Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

845. The Only Ilya

“ILYA!”

The dark medium denied everything that was not a part of Michaela’s soul. Her wings should have remained, as with all 7 of her tails, but the Qliphoth Corrosion had destroyed everything she had.

All that remained was a wingless Arbiter with a tail that carried the power to open Guf; the tail that Elysia also possessed. Her pale, ghostly hair matched the color of her bare flesh. She was like an apparition roaming the void; an existence she was all to familiar with.

This lonely world was where Ilya had been living for 15 years. But she knew that Ilya been lonely for far longer than that.

Michaela’s body burned as she fell arms first deeper into the medium. Moving even an inch in this world resulted in her pallid flesh to flake off, revealing a meld of red and gold. It was the primordial goop that made up her soul. The Primordial Factor that allowed her to maintain her shape as the Michaela that the world knew would no longer exist.

And still she approached the pale bead of light. It was Ilya. She sat cradling her knees in her lonesome, her eyes sealed shut. Ilya had not moved from that position for 15 years. If she did, then her soul would not have been so pristine.

“ILYAAAAAA!” Michaela screamed as she reached a veil that separated her from Ilya.

Ilya’s eyes quivered. Slowly, they opened to reveal the same gold that stared back at her from above.

“Ah…?”

“I’M HERE!” Michaela’s hands plunged into the material. It resisted her as it swallowed her arms whole, refusing to give in. Likewise, Michaela did not allow herself to be beaten by this veil.

And so, she howled at the top of her lungs as she pushed with everything her soul could muster.

“TAKE MY HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!”

“Moth… er…” Ilya looked up.

Merely glancing in her direction caused her to wince. But this did not come from the pain of moving in this world. It seemed that it was only Michaela who experienced this. She did not belong in here, after all.

The reason why Ilya made such a face was because she could never have imagined seeing her mother’s face again.

“Mother! Why…? You’ll disappear if you come too close! You can’t! I’ve… already forgotten about living out there. I can just stay here…”

“THE REASON WHY I LOST YOU WAS BECAUSE I COULD NEVER REACH OUT TO YOUR HAND!”

Ilya’s eyes widened. The raw emotions that gushed from her lips and from those eyes like a fountain was a sight she had never seen before. Her mother, who only smiled and would occasionally pat her head, risked her life like it was meaningless to live without her.

She did not forget the words that were spoken to her by Frost.

And here, Ilya finally realized the truth to those words.

Her mother never hated her.

Slowly, she gravitated towards her with a longing expression.

Michaela grounded her teeth. Her eyes burned with unstoppable conviction, becoming her blade as she pierced through the veil.

“I WILL NEVER MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN!”

Her arms burned as they entered Ilya’s domain. The medium here was thicker than where the rest of Michaela’s body resided. Chunks of her arms flaked away, and so did her face.

“COME!”

Ilya tried to reach out to grasp her hand, but she could not move any further. Her hand struggled to reach her mothers. Then, Michaela threw herself deeper with an agonizing gasp and clasped onto the tiny wrist of her daughter.

She pulled on Ilya with her entire weight.

“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ILYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

And with one, last heave – Ilya burst through the veil, her arms immediately wrapping around the body of her mother. A flash of light encased them as Michaela’s damaged soul began to mend upon Ilya’s touch.

Held with Ilya’s hand, despite her claims of having forgotten about the real world, was a golden apple that symbolized her longing for her mother.

“Mother… I’m… I’m…!”

A warm hand soothingly cupped the back of her head and drew her close. Ilya’s fears, her worries, her sorrows and despairs melted away in the embrace of her mother.

“It’s ok, my Ilya.” Michaela cooed motherly, stroking the back of her daughter’s head. “You don’t have to worry anymore. Everything will be fine. I’m here now.”

The darkness surrounding them turned to light.

They were suspended in an infinitely bright expanse. If Michaela hadn’t known any better, then she would have believed that they were in Heaven, left to embrace each other for all eternity.

It wouldn’t be a bad thing, to end it like this.

The only thing she wanted… the one thing that mattered…

It was back in her hands.

“I brought the apple to you.” Ilya apologized in a soft, regretful whisper. The expression on her face was blank. She still had yet to fully comprehend what was happening. But her body recognized her need for her mother’s touch.

The need for her love.

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” Michaela assured her.

“I killed you.”

“I did too. Doesn’t that make us even?”

“Mn…” Ilya finally smiled. “Mother… Can I ask you something?”

“Anything, my dear.”

Ilya’s hands curled behind Michaela’s back, as though to clasp onto her clothes.

“For a long time now, I’ve been jealous of the children beyond the garden. Mannerisms didn’t matter to them. I was the princess of Paradise. Formality and duties. I had to uphold them. I thought that it would make you happy…”

Ilya’s voice trembled as she then whispered:

“Mom. I’ve always wanted to call you that.”

Michaela pulled her deeper into her chest as Illya added:

“It makes me feel like I’m closer to you. Is it ok? I’m sorry if it’s too much.”

“There is no such thing.” Michaela smiled with all her heart.

For an instant, she saw a prompt as she gazed far behind Ilya.

< AWAKENING REQUIREMENT: Refuse Paradise >

She wanted to laugh. The meaning of ‘refuse’ and ‘paradise’ held a humorous hidden meaning.

She had already refused Paradise.

The false Paradise that only brought misery.

And…

She had brought the Piece of Paradise and the Price of Paradise together to refuse Ilya.