1

My first act of freedom after so many years trapped in my own body, was to curl up onto my bed and vent into a pillow.

Ughh. Simply feeling something as soft as a pillow again was enough to put me over the moon. While I still had my five senses working, how can one really take advantage of them when you are a prisoner in your own body.

Or, in this case, a foreign body.

After an hour, or two, of this I finally pulled myself back together. While the rush of emotions was still there, I was able to rein in some manner of control over myself.

Myself? What a joke…

Uncurling myself, I slid myself to the far side of the bed and picked up a small mirror. It's funny. I can remember the day Tabula put this in my room. A part of me never thought I'd actually touch anything in this room. That when the transition happened I might just be obliterated, my personality overridden by whatever bio Tabula wrote, or even worse, I'd remain a prisoner, but this time in the real Cintrinitas's body.

I shuddered at the thought of it.

Curious of my surroundings, I explored the room. While I had known this room well for years, it is one thing to simply 'see' the room. It is another to be 'in' said room.

Specifically, I wanted to know what all these books, scrolls, papers, and relic things actually were.

I scan across my desk at the back of the room, rifling through the papers and books on it. The title of the few I glimpsed were beyond ominous.

"A Treatise on the Higher Mysteries"

"Crafting Life from the Void"

"The Soul, Clay of Creation"

"The Undead, and the Living Dead"

"Golomancy, a Primer"

"Elixir of Nothingness"

"Principles of Chaos Magic"

A quick scan of the contents show they were actually all unique. Each one was different. They were not just books and for fluff's sake.

Drifting across the room, I made my way to the display cases. I wanted to see, exactly, what was in them. Naturally, I knew what was in them, but not what they were exactly. Thankfully for me, each case was labeled for convenience. So that was lucky!

Though, they seemed even more ominous than the contents of the desk, despite the fact that a few cases contained books themselves.

"The Words of Aiwass"

"The Book of Laws"

"Ipsissimus's Decrees"

"Magnum Opus"

I had no clue about the first three, but Magnum Opus was something I did know. Its basically the process to create a philosopher's stone. I knew that from all the time Tabula would talk about it to his friends.

Though, I had no idea what the other three were.

Any further examination was halted by a soft series of knocks on my door.

I froze, the mirror falling out of my hands onto the bed. My hair stood up. Blood went cold. I even began to shake. Did they know…. know I don't belong? A cold sweat went down my back.

Another series of knocks, this time slightly louder. More urgent.

How did they know so soon? The transition only occurred an hour ago at most. Was it the system, did it register me as an intruder? Did they come here to see who broke into this room? Was I to be dragged away so soon after becoming real again! To be questioned and beaten into revealing where the real Cintrinitas was? I won't let them take me! I won't! I won't! I-

"My lady," a soft feminine voice accompanied a third set of knocks. The door cracked open, a woman's head crept through the opening. One of 'my' alchemist homunculi. They all looked the same: bleached white hair, violet eyes, pale skin, wearing the same clothes and leather apron.

I'm pretty sure they were all just copy and pasted one after another.

I held down a flinch. Would she suspect that I wasn't the person she was looking for? Did she see Citrinitas, but could tell she was off? Would she turn right around and scream "Intruder"? Or an accusation of who I was in her lady's room? Was my execution going to occur in this very room? Funny, after so long of just being a prisoner, a quick death doesn't actually faze me all that much. Could she tell me that I wasn't the same as all the other NPCs in Nazarick? Will-

"Pardon the interruption, my Lady," she apologized softly, a curt bow followed. Her voice was so low that I barely heard it over the music. "Lord Sebas is here to speak with you."

The blazing fire of paranoia that had come to life just moments ago, that threatened to consume me whole, cooled. It was still there, but more a soft brazier than the roaring hearth it had been.

So, she saw me as Citrinitas, not an intruder?

"Sebas...the butler," the words slipped from my lips before I even registered it. The voice that came forth sounded wrong. Despite being the first time I was speaking in years, my throat did not feel off.

"Yes my Lady," she replied, looking me in the eyes. "He says that it's an important matter that concerns the whole of Nazarick."

Fuck I do not need this!

But if I send her away, that could be suspicious. Fuck!

I took a seat at my desk, pulled over the top book of the pile and opened it to a random page.

