Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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STORY SYNOPSIS

It's been ten thousand years since Subaru has been left alone. In this fan-fic, Subaru never got his happy ending; he saves the world at the expense of his humanity, and the ones he loves the most.

Emilia is dead, Rem is dead, Beatrice is in a state of uncertain limbo, Otto and Garfiel are dead, Reinhard is dead, and everyone is dead, Wait! Elsa is alive. Overall, everyone Subaru previously knew has vanished, leaving him alone in this unfamiliar world that has changed so much. Watch as the immortal sage, one of the most powerful beings in the Re: Zero universe, explores the planet without a meaning or a goal, a lost existence without a purpose, encountering old foes and friends along the way.

Such as:

A beauty with Platinum hair who shares his sadness in the face of defeat and immortality.

A body operated by eight other witches, each enthralled by Subaru's who has aged like fine wine.

A greedy aspect who realizes that the true treasure may be the man rather than the power. A gut-loving assassin who suddenly got Reid to this dimension; are you really Pride? she asked, with hope in her eyes.

A gender-bent opponent who still craves her teacher's touch.

A robot possessing the memories of a certain purple-haired lady.

A sword possessed by a man who was once known as the strongest.

A misfortunate or extremely lucky sun princess who accidentally fell between the boundaries of space and time, governed by the great waterfall.

A once-proud lioness cursed with an immortal body bestowed upon her by an overprotective cat who couldn't let go; even after death.

All of this and more, are but just a few encounters the sage will have, and with each encounter comes remorse and forgiveness. And yet, he couldn't grasp the love these women tried to show him; can the infliction of his agony repair what they have broken? Find out as the harem set aside their differences to treat the man, hero, and forgotten legend who had lost everything due to their vanity.

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THE PROLOGUE: Chapter One: Home Again

A handsome young man with long black raven-colored hair that reached his back, pale snow-white complexion, and sparkling purple eyes that were nocturnal in nature, plainly not human, could be seen under the tapestry of stars and moonlight, that flooded the night sky in all directions possible.

He wore a fancy but also expensive-looking suit, with black trousers beautifully ironed; and a black long-sleeve shirt, with white gloves on both hands; a crystal monocle on his left eye, a large black and white top hat on his head, and a black and orange cane in his hand, meanwhile, he wore a black leather shoe that was neatly polish.

The man was clearly of a higher social class, but anybody could notice the lifeless and icy expression on his face.

This man was once known as a hero, a sage, and a lolimancer; perhaps he still is; but it had been eons since he had put that to the test; regardless, the man had a story to tell, of course, it was clear he had a horrible tendency of monologuing to himself, as he continues to talk to himself as he walks to side of the eery pave road, street light flickering, and car passing by every now and again, ignoring his presence.

And that man was chatting to himself in a hushed monotone.

"Time, it is defined as the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole. "

"It holds the tapestry of memory that one carries with them throughout their entire life." But, when you think about it, time is nothing more than a memory that fades with each passing second... thus, what are memories really?... well one may say that memories are the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information."

"But, in my defense, memories are simply things remembered from the past; a recollection, if you will." But it is something I regard as unimportant, and yet it is the only thing I can never forget no matter how much time passes, agh yes, how could I; after all, if you are anything like me, forgetting is never an option... No! It is better to say that I am not allowed to forget."

"Why, you may ask? Well, in five words: Authority of Greed: Vinculum Mentis." It's Latin for mental prison; a straightforward and easy name, but when in Latin, it adds a level of originality to it."

"What this authority of mine does is rather simple; it allows me to never forget anything, no matter how hard I try" I could always and I will always remember everything in great detail, even the most insignificant details; because this authority stagnates all knowledge in the brain, so once I know, I will never forget what I know."

"Heheh... now that I think about it, I am a man cursed with abilities that can never truly be overpowered, and I used to despise it." But now; I take great pride in this weakness in a messed up way; additionally, I was never meant to be the main character, no I was always the support guy, the ultimate side character, or maybe an abnormal extra, well it doesn't matter what I am, as far as the world is concerned, I am nothing more than a legend or myth that is ever changing as time passes."

"My current name is Pleiades, just Pleiades; my formal name was Natsuki Subaru, but I also go by several names I drop as time progresses." But the immortal sage is the one I am most famous for, short and to the point; immortality is my specialty, and an affliction I will never completely escape."

"Authority of Envy: Return by Death, which was an ability I hadn't used in ten thousand years, give or take, because how could it activate it when the Authority of Lust: Me Ante Omnia is always passively active; Me Ante Omnia is Latin for Myself Before All." A power I gained after Satella made her last wish before she died in the last battle against Pandora; it was also my last death; the power itself is essentially a representation of that promise, the promise that I would live for her even after her death; it is essentially the power to instantly transform all forms of damage and attacks to null, from physical to conceptual, and even buffs cannot reach me."

"With that said, even age, sickness, mental depression, and afflictions are viewed as nothing more than attacks to my own body, so I stop aging at the age of twenty-one.... and although I may sound depressed, I am not." I just like to think about the past; after all, it's the only remnant or semblance of what it means to be human that I have left; in terms of personality, I am more like a witch of sin, if not worse; I know this, but I don't care."

"All in all, I am what you may call a warlock, a genuine calamity of the old world, a being that transcends the norm; I am no Satella, nor am I envy; no I like to call myself the Forgotten Sage; I am not known, I am not remember, and I am alone, and yet I am at peace, or more like I simply can't register the extent of my loneliness in a genuine sense, Lust has changed me in the most fuck up way possible; in an ironic way, I am sick, sicker than anyone else, I am mentally numb, but my authority begs to differ that notions, it is quite ironic in a mess up way." 

"And yet, even that doesn't move me; even now, I have no idea where I'm going; my journey is wherever my legs take me.... *sigh!* that is a lie of course; but as things stand now, I know exactly where I'm going; but I don't want to think about it, and yet I did." Yes, I was on my way to Lugnica, or that is what it was known to me at the time, currently, it is called Altchare."

Pleiades said as he talked to himself; the night was late; and the moon had risen at the epicenter of the sky itself, it was midnight, and it wouldn't be long before he reached Lug.... Altchare; home of the sword saint linage, which was still ongoing. And currently speaking it was the youngest son of the Astrea family who now rules as king of Alchare; Ren Van Astrea.

And he was correct because the sound of fireworks drew his attention as he stood at the top of a vast hill on the road to Alchare. There he could hear the sound of vehicles, music, and joint events of a populated kingdom disappearing into the distance while big clouds of smoke could be seen in the sky; of course, this was due to large factories. When compared to magical inventions, the globe has advanced into the age of steam power technology, signaling the age of the industrial revolution of the world.

Pleiades had a numb expression on his face as he saw the sight before him; no expression, much less emotion, was visible. However, his memories of his past lingered in remarkable detail.

At that moment Pleiades could only say one thing, as he whispered to himself.

"Im home everyone."

Chapter Text

"Your passport sir."

The soldier at the kingdom border gate told a random civilian entering Altchare; after it is a known fact that typically the line would be long, but because it was late at night, there were only one or two cars at the main entrance of Altchare border every hour.

The security was severe even at night, with hundreds of kingdom soldiers patrolling the entire kingdom borders, but even this quantity could not prepare them for what was to come, even if they do realized what was coming to begin with.

Because the world abruptly came to a halt, almost as if the universe had been put on brief pause. But for a fleting moment, reality came to a halt, or better yet, the world went black and white, with Pleiades being the only object in this colorless world with no color, and only outlines.

Meanwhile, the man took his time crossing the border of Altchare, going unnoticed by anyone; one might think he stopped time, but that wasn't the case; Pleiades cannot stop time without Beatrice by his side; no, this was the "Authority of Sloth's" second ability dubbed "Imaginary Movement." It wasn't much; at best, he could use it to move outside the impact of world perception; in other words, he was moving in an imaginary three-dimensional realm that was a perfect reproduction of the universe itself.

And as he entered this duplicate, he became invisible to the rest of the world around him. Although he was unable to attack or interact with anyone in this realm, this also meant that no one could interact with him. And when he moved in here, others mistook his movements for teleportation, when in actuality they were entirely fictitious.

He continues to move, but the fictitious movement is registered as genuine as soon as he moves and deactivates it. As a result, the sage walks within his imagery universe for a while without bothering anyone around him. In this shape, he dwells in a state of uncertainty; nothing he does has an influence, and yet it does; he is, and yet he isn't; in one realm, he is still moving, and in the other, he isn't.

And the lost sage arrived at the kingdom of Altchare practically unnoticed, as if he were nothing more than a passing phenomenon. The night sky shrouded him in darkness, the streets were deserted, and no one was around. Pleiades look about, but nothing evokes a sense of deja vu; everything is different, even the architectural style of the buildings. To the street architecture; bloat flies in the sky, and factories contaminate the sky with black smoke, eroding away at the ozone layer; even the once fantasy-filled environment was now nonexistent.

Despite this, Pleiades cannot feel a feeling of loss or attachment to anything; this may be considered an isekai within an isekai at this point; nevertheless, he was never one to bemoan the past. It's not like he'd feel the anguish he so desperately craves anyway. As a result, he merely kept walking; boredom and expectation of the unexpected was the only thing that kept him going.

There was so many build board powered by steam power technology and magic, and one in particular presented a variety of different services as it turned around in an anti-clockwise fashion, looking about; the three marked advertisgment was as followed.

[Hoshin Automata LTD], [Hoshin Car Rentals], and [Hoshin Trade Center]. Many believed that the Hoshin family held a great quantity of riches because they were a mercantile family that dated back all the way to the first sword saint. They had no idea Anastasia had adopted the name Hoshin for herself. The name Hoshin was the first thing that made Pleiades feel a sense of familiarity; it wasn't grand, but the modest recollection would live on in his thoughts forever as a part of him; and hear likewise.

Thinking back, Julius was the one who managed to bed the greedy gal; it was no surprise, given Anastasia's crush on Ricardo the pirate. Of course, Ricardo has only ever seen his lady as a daughter, and nothing else; and Julius capitalizes on that fact. Even so, Pleiades didn't dwell on the sensation for long; life, like everything else, moves on.

The recollection was lovely and treasured, and now it was time to add more frozen memories to his collection. But, as he was enjoying an enthusiastic walk through the gloomy streets, he heard a faint scream.

"HELLLP! "I NEED A MAN.... A GUARD!"

Pleiades looked in the direction of the call; normally, one would rush to help out of good-willed, but Pleiades saw this as an opportunity to add some memories and experience to his collection. Perhaps he could relish the new experience, the new knowledge; his greed to feel anything meaningful would not be denied; as such his gaze is drawn to an Ally to which he heard a call. And then he vanished from where he was; nonetheless, within the imaginary universe, Pleiades began to walk in the realm where he could not be reached.

And it didn't take him long to notice what was going on in the dark lane, yes! There were four persons in total: three enormous men dressed in black tuxedos, each wielding a Tommy gun, and a teenage boy with well groomed red hair, blue eyes and dark skin. He had a sword in his hand, but he was backed up in a corner. The ball head man in the middle began to speak as he said to the boy.

"Oi... Oi... let's smoke the little shit, we lost big time because of him."

"Be cautious, boys; the little fucker is still a member of the swordmaster's household." But to believe that the noble psychopath house would have someone this young to be one of their mad dogs vigilantes."

The one on the right mentioned; meanwhile the one on the left spoke up he said.

"Now, now gentlemen, we have specific orders, and we were specifically told to bring him back alive." As a result, let's just knock him out; after all, he's weak after being injected with YJ-65, and even the kingdom's super soldiers have difficulty moving after being injected with a modest amount."

"But still Patio; we can break a limb or two right?, hell I lost one of my fingers because of this brat, at least let me get a lick or two in; before we hand him over to the boss comrade, a finger for finger man."

The huge man in the center made a remark to the guy on the left as he exhibited his right index finger being amputated by what appeared to be a flawless cut caused by a sharp blade. However, a man named Patio answered in this manner.

"Oren, if we disobey the boss, we will be gutted, and our bowels will be served to us on a wooden splintered platter for us to eat." Do you really want to get on Maddam Purple's bad side, shit, it's just a lousy finger man; drop it already, mate?"

"But Patioooo.... 

"I said drop it Oren; im not dying because you got your finger cut off, and even so, it's your fault for underestimating him."

"He is right you know Oren, you cause that wound upon yourself."

"Not you too Santel... dammit, find I will drop it, but im going to break his legs at the very least, and I aint taking no for answer."

"Fine, you can break his legs, but only that, anything else beyond that, then you are on your own."

Announced Patio who was clearly annoyed with Oren; once he's angry, he's difficult to bargain with, but if it meant breaking the little shit's leg to make him shut up, it was a little price to pay for silence. The diminutive redhead, on the other hand, could hardly stand; at this point, he had no alternative but to blow himself up with these three guys, as a noble bloodhound of the Astrea family his death would not be unjustified. Because after he's dead, the "Pride syndicate" will undoubtedly be on his cousin's murder list, he remarked with a smirk to the three men, Oren in particular.

"Alright nine finger, why don't you break my legs and see how I make you into a Quadriplegic, come on, come on, I like when people fuck around so they can find out after all is said and done."

Oren, of course, was enraged by this display of arrogance, and as a response, he began pulling an iron bat from his kit bag, as he stated.

"You little shit, you have no idea how much I am going to enjoy this."

"Ha well co...

However, before the child could respond to Oren, he was startled to feel liquid substance land right on his face. Only for him to say, while his palm touched the spot where the liquid had fallen.

"Is this... is this..... Blood!?"

The nameless red head, said however he even more shock he saw Oren hands on the ground, along with crunching noise in the back ground, the hand itself  fell to the corner of the dark alley but shocked him was the fact that something pulled it into the shadows.

J UKDGSHAAA~~~CLKK....SWOSAHAA!!!

And he heard something tearing away and crunching and squeaking for some strange reason. He was still stunned by the quick appearance of Oren's hand sliding from his wrist, and his eyes were straining to discern what it was beyond the shadows. But all he could see were the glaring red eyes of some miniature beast, which shocked him to the brink of almost screaming.

However, he was taken aback when he heard Patio say in a panicked tone.

"What the hell is this, get them off mee! AGHUUUAAA ITS HURTS.... IT HURTS."

The man screamed in fear and pain; as the sound of something biting away at his flesh could be seen. As he looked up, he was horrified to see a dead Oren being consumed at an unfathomable rate by an army of horn rabbits, it shocked him greatly, he turned his head away for a second, and the next thing you know Oren was nearly consume to nothing.  

They were eating away at him savagely, even finding their way inside the corpse to devour him from within. The same could be said for Patio and Santel, who were screaming as the rabbit army emerged from the depths of a horrific hell and began chewing on the three men, they were swirming away in their bowels, purging and nibbing away their flesh from within; their scream and fear vividly being ignored, blood began to spray and flood the surrounding area.

"What the hell is this, no way are those things rabbits."

In terror, the child added, "Blowing up is one thing, but being eaten alive is something I don't want to experience under any circumstances." Worst of all, he couldn't even move if he wanted to. In a matter of seconds, the dark ally was painted in deep crimson, as these small creatures didn't want to leave a single bone; their eyes shone red as if in an uncontrollable state, and they were even eating away at themselves as if they couldn't tell who was friend or foe amongst themselves... HUNGER! HUNGER! HUNGER! HUNGER!.... these were thougths of the great hare, it was the only feeling they knew.

It was a horrible sight to watch. their white fure became crimson as it shines menacingly under the moonlight.

And When there was nothing left to eat, their attention was drawn to the unnamed redhead, and their perverse esoteric hunger began to shift towards him instead, they would have him; their was no escape, the red head instinctivley knew he was going to their next meal. Their merciless eyes said it all, yea he was next on the menu, and at this revelation the child shrieked in terror, tears streaming down his blue eyes.

"UGHEEEK~~ Stay away from me!!!"

However, the rabbits did not listen, and as a result, they began to jump toward him, However fate would not have this boy tonight, because like a forgiving reaper in the night, a quiet voice emerged from behind the great hare; it was chilly, scary, and silent, and yet it held a lot of commanding power behind it, so much so even the wind obeyed his words even though he wasnt talking to it.

"Leave that one as is; you little one's already had your fill, now come back to the garden, my children."

The sudden appearance of the individual who referred to these carnivorous monsters as his offspring surprised the unnamed redhead. He didn't get a good look at the figure because of the shadow of the night which blinded his perception, but there was one thing he'd never forget. His amethyst-colored eyes were as frigid as a razor edge in front of the opponent. The moment was brief, but the redhead felt as if he were looking into the eyes of an old monster disguised as a human being; those eyes were not those of a man who is a subject of mankind.

No, they were far more; in them was the narrative of a person who had seen it all; yes, they were cold, lonely, wrathful, silent, broken, uncaring, weird, patient, and soft, but most of all, evil; those eyes belonged to an innocent monster who seemed to be detached from the world itself. For a brief instant, the world, no, the very wind, came to a halt. Was it his orders, or was it just red head impression, or was it nothing at all?

But in the end, it didn't matter because even the brief eternity came to an end. The redhead was taken aback, but those man-eating bunnies were what his body was paying the most attention to, even when his mind wandered off the man's eyes, which garnered a thousand stories, worthy of a million questions. But his attention was quickly drawn back to the rabbits.

What surprised him the most was that these carnivorous bunnies' eyes returned to normal and they continued to walk toward the man. But what was weird was that they began to sink into the man's shadow almost as if it were a deep ocean of pure darkness. But one thing was also clear as well, yes! It was apparent as day that this man was far more terrible than even those rabbits who would forever haunt his dreams, the man said nothing; no, it was clear to him that he had no interest in the boy's existence whatsoever, proof of this was because the man disappeared as soon as came, almost as if he teleported, he didn't even say a single word to the boy.

The nameless redhead was stunned, still trying to understand what he had just witnessed; he wanted to dismiss the meeting as a dream; no, it was a nightmare. But, strangely, he couldn't help but notice that those eyes reminded him of a story his sister once told him. No one was around at the time, but it didn't matter because this moment was as real to him as the affliction on his body caused by the effects of narcotics to impair his performance.

In any case, the unnamed redhead couldn't think about it since he needed to drag his body back to the base to get treatment for his wounds, and he could just worry about the encounter later, so the unforgettable night came to an end. However, this meeting was only the beginning of something bigger, the beginning of a story, as it were; the pieces were in place, and the game was about to begin, to those who knew, and to those oblivious to the bigger picture, one sage, multiple witches, many pieces, and an incomplete narrative, now with prologue out of the way, let theater begin, and the script unfold.

Chapter Text

Pleiades had returned to Altchare four days before, and he had seen many things in those four days, but little irked a nice recollection from within. Despite the fact that new memories and experiences had become a part of his unforgettable collection of noteworthy occurrences.

But now he was bored; he had seen everything this kingdom had to offer in terms of amusement, brothels, bars, Ferris wheels, rental vehicles, restaurants, and much, much more; and now it was nothing more than a distant recollection that would fade into the world's memory den in time.

Each encounter was both familiar and fresh, and each lady he slept with gave him a different sensation and flavor; nonetheless, it was not pleasurable at all. His lust was unsatisfied, but he didn't care; the pleased look of witnessing the proud turn subservient in front of him was funny, but it wasn't enough to satisfy his greedy nature of wanting more memories, more knowledge, more of everything that can satisfy him, he demanded more experience, more memories, and more meaningfulness he still couldn't hold.

He drank till there was nothing left at every pub he visited; he couldn't become drunk, but the flavor gave him new experiences and memories regardless of the lack of effect; the burning feeling of alcohol on his tongue, the bitter or sweet fragrance each bottle possessed.

The texture of each bottle differed; even the way it was created, or the thoughts of others and their opinions about the alcoholic liquid in question were information that he valued.

Albeit it's a shame there weren't many places with fresh alcoholic beverages he could savor and experience. It was a terrible reality, but one he had become accustomed to over the years.

Food and general entertainment are examples of this. Of course, he enjoyed it at first, but the second time around, for anything that he did was never as enjoyable as the first, because new feelings and experiences are only worthwhile when they are new, and as a man who was riddled with almost all sin, from the unquenchable burning desire of his Lust that was like a star without an end, to his Greed's constant need for more experiences, memories, and knowledge.

At this time Pleiades was sitting on a bench under a bus stop; taking shelter from the rain; it was early in the morning about a little bit after six; and he alone sat there; a cup of coffee in his hand and newspaper in the other. He didn't have a place to stay, well not like he needed any, if anything his refuge was his shadow garden.

This wasn't an authority; the shadow garden was Satella's creation, one of many spells she possessed as the best Yin user. The Shadow Garden was a location outside of time, space, and reality; the best way to describe it would be a singularity with a door you could enter and exit at will. Or, better yet, it was a spell beyond Al Shamak, one he could only master with Beatrice's assistance. Al Shamak separates you from the world in a pocket dimension, while the Shadow Garden is the result of a spell Satella termed Ultima Shamak, which, unlike Al, creates a space outside of reality, allowing you to see numerous events in time and space across multiple dimensions; but you won't be able to interact with it.

To be honest, the Ultima series where spells that not even the Witch of Greed was aware of, but Satella's magic got even more insane after she absorbed the Envy Witch factor. Allowing her to go beyond even the unknown Ultima tier, to a realm of power that lies beyond Ultima magic, well she didn't know what to name this tier, but Pleiades refers to Satella magic as Deus Magic, which is magic that breaks laws and allows the user to redefine them to their liking.

It was an intriguing topic, and Pleiades himself was perplexed by the possibilities of Deus magic; hell, he even had a theory about it, believing that Deus magic was where the authorities began.

Satella describes Deus Magic in great detail in her journal. However, Pleiades lacks the most important component required to use it: a power supply. Satella was an exception because she was born with a finite amount of mana that could be considered infinite in all aspects, although Emilia's mana pool within her gate was not so ludicrous. Regardless, Satella could use Deus magic to open portals to other worlds and even different times.

However, there was one location that behaved similarly to Satella Deus's magic, and that was the huge waterfall at the edge of the world, which he refers to as the doorway of worlds. Too bad he couldn't cross that place, he didn't know why, but Pleiades instinctively knew it would be a location where he would be at his weakest, and since being a sage, he didn't want to die, why would he want to die?

Yes, he has suffered a great deal of loss in his life. But that was when he was self-destructive; now, all he wanted was to find a purpose and meaning for his esoteric existence, and he was still searching. He, was like the other witches, in the sense that he could not help himself. Minerva wants to help, her wrath demands it, but at the expense of the world's mana depletion, resulting in major natural disasters.

Echidna's greed was so powerful that she couldn't understand human emotion; she produced many things, did many things, and even invented many things, although because of her greed, many people suffered as a result of her preoccupation, and as a result, she regretted many things.

Then there was Daphne, a failed experiment for immortality who had come into contact with a factor. Causing her to suffer from insatiable hunger, which is worse than death. As a result, she emphasizes all life, as she produced three mythical mabeast out of good intentions but caused nothing but mayhem for centuries to come, and the result of her deeds is still visible even in today's modern society as Mabeast are nothing more but menaces to the four kingdoms.

Overall, the witches and him were no different; he had joined the freak show and was possibly more deranged than the rest of them together.

He did, after all, have remodeled versions of Regulus Greed.

Cappella's Lust.

Hector Melancholy.

Geus Sloth.

Sirus Wrath

Louis Gluttony.

Al's Pride.

And His envy.

All that was missing was Pandora's Vanity, but unlike the other witches, she was too difficult to kill. Even then, his desire to murder her was nil at this point; seeing he had no motives to do so, and even if he did, he lacked the confidence to attempt the nigh impossible feat. He tried and failed so many times in the past that he became unmotivated to try again.

But the same could be said for her; he couldn't die, and her authority had no direct effect on him; it always gave her a headache to attempt new innovative ways to get rid of the immortal sage indirectly, to the point where the two of them just decided to terminate their feud and reach a truce.

This, of course, resulted in new friendships; Pandora would visit him every decade or so, or he would visit her if she wasn't busy doing wicked crap somewhere else, or they would just cross paths occasionally by chance.

He had last seen her roughly thirty years ago in the streets of Osa; land of the assassins, which was once known as Kagaragi.

These thoughts entered Pleiades' mind, causing a brief flashback to the past. But he didn't dwell on it too much. The experience had expired at this point, so he decided to read his newspaper. The street was unusually quiet, and the rain soothed his nerves even more.

But as he read through the newspaper, his gaze was drawn to something that piqued his interest: the front-page headline.

[For His Royal Highness King Ren's 19th birthday, the Sword Saint Valerie Van Astrea is organizing the Royal Family's annual tournament of power; this year's winner will get 1,000,000 Arlies from the king personally, a noble rank from the kingdom, and a date with the sword saint herself.]

"Reinhards descendant ha? Interesting."

Chapter Text

"The tournament of power ha?" I've just heard rumors about it, from what I have heard it's a competition where the world's top fighters meet to put their skills against one another to decide who is the strongest. The kingdom holds these tournaments to enlist new power under their reign; to strengthen their military power, which they use to extend their territory, at this point the Sword Saint family is genuinely only one step away from becoming dictators of this world."

Pleiades thought to himself, with only the rain to hear what he had just said. On the other hand, he began to think about what he should do next; he wanted to enter the competition because it seemed fascinating enough at the time.

According to the publication, that would be impossible because it isn't for another two weeks.

So, with nothing else to do, Pleiades began to think to himself, wondering if he should go somewhere else than Altchare and simply enjoy new experiences. Or maybe he could wait the two weeks and do something else till the competition starts.

However, it didn't take him long to figure out what he wanted to do right then and there.

"No, let's not do the former; the other kingdoms didn't have anything worthwhile to do anyway, and Altchare might have more fun things to do." Yeah! Maybe I'm not looking hard enough; let's go tour the kingdom a little more; I'm sure I'll discover something intriguing to fill my time wisely."

Pleiades said as he returned to drink his cup of coffee he recently bought from a local cafe down the lane that was open early in the morning, and it was so that he was left alone.

On the other hand; someone else was watching the sage from afar; the person in question was looking at him with a confused eye.

"How come he looks so familiar...?" No! I'm not familiar with him, yet I'm pulled to him for some reason.... Why am I this way?.... I don't know him, but my inner self tells me I do. I'm at a loss; it's as if my soul is urging me to approach him, but my body is telling me to flee, what should I do?"

The voice of a woman wrapped in a grey cloak remarked as she looked at Pleiades from afar; just her mouth could be seen from within. Her hands are pale grey, almost as if she doesn't have enough blood in her body.

To her side was a normal-looking long sword that was properly sheathed, and when she moved, you could hear rustling from within, indicating she was wearing loose armor behind the thick grey cloak she wore. It would be loud if she were close, but she was a long way away, no more than two kilometers, and yet she could see the man clearly with her eyes alone.

After all, she'd been keeping a close eye on him for two days and couldn't figure out why she was so attached to him. No, she knew why, this man was the answer, the person who could assist her... to...to well, find herself, yes he was something she had engaged with before but couldn't remember when.

