Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

941. A Corrupted’s State of Mind

“Hey. Don’t move.”

Usari’s ears trembled as Frost’s hand reached out towards her.

“Hold still. Hey, Horus. I think they’ll be able to fight. No point in bringing Repenters if they’re just going to stand around.”

A faint, golden light surrounded Usari the moment Frost tapped her head. The same happened to the rest of the Repenters after single tap.

“What did you do to us…?” Usari asked.

A split second later, a fairy dove towards Usari. Its teeth failed to sink into her arm. It had struck a thinly veiled barrier that now surrounded her body.

“You can even use barriers!? Usari is impressed!” She whacked the little Corrupted away.

They weren’t particularly strong individually.

But it was an entirely different story when there were over a thousand of them.

“The Black Dove does have a point. It would be redundant if you couldn’t fight. I wasn’t going to step in anyway~” Horus took a step away and leaned against a pillar.

She turned her head to the side as if to say: “This is your problem now.”

“Gonna eat ‘deal’ with that?” Jury whispered into Frost’s ear.

“I wanna see what’s going on in its mind first. It’d be a waste to let the Corrupted go.”

Icara couldn’t take her eyes off Frost.

She was intrigued by her ability to create such a powerful barrier. However, that intrigue disappeared when the Tooth Fairy finally finished devouring the eight Corrupted. It turned its attention to them, and a bloody brawl ensured.

Magic, Hayte’s self-destruction, and a barrage of mana bullets swept across the hall. In the meantime, Jury fended off any stray Corrupted that happened to stumble into the hall. She eliminated them with effortless prowess. Since the Site was doomed to disappear, there was no need to hold back.

Her tail functioned like living spear. It pierced the Corrupted and caused their nonsensical innards to spill like a torn bag of grain.

Frost casually walked through a steel door.

It parted and bent around her contours like she was walking through a veil of fabric. Once she was inside of what appeared to be a ventilation room, she bent the metal back in place, sealing the entrance.

It glowed with a faint orange.

“Now then.” She slashed a finger across her teeth and hastily plunged it into the Corrupted. “Show me what’s in your mind. Liquid Nex tells the tale of your origins. But I don’t need that. I just need to see the real you.”

She felt faint for a moment. Nearly half of her blood had fizzled away into fuel. [Progenitor Art: Ego – Die Agnosis] used 35 million HP to use. But she considered it a small price to pay for the information she would gain here.

That same blood that had been taken away began to swirl around her. They emerged from the thin air, creating a brightly colored crimson storm. They were like red petals dancing in a mini tornado. It eventually crystalized into thin, strand-like shapes.

It was weaving a scarlet cocoon around the Corrupted.

< Entering the State of Mind of The Observer Upstairs >

< You will be vulnerable while you are within its State of Mind >

< If the Egg is damaged in any way, it will greatly affect the processes within the Corrupted’s State of Mind >

< Major damages will forcefully eject you and the Corrupted >

< All else is unknown >

< But that is what experiments are for >

When the cocoon finally encased the Corrupted, a series of cracked glass appeared in her vision. The golden branching cracks originated from an ineffable light in the center of it all. And upon reaching towards it –

< You have entered the State of Mind of the Observer Upstairs >

–She entered a world governed solely by the Corrupted.

< THE OBSERVER UPSTAIR’S STATE OF MIND >

//////// < WARNING > ////////

< HAILSTORM >

< THE ARBITER’S TRUMPET SINGS >

All HP was forfeited here.

Frost | HP/MP: 275,000

Replacing it was only a quarter of her MP.

It was problematic, as her most powerful Skills utilized a ludicrous amount of Mana. Not only that but using it would also severely weaken her.

And to top it all off:

“My Progenitor Arts are useless inside of the State of Mind. This isn’t my true physical body, after all.

A vast black desert landscape surrounded her. The dunes rolled to mountainous heights, and the sands were almost as dark as the void above. It was almost impossible to distinguish the ground from the skies, but Frost could see it as clear as day.

< “The keep your eyes off it. Ignore it all. It exists to help.” >

Hovering over a sheet of pure glass was the damaged Corrupted. Surrounding it were various dark humanoid figures who covered their eyes. They were drawn like the scribbles of a child, contrasting the realistic sand and the Corrupted itself.

And floating over three hundred meters above the air was a colossal artificial structure in the shape of an eye. If it weren’t for her impeccable eyesight, she would have believed it to be the eye of an even larger entity.

“That… looks like an Eye. The floating observers. They used to float above the Nex Megalopolis.”

Frost spoke to herself nonchalantly as she approached the Corrupted. She did not gaze into its eye to activate it just yet. Its murmurs were everywhere. The constant utterance of ‘bliss’, ‘ignorance’ and ‘impaired’ to the eye and ‘unseen’ forces for a happy life tempted her to claim it where it stood.

But she was intrigued by all of this.