"S-send-'' I cleared my throat, damn weird to hear 'my' voice. "Send him in."

"Of course my lady, "she opened the door fully and stepped to the side. "She will see you now, Lord Sebas."

The door opened fully.

With precise steps, Sebas Tian entered the chamber.

He looked just as he had the first time I 'saw' him. Sharp features. Greying hair. Crisp black suit. Eyes akin to a bird of prey. Despite his gentile, human, appearance, this man was as inhuman as I was. Whereas I was a homunculus, he was a dragonoid. Dragonoids possess the characteristics of a dragon, can change into a dragon like form, share many weaknesses and strengths of dragons, but are of course not anything like dragons.

I mentally roll my eyes at the devs mental gymnastics.

The alchemist shut the door behind him, yet she remained in the room. Her posture was demure. Not in the sense of submission, but as a sign of deference. Whether it was to Sebas or me, I couldn't tell.

Sebas looked around my room, taking in the features, before turning his gaze to me. I felt like a small rodent before his piercing eyes. It felt like he was analyzing everything about me. Looking for the slightest indication that something was off.

I must have 'passed' whatever he was looking for, because he nodded to me.

"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Lady Citrinitas,"

"It's nothing," I waved off his reply, "Is this about what happened to the Tomb?"

"You know what happened?" he questioned.

Fuck! What I just said sounds suspicious as hell. Quick! Need to think of something!

"Not necessarily," I look down at the papers. Pretending to be looking thorough them. My voice was far calmer that it had any right to be. "I only know something happened. What that 'something' is, I can't say."

The butler mulled my words over, "it is as you say, something did indeed happen. The environment just beyond the Tomb has changed. Instead of the marshes of Helheim, the Tomb is now surrounded by a verdant forest. Additionally, scouts have confirmed that all known landmarks noted on maps have similarly vanished."

I shuffled papers around, desperate to appear in 'deep thought'. Truthfully, I don't want to look him in the eyes just yet.

"Are you saying the Tomb has been teleported?"

Sebas nodded, "that is the theory put forth by Lord Momonga. His lordship believes that we may be in a new world. A place beyond the realms of Yggdrasil."

"Lord Momonga-'' right, he hasn't changed his name yet. When does that happen anyways? I know it's soon after arriving in this world, just not the exact time.

"Is fine," Sebas clearly thought I was implying something else. "He was in the throne room with myself, the Pleiades, and the Overseer when it happened."

Overseer...Albedo. My "sister".

The trigger happy, crazy yandere who's obsessed with lusting over a lich who is physically incapable of feeling lust; or any extreme emotions.

Oh boy.

Another thing to worry about.

This conversation is starting to get awkward, I just want this guy gone.

"Forgive me for being brusque, but why are you here?"

If Sebas was offended by my curtness, he certainly didn't show it, " Lady Albedo has called for an inventory check of all of Nazarick's stores."

"Are you assuming something is missing from my lab?" I asked.

"No," he said that a little too quickly for my liking. "Given the extraordinary circumstances, it would not be impossible for whatever force transported the Tomb to have also pilfered our stores. With a force capable of bypassing the defenses crafted by the Supreme Beings themselves, nothing should be assumed."

I guess that makes sense.

Of course I knew what had happened, in broad strokes. But I knew enough to be confident that everything in the Tomb was fine.

If it will get him out of here.

"I'll perform a full inspection of our stores and have it all written up in an hour," I told him. "You can pick up the report form one of the alchemists when it's done for you."

"Very good Lady Citrinitas," he accepted. "Now if you will excuse me, I have other matter to attend to. I will return for the report within the hour."

A curt bow later, and he was out the door. The alchemist followed him.

I reclined in my chair, swearing to myself. How the fuck am I supposed to do this?

Waiting a good, five minutes to gather my thoughts, I walked out into the lab.

The lab was just like it had always been. Or, more accurately, this is the lab that Tabula would have wanted. Gone were the stiff motions of preset paths. Gone were the lifeless faces that just started into nothingness. Gone was the sense that this was just a prop to pose NPCs against for pictures or role playing purposes. This was a lab!

While there had been a calm activity as I walked in, it died down as the homunculi took note of my entrance. Conversations stopped. Co-workers nudged their compatriots to pay attention to me. Reading of books and other texts ended with alchemists noting their places before turning their attention to me.

