Chapter Text
Chapter 1: The Tree on the Hill
Reinhard van Astrea was thirteen years old when he first encountered the Pleiades.
He never expected it to happen, it just did. And on a mission, no less.
Out in the open fields of the Lifaus Highway, where a large tree could be seen in the distance, two individuals were sent to investigate the tree, and, if need be, eliminate it.
Those two happened to be the former Sword Saint, Theresia van Astrea, the grandmother, and Reinhard van Astrea, the grandson, and the new Sword Saint of eight years.
Even now, he still vividly remembered the week his grandmother went on a subjugation quest to end the Iron Whale. He was suddenly granted the Divine Protection of the Sword Saint while she was gone, and his grandfather instantly blamed him for his grandmother's assumed death.
Only, she didn't die.
A few days later, she returned home, only to walk in on her husband hitting her grandchild, and immediately came to Reinhard's defense, and screamed at Wilhelm to leave.
When asked what happened on the expedition, all she could say was "the White."
Reinhard snapped out of his thoughts when he nearly tripped over a vine. In fact, now that he looked around the area, he saw that several vines were covering the grassy fields.
All of them leading up to one giant and twisted tree.
"Grandmother, it would seem that we have arrived."
"I agree," the redheaded woman said. "The vines around here seem to be getting bigger and coming from the tree. Stay close to me, we don't know what we're dealing with."
"I understand. I'll follow your lead, Grandmother."
The two arrive at Flugel's Tree, or what used to be Flugel's Tree.
Gone was the brown trunk, it was now completely green. The body of the tree twisted towards the top, as if multiple vines were trying to form the trunk. The only thing that remained the same were the leaves, but even now, they were bearing red, and most likely, poisonous fruit.
At least, that's what the reports that came in last week claimed.
"What could have done this?" the younger redhead asked.
"The Pleiades. That thing must have applied its influence on the tree."
"It truly is a monster beyond our comprehension."
"Mm. If it's as far gone as I think it is, we might have to take action."
"Do we know what the Pleiades wants?" Reinhard asked.
"No. Since it arrived in our world four centuries ago, all it has caused is chaos, and spawned monsters. It is a creature beyond our comprehension," Theresia said.
"And what of the Cult?" he asked
"They're all completely insane to even think of coming near the Pleiades voluntarily," Theresia spat. "All of them, from the lowliest cultist, to the Nine Colors themselves."
"Nine Colors? I heard of them through rumors, but I was never informed regarding them."
"What have they been teaching you…? The Nine Colors are the highest of the Pleiades Cultists," the former Sword Saint explained. "Each one representing a different color, and each one of them having some unholy power, rumored to be granted by the Pleiades itself."
"I see…" the redhead contemplated. "I assumed the Great Sage and Divine Dragon would have already done something regarding Pleiades. I cannot help but wonder why they do not act."
"They do what they can. It's said that they keep the Pleiades itself in check, so they can't deal with the monsters it spawns. That's where we come in," his grandmother spoke.
"Wait... spawns?" Reinahard looked at his grandmother, confused.
"Some of them appear out of thin air, some are horrible mutations of already existing creatures, but all of them are unnatural, just like this tree," she said, pointing at the abomination.
Reinhard eyed the tree in shock. "How could... such a thing exist?"
"You'll have to be more specific," the grandmother spoke.
"The Pleiades," he clarified. "It comes to our world out of nowhere, takes the minds of people and twists them to its will, and creates monsters to terrorize the world for seemingly no reason."
"I don't know. Perhaps it's some sort of malevolent god. Or it's the incarnation of all evil. But what matters is that it's real, and we have to defend our world and those we care for against it."
The two knights proceeded to get closer and closer to the tree, and saw that a giant flower, with a white, yellow and orange, almost flesh-like, coloration was adorning the top of the trunk.
"Strange. Flowers don't usually grow on trees, especially ones of this size."
RRRRR…
"Huh?"
SQUELCH…
The flower suddenly opened up, revealing a giant red eye staring down on them.
