Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

Special Chapter 5. A Moon’s Day Off

What does a Moon do on their day off?

Do they hibernate until their next deployment? Are they stored inside of amniotic fluids like the living nervous systems of CogitO’s Mediators? Or do they enter a state of eternal meditation?

Moons were the strongest entities third to the Corrupted and the Beholders. Celestial Warriors, Divine Beings, Bulwark of the Nexus – these were some of the names that were given to the Moons.

As conquerors of the Corrupted, one had to imagine that they lived lives of constant action. Their minute-to-minute life must have been so extraordinary that there was simply no time for them to enjoy what normal beings could. Furthermore, Moons were seen as an entirely other species or race from their own.

They wouldn’t be wrong. Aside from their overwhelming strength, the mindset of a Moon was what differentiated them from the common folk and emperors. Trash was no less valuable than meager luxuries. Love, affection, emotions – they were killers of the strong. Cracks in the armor are destined to be exploited by foes.

Even the strongest Color would be brought down to their knees if they held someone dearest to their hearts. Syndicates, Handlers, and Brokers were known to spread underground information comparable to the Guilds, spreading one’s weakness to either the highest bidder, or releasing it into the wild.

Times have changed.

Of course, this change was not reflected upon the world. It was an entirely internal change. Moons were not beholden to the world and its people.

Defeating the Corrupted was always their priority. But they did it now with incomparable vigor than the Moons of the old.

They had a reason to fight the Corrupted other than out of an obligation and to survive. It was to protect their home and those closest to them. Not only that – But it was out of pure reverence towards the Amalgam that had allowed them to be reborn.

What did Moons do when they returned from a deployment?

Firstly, they needed to return to Time Reverberation’s Head Quarters and enter their corresponding Department’s Floors (Hora, Minu, Seci, The Head). Their jobs would be finished here, usually through a debriefing session either with the Head herself (The Amalgam) or its representatives (Head Receptionists).

The latter of which were Receptionists who were appointed by Lailah herself. These Receptionists served as an upper administrative role within the Head, and the Nexus as a whole.

After a Moon has successfully completed (or failed) their mission and has finished debriefing, they would have to remove their uniforms, equipment and weaponry.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Only then could they be listed as ‘Off duty’. Remaining in this state was called being on ‘Standby’, which was usually for when they were expecting to be deployed on short notice or in the case of emergencies.

Their Dimensional Storage fulfilled their storage and retrieval needs as required. Afterwards, the Moon was free to do as they wish within or outside of the Nexus. What they did was free from the restraints of the Nexus with only two caveats.

The first is that a Moon must act accordingly with the Nexus’ Code of Conduct, and the second is that they must also abide by the same rules of a country or nation while off duty. There were exceptions of course, notably when they conflicted with the Code of Conduct as well as a Moon’s survival.

Indeed. A Moon must value their life beyond all else. They were under no obligation to save lives if theirs were in danger. However, the most valuable thing to a Moon was their sense of judgement. This veto-like power allowed a Moon to make decisions that can override all imposed rules.

It was a part of the Amalgam’s philosophy to make each of her Moons and personnel their own leaders.

Now then, back to the main question – what do Moons do on their day off?

Anything they wished. For Demi-Human Moons this often meant to indulge in a primal urge of the animal they took after. For instance, feline Moons tend to laze around, hang near the kitchen or indulge in their newfound curiosity, often exploring the Common Hub or the Nex Megalopolis as a civilian.

Fox Demi-Humans were similar but less prone to being aloof. The newfound freedom the Moons had felt like a restraint at times, but not to the Fox Demi-Humans. Then, there were the Canine Demi-Humans who were highly territorial and constantly searching for something to do.

Not all of them were like this. Moons have always been solitary people, so they often did these either expressionlessly or with a professional attitude. Nor did many tend to leave the Floor of Amalgamation outside of their missions.

Though this has already been changing with Moons now reclaiming their old or brand-new personalities. The professionalism was more of a shared DNA that intertwined with these personalities.

That said, the next thing on a Moon’s agenda was bathing.

