Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)-Chapter 1002. Hello, White Horseman!

There was more to the Eye of Elysia than its name.

But at the same time, it was precisely that.

Frost was stranded halfway across the world. She would not have been able to travel over thousands of kilometers within minutes.

She had the vial of Infusion S and the Angelic Warped Stone from Lammy.

However, she did not ingest these. They remained suspended within her [Dimensional Storage]. Her sole benefactor was the Eye of Elysia… no, Elysia’s Star which had led her back straight to where she needed to be.

She didn’t share a conversation with Elysia. Nor did she know if Elysia was truly the one behind the phenomenon.

Frost had only strolled through the desert, feeling a gentle, almost longing gaze affixed to her. It guided her with its light as water turned to sand.

Still, she could not help but thank the Star as she travelled through the dunes of sand.

While to the others they only perceived her time in minutes, Frost recalled hours. If not days on end though, that would be an exaggeration. The phenomenon reminded her of how the Eternal Library functioned when Anna called a potential Beholder through their dreams.

She approached the White Horseman. The figure floated and took an airy step backwards. Her weightless grace did not disturb the sand beneath her.

“Oh yeah. The White Horseman.” Cer said. “Gonna thank her?”

“We need to. But it doesn’t seem like she wants to get close to me. Cer. My Vermillion Moons. Jury. There’s a lot of Homunculi scattered around here. Please collect them. Argon. Let Caldera Industries temporarily halt their forges. We’ll leave once the Quants of Gravity reach safe levels.”

Frost raised a hand to signal the White Horseman. The woman’s ears perked up, and she suddenly stopped retreating.

Only for her to raise her hand back, signaling Frost to stop.

“One moment. Allow me to raise my wards in the event we make skin contact.”

Magical inscriptions of glowing light manifested several centimeters from her body. Her tail began drawing along the air, the tip leaving behind a trail of light like the tail of a comet.

Suddenly, the backdrop of the world changed. A white beam of light shone into the air. It formed into a white star as a supermoon manifested behind her.

//////// < ALERT > ////////

< You are entering the domain of the White Horseman >

< The closest equivalent is a Corrupted Zone >

< You may remember the Escape of the White Rabbit >

This looks much different from the Escape. Wait, do all Aberrations have a Corrupted Zone?

“We do.”

The White Horseman replied. Frost didn’t realize it, but she had projected her Will, hence why it seemed as though the Horseman could read her mind.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

“Domains. State of Mind. A Corrupted Zone. They are interchangeable terms, as they are a projection of our internal world.”

The dunes turned to white as snow behind her. Portals of the same color formed, and an army of white-clad entities marched.

“Amalgam… We’re safe, right?” A Vermilion Moon could not help but ask. They were not aware of the conversation between Frost and the Horseman. To them, it looked like they were about to have a standoff.

“We’re safe. Please focus on recovering the Homunculi.” Jury assured them. She clasped onto Joy’s hand, gently taking her from Frost.

Then, she took the Fragment’s hand.

“Is my friend going to be ok?” She asked.

“She’ll be fine.” Jury smiled.

“… Ok. Um… Is it ok for you to be holding my hand?”

“Of course it is! Why are you asking?”

“Because… it looked like that person didn’t want to get close to me. And the other people who looked like you wanted to kill me.”

Jury fell to her knees and embraced the girl without a second thought.

“No one’s going to kill you here. I promise.”

“Jury… Good.” Joy planted a hand onto the girl’s head. She merely copied what Frost and Jury did to calm her down. Since it worked for her, she figured that it would also work for the Fragment.

Her bright, bubbly smile belonged to a child. But the Fragment could see that those eyes belonged to something ancient.

Something tormented, but free now.

“You’re like me…” She whispered.

“Happy.” Joy said.

“You can trust Jury.”

Frost turned momentarily. She noticed that the Fragment was unsettled by their kindness; the type she had seen from enslaved Demi-Humans who were shown warmth after a very long time of trauma.

“In fact, you can trust everyone here. I’m not sure what your situation is, or how long you’ve been stuck in there for. You don’t have to tell us anything right now. All you need to do is know that you’re safe.”

“… Safe… Like with… Her…?”

“Lailah?” Jury asked.

The Fragment’s eyes widened.

“You know who Lailah is?”

