Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)-Chapter 1136. Preparation For The Inevitable

Frost pictured herself in a field of roses. She could have imagined any flower she wanted, but there was no flower more fitting to be surrounded by than the rose. The reason was because Jury’s natural perfume was scented like a rose.

If there was one place, person, or world where Frost felt safest, it was by Jury’s side. If she could not have Jury, then a meadow of roses was a decent replacement. Frost also did not need to imagine Jury, since outside of her imagination she was already being embraced by her lover.

She drew warmth from reality and fiction. Her body moved on its own in the real world as she provided Healing to the Actors of Act X. Broken carapace, fractured skulls, and ruptured innards returned to their original state as dark particles lifted from their bodies.

[Corporeal Restoration] was among the most powerful forms of healing magic. Mortal wounds sealed in an instant, but it did not replenish one’s HP. For this, Frost used an assortment of other Healing Skills, including [Area Heal], [Grand Healing], and even [Cure Disease] for the Insectids who developed rapid onset gangrene, alongside fungal infections.

Insectids were incredibly susceptible to infection. Unlike most humanoid races, they did not possess a robust immune system. Once again, RESIST was not a direct reflection of one’s physical resistance, but a combination of multiple parts including willpower, sanity, physical resistance, magical resistance, etcetera.

Nav

< RESIST can be classified into three components. Willpower, Physical, Magical, and Tolerance >

< I thank the Bookkeepers and largely Descartes 3 for her contributions. Would you like an explanation? >

< Yes | No >

< I shall give you one anyway >

< Willpower is a measure of one’s Will. This is tied with Sanity, Stability, Instability, and the Soul. It is difficult to quantify. I don’t believe we have a method to measure it, outside of yourself and Elysia who has propagated Wills. Not to mention that there are beings that have taken after your Will >

Willpower. Aside from the Soul, it formed a fundamental part of oneself, and was what allowed a person to either resist or submit to Elysia. At least in Frost’s opinion. No amount of Light, Qliphoth or strength could change how one interacted with Elysia.

However, Frost was not sold on this entirely. There were too many variables. The Shadow, the Ego, the Self, the surrounding circumstances: it all tied into the Corruption phenomenon.

< Physical resistance determines how Conditions, Statuses, and environmental factors affect a target >

< Magical resistance is self-explanatory. But I will explain anyway, with an example. Take [Seize]. This magic causes a person’s limb to seize for a set amount of time. The higher one’s magical resistance, the less of an effect it has. If one depletes their MP, then they lose all their Magical Resistance, like how one also loses their MAG DEF >

< As for Tolerance… It’s similar to Willpower, but to a lesser extent. It has a mental and physiological side. For instance, dragons have better resistance to fire. But a person can also build their tolerance to it. To an extent of course >

< Frost? Are you listening? >

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Sorry. I didn’t hear a word.

The words phased past her like a soft breeze. She didn’t recognize Nav was speaking to her, let alone noticed the prompt in front of her eyes. Everything she did was to distract herself from the upcoming ritual. Her body healed on autopilot, and the chants Lachesis recited to prepare herself became incoherent noise.

It blended with the voices of the others. The groans of the Actors, the chittering of the Anids, and debrief Ber gave to the Moons became white noise. Her mind was clear of thought. Her senses were immersed in the phantom breeze of the meadow she imagined herself to walk in, and her sense of touch was occupied by Jury’s warmth.

The terror of consuming memories could not be understated. Beneath that fear, at its root, was ultimately the fear of herself. An enigma among enigmas. It had been so long since she had salivated out of hunger.

The first time was when she Awakened as the Amalgam and devoured the Accused. The last time was when Alisa: the Aberration of Despair: trapped her in a shell of darkness to stimulate her hunger. Had it not been for Jury to tear her free, then she would have devoured the Fragment of the Captured Star.

She kept the turmoil in her heart suppressed to the best of her abilities. Those who knew Frost well, such as the triplets and Jury, understood exactly how she felt. During Frost’s healing, Nav explained Frost’s primal fear to the triplets in detail.

They were not surprised.

