Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

Precisely what the name suggests. These entities are beings that carry a fragment of Frost and are therefore a part of her in some, twisted way. It is unknown how many Alter Frosts there are. The Alter Frosts carry the Amalgam's extended authority but may only be used when given explicit permission. Because many cannot speak or tend to be violent, they lack the leadership skills to properly substitute the Head.

They are incredibly helpful regardless of this.

The Little Frost is a Frost born from the manifested One Thousand Eyed Bird. She takes the form of a mute child with an exciting personality and communicates via emojis that appear over her head. Despite being mute, she has been recorded to have spoken according to Nav.

She is as mysterious as the other Alter Frosts and enjoys her time around others tremendously. She has a sweet tooth and adores her friend Snap with all her heart. She unfortunately has the lowest stats amongst the Alter Frosts.

A taller, maturer, and most importantly larger-breasted version of Frost that is fit in miltary garbs from the Old Elysia. The Hired Arm is a direct reference to Sinder's legacy as a member of the Bodies. As a result, she is tremendously skills with firearms and a whole range of weapons.

The Hired Arm is technically the most powerful Alter Frost due to her ability to use any of Frost's skills at the cost of coins rather than mana, and has a percentage of Frost's total stats. This means the Hired Arm grows stronger as Frost does. Under the true manifestation of the Greed Counter, the Hired Arm becomes a force to be reckoned with.

Unfortunately, she does not communicate much and has a stoic personality. Like the Little Frost, she is mute and usually salutes, nods or shakes her head. She can also communicate by throwing emojis over her head. She has been seen acting kind around Jury and Frost's companions. She strangely enjoys sticking around Anna and will often be seen with her. Another one of her abilities is to instantly change her outfit.

Previously a Corrupted and now a sapient Corrupted, Mimicry is an odd-case Corrupted that would have been eliminated were it not for the fact that it is an Alter Frost. Mimicry uncannily resembles Frost's face but does not possess the correct coloured hair or eyes. In fact, Mimicry is incapable of mimicking Frost's iconic golden eyes.

Mimicry's one true drive is to become like Frost at any cost, and to join her in the heights of the Nexus. However, due to its murderous past and absent moral compass, Mimicry must prove itself to be trustworthy before it is allowed anywhere near the Nexus. Despite this, Mimicry has some semblance of Frost's authority, as she intends to have a well-trained Mimicry substitute her in her absence.

Mimicry has a lot of work to do before it can achieve this.

Healers are humans with the abnormally rare Affinity for healing magic. Due to this Affinity they are able to healing wounds, cure diseases and prevent death. They cannot however bring back someone from the dead. Healers come in several flavours and they are universally known for their pale hair, blue eyes and endearing selflessness.

This however is to a fault and often leads them to tragic circumstances. This is why they are now governed directly under the Head.

A slight to a healer is now a slight to the Amalgam. To harm a healer is to invoke the wrath of the Amalgam. To declare war on the healers is to bring down the full might of the Nexus by the Amalgam.

Standard, regular healers who are entirely incapable of even conceiving of harming a fly. They are diligent humans with the extremely rare Affinity for healing magic. Unfortunately, due to their docile, innocent nature they are preyed upon by many and fetch a high price in black markets.

Healers that go against everything a healer stands for. They are vocal, loud, violent and will kill anything that crosses their path. They are employed directly by the Amalgam and are healers that have either lost their ability to heal, or have developed a taste for violence.

Visually, they have black strands amongst their pale hair. The more black strands there are, the more violent the healer tends to be.

The Black Wings are the Head's personal units that are rated to eliminate anything that isn't a Color or a Moon/Star. If a healer is needed in a particularly dangerous environment, then a team of Black Wings are bound to be deployed. They are also used to personally recover healers.

They wield cutting edge technology in the form black uniforms made from Act X's most finest cloth, and a firearm called the Talons which are capable of firing both healing bullets and Justica Arms' Crystal Bullets.

For some trivia, the name Black Wings is a reference to the Amalgam's second identity as the Black Dove, who is infamous for being a black-haired healer capable of violence. Just a reminder that nearly all healers have pale hair aside from the next one on the list.

A rare healer that is conceived of when a person gains their healing Affinity whilst they are injured, resulting in them to perpetually carry their wound for the rest of their life. It becomes an iconic part of them, and their names usually stem from that injury. Whether it be a hole in the heart, an arrow to the brain, or a shattered femur - they will never be able to heal it.

It is unknown what effect this has on the healer. Scarlet healers are therefore usually blood soaked. Their apparels normally start blue but becomes dyed red after years of exposure. Sometimes all it takes is a few days for the color to permanently change.

That being said, Scarlet Healers are the most proficient healers around and are only sent with the Condemned or to places where it is unlikely for them to survive, aside from the healers as they have an exceptionally high regeneration rate and are nigh immortal.

The problem? Scarlet Healers can overheal people and cause them to form extra mass that can eventually suffocate, crush or cause a person to violently explode. This is why they are heavily restricted and only used in high-risk situations.

They are abnormally eager to heal to the point where it can be compared to a sexual desire.