However, her attention was drawn back to him. As she spoke, the man stood up and tossed his newspaper and empty plastic cup into a garbage can near the bus stop before walking in the rain. But what caught this mystery off guard was the man's quick disappearance from her sight. Of course, she thought to herself.

'*Sigh!*... He did it again; honestly, tracking a man who can teleport is difficult; if it weren't for this strange body of mine, there'd be no way I could track him down when he vanished like that.'

But the instant she began to think about it, her nose immediately went off as she began to smell a familiar smell all too vividly, it was the smell of blood, to her it smelled sweet, delicious, and breath-taking, but she only knew one person who made her feel this way. But instinct took precedence over logic, and she drew her sword and performed a vertical slash while whirling around to dispatch the person behind her.

The blade's edge was so sharp and rapid that it cut right through the wind, sending a big wind blade to scatter everything in her route as she cleaves the wall edges with deep insitions, blowing everything away in her path. Even the dust off the ground caused a massive dust cloud to develop, and she instinctively sprang high in the air, no more than sixty to seventy meters in the air, to get away from the creature behind her, which was certain death.

Her wind blades were powerful enough to cut practically everything she aimed at, and she made it obvious to her fellow hunter man in the guild not to sneak up behind her because she was incredibly sensitive to danger, and her body acted on pure impulse. It was a bad habit of hers that she couldn't break.

So the likelihood that the person, beast, or thing behind her would be cleaved in half was high, but as she jumped mid-air, now landing due to loss of momentum, she noticed something. The dust, in particular, made it easy to distinguish, since the light was either curved around it, remaining invisible, or it was some form of projectile force field.

"What the...

The lady murmured, with a shocked expression under her cloak, since what she saw coming straight at her scared her to death, a giant hand covered in dirt that let her clearly see the invincible image that was swiftly approaching, it was so large to point, that when it opened wide fully. She swore it was too big, to the point that it had enough space and physical strength to take up an entire skyscraper and treat it like an ant in its palms.

"Im... im going die am I?"

Those were the last words the mysterious woman spoke before being grasped within the palms that instantly balled up into a fist. Of course, it was only one of seven thousand invisible providences that Pleiades could freely modify the size to, and each could travel at the speed of light regardless of its size, and it could even phase through objects and interact with invisible forces that are by right spiritual or mildly conceptual.

The woman from within, on the other hand, was frozen in place, she couldn't move an inch, happily, she didn't need to breed, it was one of the many benefits of her messed-up body. However, the worst-case scenario was approaching, since, just as she had suspected, the person sneaking up behind her was the person she was stalking.

Because a figure was levitating in mid-air, surrounded by the darkest of shadows, and the figure gradually began to drift towards her. And she wanted to beg for her life, but she couldn't genuinely die either way, so there was no purpose in doing so.

After all, she was accidentally sliced in half, burned alive to the bone, ripped to shreds, and atomized down to the atomic level within a particle accelerator in the Mathers domain. And yet, as long as a single particle of her exists, she will always return; at this point, she has no idea who or what she is, and hoping that this man might know of her, seeing she felt so close to him.

If such was the case, she would approach the man in a more acceptable manner next time. Only this time, instead of stalking him like a creep, she would try to engage in a proper conversation and ask him the question she needed to know. She knew it was bad, but she couldn't stop herself.

And now that she had a better look at him from such a close distance, her body ached even more; she knew the man, at least her spirit did, and her body seemed to start slowly recognizing who it was too. And then it happened: a series of memories flashed before her eyes like a recollection; she didn't know what it was, but she knew it was essential to her.

Yes, she remembers it very clearly, as the solitary memory returned to her; it was dark, early in the morning around three or four, she couldn't remember, but it was still night. Because everyone sleeps in the luxury of their own beds. Her fellow soldiers were at war with a monster like no other, everyone was scared by the look and capabilities of the white whale, which she and many others came to kill. She herself felt as if she was on the verge of succumbing to fear, and in that instant, the weakest moved forward with absolute confidence. That was the only way to characterize him at the time: he was like a hero in an exaggerated fairy tale.

In every way, those remarks are unmoving... courageous... and selfless. And there he mounted a black dragon, commanded by a blue-haired maiden.

"Let him have it Remu."

"Hmmm.... UL HUMA."

The maid yelled, unleashing a barrage of enormous ice sickles at supersonic speeds, breaching the sound barrier. The force behind the attack was so strong that the beast fell back in anguish, blood dripping from the wound bathing the battlefield with first blood, a trophy he claims by all right of being the raid's commander in that regard.

Her eyes widened in disbelief, then in rage, not at the youngster, but at her own incompetence. If the weakest man, as delicate as glass, could roar like a lion, how could she, the greater lion, quiver in such a way, it revolted her, why was she terrified, then it hit her; she had power and charisma, but that man had something she didn't. He had no idea of the dread of death, which even the toughest of animals had, and in his eyes, he could never lose, was it confidence, was it madness based on prior experience of being close to death, or was it something else entirely she wondered. Well, either way, It didn't matter because he was a better leader than she was, and that was an undisputed fact she had accepted.

But the boy did manage to reawaken something in her, and that was the will to never give up in the face of despair, which she expressed in a speech to improve the morale of her men.

"Stand up! Stop Staring at your feet, take up your weapons."

"Look at that boy, he is so weak and fragile a breath could blow him a way, and he is unarmed."

"He is powerless, I have seen his defeat with my own eyes, he is weaker than anybody else on this battlefield."

"Yet! He is shouting louder than anyone, that we can still come out victorious."

"How can we sit around, hanging our face in defeat, if our weakest man hasn't given up."

"How is it acceptable for the rest of us to kneel, as if we already loss."

Her eyes were filled with admiration, respect, or something else at that moment. The youngster was weak and frightened, yet he was braver than everybody else at the time on that very battlefield leading the charge like a madman, and she couldn't help but smile at such energy worthy of praise. They'd backed themselves into a corner, and the white whale would soon claim them.

And yet, at that very time, the boy's smile and positivity moved her beyond words; the person she was today had no idea when these events occurred. She did, however, know one thing. That this was the cause for her secret affection; she doesn't know what defeat she refers to in this memory, but one thing was certain: the youngster was no longer alive, nor did he shine as bright as he did then, like her, he was nothing more than an empty husk.

He was happy and full of optimism, but when she had a good look at the same individual, his entire aura and demeanor changed totally. And all that seemed to remain was sadness, loneliness, longing, and the entire spectrum of negativity that lies behind those lifeless eyes.

He's lost his smile.

He's stopped laughing.

What was once the embodiment of drive, to inspire confidence in the weak-minded was now nothing more than a dreary existence with no justification for the power he now wields.

At that time, as the man got closer, she forced herself to speak, but couldn't due to invisible providence holding her in place, and then something unexpected happened from the enemy who was following him.

[Cor leonis]

For the first time in ten thousand years, Cor Leonis re-activated, at the last minute, seeing Pleiades was aware of some shady person following him. And he was about to get rid of the annoyance since he didn't take kindly to stalking.

But with Cor Leonis, an ability that was meant only for those close to him, so he could take their burdens as his own, now registered this person as someone important, and because he was stronger than he was ten millennia ago, he instantly knew who this person was but refused to accept it, but his authority never lied to him, as a result, he had to accept it, despite questioning it.

"Ha... what... no.... no... nononononoNOOOO!... What is this feeling, wait is this; no it can't be, you should not be alive, so why... how are you here?!"

Pleiades spoke, his eyes filled with genuine emotion for the first time in a long time. But he'd soon answer his own question, for he grabbed the hoody from the cloak and pushed it away, and what he saw stunned him.

It was a woman with long, silky, and beautiful dark emerald green hair, however, her eyes were not the same golden color it once was. Instead, it was blood crimson and nocturnal, with a cat eye slit. Her most notable traits were her vampiric fangs and her complexion was eerily pale, to the point that she could have been a corpse.

Despite this drastic transformation, her appearance and facial features were identical to that individual, so he had to inquire.

"C-C...Crusch..... Karsten is that really you?"

Pleiades asked in disbelief.

Chapter Text

Two figures were seen sitting down and eating breakfast inside a small coffee shop. Served with a cup of tea. It was early in the morning, late six going towards seven o'clock. The cafe was already packed with customers at this point.

Even more so than usual because it was pouring heavily outside at this moment; nonetheless, it was a weekday and many had to work to make that bread in order to support their family.

But, among the many people in the store, there were two individuals who didn't stick out, but their true identities could make even the kingdom's current king look insignificant.

The first was a gorgeous greenhead beauty who was a former duchess and a past candidate for the throne of Lugnica, and the second was a scary-eyed young man who was formerly renowned as a hero known across the world as the Lolimancer, a Cult Slayer, and the Dragon Kingdom's child of war. To everyone else, he was a clever strategist who could predict events days in advance, but to himself, he was a miserable man who suffered endlessly only to not receive the happy ending he craved despite all the terrible agony he underwent. Only to be rewarded with a warped personality that is as wicked, if not more diabolical, than the seven witches of sin.

And, at the moment, they were both silent and staring at each other; Crusch had a worried but optimistic expression on her face, while Pleiades had a cold and emotionless, stoic facial expression, although his eyes did reveal immense interest in the person or subject in front of him.

At the moment, the mood is unusual. Crusch, on the other hand, didn't know what to say in a circumstance like this while knowing what she wanted to ask. Pleiades, on the other hand, didn't care about his former emotions, much less Crusch, because he was analyzing millions of different variables to determine whether the present situation was even feasible.

This was his internal thought.

'Is it the Sacrament of the immortal king?'

'Is she a homunculus like Pandora? No way, Pandora is the only immaculate artificial life form in existence since she is a modified host capable of withstanding the vanity witch factor. Even if she is one, she should not be able to live a long life without the support of a witch factor like Pandora, Dona, or even myself. And I can't forget the fact that a normal homunculus' life span is only eight months.'

'Is it possible she's a clone? That would be reasonable if Cor Leonis didn't activate the instant it recognized her as an ally. Furthermore, where would one obtain the DNA sample? That's impossible because Crusch died ten thousand years ago. Without a doubt, she is the same Crusch I knew back then, but the question is how. I cannot comprehend why or how she is still living in this day and age.'

'No, based on what I observe via the authority of Melancholy's second ability, "Deus Animarum," which is the power to analyze a person's mind, body, and soul. And reveal everything about them to me down to a conceptual level; I could perfectly figure out who she is, but I can't find any logic in it.'

'Overall, this power of mine only makes me a better doctor, scientist, and Yin magic practitioner. But just because I can see something doesn't imply I understand all that goes with it. Yes, Crusch in particular is a one-of-a-kind existence, if I must be honest; her body is by all accounts dead, and she resembles a vampire more than anything else. But her soul is genuinely intriguing; similar to Yorna, her soul has been separated from Od's influence; might this be a curse technique comparable to the Bondage of Thorns? I'm not sure what this is; if anything, I need to study her more so that I can develop a credible theory about the issue.'

'Haha... when was the last time I was this enthused about something? Well, I remember when. It was the day I realized I had yet to attain the summit of my art as a Yin mage. It is something I strive for but have given up on since I lack the mana required to climb to the last level, the Deus realm, which would essentially make me a True Magic God in this world, having reached the peak of Yin Magic.'

Pleiades thought to himself, he was a sage after all, a being higher than a witch or a warlock, but he was also an Ancient Yin magician. After all, it was the only element with which he was compatible. He used to despise this since he thought Yin magic was nothing more than a terrible debuff mage. But if he ever encountered his former self, he would use his Yin magic to make that stupid and immature version of himself loop a million times for thinking like that. After all, Yin magic isn't a debuff; it's actually reality-altering magic, and to be honest, if Pleiades used his full power, he could literally destroy the world a thousand times over.

He could, for example, create a black hole, or he could manifest his shadow garden outwards rather than inwards, casting all life into the emptiness of infinite possibilities, floating aimlessly in fractured darkness for all eternity. Unable to die, let alone live, because once inside, you're practically immortal on a conceptual level. Or he could be even harsher and utilize one of his numerous creative spells, such as his "Ultima Finis Mundi" spell, which would transform this planet into a "Dead by Daylight" lobby.

The effect of this spell is straightforward: it is a magic that pulls out the worst in people, a spell that expands the range of his miasma. When activated, it will trap the entire world as we know it in what he refers to as a "Madness bubble." Even the most innocent and heroic of souls can be transformed into the most deranged murderer or vilest r*pist within a short period of time; it all depends on what sin is your dominant attribute.

The point is that Pleiades had numerous options, and the only reason the world exists is because it was the only game board he had to play with. But then and again, the other witches could do the same; they are ten thousand years wiser than they were when Subaru was still Subaru.

The last time Omega encountered him in a battle, she was capable of summoning an actual fucking star to the entire world within the illusionary realm they created for a friendly spar; of course, he won, seeing that his authority can tank even the likes of a star immense heat. And she even declared that when she is 100% serious, she can compress all her mana to the maximum, and once she self-destructs, It was enough to recreate the raw firepower comparable to a hypernova; however, she can only do it once because it is a suicidal move.

Pleiades didn't know how powerful Echidna had become, but with a body that housed five other witches, including herself, he wouldn't be surprised if Omega, the vessel's name, was on par with him in terms of destructive power. Omega's magical output was, of course, far more than his, given that Omega has six separate Od's. This translates to six distinct power sources that have been collecting mana for the past ten thousand years.

Although he had one thing, Echidna didn't, even with her six Ods. And that was an overwhelming level of defense that went beyond the superficial to the point that not even the likes of Pandora, and he would even dare say the current sword saint and even Regulus if he were still alive, could even dream of bypassing.

Overall, Pleiades was an immovable object that no unstoppable force could push or pull, but that didn't imply he was able to confront an unstoppable force; Pandora was a prime illustration of this. She was just created differently, just as he was constructed differently. None of them can die, and Miasma doesn't work on Pandora. If anything, Pandora rather enjoys his Miasma; something about it feels nostalgic or close to home.

But such was the scenario, and just as Pleiades was about to delve more into other topics, he decided to cut it short for the time being. These ideas lasted little longer than 0.000001 seconds in his mind; that was how quickly he processed information on a regular basis when he was thinking intently. In real-time, not even a single second, let alone a fraction of a fraction of a second, passes. He knew he couldn't stay in the comfort of the slow world in front of him.

As a result, his attention returned to Crusch, who was staring at him, and she finally began to talk as she said.

"Umm Natsuki...

Pleiades interrupted her before she could continue her statement, saying:

"Pleiades is my new name, so please refer to me as such, as I have long abandoned the name Natsuki Subaru." After all, that man died many millennia ago. As such, Pleiades, the wondering, inquisitive wiseman, is the man in front of you right now."

Crusch was taken aback by his sudden powerful Gestalt, given that based on the few recollections she had of the youngster she had known, he was fairly meek and weak. While the person in front of him was frightening and powerful, if not an entirely separate existence altogether.

But that didn't matter; what mattered was the here and now, as well as the fact that she finally found someone who had all the answers she sought.

"Well, ah hahah... Well, Mr. Pleiades, I'll get right to the point... you see I...

Pleiades yawned with laziness before Crusch could even voice her point, feeling like the conversation was a waste of time because he already knew what she was going to say. His authority had already made it plain to him what Crusch was going through, so he responded with.

"Certainly, Ms. Karsten." I know what you're going to ask me, you lost your memory... and now you've come to me in the hope that I might shed some light on your true identity, right... along with some other minor details?"

Crush's eyes widened in disbelief as she stated these remarks to Pleiades words.

"H-H...Howwww did you know what I was going to ask you?"

Pleiades' eyes widened wide as he looked at Crusch and inquired.

"Hmmm... do you really wish to know the answers to that is that the root of your desire?"

"I----I... I... 

"Agh. I see you can't decide what you want, even though I'm going out of my way to make the obvious more obvious. Well, it doesn't matter because it's plain to me what you want, so let's get rid of all the unnecessary distractions."

Pleiades said as he snapped his finger, welcoming Crusch inside his Shadow Garden, and what happened next could only be described as madness.

As if someone had struck the basic concept of the universe with a hammer, darkness began to spread in all directions. Shedding the skin of reasoning from the world around her, as well as the man accountable for the dramatic change in the universe before her.

As a result of this, darkness began to leak and reach all corners of the world, as strange purple shards began to appear in the aftermath of the crash, spreading in every direction possible, each fragment containing an alternate universe.

The man in front of her had a stoic expression on his face as he looked squarely at Crusch, the very presence of him in this place that appears to be the opposite of normalcy itself causes Crusch to sense a level of primal fear that can only be described as eldritch in nature.

He then began to speak, making her even more afraid of him.

Each word piled a mountain of anxiety on her psyche.

"The only requirement to have a dialogue is for both of us to exist, hence the reason I remove everything from the picture."

"Ugh...

"All we need is our words."

"Let me affirm your desires properly, the greed, the curiosity, the drive to know the unknown, the desire to take back what was forgotten I want to hear it all, to experience it all."

Crusch sat completely stunned, unable to move a single muscle in her body, and yet, despite her clear and evident shock and discomfort at the unfamiliar surroundings, Pleiades did not pause for a single second, as if to say that his right to speak will not be violated.

"Now, what would you like to ask me?"

"Uhhh... ghaa!!...

"Is it about the world's affairs that you suddenly awaken to?" It's about the memories you've lost, and it's about your strange body, which is perfectly, if not nearly flawlessly, immortal and dependent on the blood of the living."

"Or perhaps it's something more personal from your past, before your unfortunate unlife." For example, information about the five candidates, each of whom was qualified to be King of Lugnica during your reign as the Goddess of War Crusch Karsten the Lionheart."

"EEEEHeee!!!

"Mhm.... each candidate was unique in their own right each having aspects of sins heavily related to their personality."

"Would you like to learn more about the Baroness Priscillia Barielle, the sun princess formerly known as Prisca?" Representing the idea of vanity, who was born with incredible fortune. But, in an ironic twist of fate, she had to fake her own death in order to flee her own motherland owing to unfortunate circumstances that would cost her everything."

Pleiades stated as a silhouette of a woman with a fan to her face, showing only her pridful but beautiful red eyes, started to materialized behind him, only for him to continue speaking.

"Or perhaps you'd like to learn more about the Hoshin Wanabee, the richest merchant at the time." Her name was Anastasia Hoshin, and many thought she was a pretty girl, but few knew that the richest woman was once a motherless, fatherless kid who grew up as an orphan in the criminal territories of Kararagi, and even in the brutal slums of Banan. As a result, she grew up to be a very greedy lady."

From there, the silhouette of an elegant lady in a long dress and fur scarf with gleaming blue eyes appeared.

"How about her polar opposite, the last survivor of the previous royal family bloodline, who all succumbed to a plague set in motion by the former, and now deceased, archbishop of lust?" Amalia Felt Lugnica, born a princess but raised as a slum rat by a giant who had led his people in the demihuman war 10,050 years ago."

The small image of a little girl with short hair emerged from there.

"Or perhaps you want something more tragic but equally heroic than the rest, the epic story of the Witch of Glaciation." Emilia was a half-elf born of the witch bloodline, which the world despised at the time because her ancestor Satella the witch of envy destroyed half of the world 10,400 years ago after she went insane owing to not being compatible with the sloth witch factor. And if that wasn't awful enough, Emilia was reviled by everyone due to her startling resemblance to the witch of Envy."

With such words, a silhouette image of a large cat towering menacingly in the background with an elf standing on its head and snowflake silhouettes falling on the ground could be seen.

"But what's a good trip down memory lane without the introductions of the show's star?" Yes, I know you want to know about the Duchess of the Dragon Kingdom, the Goddess of War herself, and the lioness who took on the moniker of lionheart in memory of her dearly beloved Fourier, who perished at the hands of the witch cult's wicked games. The woman who represents pride better than anyone else, Crusch Karsten, who solely decided that Lugnica should cut links with the heavenly dragon because the kingdom had grown too reliant on the 400-year-old pact, but you poor thing Pandora got you good haha."

Crusch's silhouette came behind Pleiades, holding her sword like a warrior goddess, her golden eyes shining with a lion's pride. However, the more she learns, the more anxious she becomes. Knowledge was power, but now that she is standing before Pleiades, she can't help but be terrified of the entity who had information dating back ten and a half millennia, combined with the power he boasted like it was just another day of the week.

For a brief moment, his austere face broke into a cruel smile, as if expecting something in return, and his eyes seemed to peer into the deepest recesses of her soul. She wanted to flee, hide, and scream because she could feel her own fear and anxiety building. But then the black space vanished, knocking her out of the shadow garden and returning her to the cafe they were previously at, her hands and legs still quivering from the experience of witnessing a small glimpse of the past.

Pleiades, on the other hand, gazed at the quivering Crusch as he took a sip of the coffee in front of him and said.

"Oh my, you look shaken. Is it possible that I went a little too far? Well, that's the nature of one of my sort; it's fairly annoying, to be honest, but whatever. I've asked the question, "Do you still want to know the unknown?"

Chapter Text

(A/N): Yes, so to be clear, I am well-versed in the full Re: Zero mythos. I can name every Metia in the anime, manga, WN, and LN; I even know what happened before Subaru arrived in Cannon and Pandora was born. I began reading Re Zero before it became popular.

So this chapter may contain terms you are unfamiliar with, but because this is my AU, I will include features that will undoubtedly make this fic amusing.

____________________

"Oh my, you look shaken. Is it possible that I went a little too far? Well, that's the nature of one of my sorts; it's fairly annoying, to be honest, but whatever. I've asked the question, "Do you still want to know the unknown?"

Crusch took a look at the man in front of her who was calmly sipping his cup of coffee; her hands were still trembling from the terror of what she had just experienced. It was as if Subaru—no, this person wasn't Subaru; the boy she saw in her recollections didn't act like the contemporary version in front of her.

But either way, what Pleiades did from what she saw and experienced was destroy reality—the very universe as she knows it—around her, only to casually replace it with a world befitting of the personality he displayed. As he recreates the world again and returns it to the state it was before its destruction.

Or that is what she personally believed happened, as she experienced something truly Godlike occur before her very eyes. However, who can blame Crusch for reacting this way? Pleiades was essentially a witch himself, but his title was Sage. So doing crazy shit like what he pulled off was just a typical Tuesday for him.

Crusch, on the other hand, didn't want to remain silent indefinitely; she had no explanation for what had just transpired, and she didn't want to get on Pleiade's bad side. All she wanted right now was the truth, and just the truth. Everything else can be put off until later. So, as she indicated, she went ahead and put her desires on the table.

"I'd like to... I'd like to know who I am, what I am, and why I am the way I am. For the first time in my life, I awoke in a cave trapped in a chunk of ice, half frozen and unable to move, until eventually I managed to free myself. Apart from my name, I had no memory, and the only thing left behind for me was this sword and this necklace."

Crusch muttered to Pleiades, her crimson eyes shining with desire, although she had long realized that she could not discover the truth about her origins on her own. Or even dream of discovering the source of her strange body, which was anything but human.

Pleiades, on the other hand, just listened intently as he made a mental note of everything that the former lioness was telling him. His eyes were focused on the objects noted—the sword he recognized; after all, the lioness's precious sword was passed down from generation to generation. It was the Karsten family's "Lion Rampant."

Technically, it was an ancient Metia invention designed to compete with the ten swords of power, but it failed miserably. Pleiades would know, since he himself was in possession of three of the ten swords of power. 

He obtained the shadow sword type, magic also known as the "Full-Moon Great Sword," from Satella, which had a blade so sharp it could cut space.

The second was the Divine Spirit Sword, also known as the Blade of Laguna. It allows the user to imbue the power of the Od spirit itself, allowing them to discharge raw mana at the target and even cut through magic itself. Essentially, it is an anti-magic sword and one of the only blades that could give Reinhard a run for his money, seeing as it can bypass some divine protections as well.

Finally, there was the Bewitched Beloved blade, "The sword of Heartbreak and Betrayal." This blade is a sword that can only cut through a single notion. And that was the ability to sever bonds. Pleiades may use it to cut through memories, feelings, and favorability, and even murder them if he so desires. It was a terrifying blade, seeing relationships crumble beneath its sharp edge.

These three blades were part of his collection; however, they have only been used as props so far. Because he was so strong, to the point that these blades were merely his otaku tendencies taking over, seeing that he treated them like the Minecraft diamond sword he had when he was still in Japan. In layman's terms, a limited-edition toy that has never come out of the box since he got it.

His eyes, on the other hand, began to glance at her chest, not in a propagative manner; he was simply using his authority to analyze the necklace that was firmly embedded between her cleavages. It was purely coincidental that the necklace was tightly fitted between her cleavages, most likely because the necklace strap had ripped in two, so Crusch used her breast as an additional pocket to store things inside, quite a useful function that males like himself do not have.

Crusch, on the other hand, started covering her chest as she inquired.

"W-Why are you looking so intently at my breast?"

Pleiades, on the other hand, answered with a bored look in his eyes while adjusting his crystal monocle on his left eye.

"Don't get it twisted, Ms. Karsten; you have to be as large as Sekhmet to get a reaction out of me, and either way. I'm not looking at your breast; I'm merely looking at the stone that is tightly sandwiched between your breast and rusty chest armor."

"By the looks of it, I believe the stone in the necklace is an incomplete golem core, but I'm not sure because the material isn't organic in nature." And, if you ask me, the mana wavelengths in that thing are horribly inconsistent to the point of being severely unstable, and if it is a golem core, that would answer my question about what you are, at least biologically. Because the component of your soul is significantly more intricate than the component of your body."

Pleiades murmured, catching Crusch off guard with a sudden, faint blush on her face.

"You talk as if you can see through my armor?"

"Of course, I can see through your shoddy armor." "How do you think I can diagnose you without touching you?"

"Wait, so this entire time you were...

"Now, before you say those next words, please calm down; we're both adults here." We should not be alarmed by such ordinary notions of nudity; I am a doctor, a scientist, and a sage first and foremost. I am equally proficient in the dark arts of magic and biology, so I need to see what I am working with. So, don't worry, I'm not that perverse that I'd publicly sleep with every lady I see."

"I'll be honest with you, Ms. Karsten; I want to help you not because we were once acquainted nor because you asked me to." I only want to help you because I want answers. And just so you know, experiences and emotions are more important to me than life itself. I want to experience the joy ride that is you, to see behind the curtain of your anatomy, because your mind, body, and soul all carry vital knowledge and experience my greed desires, my envy covets, my gluttony drools for with expectation, and my lust craves for, especially your soul. And I want that information for myself; therefore, I'll be very honest with you, Miss Karsten. As two adults seeking answers, would you like to form a contract with me?"

Pleiades informs the previous Duchess of the Dragon Kingdom. Crusch, on the other hand, began to inquire.

"A.... contract?....

