Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)-Chapter 1098. A Star’s Concept

Atropos, the Server of the Strings.

None outside Act X knew of his existence, let alone Lachesis. Not even Act X themselves were aware of their role and namesake, aside from the Grand Narrator, the Patriarchs and the unseen Matriarchs. This was the first time they were graced by the presence of the Weaver and the Severer.

Even though they did not know who they were, their presence had instilled equal amounts of awe and terror.

Awe for Lachesis, for she was the archetype who weaved the Scripts.

And terror, for Atropos was the archetype of those who cut down the strings. Missionaries, the Severers, and their distinct scissor-shaped weapons were designed by him alone. The slow restart of Act X’s march hastened. Acolytes moved in fear of the consequences of their failure, whereas Missionaries and the newly formed squads of Severers flanked with but one purpose.

To sever the strands of life. A dissonant roar came from the Anids as they beat on each other’s shells like war drums. The noise stirred the air as a million Octanid legs pushed onward as a singular, pallid mass. Their legs mashed the marble until it became a fine powder, and their enormous number steadily began pushing the Mimic of Amalgamation back.

The very presence of Atropos had spurred them with insatiable hunger. They cared little for their life, and before long, a line of acid-spitting Anids formed a line and hurled acid bombs at Isolation Sphere containing the twins.

Res’ paintings intercepted them before they could reach the apex of their arc. The resulting explosions caused acid to rain upon their ranks. It ate through their shells, turning hundreds into metal sponges.

A single breach in an Octanid’s shell was a death sentence. Their internal composition was comprised of nothing but liquid. This liquid was pressurized. Once it left, or if enough volume was lost, then it was impossible for them to control their bodies.

It functioned exactly like how a human body did. When enough volume was lost, commonly due to hypovolemia, then one would experience a hypovolemic shock.

The concept was basic to Jury, and the solution was so simple that one just needed a powerful enough mass area-of-effect attack to deal with them.

However, the issue was their numbers. If one died, then another five were ready to replace them.

They don’t stop spawning. Res is managing her mana. If I can find an opening, then I can take one of the legs out with ||Localized Entropy||.”

The problem was finding an opening. In the span it took her to glance at the battlefield, Lachesis had already closed the distance.

“Gha!”

“Eyes on me, Beholder Jury. The smallest lapse in concentration has been the downfall of giants in the past.”

The tip of Lachesis’ rapier had found her chest. A sharp yet dull pain radiated from that area. It had not penetrated her skin. However, as she threw herself back to avoid a follow-up strike, she noticed that it had managed to puncture through her apparel.

It was an insignificant tear. But what she wore was made from Quality X cloth. Her attack had dealt more than 5,000 damage, pitting her well above the 135 limit she had initially believed.

Indeed. Lachesis’ level was likely a hundred levels higher.

“When giants fell, they left their imprints for us to prosper. For others, their deaths squashed the prosperity of the past, for better or worse. A kingdom is only as strong as their monarch. A web can only be maintained by a web spinner. Your life, Beholder Jury, cannot be lost here.”

“How can you tell me that when our lives are on the line!?”

“We are engaging the mechanisms of fate. My purpose. Your raw emotions. If purpose cannot be fulfilled, then let us at least prolong the inevitable with Nex. It does intrigue me. How emotions, born from the living, can be summarized by a three-letter word.”

Jury had no stats to tell how much damage she had dealt to Lachesis so far. Her tail connected with her, and her claws sent vibrant tears in space that connected with Lachesis’ body.

Whilst her tail did minimal physical damage from what she could see, her claw resulted in deep lacerations. A gouge carved Lachesis’ chest. An empty void sept from the crack. Stardust twinkled within that infinite darkness before exhuming forth into a cloud of glitter.

The spool by her hip whined as string was added to it.

“[Spatial Tear]. As it is allotted. The Mastery Skill of [Lacerate V]. Blessed have some quite unique naming schemes. For it to puncture so cleanly implies it carries the characteristics of the Amalgam’s maw. It ignores DEF stats.”

“Your ability lets you read out the Skills of people that attack you?”

“You are half correct. I only infer the knowledge that exists along the strings. Proximity aids me. No matter. My composition has fallen far from what it once was.”

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Elegant strands were plucked out from her hair. They were then threaded through the edges of her wound by an invisible hand. It sealed it off, leaving not even a scar behind. Jury braced herself, anticipating her next move.

And she was right to. Lachesis immediately flung herself forward: faster than ever before: and pointed her rapier at Jury’s shoulder.

“Speed cannot be countered by instinct alone. Although…”

Her rapier never met her mark. Jury was suddenly positioned beneath her, and before she realized it, Jury had cut her open and doused her innards with an acidic concoction. Jury’s speed was not fast enough to avoid it entirely. Sure, she could have easily parried it, but she had used a Skill to increase her relative speed to Lachesis’.

“… That is where intuition plays its hand.”

“Did you forget that you’re dealing with the Beholder who controls time!?”

||Temporal Stasis||. It was one of two new Beholder Skills she had gained during the War in Grandis. The other being ||Retrocausality: Temporal Distortion||. She had frozen Lachesis’ time for a split second. During this time the target affected by the stasis could not process, receive nor interact with information.

This also made them invulnerable to all forms of damage. It only lasted for a fleeting moment on Lachesis, but it was more than enough for Jury to reposition herself to perform a counterattack.