Healers that twist the meaning of healing. They are healers that offer those in need salvation in the form of a slow, agonizing death. They are the bearers of the elusive Serum S - Salvation; a liquid harvested from the Adam's Apple of an Angel. Once injected, a victim will bleed coagulated blood from every conceivable orifice as every blood vessel bursts like an overfilled balloon.

Wandering healers have long lost their ability to heal and are left to their murderous devices. Unfortunately, due to their wandering nature they are not within the Amalgam's jurisdiction. Despite this, they are still healers and they must be protected at all costs.

Currently, the Impuritas seem to be searching for them.

The official Atelier of the Head, and the one that governs all others. Time Reverberation is the newcomer on the seat of titans and unfortunately have not yet properly established themselves. However, their intentions have been known and they will assume the auditing role regulate the Ateliers less they want more grievances against the Amalgam to pile on.

"We must be better."

A suspected fragment of a greater whole. The Heart of Time is a mysterious technology that was conceived of within the Eternal Library to conclude Jury's transition from an Aspiring Beholder into a Junior Beholder. Now Jury is a full fledged Beholder. The Heart of Time presented itself as a part of Jury's body rather than a technology on its own, making the first of its kind.

The Heart of Time allows for the manipulation of time; a power that Elysia once wielded in the far past. It is unknown if Elysia to this day still holds this power. The Heart of Time has paved way for the iconic Retrocausality - Smite; a powerful skill that summons a weapon from the future (past) to fire into the past (future).

To regulate, audit, and provide therapy to all Ateliers, their personnel and the public where applicable. The primary objective of Time Reverberation is to ensure that all Ateliers follow the Amalgam's strict guidelines. They are the inquisitory group that then relay information to Justica Arms for the verdict, and then to Oboros Infinitas for an appropriate punishment.

Nothing will go unearthed. Everything will be revealed. Time will only tell.

Planned to be used as a counter measure against the Corrupted using the Isolation Spheres. Proposed to use time magic to unravel the past and the trauma of personnel. Time Reverberation is first an investigative Atelier before it a combative. These are the general plans for Time Reverberation before the Atelier officially springs to life.

Beholder

Moons

Aspiring Moons

Nil. Auditor of all Ateliers. Does not explicitly rely on other tech, but is in a partnership with Justica Arms, Oboros Infinitas and the Golden Index.

The judiciary body of the Nexus. They are the ones who determine the innocent and the guilty. When lies become difficult to extract, they tear it straight from exposed ribs. Justica Arms is run by an Otherworlder (Earth) human named Galia and is one of the most hated and revered Ateliers of the Nexus.

"Justice Must Never Stray Behind Judgement."

The second technology fused with the Nexus (Dimensional Lock being the first), allowing for the Blessed to utilize the Hyperlink Relay Sites and Repositories built by Justica Arms. The Warped Stone serves as the core of Justica Arms, allowing them to create their crystal bullets and firearms that exploit the Warped Stone's teleportation powers.

Judgement and deliverance. Galia's philosophies stem from both her life on Earth and in Elysia prior to becoming a Beholder. Like Frost, she has seen her own fill of despair and wishes to make amends no matter the cost. Aside from this Galia's intentions are largely unknown, but the Arbiter seems to be aware of it.

Regardless, Justica Arms seeks to maintain peace wherever their Branches are located.

They now serve as the judiciary body of the Nexus, and offer their aid near and far via the Peace Flock which are deployed from one of 12 (Currently 11) Branches. Each Branch specializes in a field (such as the 2nd Branch being combat focused, and the 6th being administrative).

Justica Arms specializes in teleportation technology and is responsible for creating and maintaining all relevant teleportation technologies. 12 Branches exist across Elysia, each manned by an Apostle of a certain color code, with the 1st wearing black, the 2nd grey, the 6th purple, and former 12th (Iscario) white.

They also manufacture weapons known as the Justica Arm. They appear as Victorian Era long-rifles and are embodied and decorated like ceremonial weapons. They do not have a barrel.

Crystals are also harvested from within the Nexus. Other forms of crystals, especially those used for bullets are mined by Caldera Industries.

Beholder

Apostle

Sacral Personnel

Wayfarer

Justicers

Peace Flock Manager

Peace Flock Captain

Peace Flock Personnel

Public Defender

Deacon

Acolyte

Worshipper

Mostly negative with most Ateliers, save for the Golden Index, Oboros Infinitas and Time Reverberation. Iscario, the betraying Star, was the Apostle of her 12th Branch which puts Galia under massive scrutiny. Additionally, Caldera Industries (Beholder Knalzark) has the most grievances against Justica Arms due to their past.

Act X previously held the title of the newest Atelier but has recently been dethroned by Time Reverberation. They are an enigmatic Atelier that worship the Scripts rather than strictly Beholder Marionette herself. As a result, Act X can seem fractured but rest assured, every action however insignificant it may be is all accounted for in their grand theatrical.

They revolve around Scripts, the strings, and the Fate Mechanism. They appear like a religious sect and bestow their entire faith onto the orders granted upon them via the Scripts. The Scripts guide those that are intertwined with the strings and gears of the Fate Mechanism with orders that can be accomplished in any way so long as it is done. Failure to do so will cause the individual to perish, whether it is due to their strings being severed, or, killed by the Act X for failure to comply.