"REEEEE!!!"
Theresia and Reinhard were startled for a second by the massive crimson eye, before grabbing the hilts of their blades, ready to attack the tree at a moment's notice.
THWIP!
THWIP!
THWIP!
In an instant, several vines came to life, and lunged towards the two knights.
"DODGE!!!"
BOOM!!!
Both Reinhard and Theresia jumped out of the way before getting hit. Reinhard drew out a spare blade he started carrying with him in case he couldn't access the Dragon Sword, whilst Theresia drew out her own sword, ready to attack the monstrous plant.
"AIM FOR THE EYE!!!" Theresia yelled.
In a flash, Reinhard was able to dash out of the way of the incoming vines, leap up towards the height of the eye, using the sword to slice right through it with no difficulty.
SLASH!
As Reinhard backed away, the purple blood stopped spilling, and…
RRRRR…
a white pus appeared, healing the eye, and completely regenerating it.
"Ugh, disgusting," the older woman groaned.
The vines attacked the two once more, the vines aiming for the younger Astrea –
"REINHARD!"
…Theresia pushed her grandson out of the way, getting tied up in the process.
"Grandmother!" the young Sword Saint yelled. Feeling frustrated that his grandmother was caught, Reinhard dashed right towards the plant monster, carefully building up enough mana in his sword to do substantial damage, but not enough to break the sword itself.
BWAAAAA…
Theresia grunted in anger, as she squirmed while the vines wrapped around her body.
"Get… off me!"
BOOOM!!!
Reinhard then unleashed his attack on the plant monster, making sure he didn't damage the former Flugel's Tree or his Grandmother. The monster, recoiling from the attack, had let go of Theresia and Reinhard managed to catch her in the air, with her chewing, "That's my grandson!"
The two of them landed back safely on the ground, analyzing the situation.
"Thank you, Grandmother," Reinhard said, before looking back at the tree. "Is it dead?"
Thereisa opened her mouth, but a different voice spoke.
"It'll take more than that to kill it."
"What?! Can it speak?!" Reinhard gasped.
"Um, over here, actually," a second voice said, one higher than the other.
Theresia and Reinhard turned away from the tree to see that two new individuals had shown up.
One of them was a tall woman, presumably a giant, with purple hair in a black dress, and the other woman appeared to be a human with pink hair in a white dress and green scarf.
"Oh, my apologies," Reinhard bowed at his presumed rudeness.
Theresia, however, looked like she just saw a ghost.
"Reinhard…" she said, her voice grim. "Stay away from them."
"Grandmother?"
"They're two of the Nine Colors."
"The Nine Colors...?" the purple-haired giant yawned, her voice deep and clearly bored. "How dull of a name... you knights couldn't have... made it more creative? Or was it Satella…?"
"Still… we should introduce ourselves…" the pink-haired woman nervously said, as she politely bowed. "I'm Carmilla the Pink, and this is Sekhmet the Blue. Nice to meet you."
"What business do you have here?" Reinhard asked.
"We can't let you destroy the Demon Seed," Sekhmet said. "The Pleiades has plans for it."
"The Demon Seed?" the redheaded child repeated. "You mean the tree?"
"Mm-hm," Carmilla nodded. "The Pleiades has left a part of his essence within that tree."
"All the more reason to destroy it," Theresia hissed.
"Leave, or we'll destroy you," the purple-haired giant growled.
Reinhard put away his spare sword and successfully drew out the Dragon Sword, stunning everyone. "I apologize, but I have a mission to complete. Surrender, or be destroyed."
However, his grandmother has a differing thought.
"Reinhard, listen to me carefully. Take care of the tree, I'll distract these two."
"I'm sorry, Grandmother, but I'm afraid I cannot allow that. If they are strong enough to allow me to draw the Dragon Sword, then I cannot in good conscience allow you to face them," he said, remaining where he was. "I have a plan, but you must get to a safe distance."
