Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)-Chapter 1090. The Grand Stage of An Impending Atelier War
The return to reality left them nauseous. Joy instantly heaved and clasped onto the closest person, her chin dribbling with bile. The group suddenly appeared in the center of an enormous stage.
It resembled a stadium. The marble floor was excessively large and staggered, with various platforms and ledges scattered throughout the stage. Others were held in the air with strings, and further beyond the stage: which was easily ten kilometers long: were the recessed seating areas meant for the audience.
Littering the stage were massive columns that stabbed through the ceiling, resembling turbine blades. These alone spanned multiple kilometers and hundreds of meters wide.
The sheer scale alone exceeded the ‘Grand’ part of the Grand Stage. It was a work of art, and decorated in a mixture of dark blue, cyan and golden accents. They were exposed to a false sky, with a dome-shaped ceiling easily over several kilometers high.
An azure light shone above, its light extending from the Grand Stage, past the audience seats, to the pillars that lined the perimeter like soldiers twenty-five kilometers away. They were spools of thread upon closer inspection. Frost could only barely make this out, and the strings were connected to a singular star in the sky.
That light belonged to a Milind.
Milinid
Celestial
< Patriarch >
LEVEL : 185ORIGIN : AnidHP : 12,500,000
ATT : 1,600MAG ATT : 1,300ATT DEF : 1,000MAG DEF : 1,000MP : 300,000
RESIST : 1,200AGI : 30
The thread that light produced was connected to the heads of thousands beneath. The marble stage rumbled as an army formation of Acolytes, Heralds, Missionaries, Severers, and commanding Exarchs moved like a single entity. The strings were mostly connected to the Exarch, which was then redistributed to the others, creating a visible chain of command.
What surprised Frost was that the Milinid didn’t seem to possess any legs. It served as the highest-level commander of Act X’s army, able to direct immediate Commandments at will.
Basically, they were up against a hive mind rather than an army of individuals. It did not speak. Instead, a being decorated the heaviest, and standing over eight meters tall, lumbered forward. The being was a cross between a preying mantis and a spider. Instead of scythes hanging from its arms, they were decorated with illustrated Scripts.
Their entire body was draped in various Scripts of many languages, and its eyes, hollow and full of darkness, were focused intently on Frost.
Grand Narrator
Grand Stage
< Narrator >
LEVEL : 90ORIGIN : InsectidHP : 5,000
ATT : 200MAG ATT : 100ATT DEF : 200MAG DEF : 100MP : 1,200
RESIST : 400AGI : 5
“Welcome to the Stage. The Grand Narrator, welcomes you.”
The voice did not come from the Grand Narrator. It was a discordant buzz that came from the collective voices of the Exarchs. They were beautiful, angelic beings whose mouths did not move as they recited.
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“Unlike the Stage Narrators, the Grand Narrator has no mouth to speak. It uses us as its mouth. They narrate by recording all actions to ever transpire upon this Grand Stage, and actions that shall pass.”
“O’ Venerated Amalgam.”
“How should this play begin?”
Frost’s composure remained the same. She had expected a larger number of Act X personnel to confront them. She was also pleasantly surprised that they weren’t immediately attacked. The fact that they were speaking to her meant they were at least open to dialogue.
Or they’re afraid. I won’t take my chances on the latter, but, if they want to power the Fate Mechanism further, then fighting us will only hurt them.
She cleared her throat, tapped on the belt around her waist, and her presence was suddenly projected into the minds of every Act X personnel present. Then, she spoke with unrivalled clarity, and with a voice that carried itself to every inch of the Grand Stage.
“I’m assuming you’re expecting this to be a bloodbath, considering you’re greeting the Head itself with an army. I implore you to reconsider.”
“There is a traitor in the midst. With a string attached to yet another Living Loom.”
“They are under my protection. The Head’s own Commandments should take precent, wouldn’t you agree?”
“We cannot make compromises, O’ Amalgam, for it has already been willed to pass. To fail is to break continuity.”
“Reality will not stop because a single Script failed to be realized. Will you consider refraining from combat until I finish speaking with Beholder Marionette? Your Script has not detailed a time limit.”