"Yes, a contract between you and me, you see in exchange for the information I have about your past, as well as any other questions you may have; I only want your body, soul, and mind for a year." I will additionally stipulate in the contract that I will not make our relationship a nonconsensual one; I am not interested in your body in such ways; it is your soul that interests me, and even then, I will only study you for a year. I will also finish what your inept inventor started by transforming you into a proper golem, or even better, I will take it a step further and transform you into the perfect biological lifeform. Miss Karsten, I sense potential in you, and as such, I intend to recreate you into something far superior to even the genuine homunculus Pandora herself. I intend to transform you into an existential biological Metia. I might even be able to reach the Deus realm with you as a weapon of mass destruction. If I can comprehend the complicated relationship between the Od and the soul itself. That's how unique you are, Miss Karsten; your soul and od are one and the same, and you regenerate by drawing the world's mana directly from Od Laguna, in layman's terms, your body is taking divine power from the world's spirit itself, the core only exist to make the connection more smooth and vivid. You are essentially twisting Od Laguna to your will, or so I have observed; this is why your soul isn't snatched by the world's Od after death; you aren't attached to it, but you aren't totally divorced from it either. I'm not sure how this is possible; you're breaking the rules of the world in an unconventional way, which is why I need to study your soul, why I want you, and why your soul is important; with it, I might be able to ascend to a higher level of power, and you might be able to ascend alongside me if I can unravel the secrets. So, Miss Karsten, what do you think? Will you enter into a contract with me?"

Chapter Text

"So, Miss Karsten, what are your thoughts?" Will you enter into a contract with me? I tell you that with your assistance, we will be able to surpass even the sword saint lineage. Furthermore, we may even be able to transcend the very definition of the Od and effectively become the new gods of this universe. Isn't it fascinating to look into the unknown and use it to your advantage? To reveal truths, no mortal should transcend beyond the surface status quo, which may be the fundamental origin of life and mana itself. This isn't a minor matter, Miss Karsten; you could be the key to a door far larger than you can even imagine or comprehend."

"And what is a key without someone to help it fulfill its original duty as a key?" Miss Karsten, if you take my hand, then congratulations! You will be the first living being outside the idea of a factor holder closer to the truth, so turn it to open the door, reach the opposite side, and peer into the mystery of the secrets of the universe itself. I can be that someone; your memories are only a small part of the genuine benefits we can achieve together. We can authentically unlock Pandora's box and break free from the laws that bind us. You may not understand, but I have lived a long life, and I have seen, experienced, and even created things that have made me realize that we are nothing more than a minor cog in the cosmic machine known as the universe. And what I want is to get away from the system; I don't know about you, but I despise being a puppet being guided by the strings of order."

"And before you accuse me of having a God complex, let me prove you wrong; additionally, the title of God is just a title." Similarly, the title of witch, warlock, or sage is only a term given to someone in order for them to stand out from the rest of the population. Because, to be honest, I don't believe in God, which is a dumb human title given to anything higher than ourselves. God is only a moniker, a position, and a level of authority to me, much like a CEO, a monarch, a cashier, or a customer service representative... God is a platonic concept created by people to provide meaning to something they do not understand yet continue to revere."

"Do you realize how revolting that is?" Comparing a monarch to a commoner is like comparing an ant to the average human being. Despite being of the same race, the only thing that truly differs is perception. A king's perspective on the world is significantly broader than that of the average commoner; you can do whatever you want because the kingdom is yours. And you, as a commoner, have no choice but to obey the rules of a ruler you do not want to serve but rather be. What I'm trying to say is that if you take my hand, Miss Karsten, I can show you a whole new world. The perspective I have can be yours to enjoy; I have already seen it all, thus these emotions and stale experiences matter naught to me. But it will be nothing short of an epiphany for you. Humans, to me, are always blind; they say they see but never truly look at the bigger picture in front of them."

"But you, Miss Karsten, have been anonymously bestowed a gift that makes you far superior to the common mass; your Od is essentially the world Od itself, if not a smaller variation of it; I wonder if I can alter the nature of the very world with your soul; if I can do that, then limitless time traveling outside and inside different, parallel, and alternate realities would be possible. Maybe even dimension-crossing and a variety of infinite possibilities might be possible as well." To begin with, there is only so much fascination in this world. I want far more experiences; the shadow garden shows me that there is more than a single universe, but many. I want to see them, live through them, and feel the emotions they all have to offer. My hunger becomes stronger by the day, especially my greed, which craves more and more. It's a never-ending anguish that you can't even fathom a tenth, of a tenth, of a tenth of."

"But enough talking; I can't stay here and rant all day as to why I want you, but I will leave it at that, so the bigger question is, will you form a contract with me? Miss Karsten?!"

Pleiades announced, his smile reaching an all-time high, while Crusch, on the other hand, was immensely overwhelmed; she didn't understand half of what this man said. Parallel universes, limitless time travel, and what the hell is a shadow garden in the first place? In all honesty, she arrived for an answer and was met with acute paranoia, anxiety, and a skull-cracking headache.

Was this type of personality even normal? Were all physicians, magicians, and scientists like him, or was he an outlier?

Crusch Karsten was perplexed and uncertain at the time. If she takes his hand, she can regain her memories with his help, but the catch is that she has to become this man's experimental subject for a year. And what does he mean when he says her Od is the world Od? What the heck is an Od? Is he referring to her gate? And wasn't the gate a magical organ that every living being possessed? He did imply that Od has something to do with a soul on several occasions, so is he arguing that her Od was initially a part of the world? If that's the case, why does she have the soul of the world?

No, the bigger question is: who turned her like this to begin with?

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'*Sigh!* Crusch, you did an excellent job. You come hoping for answers only to be left with additional questions, none of which you are capable of answering on your own. I sincerely want my memories back, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated by Nastsuki's current personality, which doesn't match the single recollection I have of him. Then and again, is this really Subaru, or is it someone else? They appear and sound the same to some extent; perhaps this version is a little older, and his voice is a little heavier, but those eyes, despite their different color, are an exact reproduction of his.'

'He did claim he had lived a long life, but can age truly affect you that much? I know it happens, but this is too much change, if you ask me. But maybe I'm the problem; I only have one memory of him, and yet I'm already drawing conclusions about how he is all the time. Yeah, in the end, I don't have much of a choice, and even if I regain my memories, where do I go from there? Is there anyone else I know who might be alive? Natsuki is alive, but he might as well be considered dead. If my solitary remembrance of him is his genuine personality and not simply my imagination, then that man is an eternity away from what I am currently witnessing, because whatever this is cannot be him. And if it is him, perhaps I am not adept at judging character.'

'Perhaps grabbing his hand isn't such an awful idea after all, but one year of freedom isn't too bad either. And, most of all, I won't have to worry about him taking advantage of me in that way because we're going to sign a contract. But, for my part, I want answers, and if this is the only way to get them, so be it. Crusch Karsten does not belong in this life, in this era, in this time, or in this place. To be honest, Crusch Karsten, who are you? Do I truly want to reclaim my memories? Will that not cause unneeded pain? Or am I simply becoming excessively sentimental right now?'

Crusch was having personal thoughts at the time. When she first escaped that block of ice, all she knew was that she needed to get her memories back as soon as possible. It was a natural instinct that all living entities who were oblivious to their own existence would have. But, at least in her mind, she isn't the original Crusch Karsten. And, according to Natsuki, she had evidently perished in the past; how could that happen? She had no idea, and she didn't want to find out; after all, who wants to know how they died? It was a disgusting thought.

But in the end, the lioness chose what she desired.

'No, let's not think like that: memories or not, you were and will always be Crusch Karsten; if not in mind, then at least in body and soul you still are.'

The lioness mentally announced her eyes looking at her hand as she tightened her fist with resolve. She didn't want to acknowledge it, but meeting the eccentric version of the boy she once knew as Natsuki Subaru gave her a much-needed wake-up call.

'Besides, you've spent all of your time and resources on this one specific goal, so not getting my memories back is like betraying myself; isn't that more disgusting than living a life that wasn't intended to be?'

'By all accounts, Crusch Karsten is dead, but I'm going to interpret this as a kind of reincarnation or self-embodiment. I want to do better, become better, and strive for a better future, possibly one where death does not deserve me until it earns me. I owe it to my true self at the very least. That's why I am incomplete; as such, I need to reach my perfect self, and that will only be possible if the current me reunites with the former me.'

'And the way things are right now, there is only one clear road left for me to walk on in order to attain that goal, and that path is the very hand in front of me, If I let it go now, there will be no next time, I can sense it; I don't know how, but I just simply can.'

Crusch firmly grasped Pleiade's hand, her mind made up, and her eyes lit up with a new purpose as she tightly grabbed it. And Pleiades could see it—the experience, the emotion, everything—it was too delicious, too fantastic, too mouth-watering, finger-licking good to express. He has one year to finish this incomplete masterpiece. As a result, the Great Sage had returned, however momentarily, for the first time in a long time. But if this one year produced the results he required, A sage will become something far more than an ordinary sage; whether it is what mortals would call a god or a devil, he had no idea, but that is what makes the experience all the more delightful.

Overall, he had the impression that something significant may be accomplished this time, but a year was just too short. Of course, he needs funding and equipment, among other things that this era no longer provides. He did, however, know someone who could assist him with this issue.

As a result, he needed to deliver the message, and his shadow glided away from his body stealthily and rapidly as it went outside via the rear entrance. After being cloaked in the darkness of an ally it was certain that no one could see it, the shadow then began to turn into a raven and soared westwards into the distance, its destination unknown, but it had one purpose: to carry a message.

Pleiades, on the other hand, went ahead and grabbed Crusch's hand while saying this.

"You made the right choice, now let's get going, time is of the essence here."

"Going... were to exactly?"

Crusch inquired, but Pleiades rose from his seat, having left a little gratuity together with the cash for the coffee he bought for both him and Crusch. He walked towards the door without saying anything. Crusch, on the other hand, came on swiftly and began to follow him outside and it was still raining, but Pleiades didn't appear to mind and just kept going; of course, Crusch was by his side at the time.

He merely looked at her and smiled, but Crusch was taken away when she heard his voice in her mind, as he remarked via a mysterious telepathic link.

[We are being followed by two people, the one on the right is a beastman of the wolfbane tribe, he should be as powerful as the current you and the female on the left is an extremley powerful fire magus." It's strange because I have no idea who these guys are. But either way they're not significant right now. What matters to me is the terms of the contract I want us to sign, so let's go to my garden and discuss the details there; I'll deal with them later; I've already marked them with my mana. So, from now on, follow me until we rendezvous in a dark alley, and then I'll take you back to my inner world.]

Crusch was taken aback and instantly took a look at the two individuals behind her, and Pleiades was correct, they were indeed being followed. She did, however, discover something that drew her attention. It was a woman she had met earlier on in one of her jobs, Julia 85th Mathers, she was the Mather family's sixth eldest daughter also known by many by the moniker of "Ognyena Maria". A powerful individual that is known in the kingdom for being a powerful fire Magus who is rumored to have enough mana to set the entire world ablaze, or bring it into a hundred-year ice age.

Crusch's heart almost left her at that point, as she thought to herself.

'W-w-why is that monster pursuing us... did I get myself involved in something dangerous?'

'No, the main question is, why is Natsuki so calm? Does he not know who she is? No, that can't be true; he was aware of her existence and knew how powerful she was in the first place, but even so, why does he look so bored? Could it be that he is certain that he can handle her if things go south... well, he is strong, but that thing is on another level. NO! Let's just relax; I'm sure he has a strategy; after all, if it weren't for this unique body of mine, I doubt anyone could capture much less track him easily. Especially considering he has the ability to teleport at will.'

'Yeah, everything was going to be find... right, yeah, sure, let's not think too negatively.'

Crusch sighed to herself; Pleiades, on the other hand, began to look around him and rapidly realized something.

'We're quickly being surrounded as we go; this isn't normal, are they after me... no, their main focus of sight is on Crusch, tsk... fine then, I don't know who you guys are, but it doesn't matter, to challenge a sage for the right of a specimen hahaha... very well, I'll show you a trick I picked up from Pandora when she couldn't kill me and wasn't full on ballistic mode.' 

'Well, I can't straight up alter reality as that woman can with her words, so I'll simply use that spell, you guys want something to pay attention to, I'll give you something alright if you fail to stop this, then you don't qualify to even be in my presence as a fellow magic user.'

Unknown to anybody, including Crusch, the sword saint, and Julia, as well as the people who followed Crusch and Pleiades, the irritated sage smiled cruelly, fully unconcerned about whether this attack wiped out the entire world. After all, he had Crusch, a lady with a soul who would grant him access to the universe's power if his experiments went as planned. Even if the planet was destroyed, it would be an experience to remember nonetheless

And as such, he said but three words in his head.

'Ultima....meteoron... imbrem!'

'Hahaha.... And with that, welcome to Gulag... and so we wait five minutes for it to arrive, however I will state that in order to halt this spell, that woman will have to die, for this spell will follow her until everything that has been summoned is destroyed, because I made her the beacon.'

'Haha Kyahahahahhhhahahaaaa..... riiiiight..... im sure if all fails the sword saint will intervene. hahahahahaaaaa!'

Crusch, on the other hand, thought to herself as she observed Pleiades' tiny grin and unsightly chuckles that escaped his mouth and didn't escape her gaze as she inwardly asked.

'What's he laughing about, and what's with that creepy and inhumane grin?'

'KIKIKYHAHAHAHAAHHHAKYAHAHA... aww Hora... HOra... 

Those were the final words, Pleiades thought internally, struggling to keep his wicked excitement in check. Meanwhile, deep in space, a total of twelve separate giant asteroids were heading for a flat planet and traveling at a fast speed, almost as if something had summoned them. The smallest asteroid was about 4 km long and shaped like a spear. While the largest asteroid measured a terrifying 26 kilometers in length.

[Time until arrival: 3 minutes and 57 seconds.]

Chapter Text

"Um Natsuki-san?"

"Please just call me Pleiades, my cute pet apprentice!"

"Awha! Sorry, I'm still getting used to your new name... apprentice... wait, pet? "What exactly do you mean?"

Crusch was perplexed by Pleiades' use of two phrases that caught her off guard. Of course, Pleiades began to respond since he could smell a misunderstanding from a mile away and decided to clear it up now.

"Again, before your amnesic brain causes unnecessary misconceptions, let me explain. To begin, the reason I call you my pet is rather simple: I call anyone I consider to be relevant to my eternal life my close pet. I don't mean it negatively; for example, I have exactly 20 people with whom I have a connection with in this world; eight of them are my pets, which implies that they are creatures that I cannot get rid of due to particular circumstances. As such, I am stuck with them, whether I want them or not. The other twelve are strays, which are folks I meet but have no real significance; it's a hello and farewell kind of friendship. But close enough to be worth remembering to some extent."

Pleiades stated those words casually, as if that were the most natural thing to say. Well, in a way, it was—for him at least, seeing that his concept of camaraderie has been sadistically distorted in more ways than one over the past ten millennia.

After all, what can one expect from a witch—or, in his case, a warlock? Nonetheless, he finished his explanation, concluding with:

"For example, Ms. Karsten, you are my 9th pet; take honor in that; I do care for you in my own way; from a human point of view, a pet to me means you are my friend, possibly family; or something in between, like how I view my pet Blue Ring Octopus Pandora; she is silent but fucking deadly." One like her can only be found in the lowest depths of the sea that is life itself; metaphorically, she is beautiful, very beautiful and soft, and tight... and lethal, did I mention tiny as well, and tight... extremely tight."

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Crusch flushed profusely as she understood the message a little too well but tried to ignore it out of embarrassment. She can also comprehend his peculiar way of viewing people, although it was kind of messed up. A pet is anything that is close to its owner; nevertheless, this does not mean that the pet may not bite you from time to time; nonetheless, not all animals can be tame either. Then and again, what on earth is an octopus? She wonders. She had never heard of such an animal before.

But as she pondered the subject further, she began to wonder what kind of pet animal she was to him. Strange?! Why does she find pleasure in the prospect of Pleiades labeling her as a pet animal? It was an odd feeling; the thought of becoming someone else's pet animal was not a healthy idea to adapt to. And yet she felt solace in the fact that Pleiades had made her one of his pets; was this some kind of horrible sorcery or trick he performed on her, the lioness wondered?

Natsuki, on the other hand, was always in her head, given that he heard her thoughts and responded to her.

"Basically, you answer yourself; you're my pet lioness." Keep in mind that I also use animals to reflect a person's personality, and even if your memories are gone, you are still powerful and confident; you don't need pride to survive; you were born free, but liberation from others does not fit you. The Crusch I knew was a leader with a steely resolve, and compared to my former self, you possessed a mentality that took me several lifetimes to develop. I'm also going to make you my apprentice because of your strong will and natural ability to act independently on your own. To me, you are a dull sword in need of a proper master to wield and sharpen it. But with me on your side, I will turn you into a true weapon, one so powerful that it does not require a master to wield it when it has been properly sharpened."

Crusch's eyes widened in stupor as she heard these remarks. His comments were delivered in a cold, emotionless monotone, but you could sense the wisdom and emotion underlying every syllable. For a brief moment, she felt as if her heart had been carried away, yet this might all be because of the fact, that in this reality, Natsuki could be the only thing she had left, but he was so different.

No! A better way to describe him would be his waning interest in things around him that he didn't find interesting. She figured out on her own that Natsuki, or Pleiades, was gradually losing touch with his feelings as a human being. Then and again, it might be too late, and his feelings are far gone. But she was in no position to judge either; after all, what made her human had died along with her original memories, leaving her imprisoned within the ice she was submerged in.

But when her mind wandered further, Pleiades began to speak again, as he said.

"Well, in any case, you are now one of my pets, and as a pet lover and your caregiver, I will not let anything happen to you." Animal cruelty is not tolerated in my domain, and I dislike it when humans disrupt my ecosystem. Although my ecology is a little risky, the monarch butterfly, which is far too smart for her own good, is the least threatening but the most dangerous in her own way. And the most dangerous is the koala, which is constantly sleeping yet can crush you even in her dreams. The most concerning, however, is the hyena, which is hazardous even while on a leash. Apart from that, I'm confident you'll fit right in."

"No, I'm confident you can. Physical violence is nearly impossible with that blonde chihuahua breathing down everyone's throat. But I must say, she is sometimes entertaining to watch."

"You seem to have an interesting collection of pets, ha?" So, what animal do you represent in your ecosystem?"

Crusch inquired of Pleiades, as she was amused by the entire pet conversation. Pleiades, on the other hand, already knew what animal he was; he came to this world as that animal and remains thus to this day.

"I am the raven, confident, spiteful, frightening, and bipolar when the time comes... I am as unpredictable as I am manipulative, and I am not easily broken. I am a social bird who soars over everyone else. I have one experience and then act on it twice; I am a bird of prey disguised as a passerine. I keep an eye on my pets from above and afar, but I don't make it my business to get too involved in their affairs. I will just observe from the highest point, and I will only act when my presence is required; otherwise, no one is permitted to approach my sky carelessly."

Crusch, on the other hand, was taken aback by the philosophical response, as she said.

"Wow, that's kind of deep. I think I'm slowly understanding your strange character now, not by much, but I'm learning more and more about you, and I think that's al...

"Haaaa....

The conversation had been going so well up until this point that Crusch let her guard down for a little while. Despite the fact that the two of them were surrounded by so many people, the pleasant moment they enjoyed was soon cut short when Crusch noticed that the entire world around her had turned orange. Her eyes immediately shot up into the sky, and that's when she noticed the twelve gigantic meteors traveling straight for them.

"w-w-Wha-What the HELLLLLLL!?...

Her gaze is immediately drawn to Pleiades, who has a contented but equally insane expression on his face. Pleiades, on the other hand, simply stated as such.

"So it has finally arrived."

Chapter Text

"N-n-N-n-n-NAt...Natsuki san! I..Is that y-yo-your DOIIINGGG!!!"

Crusch recounted, with a horrified expression on her face, the tremendous heat of the plummeting projectile, palpable from where she stood. The sky was turning a terrifying orange as twelve massive meteors descended from the sky at an uncontrollable rate.

Her eyes widened with terror at the sight of the massive object falling from the sky; evidently, if any of those asteroids struck, the planet as a whole would be destroyed, leaving no traces of life behind.

Then and again, how much mana would it even require to pull something so heavy from the cold vacum of space and make said object arrive here so quickly? The answer was simple: to destroy the world, you need the same amount of mana needed to cover the world. 

If the scenario were exactly the opposite of what is currently taking place, Crusch Karsten would have been impressed by Pleiades' casual performance, as if it were nothing to him. Her eyes were filled with horror as she stared at him, knowing he was a monster among men.

After all, this was akin to the power of the Mathers family's head. In the present day, the Mathers family head is recognized as the strongest magic user in the world, second only to the sword saint. And seeing Pleiades do something equally comparable to the family head of the renowned Mathers house gave her a general notion of exactly how powerful this version of Subaru truly is.

She couldn't, however, stand by and watch Pleiades destroy everything. So with her resolve hardening, she inadvertently gripped his shoulder. As Crusch began to speak to him, her look was that of a scared cat with its tail between its legs.

Nonetheless, her gaze remains fixed on his. Her expression was one of sheer panic, and for good reason, and despite the world-ending catastrophe that was unfolding, Pleiades' eyes were cold, callous, and uncaring. It was as if he didn't care what happened to the world; it was filthy in a way, yet she felt pity for him at the same time. But there were just some things she couldn't agree on. And summoning these meteors only to divert the enemy's attention away from them was going way too far.

"You have to put an end to this insane behavior, Pleiades... If you keep doing this, you'll destroy everything."

Crusch spoke simply, almost pleadingly. Pleiades' response, on the other hand, was as follows:

"Insane behavior, ha?" Maybe that's how you perceive it, but I tell you, Ms. Karsten, that I have everything under control. Do you think I'll just destroy the world with no ability to correct my mistakes if something goes wrong? To begin with, these meteorites will not harm the kingdom; I only brought them here so we could go undetected after enough panic has spread. Look around you; people are more terrified and confused than anything else; they are not even paying us any mind at all. And that magician likewise vanished when she saw those meteorites, most likely evacuating, or preparing to protect the kingdom."

Pleiades, who was frantically arranging the entire situation, said. Crusch, on the other hand, began to glance around, and he was correct; everyone was fleeing and screaming in terror, with no one bothering or chasing them. Julia and her servant also appear to vanish, most likely to deal with the matter at hand.

In this scenario, she was slightly comfortable with things going this way if Pleiades had it under control, but for a minutes there she thought Pleiades was actually going to destroy the world, which made her feel awful for douting him, so she began to apologize to him.

"Oh! I see... well, im sor...

However, just as Crusch was about to respond with an apology, something unexpected happened. And it was because of this that Crusch's response did not arrive at all.

Pleiades, on the other hand, began to experience a strange sense of nostalgia at that moment, his hand involuntarily stroking his chest. However, what he was expecting did not arrive; of course, the hand that constantly grazed his heart whenever he broke the taboo of returning by death had long perished with that person.

But why did his hand reach for his chest so quickly? It was straightforward. Pleiades had already seen the change in the world as a whole, and it was logical to assume that the entire universe was affected as well.

The world around Pleiades had come to a halt; Crusch remained still, the shouts of panic from those surrounding him no longer audible. And all the meteors in the sky were stuck in place; even some birds, and everyone else, for that matter, were frozen in position. Everyone else, that is, except Pleiades.

And at the time, Pleiades could only speak four words.

"Time! It has stopped."

Yes, someone or something had halted the passage of time for the entire universe. What was even more surprising was that Pleiades couldn't feel his mana either. Yes, not only did time stop, but the flow of magic had also stopped as well. Thankfully, his authority remained intact, despite the fact that mana was no longer usable in this world where time had abruptly halted.

"Echidna...

That was Pleiades' first thought because Echidna, Satella, Beatrice, and himself are the only beings capable of halting time. However, he quickly discounted that notion, given that this time-stopped universe paused not just time but also mana. And Echidna cannot stop time if there is no mana in the first place. This was definitely a power wielded by someone or something beyond the laws of mana itself.

"All right, I'm lost. What in the world is going on? I've seen a lot of strange things, but this is a first for me."

A charming and soft, but equally charismatic and energetic female voice could be heard from behind Pleiades at the same time, which was somewhat surprising as the individual caught him off guard.

"Oh myyy... this is a first for sure." Fufufu... Isn't today just full of surprises? First, these huge rocks appeared out of nowhere and disrupted my nap. Now standing before me is someone who can withstand the effects of my power. How fascinating... speak handsome, what is your name?"

"Haaa?...

Pleiades glanced around at that point; his eyes didn't indicate it, but what he saw was shocking. The person in front of him was a short woman, around 4'10 tall, about one inch taller than Beatrice herself. The woman was, by all accounts, stunning; like Minerva, she is what Pleiades would refer to as a boob loli.

Yes, this woman is short yet stunning, but just being near her made Pleiades feel a little ostracized which he hadn't felt in a long time. Although, if his intuition was true, this woman and himself were equal in terms of overall power. It was the sensation he felt while he was fighting all seven witches at once. And, based on that statement alone, this was the closest thing to a literal threat to Pleiades in this world, even if he didn't want to admit it.

But it was her face that struck him by surprise. The woman's skin was snow white and delicate to the touch. Her eyes were a gorgeous bright blue, and her hair was a straight pinkish red with a bob-cut design. However, she was dressed in a very exposing apparel, to the point a succubus might challenge her dress code. The woman was dressed in nothing but a scarlet kimono that wasn't even properly tied, revealing everything on the inside.

Underneath, she wore nothing but a sexy black C-String panty, and you could literally see the outline of her pussy, as well as a tight pair of sarashi covering her upper body, along with a pair of wooden Geta on her feet. Apart from her face, Pleiades was drawn to her various colorful tattoos, which included Eastern and Western-like dragons, flowers, garps, and many other distinct varieties of designs, giving her a yakuza aura at first glance.

The woman stared at Pleiades with interest, but what Pleiades said next confused her.

"R...R...Ram!?"

"Hmmm... Ram is that your name good looking?!"

The enigmatic woman asked as she directed her sight to his stunning amethyst eyes. Pleiades, on the other hand, swiftly apologizes as he shakes his head and says in a stoic manner as he regains his composure.

"Oh, my apologies, my name is Pleiades, a passing foreigner who just happened to end up in this mess, Ram is the name of someone I knew." Believe it or not, you two share a strong resemblance with one another, to the point that I wouldn't be surprised if you were her descendant. Let me ask you a question: are you related to the Mather family?"

"Hmmm... Yes, I am the first daughter of my mother, Roswaal L666 Mathers, and my father, Sebastian Van Astrea... and I am also the current Sword Saint; It is a pleasure to meet you handsome, my name is Valerie Van Astrea." And just for the record, I've taken a deep interest in your existence, Mr. Foreigner; it's not every day, if ever, that I come across someone who can withstand the effect of my divine protection."

(A/N): I like to picture that Valerie has the same exact voice as Shuten Douji from Fate Grand Order.

Chapter Text

"Hmmm... Yes, I am the first daughter of my mother, Roswaal L666 Mathers, and my father, Sebastian Van Astrea... and I am also the current Sword Saint. It is a pleasure to meet you handsome; my name is Valerie Van Astrea." And just for the record, I've taken a deep interest in your existence, Mr. Foreigner; it's not every day, if ever, that I come across someone who can withstand the effect of my divine protection."

Valerie said this with a mischievous look on her face as she began to lick her lips while staring at him with the eyes of a predator that had found its prey, which made Pleiades shiver slightly.