The older woman analyzed her situation. She was unable to beat one of the Colors back when she had her Divine Protection, and she sure as hell couldn't beat two of them now. It pained her to leave her grandson alone, but she had no choice in the matter. Eventually, she relented.
"Fine. But the tree takes priority."
"I understand," he nodded. "It will not see another sunrise. I promise."
Theresia nodded, as she leapt away from her grandson, who was ready to face off against the two Colors. She just prayed that this plan of his would succeed, whatever it was.
I need to stall for time for Grandmother to reach the ground dragons and get away, and allow me to charge up enough mana I need to obliterate this so-called "Demon Seed", the young Sword Saint thought to himself. I need to talk to them, distract them, for the time being.
"Tell me, why are you following the Pleiades?" he asked the two women, hoping to get them talking. "Do you not realize the damage it and your cohorts have wrought upon this world?"
"The Black follows the Pleiades, we follow the Black," Sekhmet said. "Simple as that."
"I assume the Black is your leader then," Reinhard stated.
"Mm," Carmilla nodded. "She was the first follower."
"Then why? What does Pleiades want? What is the purpose of all this chaos and destruction?"
"The Pleiades is trapped, begging for release, to be free in our mortal plane," Sekhmet said.
"And? What will it do should it arrive here? And how does this allow it to be free?"
"Every creation such as the Tree of Dreams is another step closer to the Pleiades succeeding," the Blue answered. "When he arrives, the Black, and all those like her shall be loved."
Reinhard raised an eyebrow at that. "Loved?"
"Each and every one of us has been rejected by the world for something out of our control. Our powers, our race, our appearances," the Pink said. "The Pleiades accepts all."
"I can't imagine that someone like you would understand us," the purple-haired giant of a woman scowled. "You are loved by the world. We can both feel it."
Reinhard was silent for a moment before speaking with conviction. "You're right. I have this power… and maybe I don't deserve it… but I'll do my best to use it to help others!"
"Strange…" Carmilla hummed. "You are loved by the world... yet rejected by its people."
"Oh? How do you figure?"
"I can see it in your eyes," the woman said. "The fear of being viewed as a monster. Your Grandmother does not look at you that way... then why? Why is there pain in your eyes?"
"Hmm…" Reinhard was silent for a moment, thinking over his answer. "Maybe it's because I stole her power? Maybe it's because the Dragon Kingdom sees me as a weapon? Maybe it's because I'm blamed for my mother's condition? I honestly can't tell you why."
"They turned a teenage boy… into a weapon…?" Sekhemt asked, her magenta eye betraying her complete disgust. "And you wonder why we do… what we do..."
"I may have been forced into this position, but I stay in it day after day out of my own free will," the young Sword Saint said, his eyes determined. "AND THAT WON'T CHANGE!!!"
BWAAAAA…
The hum was getting louder. The necessary time had passed, and Reinhard now held his sword straight up, unleashing a blinding light from the blade, which soon engulfed the entire sky.
"NO!" Sekhmet yelled, realizing that they had been tricked. "UNSEEN HAND!!!"
But it was too late, nothing she could do could stop the Sword Saint.
Soon, Reinhard swung the sword down, obliterating the tree and the monster in an instant.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!
The light was so bright, that Reinhard couldn't tell if the two Colors had fled or if they were destroyed. However, he did see something dark coming from the tree.
If he was being frank, Reinhard was unsure what had happened after he destroyed the tree. Perhaps he passed out from the sheer power he unleashed. Or perhaps he had knocked himself unconscious. That would certainly explain the change in scenery.
It was all… gray. With a mix of a sad green and purple, along with a small hint of black. Honestly, he felt bad for anyone who would call such a plane of existence home.
But what made it worse was the fact that something was there along with him. Whether it spawned a portal, or it was always there, he was unsure, but it was there.
And whatever it was, it was straight out of his worst nightmares.
The first thing he noticed was that its "main body" was… a mass of tentacles, all of them pitch black. It was hard to tell how many of them there were because of how they all seemed to merge with one another, but Reinhard was able to count about fourteen of them at any given time. On top of the tentacles was a… a cloak? Whatever it was, it was a piece of cloth that split off into four of its own pieces, like a dress… that was made from the night sky itself.