The one fact that creeped me out about the situation was the uniformity of the homunculi. As in, they all looked the same physically. Same length bleach white hair. Same violet eyes. Skin pale from lack of sunlight. Even facial features and height were identical across the board. Sure, a handful were dressed differently; a pair of gardeners, a clerk, a trio of plague doctors. But overall, they seemed like they had been copied and pasted over one another.

"My lady," the closest alchemist spoke up, "has something happened?"

"Lord Sebas seemed in quite the rush," another added.

"Are we preparing for a new project?" a third thought aloud.

They didn't just look the same, they sounded the damn same!

More questions followed. They circled me like I was the eye of a hurricane. Or a more apt term would be like those little fish that cling to sharks. They didn't ask anything too intrusive or prodding, but it was a little unsettling being the center of attention.

I just needed to get this out of the way. Getting them doing the job that I already know would be an open and close thing. Thankfully, none of them seem to think that anything is out of the ordinary. I mean as far as I, Citrinitas, am anyway. They knew something was up the moment Sebas walked in for a meeting with me.

Now, would Citrinitas talk to her underlings. Ughhh. I feel like kicking myself for not listening to Tabula go on and on with the other Players about my backstory. To be fair to myself, I did gather the gist of it; amoral homunculi scientist who pushes ethical and moral boundaries. But knowing Tabula, he would have put way more intricate background information about the subtlest of nuances. Her favorite books. What she liked to eat. Favorite color.

He was a bit obsessive about every little detail. I tried to listen, but when he goes into a two hour long discussion with other players about the tiniest fucking details, I just began to tune him out.

Fuck that was a bad move in hindsight.

All I had to work with now was my own interpretation of how an amoral occultist would act. If I act too nice, they'll think something is wrong with their 'lady'. But if I act too amoral or treat them badly, they might hate me. And unlike a certain walking sack of bones, these girls obviously don't worship the ground I walk on given how casual they are with me.

I loudly cleared my throat and raised a hand to silence them.

Time to fake it till I make it.

"A full inventory check has been ordered," I began, my calm voice echoed across the lab. It was hard keeping my reaction to my own voice internalized. Damn, this is going to take some getting used to. Assuming I can't find a way to change my body.

"A check, my Lady?" One asked.

"Yes, a full check. The entire Tomb of Nazarick has been transported by unknown means to a whole new world," A couple of gasps in the crowd. They looked around each other's reaction, clinging to my every word.

"And Lord Momonga…"

"He is safe and still present in the Tomb," sighs of relief all around.

So far so good.

"Due to this extraordinary occurrence, we have been asked to check that none of our stored items have been taken. Every potion, every phial, every herb, every oil, every poison, everything is to be accounted for." Before I had even finished, the homunculi began scurrying off in every direction.

Where before there had been calm, now a flurry of activity. Some rushed to the greenhouse, inspecting each row or rare herbs. Others made their way down to the store room, a vast caller complex containing the vast majority of the lab's output. A handful, the trio dressed as pseudo-plague doctors, beaky masks and all, rushed over to the door of 'the Vault'; a small room containing the rarest alchemical items in the Tomb. These included potions/oils/poisons that can only be found from enemy 'drops', and not crafted in any way, or things that took way too long to craft and needed to be stored for a long time.

But instead of checking the Vault, said beaked homunculi stood there looking at me.

Why are they just standing there?

Wait!

That's right. I remember Tabula saying something along the line of "only the mistress of the lab has the ability to grant access to the Vault". Naturally, it was a bit more long winded then that. Going on for paragraphs if I remember one of the Players talking about it right.

But I don't know how to open that thing! That was just flavor text! Players that needed anything just opened it and walked on in!

They kept looking at me.

Waiting.

Fuck.

I approached the large metal door, closer to the door of a bank vault than a 'door'. The metal was not some ordinary, run of the mill metal like mythril. Oh no. For the door containing the most valuable alchemical goodies in all of Nazarick, you go big or go home. It was made, entirely, out of prismatic ore; Star Silver to be precise. This door was a flat slab of prismatic metal. Nothing to grab hold of. Nothing to put a key in or even a code. Hell, not even a handle to pull on.