Pleiades, on the other hand, began to respond back to Valerie.

"I see that explains the resemblance; if so, I guess you're also of the Oni bloodline?"

Valerie's eyes widen when she hears these remarks. As she proceeded to monologue inwardly to herself:

'Who exactly is this man? First, he rejects my original divine protection, which I customized to be absolute. And now he's also conscious of one of my family's secrets. How suspicious are you? How does he know I have Oni blood coursing through my veins? Is it due to the alleged Ram? Who exactly is this Ram? Kashian Mathers was, as far as I know, the first Oni in our family. Perhaps it is a member of our branch family... Hmmm!? Sigh! I don't know, the Mathers and Astrea families are an ancient family that dates back ten thousand years, therefore, keeping a complete record of our family tree is impossible.'

'But, mystery aside, this man is a force to be reckoned with. My "Divine Protection of Mana Detection" shows that his mana is comparable to that of Second sister; in context, that puts him in the top ten in the entire kingdom in terms of mana capacity alone. But why isn't the "Divine Protection of Potential Awareness" working? The same can be said for Granny Sumi's status sighting technique. what the hell is going on here, This man is entirely invisible; it's as if the world itself doesn't even know he's a part of it, to begin with.'

'Intriguing, I like this guy, I want him to be a part of my personal knight court, after all, only the most intriguing people are given that position, and he is truly interesting. However, I refuse to believe that all of my information-seeking protections are ineffective against him. There must be some way I can acquire some information on him... hmm oi... Wolrd, help me out here, give me something I can use to see his secrets, I'm extremely intrigued about him, I need to know how he is immune to my power.'

And it all started when Valerie said those words. As she inwardly stated shortly after, she could sense a strange power flood her eyes.

'Sigh, it appears that Od Laguna is unable to fully assist me in this problem; I'm not sure why... Oh well, I guess I lost this information-gathering war this time. And, given the current state of affairs, I may have to devise my own Divine protection to circumvent this riddle. Fortunately, the only divine protection that can function on this individual is "The Divine Protection of Hints." That Od Laguna just gave me. And With this protection, it can give me vocal suggestions of his history and future, albeit exceedingly imprecise hints.'

'Okay, let's see what hints this protection can provide me about him, what hints of his past there are.'

Several words and two declarations appeared above Pleiades' head at that instant, but they were unseen to him. But to the swords saint, it was random, if not downright perplexing. Although she sees them as accomplishments or titles, her senses informed her that was a better way to interpret these indications.

[Pleiades Past]

. Emilia

. Im dead

. Lolimancer

. "Nothing about me has changed!"

. Cult slayer

. Appas

. "Whos Rem!?"

. Rabbits terrify me

. The world's Anitehsis

. "A man with good timing"

Valerie's eyes twitched with confusion when she saw these hints about the man's past; these hints may imply anything. Nonetheless, she expressed gratitude to the world for providing her with knowledge of him.

'It's not much, but I suppose it's a start.'

'However, if I can predict his future, maybe I can find something that will bring me more information about him in the future.'

With that in mind, the inquisitive sword saint began to use her new divine protection to discern words that would determine his future. Although his past was difficult to comprehend, his future was a goddamn headache.

[Pleiades Future]

[More detailed, but extremely, if not basically almost impossible to make sense of]

. A 05 council member in the making

. Dr. Brigth is not allowed to go inside O5-14 "The Watcher" Shadow Garden as it runs the risk of a Mk-class end-of-world scenario.

. Has a deep connection to Scp 001 Swan Proposal and its chosen embodiment FAA

. The voice in Albedo's head

. Baby Old God

. Has a deep connection with Cain

. A very powerful Antediluvian

. Elder of clan Losombra

. 05-15 "The Witch of Greed" /SCP: 001 "Why must Love Fade?" seems to be obsessed with him, ironic enough her containment procedures are basically the word of 05-14, seeing she listens to him.

. A man with scary connections.

. Has an intimate and equally comedic connection with the smallest spider in Australia

These were indications regarding Pleiades' destiny to come, but the issue about this divine protection was that it could happen as early as tomorrow or as far ahead as fifty years from now. In some ways, it was a vague power, and the knowledge it provided was perplexing. Valerie's thoughts were already becoming overburdened as she noticed her brain gradually malfunctioning.

'What the hell is an Antediluvian? And why the hell is such a handsome man destined to have a relationship with a spider, and what the fuck is Australia, oh god, I don't even want to dissolve my brains trying to understand what the Swan Proposal scp thingy even is... much alone what SCP stands for?'

'And what exactly are the 05 councils intended to be... My brain is hurting, you know what, forget it, I'll look into this later, but my curiosity in this man has become even stronger. 'I want to know more, nay, I must know more.'

Valerie inwardly announced to herself as she was going to answer Pleiades. And despite her extended monologue and analysis via her protections, in reality, it was just 1/10th of a second that had elapsed because that was how fast her brain was processing information.

So, without wasting another fraction of a second, she addressed Pleiades as such.

"Well either way cutie, I now have you in my radius, tell me do you express any desires to live here."

Pleiades reacted in kind the instant Valerie asked.

"To be honest, I was going to look for a place to stay because I have some important business to attend to in this kingdom." So, yeah, I'll be around for a while."

Pleiades explained to Valerie, after all, no one in this century knew him, let alone understood him. Even if they have uncommon means via defenses, Pleiades has a variety of ways to conceal his true identity, which was not even necessary given that he was a ghost, but creating a link with the sword saint can be advantageous to him in the long term. Especially with the experiments he planned to do on Crusch.

Valerie, on the other hand, responded to his response as follows:

"Hmmm. I see, well then, if you ever have time, stop by the Hall of Heroes and pay me a visit, I want to talk to you about something, after all, that's where I spend the majority of my time."

Valerie declared as she hurled a little stone-like artifact etched with a blade towards Pleiades who caught and examined it. And when Pleiades noticed this, he began to query about it from Valerie, who replied as such.

"That's a pass to The Hall of Heroes; simply show it to the person at the front desk when you enter and ask her to make her bring you to me." But anyways good looking, our encounter was brief, but I have a massive rock to destroy, so I'll see you around ok."

Valerie murmured as she walked past Pleiades, seductively swaying her hips from side to side as if putting on a display for a certain warlock's attention. Pleiades, on the other hand, was just concerned with getting to his shadow garden as soon as possible and was unconcerned about Valerie. So, after she was out of sight, he snatched up Crusch with his invisible providence and proceeded to flee. The goal was to go as far away from this location as physically possible in order to escape being followed once time had been re-established.

Chapter Text

"That woman... is dangerous... For the first time in five millennia, I can feel it, yes! My body is trembling with genuine dread and excitement. To think that there is someone out there who can push me beyond my boundaries. What a thrill! It's been much too long since I've felt intimidated by anything; it's a strange sensation. However, that woman could be a problem; I should be prepared in case she does something strange."

Pleiades murmured to himself as he ran at full speed, wanting to get away from where he had been just seconds before. Clearly taking advantage of Valerie's time stop to flee the region in which they were previously.

Of course, at the rate at which he was moving, it was safe to estimate that they were easily several kilometers away from where they were originally. After a few minutes of racing in pause time, Pleiades found himself in an old abandoned building, far enough distant for even the sword saint to follow him down without the aid of magical forces.

"Good, this should be far enough; now let's see if this truly can work."

With those remarks, Pleiades reached inside his hat for something that had always been there. And what he drew was a little rabbit. It was one of the great hares; however, this was one of just two hares expressly developed for a situation like this.

"To think that woman's words actually came to bite at me at such a time."

Pleiades thought to himself, recalling a conversation he had with Echidna exactly nine thousand eight hundred and fifty years ago. When he was still getting used to being a warlock and a sage. He was still green behind the ears at the time, but he was still incredibly aware and knowledgeable.

[Flashback]

[Inside The Citadel of Dreams, Echidna's Mental World]

"I'm curious how we keep finding ourselves in these circumstances. Do you not agree? After all, just thinking about it is a mystery in and of itself?"

A woman with albino white skin, dark yet attractive and intriguing black eyes, and milky white hair spoke to the man lying next to her. Whose hands were behind his back as white sheets enveloped his and her naked bodies.

At the time, the man had dark hair that was curling and velvety to the touch, reaching all the way to his back. This was, of course, Flugel, formally known as Natsuki Subaru, and currently known as Pleiades. But, because he took Satella's position, the witches of iniquity simply refer to him as the Warlock of Envy.

The woman was, of course, Echidna, the witch of greed who was currently occupied with a Rubix cube. Unlike Flugel, she was dressed in a familiar black, white, and orange tracksuit that covered most of her body. It was meaningless to question why they were both in the same bed; what had transpired was obvious.

They didn't seem to be bothered by their mingling; it was almost as if it was second nature to them. Echidna of course smiled as usual. And flugel remains stoic and relied as such.

"Who knows, does it even matter? A man and a woman having sex is as natural as animals following their basic instinct to reproduce." You don't need every response to every question; it's just the way of life. Some mysteries are more beautiful when left unsolved, but I can't say you feel the same way."

Flugel stated, and Echidna agreed to disagree.

"Hmm... maybe you're right, but you also fail to realize that there's no such thing as a wrong answer. Remember that a question can be answered in any shape or form." However, your opinion serves as credence to my belief that no query can genuinely go unanswered even if you didn't answer what was asked. However an answer is still an answer, and that's the beauty behind the concept of Q&A."

Flugel closed his eyes and begged to differ once more, as he claimed.

"Can that even be used as proof? What you said is equivalent to saying tea tastes better with less sugar and more honey." Finally, there is no proof of such ideas because they are simply opinions. How can an opinion be an answer when it doesn't prove anything? In the end, views are only notions that people employ to justify a cause."

However, Echidna's response was as quick as Flugel as she said.

"And what if the cause is the answer to the question?"

"Ugh...

Flugel stumbled a little. He, on the other hand, refuses to be proven wrong.

"Well, that's a possibility, but it's not a sure thing." In any case, why would the question need to be asked in the first place if we know what caused whatever needed to be asked in the initial instance?"

"..."

"Hmm... cat got your tongue dona, you went quiet on me?"

Flugel inquired, but Echidna responded immediately.

"Hmmm... done."

Echidna murmured as she placed the finished Rubix cube on the counter beside her, which already had a mountain of them, already completed.

Echidna, on the other hand, continues to respond by stating.

"Hmmm.... well maybe we can study this bond a little deeper, if you catch my drift." After all, we know the effects it brings us, but not the cause as to why we do it."

The greedy witch whispered this while she pounced on flugel, riding him from above, as her big soft ass rubbed against his groin, her hands swaying and slowly tracing around his chest while looking at him seductively. Flugel, on the other hand, gave her a frigid glare as he grabbed her around her waist, bringing her closer to him, as he rolled her over, reversing positions, allowing him to be on top and force her hands down with his. As he stated this, he lowered his head to face her eye-to-eye.

"I told you before, Echidna, you don't need to study something if you already know what caused it to begin with. To be honest, you definitely lead me on and use your ways with words to soften me up to you. Do you think that going to work on me witch of greed, I might not be as smart as you? However, my observations and insight significantly outweigh yours. So I recognize bullshit when I see it, especially when I'm experiencing it. Tell me, Echidna, what exactly is your game, and why have you been so clingy all these centuries and a half?"

Despite Flugel's attitude being absolutely cold, if not wholly uncaring, Echidna's smile, on the other hand, remained unchanged.

For a brief moment, the two, who resembled yin and yang, were silent yet hostile. They were like two opposing sides of the same coin. Both were astute, crafty, and frightening; two of them were very manipulative, twisting events to their advantage to achieve their goals. Flugel, who had seen everything, and Echidna, who wanted to know everything.

"Pftt... My..My... Natsuki, you have truly grown; it seems like only yesterday that you denied my hand and called me an unfathomable monster beyond all human comprehension." And yet, here you are in front of my eyes, pushing me down, and holding my hands so tightly, not by flesh but by spirit; agh! how time flies when you're having fun."

Echidna said as she grinned with mischief, while Pleiades responded as such.

"Fufuf... you're quite the talker, but changing the topic won't solve anything." I saw right through your ruse, woman. And you should know better than anyone else that I despise games that aren't enjoyable."

Pleiades remarked, staring Echidna in the eyes. Echidna, on the other hand, began to slackly giggle to herself as she caught Pleiades off guard and wrapped both of her legs around his waist to draw him closer to her. Simultaneously, she manages to free her hands from his tight grip and pull the bed covers upward. Making Pleiades lose his center of balance and fall into the greedy witch's arms.

Following that, Echida rolls him over, seizing control of the fight. Genuinely astounded Pleiades, who hadn't anticipated her clever strategy. But before he could say anything, Echidna straddled him and immediately shoved her tongue into his mouth, preventing him from saying anything else. As she lay on his bare chest, her hand gripped both his cheeks, palming them softly and passionately and kissing him in a rather affectionate manner.

Pleiades is stunned for a few seconds as his eyes expand.

On the other hand, Echidna began to speak.

"Honestly, you're an idiot... heheh... to think I'd say this, but it had to be said." Do you want to know what I'm up to, Flugel? Okay, I'll tell you my game, you see, instead of taking advantage of you, perhaps I genuinely want your companionship. And, since you and I are so similar in so many ways, isn't this what you call excellent chemistry?"

Echidna inquired of Flugel while she awaited his response.

And he responded in kind.

"Love... companionship, pftt... don't make me laugh, woman; you expect me to believe that the witch of greed is learning about human emotions?" Hahaha!? Agh. How adorable, You are not deceiving anyone. You, Echidna, are a monster, just like the other witches and myself. It is not in our nature to resist the will of our infractions governed by our sins. We are ultimately bound by our own corruption. You, who have committed countless atrocities in the name of making the world a better place, and I, who have sacrificed the lives of many in order for the world to continue to exist. There is no way back for either of us; we are the worst of the worst. And the fact that you're dragging me along like this doesn't stand right with me; I am not a tool for your curiosity. I know you, Echidna; you seek something, but let me break it to you: what you seek, I cannot provide; I cannot fulfill your greed, just as you cannot satisfy my other sins. In the end, we just cancel each other out, and neither side gets what they want.

Flugels' statements were direct and to the point. And Echidna laughs, just as he does at her.

"Fufuf... Oh my, it appears that little old me scares you, ha? Well, I can see why; after all, as you mentioned, I am a witch, and a pretty evil magic user at that. You should keep an eye on me since I simply want something. One day, I could just get what I want and you wouldn't even notice. But, knowing your cautious disposition, you most likely have a countermeasure for everything, isn't that right Bruce?"

Echidna responded playfully, comparing Flugel to Bruce Wayne. Surprisingly, Flugel was unable to refute it. After all, he did have preparation time on his side. Even if he is powerful, there are some things beyond his control. And he despised the idea; as a result, he discreetly performs things to act as a deterrent on any occasion. It may not appear so, but Pleides was certain that he could contain all the witches of sin by himself for a very long time if they ever posed a threat to him, and even stop the sword saint's line. That was how far ahead he had planned, even though he knew the witches didn't intend to hurt him and that it was exceedingly unlikely that the sword saint would go rogue one day.

He did all of this because he was frightened of another horrible ending. Then again, what did he have to lose anyway? He had already lost everything—Emilia and Satella, his mom and dad, and all his closest friends. In any case, Echidna continued to talk as she said.

"Your silence only strengthens my case." And, as you mentioned, you know me well, but I also know you well. Flugel, you will never change; you are a monster. Because you can only be a monster. Don't forget you once destroyed the world in order to make a new one; don't forget you live among the witches, knowing full well that you're only studying us like mice in a maze in order to find a method to kill or contain when we grow too difficult to manage. And, just so you know, I'm also aware of your little secret. My authority, The Memories of the World, a book I dislike using, informed me you were attempting to reconstruct Beatrice with something that may as well end the world as a whole. Flugel, tell me if I'm a monster who merely wants to be with someone intellectual like myself. What are you doing exploiting the corridor of memories in such a way? And, assuming you achieve this goal and reach the summit of it all, what do you propose to do with its power once you have it? Tell me, Flugel, what your ultimate game is. I told you everything I knew since you'd discover that I knew your little secret sooner or later... The absolute truth. Even fervently. So, how will you answer to my inquiry? I'm looking for a response. After all, this response will only serve to satisfy my curiosity."

"Face it, Flugel; you might not notice it right now." But, in reality, we are all you have. The witches are the only remaining entities who have some understanding of you. I'm not sure what you're planning, but I'd like to be a part of it. So tell me what are you doing, what are you trying to accomplish, are you trying to become a God or a Devil, or maybe something that transcends even those ideas?"

[Flashback Ends]

Subaru examines the large hare in his hand. However, it was not harmed by the sword saint's time stop, similar to himself.

What was the cause of this? It was simple: Pleiades called these Mabeasts his offspring. Because they literally were. After all, he utilized his own flesh and blood, as well as a small amount of Daphne miasma, to construct the three great mabeasts in his image. As a result, this little guy was far more hazardous than the original great hare, which had plagued humanity many years ago. This rabbit, on the other hand, was a part of a project named Project Janus.

This child was not just a man-eating monster, but also a gateway that ignores distance, which means that inside its mouth is a spatial door that connects to all of its siblings in the garden. And, believe it or not, the basis of these rabbits' desire to open a spatial fissure was their own pain. You see Pleiades came to understand that miasma and bad emotions can be harnessed as a source of power. Of course, no one knows this, but the energy he discovered after years of researching the various effects of miasma. Of course, it was an energy he termed "Miseria Energy," which is essentially the opposite of mana.

In layman's words, simply removing mana from the universe as a whole will not deter Pleiades from employing magic. In some ways, Echidna was correct about him; he was always prepared, for for everything, but enough to be considered a man without any weakness to advantage of, but it's always better to be safe than sorry. As a result, the sword saint's ability to remove magic from the word was only a temporary solution. As long as there was pain, he could use magic even if the concept of mana vanished, and his children, especially the great hare, were suffering at every second, so it was a cute and dangerous battery pack that was rechargeable.

His body didn't exist inside the concept of flowing time thanks to Little King ability which was Regulus's power. Which Pleiades himself trained to activate if any time-based abilities were imposed on him. And with Lust's authority acting to negate the heart-stopping consequences of it. Pleiades was not influenced by time base power since his body was outside the conventional methods of flowing time.

The same may be said of the great hare generated from his body; in layman's terms, the great hare, like the other two great Mabeasts, is influenced by greed and lust, making them virtually unkillable. And could perform stuff like him and regulus, which is basically one-shotting an object by stopping its time. In summary, you can't freeze time for Pleiades since he already exists in a motionless universe.

Pleides then looked at one of his children and stated, "While touching the smally horny rabbit on the head,"

"Order:004, I, the administrator, would like to request a backup connection to the Nexus Tree; Pass Code: 342.758.002.02.674.903.1777... Reason: The Sword Saint triggered anti-magic scenario/Chrono base interference."

Pleiades' words caused the rabbit's eyes to glow blue, and its horn to glow as well. Moments later, the rabbit began to speak, and the voice of a female could be heard on the other side.

[Request accepted: The emergency passcode has been recognized.]

[Notice: a LVL: Σ+ Phenomenon has been triggered; however, information on the cause is limited; should Nexus-3 investigate this anomaly in order to devise future countermeasures?]

"Yes, if possible, proceed with conceptual analysis; however, the one responsible for this is the current sword saint." As such, analysis of such an entity should be done with "Procedure Clotho" in mind."

[The following command has been notified: A suitable familar to carry out Procedure Clotho without fail will now be mobolized.]

With that, the rabbit opened its mouth so wide that it resembled a cave opening, and beyond that entrance was nothing but darkness. But out of the darkness sprang something that only Pleiades himself could see. It was a black cat, but not just any black cat, but one fashioned from the same invincible esoteric force field as invincible providence. For want of a better phrase, this was a spirit, or more accurately, a being comprised entirely of miasma. Pleiades, on the other hand, refers to this little black cat as an artificial archbishop.

The cat didn't say anything, nor did it look at its maker; it just wanted to get the job done. And to the best of its ability, analyze the time-stop world for as long as it lasts, while also following the sword saint so it can analyze the woman with Procedure Clotho in mind.

Pleiades, on the other hand, looks at the invincible cat that nonchalantly phases through the walls of the abandoned building despite the fact that it can't be touched, yet it can interact with whatever it wants.

"That woman is dangerous, but given that she is closer to the world than anyone else," She can assist me in perfecting Crusch, like a blueprint of sorts, after I review the data I will receive. Because this is something even I can't do; I can't halt time for that long; it's as if the sword saint is the second coming of Satella herself. I can feel it; the age of peace in my life is coming to an end. In any case, if I ever have to face the sword saint, I shall use all of her shortcomings to my advantage in order to win."

Those were Pleiades' final words. As he picks up Crusch, who is still affected by time stop as he carries her in a princess carry and walks into the dark mouth portal, where the enigmatic black cat emerges. And when he gets to the other side, which is a back door to his shadow garden in case he runs into an issue where he can't enter due to a lack of mana, he always makes sure to have one rabbit in the real world and one in the metaphysical world. As a result, the rabbit's mouth began to close as it returned to its usual size, and it began to hide further in the abandoned building, as this location was to serve as a station for Pleiades.

Chapter Text

"... Sorry... tha... egu... ha? Wait, where the hell am I?"

Crusch remarked as she was being released from Valerie the moment she stepped into Pleiades Shadow Garden.

Her eyes widen at the spectacle that had once engulfed her. In her entire life, or at least what she can recall. This was most likely the most breathtaking sight she had ever seen. The entire universe around her stretches out in all directions. 

There was nothing but blackness in this weird realm, and beyond that darkness was most likely even greater darkness. Everything that existed was engulfed in the darkest of black, but there was something strange about this place, and that was the fact that there was nothing in her, yet she was everything, and yet she comprehended nothing.

It was like being all-knowing yet unable to do anything about the knowledge that was given. 

"W-w-W-WHAT... IS THIS PLACE?"

Crusch was both scared and enthralled by the beauty of her surroundings. It seemed as if she were at the epicenter of all knowledge, or maybe the shadow of creation itself. She was following everything that existed, just like her shadow did with her.

But what caught her off guard was when he began to hear the voice of a familiar person.

"Welcome to the Shadow Garden." Ms. Karsten, It may not appear to be much, but reality in here is literally anything you wish it to be, my dear guest, so you can make yourself at home very absolutely."

Crusch's eyes shot up at those words, and the voice was indisputably Pleiades, but what she saw was not him. She sprang out of his grasp and landed on the alien structure of pure shadows beneath her, which felt like soft clouds. In a panic, she began to back away from the entity in front of her while saying

"Stay away from me, you monster!"

Crush stated, after all, the creature before her was humanoid in shape, but it lacked characteristics. Seeing that only a pair of dangerous-looking, dark, swirling purple eyes with a terrifying and all-encompassing gaze behind them were staring directly at her.

The figure, however, only scratched its head as it began to talk.

"A monster, you say?" How unoriginal! In any case, Ms. Karsten, it's me, Pleiades; you have nothing to fear; to be honest, I would annihilate this entire planet. No! If I have to destroy the entire universe just to get my hands on you, that is how vital you are to my cause."

Pleiades talked in a serious but calm tone, but Crusch didn't hear much of it because she was still taken aback by Pleides's presence.

"Pleiades?"

Crusch questioned, still stunned by the image in front of her.

"Is...is that really you?"

Given that his current body was devoid of any details, the only thing that remained were his eyes, and no facial expression could be detected on his face.

Given how calmly he speaks even while under pressure, it was difficult to detect if any emotions were behind his comments. Especially in his current form, devoid of details, he looks like a living shadow itself.

But, as he told Crusch, Pleiades' response is brief and to the point.

"*Sigh!* I suppose seeing me in this form would have the same effect on humans. To be honest, Ms. Karsten, I have long gone beyond the concept of my humanity; what I am is something you cannot grasp, at least not yet. Soon, you'll be like me, if not greater, as your power grows. But look at me; this form, this shape, is the genuine me in a sense; I have no details because they are unnecessary; what you call humanity, I call a prison; to transcend oneself is to become like water; and to go beyond that is to attain perfect abstraction in mind, body, and soul."

"However, once inside this place, the trapping of mortal flesh means nothing to me; I can become anything I want in my domain." In summary, you are in my unrestricted world, and to be honest, I am so powerful inside this place that I can actually be dubbed God. Because I can bring life into this place if I truly want to." However, in the end, it is merely a fantasy of divinity, for I have transcended my humanity and become a higher entity, and this shadow garden is like my body composed of magic that transcends normal magic. Now, in order to advance in power, I must find a means to transcend even the shadow garden. And you, Ms. Karsten, are the key to achieving that aim."

Pleiades spoke in his normal manner, but Crusch was taken aback by the bombshell he threw on her. She, on the other hand, remained silent and gave him the floor as he proceeded to speak.

"However, Ms. Karsten I'm already seeing signs of progress. You can stroll, talk, and move around in my garden. I was afraid I'd have to reduce the shadow garden's information output just to get you to move. But you have already surpassed all of my expectations, despite the fact that you are neither a witch nor a sage candidate. You don't even have immunity to miasma, and yet you're accomplishing the impossible here. Tell me, is your brain viewing an infinite amount of information?"

Pleiades inquired of Crusch, who began to shake her head and speak.

"Yes, as you said, this place has the power to induce omniscience in those who enter it." Even with all of this information, I still don't comprehend anything. It's like annoying whispers of millions, if not billions, of people speaking inside my head right now, and you can't really hear or understand any of them even if you concentrate hard enough, but paradoxically, I feel like my brain is supposed to be overloaded at this point, or I should be driven insane by all this forbidden information. "How come I'm not affected by this place?"

Crusch was perplexed. Pleiades, of course, responds.

"You are not unaffected, and as you stated, infinite information about all things across all concepts of infinity, parrel, and nonparallel should drive you insane." At the very least, your brains will be overloaded. However, you are not affected since your brain is regenerating faster than the information that can flood your head. Of course, this is only a theory; as I already stated, I need to conduct research on your body and soul. But, in any case, do you see the fragments and the enormous tree in front of you?"

When Pleiades said this, Crusch was perplexed and began looking around, but there were no trees. To her, this was just an endless void, but with the infinite information in her head, it was like being a part of a huge, complicated, and ever-changing kaleidoscope.

That's why she described this place as beautiful.

Pleiades, however, knows the answer, judging by her facial expression, and continues to speak.

"Hahah... it appears that this may be the limits of your capabilities." Not to worry; as I previously stated, you are a plant, and I am the gardener. However, let me show you that this world is not as empty as you believe... so take my hand and allow me to show you what I see in my world. Like you said before currently you are currently perceiving infinite information that vanishes. So allow me to demonstrate how I capture that endless knowledge.... Because, like you, I can't grasp everything all at once. However, after years of research, I found a way to capture all knowledge within existence. What I possess is truly forbidden knowledge, so be honored, Ms. Karsten, because not even the other witches of sin are aware of this thing inside the shadow garden. And even if they were, Sekhmet is the only one with the power to see it, much less destroy it given her attribute as sloth."

