Regular speech "Overlord"
Extra emphasis "Overlord"
Thought in present time (always stands alone on a line) "Overlord Overlord Overlord Overlord"
A line break either represents a change in perspective and/or change of place/time.
Life.
It contains both good - and bad days.
Some good days are simply indescribable, everything seemingly falls into place on its own. Every possible small little thing that can go your way, will go your way. Your luck stays at an all-time high and you can't even hope to stop the shit eating grin from constantly being on full display.
However, some of the bad days too are indescribable, nothing seems to go your way and each and every choice you make during it, always leaves you with the feeling of failure and dissatisfaction.
Today is one of those bad days
Give me the chance and I could go on and on about every small little detail that made it so godforsaken. However, that's not why I am here, nor is it why you're here either, if I were to guess.
In today's society, when people experience worse than normal days, they look for an escape. Some turn to friends or family to lash out their struggles in an overly dramatic fashion to help blow off some steam. Others, choose to turn to more frowned upon methods: drugs and/or drinking. Then there's also people like me, people that escapes the hell we call life through immersing ourselves in the life's of others, through stories. While they all are admittedly really effective for a short amount of time, in the end, neither conclusion does anything to really turn your day around. Naturally there's no shortage of escape routes, and the aforementioned are only a few of a vast amount.
What life did I choose to escape through today then?
Did I indulge myself in my vast collection of novels and find a title which I can recount near perfect just from memory alone?
Maybe I watched an anime, tv show or even a movie. Or one of my personal favourites, taking on the role of a hero in a video game. Going into hell-holes thought only madmen would jump into willingly, only to come out on the other end victorious.
Perhaps my feet led me to a bookstore or library, wandering aimlessly through the different aisles, only stopping when a fancy title or some mesmerizing artwork caught my eyes. Shallow? Sure, it can be called that, but the fact remains that the reason I've encountered a lot of the many great stories I've read in my time is because either, or both of them, attracted me like no other.
So, what escape did I choose? A new story in text, a masterfully told adventure on a screen, or did I take up the mantle of hero in another world?
No, in the end, I choose none of them. It all seemed so dull, so incredibly dull.
Which is how I ended up on a snowy mountain peak, overlooking a great forest with several streams of rivers running through it, large rocks covering whatever places that were left open in between the tree's and rivers. The trickle of water was splashing below me, the subtle gust of wind was ripping through the trees - creating an oddly satisfying sound.
This was what I needed, to simply get away from it all. From all the people, family, friends, co-workers. And all of those damned responsibilities and obligations, society as a whole really, if one were to reflect over it. Taking a few hours to simply exist like this really was all I wanted.
It was here I found myself one winter evening, my feet hanging loosely over the edge of the peak, swinging aimlessly to the rhythm of the surrounding nature. My eyes taking in the indisputable beauty of the forest, the rivers, of nature itself. My hands were loosely laying in the core of my lap, embracing each other in an attempt to keep the warmth that was accumulated from taking the trip up. It was not a difficult nor particularly long climb, but it warmed the body nonetheless.
This was by no means an everyday thing, it was rare, for me to get away on such a fundamental level. These are the moments which I treasure with all my being. Me, myself, all alone. No phone ringing in the background, with a manager on the other end buzzing with new issues that needs to be addressed. No, there was nothing, and it was mind-numbing how relaxing it all felt.
"You jumping?" A lazy male voice drawled at me from behind.
I can't stop the flinch emerging through my body. I did not hear anyone approach, and going from the lack of tracks on the climb up this was obviously not a popular place to visit either. Twisting my body, I came face to face with the origin of the voice. It was a man, nay, calling him a man didn't seem right, the shell of one befitted him better. He looked as though he was late for his own funeral. He was a tall one, surely nearing two meters, with a frail structure and coal black hair. He was dressed in simple clothes, a black hoodie, grey pants and a set of sneakers. If you had glanced at him from afar, or passed by him at a street, you might have considered him to be no more than an ordinary teen. I might have thought so too, had I not met him face to face. It was devoid of any emotion, dull eyes, dull skin, dull mouth, dull everything. Monotony given shape, if you will.
"Well?" That same lazy voice once again reached my ears.
Gaining back my bearings, and managing so somehow accept that the voice belonged to the man, I readily turned my attention to the question I was asked.
"If I plan on jumping? Where do you mean I wo… Oh." I am sitting on the edge of a peak with my feet dangling loosely out to a fall easily surpassing one-hundred meters. To boot, I'm also alone with an aura of sadness about me. No doubt I could pass like someone contemplating suicide. "Nah, not jumping, just wanted some time away from it all."
".. Is that so?" He takes out a square looking item – an iphone. ".. I was certain it was to happen today. Am I early?"
"..Sir? Are you all right?" I ask in no small amount of confusion. Who in the hell is this guy? For all I know he could be living on this mountain, a mountain seemingly without any organized human settlements.
