Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

913. The Allies of The Nexus

“Please look into this book.”

Anna flipped through the pages of the Code of Sovereigns. The text flowed with a red flame as it was written by the ink-pen the Crowned had left behind for her. Those who read the text written by this pen caused its contents to be branded into their minds.

After they memorized the contents of the Code of Sovereigns, Anna wrote down the names of those who were bound to its laws. Afterwards, Frost kindly guided them back into the Stage.

They assumed their previous seats as Anna walked to the center of the Stage and announced:

“I hereby announce your allegiance with the Nexus! The Bellum Empire, the Chlam Empire, the Kingdom of Slimia, the Faragon Magicracy, the Preserva Collective, the Marigold Theocracy, the Solar Cradle, the faelong Sanctuary and lastly, the Greenrose Realm. You are all allies of the Nexus from this day forth!”

“Eh!?”

“My Lord!? We’re allies!?”

“Does that mean we’ll be given a Healer? Can the plague be stopped?”

“We’ve decided that this is the best course of action. The laws of the Nexus are ours to obey.”

Their aides were just as shocked as their rulers were. They still couldn’t believe how easily they had been accepted by the Nexus.

While it seemed reckless of Frost to create multiple allies, she had enough evidence to know that they were at least worth keeping under her wing. She mentally sifted through the archives of her mind and reassessed them.

The Bellum Empire is self-explanatory, as is the Chlam Empire. They have proven track record. The Chalm Empire also supplies manpower to Justica Arms, be it humans or Elves. Their Gift from what I’m aware of strengthens either a person’s body or their mind. It’s likely a combination of both.

Frost was highly interested in this Gift. A mind-strengthening tech could mean less Corruption and higher Stability or Compatibility with a Corrupted Persona.

* * *

The Kingdom of Slimia saved many Blessed. Their Gift was, surprisingly, nothing all. As for the Faragon Magicracy, they were involved in primitive surgeries that managed to save a few of the Blessed’s lives. Their Gift revolved around temporarily extending tools to upwards of 3 times their usual length or size.

The Preserva Collective came across freezing Blessed and took them until they were ready to return to the Nexus. Their Gift was a technology that allowed them to preserve goods just like a Dimensional Storage, only that the goods were kept in a physical container.

Ignis voiced an interest in this Gift for an unknown reason.

Next was the Marigold Theocracy, who still housed injured and missing Blessed to this day. A flow that could record and recite the complex chants of a mage was their Gift.

Like the Marigold Theocracy, the Solar Cradle also currently housed missing Blessed. The difference was that the Solar Cradle had a decently sized permanent population of Blessed. Their Gift allowed them to significantly concentrated sources of light into a single point.

They were even contracted by Caldera Industries at one point in the past. That same product was used to glass the deserts of Scaldark during Caldera Industries’ war against the Dragons.

The Faelong Sanctuary was a place where Blessed was welcomed into with open arms. A mana transferal technology was their Gift. It was useless to most, but quite valuable to mages. Due to their civilization relying mostly on living amongst nature, they did not have walls to defend themselves against other nations who sought after their Gift.

Last were the Greenrose Realm; a nation that consisted of the rare Verdanians (plant-people). They were located in the northwest, right at the borders of the Anid Region and the Grand Wetlands. Blessed stranded in these dangerous Regions found refuge in the Greenrose Realm’s territory. Their Gift manipulated the climate which was how the Greenrose Realm was able to exist in subzero temperatures.

* * *

Frost oversimplified them, but it was the reason why she had chosen them in the first place.

“From now on, there will be no nation that can touch you without incurring our wrath.” She vowed. “May the shadow of the Nexus never befall you and may its light shine as your beacon of hope. The results of your screening have been passed on to Time Reverberation while we were finalizing our relationship.”

Information moved quickly in the Nexus. As soon as the Triplets and Anna had finished questioning them prior to joining Frost that information had already been received by Nav, Jury and relevant figures of the Nexus.

Then, specific Healers were chosen and asked if they were interested in the role. Black Wings were not excluded. Rather, they volunteered to join a Healer as an extra pair of hands (and protection).

Healers were as tightly knitted as ever. There was no way a Black Wing was going to let their sisters go out to a foreign country on their own even if they were in the presence of a Moon and Aspiring Moon.

For example, a Kingdom that suffered from a plague required an excellent Greater Healer capable of at least [Cleanse III], [Cure Disease III] and [Greater Healing IV]. For combat-prone regions, a Healer with proficiency in [Heal IV] or greater, [Prolonged Stasis II], [Corporeal Restoration III] were needed.

Generally, a Healer with at least [Area Heal II] was sufficient. In the Chlam Empire’s case, [Corporeal Restoration IV] was necessary to help remove the Silicon Rot in tandem with a Black Wing’s Healing Bullet as well as a well-placed shot.