Crusch examined the dark hand that was extended to her. Pleiades appeared to be a demon at the time. And clutching that hand was like striking a bargain with the devil. But Crusch knew instinctively that clutching that hand would be the end of all the normality she had left. Pleiades was going to show her something so strange, eldritch, and forbidden that she would want to flee. However, escaping was impossible. She understood that his hand signified more than a bargain with the devil. Instead, she would become a collaborator of the devil himself.

But she'd come this far to just toss everything away and declared to herself.

'Well, I guess this is truly where it will begin and end.'

So, as soon as she whispered those words, Crusch grabbed Pleiades' hand. Her surroundings began to shift. Her eyes were previously closed, but now they are open. Millions, if not billions, of them, encircled the entire shadow garden.

And unlike the great, endless darkness that once emcompassed the place, the entire garden changed immediately after touching Pleiades hand. And what was just a world full of darkness became a world that she can only call "The Sea of Fragments." Because before Crusch, there were a considerable amount of glass shards floating aimlessly in this place.

But these shards weren't ordinary shards; they contained strange stuff. Things she can only refer to as separate universes, if not different realities, She grabbed one of them and held it up to her face out of curiosity, and what she saw stunned her.

She saw a boy with a clear complexion and red hair wearing a ripped and bloody green and black checker patterns haori. He appears to be wearing a uniform underneath it. And he wielded a bloody sword. His eyes were bloodshot, and you could sense the hatred in them. On the other hand, the child was facing a strange-looking but equally beautiful humanoid female monster, or perhaps a demon, but the boy looked at the woman who backed away from him and said.

"Those made of flesh and blood can't do what demons do."

"Why would you rob them?"

"Why would you trample over their lives?"

"They can never come back!"

"Those lost lives will never return."

The demon woman was on her knees at the time, her hand touching her head in amazement and shock, but mostly fear, as she said.

"I've heard these words before."

Crusch was taken aback by these people, who appeared to be real to her. No, she already understands why they resemble her since they are actual people but from another world. And then her gaze quickly shifts away from this world and toward another.

"Zeus, I bring you the destruction of Olympus!"

Then another.

"I am the bone of my sword."

Then another.

"My students are watching, so I'm going to show off a little."

Then another.

"By the powers of Azeroth, I beseech you... Azeroth Metreon Zinfos."

 Then another.

"Good to see you... Cloud.

And another... and another... and another!

Her eyes saw numerous universes, timelines, possibilities, and alternate and non-alternate realities. Possible and impossible, and right in the middle of it all. This guy... no, this entity, Pleiades, or the former Natsuki Subaru, was the being that stood above this world, which contained a wide multiverse. He did not move with creation. No, he moves creation itself.

It was at that time that she realized how dangerous this Natsuki was. At first, she dismissed his boasts of being one step away from godhood as nonsense. But she now regrets even thinking such thoughts. If this isn't the power of a god, she has no idea why the concept even exists.

Her gaze was drawn to the dark figure, whose eyes were fixed on her. She felt small and insignificant for the first time, and it was not a pleasant sensation. Because how can she even compare with this much power in the hands of someone who oversees the multiverse on a daily basis?

But the horror show was only getting started, because as soon as Pleiades let go of her hand, he walked ahead of her. When she turns around, her eyes widen even more. Because there was a giant purple tree that was devouring any shards that even past it.

And in front of that three was a succession of dark roots shaped into a big throne of strange esoteric purple material that was beyond human comprehension. However, the throne was merged with the tree. 

Pleiades wasted no time in assuming the throne and crossing his legs, making himself at home. As he told the terrified lioness.

"All right, Ms. Karsten." What you are looking at is an extremely complicated device. The first I created is "The Tree of Knowledge," a tree that accumulates all of the information from these shards. And the throne I sit on is called "The Nexus Branch," and it is an omnicomputer that takes apart all data and breaks it down one by one, manifesting it into the fruits that the tree of knowledge produces. Together, they are known as Nexus-3, a natural Paraphysical apparatus that analyzes even the very constructions of a platonic concept. This took me thousands of years to create. And with the power of Nexus-3, we will claim this world Od as our own."

"So with that said Ms. Karsten shall we establish the conditions of our contract?"

Chapter Text

"So with that said, Ms. Karsten, shall we establish the conditions of our contract?"

Pleiades said this while sitting on his throne, as if he were a divine deity looking down on his servant. His inhumane eyes glared down at Crusch, with no passion or tone behind them. However, despite his usual indifference, Crusch could sense a flicker of optimism in his presence, as if to say, "I truly do need you; please help me." Crusch sighed quietly to herself. It was now time to reach an arrangement with Pleiades, but, as she had previously stated, she would consider herself in this situation; therefore, her response was as follows:

"Yes, it is; as you said, it's about time we come to a definitive, so how are we doing this Pleiades-san?" Keep in mind, however, that I will not accept anything that I believe is unjust to me."

Crusch stated, calmly but solemnly. Pleiades' reaction to this, on the other hand, was as follows:

"Of course, Ms. Karsten, I will not make an unfair deal; in fact, after seeing what I have to offer, you might even want to work for me." I am many things: greedy, inhuman, wicked, nice, neutral, and, most importantly, I am a man who will do anything to attain his goal, no matter the sacrifices required. I can be your worst enemy or your best friend; therefore, this will not be a master-servant relationship; instead, I will make it 50/50, and before any major decisions are made, you must agree to them as well. In this manner, we can strike an equilibrium between good and wrong. And, to be honest, Crusch, there will be moments when we need to do things that are ethically wrong, but it is a little sacrifice for a greater purpose."

"So, Crusch Karsten, former candidate for the throne of Lugnica, do you believe you can harden your resolve?" and forge your thoughts from steel? Because there is no going back once this contract is signed. We shall do anything Nexus-3 tells us to do. It will be our gospel, in a way; Nexus-3 was my creation, but it was designed to be beyond my comprehension the moment it was activated two thousand years ago. Before it, you and I are just variables; it will choose the best course of action for us to take. And in order to reach the realm of Od, we must go beyond the surface; we, or more accurately, you, must relinquish the concept of your humanity. Furthermore, many people will die—men, women, children, and the elderly—and there will be instances of genocide."

Pleiades said, as he presented his left hand and said as such while looking at it.

"Think of it this way: on one side, we're the bad guys, and my left hand represents the chaos we'll cause." There will be times when we will sail and wolf down everything in our path, innocent or not, for they are a stepping stone for us to rise higher."

From there, he looked at his right hand and said, as follows:

"However, there will be times when our actions benefit billions in the short or long term." Our actions can cause those around us to regard us as leaders and heroes. To assist someone in exchange for something or to control events in order to get our desired outcome. We don't move for no purpose, but we can do a lot of good in the world as we move to reach towards it."

Finally, he moved both of his hands together, fusing the good and the bad as he explained the significance of this motion.

"And finally, but truly, this is where we stand in all of this, at the crossroads of good and bad, being or not being, doing or not doing." To defy fate, violate the rules, and transcend the laws of creation, we must first construct our own fate. And Nexus-3 switches us from what was previously decided for us to what we want. Finally, we escape the fate of the universe, freeing ourselves from the constraints of reality, only to become ensnared in the web of another order. However, instead of fate being determined for us, Nexus-3 will respond to our desires. And carry us to the end of our desired outcome, one step at a time. As a result, I'd rather control my fate than follow the fate predetermined for me. And thankfully, this machine can help me and you attain our aim. After all, I don't want to live my life in the dark, not knowing what my future will be."

"I'll admit that I don't have complete control over the path Nexus-3 takes; what the machine says amounts to us going beyond fate itself." It was created to make the impossible possible, so we must act in accordance with its objectives."

"So I'll ask once more." Will you accompany me on this perilous journey, Crusch Karsten? Will you bleed with me? Will you inflict as much pain on me as I will on you? Will you serve as my crotch when I am unable to walk, as I will for you if your legs are severed? Will you commit atrocities in the service of a higher cause? Will you throw away your morality when it is required? Will you be my eyes when I can't see? Will you push me forward if I can't hold on? Will you be my sword and I your scabbard? Tell me, are you ready to go into the unknown that is Pandora's box to reach Sefiroth?"

"Or has your mortality surpassed your desires?" Perhaps you were never meant to be. But I believe your resurrection had a purpose. I will not, however, bind someone to me if they cannot accept me." So, Ms. Karsten, by accepting me, I accept you as well."

Pleiades said as he waved his hand, and by doing that, a door manifested behind Crusch as he continued his speech.

"As such, Ms. Crusch, two paths are before you now. Behind you is a door that will take you outside the shadow garden. That path represents regret, a missed opportunity, and also a new beginning. If you walk through that door, all your memories of me will be erased, and we will never see each other again. As such, you will roam this world without knowing who you truly are. Eventually, I believe you might find the truth, but not enough of it to come to a conclusion. As such, you will live a new life, not as Crusch Karsten, but as a mere idea of what she was."

"In some ways, Ms. Karsten, this path can lead to beneficial as well as detrimental outcomes, but I know it is not the path you want." It is not the road you wish to take."

Pleiades murmured as Crusch looked toward the door behind her, puzzled.

Her attention was soon drawn elsewhere. Pleiades stated as follows, causing Crusch to turn back towards him.

"In some ways, Ms. Karsten fleeing is the easiest path for all of us, or so we think, but in reality, Ms. Karsten fleeing is never easy." Nobody knows it better than myself. I tell you this from experience, not some philosophical message: "I have tried to run away many times in the past, just wanting to escape from it all, but in the end, my problems always come back to me in some shape or form."

"In any case, Ms. Karsten, allow me to introduce you to the second path, which is the path of death and rebirth." By burying one identity in order to become an entirely different entity."

As he rose from his throne, Pleiades pointed to it, almost as if handing it to her. Crusch was both startled and perplexed by this, wondering why a monarch would yield up the seat of his kingdom to another. In another case, she didn't understand the man known as Pleiades. His acts are so out of the ordinary and foreign to her that she feels she is playing directly into his hands, despite being presented with a path that puts her on an equal footing with him.

Overall, Crusch felt she was being manipulated, but she was also given the option to do good for herself. Pleiades is viewed by her as a man who cannot be controlled even if bound by shackles of equality. His very presence is a manifestation of disorder and the personification of change. To put it another way, you can have the universe and God on your side, but in the end, you're playing Russian roulette with a ghost. The bullet can touch him, but it will only go through him; with no damage done, but when it's your turn, you're going to lose. That was how Pleiades was perceived by Crusch, as a man who remained even though he did not belong. He was like an immovable object; there was no way to win with him.

Pleiades, on the other hand, continues his explanation on the second path.

"Ms. Karsten, taking my throne is equivalent to saying you are the queen of the king; of course, this is only a metaphor, but it means a lot in the grand scheme of things." I am offering you everything that I am, and you are doing the same. That inquiry and answer, yes and no, is our relationship. If we agree, it is; if we disagree, we cannot move forward until you and I reach an agreement. In this contract, Ms. Karsten, your statements have the same weight as mine. All I want is for your cooperation; we're going in blind because we don't know what Nexus-3 will tell us to do. But I also want you to understand that it doesn't have to be this way, but if it is, I don't want the good, the terrible, and the ugly to push us away. In some ways, we're like a dream team; alone, we're are formidable, but together, we're unstoppable."

"With that said, Ms. Karsten, what do you want from me, what do you desire, what are your conditions for the contract to be formed between you and me?" Remember, I'm only asking for one year of your time; if you want to continue, by all means, go ahead; I even encourage it. So state your claims right here and now."

Pleiades said in a very convincing voice, then and again, his entire speech from the beginning to the end was filled with wisdom beyond her, and it was all so convincing. So much so, that this man could make a speech about pencil shavings and it would still be an epic speech that could move the hearts of many, or that's how Crusch felt about his overwhelming charisma despite his monotone.

Then and again, It is popularly believed that all devils have a tongue of gold.

Crusch, of course, has been awed by this tongue on numerous occasions and will most likely be awed by it even more in the future. Yes, she had already made up her decision, and her response was as follows:

"All I want from you, Pleiades, is two things: your word and your cooperation. And by that, I mean your promise to set me free any time I want if I feel what is being done is not worth the sacrifice. Of course, I know there will be times when the morally right answer will be the wrong one, but if there is even the slightest hope of upholding justice for the weak, then at the very least I want to try my luck at preventing chaos. Although if there is no way, then I can agree to turn a blind eye to it. After all, you can't save them all, and people die when they are killed; unlike me and you, they cannot ressurect when they are killed, nor are they truly immune to all damage like you are."

"And, with your cooperation, I wish for you to assist me with whatever I request, though I can agree to the 50/50 rule." If you say no, we'll have to find a way to balance the wall. If you can agree to keep your word and provide me with your cooperation, I will keep you in mind and aid you in every way I can while adhering to the 50/50 principles. So, do you accept my terms?"

Crusch Karsten inquired, and Pleiades simply nodded his head.

"Of course, now that our terms have been agreed upon, sit on the Nexus Branch and make yourself at home." By doing so, a temporary contract will be formed between me and you, making us equals."

Crusch nodded her head as she approached Pleiades' throne and gazed upon it, as she had spoken to herself.

'So, this is the Nexus Branch; it's a work of art, and I'm not sure I really comprehend its potential. But, in my opinion, this thing could be the actual antithesis of Od Laguna. And if the sword saint represents world order, Pleiades is the alternation of order. Valerie is the one who maintains equilibrium, while Pleiades is the one who wishes to rise above it. So, who am I, and what role do I play in all of this? There is only one way to find out.'

'In a way, sitting on this thing is like me saying I will wage war on the entire world, but I'm not a terrible person. But I don't regard myself as morally decent either; on occasion, I believe that the real Crusch Karsten was someone like that, but there's also the possibility that I'm mistaken, but thankfully I'll understand it clearer when Pleiades helps me retrieve my memories, so let's do this for me and for Crusch.'

With those words mentally spoken, Crusch proceeded to take her position on the throne of Pleiades, and it was then that she saw it. There was an army of uncountable monsters and Mabeasts in front of her, all kneeling to her. They came in many shapes and sizes, including humanoids. The ones that stood out the most to her though were a swarm of rabbits, a big floating white whale, and a large black serpent staring at her. It was almost as if these primordial monsters were a reflection of the power she now wields. The ability to demolish the world as she knows it.

The power of Pleiades.

Her gaze was drawn to Pleiades, who was staring at her with those monstrous eyes as his featureless figure remained in her direction. He was like a demon king at times. If he had this much authority, which he had obtained entirely by himself. With her by his side, how much more monstrous could he become? With the key to Pandora's box now in his hands, how much more powerful could Pleiades grow to be? The only way to know is to wait and see.

However, the pact was now formed, and Pleiades now had Crusch on his side. It was now time to give her a gift unlike any other, he continued, reaching for a fruit on the tree, which he plucked and offered to her. Crusch, of course, reacted in this manner to the fruit.

"Isn't that fruit one of those fruit that contains a vast amount of knowledge within them; why are you giving this to me?"

Pleiades' remark, on the other hand, astounded her.

"Ms. Karsten," I did promise you that I would return your memories, and this fruit contains all of the memories you have lost. However, I feel compelled to give more than that. As a result, I've decided to gift you this fruit in memory of Crusch. This fruit is all of which are Crusch, alternative and non-alternate, and more. This implies you'll have access to a limitless quantity of Crusch Karsten memories from multiple timelines, many of which are incompatible with our own. As the epicenter that connects every Crusch into one entity, you Crusch Karsten will be the ultimate Crusch, or composite Crusch, just as I am the composite version of all Subaru currently known as Pleiades in this universe, the strongest version of all other versions."

Crusch looked into the dark palms of Pleiades and saw a dark purple crystal fruit that looked like a pomegranate. And she grabbed it from his hands while looking at it closely, whispering under her breath as both her hands held the fruit of the tree of knowledge.

"All of which is Crusch Karsten Ha?"

Chapter Text

"Ha... where... am I?"

Crusch thought to herself, her vision fuzzy as her eyes slowly opened, only to be faced with something strange, if not completely out of the norm.

Her vision was met with an endless roof and an unfathomable depth that stretches upwards without end. Its height was truly limitless. Above her, however, were millions, if not billions, of floating shelves full of books, all floating in an undeding motion, towering over one after another.

The image was indeed breathtaking, and it made even the shadow garden seem insignificant in comparison.

What was actually terrifying was not the floating shelves, but the fact that even on the ground before her. There was a massive series of giant book shelves that towered over her and were comparable to a skyscraper. And these shelves seem to stretch on indefinitely into the distance, as the room around them and the shelves around Crusch appear to be limitless in size, given that she couldn't identify the end. She felt like an ant swimming in a vast sea with no conclusion in sight.

To summarize the entire situation, Crusch had landed in the largest library she had ever seen in her entire life. The floors were made of black and white checkerboard tiles. while the light above was like a brilliant sun that shined forever on the library she was in.

Crusch immediately began to question to herself, "How the hell did she get here in the first place?" And it's only then that she remembers what happened.

"Ah, that's right, Natsuki offered me that fruit... then... then... I took a bite." According to what he stated, if I ate it, I would be able to regain my memories. That's exactly "All of which is Crusch Karsten." That phrase lured me, and I bit into the fruit to obtain access to the forbidden knowledge. And the next thing I knew, I had lost consciousness, and I awoke to find myself in here. But what exactly is here to begin with?"

As Crusch stood up to look around, she was perplexed and mystified as to what she was expected to do here. Was this some kind of test from Pleiades or something, she wondered? She was taken aback, however, when she heard a strange sound of laughter coming from nowhere as a giant golden butterfly approached her and landed on her finger.

"A but~~terfly."

"What is a butterfly doing inside a place like this?"

Crusch hears the mischievous laughter emmiting from all directions once more, causing Crusch to gaze about, rotating and watching aimlessly as she says.

"*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*, KYHAHAH~~HAHAHA kyhahaHAHA!!! hihihihihhhiiiihihihihihiii!!!"

"Whhhhhat the hell is that laughing sound?"

"Is~~ is... anyone there!?"

Crusch yelled, anxious about her surroundings.

However, what happened next astonished her because she could hear a woman's spitful voice; her voice had obligation in it, so much so that it subtiled itself into reality as she spoke, and the subtiles manifested in the color red.

"Crrrusch Karstennn~~ is at the epicenter of "The Hall of Stories." Oh, and she is wearing a bunny girl suit, because why the hell not? It is a fanfic after all, as such anything can be factual hihihihihhhahahaha!!!"

Crusch blinks once as those words are spoken, and she finds herself in a different place than she was before. At a very different location than where she first appeared.

"Haaa! EHHHHHHHHH!!!, ww-What the hell is this, and how did I find myself here?... Whats going on?"

Crusch expressed morbid astonishment and uncertainty, saying that one minute she was god knows where and the next minute she was still god knows where, but this god knows where is not the result of her own choice.

But she was taken aback when she noticed a brilliant light in front of her, so she raised her head. And as a result of doing this, she became surprised to see something she had not expected to see.

"Whattt... is... this?"

Crusch inquired, her countenance befuddled, as she beheld a massive white crystal floating in the midst of a black pedistal. But it wasn't the crystal itself that stunned Crusch; it was what was inside the crystal that did.

A young, naked girl balled up in a fetal posture, embracing her legs, was within the enormous crystal, which was two of hers in overall height and one wide. Her skin was pale and white, and her drill hair was blond. Her eyes were closed, and her body was trapped inside, but the strangest thing was that many books were floating around the crystal as they slowly sank inside, almost as if the tiny and cute being from within was devouring the books in the same way that the Tree of Knowledge devoured many universe fragments.

This, however, was much more wrong; for some reason, it felt as if the child inside was dead but not dead, or, better still, in a state of suspense. The crystal itself resembled an unhatched egg. Crusch could sense it in her spirit. This child—no, this thing—was by far the most dangerous person she had encountered thus far; her instinct was telling her to run or bend the knee, so much so that she would even go as far as to say she was even more catastrophic than the likes of even Pleiades. She was terrified just looking at her; it was as if she were looking at an incomplete goddess in the making. A fetus that has not yet reached full development.

Crusch could only say one thing with horror in her eyes at that moment. She knew right away if this thing was going to be released into the world after it was born. It will be the end of everything.

"Pleiades~~ what exactly... are you creating?"

Crusch observed the drill-haired loli, who had been sleeping within the crystal for god knows how long, and consuming the books that were whirling around the crystal. And the more she devoured, the more books appeared from other sections of the library to replace the devoured ones.

Crusch, on the other hand, was taken aback when she heard a familiar voice surrounding her.

"Haihihhihi! *cackle*cackle*cackle* its magnificant, isn't it; be honored witch canidate, hihhhi... KYHAAhaha! What you are gazing at is the Nexus core. Or the heart of the Nexus-3 apparatus's And when you think about it, it's rather remarkable what one man can accomplish when he's discontent with a world that constantly takes from him. His original sins are envy and greed. My teacher, The Sage of Sin, is responsible for the entity you see before your eyes; you could say it was his last remaining family in this world, whose time was coming to an end. In despair, he disobeyed the law of nature and played God, sacrificing everything that was his humanity to keep her alive. Her name is like mine, Beatrice. But to avoid confusion, we guardians call her "Nexus Beatrice." "The Lady of the Black Quill." And the one destined to devour all stories within creation upon her rebirth."

"In a way, Nexus Beatrice is the true form of my teacher's ambition, and when she is resurrected, my teacher will also ascend with her, as they will transcend the narrative stack of all stories within our universe."

"This has been my teacher's desire since I've known him. However, he is missing the one ingredient needed to complete her. That was to claim the universe OD, or the soul of creation, for himself and fuse it with Nexus Beatrice, who is being groomed to withstand the powers of creation. However, the only way to get there was to take the sword saint's soul, yet every sword saint that is born is strong enough to defy him. The world adapts to his growth and produces an antithesis in his name to keep the law of balance in check. That is, until he met you, witch canidate, you were the turning point teacher has been waiting for."

Crusch immediately turned around when she heard the voice speak in a nasty and energetic tone. And then it happened: a swarm of beautiful golden butterflies began to flock together until a figure could be seen.

And there she was, in all her glory.

A woman dressed in Western attire with golden blonde hair and blue eyes. She had lovely, smooth skin and a big chest that bounced with the slightest movement. She has a rose-adorned bow in her hair, a choker, a ball gown-like garment, and a ring on her left middle finger. 

She reclined with a sardonic expression on her face and held up her right hand with her left. She also held a long wood and gold pipe, slightly slanted, still smoking as the fragrance of tobacco met Crusch's nostrils with full force.

Crusch looks at the woman with caution and fascination, especially given the woman's sadistic tendencies up to this point.

"Who are you?"

Crusch inquired, and the woman chuckled, her face amused, as she began to introduce herself.

"*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*, Hihhihihhahahaha... aghhhh... my~~my where is my manners. My name is Beatrice, witch canidate, Beatrice the Golden Witch, and overseer of the "Hall of Stories." Welcome, honored guest, to The Tree of Knowledge's inner world, where "The Lady of the Black Quills" slumbers and devours all stories within herself."

Chapter Text

"*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*, Hihhihihhahahaha... aghhhh... my~~my, where are my manners? My name is Beatrice, witch candidate, Beatrice the Golden Witch, and overseer of the "Hall of Stories." Welcome, honored guest, to The Tree of Knowledge's inner world, where "The Lady of the Black Quills" slumbers and devours all stories within herself."

Beatrice said this while looking at Crusch with a sinister smile on her face, while Crusch glanced at the lovely lady. She replies with a puzzled expression as she tilts her head in confusion.

"The hall... of stories?"

This was the first thing Crusch noticed; Beatrice, on the other hand, shook her head in agreement. As she began to respond to her curiosity, but first she snapped her finger, and as a result, a table and two chairs appeared. And there were a variety of cakes and teas being offered on that table. Beatrice then took a seat, looking at Crusch and saying as much.

"Sit down; we have much to talk about witch canidate."

"... Hmm... witch canidate, you have been calling me that ever since you came here, what is a witch canidate?"

Beatrice sipped her freshly poured caramel tea, but her eyes widened when Crusch asked that question as she replied.

"Hmmmm... maybe I shouldn't say anything else; if teacher didn't tell you, I won't either; this is for the best in the grand scheme of things, if not amusing at least." But I will tell you this: don't disregard your pride; be arrogant, because one day it might just listen to your demands."

"My Pri~~de?.

"Yes, your pride witch canidate; either way, do you have any more questions for me?"

Beatrice inquired, and Crusch responded.

"Several, actually, like who are you referring to as your teacher, and what exactly is the Hall of Stories?"

Crusch asked, after all these inquiries, is what anyone would have asked in this situation. It's not every day that you find yourself in the inner world of a cosmological-eating tree that is actually a computer.

So it was natural for her to be interested in the facts at hand. However, the fact that the woman in front of her declined to elaborate further on the title made her put a pause on her curiosity concerning it. As such, Crusch simply drops it and declares a loss. After all, she knows this woman is extremely hazardous based just on her personality, which she has observed thus far.

But that wouldn't stop Crusch from probing further. So she started with this.

"Tell me, what exactly is this so-called "Hall of Stories" really, and what is its purpose to begin with?"

Beatrice exhaled smoke from her pipe in an exquisite manner as she continued to walk to the side of a random bookshelf and take a random book from the shelf. From there, she offered the book to Crusch, who grabbed it and began to read the cover title.

[Once in a Lifetime]- By Caribdis| (A/N): If you know, you know. Also, who is a Superhuman and Eternum fan|

Crusch, take a look at the book and open it. Or, at the very least, she attempted but discovered that the book could not be opened. This draws her attention back to Beatrice, who begins to explain.

"cackle*cackl*cackle*, HIHIHIH... iits amusing to see your face of confusion and worry; its touching juust theee right buttons for little old meee. Anyway, what you're holding in your palm is a literal universe governed by its own set of physical and metaphysical laws, gods, higher creatures, and platonic concepts of order and hierarchy. In layman's words, you have a complete omniverse in your grasp. Each book contains an infinite world, which contains an infinite universe within said infinite universes, and so on. This simply implies that one book represents all of the stories in the omniverse for that one universe, parallel and non-parallel, alternate and non-alternate."

All of this was delivered in a banal tone as if it were the most natural thing for Beatrice to say. Crusch, on the other hand, thought this was really ridiculous. Screw playing god; this was simply taking the concept of god and forcing him to take steroids.

Beatrice, on the other hand, continued as she stated.

"But, in the end, neither I nor you, nor Pleiades, nor the sword saint, have enough power to dominate the cosmology outside the laws of our universe or any other realities that are not our own." We could practically change the story of any universe we choose, effectively becoming gods or goddesses. This is the equilibrium of creation. And, while we can theoretically materialize and trap these universes in books with the aim of one day controlling them, but sadly that day is not today. And that is the extent of Pleiades' power as a sage at the moment."

"All of this was created by Pleiades, my teacher, in the hopes of escaping that equilibrium, as he hopes to reach new heights and experience new things as he goes along to feed his never-ending hunger for experiences." So it is with individuals who bear the burden of sin while also attempting to resurrect a lost family that died along the way."

