Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

79. The Reception of the Golden Index

Vast, empty spaces filled the multistoried building. The long stretches of walk along these pristine golden floors sparked the imagination of all.

Countless eyes wandered from each glistening corner as the ceiling rose to tremendous heights, bearing a single window in the shape of a diamond high above.

This building was split into two distinct parts. The smaller section was a train station and could be found in an immediate split upon entering this magnificent yet hollow premise.

A single pair of black, highly dense steel doors blocked off the entrance of this station. Huge could not begin to describe their size. They were constructed at an angle with various black chains binding them, much like the ones she saw that bound the Repository crystal in Little Tais.

Each chained link was at least 2 meters in length and emitted an ominous, glowing outline that oozed of ethereal origins. Yet they were strangely not. It was yet again the ‘technology’ of another Atelier.

“I know that look when I see it. Those are Dimensional Seals, courtesy of the Chained Theocracy. Don’t bother asking us questions. That Demon Beholder has never set foot into the Nexus so there’s little known about them.”

Cer was quick to notice Frost’s intrigue and explained as these chained doors loomed off in the background. It was a disturbing contrast to the gold that encased every imaginable ornament and object in this place which Frost quickly realized was the Golden Index’s Reception.

“But we do know that their technology is responsible for our Dimensional Storage.” Res elaborated.

“I thought it was a passive skill.” This intrigued Frost. Dimensional Storage was indeed a passive skill, yet they referred to it as a technology. “Unless… it’s a skill given to the Blessed because of their technology?”

“Yep. You’re thinking correctly.” Res said as they steadily approached a massive circular desk situated in the middle of a vast sea of reflective flooring.

It was made from a single solid chunk of an opaque, blue diamond. A red tablecloth ran around the entirety of its surface where stacks of coins, playing cards and neatly folded suits of varying colors laid like some kind of souvenir shop.

An overly extravagant one, that is.

“It’s similar to Beholder Galia’s Hyperlink integration. Like how only the Blessed can use it as if it were an innate ability or skill. They’re one of the few Ateliers that has their technology merged with the Nexus.” Res further added.

Interesting. Technologies can merge with the Nexus. Not sure why all of them haven’t already. What do you think, Nav?

“It is difficult to conclude on the reason when we do not know the implications of it, aside from granting innate skills.”

That’s true. And the triplets only know so much as well.

They further explained that those chains acted as an impenetrable seal that trapped entire spaces, objects, or people within a separate dimension. Nothing could ever dream of eating through those chains, save for perhaps Frost.

Their use case here was to prevent surprise attacks deep into Atelier territory since they directly connected with the neighboring cities. They were linked via railway which traversed through this strange dimension behind those sealed doors.

It was difficult to navigate through the urban clusters in events that required mass mobilization of manpower. Hence the reason why this was created. It also explained the reason why this building was so spacious.

It needed to facilitate up to thousands of armed forces at any given time, particularly those of the Scarlet Logic whose numbers could easily reach into the thousands.

Only the sound of their footsteps could be heard now as they approached the grand, ring-shaped desk. When all seemed silent, a mysterious man suddenly rose from the center. The resounding sound of shuffling cards followed and echoed in this magnificent chamber.

“Welcome~! Welcome to the Golden Index! It is I – the Diamond Suit!”

He wore a smooth, golden mask devoid of all facial features save for a yellow diamond. A black suit tightly wrapped his torso, as did an undershirt which was so dark that it appeared like a tear in space.

He had no arms, and neither did he possess a lower half. The torso merely floated in place like a ghost as all 13 playing cards of the diamond suit spilled from his void-like chest one by one, orbiting him shortly afterwards.

The mysterious presentation robbed them of their breaths as they were left in soundless awe. Save for the triplets, who impatiently watched on with slight irritation.

Once again, Frost found herself trying to discern her reality from an endless fever dream. A floating suit? She knew names held many meanings, but this was the first time she had seen it manifest in a literal form.

Aside from the Corrupted, of couse.

“I am but one of the humble 4 receptionists of this marvelous city! Rejoice!” He spoke with a wonderous voice as he floated right over to the edge of the desk to greet them. “You may find me roaming within City of Diamonds just behind if your luck happens to shine!”

