Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)-Chapter 1127. Raoul, The Wolf of the Moon

Hati was the name of his Corrupted Persona; his Crystalized Ego.

It was the same body he had transformed into while they were inside of the Audition. The difference here, however, was that she was her stats were significantly higher than before.

Raoul

Hati Form

< The Wolf of the Moon >

LEVEL : 50ORIGIN : Demi-Human (Wolf)HP : 3,500

ATT : 320MAG ATT : 200ATT DEF : 100MAG DEF : 100MP : 5,200

RESIST : 30AGI : 18

“… Hati Form. I’m wearing it…?”

“First State Manifestation.” Cer corrected immediately. “Fuck off.”

“What happened?” Raoul tilted her head, wondering why Cer was suddenly annoyed.

“Tch.” She clicked her tongue and tore her eyes away from Raoul’s chest. “Maybe I’ll ask Polaris for an upgrade.”

Res exhaled suddenly, as if she had been holding her breath this entire time. She didn’t have words to share with Raoul. But it was obvious that she was relieved that Raoul had managed to finally escape their nihility.

Ber on the other hand wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. She resisted the urge to call her ‘Big Sis Raoul’. For now, she remained somber and gave Raoul a soft, accepting smile.

“… I’m glad you woke up.”

“I’m… glad I did too. I don’t know what the future holds… But… At least now… I can start trying to figure it out.”

Raoul checked her stats again, and she received another prompt showcasing her Corrupted Persona.

Hati

< The Wolf Who Chased the Moon >

ORIGIN : HatiAFFINITY : Desire

TYPE : Transformation

< EFFECT: Stats of Hati varies per manifested Emotional State. Corrupted Skills are freely available at the risk of Instability. Manifesting Hati gradually increases your stats until you reach the level of a Moon at the Fourth State. At the Fifth State… >

Raoul wanted to burst out laughing. She had gone from a Star to a Moon, just as how Cer had gone from a Moon to a Star. It couldn’t be more fitting. Furthermore, she liked that this body was stronger than her original. That way, her original body could be used for more mundane tasks.

… Cooking, perhaps.

This was a body designed to protect the ‘Self’, as it was the role of the Ego.

Raoul dropped to her knees. She had finally lost strength in them, and she could only look at herself with utter gratitude.

“… I have something to work forward to. Hah… Aha… Hah… Frost… Really… I can see why… you imprinted on her…”

Raoul stifled a laugh and remained on her knees, savoring the moment. The rime in her heart finally thawed, freeing the Raoul she once was.

Had Frost been her teacher, then she undoubtedly would have understood herself sooner. She was no longer tethered to others. Raoul vowed to live only for herself. Nor would she let anyone she loved out of her reach again. Not out of selfishness, of course.

However, their moment of relief was short lived.

“Raoul…” (Orth).

“… Raoul…” (Thras).

The twins whispered. The light in their eyes disappeared, and in their place, were dark spirals resembling the wheels of a train.

*Tick*

“You were suffering…?”

“All this time…?”

*Tock*

“ABIGAIL, MOVE!” Cer cried out and sent an Absolution-empowered lightning bolt at the twins, only for it to be repelled by an invisible force. “Tch! Where did Jury put the Isolation Sphere!?”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“It… It should be in the center!” Res blurted out, but they quickly realized that the Isolation Sphere had disappeared. “Where… Raoul, you were here first. Where did it go!?”

Raoul was confused as to why there so panicked. The Isolation Sphere was advantageous to them. So long as they were inside then the twins were safe. Besides, they had three Moons to help Orth and Thras.

They’re terrified. How come?

Her sisters didn’t answer her. There was no need to state the obvious. As Raoul wracked her mind in search of an answer, a voice suddenly spoke to her.

Lailah

< An Isolation Sphere, at its core, is a terrarium independent from Universal Time >

< Corrupted Zones function in a similar way. Time is altered within a Corrupted Zone >

< It may be hijacked by a Corrupted to use it to expand its reach, thus, creating a Corrupted Zone >

“RAOUL!” Res cried.

“It… was in the center. It must have been destroyed. When did it…?”