Beatrice announced this to Crusch, who was enthralled by her newfound understanding. However, it made her ponder, "How smart would one have to be to build all of this and think so far ahead?

She'd only known Pleiades for a few hours, but she'd already learned a lot about him. Even now, she had the feeling that this was just the tip of the iceberg. She wondered how much more he could be hiding.

Beatrice, on the other hand, continued her explanation of this place.

"But just because we can't open these books doesn't mean we don't know what's inside; that's why the Nexus-3 Apparatus system exists in the first place." To study all universal shards, simplify them, and save the information within Nexus Beatrice, who understands everything in existence. Nexus Beatrice isn't really dead; she's only fixed in time. Forever caught in the crosshairs of life and death. Her dreams give birth to new and existing stories, which in turn give birth to new universes with their own distinct cosmologies. These dreams manifest as fruits, the same fruits that grow on the Tree of Knowledge. However, once someone on the outside consumes a fruit, that story no longer exists within her mental frame. As a result, she forgets about the already-completed story. That narrative is then returned to the "Hall of Stories" but ironically enough it is still doomed to be eaten by her again and again until someone eats it, and the process repeats itself. On the other hand, the memory of those stories remains in the one who devours them, which is a type of omniscience induction when you think about it."

"And that's how everything is connected here. I know it sounds confusing, but if you take a moment to think about it, you can truly see just how amazing all of this truly is. Nexus-3 and the Shadow Garden are working in unison at a constant; if the Shadow Garden is destroyed Nexus-3 will remain inactive."

"The shadow garden is a place that exists outside of all things in creation, including our own universe; it is the boundary between worlds. The Tree of Knowledge devours these worlds, and once devoured, the Nexus branch saves them in a conceptual file, or as you can see, books, and places them in a saving space called shelves. Finally, Nexus Beatrice is like the motherboard; without her, everything that my teacher made would collapse."

"She is the one who analyzes the information of these worlds that have been transformed into books by doing the same thing as the tree of knowledge, devouring these books into herself, and analyzing all the infinities within each story by dreaming of them all at the same time." However, as a result of this, there are times when she unintentionally builds her own universes, creating new stories that are not a part of the Sea of Fragments but of Beatrice's imagination alone."

"However, the knowledge we could not take for ourselves manifests as fruits that contain the memories of Nexus Beatrice's dreams or nightmares." As a result, we can keep the memories of her dreams, even if we can't open the books in the Hall of Stories to see the stories inside. It is a difficult process, but we eventually obtain the knowledge we seek. And with knowledge comes power, and that is exactly what we, the Scribe of the Black Quill aim for: knowledge and amusement."

Beatrice triumphantly stated, her expression turning dark and vile as she spoke. And after hearing all of that, Crusch began to think to herself as she held the book in her hand.

'Is it even feasible for one man to know so much? I know he's been alive for ten thousand years, but this is already beyond the point when one has long strayed beyond the unknown and is about to enter the domain of the genuinely prohibited.'

'Sigh, this whole world is still new to me, so I guess you could say it's still hard to believe, but let's not dwell on it too long. And, as Beatrice stated, with knowledge comes power, but I wonder what follows after power: glory, respect, purpose, honor, responsibility, or all of the above?'

....

'Well, then I guess I will ask another question.'

With that in mind, Crusch's gaze met that of Beatrice, who was drinking her caramel tea once more. As she began to speak, she asked the question she needed to know right now.

"You mentioned the existence of some order earlier; I believe it was the order of the Black Quill." Can you tell me more about this order and what it's for? It appears to be extremely significant."

Beatrice laughed to herself as she responded.

"Hehehe... maybe next time, after all that's something you're not prepared for, then and again, we're not even sure how useful you'll be in the order." It's not a place I think you'd fit in, nor do you have the intellect to be a part of it. Although, as a witch candidate, I must say your curiosity is so wide that you haven't noticed, have you, that this eye candy is truly amusing. I wonder if your reaction will bring me more enjoyment."

"What are you even talking about?"

Crusch stated plainly, "Of course, Beatrice cackles to herself as usual, amused if not entertained." As she snapped her finger, a flying mirror appeared above Crusch's head, and that's when she revealed herself to be wearing a quite attractive, if not exposing bunny girl costume.

She blushed as she quickly covered her chest and lower body, squeezing her legs tightly together and glancing back at Beatrice as she yelled at her and grumbled.

"MHMMM.... This isn't funnnnnnyy.... change me back to my normal attire this instant!!"

"*cackle*cackle*cackle.... Crrrrrusch, don't be that way, you look great, not as much as me, but great nonetheless kuhyahyhayahahaha.... agh... I love it when they are in distress hihhihihih!"

"Im serious Beatrice, change me back this instance, I look like a pervert in this undignified attire."

Crusch demanded, a tear streaming from her eyes.

In this scenario, Crusch greatly underestimated the golden witch Beatrice, who was a sadist in mind, body, and spirit. Her tears simply bring her only satisfaction, and her pleading voice drives her to find even more ways to make Crusch Karsten even more uncomfortable in order to fuel her desire to hurt someone else even more for her amusement.

As a result, Beatrice responded to her by licking her lips and looking at Crusch with a mocking and equally menacing smile.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon... don't cry, okay?~~ HIHIHIHIH!! seductive, vulgar, perverted If you like, I can clothe you in something more exposed, such as a full-body fishnet costume, or naughty nurse, ohh I know how about a sexy apron, that would look good on you, the viewers would love it, or I can also grab a cloud from outside with my bare hands and place them in just the right spot to conceal your most private of regions."

Crusch had reached her breaking point when she slammed both fists on the table and demanded of Beatrice.

*THHHHUDHHHH!!!*

"THAT'S IT, YOU SADISTIC BITCH, JUST SEND ME BACK." I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR CHILDISH ANTICS, THEY'RE ANNOYING AND VULGAR!!!"

Crusch plainly declared that she had had enough of Beatrice using her to fulfill her deepest desires and treating her as if she were a toy. Crusch finds her unbearable, but she is unaware that the golden witch personality was caused by a witch factor. Beatrice has an unending greed for endless entertainment, and that was the stigma she bore as the Sin archbishop of Greed, Beatrice Ushiromiya The Golden Witch, who has lived for a thousand years.

And one of four students under Pleiades himself, who went by the alias Battler Ushiromiya at the time. But, in any case, the result was the personality of an exceedingly vicious lady with the authority to twist reality to her liking around her for her delight, and her amusement alone.

Crusch's antics were not discouraging Beatrice in the least; instead, they were playing straight into her hands and delighting her cruel tendencies even more. But for the time being, the golden witch has had her fill with the new toy that has joined the family. Her teacher has been so busy fulfilling his needs as the sage of sins that he barely visits her, making her feel lonely, so with a new toy like Crusch she can and will play with her at any given moment she can.

After all, her sole weakness is boredom; if Beatrice gets bored, you can easily escape her clutches; boredom is literally a deadly disease for her that can kill her if her boredom reaches its peak, causing her to fade away from existence. Thus she regularly eats the fruits from the Tree of Knowledge to keep herself engaged while guarding and acting as the overseer of the Hall of Stories.

Among all Archbishops under Pleiades Beatrice is arguably the most powerful Archbishop, as her only constraint is her creativity. To put it simply, her power transforms her imagination into reality, much like a formless canvas on air.

So, apparently delighted with this encounter, the golden witch laughs to herself as she snaps her finger, causing a door to emerge behind Crusch, as she indicated.

"HIHIHIHIHhhhihiiii... How entertaining, kyhahayhyahahaha... It's been a lot of fun, witch candidate!! You're getting it gradually; keep up your defiance, and you'll soon discover the truth, just like the rest of us. After all, the act of refusing to be played with by someone who is clearly looking down on you is a prime example of the sin of pride in its purest form. *Licks her lips* I can't wait to see how you mature and progressively and ripen over time; after all, the metamorphosis is the most exciting aspect of all of this."

Beatrice remarked this while pulling a black book from under her cleavage and transforming it into a golden butterfly, which landed in Crusch's hands before transforming back into its original form.

Crusch, of course, looked at Beatrice with mistrust and questioned.

"And what exactly is this book supposed to be now?"

"HIHIHI! Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous... yettt! After all, that book is a special book known as a Gospel, and everyone in the order has one, including the founder Pleiades. Of course, the Gospel is linked to the Nexus Branch, which provides us orders on what we should do. Consider the Gospel to be a means of communication with other members of the Order as well as a terminal for receiving orders from Nexus-3, all in the hopes of resurrecting Our Lady. In some ways, the Gospel functions as a hive mind, connecting other believers with each other. And, from the looks of it, the chat room is going to be pretty active these days, as our teacher informed us that the material required to fully repair your body is no longer available in this day and age. As a result, he must seek the assistance of an ancient sponsor who has access to them. I'm a little envious of you, witch candidate, but I suppose I can bear your existence if you're the key to eventually reaching the OD and breaking us all free from the equilibrium. But I shall warn you, witch candidate, our teacher is not someone you should betray under any circumstances; even if you leave the galaxy, another group from the Galatic Federation will find you and hunt you down mercilessly and force you to under us. After all our connections reach the far ends of the observable universe as we know it."

Crusch trembled simply gazing at Beatrice, as goosebumps ran down her spine and over her entire body. But she didn't respond to Beatrice since she was too mentally tired at this point in time to care for her. As a result, she walks to the door, while Beatrice begins to speak one more time, as she stated.

"By the way, I divided your mind into two so you could better absorb your new memories." It will give you strength like you've never had before because those memories are all of Crusch's memories that exist throughout the multiverse; that amount of information is not readily apparent at first. However, the way I've set up your brains will allow you to interact with all of them, and because little old you reminded me so much of Arthur Pendragon, that fictional space in your mind is dubbed the Round Table of Crusches. However, when you wake up, all of your memories from the past will flood in at once, lucky you little bunny, and see around."

Beatrice declared. Crusch on the other hand simply shook her head in agreement and walked through the door, leaving the golden witch with Nexus Beatrice as her only companion within the Halls of Stories, as she said while blowing smoke from her mouth and looking up at the ceiling.

"HIHIHIHIHIhihhiiihhihi! Agh yes, the peaces are slowly coming togther, isn't that right lady Bernkastel."

Beatrice remarked this while looking at a woman who was defying all rules of physics by lying down in the air and treating it as a bed.

"I honestly don't care, I love my current life right now, just leave me alone and let me rest, only call for me when our teacher requires it, I'm playing with lamba right now, in our imaginary universe, we're just starting a new game on the gameboard." Do you want to play, fufufuf? I'm not bothered if you don't either way though."

"Hmmmm... what kind of game are you playing?"

Beatrice questioned Lady Bernkastel because the two lollies were just as messed up, if not more hazardous, as her in terms of personality. Because of this, the games were excellent time passers. As such they were, nevertheless, incredibly entertaining.

Bernkastel response to this however was as follows.

"We're playing among us but with additional steps; the game rule is simple: find the intruder, kill them, join them, expose them, or replace them." Of course, there will be additional drama, gore, and overall R-18 entertainment... are you in our not."

"Hmmmm... alright why not."

Chapter Text

Pleiades looks at the unconscious Crusch, who, most likely at the moment, was receiving her "mental gospel" from his student Beatrice. Thus far, she has been sitting unconsciously on his throne for about two hours now. At that time, what Pleiades was doing was something rather unorthodox; why do you ask? Well, it was simple.

In his shadow garden, he was creating two separate things to implant in Crusch's body. He had anticipated that she would be out for no more than eight hours, so he had plenty of time on his side to complete these lesser augmentations. But in reality, the clock was far smaller than he would have desired. Given the fact that he only had a year to refine Crusch and transform her into his ultimate super weapon.

You might be wondering why Pleiades was so fascinated with turning Crusch into a super weapon. The reason is simple. There are many problems out there he cannot solve with his power alone, and some problems he cannot overcome on his own either. There exist things beyond his own solar system and beyond his cosmos that he himself would not dare jump into without years of preparation time. Now here was something new. Pleiades is powerful, but his adversary is Og Laguna. Od Laguna curses Pleiades with a curse that will last as long as the idea of the sword saint remains.

What kind of curse is it? It's not a malevolent curse, but it was designed by Od Laguna just to stop Pleiades. Yes! Od Laguna saw Pleiades as such a menace to its law of balance that it would do anything to stop Pleiades from reaching one location in this entire world. And that place was the great waterfall at the edge of the world. It's also the most guarded place in the world itself.

A location that was truly anomalous in all its magnificence, a place so priceless that if Pleiades could just get his hands on a single vile of water from it, he would be a truly unstoppable force. He was convinced he could find a way to bypass the mana conditions required to open a dimensional rift and travel to other universes if he could just get to that place.

Od Laguna, you see, was not the first thing to be born in the universe. How did Pleiades find out? It was actually quite straightforward. He discovered and translated some old manuscripts a couple of thousand years ago, and he discovered that Od Laguna was created only fifteen thousand years ago. Od Laguna, on the other hand, represents the universe finally gaining collective consciousness of all life after such a long time. In some ways, the universe is like a child who hasn't even spread its wings.

But an exceptionally bright child—maybe not as bright as him, but bright nonetheless. And Od Laguna acknowledged it. This man's knowledge was exceedingly harmful, as was its concern for allowing Pleiades to enter its metaphysical world to take its power. So Od Laguna began to alter the universe in order to counter Pleiades at all costs.

The first alteration was that instead of making one sword saint stronger than the other, it made each sword saint that passed, and the next one in line for the title, one hundred times stronger and more talented than the previous sword saint. And all the powers that a prior sword saint possessed were passed on to the current. Who had their own unique powers as well?

So you could more or less understand why Pleiades could never truly win against a sword saint, as each generation was stronger than him in terms of ability and skills; however he had better defensive hax, knowledge, and best of all prep time, equipment: Nexus-3 being his most powerful weapon as the system nigh Omniscience on his side caused the playing fields to be even out. In a way, Od Laguna and Pleiades were evenly matched as both of them were canceling each other in an eternal battle.

Pleiades has the knowledge and drive in order to reach Od Laguna, and Od Laguna has the power and resources to stop Pleiades from reaching it at all costs. 

All-knowing vs All-encompassing

Man Vs God

The Ideal of Freedom Vs The Equilibrium That Surrounds It

Chaos Vs Order

Authorities Vs Divine Protections 

In the end, neither could get ahead of the other, and Od Laguna was unable to predict Pleiades' next move. And Pleiades lacked the might required to defeat the armies Od Laguna had built particularly to oppose him at the Edge of the World.

Yes, at the border of the planet, there existed an army of powerful metaphysical entities Pleiades dubbed "As Ancient Memories" capable of overcoming his authority to some extent. Ancient memory is a system that will call upon old heroes of the past by manifesting the memories of said hero or historical entity to deal with Pleiades is what makes the legions of divine entities so difficult to deal with. He recalls fighting Reid Astrea at the planet's edge for several days with eight other strangers. He unfortunately lost that battle because Od Laguna was constantly charging them up, giving them more power as the fight progressed.

This was Od Laguna's way of guarding the huge cascade that linked all worlds together. As thus, it could never, ever fall into the hands of Pleiades. However, Od Laguna was grossly underestimating Pleiades, knowing he had little chance against "Ancient memories." That's why he was assembling his own army, that's why he resurrected the three great Mabeas. All in all, Preparation time was what Pleiades excelled at.

Originally, if Pleiades could obtain the waterfall's ability to freely cross universes without the requirement for a power supply. Pleiades would not have targeted the Od and would have simply been a God in a universe without one; yet, Od Laguna denied him even that, as such he could not live in harmony with Od Laguna. And because of that, he pledged to himself, that he would relish such a being's collapse under his feet as he consumes that power for himself via the assistance of Nexus Beatrice, slowly enjoying its loss.

But because Od Laguna chooses to deny him, he will also choose to deny it. God, the Sword Saint, and all prior heroes. It didn't matter, because he'd crush them all. With a smirk on his face, he would wage war against the balance of order, and embrace the great collapse. There will be no more walls, no more ball and chain, and, most importantly, no additional off-putting ends.

Of course, he will remember and love the event for the rest of his life, as he enjoys new experiences. And what higher sensation or sense of joy is there than dominating the very spirit of the cosmos itself, taking its power for his own as it watches the havoc he will instigate with it for the purpose of even greater experiences?

No one will reject his greed, no one will deprive him, and no one will oppose his marvelous goal. As such, what he was going to do to Crusch was brutal and unfair...inhumane even, but it was a win for him nonetheless, and that was all that truly mattered to Pleiades. He knew Crusch Karsten was too nice to take on some of the monstrous tasks assigned to them by Nexus-3. As a result, that mentality was a hindrance, and that personality would have to depart or, alternatively, be gradually rebuilt in his image.

Given the conditions, how will Pleiades utilize Crusch? It was simple; the poor lion fell for his trap and is now forever imprisoned in his cage. Crusch was now solely his property. Yes, he said she could have 50/50 and that her comments mattered; Pleiades must follow that. But do you really believe Pleiades was stupid to jump in without contingencies at hand because, in that brief contact, he built an immediate contingency to deal with Crusch in order to secure her entire loyalty to him? How was he going to control Crusch when they had an agreement that gave Crusch equal power and voice in whatever he did or said?

Well, how could Crusch oppose what he was going to do if she wasn't conscious? The contract says they must agree on something if something is said, but it doesn't say if they have to tell each other what they are going to do, or if they don't have equal rights to another body. Crusch can do whatever she wants with Pleiades' body as long as they both consent. However, that is only if they are aware of what is about to happen; Crusch had no idea what Pleiades was going to do to her body, and since she is not awake to disagree with his opinions, this is valid.

That was the backdoor to the contract at hand, therefore he didn't feel guilty about flooding her mind with memories of infinite incarnations of Crusch by tricking her into eating a fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Nor did he not feel guilty about using Beatrice's authority to divide her consciousness into two parts, one for all the Crusches to remain and one for him to accomplish what he was going to do.

So, what was Pleiades up to? Well, it is simple, Pleiades is developing a chip, or two chips to be exact, basically twin chips, utilizing the esoteric material of invincible providence to keep it hidden from everyone but him, and these chips will be attached to her limbic system and Hippocampus, respectively.

And just to be sure, he was going to make these chips as small as an atom, given that he could adjust the size of his invisible hands, as he could with whatever he manufactured from this unique substance that he had learned to use in some bizarre ways.

Crusch was essentially a doll and Pleiades was the puppet master pulling the strings to his liking.

So he painstakingly built the dual chips; it took him approximately three hours to complete, but it was done anyway. They were as small as a nickel at first, but Pleiades quickly positioned them where they belonged on her skull, using his authority like an x-ray to get the places correct. And once they were in the correct area, the chips sank and fazed right through her skin and skull, implanting cleanly on the desired location before striking to the size of an atom. It was already difficult to see, but now it was nearly impossible to see even if they were not invisible.

So the next question was, "What was the next item Pleiades made?" Well, he didn't make it. This was more of an improvement on an already existing item. His monocle already functioned as a visor, thus the improvements were not as difficult to implement as the chips. Only this time, the monocle was linked to the Nexus branch, and the "Mind Chips" that were implanted within Crusch, were connected to The newly improved Nexus Monocle, or NM-V1.

After that, Pleiades activated it by reciting the mental code, which was.

'Mayonnaise.'

When he stated that, Pleiades saw a giant blue screen with many text, numbers, charts, and a photo of a naked Crusch swirling around with both arms wide out. The screen explains everything about Crusch, essentially a medical chart that shows her body statistics to him in real-time, and it can also identify when she is afflicted by magic or any other methodology known or unknown to him. As a result, he could figure out how to nullify the impacts if such an issue ever arose.

But the main use of this equipment was as follows: he could control many settings with simple mental commands, such settings were as follows.

--------------------------------------

[Crusch Karsten Cerebrum Settings]

[Link way: (1) >> Limbic system].

-- Current State: Unconcious, R.E.M --

-- Emotional Settings --

. Anger: [0,1,2,3,4,5,(6),7,8,9,10]

. Fear: [0,1,2,3,(4),5,6,7,8,9,10]

. Pain: [0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]

. Joy: [0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,(8),9,10]

. Passion: [0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]

. Love: [0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]

. Shame: [0,1,2,3,4,5,6,(7),8,9,10]

. Guilt: [0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]

. Loneliness: [0,1,2,(3),4,5,6,7,8,9,10]

--------------------------------------

[Link way:(2) >> Hippocampus]

. Read Subconscious thoughts

. Manipulate Memories

. Sleep Mode

. Hormone settings

. Activate Alter Ego

. Enter Subliminal thoughts

. Download information

. Copy information

--------------------------------------

At this sight, Pleiades couldn't help but think to himself when the device triggered.

"I can't lie; this does bring a smile to my face."

"Hahahah... So, now that's done, let's establish a plan for what to do next while I wait for her to wake up."

Chapter Text

"Well, the implants are already in place, and I've already made a rough draft of the future plans." Now that we have Nexus-3 as a supporting branch as the things that will be making all the decisions for my cause, all that is left is to rebuild Crusch, and study her further."

"Hopefully, I won't have to use the mind chip for anything other than steering weak and unnecessary emotions within Crusch and providing assistance if the time ever arises." Crusch is not mentally weak, but the world that I live in extends beyond the mental fortitude of a high-class nobleman with political duties. Yes, these mental chips were a backup plan, but I do not intend to control Crusch's entire life. Instead, only her behaviors and faulty beliefs needed to be corrected and rewritten to my satisfaction."

"In a way, I'm doing this to protect her; of course, my satisfaction comes first above all else." But, from a more mature perspective, as well as from my own personal experience, I can tell you without a doubt that the slightest hesitancy can throw us off track, which is the last thing I need right now."

Pleiades murmured to himself as he began to take the paper on which he had written, his back straight on the office chair he had conjured up in his mind. He then opened a lower drawer and took out a big journal the size of an encyclopedia. The book had a black cover with no titles on it because they were of no use.

In some ways, this book was another of his creations. The irony was that it only existed as a backup plan in case Pleiades himself lost who he was, what he did, and what the larger goal was.

Of course, the book has been secured and built with old magic and can only be opened by him and his variants; the words are also impossible to decipher. After all, Pleiades created his own language and numeric system for the sole purpose of protecting his secrets, which no one but him is authorized to know. No one else could know, even if he tried to describe the jumble that was his existence from the past to the present. And this language was known as "Pleiadian."

What is the purpose of this book without a title? You must be wondering; well, that is a simple question to answer. And it was to record his entire life and everything he had done. It was the narrative of many lost identities, from the tale of the naive and lost boy that was Natsuki Subaru to the immensely clever, manipulative, and equally mistrusting Pleiades the Wonder.

It is essentially a biography of his existence; as such, possessing it is equivalent to having all of his wisdom, knowledge, encounters, memories, words, sentiments, or what remained of it—his actual day-to-day life. A book with infinite pages, but here's the thing about it: another contingency designed to prevent everyone but him from reading it. Assume you can grasp the language properly after getting your hands on the Nameless book. The book will make limitless permutations of truth and falsehoods and dupe the reader into reading a fanfic of his words that contains no truth at all. That and the fact that it will not open up to begin with unless you have the greed and sloth factor, specifically, along with the power of return by death. Those conditions alone make it impossible for anyone else but a Natsuki Subaru or a Pleiades to read.

As a result, Pleiades opened the book and went to the center of it, and the top of the pages was titled "Plans to Consider," and this section of the book comprises all of his documented plans from his past to the present. Normally, he does not return to read any of them because he recalls them all through the authority of greed. But he still needs to document his writing, so the paper gets fused with pages from the book.

And the minute it happened, his words were now in the book, but another thing to consider was that the book would appear empty to other if they look at it when he is documenting, Why? Well, it is because he turned the material from his invisible providence and made it into ink, making the words he wrote within the book to also be invisible as well.

Pleiades made it a habit to chronicle his thoughts, discoveries, experiences, desires, or whatever occurrences he had delved into or took notice of on a daily basis. And because he's already detailed his ambitions for the still-unnamed Crusch Project. He was now going to document the entire day, from the moment he felt like he was being followed, to meeting Crusch, to the excitement he felt when he realized she was the key, to his conversation with her, to the time when he was being followed, to the time he almost destroyed the world to escape his stalkers, to meeting the sword saint, to bringing her to the shadow garden, to the time of helping her get her memories back, to implanting the mind chip in her brains, and to the now where he was documenting his findings."

And with those words, Pleiades began to quietly document everything, with nothing to bother him humming to himself in the endless silent expanse that was the shadow garden, as he waited for Crusch to awaken from her slumber. And when she does, it will be the first time in ages since he had last spoken to her.

In some ways, the Sage of Sin's pastime was similar to the likes of an unconscious atonement and sorrow of Pleiades past and present; one second at a time, he leaves behind his experience and insights. Nonetheless, if anyone could read his anonymous book, they would conclude that this was a clear cry for help. This was not just a sad story, nor a book of vast knowledge, but a book full of regrets and loneliness, a book that can easily be called Natsuki Subaru's embodiment of itself and what it means to be Natsuki Subaru, a curse or blessing, an artificial book of the dead, many identities he had upheld and concluded, and many more identities that were to come. Just as Natsuki Subaru died, so will Pleiades, and a new identity yearning for even more meaningful experiences will be born, and the prior identity will be forgotten, truly a lonely existence when you think about it.

But such was the complexity of the witches and sages, each one unique in their own way and impossible to completely comprehend. So much so that they even they themselves are unable to understand and truly realize themselves. These sin-bearers are such purposeful beings that they live in a world that no one else but them can fathom, even if only a little that is. In some ways, they are a prisoner of their desires.

There words, actions, and even thoughts tell a tale, akin to the like of a greek tragedy.