The cards eventually settled into a perfect pile. Facing upright at the top of the deck was the jack of diamonds.

“Now – How may I help you all on this fine evening?” He invited them to speak, bowing his body forwards.

“Atelier acquisition. Get straight to the point you little stowaway fairy. It already took you 35 seconds before you decided to appear.” Cer’s fangs glistened with electrical sparks as she permanently scowled in the face of this receptionist.

“35 seconds.” Ber repeated. “That’s a whole half minute of nothing!”

“Can you two show some respect for once! I apologize about them, Mr. Diamond Suit.” Res sincerely apologized, tugging these respectless wolves by their collars like they were no more than little dogs.

There existed an unspoken rule between the Blessed. ‘Respect the receptionist’. Cer broke this rule by presenting herself with hostility. It twisted Res’ face into an angered scorn before she rapidly recomposed herself with a sudden exhale.

“We are in the possession of a Golden Ticket with origins from Grandis. It only has one known previous owner. We request entry into the city under this ticket.” Res succinctly relayed all relevant pieces of information, leaving Frost to wonder why the number of previous owners mattered in this instance.

“Not the usual 50^th. Quite rare. This last owner wasn’t the creator I take?”

“It’s highly unlikely.” Res answered, sensing Ignis’ eyes drill into her back as Frost moved towards the desk with the Golden Ticket in hand.

“How troublesome. It’s difficult to discern if these are the real deal and not some explosive counterfeit. Oh the travesty of combing through towers of coins on the daily! Then getting blown up by a false gold coin! But I take it as a wonderful sign seeing that you haven’t blown up yourselves! May I take that from you?” The receptionist asked as she placed the ticket onto the desk.

It began to float as if held taut by a pair of invisible hands. The man flipped it repeatedly, inspecting every minor detail on the ticket before it suddenly sunk into the void in his chest.

“It is as authentic as it can possibly get! Welcome! Welcome, welcome to the Golden Index! I take it that you Moons are not a part of this acquisition group?” He grandly announced as the lights within the reception suddenly brightened by twofold, and at once, a mass brigade of feathered women exploded into the floors and began to dance.

A bouquet of giant pale and golden feathers protruded from their attires like that of a peacock’s tail, swaying in perfect unity as they orchestrated an exotic performance.

It left them all utterly overwhelmed with awe, and others struck in a mesmerizing trance.

“I-is this all just to greet us?” Frost asked, watching the women gather close and wave giant two-handed feathers like flags. With each rocking sway a bunny-woman dressed in their highly erotic outfits strode past their shoulders to the front with elegance, each carrying varying articles for the women to choose from.

The choreography was perfect, and no one missed a single beat. She could only imagine how beautiful it must have looked from above.

“Just? You underestimate the rarity of such a blessed invitation! These are specifically crafted by our benevolent leader Carpalis! The tickets are destined to find their rightful owner. It is a privilege beyond comprehension! A hope for the hopeless!” The receptionist assured as the shuffling of footsteps continued, alongside the sound of multiple decks of cards.

In less than 10 seconds the entire building had burst into magnificent life.

“Only these ones are part of the acquisition. We just want special permission to enter the city.” Res stated.

“The casino. To hell with the city. We just want to check out the casino in Carpal Tower!” Cer interjected, crossing her arms as beautiful women dressed in the finest black suits emerged to look after the women, introducing themselves individually as the concierges of the Golden Index.

“Wait, wait! Before that – mind explaining what’s going to happen from here on out to them?” Frost wanted to know this acquisition process.

And with her deep mistrust of the Ateliers in general, she also wished to at least have some sort of guarantee that they’d be fine.

“I take it that you, the healer beside you and your red-haired companion do not plan to join our family. There are many forms of work, but it ultimately depends on what they’re best suited for! They will be treated like family. Else many of us wouldn’t be here.” He assured as Frost’s feathers rustled. “Fear not! We are not like Act X. Their theatrics are as hollow as the man who proclaimed to be the Director! Can you believe the audacity of such a fellow!?”

The man’s professional guise cracked at the mention of the Director, instantly causing Jury and Frost to gaze at each other with intrigue. There was only one person they knew who possessed this name, and before they could press any further, a mysterious parchment of paper floated beside the man’s head.

