Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

665. To Crave An Electric Wolf

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

< ETERNAL NIGHT >

< THE ARBITER’S TRUMPET RESONATES >

The Corrupted was weaker than Cer anticipated.

With Frost’s blessing, she propelled herself forward like a flash of lighting.

[Galvanic Current].

Her trail of light zipped like a pinball from tree to tree, cutting them down in the process to open Frost’s firing line further. The fuzz of electricity mirrored her movements like a reflection, yet its form remained completely blurry unlike her previous reflections.

“Taking my trauma and making it a shell for you to call home. Shit like you –!”

Her fangs carried an electric current, and with a rabid bite, electrical aberrations were flung in the Corrupted’s direction.

“– MAKE ME SICK!”

Similar balls of electricity were devoured by her bite as she faintly heard the utterings of her twisted doppelganger.

“Fifteen little ducklings went out one day. Over those hills and far away…”

“You can hear it too, Frost!” Cer called out, finally coming face to face with the Corrupted.

It was a child-like version of herself, except it was completely made of a blue, ethereal material that burst with electric power. The glow was precisely like her mother’s, and its form was malleable like a slime.

“The mutterings of this mut! Ever wondered why those bastards took my jaw and not my hands when I stole more than Ber ever has!?”

“The villages called out for them to return.”

Cer’s hands instantly sparked upon contact, causing her to take immense damage. A blinding flash of light consumed them both, damaging them equally. All contact resulted in the same reaction. Cer could easily win from simply grappling with it and allowing Frost to bombard her with Healing Bullets.

The Corrupted was far from hard.

In her estimates, it was closer to a high Monsoon than an extremely low Eternal Night. It also helped that Cer equipped the newly upgraded suits woven with high-quality cloth.

Cer | HP: 50,000 | 40,000

Craving Electric Wolf | HP : 74,300

“Because those same bastards I trusted blamed me for a sin I never committed!” Cer, despite taking immense damage, sunk her claws into the maw of the Corrupted, ripping and tearing away endlessly regenerating chunks.

“But only one delicious wolf came back.”

In the background of the chaos, she heard Frost’s distinct voice.

< CONDITION: Craving Electric Wolf regenerates HP when in contact with a potential devourer. Consuming a substantial piece of Craving Electric Wolf will immediately deal 90% damage to target’s HP if RESIST is lower than 150. Prolonged contact will cause Craving Electric Wolf’s HP to reset to 100% >

The two bounced from tree to tree. Before long, the clearing they created grew to over a hundred meters, with craters shaped like a giant had taken a bite of earth scattered across the woodlands.

“One wolf came back because of the fucking monsters in this world! We were just children! Friends and family were always taken away by these things we have to call normal!”

Monsters and animals fled side by side, putting their differences aside to escape the absolute power of a Moon and an Eternal Night Corrupted. Rays of electricity ripped through them. Entrails painted the woodlands picturesque as Cer drank down a mana potion, her eyes crazed with bloodlust.

Cer and Craving Electric Wolf had not once left each other’s throats from the moment they clashed. It desperately tried to stuff itself into Cer’s mouth, wanting nothing more than to be eaten.

“Being on the receiving end now makes me realize why you always gave me that look. I gotta get rid of it. Raoul isn’t going to look at me anymore. And you – Frost – everyone, already see me for what I am!”

“Ham, cheese, bread and burnt toast were not their favorite. Tomorrow I’ll try electric toast, so please choose me next time!”

“… And at some point, I really did think that being eaten by the monsters would’ve made things better! Being as tasty as possible – wanting to be eaten so that someone could hold me at least once – that was my HOPE!”

The Corrupted was no more than Cer’s punching bag. The past Cer that carried her impurities could not output as much damage as her. And even if it could, Cer had a similar regenerative power in the form of Healing Bullets.

“Can you please keep biting? There’s enough tomato sauce to go around for everyone!”

“I thought that if they could see how much I wanted them to take me, then they’d see that I was innocent! But how can you trust a wolf with a pack of sheep? It was never my fault, and no matter how many times I yelled, thrashed, screamed, or cried they never listened to me!”

She reeled her arm back and thrust it straight through the Corruped’s skull before bashing her head against it. A sudden flash of light brighter than any before engulfed them like the birth of a star.

“Paprika and parsley. Ionized rosemary anise. If I shape my thoughts into thin strips, then they’ll pick me instead of the blueberry currents and galvanic tarts!”

Suddenly, they found themselves soaring through the air like a meteorite, burning in a blue haze. Bullets accurately struck Cer as they flew. A great blue eye swallowed the world beneath them. They crashed into an enormous, shallow lake that Ber had once called home.

Electricity cackled across its entire surface. The entire kilometer lake became their electric field, and neither had an advantage over another.

Cer | HP: 50,000

Craving Electric Wolf | HP : 85,000

Cer’s palms turned towards her face as she looked down at herself. The Corrupted had also ceased fighting temporarily. In truth, the two were paralyzed by each other’s current. Shortly they’d match it, and the fight would resume.

For now, Cer entered a lulled state, her eyes trembling as she stared down at her pristine reflection, right next to the half-moon.

“It became my phases of the moon. This part of me that desperately craves to be eaten. To be seen. To have someone just unravel these petals, past the obnoxiousness. I tried to make them taste my bitter truth.”

“Voltage sweetener. A phase less might help with tomorrow’s convincing!”

“Sweet lies tasted better. I agree, old Cer. I agree. It tried to force it down their mouths. Raoul’s too when my focus shifted to him. To be a jester was to make them come back to me. Even when I lost the twins, I still tried to make them laugh. A part of that bleak sadness never left no matter how hard I tried.”

Cer’s hand struggled to grasp the air, her eyes watering as if grains of lost time were slipping through her fingers.

“To be eaten was to be vindicated. Then it evolved from there, changing like the phases of the moon. It became my persona. An act for attention. A failed light for those twins we all wanted to see smile again.”

Her Emotional State had risen again. Perhaps it already has, and this was the Third State. She hadn’t been paying attention. The time spent in this short moment felt like an eternity to her. The only reason why she knew was because the calm surface of the lake began to ripple.

Her reflection finally distorted.

“Can I let go and chase after Raoul? Finish this act of mine once and for all and move on? Will I…”

Her ears twitched to a sudden droplet behind her as she raised her head to the moon. A hand reached out towards it.

But that hand did not belong to her.

The rims of the moon turned golden like the sun. An eye stared back at her before the figure leaned in, revealing a pair of golden eyes, white hair, and dark skin.

Her hair blocked the light, shading Cer like an umbrella.

“… Will you be able to reach them, or will you be stuck chasing the moon forever as you are?”

Her voice was smooth like velvet. A motherly, sincere tone put Cer to ease as she listened to that voice that came from beyond the void.

And with it came the soothing ticking of her heart.