(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.
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"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?"