Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

822. A Bird Who Listens, A Bird Who Judges, and A Bird Who Punishes

“I did nothing wrong, Uriel. The past left me in ruins. I reached a breaking point where I thought it would be better if I did nothing at all. How easily it would have been for me to forget it all and sleep forever… But my cycles will not end without action! It was through my tribulations that I learned the right way to enact the ambitions I had of a just world!”

The drill cracked. That crack ran from the tip to the orb above. It parted into two pieces before finally fragmenting into thousands more as Michaela declared with a hoarse shout that took even Uriel by surprise.

“I – by my namesake as the Arbiter – and my formal name as Michaela; promise you that I am innocent beyond a shadow of doubt!”

< PASSIVE: The Call of One Thousand Hung Juries >

< Innocent at birth. The bird hatched from the egg to perform its role as a monster. One thousand eyes look back at it now, demanding to enact its rightful judgement for what it had done to them. One thousand eyes stare back them in return, for they had not yet been punished >

< EFFECT: Emotional state rises dramatically. If declared Guilty, manifest black wings and experience Darkness Stacks until the duration of the manifestation period. If declared Innocent, manifest white wings and gain Your Innocence >

< PASSIVE: Your Innocence >

< Know what it means to be wrongfully accused and vindicated. Are you willing to skewer all thousand of them? >

< EFFECT: Attacks deal 50% more damage against targets that have determined your guilt. Become aided by the Arbiter’s Aides >

“THERE WERE STARS MORE VIOLENT THAN I EVER WAS!”

Michaela roared, her emotions overpowering her. She was rapidly soaring towards the Third State now. She launched herself upwards towards Uriel like the clap of thunder. The Castigation Bird’s great wings collapsed into itself, crumpling into a giant, coagulated ball of blood before it spilled into the sea.

Its essence was no different from the Sins of Uriel, and in turn, no different from Uriel herself.

“THE PALE ARBITER DEFENDED PARADISIO FROM THOSE SAME STARS! I REMOVED THEM FROM THE WORLD!”

“Michalea! Let me remind you that I’m still the one in control!”

Uriel’s blade was encased by an aura of red now as she threw herself down to meet Michaela.

< [AA] [Blood Art: Honored Augmentation] [AA] >

< EFFECT: Augments a weapon with manipulatable blood. Increases the Damage output by 25%. Utilizes P-Factor >

An elevated version of Arbitration was used. Arbitration had 5 levels, with the fifth being the highest and in the realm of the Stars.

“I AM THE REASON WHY HUMANITY PERSISTED AFTER THE ADVENT OF THE STARS! WHAT I DID BENEFITED THEM MORE THAN IT TOOK AWAY! HOW COULD IT BE MY FAULT IN THE END, IF IT MY ABSENSE WAS WHAT LED YOU ALL TO WHAT YOU ARE NOW!?”

Dark, shadowy maws were fired in between their clashes. The constant barrage of [Prejudice] caused Uriel to click her tongue as she slashed them out of the air. Golden particles emerged from the bloody sea where the Castigation Bird fell and slowly entered Michaela’s body.

She didn’t receive the Corrupted as part of her Collection. However, she could sense its power emanating from within much like the Corrupted Archived within the Floor of Judgement.

Finally, when her emotions surged to newfound heights, she was able to see the same prompt that warned her in her battle against Frost.

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

< You Are Drawing Power from the Second State >

An efflorescent light filled the hand that tightly held her daughter. At the same time, Uriel matched her power by creating a second blade that spanned over a hundred meters in length.

“Uriel… Utter to me this! How can I be blamed for your choices now when I was absent from your life!?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know how we became your Archangels!”

“I AM WHOLY AWARE OF MY ABJECT FAILURE!”

< Your Emotional State Has Risen to the Third State >

No. Not just the Third State. She could feel her emotions surging past even beyond that.