Act X's philosophy revolves around the concept of purpose, and they give to the depraved and those that have lost meaning in their lives. An order is delivered by a Herald to these individuals as frequently as per day, once a month, to even once a year. The purpose of this is unknown, but they believe in it with absolution, whether it be a simple command of high fiving the first dog they see on the street, to marrying a wife and murdering them exactly 3 days later, with the stated preference of the wife being pregnant at the time, to even going as far as to take their own life.

The Script is absolute.

They specialize in creating articles made from the strings as well as certain string-like weapons, and even musical items.

"I can alleviate the burden of purpose for the living."

It is unknown what Beholder Marionette's technology is, but it is what allows her to create the Quality X (10) strings which are near indestructible. Other strings can be created following a similar process.

To enact the fated Tenth Act, hence the name of their Atelier - Act X. Everything they do is to progress towards the fated act which the Fate Mechanism desires. Whose desire this actually is remains unknown, but this is the primary goal of Act X, before they are an Atelier that removes the burden of purpose and choice from the living.

Act X create the Scripts and play a large courier role between the Ateliers. Their messages are able to predict the future which is usually payed via Nex or by perform specific actions. They are known to be an Atelier that go out of their way to protect the citizens of the City of Strings, but only if they follow the Scripts. Act X also manufacture many of the apparel found on Atelier personnel, but lately they have moved to simply producing strings and now leave the manufacturing to the Weavers; who likely originate from a Fallen Atelier.

Beholder

Living Loom

Interpreter

Missionary

Indite

Snippy Snippy

Herald

Receptionist

Neophyte

Actors

Has extremely strong ties with every Atelier due to their ability to make precise predictions. They are highly acquainted with Inflow Direct, as they rely on their predictions to prepare for Tribulations/Accidents/Emergencies in their Corrupted-infested Sites.

The betrayers of the Nexus with ties to the Impuritas and potentially Iscario. They cannot be trusted.

The old official military of the Nexus and a hired arms for the Ateliers.

They were always the first to receive a threat, and the last to leave. Their work used to consist of only conflict and bloodshed. Not many were expected to live within the Scarlet Logic. Their work and sacrifice allowed for the Nexus to gauge the official difficulty classification of certain threats before a proper group can be dispatched to deal with it.

Nowadays that is no longer required due to the Blessing of the Amalgam, which allows Aspiring Moons to accurately identify a Corrupted at a single glance.

"???"

A powerful technology that allows those anchored to it via their souls to be reborn in a pool of blood (called the Nascent Pool). This is called a Replication Cycle, and after rebirth the person is pitted against another one of themselves to prove that they have grown stronger than their last iteration. As a result, Scarlet Logic's cruel and combat-focused ways are ingrained into the minds of their personnel, and true termination is fate worst than death where the person is thrown into a pit far beneath the world and left to endlessly rot and suffer every past death.

For this reason personnel that have accumulated many deaths are loyal only to Scarlet Logic, for they are governed by fear. Every replication also causes mutations to occur in the person, often resulting in permanent disfigurement. Personnel have also described being unable to tell who they really are as there may be multiple of themselves alive at once.

So long as the 'Anchor' is untouched, then Scarlet Logic Personnel can never die - Unless their souls are directly reaped, or via the maw of the Amalgam.

Unknown, but have sought to eliminate Beholder Carpalis. They likely seek to destabilize the Nexus as well.

There are a number of Scarlet Logic Nests/Hives found across Elysia, each governed by a Monarch that carries Marduk's will. Tens of thousands of Scarlet Logic Personnel reside within whether they like it or not. Living conditions are considered inhumane and fitting only for wartime Insectids. Regardless, they have been known to keep children within as well, adding them to their collection of disposable personnel or worse.

It is now believed that Scarlet Logic feeds the Impuritas immense amount of biomass thanks to their Replication technology, as seen with the Crimson Hunger's Heart of the City.

Their Nests/Hives have numerable spires and one central, colossal spire called the Central Apiary. Their Nascent Pools are usually located deep underneath the Central Apiary within the heart of the nest.

The affiliated Moons and Stars are known respectively as; Blood Moons and Red Giants.

They are divided into 5 distinct teams, and each team is coupled with a Captain and a Manager.

Midnight (Highest, consists solely of Blood Moons and Red Giants.)

Dusk

Noon

Dawn

Fodder

They have a series of people called the Collectors who collect slaves, survivors and others including those 'inoculated' by the Wandering Healers. They are then brought to the Nex Megalopolis to become integrated into an Atelier.

Beholder

Monarch

Midnight Team

Dusk Team

Noon Team

Dawn Team

Fodder

Nil. All bridges are burned.

They are only known by the greater part of the world as the 'potion makers'. All healers of the world operate under the wing and protection. Infusion S is its most well known and currently only known Infusion, granting the ability to increase one's speed to inhuman levels at the cost of their most prized organ.

All potions are managed and created by Inflow Direct through unknown means. In addition to potions, which are available to the public, they create the Elixirs, Serums and Infusions.

All Wandering Healers operate under Inflow Direct and possess the power of the Serums; essentially liquid-magic.

Only 12 Wandering Healers exist.

"I am perpetual."

It is what allows for the creation of the mana and HP potions, the Elixir and the Serums. The Infusions however are created by another Atelier's technology, taken from the now liquidated Midas Company. The basis of E.'s technology is the conversion of magic into a liquid, easy to use form. Even the plague-infested serfs would be a force to be reckoned with should they posses the Serums, let alone the Infusions.

