Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

877. 3 Months Later

“Welcome back to the Floor of the Head, Amalgam.”

Three months (RT) had passed since the war in Grandis ended. To translate this into UT, only 3 weeks had elapsed outside of the Nexus. Furthermore, this was the first time in a month since Frost had returned to the Floor of the Head.

“Are you hungry? Perhaps you’d like a massage to loosen up~ Ah – or could it be that you’re here just for me?”

The dreamy voice of a certain Aquatid named Weave squirmed in place at the foot of the Reception of the Head. Black carpets with golden highlights covered the floors. Great, pale statues of double helix spears rose from rows of alcoves. Further ahead resided a round desk where various white-suited Receptionists waited.

“Not today. I’m in a hurry. I’ll return later when I require the White Light Apparatus again.”

She shot down the Aquatid in an instant. The problem with Aquatid was that they were far too intimate for their own good, even if it didn’t seem that way. Frost became conscious of her image since marrying Jury. Therefore, it would be problematic to get too close to a touchy Aquatid.

“Aww.”

“Weave, don’t just stand there. Follow.”

Frost had come here for a specific purpose. Her visits to the Floor of the Head during the last three months were mostly to develop her technologies and debrief Moons and Stars. There hadn’t been any major occurrences yet.

Yet.

The reason she was here was to address several important matters.

“Charon. A Star should be coming soon. Direct them into the Strategy Room when they arrive. You are to join us as well. As for the rest of your Receptionists: if a Moon asks to be debriefed by me, then please let them know that I am currently unavailable.”

Charon appeared more like a butler than a Receptionist. He was one of the few Receptionists that were retrained by Lailah to become Receptionists representing the Head. He was a human man with extraordinary stats attributed to his life in the Subderma Layer. His greying hair and beard were full despite him being nearly 132 years old.

“Understood, O’ Amalgam.”

A ceremonial choir shook the dark walls of the Floor of the Head. Three months was plenty of time for Frost to further hone her presence as the Amalgam. The Adorned Tale was wrapped around her waist as well, further amplifying her presence as she put on an attitude befitting of a goddess.

Her apparel was the same regal wear that she used back during the first Arbiter’s Council, although this was a mere imitation.

Her Coat of Prejudice had been destroyed during the battle with Iscario. Enoch had been tasked with repairing it, as well as teaching Frost blood manipulation as soon as she returned.

Normally, it would have taken a single day to repair her Coat of Prejudice. Kisaria was the best choice if all Frost wanted was to repair it as quickly as possible. But it would not change its fundamental flaw. The Coat of Prejudice was weak. Terribly weak. It was no exaggeration to say that fighting naked would yield identical results.

So, she also asked Enoch to strengthen the Coat of Prejudice. The materials were simple. Harvested Corrupted material and herself. Blood, bones and flesh sourced from her body promised to constitute the new

That being said, Frost strode through the wide halls. Weave followed closely behind. Receptionists of the Head passed through these halls. They were Clerks; people responsible for indexing everything that occurred within the Nexus.

Their heads lowered with reverence as Frost gracefully passed.

* * *

The Strategy Room was one of several rooms designed to house a specific function of the Head, such as the Index Room where information was processed then archived within the Eternal Library. Another room was the Nest which belonged to the council of the 7 highest ranking Black Wings.

Dormitories and luxurious restrooms were among them. Despite how sacred the Floor of the Head appeared; it had a cozy vibe once one acclimated to it. These residential rooms were typically made of walnut wood compared to the rest of the Floor which helped.

That being said –

Frost unfurled a scroll and plastered atop a central round table. Golden glyphs glowed along the dark walls like constellations in the night sky, illuminating the room the moment weight was applied to the pale table.

“Run by me the Kingdoms we’ve contacted.”

“Ah, that would be my role then, no? Ahem.” The Star in question was Vampyria. “59 Kingdoms in total have been visited by a Star in the last 3 weeks. 35 hails from the Emvita Region. 24 belong to distant Regions.”

Vampyria then dragged her finger along the scroll, pointing a various Kingdoms. The scroll was a general map of Elysia. A much larger map could be found hanging from one of the walls.

“The Solace Empire hangs at the west of the central Forests of Justitia. Further west is the Reweaver Consortium. They consist of a cluster of smaller states. Civilizations closest to the walls of the Nex Megalopolis in Emvita tend to exist as a federation for protection or as pseudo-puppet states for Act X.”

