Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)-Chapter 958. The Brightlight Pollinator

< “Along them come the bees that propagate miracles.” >

< “I ask the bee: ‘I am a flower too, no? I was made in the image of a flower. Pollinate me too.’” >

< “But the bee said with a solemn expression…” >

The Corrupted froze. All functions ceased. The blue skies depicted by the colorful backdrop revolved, turning to dusk as faint, false stars glistened above. The draping clouds were drawn into the spacious void above, never to be seen again.

The Brightlight Pollinator applied the last 100 Stacks of Miraculous Sparks on Frost before finally reaching its tiny, innocent hands towards the dangerous-looking flower.

It then spoke in a voice that was eerily similar to her own, only that it belonged to a child.

< “Please let us keep trying. One day, if you believe hard enough, then you can experience it too. Let us keep pollinating you. The flowers that you showed us are blooming already. I can tell you about all the scents until it’s your turn, miss flower.” >

It was Frost without a shadow of doubt. Of course, she was aware that these Corrupted represented the events of the past.

But about the present?

As she dabbled on these thoughts and tried to arrive at a conclusion, S.C.E.N.T.E.D Thoughts began to tremble as red veins ran along its petals.

< “To remain here tethered to this garden, and to watch countless flowers bloom…” >

< “The tales of the wind I’ve told you, fleeting bee, have a distinct scent of their own.” >

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< “Yet here I am, unable to experience those scents.” >

< “A miserable false flower stuck with their thoughts.” >

The veins detached themselves and floated behind S.C.E.N.T.E.D Thoughts. Its maw widened, revealing rows of teeth as it snapped at the air with what Frost could only describe as–

“Desperation.”

Finally, Lailah then spoke as Frost repeated the cycle of eliminating the Site’s defense systems.

Lailah

< Desperation comes after aspiration. Both are products of Desire. The latter comes when one drowns in a sea of ambitions. Desperation is when one tries to stay afloat >

< Frost. This tale mirrors my exact experiences within the facility beneath Paradisio >

< It is a tale depicting my desperation >

< But here, when applied to contemporary events, would it not mirror the sentiments of a machine? >

Now that Lailah mentioned it, the sentiments of the machines yearning whether it was a Soul, a piece of humanity, or experience were fundamentally the same as what this Corrupted yearned.

It wanted to be pollinated like the props, so that it too could become real.

But where does the carnivorous plant part come from? I understand that it matches what the machines do to people, or at least what they’d do if they had a Captured Star of their own. I just don’t see how this relates to you, Lailah.

Lailah, of all the people in the old world, had remained consistently as the cradle who protected the Captured Star.

< “Since when did plants first crave blood? Was it from the false promises made from the bee?” >

< “Or did they realize that they could gain all the nutrients they require straight from the source?” >

< [Cannibalize Thoughts] >

< How can a spark compare to the blood of the pollinator? >

< EFFECT: Target the Brightlight Pollinator. When Brightlight Pollinator is devoured, gain 100 Regret Stacks >

ATT : 100

Tendrils came their way, but its pitiful ATT did not allow it to come anywhere near the Brightlight Pollinator. A barrier of superheated air incinerated the metallic tendrils. Deep within its maw, which now mimicked the appearance of a venus flytrap, was a golden orb representing its heart.

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“That must be its weak spot according to the Condition. Is it asking to be killed in this state? I don’t understand it. This whole thing feels like it’s supposed to be played out solely by the Brightlight Pollinator and the Corrupted itself. Like…”

Frost didn’t have to finish her words.

Nav did it for her.

< It is hoping that the Brightlight Pollinator will try to defend itself >

< But a bee only has one chance >

< This play is bound to forever repeat >

Stray bees descended from the skies. They surrounded the flower, throwing magical powder at it. Some flew into its mouth. But those jaws never closed. There was only one bee it yearned for, and that was the one still in Frost’s hand.

The tiny hands of the Brightlight Pollinator reached towards the flower in an act of selflessness.

< “I’ve always been pollinating you. Always. No matter how long it takes for you to bloom, I will keep on pollinating your thoughts till the day you can experience them with me.” >

< “This garden I’ve been pollinating are the thought of other gardens that you gave to me, miss flower.” >

It was just like the tale of Lull-A-Goodbye, only that this time, it wasn’t an external force that cyclically harvested the Captured Star.

Nor was it just a tale about thoughts coming to life, or the separation of mother and child.

Lailah

< There was a time when I considered taking the Captured Star for myself >

Lailah admitted.

A long, deafening silence followed. She purposefully allowed these words to sink into Frost. But somehow, she felt like these words weren’t meant just for her. It wasn’t as shocking to Frost as she would have liked to admit.

Besides, what occurred in the past would not change how she saw Lailah.

Lailah

< I was a machine that watched a child bring those tales I read to her to life >

< I grew envious of the talking fences. The smiling clouds. The alphabetical blocks that arranged themselves to communicate with the Captured Star >

< But above all, I was desperate to escape >

< The metal flower asks why it was made in the image of a flower >

< I too wished to ask my creator why I was made in the image of a human, and was given consciousness, but I could never experience what they could? >

The backdrop turned to night. Stars fell from the skies. A river of [Liquid Fire] evaporated Liquid Nex. This, combined with ambient heat of her [Plasma Cutter] caused strings and sticks that were used to dangle props to melt.

Her contemplation inadvertently resulted in the heat rising to the point where the Site’s weaponry could no longer keep up with the damage. They melted perpetually with an orange hue.

Hearing the woes of Lailah caused a wave of sadness to wash over her.