The communal bathhouse was shared amongst all residents of the Floor of Amalgamation. Due to the sheer number of Healers, this water was impressively clean. There was bound to be a Healer in the bath at any hour of the day or night, which enabled Moons to be [Cleansed] and rejoice in a bath surrounded by Healers.

Food could be eaten at any time of the day. Healers and volunteering Moons who had an interest in cooking cranked out warm meals every few hours. The excess was stored into a shared Relay Crystal, the same kind that was used by the Guilds to offer Adventurers, Blessed and registered citizens a personalized mass storage option.

Or, there was always the option to ask a Healer to make a warm meal for them. Healers were more than delighted to help the Moons out, almost as much as the Moons were to help them. Healers often bothered Moons they knew to help then with what they considered menial or easy tasks, such as the uprooting or planting of flowers.

But one had to remember that a Healer was physically weaker than the lowest level peasant. What would be easy for the common folk easily fatigued them. Healers would often express signs of pent frustration for not being able to do repetitive work or feel embarrassed to keep asking the Moons for help.

No one wanted to see a Healer sad. Not even the slimes of the Floor of Amalgamation did. Moons certainly did not either. The resulting bond of a Healer and a Moon was the largest reason why they tended to stick around the Floor of Amalgamation. It was not uncommon for them to live together, as most Moons shared a home with multiple Healers.

And who wouldn’t fight with their all if they had a harem of Healers to return to? A harem was a stretch, but then again, it was not like there weren’t Moons who had tied the knot with a Healer… or two.

As one would expect, their personal connection with a Healer caused their level of hatred to those who abuse them to rival the Amalgam’s. There was no rule, no constraint, and no punishment that could restrain a Moon if such news reached the Nexus.

On that note: wasn’t there a list of Kingdoms who were reportedly searching for a Healer?

That aside, Moons who visited the Common Hub often did it to gain inspiration. If a Moon had just gotten into the hobby of sewing, then they’d visit a textile shop. A cook would dine at cafes or restaurants, then leave mildly disappointed because their meals were incomparable to what the Floor of Amalgamation offered.

In fact, Moons often compared their experiences outside of the Floor of Amalgamation to the Floor of Amalgamation. Bad service? It wouldn’t happen in their home. Bad quality air? Maybe if they had Healers to [Cleanse] the air like in their home then it’d be much cleaner. Houses built without foundations in this neighborhood? How primitive. An Adventurer with bad Trust with a Guild (A risk/vouching system. Uses Justiça Arms to arbitrate) is looking for a Healer to join their party? A Moon can’t relate.

Since time moved at 10x faster than the real world, they were able to rest for extraordinary lengths of time. There was no such thing a degradation of skill when it came to Moons. Once strong, forever strong. The existence of the Skills guaranteed that.

But, for those who wished to hone their skills could fight the Main Sequence Corrupted. No Moon has defeated a Woe of the Fallen Star on their own just yet, though they had no doubt that the Three Heads of Security would clear the Heart of Ours and the Blood of the Covenant with ease.

Having said that, nothing compared to knowing that there was a place to return to. A home to call their own, and for every Moon there was at least one Healer who would be there by their side, or to nag them. Even the most unfriendly, apathetic Moon had a Healer who would stop by to give a basket of their produce, or chocolate during certain months.

A day off for a Moon was not just a day off. It was their right to live the life they deserved. The luxuries they had were minimal. The riches of kings and the glory of heroes whose name were spread across the lands were useless to the Moons.

Their fulfillment and the Healers were two treasures that no king or hero could ever dream to have. When night befell the Nexus, there was no Moon who slept alone, ate alone, or contemplated as they gazed up at the stars alone.

That night a tired, rough-looking Moon sat on a bed of grass. It was a Fox Demi-Human. They were about to smoke from a kiseru (a long, thin smoking pipe), but abruptly stopped when a Healer plopped themselves down beside them with a heavy sigh.

The Demi-Human didn’t say a word. She didn’t know what to say to the saddened Healer. This Moon went by the name of Kitsu, who was a golden-haired, voluptuous Moon. She remained in her bathrobes, and her chest on the verge of spilling out.

She passed the pipe to the Healer.

It was a small gesture that meant nothing to the Moon. She just didn’t want this bothersome Healer to cry beside her.

But little did she know was that it would mark the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.Com