“Reweaver Consortium was among those listed in the letter.” Frost noted.

“It’s unlikely that Act X is involved.” Charon spoke up. “I’ve spoken to the Star who delivered the message to the Reweaver Consortium. There is a power struggle between the Scripts and an emerging Living Loom. The Act X Heralds I’ve spoken to believe it is possibly the result of a Corruption phenomenon.”

Vampyria, Charon and Weave further explained snippets of the situation on the varying civilizations that had been invited into Atlas by a Star of the Nexus. Kingdoms reserved the right to refuse. Stars did not typically exert their personal power over a Kingdom. It was forbidden since the incidents surrounding the Iron Stars.

However, the contents of the invitation made it difficult for them to refuse.

“None have refused the invitation. They were quite shocked to hear that we knew about their need for Healers. It will be interesting to see how they will conduct themselves on the greatest stage known to the world.” Vampyria harped.

“From my knowledge, there is a mix of Kingdoms that are upset that Healers belong to ‘The Head’. I know The Head isn’t a household name yet outside of the Nex Megalopolis, but can you believe the audacity!?”

“If ordained, then we can spread the name of the Head far and wide to teach them their place.”

Weave was particularly enraged by this, and Vampyria couldn’t help but agree. Charon was the only one who didn’t seem to have an opinion on this matter. Naturally, nations would be peeved if they knew that the Healers they desperately sought for were completely held by a body that they had only heard of recently.

However, Healers were not a resource meant to be owned or bargained with.

“Did the Stars clarify who the Head represented?” Frost needed to ask.

A bright sheen glowed in Vampyria’s eyes.

“The ruling body of the Nexus. They seemed more interested in meeting you, O’ Amalgam. The Nexus has always existed as neutral state. Atlas served as the world stage for nations across Elysia. Two events will transpire. The first is that they will continue bargaining for a Healer. Second – they will attempt to cleanse themselves and appear favorable to you.”

Indeed. The only reason they accepted the invitation was not merely to answer the summon of the Nexus itself. Rather, it was either to further pursuit their greed or out of survival. Of course, these weren’t the only reasons. But they were by far the most reasonable.

Frost figured that they had real reasons to require a Healer.

Charon lowered his head as if asking for permission to speak.

“You may speak, Charon.”

“If there is a legitimate reason to require a Healer, then what will the Head do?”

“Depending on the circumstance, it will be favorable to help them so long as my Healers are not at risk. Even lending a Healer may pose problems.”

Frost had heard how a single Healer could propel the political power of a nation. Merely having one in their territory could rouse problems. It also did not help that Scarlet Logic held a significant presence in Emvita.

“Do you plan to involve the Nexus in their affairs?” Weave had to ask, wondering what Frost’s endgame intentions were.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

They were curious after the Nexus’ involvement with the Bellum Empire. A Hyperlink Site had recently opened in the Bellum Empire as well, allowing Blessed to enter the heart of Grandis for the first time in 15 years.

Would the same be done for other civilizations?

“So long as the Corrupted exist, taking drastic measures will always backfire.” Frost began as she tossed various objects onto the table. “The Bellum Empire exists as a safe bastion in an otherwise hostile Region. We control Grandis through it. But our unity was not because of our interest in Grandis.”

“Aspects of Technology?” Vampyria asked, studying the objects.

“Each kingdom has a Gift. The Bellum Empire exchanged their Gift, [Amplification], for our protection. As the Amalgam, it is my power to assimilate their Gifts as my own. The Beholders, the Kingdoms – I can create Aspects of Technology using my variants of their Gifts. You can see where I’m going with this.”

“Amalgam… as your namesake suggests.” Vampyria trembled with excitement. “I see the vision now. Then, shall we investigate their Gifts to see if they are worthwhile?”

Frost grinned. The reason she had brought Vampyria here was so that she could relay this to the rest of her Stars. She didn’t want to rely on broadcasting her thoughts to the Stars of the Nexus, since her intentions were never the same as her intent.

Therefore, it was better to talk face to face with a Star.

“Charon. Compile the findings of my Stars. I will also require an extensive background check on all 59 Kingdoms.”

“As you wish.”

“Weave. These Aspects of Technology contain [Amplification]. See if there are Beholders interested in utilizing them. If you discover a use for them, then please let me know. I plan to further develop some items.”

“The Architect may be interested in this.” Weave said.