He could see the stars themselves inside its clothes.
The rest of its body was a nightmare, too. Behind the tentacles and "clothes" were four, black wings, like those of a sharp butterfly, with… eyes. He didn't know if they were simply patterns or of those were four massive eyes on the four wings staring at him, but he was leaning more on the latter, as its "head" was some sort of broken arc with a star in the center of a black void.
It had been quite a long time since he felt fear.
However, the next thing that would happen… would surprise him for quite a long time.
"Oh, come the fuck on! Seriously?! I was so close to making some progress, and now it's all gone!" the creature of stars of nightmares shouted, visibly upset.
This made Reinhard confused, and made him do something risky.
He spoke up, drawing its attention.
"I'm sorry… who are you?"
"I would tell you, but you can't understand me, so what's the point?"
"No, I can understand you," Reinhard said.
The creature stared at Reinhard. "Wait… you can understand what I'm saying? You're not hearing gibberish of some shit that makes you wanna bow down or something?"
"No…? Why? Should I?"
The being of pure madness remained motionless for a few seconds, until –
"Fucking finally! Four hundred years! Do you have any idea what it's like?! No one has been able to understand me for four damn centuries! Everyone else hears what I assume to be random nonsense that makes whatever they want to hear, and I don't know how to fix it!"
In an instant, the creature shrank down. Gone was the giant abomination, now replaced with an abomination around his height. If it weren't for the fact that it still consisted of black tentacles and those other unpleasant features, Reinhard would have almost called it normal-looking.
It also helped that it was several centimeters shorter than Reinhard.
"Uh… Should I know you?" Reinhard asked.
"Oh, right," the creature of black fire said, as it suddenly… pointed a tentacle into the air? Was it striking a pose? "My name is Subaru Natsuki! I was originally a human, until I got summoned to this world as... this… and I've been trying to get my old body back ever since! Nice to meet you!"
What? Reinhard asked for clarification. "This…?"
"This shadowy abomination I've been stuck as. Sure, I'm super strong with it, but I can't hold a decent conversation, and people around just start worshiping me for no reason! Like, I don't wanna be worshiped! It feels weird, and not in a good way!"
"Wait…" Reinhard finally put two and two together. "You're the Pleiades?!"
"Yeah, that is what they call me, all right. "Pleiades" is actually just my real name in another language, so I guess "Subaru" didn't translate well," Subaru explained.
"You look so… different." Reinhard said. Well, at least compared to all the stories.
"Really? What were you expecting?"
"Some sort of multi-formed, genetically diverse, gender fluid being that had so many colors on it, that my mind would break from the sensory overload," he answered honestly.
"That's... rather strange and specific."
"I mean, it was either that, or some multi-armed mass of shadows," Reinhard said. That one was actually Julius' personal theory, but now, he wasn't sure who was closer to being right.
"That's fair. Anyways, forgot to ask. Who are you?"
It was then the knight realized he hadn't introduced himself. "I'm Reinhard van Astrea, from the line of Master Swordsmen, and the current Sword Saint of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica."
"Oh, you must be Reid's descendant then! I'm sure he'll love to meet you."
That threw Reinhard for a loop.
"He's… still alive?"
"Yep, he kinda faked his death, became immortal, and came to live with us. He's not a cultist, he just lays around all day drinking. He's also the reason we don't have any alcohol... like, ever."
The young knight was unsure of how to process such a revelation.
"But enough about that," the Pleiades… no, Subaru said. "If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer. I'm just so glad I can hold a conversation, if I'm being honest."
Well, I might as well ask some questions while I'm here, Reinhard thought.
Subaru's goals would be as good a place to start as any.
"What… exactly is it you want?"
"Simple. I just want my old body back. I don't wanna be worshiped, I don't wanna rule or destroy the world, and I don't wanna be the all powerful Demon Lord or some shit," the living mass of black tentacles, butterfly wings, and stars said. "I just wanna be normal again."
