today.” >

< “We dreamed that we were a butterfly.” >

< [Vestigial Wingbeat] >

Glitter flaked off the wings of the butterfly as it flapped its wings. It swept across the scrapyard as though an invisible gale had blown past. Sharp fragments assailed the battlefield, cutting through the metal scraps like a file.

Ber swung her wing in its direction and opened a path for Raoul. Then, she moved forward and struck the butterfly with a downward slash. Its HP barely dropped. Ber’s ATT was far too low to damage it. However, in that instant, Cer appeared from out of nowhere and dragged an electric claw along its torso.

Butterfly | HP: 424,000

Zodizygotmortem | HP: 10,576,000

“Eleven million HP doesn’t give us much leeway! One-hit kills are gonna be a problem! Raoul! I need you to hit it five times for every five hundred thousand damage I deal so we don’t risk killing her!”

Raoul nodded. She crunched the numbers in an instant. 1% of eleven million was 110,000 HP restored per strike

Her legs were scratched up by the glitter that had managed to pass through Ber’s wing. Furthermore, Ber could only hold it back for so long before she had to retreat. The damage it could deal was enough to seriously maim her.

Thankfully, as Raoul’s leg received a dangerous laceration as she passed by a sharp piece of metal–

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

–Abigail fired off Healing Bullets to keep them at maximum HP.

< [Vestigial Wingbeat] >

< [Vestigial Wingbeat] >

< [Vestigial Wingbeat] >

< “Conjoined in life. Conjoined in death.” >

< “Being with you strangled you.” >

< “Let us pay it back.” >

< “Stab stab.” >

< [To Be Pierced] >