Frost was not exactly subtle about her distaste for her body count, nor how large of a risk she was to the Nexus in the event that she Corrupted. Most of Frost’s turmoil, after all, came from herself.

Who is she?

What is she?

Why is she the way she was?

Who could stop her if she were to Corrupt again?

When will she Corrupt again?

Is she still human?

These questions were only scratching the surface of Frost’s internal tempest.

But she composed herself and filtered the world, to the point where she did not recognize that she was gaining new levels in her Support Professions. Wounds marred her body as she inherited the injured of the Actors using [Bloody Exchange], then, she stored them thanks to her [Manual of Anti-Healing] Passive.

Furthermore, [Blasphemous Heal] allowed her to heal the Anids, since it was primarily used to heal creatures that could not normally be healed. This was limited to surface-level injuries. Anything more had to be left alone. Those that could not be healed were cannibalized by the healthier Anids.

The only Anids she refused to heal were the Septanids for obvious reasons.

* * *

In total, Frost healed approximately 26,500 Actors, the majority of which being the Acolytes. An additional 11,400 Anids were healed using [Blasphemous Heal]. Suffice to say, she gained a substantial number of level ups, including a new Mastery Skill.

Normally, Frost would be overjoyed upon receiving a new Mastery Skill. However, like her levels, she did not recognize this yet. She was still in her rose meadow. Upon plucking a flower to smell its scent, a voice brought her back to reality.

“Malgam?”

Joy tugged on her sleeve. She peered up through her messy hair, concerned about the face her mother was making. Slowly, Frost brought a hand and fixed her child’s hair.

“Are you also worried? Don’t be. I’m going to be fine.”

“Gam…”

“Believe me, I’ve been through worse.”

It did little to assure the girl, but she had faith that Frost was telling the truth. She nuzzled against the palm Frost’s hand as Jury’s tail imperceptibly tightened around her waist.

“Jury, no matter what happens to me, please do not let me go.”

“I’d have to be cut from you first, and that still won’t stop me. Hora Therapeutics are on their way in case of a Corruption Event. We also have our Traumatic Clocks ready for you. If anything happens, then we’ll bring you back.”

If it was Jury, then, she had no doubts that she was safe. Frost took one final glance around and received a few firm nods from the triplets. They had faith in her. As a precaution, Frost produced a pile of Lodefruits with half of her total Light.

These were strictly for Cer in case she required additional Light.

Once she was finished, her eyes swept over to Raoul and the twins in the corner of her eye. Resting on Raoul’s lap were the twins who had assumed a new form thanks to their Realization.

Mariana Euphoria

Orth & Thras

< Soul Rank: Incandescent | Affiliation: Nil >

LEVEL : 235ORIGIN : OriginalHP : 75,000,000

ATT : 12,000MAG ATT : 26,000ATT DEF : 30,000MAG DEF : 30,000MP : 6,500,000

RESIST : 1,600AGI : 85

Orth’s hair was short and clean. The right side of her hair was white, and the left black. The same was with her eyes. Thras was the exact opposite, with her hair being much longer. When they were put next to each other, they looked like a single organism.

Furthermore, the apparel they wore was made from their own flesh. They resembled deep sea squids because of this. When they were put underneath a bright light, their skin would become transparent, revealing clusters of nerves that ran throughout their system.

Powerful was an understatement. They were already stronger than the Moons and Stars of the Nexus. It was also unclear if they were still Healers. Only time would tell. For now, Frost wished them nothing but a long rest in Raoul’s arms.

In the meantime, Raoul cut her thumb along a fang and smeared her blood along the parchment of paper Acedia was holding in front of her. This was a contract, and Raoul had finally joined the Acedia Special Division.

While Frost was curious about the contents of her contract, now was not the time.

Lachesis glided towards the twins, and she directed the others to leave them where they were. Once the twins were set down and isolated in the center of the stage, Lachesis plucked the strands from their heads and brought it to her lips.

Glitter rose from her fur, eventually cascading down. The string she held illuminated until it became visible to the naked eye, and she gave Frost one final look before she could proceed.