'Maybe it's unlocked,' I mused. It's technically never been sealed. Players came and went whenever they wanted. So maybe all that stuff was just flavor text and all I have to do is just pull it open. Maybe just grab onto the edge and pull? Just have to find a good angle to-

As my fingers touched the metal, I heard a series of metallic clicks. The door vibrates softly as small thuds follow suit. Like metal locking into position. Or pistons being retraced. The sigil of Ainz Ooal Gown flared across the flat surface.

Oh you've got to be kidding me...just touching it was enough for it to open! What the hell is the point in a door if you just touch it and bam open sesame!

More gears turned. Clicks. Banging. A hiss of cold air. The door slowly opened.

I stepped to the side, watching dumbstruck as the meter thick door swung open. I noticed another meter thick door of star silver swinging open inwards on the inside of the vault. Looking down at the threshold, I found empty grooves meant to have metal slide in.

This thing was a bank vault door!

The homunculi rushed in to take stock.

Meanwhile, I found a lone chair to take a seat in. Releasing the breath I didn't even notice I was holding in. I nursed the growing headache. Keeping up appearances was harder than I thought. While it was beyond euphoric to move on my own again, to talk again, the fact I had to play a role I had no idea about was less than ideal.

I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I didn't even register each group of alchemists to come back and hand me their reports. Naturally, everything was accounted for.

With everything sorted out, I made my way back to my room.

"My Lady?"

Fuck….

I turned around, one foot in the bedroom.

"Is there anything else you require?" one of the homunculi asked.

Please fuck off, is what I wanted to say.

"No, return to your work. I must return to my… studies," that sounded about right for an amoral occultist. "Please do not disturb me unless it is something important."

I closed the door behind me before I even heard their reply.

Turning the music back on, I threw myself onto the bed; snuggling into the sheets. I had no intention of leaving this room anytime soon. Nope. It might not have been my room, but I shall make this room my personal sanctuary from the insanity that is Nazarick.

….

I wonder how long it will be before I get hungry...

"...and Mare has completed concealing the entrance to Nazarick."

Albedo nodded at Sebas's report, making a note to congratulate the young Guardian when she had the time for his ingenuity.

In the time since Nazarick had been brought to.. Whatever this world was, she had found herself busier than she had ever been. Files needed organizing. Supplies accounted for. Forces placed at combat readiness. Useless maps being put in storage, replaced with new ones being drawn up from early scouting reports.

Sadly, she couldn't use her office like she wanted. The place was dusty and unorganized from lack of use. She had tasked the maids to clean it up as quickly as possible. In the meantime, she had requisitioned the use of one of the guest rooms as an interim office. Papers and ledgers with nowhere to go laid scattered about in a scene of controlled chaos.

"Good," Albedo opened up another ledger, "what about our supplies? Did we lose anything in the transition."

Sebas handed her a collection of papers, "Nothing of note. Sous Chef is complaining about a lack of certain, rare, ingredients; but he insists that this has been an issue for a time before the teleportation event. All other stores, weapons, armor, food stuffs, medicine, precious metals, and alchemical products are all accounted for."

Albedo perked up at the mention of alchemical products. That was the domain of the Area Guardian of the Alchemical laboratory; her sister Citrinitas.

How long has it been since she's seen Citrinitas? Years? Hard to say. The last time they were together was when Lord Tabula brought them together for a meeting with the other Supreme Beings.

Albedo remembered standing next to Lord Tabula alongside Nigredo. A few of the other guardians were there as well with their respective creators; Demiurge, Aura, and Mare. Citrinitas, by contrast, was tending to the personal requests of the Supreme Ones, preparing final alchemical creations for a "Raid". Who they were attacking, she was unsure about. But they did achieve victory against their foes; in no small part to her sister's potions. She remembered the pride that swelled in her heart at the knowledge of her sister's pivotal role in their victory.

Albedo smiled at the memory of better times.

Every family has their favorite, and her's was no exception. Lord Tabula may have never said it openly, but he favored Citrinitas over his other creations. That is not to say he did not gift them all with gifts of unparalleled power and prestige, but it was obvious who he favored.

For example, Citrinitas's quarters were opulent for an Area Guardian.