It is not exactly known what Inflow Direct aspires, aside from relative peace and the protection of its people and the healers. Beholder E. has shown interest in the augmentation of the body but for reasons yet to be mentioned. All in all, their motives align with the Amalgam's and are therefore held in a brighter light compared to the other Ateliers.

Inflow Direct is not known for much else beside their mass manufacturing of their liquid miracles and the protection of their healers; the latter of which they have failed. Their territory is characterized by industrial distillation towers, beautiful urban sprawl and structures that resemble the shape of a giant bird's nest. Inflow Direct may also use drafted citizens as batteries for Infusions in the event of an invasion, causing many to permanently lose their most prized organ.

Beholder

Father

Mothers

Perched

Proselyte Technician

Fitters

Liquidators

Transporters

Fairly good standing with many of the Ateliers. They are the largest importer of Liquid Nex from ImpulseWorks as it serves as a base for many of their Potions, Elixirs, Serums and Infusions.

The Amalgam also largely approves of their philosophies as it mirrors her own in some ways.

The Atelier whose product was responsible for Frost's initial downfall. They are an Atelier that produces and develops Atelier Items/Products capable of significantly altering the mind, whether it be to block out any stimuli that can induce trauma, or to spy on ever emotion and every thought of their personnel. CogitO is fuelled by the drive to understand the mind.

Their methods however is akin to squeezing blood from a stone.

While their headquarters and presences is the lowest of all Ateliers, their products more than makes up for it. Their personnel are designed to stay out of the public eye and conduct under the table deals. Their most notable personnel are the Repenters (shared by Oboros Infinitas), and the ominous Blue Moons.

"I am Descartes 3, the current Reality Principle."

All that is known about their technology is that it can interact with the mind in numerous, egregious ways. It is also possible for their technology to create materials from mere thoughts; a machine appropriately named the Reality Manifester. Personnel can be made completely invisible by their technology, and are able to communicate over several kilometres away via artificial telepathy.

This is only scratching the surface of what their technology is capable of.

Other instances of their technologies are the Cognition Scramblers, Cognition Transmitters and the Cognition Receivers.

CogitO strives to understand every aspect of the mind, to the point where their egotistical obsession had caused Beholder Descartes to fracture into 5 distinct personalities, each with their own interpretation of the mind. In short, each personality (the Big Five) follow a major school of psychology and manage different aspects of their Atelier.

Their motives are sincere and less convoluted than most, but the path to hell is paved by good intentions.

What CogitO does is ill understood but their work is highly important. Their technology allows for certain individuals to hide their presence from others (the Cognition Filter) or creating [CENSORED] bars to eliminate potential cogniton/memetic hazards, all for the sake of preventing panic and/or mental breakdowns in people.

One of their major achievements is the creation of the Collection; a network of minds that preserves the experiences and knowledge of those connected to it. It is the equivalent of a mass storage device, where the brains are the hard drives. Somehow, the Nexus is able to tap into Collection through means still not yet understood.

Another major operation of their revolves around the use of Repenters; people who were Condemned to death but were given a chance of repentance - but at a price so high that none have ever come close to tasting the sweet nectar of freedom. Their lives are no longer theirs. Everything they experience and think is known to CogitO. Their thoughts are theirs no more, and this has been enough to drive many to madness.

It is also a means to detecting how close one is to a Corruption Event, which results in a prompt termination either by their own personnel, or through the Eclipses - ImpulseWorks' assassin Moons.

Beholder

Blue Moon

???

Harrowers

Repenters

???

Required by nearly all Ateliers. Descartes has shown much displeasure with Frost due to her accusing them of atrocities. Nevertheless, they are an Atelier important in the communications department and are a major driving force in the restoration of the Nex Megalopolis.

ImpulseWorks operates in utter secrecy due to the nature of their work which has them meddling with the Corrupted in facilities known as Sites. Exactly 26 Sites are located around Elysia, with more than 8 having been destroyed by a Zeroed Horizon Event. ImpulseWorks is one of, if not the most important Atelier solely due to the sheer amount of Nex they are able to supply.

Dare one imagine a world where ImpulseWorks didn't exist.

ImpulseWorks Sites are one of several secrets that will never reach the light of day. The true nature of their work is known only to a select few. Not even the Moons are aware of what takes place deep underneath the recesses of the world.

ImpulseWorks is the head cause of numerous incident, including the rise of the seemingly harmless M-A-081-05: the Little Red Heart, which gained the name of Big Red Heart after a certain incident that involved a human Leitmotif answering the call of the beating heart, resulting in the destruction of H6.

"Temper Aspirations."

It is entirely unknown, with the only clues being that it can interact with the desires and aspirations of the heart, allowing Retrofitters to create blueprints and Artificers to build unique, personalized items for the individual. This is otherwise impossible. This can be done for people or the Corrupted.

To understand and harvest the Corrupted, but deep down the true purpose of ImpulseWorks is to temper the aspirations of their workers. This leads to a phenomenon referred to as a 'Corruption but without the Corruption'.

Each Site is firstly categorised by the nature of the Site, then by a letter of the English alphabet, and finally by a number pertaining to the Risk Level.

