Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

923. Emershine

ORIGIN : Human

Frost checked their stats and was surprised to find that the boy she thought was a Demi-Human was in fact a human.

“Those ears… they would be the Curse of the Descent?” She wondered.

“Ascent. Descent. Just living down there can ruin what you are. The worst part is that who you are remains. Imagine…”

The woman’s eyes became lifeless like the beady eyes of a doll as she uttered:

“… living as nothing more than a ball of flesh. A crimson slime. A Page. A Gear. Your body’s gone, but everything that you know you are still exists. The wails of a ball of flesh, gurgling because it has no mouth or lungs to speak… That is what the Curse is like.”

The quality of Nex she emitted was akin to someone entering the Second State. The young boy just nodded along and even shared how he gained his ears and tail.

“I found an artefact – I mean, a Gift that gave me these!”

“The Radiant Switch is a rare Gift that allows the user to inherit the traits of someone closest to them after they’ve passed. He’s one of the lucky ones.”

“That’s right~!”

Those eyes… those stars.

Frost remembered where she had seen them before.

Those eyes were the same kind that Alice had.

The world he saw was not the same that they lived in.

“… Are you happier here?” Frost asked.

“What kind of a question is that? Are you… never mind. Ask anyone from the Subderma and they’ll give you the same answer. Ateliers lower the Diving Bell down to bring us up. We see them as our saviors. We then die for them. At least, that was how it used to be with us.”

Jury nuzzled against Frost.

“Something must’ve happened to get them to change their mind. Whatever it was, we’re thankful for it.”

Frost had never spoken to someone from the Subderma before. She was aware that Ateliers such as ImpulseWorks hired them by the tens of thousands to throw at the Corrupted. Denizens of the Subderma became a pool of accessible, powerful and loyal labor who lacked the capacity to think critically, let alone question their work.

After being given better lives, then they felt that it was natural for them to serve the Ateliers till death. After all, they would have appeared like Deities to them.

Hearing that they were doing better now caused Frost’s heart to sting. The dull, sharp pain wasn’t unpleasant. For a moment, just a small moment, the woman swore she saw tears form in the corner of Frost’s eyes.

But she didn’t say anything as Frost passed her, tapping her head with her bare hands.

Eternal bliss washed over her.

“I’m thankful too. There’s still a long way to go, but progress is progress.”

“Hopefully not too far off~! But there’s so many pesky layers to peel off! The bottom line matters more than lives because who know what happens when those quotas aren’t met.”

Jury shared the same sentiments as Frost, complaining with her tail wagging furiously.

“Better we don’t know than to find out the hard way. Good work here!”

They hopped onto the tracks. A long, unbroken path was laid before them.

Finally, they could stretch their wings.

And just like that, the air shattered as dust exploded. The crater that formed would have nine out of ten people claim that a bomb had detonated here.

The more terrifying part was that the crater did not have any imprints of their footwear.

The intensity of their movement had created a powerful shockwave that damaged the earth.

* * *

Life outside of the major cities of the Nex Megalopolis was a split between regular city life and the more frugal life of distant Kingdoms.

That was not to say that they were worse or lacked the same quality of life. Past the urban complex, the crop fields, the forests and the minor plains and Greenbirth was Emershine, a town with a population of 43,300 residents.

It was primarily a farming settlement that supplied 25% of the Capital’s produce. This was important because most towns were only able to scrounge up a measly 5%.

Neatly sectioned crop fields ran at the eastern side of the town as far as the eye could see. Fields of wheat, fruit trees, vegetables and vineries dominated the landscape outside of the town.

Yet if one were to look at Emershine without viewing the crop fields, then one would never expect it to be a farming town.

Cobblestone roads paved the streets. Carriages clambered down the highways that were designated for mounts and drawn vehicles only. Three tranquil rivers cut through the town, and stone bridges were built atop.

This was where they received their water from. Buckets and pans scooped the stream to collect clean drinking water straight form the source. This was thanks to a Healer who worked as the town’s water purifier, crop blight control and – obviously – their Healer.

A large clinic in the shape of a white feather with a giant pale cross sat in the very center of the town as their pride and joy. They were of course working under the banner of the Head and Hora Therapeutics by extension, but they were allowed to live their regular life outside of the Nexus with all its benefits.