No, it was opulent for any servant of the Supreme Beings. Even her own chambers, the chambers of the Overseer of all Nazarick, were spartan in comparison. All of the things Citrinitas's chambers held: the books, artifacts, the weapons, manuscripts, the luxury of it all. All of it were signs of preference from the Supreme Ones.

She wasn't jealous of her sister. Far from it, she was proud of her sister so treasured by the Supreme Beings and that her sister worked so diligently in turn. It was something all the servants of Nazarick aspired for; to be of use.

But for all the gifts they lauded on her, for all the favor they showed, she was abandoned just like the rest of the servants of the Tomb. All of them abandoned Nazarick. Without cause or reason; they left. Only Lord Momonga stayed. Only he truly cared about them.

Albedo pushed such negative thoughts from her mind. There was no use dwelling on the past. She just knew, things will be better now. A new world. A new, fresh start.

However, all this did bring up a question of how her sister was faring. For the longest time her sister has secluded herself up in her lab and study. She only regularly met with either her staff or Lord Momonga himself. Perhaps the abrupt abandonment of the Supreme Ones affected her more strongly than others.

"Sebas," Albedo regarded the stalwart butler. She put her work down, looking for the right words, "how was Citrinitas? Was she...well?"

"She appeared so, yes," Sebas replied.

'Appeared?' She bit the inside of her lip. "What do you think?"

The butler was quite for a moment, "I don't believe it's my place to make assumptions on others behalf. Lady Citrinitas is as concise and diligent in her work as can be asked for by a servant of the Supreme Beings."

While she felt a flutter of pride for her sister's work ethic, the lack of a proper response to what she asked only made her more concerned for younger sister's wellbeing.

"Sebas," she began again, wringing her fingers, "I'm not asking you as the Overseer of Nazarick, but as an older sister who wants to know how her little sister is doing. It's been some time since I've had the chance to see her. Please..."

He was quiet for another moment, "If I am to give my honest opinion, I would say that Lady Citrinitas is out of sorts."

"Out of sorts?" she repeated.

Sebas nodded, "while she put on the appearance of normality, and still carries out her work to the best of her abilities, there were a few things that stood out to me."

"Such as," Albedo pushed him.

"I would call it more of an aura, an amalgamation of many smaller things," Sebas continued. " Her mind seemed to wander a bit during our conversation. Not fully focusing on the subject at hand. Later, one of her alchemists confided in me that Citrinitas has been in this state for some time. She retreats into her study and will not leave for days at a time. Only the presence of Lord Momonga is sufficient enough to rouse her attention away from whatever it is she is working on."

Albedo mulled over Sebas's statement. If she were to speculate, based on what Sebas told her, it sounded like her little sister is in a state of depression. Citrinitas's reclusiveness could be a coping mechanism to deal with the depression caused by the collective abandonment by the Supreme Beings; excluding Lord Momonga. Throwing herself into her research as a way to fill a void left by those who abandoned them.

She swore at herself. How had she not seen it? Was she so blinded by her own work that she never once took into account her own sister's state of mind after all this time? Naturally, her duties as Overseer would always come first, but Albedo knew for a fact she had many spaces of free time over the years. Ample enough time to simply visit her sister! Something as simple as lunch if nothing else.

Albedo sighed. It appears she has yet another thing to be forever grateful to Lord Momonga for, caring for her sister when she failed to.

"Thank you, Sebas, for telling me this," she thanked him.

He gave her a curt bow. "It's of no concern Lady Albedo."

"No," she pushed away his humbleness, "thank you."

"I understand," he told her. "Is there anything else you require of me at this time?"

"Not at the moment, no."

"Then I shall take my leave and return to Lord Momonga's side," Sebas gave another curt bow before leaving the room.

Before returning to work Albedo made a note that once everything has settled down, when she finally has some more free time, she will visit her sister. It may be nothing more than a simple conversation. Just something to let her sister know that she did not abandon her.

Smiling, she returned to her work; hopeful of what the future might bring.

A little shorter than the prior chapter, but this was more set up than anything else.

Some food for thought: Citrinitas's whole "are they going to find out" tirade it's kind of ironic. She's afraid of being 'found out' as a "fake" by the other NPCs, when technically the MC has never not been inhabiting Citrinitas body. So how can she be a fake if she was always there?