For example: F-H5 is Facility H-Level 5.

Sites are categorized as:

O=Obliteration (Zeroed Horizon)

B=Battle (Training Sites, particularly for Eclipses)

A=Accumulation (Corrupted storage before they receive their classification)

F=Facility (Where unclassified Corrupted are sent to gain a classification and to determine whether they are worth keeping)

G=General (Contains everything. Most difficult Sites to manage. Must not reach a certain Risk Level or it will be marked for termination)

K=Killzone (Where Corrupted are terminated. Sites classed as K are marked for imminent termination at the hands of all relevant forces, including other Ateliers)

M=Manufactory (Where Atelier Items are made and where Impulse Artificers reside)

For numbers, 7 will always be considered the lowest level, and 1 will be the highest. Reaching 0 will cause the Site to innate an automatic self-destruct sequence. No one will survive.

When dealing with the Corrupted, their risk ranges from:

O=Highest, B, A, F, G, K to M=Lowest.

The ARU operates in the same way and operate only when recovering the suppressed body of a Corrupted, or their carcass. They are the cleanup crew in the aftermath and are known to administer amnesics to the local population or witnesses. This is a contributing factor to why people believe the Corrupted are extremely rare creatures.

Hierarchy operates from Personnel Level 1 (Highest), which are Overseers and Navigators, to level 7 (Lowest), which are Impulse Defenders and certain Employees. Level 0 Personnel are of the most secretive and highest order.

Beholder

T-4 Artificer

Site Overseer/Overseer

Navigator

Impulse Artificer

Retrofitter

Eclipse

Worker

Anomaly Recovery Unit (ARU) - Types O, B, A, F, G, K and M

Employee

Impulse Defender

When one mentions the interrelationships of the Ateliers, one will immediately look to ImpulseWorks. They supply every Atelier with custom-fit and ordered Atelier Items created from stored Corrupted, as well as generate Nex to repay their debts.

Scarlet Logic: Exchanges promising talent for Code Red Protocol aid on demand.

Golden Index: Carpalis is a close friend of Kissira, an Impulse Artificer.

Act X: Heavily reliant for their daily predictions to circumvent disastrous breakouts and to prepare for upcoming event. In exchange, they must complete daily tasks/commands given by Act X.

Inflow Direct: Relies on healers for... healing, and a stockpile of unique Elixirs made for ImpulseWorks specifically.

Caldera Industries: Relies on a machine that acts as the Site/Facility's heart. Allows for elevator operations and other useful mechanisms, such as automated doors.

Cogito: Relies heavily on their technology for remote communication and Cognition Filters to preserve the sanity of the Overseer and Navigator, as well as certain Workers.

Justica Arms: Relies on Hyperlinks for fast-acting reinforcements and transfers. Currently unavailable.

Chained Theocracy: Relies on their technology (the chains) to maintain the integrity of the Site and Caldera Industries' supplied Core, and allows for expansion when necessary.

One of the more older Ateliers. They were around during the inception of the legendary War in Heaven, and they are the reason why the Nexus floats several kilometers above Atlas. It is an Atelier consisting of mostly Dwarves. You will never find a Dwarf that hasn't at least heard of Caldera Industries, for they largely govern their homeland - the Region of Dwarhelven.

Caldera Industries is the largest manufacturing Atelier. Rather than specializing in weapons or tools like most, they are the ones who create greater than life structures, some so large that it breaks the laws of physics.

"Endorse Attachment."

A technology that grossly perverts the laws of physics. The Gravity Engine enables the complete dominion over gravity itself, allowing for megastructures to be built in a fraction of the time compared to Earth, for there is no longer a need for the laborious task of proper engineering.

Foundations? What are those? Maximum load? The Gravity Engine says that you're overthinking it.

A side effect of the Gravity Engine - or rather its products/Aspects - is the Spatial Distortions, which causes reality to bend with those unlucky enough to be caught in its storm being sent straight into the dreaded Derma Layer.

Their motives are quite simple: to remove all buried impurities from Elysia's lands (Genesis Stones, byproducts of technology such as radioactive material/anti-healing materials, etc); locate the Advent of Attachment and finally; to find and destroy Infecta Rot - an Impuritas Group which Knalzark hold a personal vendetta against.

They specialize in construction of machinery, landscaping or machinery such as their Express Network trains. Their technology allows for the complete manipulation of gravity, and is the reason why the Nexus is able to float. Their technology also possesses an unwanted phenomenon known as a Spatial Distortion, which is capable of altering space within its jurisdiction.

And in very rare cases, entire trains and those in its surroundings can disappear.

Two of their known greatest achievements is the creation of the Site Cores, as well as the Root-Pillar Complex, a several hundred to thousands of meters complex made of colossal pillars that hold up the entirety of the Nex Megalopolis, particularly the J, Q and K Sectors of each city.

Beholder

???

Architect

Regional Manager

Operation Conductor

Protectorate

Foot Soldier

Constructor

Surveyor

Gets along well with most Ateliers, but utterly despises Justica Arms. Their history goes back over a century. As legend has it, Galia once brought Caldera Industries to its knees. The legitimacy of these claims is undetermined, however, judging by Knalzark's disdain - it may be true after all.