Lailah

< You manifested a miniature Corrupted Zone. That was what must have destroyed it >

< They must have begun Corrupting before you Subjugated that Corrupted of yours >

< The overlap allowed them to take over the Isolation Sphere’s lingering effect >

< I did not take Elysia to be this cunning >

< After all, she did make a spectacle out of you in front of the two most vulnerable people in the Isolation Sphere >

A chilling realization dawned over Raoul as the Isolation Sphere’s diameter reached over a kilometer.

“Elysia was after you two…”

A reddish light smeared across the skies.

Dotted between were dark smudges that resembled distorted faces. Beneath, just below the horizon, were pale scrapyards containing colossal objects. Rotting beds stood on one side like monoliths. Broken chains were wrapped around the wreckage of an enormous train. Further beyond were mountains of the same scrapyards, recycled endlessly across an infinite horizon.

At the top of each scrapyard was a tree in the shape of a feminine figure. Some were in a fetal position; their knees tucked to their chest and their face buried into their knees. Others carried a blade and held it to the throat of a scarecrow made from white scrap metal. Fewer were in the image of the figure drawing a blade to their throat, and only one was of the figure holding a hand towards a tiny, broken cocoon.

“We hurt you.”

“People like us did.”

*Tick*

“… We’re supposed to be Healers.”

“Supposed to Heal.”

*Tock.*

A pink, fleshy balloon descended from the sky and swallowed the two. They sank into its membrane, their skin fusing with its exterior. It gradually became transparent as the two were spread across their entire mass.

The balloon was fifty meters in diameter. Within were multiple layers of smaller balloons, each coiled with veins and arteries. Splaying across each individual balloon was also a different specimen. The first and outermost layer were scars that resembled a giant love heart.

There were twelve layers beneath the love heart, making for a total of twelve dissected animals that were represented along each layer. The innermost layer held two embryos that faced inwards with one another, their hands linked, and their umbilical cords wrapped around their throats.

Raoul then realized that this was a womb.

< “We never wanted to be Healers.” >

< “Never.” >

< “And we made you want to die?”

< “Stab yourself?” >

A white liquid oozed from a passage beneath the love heart. A butterfly, which was split open in the middle, spat out of it like phlegm. The butterfly were two butterflies fused back-to-back into one singular organism.

< “If we are not Healers…” >

< “… Then what are we?” >

< “Sorry.” >

< “I’m sorry.” >

< “Maybe it’s for the best that we disappear.” >

< “Both of us.” >

< [To Be Pierced] >

One of the trees became animated. It gathered a spear into one hand and hurled it at the mass, tearing it as white liquid flooded free from the wound.

< “So that you may be cured.” >

< “Be cured.” >

Raoul lurched forward and threw up blood. She couldn’t comprehend the sight before her. Her mind rejected it, and her body instinctively trembled in utter revulsion. She had seen countless horrors in her long life.

But nothing compared to this.

Raoul wished for them to Corrupt. That was her original plan.

She did not believe that even as the Wise Black Wolf she would have accepted the twins if they Corrupted into this.

The creature before them was a twisted parody of Orth and Thras’ despair made manifest.

“Get up.” Cer commanded as a boot stomped into the puddle of vomit. “You’re needed now more than ever. Abigail.”

“… Yes…” Abigal breathed, wishing she could erase the image from her mind.

“Maintain Raoul’s HP. Do not move from there.”

“Sis… Raoul’s going to be the key Condition.” Res had already guessed this, given that Raoul was central to the twins.

Ber nodded.

“Nav thinks so too. Prioritize protecting Raoul. We’ll wait for Frost and the Conditions in the meantime. She’ll be here soon.”

The triplets had enough experience in dealing with the Corrupted that they could make educated guesses on a Corrupted’s Conditions. It also helped that Cer’s mental thoughtput was over ten times faster than everyone who was present combined. A nod from her may as well be a confirmation.

Raoul steadily rose to her feet.

It was her fault that they Corrupted. Her absence in their life, as well as her inability to communicate with them, led them to believe that they were the reason she wanted to die.

Raoul only had one chance to make amends with the twins.

//////// < WARNING > ////////

< ORTH AND THRAS’ CORRUPTION EVENT HAS BEGUN >

< WOE OF THE FALLEN STAR >

< THE ARBITER’S TRUMPET WAILS >

<Zodizygotmortem >

< For our next act, we will make our hearts disappear! >

Lailah

< Clasp your Ego. Annihilate their Shadow. May you help them find themselves >

She could not fail them again.