She increased her gravitational weight by tenfold using [Heavyclad Body]. This was also combined with the Gravity Cores installed along her apparel, which increased her weight by an additional 5x.

The ground shattered under the immense weight. She weighed 50 times her normal body mass, and this propelled her ATT from a mere 79,000 to 158,000. And this was raw damage. [Spatial Tear] ignored all DEF stats, after all.

The strike sent a seismic shockwave reverberating throughout the battlefield. It sent Lachesis flying backwards as though she was being dragged by an invisible hand. Her body was bent at an acute angle, and before she realized it, Jury had suddenly closed the distance.

An afterimage trailed behind Jury. Then, another split off from the last, and another. It repeated until thirty afterimages followed her every move. When she reached Lachesis, they converged into a single form as the tip of Jury’s charcoal claws emitted a dangerous, dark glow.

The one slash that struck her chest felt like a dozen, and the attack came from everywhere at once. As a result, her body contorted at multiple points as shallow impact craters shattered her shell.

||Doppler Strike||. It was a Beholder Skill Jury rarely, if ever utilized. It put a heavy strain on her body, since every afterimage she formed was essentially another body. However, that was in the past. The Jury now had more than enough strength to sustain even a hundred afterimages if needed.

As a result, the theoretical damage she dealt was exactly 4,740,000. Nearly five million damage was dealt in a single attack, and Lachesis’ body physically reeled. She did not express pain, but the cracks that had formed in her body were telling.

She was close to the brink. Her body continued to weave itself back. But Jury did not stop here. When she attempted to retreat, Jury held a hand above her head and clasped the air.

“No you don’t! You’re the one who started this! And neither do I want to kill you! But if this is how you want to play, then I need to remind you exactly who you’re dealing with!”

||Localized Entropy||.

The immediate 50-meter area surrounding Jury was suddenly enshrouded by an illusionary haze, like what one would see in a heatwave. Matter began disappearing before their very eyes. It decayed into plumes of dust which lifted into the air like a swarm of locusts.

It further degraded Lachesis. The wind carried what were essentially cremated pieces of her body. It was not a particularly powerful attack for a Beholder Skill. 50,000 damage was all it could deal.

Still, it was enough to destabilize Lachesis. And more importantly…

“My spool. And the rapiers. The strings… You’ve damaged them. They’re limited. A temporal phenom. Perplexing. Do strings and time not move in a singular plane? Strange. Because your Skills are positioned further along the strings, with the outcome preceeding it.”

“Retrocausality is the definition of exactly that. But I’m also curious about it!” Jury struck a genuine conversation amid their battle.

She allowed Lachesis to heal, which seemed to surprise the Mothlinen. Jury truly did not wish to eliminate her. During their bout she had noticed that Lachesis had refrained from using all of her rapiers. Furthermore, though Lachesis did not say it out loud, it was likely that she was on their side.

For what reason remained unknown. It was something Jury wished to hear from Lachesis herself.

So, did what Frost did, and what had gotten them so far.

She talked.

“I still don’t know half about what I really am. I was shown a future me that became a Glimmer. Almost a Star. A me that used ||Causality|| instead of ||Retrocausality||. Can I ask you a question?”

“… Polite, you are, Beholder Jury. I’ve known Beholders who impart their beliefs, their grievances, and their worldviews upon reaching the precipice of victory. Yet you are full of questions. Such curiosity reminds me of a child… Ask. I am here to answer, and converse however possible, for my voice is my own. My hands are tied.”

She gestured to the unseen strings holding her with a broken hand. It served as an invitation for Jury to speak. She stood in place, anchoring herself with increased gravity, and asked:

“Is what I saw a possibility of what I am?”

Lachesis’ eyes closed. She gave an imperceptible nod. Jury must have imagined it, because Lachesis could only reply with her voice. Yet, she wanted to believe that a part of Lachesis wished to oppose the strings.

But why? She’s both stalling Act X and powering the Fate Mechanism. I don’t understand her motive. Will she answer me if I ask her?

“The Looking Glass reveals it, yes. But one of countless refractions. What it showed was the role that provided the least amount of burden on one’s heart, so that they can rely solely on their given purpose… A mere puppet to one’s design. Or perhaps not one of their own. Corrupted who bear the Nex of the living. Stars who bear the primordial soup of pre-living concepts…”

“You are aware of the Stars?”

Jury was surprised. Few knew that people could Corrupt. Even fewer knew that emotions and Nex were tied to Corruption. A selective handful knew of the existence of the Stars.

Lachesis responded by tilting her head to the side. The uncanny gesture caused dread to pool within her chest.

“Beholder Jury. Do you know what lies inside of the Fate Mechanism?”

“A Star…”

“Its threads go back further than this world has existed for. So far ago that I refused to believe it. But when I was made to swallow this truth, I saw Stars for what they were. Corrupted, born from no malice, no greed, no wants, no requirements, but of pure purpose. Beholder Jury.”

The distinction caused Jury’s heart to race. Indeed. Corrupted were born from thoughts. Cognition.

But what about the Stars? They came long before people did, yet were also born from the Collective Unconsciousness.

Thinking back, Mort Toll was a Star that was centered around the notion of death.

Michaela, a God.

Polaris, a compass.

Then, what was this Star that was kept within the Fate Mechanism?