A surprisingly friendly Atelier in a dog-eat-dog world. The Golden Index serves to preserve as many innocent lives as possible and sends magical tickets across Elysia to invite the most unfortunate to enter their warm walls. This however comes at the price of selling a piece of their souls to the Atelier.

Their headquarters is located in what is largely considered as the first city - the City of Diamonds where the rich thrive and where gold flourishes. Due to their philosophies and work ethic they are seen as allies by the Amalgam.

"Someone's heaven must never be the source of another's torment."

The Faustian Bargain itself is a technology found psychically attached to Carpalis' waist in the form of a giant, metallic, golden hand. It allows for the mysterious creation of the Golden Tickets which allows access into the City of Diamonds, but at the price of having a piece or one's entire soul taken by her.

Trivia: The Faustian Bargain is a direct reference to the story of Dr. Faust, and is translated to the deal with the devil. It is also the exact story that allowed her to receive this technology in the Eternal Library.

Their motives are clear cut and without malevolence. The Golden Index serves as a public institution that facilitates dealings between multiple high-levelled parties as well as the general public. They created the Guilds to allow Adventurers to thrive and reward those that lend their powers to help those in need.

All Adventurers associated with the Guild operate under specific rules and conducts that dissuades them from stepping out of line. Those that do are either branded as wanted criminals, fined heavily, or usually become part of a Syndicate.

All in all, the Golden Index seeks to help far more than it asks.

The Golden Index operates in a mafia-esque manner, having Beholder Carpalis as the head boss with under bosses operating her subsidiaries. Her right-hand man is Magus, the Magician and equally known as the Archetype of Hope. Therefore, Beholder Carpalis can be seen as the Beholder of Hope, or someone who in some way upholds it.

The Golden Index consists of 5 other subsidiaries working underneath it.

The Golden Thumb: Responsible for managing the guilds, currency, the entire market and trade within the entirety of the Nex Megalopolis.

The Golden Index: Responsible for compiling all transactions, individuals, deals and the like with perfect intricacy. If one has traded at least one coin in their life, then they are in that index somewhere.

The Golden Middle: Essentially the bodyguards/soldiers/paramilitary of the Golden Index.

The Golden Ring: They are manage all deals between major bodies, companies and territories, making them entirely binding and punishable.

The Golden Pinky: Facilitates interpersonal deals. Unlike the Golden Ring's deals, these ones can be seen as promises, and when broken, the said person disappears without a trace.

Beholder

Archetype of Hope/Consigliere

Underboss

Captains

Soldiers

City Defenders

Associates

Incredibly close with multiple Ateliers, and only hated by Scarlet Logic due to Beholder Carpalis' ability to untether their personnel at will. They are also highly advocated by the Amalgam and are seen as friends with the Amalgam. Therefore, wronging the Golden Index would be to also wrong the Amalgam.

An ancient Atelier with origins as far back as the inception of the first Stars. The Chained Theocracy is characterized by their depressive nihilism where they seek to accept the world for what it is rather than to fight against the natural order of things. This extends to themselves and is largely reflected by the Demonic culture in the Zelmori continent.

"The chains that bind us are also the ones that protect us."

One of the very first technologies to have ever been created and now it resides within the heart of the Middle Sanctums of the Nexus. The Dimensional Lock allows those the Nexus blesses to store and retrieve items from within the dreaded Subcut Layer. The tech interacts with the layer by creating openings as well as locks to the Subcut.

The most common product produced by the Dimensional Lock are their chains which are known to be nigh indestructible.

Their motives are unknown, let alone the reason they actually exist in the first place. What is known however is that they seek to spread the philosophy of total nihilism but not in the malevolent way, but rather of acceptance. They believe that through this the burden and pain of life can be alleviated as there is nothing one can do to stop it inevitable chain of events.

They are involved in a number of secretive endeavours that may never see the light of day. This includes the war waged between the Demons and the Humans where captured humans serve as sustenance for the Demons; and their involvement in the creation and containment of the Site Cores. Their knowledge is vast, but reaching them is hard even for the Amalgam due how distant their head quarters is, nevermind how dug in their personnel are.

Their members are very rarely seen, if at all.

Beholder

Iron Stars

???

Their relationship with others is entirely unknown, but they are given respect for being amongst the oldest of them all. They are under scrutiny by the Amalgam due to their secretive nature, as well as the fact that their philosophies deeply contrast one another.

Ancient does not begin to describe them. Oboros Infinitas has existed for as long as perhaps the world itself, though its name was coined much later down the line. Seven beings originating from the old world govern the Atelier and are called the Seven Primordial Demons, each charactized by one of the seven sins. Without Oboros Infinitas the Ateliers would fall into total chaos, for they supply a vast quantity of Nex, rivalling that of ImpulseWorks.

They are the punishing body, and not even Beholders are beyond their reach.

Oboros Infinitas does not exist in the eyes of the masses. Even Moons were not aware of their existence until recently.

"Infinite Burdens."

The basis, name and truth surrounding their tech is still unknown aside from its ability to accumulate Nex from the environment similar to how Advents and the Amalgam is able to. This tech may not even be one in the traditional sense, as it may have been brought over from the old world.

Entirely unknown. But they obsess over the concept of lament and aspire to bring those guilty to a punishment far, far worse than death.