A deep resonance came from the throats of the Exarchs. The army began to move, as if unsettled by Frost’s response.
“There is none. But we cannot wait either.”
They became animated now. Jury tapped on Joy’s head, silently warning her of the impending war. Res was already drawing up miniature barriers in the air with her paint and adored the twins in layers of painted armor.
Raoul, in his male form, cracked his knuckles in anticipation. He was weakened due to being now part of the Repent Cycle, however, he was not going to let them touch the twins so long as he was still standing.
“Will you explain, or will I have to drag it out of you?” Frost demanded.
“For every second they are spent attached to another Living Loom, Act X loses a portion of its control. There are hundreds of webs, woven by many Living Looms. But there is only so much string to share. Others have resorted to mechanisms beyond strings. We are guided by a combination of strings and narration, for a purpose so generous ordained by our beloved Living Loom.”
“Meaning the issue lies in their attachment to another Living Loom? If I were to remove them from that, then will you spare them?”
“Elimination of the twins is part of this great narrative.”
“O’ Amalgam. It must be done.”
Act X were ready to fight. Likewise, so was Frost and her companions. Frost didn’t want of course. There was no point in it, but Act X had decided that it was already set in stone.
“Will you refuse to allow me to meet with Marionette?”
The Grand Narrator retreated into the crowd, and the crowd parted to create an aisle solely for her to pass.
The Director
< I will grant you the directions. Act X are unwilling to face you. Your friends must be prepared to fend them off! >
Nav
< Reinforcements are pending. Ber will be arriving shortly. Cer is looking for the right place >
Frost turned to Jury, and she slashed her own arm. The blood bloomed a forest of Unlying Tablets, each infused with a different healing Skill.
“Protect the twins. I’m heading straight to Beholder Marionette. I’d put them in that same preservation crystal I used on the Impuritas Corrupted, but they’ll die regardless. Their strings are their weakpoint.”
Jury nodded.
“They’re safe with me!” She announced. “Act X. I will ask you to reconsider on behalf of Time Reverberation. Failure to stand down will officially put Act X in an Atelier War with Time Reverberation and the Head.”
Atelier Wars were the most devastating kind of wars in Elysia. The implication alone meant that one Atelier was going to either disappear or become absorbed into the other. Of course, Frost and Jury did not plan to destroy them.
But the others, who only knew of the ultra-violence of previous Atelier wars, thought differently.
“It is not us who are waging war. You are interfering with the Scripts. Thus, the fault cannot lie with Act X. A nonrecurring character in the grand narrative–”
*Bang*
One of the Exarchs lost five of their limbs in an instant. The end of Frost’s De Jure spewed smoke as she held it outward with a single hand. She had used a buckshot variant of her blood-crystal bullet, and by using precognition, she was able to strike the Exarch with a non-lethal shot.
“Enough.”
Frost’s voice took over. It boomed in the minds of Act X’s army. There was no point in stalling anymore. So, she decided to at least get the first shot in.
*Bang* *Bang*
*Bang* *Bang*
*Bang* *Bang*
Another eight Exarchs went down, and before Act X could even comprehend what had occurred, she was already barreling through the aisle. No sooner than she disappeared did an electric beam scorched the front lines, leaving many maimed in the blink of an eye.
“Frost has the right idea. But… Good luck.” Res was confident Frost could win against Beholder Marionette.
But not unscathed.
With Frost now gone, Res took it upon herself to fight offensively whilst Jury focused on defending the twins. Acedia gleefully grinned, admiring the buffet before her.
That soon turned sour when she noticed another mimic in the image of Frost fighting within Act X’s ranks.
“Another mimic? Mother, you left me a sibling? Ah, could it be a way of testing me? I see. I shall maim ten times more than yours as proof of my superiority.”
“Act X hasn’t sent everything yet.” Raoul noted. “Don’t waste your mana. Keep it simple.”
* * *
//////// < EXTREME WARNING > ////////
< ATELIER WAR >
< City of Strings, the Heart of Act X, 351 PA >
< Time Reverberation | The Head: Act X >
