Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

102. The Train Graveyard

A different stench of death reeked from the boneyard. The acrid scent was nothing but a figment of their imaginations, crafted by the wreckages that told an abhorrent tale.

The area was devoid of life. A maze of trains ranging from mere meters in height to upwards of 50 protruded unnaturally like outcropping mountains. These behemoths stood like skyscrapers in this desolate cavern.

A shanty town best described this place, save that no one else aside from themselves patrolled these ruins.

Only the sound of dry dirt and the groans of ancient metal accompanied each step they took. The remnants of people could be found in the form of half-buried bones. With how the Blood Festival preyed on their victims, it was no surprise that only their skeletons remained.

It was impossible to tell how old these bones exactly were. The same was true for the trains. Frost was no structural expert, so there was no way to discern if these trains had recently disappeared or were ancient.

“The trains of the Nex Megalopolis date back as far as 15 years ago. Disappearances around roughly the same. They’ve become much more common in the last two months.” Res provided much needed insight as they flushed through the area, clearing out the trains in search for their Train Cores. “But Caldera Industries has had trains in use for as long as 100 years ago. Nothing like they are now.”

“You mean they were smaller!? Nothing here either!” Frost exclaimed, clearing through the near spotless interior of one of the trains.

She had split up with Res, but they both ensured to maintain at least a good 10-meter distance in case anything suddenly appeared.

L.S remained within Frost’s immediate proximity.

And if it were up to the woman, she would have opted to remain with Res, but Frost had an iron grip on this Impuritas for two reasons. The first was that she still did not trust her entirely and therefore, wished to understand her better.

The second was because she was easily the weakest of the three. Frost had better odds of protecting her should the situation arise.

“Like – Smaller in scale, yeah!?” Frost repeated, plunging into yet another train’s cadaver with L.S glued to her back, giggling to herself.

“Bigger! Much bigger than those massive ones over there! You wouldn’t believe your eyes if you saw them in person!” Res yelled.

“Have you seen them before!?”

“No! I’ve only heard of them! Through our friend!” Res paused for a moment, obviously referring to T.C Gral. “They were up to a hundred meters in size! Used for mining operations in the Dwarhelven Region! With the Dwarves up north!”

“And war!” L.S announced.

L.S then elaborated that there was no shortage of conflict in this world.

Before the trains and many of Caldera Industries products; the machines of war were the first to rise from the recesses of their Atelier, located in a Region called Caldera just north of Dwarhelven.

Colossal, floating machines that boasted total control over gravity laid waste to the mighty dragons of the far east. Remnants of such machines and the unageing corpses of these dragons currently rested in the endless deserts separating Dwarhelven and Drakos; the homeland of the Dragons.

L.S explained this to them both in the form of laughter as they continued to explore this bizarre place.

“The reason isn’t clear. Haha! But the aftermath of the past trickles into the present. Flying within the Nex Megalopolis is punishable. Dragonkin do not get a warning. They just go *pop*.” She made a popping sound with her mouth, clapping as if applauding the mental image. “Parents must do their best to teach their kin proper conduct. Or they won’t have one to teach at all –”

“And that’s ok in your eyes?” Frost snapped at her. “For an Atelier seeking for universal happiness, you sound more than content with this. Are the Ateliers all full of hypocrites?”

“Hmm. Quite rude, aren’t you! Ahaha! But truly, that is the goal. Happiness. But such a thing is terribly hard to achieve. More than anything… people tend to seek a happiness at the cost of others. Carpalis wishes for such misery to end.”

“… and she can’t do it herself?” Frost hissed, leaving the train. She gave a wave to an oncoming Res and regrouped. And like Frost; she had no luck in finding anything of significance. “Haaah. Thanks for your help. We’ll explore a little more. Preferably in one of those larger ones. Then we’ll head out. Sorry. As you were saying, L.S?”

“Ahem. You do have a weird impolite politeness, don’t you miss Frost healer Black Dove.” The woman sighed. “Carpalis is forbidden from leaving the City of Diamonds, I’m afraid.”

“Huh? That’s the first time I’m hearing this. How come?” Frost was curious now. There were already a number of reasons floating around her mind as they moved through the boneyard.

But the answer was completely out of left field.

“Because she was involved in a major incident. Recall that terrible, terrible war between the 2^nd Branch and Scarlet Logic? Carpalis had struck down a number of Dusk and Midnight Teams to preserve as many civilian lives as possible. Yet poor, oh benevolent Carpalis was condemned by Marduk!”

