Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

930. How Frost Sees Mimicry

“Benefactor? The Black Dove? Did Usari hear that right?”

Benefactor was not a word to be used lightly.

The Repeneters of the Acedia Special Division had seen Acedia shake the hands of hundreds of guests in the mere few months that they have been active.

Not one of them, not even a Color of the same legacy as the Orange Disruptor, had ever been addressed in such a favorable manner.

Her heart was frozen cold, and like a doll she never blinked. Those emotionless eyes and the vacant, complementary smile did not belong to a human, but rather to a monster that imitated one.

That changed in the presence of the Black Dove. It did not go unnoticed. Bewildered eyes flicked back and forth from Frost and Acedia. At first they had thought she was a regular Color, but seeing that she was in the good graces of their boss caused Usari’s face to go pale.

Executives. Division Leaders. High-Ranking Repenters that sought to join the Acedia Special Division – even with their combined status, they did not hold a thousandth of a percentage of importance of the Black Dove.

They were paltry by comparison.

“Benefactor is correct. Please. Would you three mind stepping outside?” Acedia neither commanded nor spoke politely.

It was apathetic; devoid of all manners of emotions and cadence, like nothing truly mattered. Although, that smile, and her shallow head tilt seemed to tell a different tale.

“Only for a moment. The debrief can continue after I speak privately with the Black Dove and her welcomed partner.”

Is she apologizing? I can’t tell at all. She still can’t express her emotions, huh.

Aside from her obviously suppressed fervor in the face of the Amalgam.

“Usari… is sorry boss.” The poor bunny walked out with her ears down.

“Ears up rabbit. We’re in the presence of another Atelier-sponsored Color. Take that shame to heart and move on.”

“Uuu. Usari didn’t know she had a bigger wig than the Orange Disruptor!”

“From the moment she introduced herself as the Black Dove is when you should have caught on that she is a Healer.”

“My payday will be ruined.”

Their voices faded away the moment they stepped out of the room. The impregnable darkness consumed them, leaving nothing, not even their silhouette behind.

“Psst. Mutey.” The Orange Disruptor suddenly wrapped an arm over the shoulder of Icara. “Classified information.”

Icara’s brows furrowed slightly. She wrote:

“Do I not have access to this information?”

“Not even you darling. This goes above tinkering with Atelier technology. Best you don’t go flying too close to the sun again~ Sweetheart. You wouldn’t want to burn off what’s left of your precious wings.”

The Orange Disruptor disguised a threat beneath the layers of concern in her voice.

“Understood.”

The grey haired woman dragged herself to the doors. Her sealed eyes said: “How regrettable.” before she disappeared into the darkness.

The doors silently sealed themselves shut, isolating them from the world beyond these walls. Sound could not leave due to the thickness of the walls, as well as the presence of a CognitO Filter that was built into the desk.

“Amalgam.”

“A-Amalgam…”

“The Amalgam. Rolls of the tongue nicely. And Time Reverberation’s very own Beholder. I’m starting to wonder just what the fuck we’re up against here in this little remote town.”

Acedia, Abigail and the Orange Disruptor spoke in that order.

“It’s been months… Years since I’ve laid my eyes on you again.” Acedia resisted the urge to touch more than just Frost’s hands.

Those eyes could not stop trembling with ardor.

Status.

“Golden hair. Red strands. Eidolon eyes. Six years ago you were within reach. Six years later, and it feels like I’m gazing at a distant star. Oh how bright it is. Amalgam. The Head, and her closest aide. It has been so, so long.”

Six months had passed since Mimicry became ‘Acedia’. Translate that to Relative Time, and it became six years. Acedia had spent all this time learning how to become as close to Frost as possible, and in the process, learned how to live as a human being.

However, she was still rough around the edges. For instance, her face was far too stiff and could only show one type of expression: a vacant, doll-like smile.

“Far too long. I was supposed to occasionally pop in to check your progress. I apologize for that.” Frost smiled.

“You being here is more than enough for me.” Acedia spoke. “To be in the presence of the Original. It brings me much joy. It’s been a mundane six years. Hardly comparable to your exploits in Grandis. My heart beats with fifty-three valves and at two thousand beats per minute just imagining being a part of your ensemble.”

She said, adding:

“A mere Aspect of the whole can only dream to return to the shard it once came from. But that is the goal of my work here. So that I can, one day, join you in heaven.”

“It’s to protect my Healers. Please understand that even if I were to become a threat to them, then I’d cast myself out of the Nexus.” Frost assured her. “As for my exploits… I wouldn’t go as far to call them that. It was a war first of all.”

“A war that greatly benefited the Nexus.” Acedia said. “Gifts, glory, fame, a new standing against the Impuritas menace.”

Frost frowned.

While this was true, she had an entirely different perspective of the war. She placed a hand onto the desk and leaned forward, meeting her gaze with Acedia’s.

“What we lost won’t ever be made up for with vanity. The reason we went to war was to protect the Nexus.”

“I see. My mistake. You’re not like regular people. The ones that were taught alongside me. Nor the ones I had to strip apart from their bones. The more prolonged the suffering, the tastier they are. Nex flavors our food. The spice of life.”

“Those people being?”

“Candidates to take my role. It’s a brutal process. Written exams require blood for ink. Quills have to be made from the ribs of your neighbor. A piece of the temporal lobe needs to act as a fire starter. It’s quite brutal, but I did well enough to finally assume the role of a Director.”

Oboros Infinitas had their own miserable methods of creating Section Leaders, or worse, a Director like Acedia. Frost didn’t know about all the process involved, aside from that it was highly depraved. Each major Division also had their own methods.

Wrath for example was far more physical than the tests of Sloth. From what Acedia explained, she had taken the tests of other Division as well.

Aside from ‘Acedia’.

“Sometimes, there’s an Executive that wants my place. I have a cabinet of name tags I’ve collected over the last few weeks if you’re interested.”

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t keep trophies of dead people.”

“Am I not following in your stead? I heard that you had three heads attached to your waist at one point. Is it not your hobby to collect heads as the Head?”

Acedia sincerely asked. She tilted her head in confusion, not knowing why Frost was upset with her.

I should be careful with what I do. I wouldn’t want her to learn too much from me… Tch. How troublesome.

“It’s not. It never will be. It was part of a task of mine. Acedia. Try not to copy me too much.”

“Does a seed not grow to become a tree alike its predecessor?”

Frost shook her head.

“That tree might be the same, but you’re not going to grow the same branches or number of leaves. Either way, just quit it. Or I’ll never visit you again.”

“Understood.”

Acedia didn’t even try to refute this. The mere threat of never seeing her beloved Amalgam again was enough to force her to comply.

“Abigail. Come. Say hello.” Acedia gestured.

“H-Hi…”