Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)-Chapter 1132. A Fallen Star’s Woes
< “The woe of the star.” >
< “His woe as he fell. The fallen star.” >
< “How many died because we wanted to stay?” >
< “Living is a paradox to what we became.” >
< “Yes. Because birdies…” >
< “… Cure people.” >
< [To Be Pierced] >
< [To Be Pierced] >
< [To Be Pierced] >
< [To Be Pierced] >
< [To Be Pierced] >
“How far I fell… never occurred to me… Because I couldn’t care less about my title… As long as I knew you were fine. And in my efforts to make rights from wrong…”
Raoul slumped forward. Stray spears grazed against her shoulders. The sheer number of spears being thrown was beginning to bog Cer down. As fast as she was, she did not have an unlimited amount of Light.
Furthermore, Res and Ber could not take on a Woe of the Fallen Star with ease.
Then, there was Abigail who required protection.
Despite the danger, and even though Raoul may not be able to resurrect a second time, she placed her forehead against the anglerfish, sensing that it did not wish to harm her.
Morale: 45
“… I overcompensated by isolating you further. After the Leviathan… and when you two became the eleventh Wandering Healer…”
Their bodies exploded. The anglerfish was struck by a long-range electrical claw from Cer. Since they were at maximum HP, it was the safest time to eliminate them. Another layer of the zygote burst. A hundred more Denizens spilled. Miraculously, they avoided Raoul and swarmed towards the triplets, with few seeking Abigail.
Raoul gently held out her hands, and a small, blob-shaped creature dropped into her arms.
Zodiygotmortem | HP: 6,000,000
It was a slime. Not an animal, but a monster known to slowly corrode those it came into contact with. Raoul’s hands sizzled, and welts formed along her arms. But Abigail’s bullets kept her at maximum HP. No amount of pain could loosen her hold. Instead, she brought the slime into her chest and hugged it.
Morale: 60
“No one could come close. From Emvita, to Brandar, to Grandis… as far as Dwarhelven, and east on the Spiritas continent. My rampage never ended. I hoped, that in some way, I could show you how much I cared by keeping them away. But, in the end, I became a weapon. A Healer restores life. The role of a Wayfarer is to protect the Wandering Healer. Neither of us… were good at it.”
< [To Be Pierced] >
< [To Be Pierced] >
< [To Be Pierced] >
< “The cure we held…” >
< “Was a poison.” >
* * *
“… Raoul…?”
“Mister…”
The confused twins, who were donned in their Wandering Healer gear, knelt beside a child who began crying blood. The blood that dripped from their eyes, ears, nose and mouth were congealed, and they clasped at their heads in silent agony.
“How come…?”
“… Why are they…?”
That child was not the only one. Another seventy-three people experienced the same symptoms. A collective, silent plague had swept in to claim their lives, and the twins could not comprehend why.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Wandering Healers could not display much emotion. However, the twins, despite being Shells, trembled as they dropped a vial. Golden liquid spilled onto the grass, which then began to rot.
“Poison…?”
“But… They said… Serum S… Is for Salvation. W-Why…?”
“… There is more than one way to grand salvation.”
Raoul coldly spoke. She had known about Serum S’ effects but had never warned the twins about it. She had mistakenly believed that they could no longer feel.
Her hands tightened into fists. It was another mistake that further robbed them of what little humanity they had in their hearts.
“They’re dying Raoul.”
“Look…”
“Hurts… I don’t wanna die… Mama… Papa…”
The twins froze, and Orth broke into a silent sob. Thras shook her head in disbelief, then, she gazed down into her palms, as if unable to recognize her hands.
“Raoul…”
“Murder…”
“There’ll be thousands more after this. In life, there are times where death is preferable to life. In that case, death becomes a mercy. Serum S has one of two outcomes. An honorable death, or they become a Moon.”
“But they didn’t ask for that…”
“They just wanted to be ok…”
“They’re lucky they aren’t part of a flesh wall or, or the Hungry slimes we encountered yesterday. Their pain is temporary. If they lived, then what do you think will happen to them?”
“They get to live…”
“Be alive.”
“Wrong. Scarlet Logic. ImpulseWorks. CogitO. They’ll be the first to snatch them. They can die happy knowing that there’s only one instance of them. They died as who they are. There is no greater privilege.”