Around 21 Healers, 10 Black Wings, 10 Moon and 10 Aspiring Moons were to be deployed. It put a hefty dent into the Nexus’ available Moons, but it was a small price to pay to extend their reach. Frost considered it an investment – like upgrading a building in an RTS game.

You couldn’t use the unit or the building it was making for the time being. But the rewards after were great and well worth the investment.

But this was no game.

If something happened to them, then their blood was on her hands.

This was the weight of a ruler’s responsibility.

And she couldn’t believe that there were people who could easily wipe their hands clean from the blood of their people.

She looked down at her hands, then, she looked back up to see the same Healers who had accepted the role walk into the Stage with outgoing smiles.

Healers were creatures who loved the world in earnest. It saddened Frost to no end that the world kept being taken away from them. Black Wings melted upon seeing those smiles. Like Frost, they wished to preserve their innocence as much as possible.

Only they knew the agony of losing one’s innocence.

Frost clapped to gain their attention, announcing:

“When you host my Healers in your Kingdoms, you will treat them like they are my children. When you are ready, you may depart from the Stage. But before that, please let me say farewell to my Healers.”

Like a parent, she felt that it was natural for her to do this. Even if she were to go through tens of thousands of Healers, Frost would embrace and bid farewell to every single one of them.

* * *

Her adorable New World Angels ran up to her and lined up. She knelt for the smallest Healers and stood on her toes for the tallest whilst uttering their name, wishing them good luck and finally –

“Remember, you always have a home to come back to. If you ever feel like you can’t handle it, then we can always arrange for another Healer to take over. You’ll be closer to home than you think once the Hyperlink Sites are up.”

“Are you sure you’re not actually their parent?”

I just love them so much. I can’t help it. I hate how helpless they are.

“Does it remind you of… that time?”

Kind of. But not really. I just have a soft spot for people in need. Good natured people too.

She squished the cheeks of one of the Healers, causing the girl to giggle cutely.

“Could it be your motherly instincts preparing you for your first child?”

I don’t know about that.

“I read it in one of Anna’s books. It was about a woman who looked after children because she wanted one herself but couldn’t.”

Sounds like a sad story…

“The opposite in fact! The story focused on how she slept with one thousand partners in an effort to conceive–”

HOW ABOUT YOU STOP READING ANNA’S BOOKS!?

Frost deeply sighed, right as Anna sneezed.

The Kingdoms witnessed just how much the Amalgam adored the Healers. Hugs, headpats, tail wraps – she gave the Healers everything she had. In return, several Healers pecked her on the cheeks. Of course, it wasn’t a romantic kiss.

But it perfectly conveyed her relationship with the Healers.

How could the Amalgam be evil if she was loved to this extent by the Healers?

After concluding her hugging ceremony, she bid them all farewell and watched as they left the Stage, all aside from Gerina, Perla and the Queen Slime who was oddly attached to Ignis, as were her entourage.

A loud choir of devoted chants shook the Stage. Their numbers were few, but their voices were as loud as the howl of a thousand soldiers ready to go to war. Impassioned souls thanked her from the bottom of their hearts.

And she could see that. Their hearts glowed with a bright blue and white to showcase their goodwill. Frost was left with a lingering wave of satisfaction. Everything had gone better than she anticipated.

Dealing with the Beholders prepared me for this moment, huh.

“Calling the shots now, heh. Not bad Frost.” Cer smirked, elbowing Frost in the side. “The world’s going to loooooove hearing that we’re getting involve in their business. Good thing is that it’ll make it easy to sniff out the Kingdoms we gotta cut off.”

She dragged a hand along her neck.

“Right Ber? Res?”

“That’ll be determined whether they house an Impuiritas.” Res answered.

Ber didn’t answer. She scurried straight to Perla and her Crystal Paladins. Her tail wagged wildly. The only time Frost had ever seen Ber act so excited was solely round her, and yet, she showed the same level of enthusiasm around Perla.

“Never seen Ber so happy to see someone other than us. Wasn’t Perla the first person to stick by Ber?” Cer said.

“In the Derma Layer, yes. But it wasn’t for that long.” Res replied. “Suspicious.”

“Very suspicious.” Cer nodded. “Ahh. Well. We’re done here. The Moons and Stars are heading back now. No need to stick around. What’s next on the agenda Frost? Spend time with Jury?”

“We refine [Amplification] magic. Then, we’ll figure out a plan of action to infiltrate Emvita.”

“And the Piece of the Fallen Star?” Res asked.

“We’re waiting for the Piece of a Star to reveal the general location of the Piece of the Fallen Star. Once we know what Region it resides in, then we’ll need to figure out a way to draw it out. We’re hoping it’ll appear in Emvita. A part of me wants to believe that Scarlet Logic’s heavy presence in Emvita isn’t a coincidence.”

“Are you trying to say they knew ahead of time?” Cer asked one last question.

“It’s entirely possible with the way the Fate Mechanism works. That reminds me. I’ll need to meet with Beholder Marionette soon.