Cultivator vs. Galaxy: Rebirth in a World of Mechas

[note : do skip the chapter after this one it is being corrected and it will take time… ]

"You were laughing like that... while watching me get tossed around by those damn monsters, weren't you?!"

At that, Elsa burst into an even harder fit of laughter—so intense she was nearly gasping for air, her face flushed deep red. She doubled over, gripping her knees, barely able to stand.

William watched in disbelief, then stomped his foot hard on the floor. The echo cracked through the room.

"Dammit, Elsa!" he shouted, trying to sound angry—though part of him was clearly just sulking in embarrassment.

Eventually, Elsa managed to calm down. She wiped the tears from her eyes, then gave him a wicked, taunting look.

"Oh, I was watching," she said, her voice smooth and sly. "From the very start. Every second. Including the part where you got tossed around and used as a monster volleyball."

She leaned in slightly, her expression perfectly straight.

"And yes—I recorded it. For keepsake."

Hearing that, William let out a harsh, choking cough—so violent it echoed through the command room. If not for his ridiculously strong body, he probably would've coughed up blood on the spot. Elsa's words hit him like a barrage of arrows, each one stabbing straight into his chest. Brutal didn't even begin to cover it.

He coughed nonstop for a while, like a man in his final days, doubled over from sheer disbelief and emotional damage.

Eventually, he straightened up, his breath ragged, and locked eyes with Elsa again. She stood there smiling sweetly, like some kind of angel—only he knew damn well she was anything but.

He muttered, barely loud enough to hear, though it was clearly a question meant for her.

"You said… for keepsake? Really? You meant that?"

Though William asked the question, he already knew the answer. Elsa wouldn't just keep that recording as a simple keepsake—she'd use it as leverage. A weapon. She'd done it before, more than once. He remembered all too well.

But then, to his surprise, Elsa actually nodded.

His eyes widened. For a brief moment, he was stunned into silence. Maybe… she's really changed, he thought. Maybe all the years we've spent together actually softened her a little.

Wishful thinking.

Elsa looked at his frozen expression and smiled. To William, it looked radiant—almost ethereal, like a fairy's smile. But what he couldn't see was the mischievous glint hidden just beneath it. That angelic expression was nothing more than a mask.

Then she spoke, her voice soft and sweet. "Of course…"

William exhaled, shoulders relaxing. He almost smiled himself.

But then she kept going.

"Of course," she repeated, grin widening, "I'm not keeping it as a keepsake. I'm going to use it—to make you slave away for me for a while. Hehehe."

His expression collapsed into pure disbelief, the breath catching in his throat again.

He should have known.

He should've known better.

How could Elsa change—truly change—when she had remained the same, playful menace despite the uncountable years they'd spent together? How could she suddenly grow a heart now, especially when his strength was sealed and only returning to him bit by bit?

It was exactly because of this that William had purposely left her behind in his previous reincarnation. Her mischievous streak, her love for messing with him—it had made things complicated, even dangerous. But this time, he hadn't had a choice.

More than that, he hadn't wanted to leave her behind.

As infuriating as she was, the truth was… he felt empty without her. So he brought her along. And now, he was paying the price.

He was at her mercy, and judging by how things were going, his suffering had only just begun. There was more—muchmore—on the way.

That thought alone made William visibly slump. A heavy sigh escaped him. He was already depressed. Very depressed.

Just as his depression was beginning to sink in, William shook it off with a sigh.

"Well… if I have to suffer, I might as well accept it. It's not like it hasn't happened before," he muttered. "This time shouldn't be any different. At worst, I'll be stuck doing chores around the house. Whatever—nothing I haven't handled."

He consoled himself with the thought of their shared home—his personal domain. A sprawling palace, vast enough to contain entire realities. It combined the elegance of ancient Earth architecture with sleek, futuristic designs. That palace was their sanctuary. Their home.

He shook his head, snapping himself out of the thought, then turned serious as he faced Elsa.