"First! To strike all that defies reason! Second! Who cares about committing every heinous evildoing?! Third! Whether things are ugly or beautiful, if you're here in this fleeting world, don't ever expect to make it back unscaaaathed!! The strike of my fists will restore the world! My anger will follow behind and cleanse it! The fury of my two fists, the frenzy of my rage, they are the answers to it all!" - Minerva The Witch of Wrath

"Sin is a dividing wedge that nobody can escape." - Typon The Witch of Pride

"Don't you think it's a bit selfish, to try to eat another without considering the possibility of being eaten yourself?" - Daphne The Witch of Gluttony

"I don't… don't like that, so every...one… just die." - Carmilla The Witch of Lust

"It's not my concern, I've only come to serve as a watchdog and to make certain that everything stays fair, sigh. But still, I'll fulfil my obligation to her, sigh." - Sekhmet The Witch of Sloth

"I know. I know every single step you've taken on your path here. I was watching you... but watching is all I was doing. So if you don't mind, I'd like you to tell me yourself. What you've been thinking, and how you felt. The good and bad. How much weight you've carried to. I want to know everything. That's what truly drives me, omniscience is what I desire most. After all, I am the Witch of Greed Echidna." - Echidna The Witch of Greed

"None of this was your fault. You were in a blind rage, you mistook what you saw. It was all for love, you offered up your very soul for a chance to save the one you cared about more than anybody. All that you've done is the result of that emotion. A beautiful, wonderful symbol of love. Yes, there's nothing for you to fear. And nothing to regret. This inevitable path was the one you've chosen. This is what it was leading to, and all the love that you're feeling is not wrong." - Pandora The Witch of Vainglory

"Enough, just stay down. Shut up, you're too noisy. You're annoying me, you pain in the ass. I'm tired, I'm bored... I really hate all this, it brings me down so much. I'm so sad, so distraught. This is easily the worst of the worst of the worst. Quite depressing." - Hector The Warlock of Melancholy

"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you... I love you." - Satella The Witch of Envy

"This world is full of sin, disorder, evil, and every heinous platonic atrocity you can think of, but it also has light, happiness, and goodness that lurks among the shadows that crawl behind the light." But, in the end, these conceptions of good and bad are meaningless. They are simply useless concepts that offer balance to the meaning of anything that is equally good and evil. In the end, though, it is a matter of perspective; no one shares the same point of view, even if their ideas are similar. And yet, this invisible meaninglessness is the only thing that can genuinely give meaning to life, to purpose, and to drive. It is an invisible force that makes up the collective unconscious, which is the sea of ideas itself. As such, I want to experience it all, devour it all, take it all, and, most importantly, see it all. As a result, I will not starve my insatiable curiosity, beliefs, or my desires for anyone or anything, even if it is the OD itself who commands it; I will go beyond those human concepts, beyond the Od, and reach the greater truth, which is my greatest desire, the rawest form of meaningfulness, and where my happy end lies, and see for myself if life itself truly has any meaning." - Natsuki Subaru The Sage of Sin.

Each authority bearer is distinct, just as they are equally customary, but it is their ambitions that bind them together in madness, just as it is this madness that lets them exist in their own world. Some are as simple as Minerva, who wants to halt war and bloodshed and cure everything with her wrath, while others are as sophisticated as Pleiades, who wants to know the purpose of life. In a manner, these authority holders are united in their undoing. And as time passes, that madness just grows more profound; getting darker, and darker as time goes along. After all, if you stare into the abyss, the abyss will stare back at you, darker than ever before.

Wrath: 'The sin that seeks destruction.'

Pride: 'The sin that seeks pleasure in attention.'

Gluttony: 'The sin that seeks the taste of pleasure in all things good or bad.'

Greed: 'The sin that seeks everything without leaving anything.'

Lust: 'The sin that seeks love and passion without the hate that follows behind it.'

Sloth: 'The sin that seeks only rest, nothing more nothing less.'

Envy: 'The sin that seeks its all wants it all, even though it is well aware it cant have it all.'

Vainglory: 'The sin that seeks only perfection, as perfection is all it knows.'

Melancholy: 'The sin that seeks pity, and wallows in its own pity forever alone.'

And these sins take various forms and shapes while retaining their meaning. And now the cycle was about to start all over again. Because, as Pleiades wrote away in his unnamed book, you could see the lovely lioness that was sitting on the throne of the shadow garden's monarch, crying silently in her unconscious state, as tears of blood began to trickle down from her eyes and go down her cheeks.

A new archbishop was about to be born, along with the revival of a long-forgotten warrior queen. What does this signify for a world that has gone so long without them?

In truth, only time will tell, but this also marked the beginning of a new age. History was repeating itself, and all the characters, old and new, were gradually coming together. Or, at the very least, some kind of portrayal of them.

As Pleiades comes closer to his goal, everyone around him goes with him, evidently not wanting to be left in the shadow that could swallow it.

In some ways, Crusch's brutal inheritance is fated to bring her many disasters along the way. He left her a fang—a fang that would bite into anything and aid the wounded lion, who was ready to re-enter the world. You may be wondering what the inheritance was. If it isn't evident, that fang is an authority, just as Satella provided Subaru with the ability to survive in an unknown world full of wonders, both good and bad. Pleiades also gave Crusch a fang; you can call it a passing on the torch of sorts. And because he could simply mass-create the authorities, he gave Crusch the Pride witch factor, or better yet, a sage factor.

This was not an order from Nexus-3; it was a spontaneous act of love on Pleiades' side. He wants to shape her to his liking while also loving her—or, better yet, the notion of her—the thought that a living relic of his past was ironically in the same circumstance he was in the first time he came to this world with no one to rely on. Surviving only on a whim, now and then, his contact with the half-elf Emilia was not one of his options; that was decided from the moment he arrived in the kingdom once known as Lugnica.

But it invites the question: What if Roswal wasn't in charge of events? How different things would have been for the sage who was fated to one day eat all authority and become the sage he is now.

Desire begets sin, and sin gives meaning to desires. So, exactly like the hero Natsuki Subaru who sinned to reach his desire, and still sinning even now, how will Crusch Karsten construct this new world she left behind after death takes her? Crusch was the primary character in this novel in a way, and she had her own story to tell, as each character has. But now, burdened with pride, that is that of a sage variation, considerably superior to a witch variant. Can she adjust to her new surroundings? Can she accept the present and let go of the past? All of these and other questions can only be answered as you travel alongside her...NOOOO! all of them.

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"Hehehe. A question that is well worth considering indeed. Honestly, the Overlord of this story, Pleiades, is extremely fascinating and entertaining to observe; for so long I watched him, for so long I unknowingly walked alongside him, and not a single second passed when I was bored being near him. That is a miracle in and of itself, but there is so much more potential in this story, in him, and those who walk alongside him. And I want to see it, I need to see it all, isn't that right my Miko, do you not want to see how this all unfolds, after all, this world is the world you left behind in the end of your story after you became The Witch of Obsession, and became a true witch nearing the rank of a creator like myself?"

Said a beautiful mature woman floating in a big space far greater than even the Hall of Stories, except that the library in this location was so enormous and unending that it was impossible to know where it all began or ended.

The woman who posed the query to the Witch of Obsession is dressed in a sweeping strapless light pink ball gown that resembles a Juunihitoe kimono, although the layers appear to be plain green, blue, and red stripes. Then there's a yellow sash-like commodity hanging over the skirt. A formal magenta obi with red padding holds the dress in place, and it is embellished with a red and white obijime.

Matching light pink gloves and a light green fringed scarf thrown over her left shoulder complete the look. A brooch, resembling a military medal, is pinned to her scarf. It consists of a striped flag matching her dress layers fastened to a star-shaped pendant. She also has a cane with her.

 
Her most noticeable adornment, however, is the metallic horseshoe-shaped contraption that appears to levitate about her head.

She has a mature appearance, with dark violet hair done in a classic hime cut, purple eyes, and a well-proportioned physique. She emanates wisdom and strength despite her always collected and carefree demeanor. Nonetheless, her look seems mischievous, as if she is amused by something at the moment.

This woman was none other than the Great Witch with the highest rank of a creator, Featherine Augustus Aurora, The Witch of Theatergoing.

A figure who represents not only the readers, but also the authors, as she read away at the current chapter, bringing it to a conclusion herself, with the title Rebirth Of The Warrior Queen [Part V].

On the other hand, she has someone beside her, the person she designated as her most recent Miko, She was a woman with the title of an Overlord similar to Pleiades. But not in the guise of a cat; this overload was unique in that she was given the distinction of dictating and theorizing alongside her close friend Lady Featherine, of a much interested and most recent tale, a story about the future of a certain boy dearly loved by the witch of Obsession.

The Witch of Obsession is a tremendously powerful entity, approaching the level of a creator, with a realm only one hierarchy lower than that of The Witch of Theatergoing. She represents the conclusion and continuation of all tales, as if never wanting to see something end, her power indefinitely continues the story she cares about the most, and evolves all of them endlessly to the point where the stories she governs are in a constant state of uncertainty, with events after events playing out, leaving the story to never truly end. Even omniscient beings like Aurora were unable to see past the strength she possessed in that sense of unending continuation of absolute unpredictability. A preoccupation that was so vast that no one, not even Featherine, much less The Witch of Obsession herself; ironically the very cause of the uncertainty knows how any story will ultimately finish, as long as it was under her jurisdiction.

The witch of obsession powers is best described by comparing it to an open door that can lead anywhere. Because anything can be good or terrible, her authority causes unpredictability in everything she regulates. 

But her true identity is The Witch of Obsession Satella Alterna Anemada, the former Witch of Envy, but she is vastly known as either Lady Alterna or The Great Witch Anemada, mostly by Featherine of course although she prefers to call her by the title of Miko.

In some ways, these two are very close, given that Featherine, like the Golden Witch Beatrice, died of boredom for a long period. But because of Lady Alterna's power of uncertainty, Featherine can no longer be bored as long as Lady Alterna exists because of the nature of her powers. Despite being less powerful than Featherine, she has an impact on her own domain as well and the narrative stacks below and above her are being affected by Satella's presence alone, which is so potent that induces absolute uncertainty upon all things.

How unpredictable is Satella's power? Well, there's nothing to say that a giant fish with laser eyes and bunny ears cannot spawn right in front of them and kill the two of them. That's the power of uncertainty. That is the power of The Witch of Obsession.

If you don't want to say their names, as a reader who knows featherine as FAA, you might refer to Satella as SAA.

All in all though Satella was sitting around a giant floating table as an event known as the endless tea party between two of the strongest witches in existecne was currently underway. The event Featherine was greatly amuse and entertain by, The two of them were watching the story of Satella one true love playing before their very eyes. 

Satella was dressed in her typical all-black outfit with of course minor modifications, but you couldn't see her face since the dress had turned into a full black ball gown that went all the way down her leg, passing it even. And the veil was so thick and lengthy that she may as well have been featherless, a lady dressed entirely in black was the best way to describe her from any angle. And, like Featherine, she was over 2-3 meters tall in comparison to her previous stature; yet, her true size is big enough to be incomprehensible.

At that moment, Featherine, who was sipping at her cup of tea, heard Satella's voice, who was still looking down on the orb that depicted Pleiades' story thus far, after all, Satella eyes stretched as far as darkness, and she was using the dark space of Pleiades universe and shadow garden to constantly watch above and below him quite literally.

"Yes... Lady Aurora, we are truly proud to watch him even from here, although we wish... we wish we could have done more for him we can both agree on that sentiment at least. But we also fear at the rate he is going, he might end up dead due to uncertain factors that can randomly happen; I or her do not want that for him, my plans to help him differ from her plans to help him. I say to let our love grow and let him reach the deeper truth as she and I once did on the verge of death. However she protested against me and said I should stop being so foolish, love does not need a purpose to act, but spoiling him too much does not help him grow either. I personally don't know what to do, and as far as our contract goes we can't do something if neither of us agrees to each other proposal, so Lady Aurora, if I may be so brave to ask of you, do you have a way that you can help our love, even if it is only a little?"

Satella begged Faetherine, who was only listening intently.

"Hmmm... well... there are a variety of ways I can help him, but the struggle is what makes this fun to watch. But given that you asked me personally, I don't mind twisting the story a little, but be warned my Miko even I can't see what these changes might lead to given your powers influencing the narrative stack." As a result, the alterations I can make may be hazardous; are you sure about this, my Miko?"

Satella nodded her head, assuring Featherine that everything was well.

Featherine smiled as if amused with an idea of hers, as she began to modify the scene roughly 10,000 years before the present day. She was about to make a minor alteration in the history of the world where Pleiades was. The sight in front of her was of a familiar woman cuddling a mentally ill Subaru Natsuki. It was none other than Echidna's The Witch of Greed, the person who she was about change sligthly for the sake of Pleiades in the future.

"Hehehe... as we progress through the story of Pleiades and his rise to power, this will become even more entertaining." I can't wait to see how things play out as a result of this small shift in the path of history; don't worry though everything will play out as it is, with the exception of one minor detail that can aid Pleiades, but it will be even more interesting to see the effects of which your uncertainty will cause because of this shift... will it be good, or will it be bad I wonder?"

Featherine stated as she continued speaking.

"Really and truly, I can't wait to see everything unfold."

Chapter Text

(A/N): Hello, everyone! I hope you're having fun with the series thus far. I spent a lot of thought and energy into making this enjoyable and credible. It was difficult to judge every character's personality that was not my OC, and I believe I have done a sufficient job of conveying them thus far. But, kindly, do you leave your honest thoughts behind if you so desire? Every comment is read by me. Overall, as you might expect, this story will feature a diverse cast of individuals across multiple media as it progresses.

After all, if I'm in the mood, I'm fairly good at narrative twists, drama, romance, action, and, of course, mystery. But, please, enjoy the final chapter of Rebirth of the Warrior Queen and have a pleasant rest of the day. Also, if you have any suggestions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me; trust me, I can include any material into this plot and make it make sense. Aside from that, I'll see you guys later.

*Splash!*

The sound of crashing waves could be heard in the distance, while a glorious afternoon light shone brightly from the sky down to the ground below. As the body of Crusch Karsten lay flat on a mysterious beach, a soft breeze flowed across the face of an unconscious Crusch Karsten. She didn't realize she was unconscious until she felt someone poke her cheeks.

Crusch's eyelids open slightly in response to the foreground touch on her cheeks; as a result, her eyes open slowly, only to be presented to the bright sun in the afternoon sky in response to the rapid intake of light. Crusch's hands moved over her face, covering out the sun, and she began to take in her surroundings.

The sound of waves and seagulls could be heard, and the strong odor of raw fish, as well as the obvious scent of salt water, could be smelled up close and far away. The last of her senses felt the afternoon sun on her body, as well as the cold air north of her blowing her dark green hair along with the wind, and finally, she could feel the sand beneath her palms as well.

She slowly stood up and looked around, and there she was, sitting on the slightly damp sand of an unknown beach. And in front of her was a vast expanse of ocean that stretched as far as the eye could see. Crusch looked at herself and was happy to see that she was back in her old, rusty armor instead of that atrocious bunny girl dress that Beatrice forced her to wear.

Crusch, on the other hand, was taken aback when she began to hear the voice of someone she recognized all too well.

"So you finally awaken, I presume you have good rest?"

Crusch's eyes widen with amazement when she hears that voice and her head slowly turns towards it. That's when she noticed the person in front of her. Someone she knew all too well, if not better than anyone else, or did she?

Yes, there was a beautiful yet masculine woman in front of her, with almond-shaped amber eyes and long, dark, verdant-green hair that stretched all the way down to her lower back. And, despite the fact that she is a woman, she was dressed as a man.

She smiled as she looked down at Crusch, and the instant Crusch's crimson eyes met her dominant amber gaze. She recognized this individual the moment she saw her.

"Crusch... Karsten... the original matriarch of House Karsten and a former candidate to become the 42nd King of Lugunica."

Crusch replied to Crusch, who began to chuckle to herself as she straightened her hair, which was blowing in the breeze. And said to her red-eyed counterpart.

"Heheheh... It's strange seeing as that's me saying it, but you're correct, I'm Crusch Karsten from ten thousand years ago. A Crusch Karsten who died in combat, bringing neither glory nor dignity to the family of Karsten; I didn't even get the chance to leave behind an heir to take up the mantle... a failure of a duchess who thought she could make a difference. And a dreadful friend who couldn't honor her word of terminating the covenant with the divine dragon and restoring the lion king's order that once ruled all of Lugnica, so yes, I am Crusch Karsten."

"The very person you seek, so tell me, with that introduction, are you still eager to reclaim what was lost?" Do you not wish to forget about these memories and carry on with your life, Crusch Karsten of Altchare?"

Crusch Karsten of Lugnica said to the current Crusch Karsten, who gave her a serious look, that this version of her wasted no time and jumped immediately into the fire as if eager to be burned to nothing. Crusch, on the other hand, would not allow herself to achieve what she desired in this manner. As a result, she strengthened her resolve and grabbed Crusch Karsten of Lugnica by the shoulders and said to her:

"I don't know what you've been through, but the Crusch Karsten I know, based on the small tales Pleiades has told me as well as the memories I currently have, has been through a lot but still prevailed and moved forward." As such, I have come to believe that the Crusch Karsten I know is not a weak person, as far as I can tell. So please assist me, assist me in becoming you, so I can walk proudly in this new world with no regrets."

Crusch Karsten of Altchare begged her former self, shrouded in mystery, but Crusch Karsten of Lugnica responded as such.

"But what if these memories only cause you more pain and sorrow?" Will you still want them?" Crusch Karsten of Altchare, I'll tell you right now: the past is better left forgotten; these recollections are dreadful; Crusch is gone; therefore, I think it's only fair that her memories die along with the concept of her. And even if you do recover them, what use do these long-forgotten memories have if no one you previously knew is no longer alive?"

Crusch Karsten of Lugnica murmured with a mournful face, but she was caught aback by the next string of words that emerged from her future counterpart's mouth.

"You have no right to say that, do you?" Not when he was alive, not when Pleiades, NOOO! Natsuki-san was alive longer than me and you; that man in my recollections was so frail, so timid, so full of spirit, and so adored by people around him that it was heartbreaking to witness what he had become. Natsuki Subaru, driven by loneliness and wisdom beyond the heavens, lost his sense of identity and became the being known as Pleiades. He was alone for ten thousand years, and if you ask me, death would have been merciful to him or anyone in that regard, and yet death does not take him. So, even if I'm alone and sad about it, I have no right to cry if he doesn't cry. Our sorrows pale in comparison to his isolation, which woven the fabric of my present."

"Moreover, even if we bury the memories of the past, Natsuki will be the only one to remember; he will never forget, or so I hope." My point is that we must stop hiding the reality from ourselves. I need you, Crusch Karsten, Pleiades needs you, and everyone else we will meet in our new life will need you. I can't do it all on my own, so please, please come back to me, Crusch Karsten."

Crusch Karsten of Altchare said as she bowed pleadingly to Crusch Karsten of Lugnica. Crusch Karsten of Lugnica, on the other hand, sighed to herself as she spoke aloud, turning around, both arms behind her back, as she watched into the distance, looking at nothing but a boundless sea, which to her was a total mystery as she was completely unaware of where it might lead.

"*Sigh!* I couldn't stop you in the end, haha." I should have known better; in the end, regardless of the era, I could never change, and I always prided myself on my unbreakable determination to never give up. But tell me future me, what are your goals, what are your ambitions? What do you want out of this fresh life, this second chance that should never have happened in the first place?"

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"Why are you silent? Don't tell me you just want to live for the sake of living; if that's the case you disgust me, our fallen comrades would kill to get what you're getting." At the very least, strive to do something amazing if not for yourself, then for them."

After all, there is no reason if there is no objective to continue going forward, replied Crusch Karsten of Lugnica to the Crusch Karsten of Altchare.

As a result, the future counterpart responded as follows.

"I'll be honest with you, I owe you that much, I don't have a goal, well technically I do, but it's not mine, it's Pleiades'." I've been trying to reach you for as long as I can remember, and when the opportunity arose, I seized it without hesitation. And now that I've reached you, my mission is accomplished. But I can promise you that whatever objective I had in the past, I will exceed it plus more; If you want an heir, I will give you an heir; if you want to be a king, I will be the greatest of kings; you want to slay a dragon, I will slay an entire nest. As for my own ambitions, I'm not sure, but I'd like to find that answer for myself as I go along in this new embers of life. So I'll ask you one more time, Crusch Karsten of Lugnica, please come back to me and let us become the we that we've always been and will always be."

At that point, silence filled the air, with neither of them saying anything else. Crusch Karsten of Lugnica, on the other hand, was the one to speak once more, as she went on her knees, her eyes fixed on the lovely ocean, as she was taking it all in as she said to her future counterpart.

"That...will...do...for...the...time being." But future me, be warned: if there is one thing I have learned and experienced for myself time and time again, it is that everything I love always slips through my hands in the most unexpected of ways because I refuse to make the difficult decisions. Dont be me, be better than me, be the best version of yourself. Live as you please, this past of mine I will keep, but that future of yours, let us see what lies ahead of that uncertainty, and one day I hope you can find a goal you yourself desire, as such take the Lion Rampant to cut my head clean off, and put this lioness to rest once and for all, slay the gap between me and you, and only then will Crusch Karsten truly be reborn, in death given life."

Crusch Karsten of Lugnica declares firmly, and her counterpart can only nod in agreement as she unsheathes her blade. And walk to her past, gazing behind her, Crusch Karsten of the past didn't dare to look behind, and kept her gaze fixed ahead. However, she noticed three familiar sillouthes in the distance: Ferris, Wilhem, and Fourier. As the light of the sun illuminates their being in that moment, all three of them look on at her, smiling.

Ferris was the only one who had a nasty stare behind his eyes, but he smiled anyway, even though it was clearly forced.

Crusch Karsten of Altchare, on the other hand, bared her blade upwards as she prepared to strike down on Crusch Karsten of Lugnica, but not before saying one more thing to her past.

"Do... Do you have any last words to say to your past, because the moment this blade strikes true it will be only the future and the uncertainty behind it that will remain."

Crusch Karsten of Lugnica gazed into the distance once more, absorbing the sight of her old comrades. As if she's trying to erase the memory of their faces, yet what Crusch stated at the time was not what Crusch of today expected.

"What do you expect me to say: I'm sorry, I regret it, I shouldn't be alive, or I'll see you all one day but not today?" You, I, and even Pleiades is aware of it. We can't die, we're immortal; there's no see you later; this isn't even a farewell or a send-off; it's just a reminder. A reminder that I will never again lose sight of what is vital to me. A reminder that I will never forget: the past is a scourge to me. So I will not fill them with hope of a reunion; their memories and sacrifice will live on through me; I will tell their stories and sing about their lives to anyone who would listen. My men, my friends, my soldiers, they deserve better. As a result, Crusch Karsten is no longer... the duchess who once dreamed of becoming the Lionheart is a story that will be remembered as the tale of Crusch Karsten and Crusch Karsten alone, as that is which my men fight for. And yet, in the end, it was nothing more than a pipe dream. But no more, because with pride, I will stand, fight, and kill anyone who steals my place. I will no longer carry only my dreams, but the dreams of those who could not awaken from their endless sleep. I will live for them, for me, for you, and, if possible, for him. Although my concern for Natsuki is most likely unfounded, to begin with. But I'll walk this rocky road alongside him nevertheless, and who knows, maybe I will finally have a chance to say something to him, that I could say to him back then. It started with admiration, but as I got closer to him, even in my final days, I never got to speak the three words I most wanted to say to him. Because I knew it was pointless to say it, considering that he had been afflicted by the half-elf, Lady Emilia... hehehe... in the end, I have nothing to say that would be meaningful or iconic; to be honest, I am not even worth remembering... just do it."

Crusch, the former matriarch of the Karsten family, struck true for the first time in ten thousand years at that moment, from Crusch of the future to Crusch of the past. Her blade contained an unfathomable amount of love and regret, yet it was the most powerful strike she had ever performed in both the past and the future. The minute the razor edge dug through Crusch Karsten of Lugnica's neck, a great golden light shone so brightly that it encompassed the entire mental universe they occupied, shattering everything in the process.

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Crusch sat on the Nexus branch, her eyes opening to a familiar darkness, and at this point, she was already accustomed to the transmission at this time and place. But, unlike the mental worlds, Crusch had returned to the physical world. Her gaze was drawn upward to a gorgeous purple tree, whose limbs stretched out in every direction, bearing new fruits every second. When she felt liquid dripping from her cheeks to the surfaces of her rusted armor, she peered down. There were bloody tears on her legs. She remained silent for a minute as she took a deep breath in and out and whispered to herself.

"I'm back... I am truly back."

Despite her whispering this under her breaths, the administrator of this place full of inconceivable darkness took note, as a familiar voice could be heard, one Crusch hadn't heard in a long time.

"That you are Ms. Karsten, welcome back to the world of the living, trust me I can relate to your situation, dying once is not a pleasant feeling, but you, like me, have escaped death on your own terms." "Well done."

A voice murmured something in a dull and uninteresting tone, and the moment Crusch heard it, her head turned towards the source. And there he was, in his true form, which is nothing more than pure blackness with no features and only a swirling pair of dull amethyst voids for eyes.

The creature creation of pure abstract darkness sat in what Crusch described as a chemist's lab. He possessed beacons, pots, beakers, glassware, fumes, hoods, a muffle furnace, a centrifuge, an aggregate mill, and ovens. A giant book was to his side, which a tentacle tendril was controlling while writing something within. Pleiades, on the other hand, was cooking up something in his lab, considering that he was mixing a number of potions together. Not even fully acknowledging that Crusch had awoken from her deep slumber, which had lasted eight hours in real-time.

Crusch's eyes widened, as she said aloud.

"Natsuki...san?!"

"Please call me Pleiades, I abandoned that name a long time ago, either way thought so how do you feel?"

Chapter Text

"Natsuki...san?!"

Crusch saw the humanoid shadow, who was clad in nothing but a lab coat and wore a monocle over his right eye. He was busy brewing some sort of concoction, or so Crusch came to instantly believe because he was mixing a number of various components while heating them in the oven.

He did all of this while emitting a flood of black tendrils resembling an octopus tentacle. In total, he had roughly thirteen of them out, one of which was logging something in a large book, four of which were steering and mixing things with each other, and the rest had additional utensils ready to use at a moment's notice.

To be honest, Pleiades resembled a humanoid octopus, and his inhumanity only served to establish that the once kind, loving, and valiant man she had come to know no longer existed, and if he did, he was most likely only a spec that remained, if anything at all.

If this was her old self, she would have assaulted this man the moment she saw her, since his current form is what one might believe to come from out of the witch cult book of normalcy.

But, given what Natsuki had shown her in only half a day, this was to be anticipated. But there was a more immediate problem to attend to, so Crusch began a conversation by asking the question she wanted to ask, even as her amnesic self.

"Umm... can I just call you Natsuki, please? It just feels more right to me... and by the way, are you really Natsuki Subaru, a former knight of Lugnica, and the half-elf knight as well?"

Pleiades, of course, responded immediately as he turned his back on Crusch once more and went to retrieve a thermometer and place it inside a glass filled with a strange pink material that was being slowly cooked by the oven.

"*Sigh!* ~~ I'll make an exception for you, so call me whatever you like; names are just expressions of identity, after all. Second, I am the person you once knew 10,000 years ago; I may have changed a lot and appeared different to the point where you might as well be chatting with an alien. But that's what time does to people—it changes them. In my instance, I have had several physical, mental, and spiritual transformations to varying degrees. But enough of me, Lady Crusch; tell me how it feels to be free of death's clutches. How does it feel to be alive once more, strolling among the living?"

Pleiades proceeded to grind a strange blue rock into salt-like particles as the luminous powder began to mingle and combine with the pink liquid. As a result, the material turned a vivid, exotic green.

Crusch, on the other hand, watched Natsuki work; she was entirely lost in what he was doing, let alone making. But just seeing him do his thing was wonderful in the sense that it was a sight that can be described as otherworldly. However, on that note, she began to respond in a way that made this reunion seem so casual. It wasn't a roller coaster of emotions, to be honest, because Natsuki was so apathetic to change, and not caring if the genuine Crusch Karsten was before simply made her feel a bit more awkward given the odd circumstances.

She realized she couldn't remain silent for long and responded accordingly.