"I see…"
"Here, take a seat as I weave my tale," Subaru said, patting the ground next to him. "Just a warning, this is gonna take twenty hours long, and I prefer to tell it in five minute intervals."
"Okay…?" Reinhard said, as he sat down next to him.
"So, it all started back in my world. Yes, I'm from another world. I was just a regular guy like anyone else, then boom! I'm teleported to a new world, and I thought I was gonna be the main character with awesome powers, like in... some books I read... turns out I was half-right."
"You… were turned into a horrible monster?"
"Bingo, right on the money. I started out as a regular human with no powers. When I got to this world, I was suddenly this... thing." He gestured to himself. "I didn't know what I was, or what I could do, and whenever I tried to talk to someone, they almost always went mad."
"Almost always?"
"I'll get to that. Anyways, it wasn't long before I met who would become my first unwanted follower. Satella. Now, don't get me wrong. Satella is absolutely stunning and beautiful, and she's clearly very caring of others... but... I think my powers kinda broke her."
Reinhard remembered how Carmilla said that the first follower was… wait…
"This Satella lady… does she happen to be the Black?"
"Yep. She didn't go batshit insane like the rest, but she did become... obsessed with me. She became the leader of my Cult, and my first... ugh… "bride" Her idea, not mine."
"I'm sorry, your what now?"
"So, they think I need multiple brides or something to help me fully manifest into this world, and there about seven of them, and I think that they each kinda represent one of the Deadly Sins, or at the very least, that's what the Cult is trying to do, and… Why are you looking at me like that?"
The young redhead was currently staring down the Pleiades in visible disgust.
"Please tell me you have at least kept your hands clean."
Reinhard could tell that if the Pleiades could sweat, he'd be drenched right now.
"Uh… Define "clean," Reinhard…?"
"If you had your way with them, I'm going to pummel you to the ground."
"Oh, that. No, if anything, they had their way with me."
"That does not fill me with confidence whatsoever."
"Imagine how I feel. I just wanted one wife, now I have seven of them to worry about! Well, I'm not sure if I should count Shaula. So… six? Hey, does a homunculus count?"
"Do I even want to know?" Reinhard groaned.
"You probably don't."
Reinhard rubbed his temple at the absurdity of the situation. "So… now what?"
"Well, maybe you could come back with me and act as a translator? I reeeaaally need one."
"I… already have an occupation."
"Well, I won't rip you away from your job, but seriously. If you could just pop into our "evil lair" and help me tell my followers what I actually think, I will be eternally grateful."
Reinhard mulled over his options. On the one hand, serving as the direct mouth of the Pleiades would potentially allow him to stop the Cult's machinations. However, doing such a thing could easily backfire. Aside from the fact that Lugunica would brand him a traitor if discovered, the cultists might not even believe him, and result in infighting within their ranks.
"I think I can do you one better," the young Sword Saint said.
"How so?"
"You wish to be free, correct?"
"Definitely. Though I still need to reign my Cult in."
"Then I shall do just that."
"Okay…?" Subaru looked confused. "You're not really explaining anything."
"I mean I will find a way to free you, Subaru," Reinhard said, standing up. "It may not be any time soon, but it will happen. You have my word as the Sword Saint that I will save you."
"How are you gonna do that? Even I haven't figured it out yet."
"I'm built differently."
"Well, if you can understand me, I'm not one to argue," Subaru said, also standing up. "As a condition, you need to come by my temple sometime and be a translator, please."
"Very well, but I'll have to do it in secret. I can't let the public find out."
"Eh, just ask to see if you can investigate my cult or something. We'll need a meet-up spot, and I can take you there. It doesn't need to be a whole thing, just once would be enough."
"Very well, then."
"Alright, I'll try to keep them restrained for the time being, and thanks for the help. When you're ready to meet with me in an official capacity, I have a spy-slash-sympathizer within the Kremaldy Forest near the Roswaal Manor. Ask for a boy named Garfiel Tinzel."