Nav. What are the Conditions? Are they applicable to me?

< CONDITION: The Observer Upstairs will only engage when its eye is visually acknowledged. It will not stop until the target that had looked at its eye is dead >

< SUPPRESSION REQUIREMENT: Destroy the talons of The Observer Upstairs. Alternatively, allow The Observer Upstairs to look upwards >

< SUBJUGATION REQUIREMENT: The Observer Upstairs is defeated when it’s HP reaches 0 >

“No Realization Criteria?”

“That is something we have to find ourselves, as always. Don’t ask about a Salvation Criteria. This is a Corrupted, not a person.”

Frost dashed around, her speed stirring up the sands. Her speed, however, was no longer at 105 AGI.

Instead, it halved to 52.

There were no other threats here aside from the Corrupted itself. The nameless entities did not seem to serve any purpose.

< “Carefully, turn away from the horizon. What you can’t see cannot hurt you.” >

Corrupted Zones were more powerful versions of a State of Mind. Technically, they were physical manifestations of it.

Either way, Frost travelled for what seemed to be kilometers and found nothing of interest. Then, she turned her attention to the nameless, featureless people.

“What do you think Nav? Should we try Realizing this Corrupted?”

“Will you take responsibility for it?”

“Honestly, that depends on what kind of Corrupted comes out of this. There’s no rule stating that they have to be good, right?”

“I would be wary too if I were you. It may be possible that tampering with it wrongly may increase its Threat Level.”

Frost had seen this happen before.

The first was with Ber, although she chalked it up to her having multiple fight phases. But then she remembered Res, who was a true Corrupted that continued to evolve as her Shadow was constantly confronted to remold to her insecurities better.

“But does the same apply to a Corrupted that lacks cognizance?” Frost questioned. “Corrupted don’t have a strong sense of self from what I know. They simply exist because they do.”

< In my opinion, they exist because of idealism. But it can also be seen in the lens of determination. Precursor actions and thoughts dictate what later exists. The former is the idea that the world is dependent on the mind >

“Idealism applies here a lot, huh. The idea that the mind shapes the world. It’s true to a degree. A State of Mind, the Corrupted Zones – they’re all proof of this. Determinism too since those thoughts have to come from somewhere, but that might be a stretch. Besides, like the Arbiter, I’m not keen on believing that everything can be prewritten or determined based on past actions.”

Frost reached out towards one of nameless denizens of the Corrupted.

“People have the capacity to change. As do Corrupted. The latter seems almost impossible.”

She was unfazed the moment The Observer Upstairs attempted to slash her. Frost’s movements were far more sluggish than usual, though this wasn’t the only side effect of entering a State of Mind.

All her stats aside from her AGI were reduced by a quarter of their original value. Furthermore, the DEF bonuses of her Quality IX Cloth were could not be used in this place, as this was not a physical realm.

Dying here wouldn’t even kill her for that matter. Nor did she have any intention to.

The talon that struck her was not able to deal any damage. While this was its domain, its Stats had not changed the slightest. She merely batted its talons away like they were no more than a pesky fly as she tried to find the Realization Criteria.

“I don’t even know what it wants, or why it’s doing this. I can’t use [Analyze Target] again, can I? Or at least learn more about it through [Observation I]?”

< Observation I is currently only able to provide basic information >

“Tch. Figures. What about its other skills? [Analyze Target].”

< Skill Analyzed >

< ACTIVE: As The Observer Upstairs Calls >

< My own hope lies in my outstanding belief in what I am doing is right >

< EFFECT: Slash the Target with your talons >

< PASSIVE: Blind Defense >

< Allow us to defend those who entrust their faith into us >

< EFFECT: Defend all Blind Jovialities >

< “Will they know the truth? It is better that they remain ignorant.” >

“Wait, it’s protecting them!?” Frost was surprised.

The only reason why it attacked was because she had reached out to them. Contrary to its evil appearance, it served these denizens for a just cause. However, the moment one of the Jovialities’ hands slipped from their faces due to the commotion, a talon suddenly found its way into their head.

“… Never mind. It can turn on its own on a dime. Why would I want a Corrupted like that?”

She considered eliminating it here and now so that she could return to the others. It didn’t seem like a Corrupted worth putting the effort into Realizing.

It would take time to discover it.

However, there was one thing she had not considered yet.

“Your name. Despite being down here, your name is ‘The Observer Upstairs.’”

Indeed, once glance upwards and one would find the true observer that resided above. This Corrupted was one of two things; an extension of that observer, or, it was bound to it like a puppet on strings.

She toyed with it, easily deflecting and dodging its attacks before gradually severing them off its body. Despite all of this, and its ability to look in all directions, it did not dare to look up at her whenever she leapt over it.

< “To remain unseeing is to remain in peace. These tranquil times are forever in the presence of those above. Will they come to understand? What exists around us… are here to lend their hand.” >