Ignis trembled.

Her pupils contracted as the world seemingly fell silent. The words of comfort that the polite concierge staff offered to the women fell onto deaf ears as the triplets, Frost, Jury and Ignis tried to process what as exactly shown on this piece of paper.

“… Hey… that’s not supposed to be me, is it?” Frost winced as Ignis made a strange sound, all the while Snap took a photo to the dismay of the little Frost who began to flutily smack its head.

“That’s definitely you.” Jury said, certain of this. “Golden eyes. ‘Looks like she’d eat you on the spot…?’ That drawing’s annoying. It makes you look like you’re a wanted criminal.” She then bit her lip, revealing her sharpened teeth.

“They got the eyes right at least. Not bad!” Cer at least appreciated the drawing.

What they saw was a drawn picture of herself. A crudely, pencil-drawn picture that was supposed to be her given that the name ‘Amalgam’ was written onto the paper with an arrow pointing at her, alongside a ‘have you seen this woman?’ and ‘looks like a walking black bird’.

It was like a kindergarten’s first drawing, and she did not know if this was on purpose or if this Director simply didn’t know how to use a pencil. Whatever the case was, it almost caused her to burst out laughing when Ignis stifled hers, desperately clutching onto Frost’s sleeves to control herself.

But she didn’t let this distract her from the fact that this meant that the Director wasn’t currently within the Nexus. However –

“This was drawn by another peculiar fellow that our leader Carpalis took an instant liking to! A good fellow with a set of their own bizarre deck of cards unlike anything we’ve ever seen! I’d say their work presented here is close to a magnificent objet d’art worthy of being framed, but alas I am no art critic like our friends over at ImpulseWorks. But hear this Miss Amalgam –!”

The man steadily grew closer as a strange card suddenly slipped from behind the paper. This card was four times larger than an ordinary one and possessed exquisite detail. A picture of a sleeping man with three swords hung above him. A fourth sword could be seen etched onto the tomb-like bed they rested on.

A tarot card? The Four of Swords?

It slipped right into her hands, emanating an undecipherable power. The card itself glowed with a semi-golden light and resonated deep within her chest. She could not analyze it, and neither did Nav know what this thing was or did exactly.

But it was warm. Very, very warm.

“– They wish to meet you at the summit of Carpal Tower! That is your proof of entry Miss Amalgam! As per the deal we settled with the Director, our first ever appointed Consigliere, and leader Carpalis – I believe it is in your best interests to meet with this fellow as soon as possible!”

Her feathers rustled as if a gale had rushed by. Frost deeply stared into the card, lost in its wonderous power as her heart rallied at the prospect of not only meeting with a Beholder; but perhaps another Archetype like herself.

It was kind of humorous to her that the Arbiter wouldn’t be the first one she’d meet. But it also begged the question of why they weren’t within the Nexus in the first place. Were their circumstances like hers?

She could only grandly speculate with a hopeful heart.

“I’m assuming I’m wanted alone, correct?” Frost asked, wondering if Jury and Ignis could at least come with her.

But as expected, the man slowly rocked himself left and right.

“I’m afraid that invitation is solely for your use. But fear not! The Golden Ticket will see them all enter the lobby of the Carpal Tower as a welcoming event! You’re already dressed finely for the occasion, so there is no need for our dearest apparel specialists to help!”

So I’m headed in alone. A one-on-one meeting with potentially another Archetype.

“Excited?”

Beyond words. I want to tame my expectations but there are only so many who know what I look like… let alone be able predict that I was headed here in the first place. It wasn’t the Director who drew me either. That’s why I’m assuming this person is another Archetype.

“We are also unsure of what they encompass, so it may also be wise to exercise some degree of caution.”

Yep… ahhh. But I can’t stop grinning. My cheeks won’t move.

Frost wanted to pinch herself.

Meeting another one of these people would mark the next pivotal chapter in her story. What awaited was all up in the air, but in a place where one’s best friend was hope in a place of odds – she could only hope that their meeting would shed light in the mysteries of this world.

And perhaps the mysteries of herself as the Amalgam.

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