"Garfiel… I see… thank you."
"Alright, I'm out. Don't wanna freak my followers out from being gone for too long."
Reinhard nodded, as he smiled, "Good luck with your life!"
Subaru waved him off, before opening a black portal behind him and walked through, the portal closing up as soon as he was through. And then… the world began to break.
The gray and sad world around Reinhard began to break apart like a mirror, with white cracks appearing everywhere. He nodded to himself in understanding. Ah… so I was unconscious…
KRAAAAAK!!!
As Reinhard regained consciousness, he saw that the explosion he set off was still burning the land around him. Time had slowed down when he spoke to Subaru, it seemed. Truly fascinating.
"Reinhard? REINHARD!!!"
"Huh?" Opening his eyes a bit more, the redhead saw his… "Grandmother?"
"That was… incredible! I could see that explosion from where I was!"
"The explosion? Oh, right. Was the monster destroyed?"
"Completely turned to dust! Nice job!" she cheered, before her face shifted to a more serious expression. "However, it seems that the Colors escaped… no traces of any bodies…"
"I see…" Reinhard said, as he looked over the scorched area.
While he could see the burned stump that remained from the ex-Flugel's Tree, the Demon Seed, along with the charred earth all around him, there were no corpses to speak of.
Sekhmet the Blue and Carmilla the Pink had escaped.
"You look out of if," Theresia said. "Are you good?"
"Oh. Yes, I'm fine. I guess I put more mana into the attack than I intended."
"Alright," she said, extending her hand. "Ready to head home?"
Taking his grandmother's hand, Reinhard smiled "Indeed."
It was that day Reinhard learned the world's more terrifying monster… once used to be human.
Author's Note: Didn't expect a new story from me so soon, huh?
I was originally planning to post a reverse-iseakai story, but then, EternalWhisper went and posted a variant based on my first story, and I was so happy that I posted a suggestion that happened to be the Pleiades, and he went and did that one, too. So, I decided to pull out this story from storage (over two years in there) and post it first.
If anyone saw the comments I left on EternalWhisper's works, you'd notice that compared to them, the actual Pleiades looks nothing like I originally described. Despite that, I liked the new design so much more that I changed the whole thing. The following excerpt was what was originally written for when Reinhard first encountered him:
"The mass of… shadows? No, the way they moved, they were more like black flames. They moved and shifted, but maintained a relatively stable form. It was large, like a giant wearing armor, but with flames on its head. Anyone weaker would have been driven mad already.
"What... is that?" he asked himself.
While most of the color on this… thing's body… was black, it also had purple as a secondary color. It almost appeared as if the creature's internal organs were purple, while its black skin was see-through. Honestly, Reinhard would have preferred if the creature was merely black and white, because even the visible organs weren't comparable to the true horror.
Its eyes.
Its eyes were orange and pupiless, and yet, the way they were shaped… It reminded Reinhard of death itself. Like the being in front of it had the answers to how Reinhard would die."
So, yeah. If you want to see an official visual of what the Pleiades looks like, go check out EternalWhisper's story, "Variants, Variants, and More Variants!" or use the link /works/63789406/chapters/185098731#workskin here!
Don't expect this to be a massive story like my other ones. I'm at a very uncertain time in my life right now, so I decided to show this story to everyone before it was too late. If anyone wants to create their own spin-off based on this, they're free to do so.
So! You all know I have created my own website where I've posted a bunch of my art, so, if you're interested in seeing that, visit httpshttps://eowen5.myportfolio.com/! And I'm pretty sure as you all know now, I have also made a Twitter account to post my art, so if anyone is interested in checking it out, https://twitter.com/ErnaloreProf is the link.
If you want more content, visit my Discord, the link is https://discord.gg/3PFYSt8Dqz. You can chat with others, post memes, fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, fan art, and we even have a writer's corner now! I'll also drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! Also, if you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! Just please make sure to follow the rules.
Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!
- Ernalore