Harbours the worst criminals including Stars, Moons and even Beholders according to Poena, the Scarlet Healer, and condemns them to the Subcut Layer where they are forced to undergo Corruption for the sake of generating Nex. These people are called the Condemend and are fated to transform into rotting perverted forms of themselves.

Repenters on the other hand strive to repent as their name suggest. Their lives are no longer theirs for they are effectively slaves to Oboros Infinitas, with their thoughts and emotions constantly being analysed for proof of their repentance - or simply to pinpoint their inveitable Corruption.

No Repenter has ever successfully repented, and Oboros Infinitas would rather keep it that way. After all, the longer they persist, the more Nex they can harvest.

Lucifinia | Primordial Demon of Pride

Remaining Six Primordial Demons

???

Harrowers

Repenters

Condemned

The executioner of the Nexus. They are relied on by every Atelier, and are partnered closely with Justica Arms (who hands them the guilty to punish) and Time Reverberation (who hands people to Justica Arms to judge).

Hearts are the source of the larger, malignant Impuritas Groups, able to transform the living into one of themselves as well as the world around them. They are functionally similar to a Corrupted Zone or in some ways a Genesis Stone. The truth behind the Hearts is mostly unknown, but it is theorized that the Hearts are formed by the concentrated emotions that seep so deep underground that they take form.

Hearts come in many flavours, but all are equally as diabolical as the next and last.

The most common and lowest tier of Hearts. Dungeons take the form of structures resembling whatever their Impuritas Group takes after. For example, the Crimson Hunger (flesh) will assume a more biological form, whereas the Blood Festival will take the form of a giant circus tent/carnival.

Nevertheless, the Heart found within the centre of the Dungeon is mostly the same across all groups; a biological mass that yearns to become complete.

Dungeons pose a great threat to Elysia, as they can emerge at seemingly random and swallow everything in their surroundings. They vary between Trickle all the way up to Monsoon, although the later is very, very rare and usually reserved for the later stages of the Hearts.

Adventurers frequently challenge these Dungeons as they appear and are rewarded handsomely by the Guilds.

Dungeons need to be eradicated within a few days to a few weeks; usually a week at most before it evolves.

This is largely dependent of the amount of material is has managed to harvest. The more it devours, the sooner it transforms into a far more sinister stage.

The Dungeon has taken root and now threatens to spread itself thinly across wherever it sprouted into. This marks the teritorial stage of the Heart as well as new defences that will protect it at all costs. Additionally, stronger entities are born from the Heart as it attempts to cling onto the new territory it has gained, all the while preparing for its next evolution.

A Heart in this stage has a few days at most to transform, and it is considered imperative that the Heart is eliminated before it reaches its third stage.

The Heart enters a proliferate stage that sees its aggressively attempt to expand its reach, resulting in widespread devastation. Cities caught within are bound to fall unless they are prepared for the monstrosities that are born from these Hearts. Plague Hearts require an incredible amount of biomass before they can evolve into their next stage, although this has never been sighted before as Plague Hearts tend to sink back into the ground, likely to the Derma Layer, when the harvest is over.

Hearts that are functionally settlements or minor slices of civilization. These Hearts have cultivated an ecosystem or society that thrives mostly within the Derma Layer with numbers so high that it is considered impossible to completely uproot the Impuritas from the world. These Complexes are the source of Brandar's nightly Impuritas raids that sees monsters pour into its lands, completely covering it with millions, perhaps billions of creatures.

They are the reason why the hundred meter walls of the Nex Megalopolis exist.

Complex Hearts are dangerous and sport unique effects that are akin to a Corrupted Zone. Anomalous effects are common and are to the determent of those that trespass.

The highest form a Heart has known to take. The Heart of the City is the physical, collective heart of innumerable and boasts stats higher than even Eternal Night Corrupted. Hearts of this power would require the full effort of an Atelier to completely eliminate, and even then it would be a struggle. Their reach spans the entirety of the city they infest, and usually take the form of whatever woes spill through the drains from above, creating this monstrosity.

The first and only Heart of the City found and destroyed was located within the City of Spades; inside of the walls of the Nex Megalopolis of all places... never mind within the heart of an Atelier.

It is not currently known if the Heart of the City is the final stage of the Hearts.

We can only hope that it is.

The main villains of Elysia, held down to no oath or honour even amongst themselves. They are entities born from the most vile of hearts, encapsulating a polarising concept to at least one Atelier. They can therefore be seen as the enemies of the Ateliers, and the greater part of the world. They are ruthless and assimilate all, aspiring for their one true with - to become complete via Corruption.

Opposition - The Nexus

Affinity - Judgement

Not an Impuritas, but functionally the head of them. Iscario - otherwise known as the Brightest Star amongst the Impuritas - is the one who brought them together when they were at odds even with each other. Once a Star and now a traitor, Iscario's motive is not well understood, aside from his hatred for the Archetypes/Nexus who he views as responsible for his sister's death.

He was the one that turned the wheels of what is now a machine of madness. Were it not for his betrayal against Frost, then it is likely that never would have ascended to where she is now.

It is a silver lining - however twisted it may be.

That being said, Iscario is undoubtedly intertwined with the Book of the Price of Paradise; the book that will inevitably Awaken the Floor of Judgement and the Arbiter.