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

< Your Emotional State Has Risen to the Fourth State >

“BUT DOES THAT JUSTIFY THE WAY YOU ARE NOW!? IT WILL NEVER UNDO OUR TRIBULATIONS!”

< Borrowing the Active and Passive Skills of the Castigation Bird >

Michaela’s wings grew thicker. They were like massive, pale scarves filled to the brim with countless eyes. Each were several hundred meters long, and they latched and slithered along the rock, shattering everything in their wake.

The blood that dripped from her palms poured like a fountain now, and that blood coagulated around her left hand. It hardened, creating a bright, sanguine version of the False Price of Paradise.

But within its familiar double helix design was a golden glow.

< You Have Manifested Castigation Bird as the Third State >

“Humans will say that everything begins at childhood! Will you believe them here if I told you that I am the same!? I believed it was all for the purpose of your dream. But now… only now do I question why I was born into the hell you created for all of us!”

Uriel’s elongated blade split into a hundred segmented parts. It became a combination between a whip and a blade; an attack Michaela had never witnessed before. Likewise, her next attack would be something that Uriel had never seen, and the two collided moments after she received the prompt for her borrowed Corrupted Skills.

< PASSIVE: In Hell We Live >

< Cyclic laments bred endless hatred. The bird that punished the rest was guilty of the same sin they committed. So it punished them endlessly, hoping that it itself would never be punished >

< EFFECT: Gain damage resistance against attacks that resonate with the Sin of Wrath >

< ACTIVE: In Heaven We Seek >

< The bird sought to punish them, so that one day, they could enact her rightful punishment. The price will be great. But would that day ever come? >

< EFFECT: Share your agony with a target. They shall understand the price you have paid in full >

“I WANT TO FIND THE REASON WHY I HAD TO SUFFER LIKE I DID!” Uriel screeched at the top of her lungs, slamming her blade against Michaela’s.

“THAT IS NO LONGER MY CONCERN! YOUR WOES FROM MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO COMPARE LITTLE TO WHAT I HAD TO CONCIOUSLY ENDURE FOR EONS!”

< [OO] [Reign of the Arbiter] [OO] >

< EFFECT: 20,000,000 Damage. Uses trace essence of the Light through Absolution. This attack requires internally generated Nex. Stored Nex cannot be used >

The Light augmented her sanguine False Price of Paradise. The two exchanged blows, both moving their enormous blades at impossible speeds. Their clashes appeared everywhere across the skies of Mount Sairs for the world to witness.

The Light of Absolution, and the crimson glow of Arbitration illuminated the night sky.

And yet, despite all of this, Michaela was still not at Uriel’s level.

“I… Will remind you then… Of what you did to us… Why we… no, I was born punished! O’ Creator… O’ Cruel Creator… My Arbitration has not even reached its limits!”

< [AAA] [Blood Art: Before And Everafter [AAA] >

< EFFECT: Rupture the target’s blood vessels. Deal 50,000,000 Damage to the target. If the Target’s blood purity is lower than yours, then deal 100% more damage. If the Target’s blood purity is higher, then deal 25% less damage >

The damage only did around 20,000,000 damage to Michaela, but the rate it occurred was so fast that it would only take an hour before she would die of blood loss. This was not a Skill that could be blocked as it remotely manipulated one’s blood.

Michaela’s muscles contracted unwillingly as she bled from multiple orifices, including her Judges Aides. Her Ability from the Listening Bird managed to keep it from obstructing her omnidirectional vision, but she was still at major risk of losing against her own child.

Michaela’s RESIST stat was high, but Uriel power was at a level beyond hers currently. Furthermore, this Skill – denoted by the 3 A’s – was the same Skill used by the Angels to fight the Faux Angels.

“The greater the power, the more blood one can produce! Blood flows endlessly for beings like us! But we have our limits! All save for Stars! They can’t ever dream to bleed out! Let me share you my pain, my cruel Creator!”

With that said, Uriel finally shed light on the origins of her birth.