“What? So they imposed some kind of sanction on her? A one-sided deal… what the fuck for? Stopping their bloodshed?” It was always easy to antagonize the Scarlet Logic, and this only added fuel to the already brimming hatred she had of them.

“The details are unknown! Maybe ask her when she trusts you better!”

“… there’s a lot more Carpalis was hiding then. I’ll remember that.” Frost carefully etched this into the back of her mind.

Their next target was the only boardable, triple-storied train. These were called Cruisers. Its design was identical to the one they took straight into the Nex Megalopolis. The sheer scale was always a marvel to behold. It was almost like a cruise liner. Just… shrunken down.

But along the way Frost noticed something odd.

“Hey. What kind of train is that?” She noted, pointing in the general direction of what appeared to be an iron coffin more than a train.

The skeleton of this vehicle was vastly different from the others, for it was made entirely of metal. Furthermore, it was also charred, blackened as if it was engulfed by flames at one point.

From what Frost understood, the trains could not naturally combust since the mechanisms that operated the train was solely depended on the Train’s Core. There were no other pieces of machinery involved, aside for the magical intercom and other smaller functions.

“That is… huh. I’ve never seen a train like that before. All metal points towards an outbound train that’s purposed to cross Brandar. But you’d be looking at one of those.” Res pointed out, reminding her that those large Cruisers were more suitable for the job.

There should not have been any reason to armor smaller trains if they were meant to remain within the Nex Megalopolis. Furthermore, smaller trains were literally coffins made of iron if they were indeed purposed to traverse the lands of Brandar.

“Isn’t that just the skeleton of a train?” L.S did not find this strange, however, missing the point entirely. “Not that I can see anything!”

“It’s the only one that’s been burnt and constructed entirely out of metal.” Frost spoke, approaching the rather… small train. It had only a single compartment and was more of a bus or a tram than anything else.

“Oh. Ahaha. Then that is odd!” L.S corrected herself.

Upon touching the black steel, she noticed that her fingers were smeared with powdered soot, indicating that it was indeed burnt. Moreover, something appeared to have been torn from a central, mechanical cavity.

It was likely the Train’s Core, although…

“A train without a Train Conductor operating it is impossible. Something else must’ve been inside. Not that it matters. The Ateliers are always full of mysteries. Even to us Moons.” Res stated, although, it was not like she wasn’t curious.

“Well, let’s go check that large train out and be on our way.” Having nothing else to find here, Frost began to head into the Cruiser’s direction.

“By the way – any news on Ber?” Res asked with a tinge of hope in her voice.

“I’m sorry. Nothing’s come up yet.”

“Tch… I hope she finds someone soon. Ber is… nothing. Let’s go.”

* * *

The train was heavily dilapidated from within.

Furnishings were flipped and piled onto one side of the train, all the while broken glass and rotten liquid sept into the wood. The stench was unbearable, and to their surprise, they found a massive number of weapons accumulated here.

It was the remnants of a battlefield, where bones and metal alike rested like the sticks of a bonfire. Blades found themselves stuck within the wood of the walls and floors. Others hung from the ceiling like deadly icicles, waiting for an unfortunate victim to wander beneath.

Knives, torn tomes, staves and shattered magical gems littered the place haphazardly. Stepping in any direction was a hazard in of itself.

“What happened here? A standoff against the Impuritas monsters?” Frost guessed, but she could not have been further from the truth.

“No. It was a battle between themselves. Have a look.” Res beaconed Frost to follow, pointing at a cracked ribcage that had multiple blades festering within. “Lots of weaponry. A lot more bodies than the number of people allowed aboard one of these trains as well…” She trailed off, arriving at what sounded like a grim answer.

“Oh! Oh oh oh! Now this is quite the find!” L.S shot up, hopping once and nearly had her head scalped by a massive, chained blade dangling dangerously low from above.

“Careful!” Frost yelled.

“A Ravager! Looks like a recent one as well!” L.S laughed.

“Ravager?” She asked curiously, tugging the woman along like an oversized child as they began moving again.

“A train that collects and transports criminals to the City of Spades. They’re accumulated in these and are not expected to live until they arrive at one of its sealed off Sectors. Only one person usually survives to tell the tale…” Res trailed off again, her face contorting lightly as they further explored the train’s cluttered interior.