Opposition - Act X

Affinity - Purpose

A malicious Impuritas Group at odds with Act X, for they both compete for the control over the Fate Mechanism (Advent of Purpose). They are characterized by their gear-esque organs and mechanical bodies that move like clockwork, usually caked with layers of blood. They lack any sense of self-preservation, and convert victims into one of them via transforming their flesh into mechanical cogs. The stronger or more value one possesses, the larger role they will play in the machine that is the Sect of Gears.

They are called the 'Gears' by the greater part of the world and are generally seen as one of the harder ones to fight, for their construct is resilient in nature.

Opposition - The Nexus

Affinity - Wrath

The most physically terrifying of them all. The Crimson Hunger - known as the Hungry - are a flesh-devouring and assimilating race that pervert the flesh into whatever distorted, mangled forms they desire. They deconstruct the body, the mind and soul through pure agony, fusing their victims together into walls and constructs of flesh that can never scream, for they have no mouth. The surfaces of the flesh they create are known to house many unblinking eyes belonging to assimilated victims.

Their appetite is insatiable, for they yearn to become complete - to become something other than the twisted strings of accumulated flesh they call their own.

Opposition - Inflow Direct

Affinity - Civilization

Little is known about them. But like the Sect of Gears, they have the ability to interact with the Eternal Library in some capacity; conducting raids and invasions to harvest knowledge like rabid bees to the sweet nectar of a flower. They have the unique ability to transform the traits, memories, experiences and magic of people into a paper form akin to Inflow Direct's tech. It is unknown how closely related they are, but nevertheless, they are both equally at odds as a result.

They are led by the Authors of Existentia - beings that aspire to create masterpieces out of the pages of countless harvested bodies.

The greater part of the world refers to them as the 'Pages', and coming into contact with one will cause one to receive the 'Paged' curse/negative condition, which causes part of a person to become converted into a page, other times a chapter, and in rare instances - a complete book.

Their ambitions are not well understood, but they utterly despise the Amalgam.

Opposition - CogitO

Affinity - Ego

Nothing is known about them other than that they are beings that attack the mind, appearing as nightmarish entities.

CogitO are their direct opposition.

Opposition - ImpulseWorks

Affinity - Desire

The 'Hearts' that aspire than burrow into the chests of the living, bringing forth their twisted desires to light. The largest collective of these beings is called the Maestros of Flesh. They are musicians inspired by the late Green Composer; a legendary Incandescent Color that revolutionised the magic of music in the City of Hearts. However, they have been inspired to a wicked degree, harbouring an illness that causes them to aspire for nothing than to become a 'Star'.

By 'Star', they truly mean recognition. Gratefulness. Attention. They yearn to be seen by all for they are individuals rejected, and now aspire to create the perfect symphony using the flesh of the living, for they see it as the greatest way to convey music to the soul.

Opposition - Caldera Industries

Affinity - Attachment

Not much is known about them other than that they are the reason why Knalzark became a Beholder. They seek for the Advent of Attachment and the Advent of Wrath - two Advents that Caldera Industries also seeks to keep it away from them at all costs. Additionally, they are known to also scour Elysia for the Genesis Stones, which is yet another one of Caldera Industries' missions.

Opposition - Golden Index

Affinity - Hope

An Impuritas Group that are decorated with as much gold as the organs they steal from their victims. Called the 'Animals', beings from the Blood Festival take the form of disembowelled animals, created by a mash of organs and limbs of multiple creatures, barely resembling the creature they yearn to take after. The higher one is in the hierarchy, the more 'complete' they appear and yet, they yearn to become more than that for they don't see themselves as such.

The Blood Festival have living objects, rides and theme park-eqsue attractions that viciously prey on poor victims, usually resulting in them losing an organ or something precious to them. The lowest form of the Blood Festival are literal bags of skin (resembling an animal of any kind) that wrap their victims up like body bags and slowly begins to rob their organs and skeleton, leaving behind a still-breathing victim, who has now become the bag of flesh.

Opposition - Chained Theocracy

Affinity - Despair

Beings that fear the cold embrace of death, yet ironically clad themselves in icy steel to preserve themselves from the fate of death. Memento Mori have the unique ability to raise the dead and cause people to temporary reunite with long lost loved one. They go directly against the Chained Theocracy's philosophy of accepting death and life for what it is, including the inevitability of loss.

Unlike the other Impuritas Group they seem to recognise that openly antagonising the Amalgam is a tragic idea.

Opposition - Oboros Infinitas

Affinity - Lament

NIL.

While Impuritas Groups are known to be malicious in nature, there are still beings that express an innermost desire. Those with far purer ambitions tend to form Impuritas Groups that tend to tread on the side of good. These beings are and few in between but they are ones that are welcomed by the Amalgam.

The only known good Impuritas Group. They are an offshoot from the Hearts/Maestros of Flesh with the similar ambition of being acknowledged by others but in a far more purer way. They are painters and use magic to compose beautiful paintings, which were once used to convey what a star would feel like to the children of the Derma Layer, and the blind Stella. They helped those children reach the star they so desperately aspired to become, sobering Stella which saved her from becoming a Corrupted later on.

They now serve in the ranks of the Golden Index.