As for the buildings, they were in the exact old Victorian-era style that was common in the City of Hearts. Just without the gloom associated with it, although there were sections of the City of Hearts that were straight out of a grimdark universe.

Colorful gable roofs, terraced housing that ran continuously from street to street, long and narrow windows, lampposts powered by Fire Crystals, and central facilities built with a gothic-inspired coat of paint.

It was mesmerizing. Fences were replaced with short hedges that grew beautiful white flowers, perfuming the town with an inviting scent.

Frost couldn’t have imagined that there was another paradise hiding in plain sight. They were right to come here after all.

The couple walked through the streets hand in hand, enamored by the sights

Jury towed her around with stars shining in her eyes. The new sights brought out the childish glee in them both to the point where they had nearly forgotten what they had come for.

“Food!” Jury exclaimed. “Almost forgot. Tehe~ You could say we already had our fill!”

“I’d agree if I didn’t start to lose my mind if I went for more than a day without eating.”

“Just like everyone else.”

“That just takes into account regular food. Eating, say, a boar raw would keep me satisfied for maybe thirty minutes.”

Jury giggled for a moment but then rested her head on Frost’s.

“Luckily you haven’t been affected by it too much.”

“Not for a loooooong time.”

“You’re just like the Blood Angels. If they don’t go an hour without drinking blood, then they can go feral.”

“That’s what the nebulizers are for. It keeps them satiated and sane for the most part.”

Though Frost had to wonder how Blood Angels faired before they were given the nebulizers (BN81 – Blood Nebulizer 81). Of course, feasting on people was the natural course of action.

But it surprised Frost, since it went against the violent limitations of a Healer. The fact that so little was known was quite concerning, although, with Jury’s Advisor being one, it wouldn’t be long till they knew exactly what they were.

“Regardless, a Healer is a Healer. They all get my fair share of compassion. Must be hell for a Blood Angel, needing to constantly feed without a Blood Nebulizer.”

“Breathe too.”

“Must’ve made them feel like monsters when compared to regular Healers. The fact that they decided to hide themselves from the world… yeah. I can already imagine how they were treated.”

* * *

Cutting through the outskirts of the town were a pair of parallel metal beams.

The thinner one was connected to this area’s local transit system, and it ran continuously for nine days a week, with the tenth day being what was called a Transit Cooldown.

Today was that day. The tenth and final day of the week.

Every Passenger Train had to be taken off the railway system across the Nex Megalopolis to recharge the Train Cores. The only exceptions were the Express Trains, the Behemoths and specialized trains, such as those belonging to Oboros Infinitas.

Each of these were typically refueled at every stop.

The reason why this came up was because as they walked through the quiet yet bustling streets of Emershine, they spotted five trains belonging to Oboros Infinitas.

The massive trains were a tenth of the size of a Behemoth, and carried the same gothic, brutalist architecture of the Leviathans. Half of them were boarded up with sheet metal, whilst the rest were in a much better shape, likely because of better funding or because their group was proficient in their line of work.

The station they were parked in was no more than a concrete platform that extended out for a kilometer, which was the absolute minimum size that a station could be.

Furthermore, the Express Train’s rails had to be at least thirty meters away from the station, whereas standard Passenger Trains had a much more forgiving three-meter gap.

“The obsidian-black coat of those trains, and the markings of a Division.”

Jury recited, continuing as she pointed at each imprinted, glowing symbol one by one:

“Wrath.”

Red flames.

“Sloth.”

A grey pendulum.

“Lust.”

A bright blue flower.

“Avarice.”

A purple fabric.

As for the last one…

“Black shackles. But for what type of sin?”

“Acedia.” Frost answered. “I remember the black forest of the Relinquished Consanguinities, and the Branches of Utter Resignation. Wonder what they’re all doing here.”

She didn’t give it much thought. As curious as she was, it was their role to deal with the dirty work of the Nex Megalopolis. She was here on a dinner date with her lover.

Although, if something were to come up, then she’d of course have to step up to the stage.

“But that doesn’t explain what that Leviathan is doing here too.”

She had a bad feeling about this.