Walls were split open with cold steel and magic. The protruding blades served to be a hazard to L.S, who had to walk squatting behind Frost. As humorous as it was to see a tall woman essentially ‘duck walk’ behind her like she was its mother duck, Frost could not find it in her to laugh in the darkness of this brutal place.

The skeletons told many tales of cruelty. The dust here were no more than the pulverized remnants of approximately a few hundred people. Charred bones and people impaled onto their very barstools and the walls could be found no matter where they looked.

It was despicable, and Frost lamented that she had the imagination to recreate the events that transpired. There were no windows here, and the crackling glass came from cabinets and bottles from the second floor.

And where the first floor saw the brutality of conflict, the second floor saw another harrowing encounter. The rooms they passed had the remains strapped down on beds and furnishings, whether by rope or impaled with weapons. Others with objects as blunt as a club.

Res was eerily quiet. Her breaths could no longer be heard as they witnessed the disgusting crimes these people committed upon one another. It went without saying just what the nature of these crimes were.

They stopped by one room where two smaller skeletons laid on a tattered bed. Their shadows were casted only by the light of Frost’s golden eyes. Res did not move and only stared at the sight as an unknown breeze swept by, chilling Frost’s blood.

The silence was agonizing. The sight struck some sort of chord within Res. But before Frost could determine what was happening to Res, the woman then suddenly spoke with a solemn voice.

“Orh and Thras were only healers. They were always smiling. I remember them always humming. Always there to lend us a hand in our early days as aspiring Moons.” She began, wrapping her tie around a fist. “Then one day, they were incapable of speaking. They broke them, Frost. They broke them. Their minds. Their bodies… their souls.”

She snapped her tie straight off, her voice ravaged with a searing fury. But there was sorrow as well. So much sorrow that Res’ hands began to lightly tremble, as her wolf-like eyes glistened underneath Frost’s light.

Res then slipped her tie into her dimensional storage and disintegrated the skeletons within the room with her electric beam, sparing only the two skeletons atop the bed. Afterwards, and following a suffocating moment of silence –

“… Let’s go. Let’s hurry and look for this Train Core.” Res swiftly strode away, regaining her immensely stoic demeanor in the blink of an eye. “Don’t try to worry too much about the emotions of a Moon. The only thing that will hurt me is if anything happens to my sisters. So – can you please hurry this up.”

* * *

There was little else to note during their brisk exploration of the train.

Once again, there was no Train Core to be found. However, at the top floor they found an intact body. They were long dead and were on the brink of beginning the process of decomposition, but intact nonetheless.

They just didn’t have any armor or weapons on as well. They were stark naked, and as far as they could tell, this person had died alone here.

But what was strange was that they closely guarded an object in hand. It was a black, hollow sphere around the size of a human adult’s head. Colorful particles excitedly zipped around within this enigmatic orb.

She first believed it to be the Train’s Core. But this was quickly disproven when she appraised the cold, yet oddly warm object.

< NEX Accumulator >

< An object capable of accumulating NEX… I’m sorry, but your Apprise Object level is too low to understand this any further. But this is odd. NEX can be accumulated it seems >

“Hey Res. What’s a NEX Accumulator?” She had to ask, staring at the strangely glowing orb.

“That means nothing to me. How are you supposed to accumulate NEX? That’s a currency given by the Nexus, isn’t it?” Res swiftly replied, also curious as to what the object was. “It does look like a Train’s Core. Frost… don’t tell me you’re going to eat it?”

“It might help me accumulate the NEX I currently don’t have, so why not?” Frost stated, bringing the object to her lips. “What, you want a bite or something?” She jokingly said.

Although this was obvious:

“May I?” L.S genuinely asked, lurching forward with her mouth agape.

“Go for it.” Frost allowed her to take a bite, and to Frost’s surprise, L.S snapped her jaw shut as if expecting to easily devour this obviously sturdy object.

“Haha!? M-Mer toof!?” Her jaw nearly shattered entirely, prompting Frost to begin healing this idiot as she chowed down on the object like it was no more than a ripe apple.

“… I still can’t believe you can do that.” Res commented, unable to take her eyes away from Frost’s all devouring maw.

And once swallowed, a new ability crept into Frost’s possession.

< Unique Ability Gained >

< ABILITY: NEX Accumulation >

< Able to accumulate raw NEX. Accumulated NEX may be transferred to others >

< … quite the discovery if I do say so myself >

Frost deeply, deeply sighed following this discovery.

“What the hell does this even mean!?”