“… As who they are…”
“… Is that… how this works?”
Thras wrenched her eyes away from how a mother clasped at a doll. It belonged to a child they wished to be reunited with. They could not see how this was a mercy. If anything, they had separated a mother and a child for good.
“… She had a child.”
“That child… had someone looking for them.”
“That is misery. Vanquish the sorrow in your hearts. You did them a service.”
My ideals. My philosophy. I put it on you, expecting you to understand. I believed you were broken as Shells. The blame is mine. Only mine.
* * *
Treachery was Raoul’s chief Sin. The Acedia in her heart had fizzled away, and in its place, came an insurmountable wave of Treachery. This manifested as guilt, and her heart wrenched as she was confronted by the truth.
Raoul was the reason why they were hurt. Her absence, and her attachment were both sources of misery for the twins. Because of her, she had caused them to believe that death was a cure. She had surrounded them with suffering, and instilled the idea that misery was normal.
But the twins were kind.
Kinder than anyone Raoul knew.
Within those eyes, and the blob she held, she saw a fragment of what she used to be before she took on the mantle of the Solemn Paw.
The old Raoul would have let them go. Their attachment had caused them great suffering. But the cycle would repeat. If it wasn’t broken now, then, nothing would change.
“I was the poison. My presence, my absence… My reasoning… Was to stop you from suffering further. But my efforts destroyed you. I broke you. Then I abandoned you… Never again…”
Morale: ???
< “Birdies. But we kill.” >
< “To cure was to kill. Euthanasia.” >
< “Why is life full of contradictions?” >
< “Wouldn’t it be better to not live a contradictory life?” >
< “Pain.” >
< “Cruelty.” >
< “It makes people happy.” >
< “Life is to kill or be killed.” >
< “… But…” >
< “… Is…” >
The Corrupted in her hands throbbed. A heartbeat came from within the zygote. The sound echoed across the scrapyard, and the twin fetuses moved their hands until their fingers were intertwined. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
“Orth. Thras. You’re in a state… where you can decide what you want to become. Please, tell me–!”
Raoul remembered the words Elysia offered her.
“–What do you want to be!?”
< “Wants…” >
< “Different from ‘Am’.” >
< “Can the ‘Am’ change?” >
< “Can we stop hurting the people around us?” >
< “No more contradictions?” >
< “No more cruelty?” >
Morale: ???
The slime flickered, and the eyes of the fetuses opened, revealing ocean-blue eyes, which then returned to their original, sky-blue color: the same that the Healers possessed. An air of resignation assailed Raoul. Her knees buckled under the invisible weight, and she stopped breathing.
< “Where do we begin?” >
< “It’s too late.” >
< “Raoul.” >
< “Raoul…” >
“RAOUL!” Res screamed. “GET OUT OF THERE! CER CAN’T BLOCK THEM ALL!”
< [Severance] >
Hundreds of statues emerged from the ashes of the scrapyard. A spear was held in their hands, their tips pointed at the zygote. Cer’s speed increased by tenfold as she pulled out [Lightpseed], but even this was not enough.
Cer may be Awakened, but that did not give her authority over a Corrupted Zone. Furthermore, if she used her full power, then she risked eliminating the twins, hence why she was relegated to protecting the others, and occasionally dealing damage to the Corrupted.
The air was sucked out from the center of the scrapyard as one thousand arms reeled the spear back. The attack was not a normal attack. Raoul could only sense this, and it was soon confirmed by a voice in her head.
Lailah
< A Corrupted capable of not only returning a Soul from Guf, if true resurrection is to be believed: but to also carry the power to eliminate a Soul >
< You are in grave danger >
“If this is the price I must pay…”
< “Please (don’t) say goodbye.” >
< “Please (don’t) let us go.” >
“… I don’t want to die either. I’ve only just reclaimed my life… But I don’t want to lose you two either! Please, come back! Orth! Thras!”
< “It must be severed.” >
< “As the Script has commanded.” >
< “Only then can we be free.” >
< “Free from the web.” >
Nothing could stop it now, and as Raoul shut her eyes and clasped onto the blob with everything she had, the air rushed back in, and then–
//////// < WARNING > ////////
< Where Dreams Begin has been overruled by the Amalgam’s Corrupted Zone >