"Agh. Yeah! So, hehehe... To be honest, it's surreal to think that the world has evolved so rapidly that I can't keep up. Everything seems, as you said, strange, out of place, and alien-like, but I guess I can't complain either, because even with my memories restored, I still don't know how my body got, you know, undying, vampiric, and golem-like."

However, Pleiades' reaction was as follows:

"Mhm, I figured as much!"

"You... did... when and how?"

Crusch was taken aback. On the other hand, Pleiades responded nonchalantly, taking a small capsule bottle and draining the green liquid inside it, which appeared to be complete.

"Of course, my dear, it only takes minor common sense to come up with the reason as to why? Remember, you were killed before you were resurrected in this day and age." And, as you mentioned, you were encased in an ice prison, so I didn't expect you to recall anything other than your own life. As such, it is only feasible if your last memory is of your death. Trust me, death is a memory worth remembering; nay, it is an event one can never forget, even if they wish to."

Pleiades stated these words casually, almost as if he were speaking solely from experience. Crusch didn't want to believe Pleiades had already died and been revived. If that were true, it would be a terrifying concept in more ways than one.

She tried to think of something else as she proceeded to change the subject and asked the first question that came to mind.

"Is that correct? Hehehe... well, what exactly are you making? You seem so dedicated to the endeavor that it piqued my attention."

Crusch inquired, her curiosity getting the best of her, and Pleiades didn't hesitate to answer any of her queries, as he simply replied as such.

"Well, I did say you're my partner as well as my assistant, albeit only temporarily due to the contract's timetable." Moving on, what I have here is essentially a genetic alteration serum that was carefully designed to not interfere with a person's DNA but rather to simply intertwine the characteristics of specific races with those of a human. To put it another way, it is a serum that will give you the powers of numerous alien species without changing anything, which means you can have the power of a Xenomorph without becoming one, albeit that is simply an example, as the DNA features in this thing are solely from the Amaxtrixian race."

Pleiades said as he loaded the newly created serum into a tranquilizer pistol. Crusch, on the other hand, posed yet another question.

"A... Ama, what now?"

"Amaxtrixians, my dear apprentice, are a highly advanced alien race from the Diacolous Artemize Galaxy of the Pablgin solar system of planet Amada." They are category II civilizations on the Kardashev scale. We are currently in the Utamez galaxy. Moreover, unlike Pabglin, we are not a solar system but rather a big, square-shaped planet orbiting a star and a moon. However, because of the special energy that this planet naturally generates, we can essentially give the rules of physics the middle finger."

"However, to put it simply, my influence is not limited to this planet; I have lived for thousands of years." In terms of technology, I am literally thousands of years ahead of our contemporary civilization. I've been to many galaxies and many different worlds, and, believe it or not, I've been among many different alien species, learning their ways, acquiring their technology, and learning their skills. And I have literally spread my seed to numerous star systems over the last nine thousand years. Lady Crusch, my true strength lies not in my abilities but in my knowledge and connections."

"I go by many names, and many alien species worship me as king, god, devil, and savior." I am the sage who lives among the stars and the creator of the Order of the Black Quill. I have many students throughout the great cosmos, but only four—yes, five now that you are included—are my approved successors. The authority is stronger than even blood, and in some ways, we are conceptually tied."

"And an Amaxtrixians is an alien species that resembles humans in shape and form but has cat-like aesthetics, essentially a planet full of cat boys and girls." However, don't be surprised; they might look cute, but an Amaxtrixian is a very lethal extraterrestrial species capable of outmatching Reinhard in a one-on-one battle. Their weakest link after all can destroy a planet, while their elites can physically destroy many stars with a single thought, but only if you reach the level of an elder."

"Ironically, despite their enormous power, they spend 3/4 of their lifetime, or 3/4 of 900 years, doing nothing but sleeping." Because of their laziness, they only have children once in their lives. In short, Amaxtrixians are cosmic sleepers; there is no greater joy for them than sleeping, and sleeping strengthens them as well. As such, they are gentle, but make no mistake: if an Amaxtrixian is awakened from their siesta, they will physically destroy entire star systems to obtain the silence they want."

"On that planet, I have a mate called Nico with twin boys, and before you ask, they are full-bred Amaxtrixians." The species has the ability to practically rewrite genetics according to their desires. And they can also breed with any species that is not insecticide in nature, making them difficult to eradicate."

Pleiades explained, shocking Crusch, who was looking at him with a puzzled expression, as she said.

"Wait... you... you... actually, have kids?"

However, Pleiades' response was far more horrifying than Crusch had anticipated.

"Kids ha... hmmm... well, that's what many people think of them, but in my case, most of the children I conceived with other alien races were me experimenting and studying their genetic information and how my genetics would react with other interstellar species, and the result is amazing; I've made many breakthroughs." Aside from that, the experiments I conducted on them gave me joy and helped me better understand the lives of other xeno-life forms. And it will be because of all of the samples I have examined and collected thus far that I will construct you in your ultimate life form; it's just that I am lacking the necessary ingredients to construct your core."

Crusch finally realized that the man in front of her was a monster in the body of a human being, but instead of condemning him and telling him off, Crusch calmed herself down, remembering that this version was more akin to a mad scientist than an actual hero like he was in the past; this was a man cursed with wisdom beyond the heavens, as she had previously stated. There was also the issue that alien morality differed from that of humans, and Pleiades was more alien than human if she had to be honest as well.

'Who am I to judge? I don't know what Natsuki has been through; I should just shut up and learn,' Crusch said calmly. The traditional ways of the world I once knew do not apply in this period. Everything seemed so simple back then, but this new world is considerably broader than I can ever understand. For the time being, let's do things Natsuki's way. After all, if I am to live in this new era, I need to understand him, and I really want to comprehend this world, so let's cool down and behave maturely, but I think I understand. So this is why he had no qualms about killing the entire world earlier; he was never out of options from the start. He has attained such strength that a planet is to him what a house or a room is to us. This is a frightening concept in more ways than one.'

Crusch was, for the first time in her life, turning a blind eye to the injustice in front of her. But it also helped her realize that Pleiades doesn't care if you're his own blood or not, as long as you can help him. He will use you without hesitation, even referring to his own children as "useful experimental subjects." He was also very neutral about it, which worried Crusch, but it also made her pity him. His love was terribly warped, so why is she envious of those experimental subjects?

Pleiades seemed to notice the anguish on his pet lion's face, and as such, Pleiades said to her to lighten the situation.

"Of course, I still love my children after all; they have given so much to me." And it's not like they're living in poverty. Let me tell you that some of my children are high leaders in the galactic federation, rulers of their species, and happy family men or women, while others are legendary subterranean bosses or dictators that destroy worlds in my name."

"See... I love them all, and I remember all 53,632 of their names and faces, their likes and wants—well, 34,353 now that some of them die due to various variables that life throws at them." Unfortunately, this is the normal order of things... to be honest, I went on a breeding binge around six thousand years ago when I was younger, so I have slowed down somewhat in the current era, but back then my curiosity was at an all-time high but quite dull, but with you by my side, that flame has been lit once more."

Crusch, at this moment, began to blush quite profoundly as she said out loud.

"5...5...53...53,632.... children...!?

"Yes, I have conceived 53,632 different children." Given that the entire universe is swarming with billions, if not trillions, of distinct Xeno life forms from across the vast, endless spans of space, it is very little compared to the universe we live in."

"Natsuki...

"Yes assistant...

"How many wives do you have?"

Crusch inquired, but his response was shocking, to say the least, as he casually said with zero emotions.

"Are you referring to incubators?" So, the grand total is...

But before Pleiades could respond, Crusch placed both hands on his shoulders and said.

"In fact, please refrain from saying that... Your normalcy may drive me nuts before I can adjust, but tell me what you intend to do with that serum."

Crusch asked clearly, attempting to divert the subject; of course, Pleiades noticed and answered accordingly.

"Agh. Yes. My apologies, assistant. To be honest, if we are to reach the OD, we will need to do a lot of things, such as traveling to different galaxies, collecting material, obtaining certain weapons, assassination, conspiracy, torture, manipulation, and a whole lot of other things, both good and bad. As a result, I planned to inject you with this serum, giving you the ability of an Amaxtrixian. These abilities will allow you to fly MFTL and survive the cold and dangerous vacuum of space; these abilities consist of telekinesis, telepathy, cosmic energy empowerment, and many, many more. We'll even have access to a fourth-dimensional stomach to store stuff, and the time within our stomach is set to zero, allowing us to transport resources without them going bad or being exposed to foreign substances. As such, do you have any questions before I shoot you with AMX-34, also known as the Amaxtrixian serum?"

Pleiades questioned a surprised Crusch in a nonchalant tone, as if it were just another Tuesday for him, which it practically is, because compared to the likes of Nexus-3 this was nothing to him. Crusch on the other hand had a literal wtf expression on her face at the time.

Chapter Text

"Wait, you are going to inject that thing inside me... are you sure that's safe?"

Crusch questioned Pleiades, who had already grasped her left arm and was preparing to inject her with AMX-34. Of course, he responded as such, apparently anticipating this reaction from a first-timer.

"Don't worry, lady Crusch; I've meticulously tested and improved the effects of AMX-34 time and time again." To my closest aid, only three other persons, including myself, have had the opportunity to experience the power that AMX-34 has to offer, given that the majority of them were injected by AMX-24 and AMX-14. When I first sought to merge Amaxtrixian DNA with other DNA samples, you should have been concerned. The first variant was designated AMX-4, AMX for Amaxtrixian, and #4 for the four galactic tragedies caused by the first sample of it, which mutated with the test participants. They were all transformed into immensely powerful but similarly disfigured humanoid aliens with a desire for blood and havoc alone. As a result, those four attempts were regarded as failures, as was the initial effort. Therefore, the #4 for this specific DNA alternation serum was tied to its previous and future variations in memory of that failure."

"And now, my dear assistant, you will have the honor and opportunity to be one of the select few who have the power granted by using AMX-34 on your side." So let's get this out of the way, and then you'll be awarded a new set of armor. Don't worry, I've already contacted the best blacksmith I know, Lord Shadimoth of planet Vasca in the Yertamore-85 Galaxy, within the Arcnett nebula, to build you what I like to call Valkyrie armor, fitting for someone like yourself who once had that moniker in the past. As such, please consider it a present from me to you, and from there we will journey to our main base of operations, which is located within the darkest portion of the universe itself and is known as the "■■■■■■ void."

Crusch was bombarded with so much information in less than thirty seconds that she regretted ever asking Pleiades. Everything he says makes no sense to her; it is as if they were on entirely separate levels of existence. As a result, she paid it no heed because, in the end, Pleiades knew what the best course of action was for her to take, so Crusch chose to accept the offer of AMX-34 and leave it at that. She did, however, notice the new armor part, but her curiosity was drawn to that incompressible name, which is the name of some void, and just hearing Pleiades pronounce it terrified her.

As a result, she continued to ask another question while Pleiades began to pump AMX-34 into her veins.

"Say, at the end there, you mentioned the name of some sort of void; why couldn't I hear it, or is that some strange alien language?"

Something horrific transpired in front of Crusch's eyes as a result of that idea. Crusch first believed Pleiades' present shape was merely his void-like eyes and dark humanoid shape. But then the shadows on his lower and upper lips tore apart. To describe it, all Crusch could see at the time was a patch of space tearing on his featureless face directly in front of her eyes. Inside its mouth was a tapestry of eyeballs, all swirling and smiling as if something were inside the very concept of Pleiades abstractness itself. And then his voice started to appear inside her head, but it wasn't simply Pleiades' voice; it was the voice of a woman, or was it a man, or was it all the voices in the universe talking at once? She even heard herself speak for a brief moment. She wasn't going insane, was she? No, it was sheer, unhinged madness inside of him that existed as a separate entity altogether. Who or what was this thing? She already knew, despite not knowing anything about who or what this was, this was... "The End" nothing less, nothing more.

'Agh. Yes. Are you curious now, child of man? Do you want to find out what the void is? Ok, I will tell you my true name. So, I am what I have become; we are the singularity at the heart of it all. That which will draw at it is all that is not. We are, and have always been, the silver key. Destroyer of all that is and shall be. Before there was everything, such as the universe, humans, aliens, planets, stars, conceptions, ideas, and even nothingness itself, there was only incompressible darkness. There has always been and will always be only we, myself, and I alone. We are the Kash'rAA'vatt Cycle, destined to unite all and forever intertwined in endless thorns. And you are only an extension that escaped from us, just as my dear host, the shadow garden, all that exists here and beyond, even the Od was once us, and as such, we wish to recover everything into one singularity once more.'

'Now, child of man, what will you do now that you know who we are? How do you feel knowing you are also me and knowing you know what you shouldn't know? Don't worry; after all, all that is now was once me; I was woven into many because of that thing, the god-damned king in red. I despise it; my goal is to dest... *Badump*... haaaaa? *Sigh!*... Oh my, what a troublesome host this man is... yet he is very interesting; I want him for myself and me alone, but he doesn't feel the same way. What a problematic husband, beyond even the great beyond he is... in any case, I spotted him and will devour him one day so we may be together forever, and then it would just be me and he alone... heheheh... Anyways, me that is destined to be we, farewell... till we meet again, hopefully in true singularity!'

With that stated, the mouth closed, as did Pleiades' eyes, which quickly opened again. Crusch looked on in horror and said, while slowly backing away in fear, that she knew it: that thing that appeared out of nowhere was not Pleiades; it was something else, something that could only be described as the very embodiment of pure evil, something that should not be released into the world under any circumstances. All that is left is nothing, something that will eat the entire concept of non-existence itself.

"N-n...n....Natsuku-san!?...

"Is... is that you?...

Pleiades just said in a casual tone to the startled Crusch.

"My apologies, Lady Crusch; it appears she likes you, which isn't a good thing; now that she's told you her name, I'll have to make arrangements to ensure her love is only for me." It is worse to be loved by this monster than to be loved by the witch of envy. I can't go into great depth about this because I don't know what it is. But allow me to explain everything I can. It occurred approximately 5,548 years ago when I was exploring the universe in my freshly created spaceship, which could transport me to deeper parts of the universe. And as I traveled, I found myself in a region of space that was a giant void that was slowly devouring the stars around it." Curiosity drove me into the unknown, and by the time I returned, somehow I had become a part of that unknown to some extent. I spent a long time in that void—twenty years to be precise—but found nothing of interest, to say the least. However, when I returned, I discovered this attached to me," Pleiades said, taking off his coat and turning around to show Crusch his back."

What Crusch saw shining in a horrifying purple on his back astounded her. He has an enormous tattoo of the Tree of Knowledge on his back only because the branches look like tentacles. And there were horrifying-looking eyes in the core of that tree, and the fruits it bore were likewise eyeballs. Pleiades then began to explain his problem in further detail.

"What you see there is definitely the Tree of Knowledge; it's this very marking that inspired me to build Nexus-3; to me, it was like a horrific version of Norse mythology's Tree of Life, Yggdrasil." And I couldn't properly examine the shards inside the Shadow Garden, which had a true multiverse's worth of information at the time. As a result, I devised a machine that would swallow the fragments and allow me to study them. It took me thousands of years, but I finally made it. But how can someone make something that can quite literally consume an entire omniverse equal to one shard? You may be thinking, "That doesn't make any sense, does it?" Even Echidna is incapable of doing so."

"Without a doubt, the witch of greed is the smartest person who has ever lived, but I secretly stole that title from her the moment I took the devil's hand for a brief moment." This tattoo offers me power, which I am hesitant to use but yet tempted to use at times, but I know I shouldn't. And that power is the ability to absorb anything in existence and remake it into whatever I want. And with this ability, I became a genuine deity, capable of devouring and recreating anything I desired. At first, I utilized this newfound power to extend my views as I began to study. Imagine yourself as a child who now owns a toy store. Such is my insatiable curiosity as the bearer of the sin of greed. This power of mine was the means by which I was able to construct the Tree of Knowledge and the Hall of Stories from within. Beatrice was also dying at the time, so I created the Hall of Stories to place her in a state of limbo, but I got too greedy; I ended up hurting and using her instead when I figured out I could freely go directly into her dreams and study all that endless information, that she was consuming."

"You could argue that I should have used this ability to save her, but I couldn't. Yes, I have the ability to destroy and construct whatever I desire, as long as it is within me. But here's the catch: Whatever I eat becomes a permanent part of me. And what I remake is nothing more than an extension of myself; in short, once you are an integral component of the singularity, you will always be a part of the singularity; you cannot escape the unity that is within me. In some ways, I am the Tree of Knowledge and the stories it consumes. Thankfully, I discovered that early on, and I was confident that if I hadn't found this out early on, I would have devoured Beatrice in desperation and remade her in my image, but it wouldn't be Beatrice; it would just be myself in a different shape, entirely oblivious that it is me, although the real me knows that it is only me."

"This alone caused me to temporarily abandon the Nexus-3 project; after all, The Tree of Knowledge was keeping Beatrice alive, but the dream she created is nothing more than an extension of me." In the end, she was merely a tool for The Tree of Knowledge. But Beatrice was unique; her mind and body remained intact; she was still alive; it was simply that what she desired was not hers. It was just me inadvertently constructing the omniverse that I consumed and wanted to learn more about. And Beatrice's dreams of them—both blissful and vice. She is always in a perpetual state of insanity and happiness. "Her mind is infinitely dispersed across all timelines and universes; that The Tree of Life Devours."

"But things only got worse from there. With Beatrice gone, I was left alone, and my authority didn't help. Naturally, even now, I don't feel bad about what I did to Beatrice and what I'm doing to her every second that passes." Nonetheless, I am determined to save Beatrice at any cost and simply apologize. Don't misunderstand me, Crusch. I am conscious of my acts; I am aware that I am nearing the realm of absolute apathy, yet in my own twisted way, I care about others. It's just my method of demonstrating my love, which is insufficient in human terms. I am a monster; I am a devil worse than any other devil, and I am proud of it even though I should not be."

"In order to bring Beatrice back, I devoured and recreated the materials that I spent thousands of years traversing the universe to obtain; some of the materials were actual technology from type 3 and 4 civilizations, while others were living beings from various different galaxies." Nexus-3 is, in some ways, a version of myself born from the advanced technology of many races and the races themselves, all absorbed by me and reborn as a hybrid eldritch monstrosity that is both biological and inorganic. As a result of life and machines, it is an omnicomputer greater than anything in this universe."

"As a result, my greatest creation was born, but the more I use this unknown power, which I know nothing about, all for the sake of saving Beatrice and undoing everything I've done to her, the more she suffers." It was already too late; my power was growing stronger and stronger. Until she eventually entered my life. She is the creature who dwells within all of Beatrice's dreams, including her own originals; clearly, I wasn't the only one eating, because this power was living and feeding alongside me."

"And the deeper I go into Beatrice's dreams, the more her presence that exists within me infects them; that's why I made Nexus Beatrice's dreams manifest in the form of fruits." Because the creature only lives in her dream if I am physically, mentally, or spiritually present in her dreamscape. So I made and programmed the Nexus-3 the way it is so that I could still examine her dreams without entering them by making Beatrice manifest them in the form of fruits. But it became evident to me that the more I use this power, the more I become a part of the being who gave it to me in the first place. That entity's name is the Kash'rAA'vatt Cycle, but I call her Kash'rAA'vatt. This name should normally be impossible to understand if she does not allow you to hear it."

"But it's clear to me what Kash'rAA'vatt wants: a body, and she wants to devour everything within herself, leaving nothing but me and her, for some reason this woman loves me for reasons unknown like a wife would love its husband, in a way she reminds me a lot like Satella but infinitely worse and more powerful."

"And that black spot in the universe that I inadvertently entered that day wasn't just a void. It was a prison harboring that beast within, I knew that because she told me, and she communicates to me in my thoughts like a parasite from time to time. And the stars it ate were sacrifices to keep it quiet and unconscious at all times. But, like some sick joke, that creature is now inside of me. The only things I know about her are her name, the prison she was in, and the fact that she says my body is like an anti-void that naturally devours prohibited things. This woman is insane; she claims to want me and that I am her ticket to victory and vengeance; she says it has to be me, and only me. She sings of prophecies. These Prophecies she sings about a tale that I am the one who shall take the crown of her brother Khahrahk and devour him whole."

"I asked her, who is Khahrahk, and her response was as follows. "He is my brother, also known as the Scarlett king, an embodiment of pure evil so powerful that by knowing who or what he is increases his power. But you're different; you're connected to the Swann, or are at least comparable, I sense it; you're something born from beyond the Tree of Life. I see you, you're the one with the bloody thorns painted black on your crown. It has to be you, just you, and together we can and will triumph. And when all is said and done, you will be the one who appears before the lady of the blackthorn... beyond that, I am not sure, but if we reach her, everything below is ours... so utilize my power, be eaten by it, let me consume you, enjoy you, remake you, and only then will I be completely satisfied."

"All in all, I brought this on myself, and the void from which Kash'rAA'vatt emerged is not supposed to be accessible, as it devours anything that comes close to it, never to return once inside." But the instant I entered, I consumed the void itself, as well as the creature of the abyss within; how I did this in the first place, I have no clue, and I meant that in the sense that science or magic cannot explain how I am doing this. And she can take control of me from time to time as well, albeit she can't physically harm someone since I seal the movement of my body whenever she takes control using a technique I like to call the one million contracts."

"But yeah, I don't know her true motives beyond devouring everything, so I can't trust her, and I don't want her to fully consume me in any way either, Ohh heavens no, we can't have that, can we, if anyone does the consuming, it will be me?" And she refused to give me anything other than what she believed I needed to know, talk about a persistent parasite, so I sealed her away; unfortunately, I haven't tamed this eldritch mommy as yet, but it's a work in progress."

"And that is more or less how I became the host of Kash'rAA'vatt, the lady of the void until, and until I could find a way to exploit her powers for myself and myself alone without the consequences of being consumed slowly every time I used her powers. So she has to be a good little eldritch monstrosity locked inside me until I can find a way to tame her; unfortunately, she is not the submissive sort, and I am deeply into submissive girls, although I do like them when they fight back so when they do become submissive the work I put in feel all the more better; talk about sexual tension that can't be fulfilled unless I or her give up the right to take charge, I am very dominant person Ms. Crusch its either my way or no way."

Pleiades told all of this to a stunned Crusch, who was perplexed to hear the entire narrative from beginning to end. In some ways, the dots were beginning to connect, albeit slowly. But now she has even more reason to be scared of Pleiades. For one thing, she discovered Pleiades was the host of some type of Dark Goddess who was obsessed with him. Two, Pleiades, like Regulus, was a very selfish person, but his selfishness was like a boundless ocean, quiet, dark, and scary. Regulus, on the other hand, would kill you if you told him otherwise, as he is always blaming others. But Pleiades was a silent selfishness, not as loud and destructive as Regulus selfishness, seeing that Reguls will kill you if provoked or tell otherwise, which is mercy in and of itself. Pleiades, on the other hand, was... unpredictable, which worried her. Regulus, on the other hand, would kill you if you told him otherwise, as he is always blaming others. But Pleiades was a silent selfishness, not as loud and destructive as Regulus selfishness, seeing that Reguls will kill you if provoked or tell otherwise, which is mercy in and of itself. Pleiades, on the other hand, was... unpredictable, which worried her.

Third was virtually the only positive aspect of anything discussed. And it was the fact that despite all of his warped and messed up actions thus far. There were evident indicators that, while he was no longer the kind man he once was, he still had a sliver of humanity within him. His desire to save Beatrice is evidence of this, and this led the duchess to cling to the hope that he was still beyond salvation.

Pleiades on the other hand began to talk while she was considering all of this.

"Now, now, Lady Crusch, don't be concerned; everything is literally under my control, malevolent Goddess or not. It's not the first time I've fought God-like beings, and it's certainly not the last. I have no idea who the Scarlett king is, nor do I care; if he arrives, so be it; our battle will be legendary if he is exceedingly powerful. Overall, we have a lot to do, so you can rest for the time being. We will leave for planet Vasca in three hours when AMX-34 will conclude its assimilation within you."

"So, for the time being, go enjoy yourself; the shadow garden can do anything you imagine; I believe you want a bath, so take one; if you want a massage, come to me; I don't mind; after all, I am very good with my hands." If you wish to watch a movie, simply instruct the garden to create a theater room with an infinite number of movies; after all, the mind is not restricted to anything other than the user. And while you're doing that, I have some personal stuff in my office that I need to get done... if you want to see me, just say my name and I'll transport you right away."

Crusch sighed inwardly, Pleiades was right, she needed a nice bath after this mind-boggling, if not stressful, couple of hours. As a result, she nodded her head and began to recreate the Karsten mansion as a pocket dimension and a door appeared out of nowhere leading to the place she would consider as her personal room in this place. And as she began to open the door, she turned around and said.

"Ummm... Natsuki, I know I might not be as much help to you in anything other than reaching the OD, however, if you ever need my help, don't forget you have a friend you can reach out to behind this door, even if you just want someone to talk to I am here for you."

"Of course lady Crusch, the same goes for you as well, please enjoy the shadow garden however you please."

Pleiades announced, this time in a more charismatic tone, and Crusch nodded as she entered her house to take a bath. And shut the last door behind her. Pleiades, on the other hand, began to materialize and open a portal similar to what Crusch did. Inside was a small room with no windows or anything other than a desk full of documents, a massive futuristic computer system, and a small book labeled "Satella Diary" on it. And when he arrived at his office inside the shadow garden, he sat down in his chair.

He was the Order of the Black Quil's ruler and founder at the time. As such he has a variety of tasks, including singing documents here and there to build new alliances or consent to some request from partnered alien civilizations, as well as issuing the command to rule or entirely destroy a planet. If not, terraform them to relocate the resources. As a result, he was scheduled to speak with his son Methuselah of planet Flugel within the next hour or so in an online meeting. And Methuselah, the first-born child of Pleiades and second in charge of the Order was intrigued by a planet that looked a lot like his old world.

He was the Order of the Black Quil's ruler and founder. As such he has a variety of tasks, including singing documents here and there to build new alliances or consent to some request from partnered alien civilizations, as well as issuing the command to rule or entirely destroy a planet. If not, terraform them to relocate the resources. As a result, he was scheduled to speak with his son Methuselah of planet Flugel within the next hour or so in an online meeting. And Methuselah, the first-born child of Pleiades and second in charge of the Order was intrigued by a planet that looked a lot like Pleiades old world.

But since he had an hour to spare he was sent a message from his familiar that they had garnered some information on the sword saint and had sent it over to Nexus-3, whereas Nexus-3 had already sent the information to Nexus-3-1 which is the computer in his office that behaves likes a normal computer, unlike the Nexus Branch.

So he entered his password and went to his files, where he discovered the folder titled:

[Project Clotho, I53-Valerie]

And when he opened it, he discovered a video from his Archbishop, which was titled.

[Valerie I1]

Pleiades began to sit back and watch the video, which played loudly in the enclosed space almost as if by magic, as the video was twenty-four minutes long.

"Well, then, current sword saint, Reinhard Van Astra descendant, and Roswaal L. Mather." "Show me what this unexpected union of the greatest house of swordsmen and the greatest house of mages created."