"Alright, enough already. I'll be your 'slave' for a while, okay? How does a week sound? That's fair, right?"

Elsa raised an eyebrow, then smirked—clearly unimpressed.

"Hehe… a week?" she scoffed. "Do I look like an idiot?"

Then, without missing a beat, she added with a mockingly thoughtful tone, "You know what? 'Slave' is a bad word. Let's go with something nicer… like butler. Yeah, that sounds more proper."

She nodded to herself, fully pleased with her own decision.

"So here's the deal," she said, grinning. "You'll be my personal butler—for a month. And you're not allowed to use high-tier magic. None of that overpowered stuff. At most, you get Class One spells. I'll give you a custom list, and only the spells I provide are allowed. Got it?"

"Say what?!" William blurted, his face twisting into disbelief. The look he gave Elsa practically screamed that's way too much.

"A whole month, Elsa? I can't be your butler for a month! You know we've got a ton of work to do—building a stable foundation here, setting up the domain infrastructure. This isn't the time to play around."

He stepped forward, trying to sound reasonable.

"Come on, how about ten days? That's fair, right? What do you think?"

Elsa gave him a look of pure disgust, folding her arms like a disappointed teacher.

"You're so shameless, Will."

She huffed. "One month is already less than what you should be offering. I'm doing you a favor by settling on that, and now you have the audacity to ask for ten days?"

She leaned in, eyes narrowed.

"What kind of negotiation is that?"

Then she straightened up, smug and self-assured.

"And yes, I know we have work to do. But time flows in our home dimension however we want it to. You won't be losing anything. Plus, you've got me and the Ascendancy backing you up. Building the foundation you need won't be as hard as you're making it out to be—not for us."

She turned away, arms still crossed, making it clear this time: he wasn't getting out of this.

"Dammit…" William muttered to himself, rubbing his temple. Looks like she's not letting me off easy this time…

Trying to regain some ground, he looked up and said, "Alright, let's meet in the middle. Not your way, not mine. How about fifteen days? That sounds fair, right?"

Elsa smirked. "Heh… alright, I'll be extra generous today. Let's say… twenty-five days. How's that for a deal?"

William's eye twitched. "Come on, Elsa. I think eighteen days is more than enough. Reasonable, right?"

"Okay," she said.

William perked up, hopeful—only to be crushed as she kept going.

"Twenty-two days. Final offer. I'm not going lower."

She leaned in slightly, her smile turning devilish.

"And if you even think about haggling further, I'll pay a visit to our old family… with the recording. I'll show them exactly how their proud William got tossed around like a squeaky toy. Just imagine that level of embarrassment."

William's soul visibly left his body.

William's whole body trembled. This—this—was exactly why he was even bothering to negotiate in the first place. Under normal circumstances, he would've brushed Elsa off entirely. But not this time.

They had no one else left. Just the two of them. So under any other logic, there was no one for her to embarrass him in front of.

But she could time travel.

And that he feared.

The thought of her showing that recording to people from their past—their old family, their former allies—was enough to make his soul itch with dread. He knew what she was capable of. And unfortunately, negotiation had never been his strong suit—especially not with her.

This was just another failed attempt… with a tiny, bitter scrap of success.

He let out a long sigh.

"Okay… fine. You've got a deal," he muttered.

Elsa jumped in the air, spinning once with a big grin. "Yay!" she sang, clearly far too pleased with herself.

"Alright, enough already," William said, regaining his composure. "We've got actual work to do—and a lot to learn—before we can even begin making progress."

He straightened up, voice firming with purpose.

"Now that we're officially members of the Federation—and I've been granted honorary Tier-1 Councillor status—I need to go through the proper channels. There are protocols, approvals, and clearances we'll need to secure before we can start establishing ourselves properly."

His gaze sharpened.

"If we want to become inseparable from the lives of the humans in this Federation, we need to move carefully. Well at least for now"