“Mhm! Oh, yeah. Ok Nav! I think it’ll be better for you to see for yourself in person. The voice in my head is telling me not to say too much~” Jury hummed.

She still didn’t know if she could trust Jury.

But then a tail brushed against her face, tickling her.

“Just trust us already.” Cer sighed. “Besides. If you’re afraid of having your Light taken from you, then don’t worry. I got my own. If you can’t trust Jury, then I’m happy to play the role Frost usually plays.”

“And what would that be!?” Frost shouted from across the field, midway through approaching the Horseman.

“You really asking? The mother. Heh. But like you, I’m lacking in a few departments to give off that vibe properly. Gotta ask Ignis if biological augmentations on uh, what they call them?”

“Mammary glands?” The Fragment said, already warming up to Cer.

“Boobs! Yeah, we’ll see if Ignis can do something about them.”

The Fragment was happy to trust Cer. After all, Cer was the one who saved her. The groups scattered. Morgause and Horus lent a hand as well. Jury remained with the broken Fallen Beholder and a severely battered Rhyme.

Neither moved an inch.

Their fate now depended on how cooperative they were.

All that was left to do now was for Frost to properly thank the White Horseman.

The moon in the backdrop was utterly enormous now that Frost noticed it. It illuminated an army of easily over a million creatures. Puff Puffs, Anids, and Magicalis, and even humanoid entities resembling Princess Perla’s Paladins.

“Isn’t this a bit excessive for a greeting?” Frost engaged first with something light. She didn’t want to sound too stiff with the White Horseman.

“Nay. They are not here to greet you, but to take my life in the event that I attempt to indulge in Elysia’s sin.”

“The Black Horseman didn’t seem too worried.”

“That is because the Black Horseman is plagued by the lethargy of famine and disease. I, on the other hand, am attuned to conquest. A delicate balance ensures that we do not overstep each other. What is conquest without famine? And what is famine without conquest to follow? Save the thought. I greet you with the intention to establish friendly relations as the Black Horseman has.”

Her eyes trailed to the Eye of Elysia and she finally wore a smile.

“And I see that Elysia’s Star Sigil has answered you.”

“So that’s what it’s called… And what would that be? Another Star Sigil?”

Frost looked up and analyzed the white star shining directly above them.

Star Sigil

< The Faint Glimmer of the White Night >

< EFFECT: Establishes a link with the White Horseman’s Corrupted Zone. Seeing this means that a Seal has been lifted, and that the First Night is in effect. Creatures originating from the White Horseman gain a 50% stat increase while in the presence of the Star Sigil >

“Star Sigils are merely the projected light of a Glimmer or Star. You may think of it as a Will, but it may only manifest when one has direct line of sight. The Eye of Elysia is the direct Will of Elysia herself.”

“Does that mean Elysia helped me?”

“I question whether it was through an intent or by instinct.” The White Horseman pondered on the possibility.

Ah. She doesn’t speak with Elysia? I see. I was under the impression that she did. But seeing that she doesn’t know…

“It is a good sign if her direct Will guided you, rather than attempted to have you weather the storm. Her trials through the wuthering waves are, if nothing, destructive to the vessel of the soul. She must have noticed that you do not require… Salvation.”

“Salvation? Is that what Elysia’s after?”

Salvation. It was similar to Frost’s version of Corruption, only that Elysia’s was a destructive process. How could it be called salvation if one had to…

… People only Corrupt when they despair, or when their world falls apart. When their recessed, inner thoughts, desires, beliefs: unwanted aspects: are brought to light. Mine on the other hand, grants people a Corrupted Persona when they bring out the best in themselves. Still, we both target people in their darkest hour. When they need it more than ever…

To Elysia, and even to Frost, she could understand how this was salvation.

But did Elysia know how much damage it caused?

How tragic Corruption really was?

The White Horseman shook her head.

“Elysia’s projection is a one-way pathway. What she knows is limited. Amalgam. Do you know where Elysia resides?”

“I don’t.”

“Beneath us. Deep within the recesses of this world lies a place called Deep Time. It is too soon to consider delving down. Though you are already here, this is not where Elysia resides. This is not the Maw of the Wold. Nor does it appear that you have the ‘key’. Elysia, as you perhaps do not know, was trapped long, long ago by Gabriella.”

Michaela

< Elysia is still trapped? I would have thought that she was operating with the Lower Half of the Nexus to further project her Will >

< I was mistaken >