Or maybe not, with a body like that, I'd be suprised if he could survive a day. And what in the world is he going on about?
"Forgive me, most of the time I'm quite punctual to this sort of thing, it is something I take pride in actually. So much for that.." He puts the phone back in his pocket. "It's rare that I'm early. Say, do you mind if I sit down? Seeing as you're not going to jump and I could use some company."
No I do not want company, didn't I just say I came here to avoid just about everything? And correct me if I'm wrong, do you not fit into that description?
Is what I wanted to say, but I wasn't raised to be a respect-less cunt, so I ushered him to come over.
"Thank you," He gently said as he sat himself down.
"Would you mind me asking you a question?" He starts up a conversation as his legs drop down over the ledge.
"Feel free." I said as I nodded my agreement to his question. Perhaps he was trying to escape his problems as well, and talking was his way of doing so, one ought to respect that if it was the case. Or.. could it be that he was here to do the thing he inquired me if I was going to do?
"What are your views on the afterlife?" He asks right as I was finished giving my consent. He does not look at me as he asks this, nor does he seem to give me any sort of attention beyond the sound of his voice. Almost as if he's going through motions he had done many time in the past.
Could this man, this obviously depressed and lonely man, be suicidal? No way, right? Shit. On the low chance of it, could I really look myself in the mirror knowing I did nothing to stop it? Could I stride forward with my head clear and my chest puffed out if I leave here and go home only to see his face on the news the next morning? No, I cannot.
"That is a big question."
I will try my best to save him, no, not try. I will save him.
"There are many versions of the afterlife, as you called it. For one, every religion has one. I myself however am not much a religious person, and I have not put much attention to it.. I have no idea what to think. Maybe, instead of it being a single version, the afterlife is up to the individual? Maybe every person has a role to play in whatever happens after one has moved from this life."
"Strange." The frail man turns to me, giving off a curious gaze. "You are correct, as weird as that sounds. In my opinion the best way to think of the afterlife is to think of it as another universe where you belong. A world based on your imaginations and filled with whatever you want."
"Peh, that sounds extremely asinine." I snort out. Keep him talking. The more time he uses to talk, the less time he has to jump. "A world made just for you? Ice cream and sprinkles everywhere then?"
"Not exactly." The shadow of a smile starts to spread across the man's face, as he turns towards one of the many streams adoring the mountain. "For instance, let us say you are a student wanting to get into medical school. Or perhaps you want to be a gold medal winning athlete in the Olympic games. This dream world would not just give in your desires completely. It would give you what you wanted, but both the good and the bad. Everything can go wrong, where is the thrill in getting that medal, or achieving academic success if there are no obstacles? No challanges? This dream world is still a world. Just one built with you in mind. One of your choosing, if you will."
"Hmm, you know, that version doesn't sound all that bad." I am not even saying this to keep him from jumping, the thought having left my mind as I started racking my brain around the concept of such a thing. "Who wants everything handed to them? Where's the spark of life and adventure if everything is easy? All you need is the resources essential to your goal."
"So, entertain me, what would your world be like? Which dream world would you choose? What kind of universe would you like to be thrown into? You may draw from stories you have heard or read if you need inspiration."
"If I were to be honest?" I rack my brains "I someone who can be considered nerdy in terms of interest, so don't feel bad if you don't know what I am referring to. The One piece universe would be pretty cool, life onboard a pirate ship sounds exciting. The Harry Potter one I could also see myself living in, magic is so enticing after all. Warcraft, that universe is really attractive as well, seeing as it is inhabited by creatures such as dwarves, elves, taurens and dragons. Dragon ball, that also sounds like it would be enjoyable. That's a few of the one I reckon has potential. But for me it's not one of those. I know exactly what universe it would be in. A world with scheming, yet ideals. A world with oppression, yet hope. A world with racism, yet understanding. A world with assassins, yet heroes. A world with violence, yet beauty. The Overlord universe. I would love to go there."
"A world filled to the brim with killers?" His brows furrowed up in confusion. "You would choose to go a place where there's no shortage of people being paid to lie, steal, cheat and kill on command? You would choose where the life for most is a struggle, a world where tyrants decides the fate of entire countries on nothing more than a whim? A world which demands you to leave behind a lot of your morals? You would choose something like that?"
"Without a doubt." I state with true conviction. "I know the light novels paint it up to be a really bad place, and it might as well be worse than described. It's a really fucked up place where your life can be lost only because someone more powerful than you happened to cross your path. It's cruel, it's harsh, it's unforgiving, it's biased as hell."
"Then pray tell, why would you want to go to that one?" The man asked as he once again views his watch. "A world in which you are not measured in who you are as a person, but your power and influence?"
"Because I would have so much fun there!" The words flow out naturally out of my mouth. "Exerting power to your own means, twisting the world around you to your liking. The rush of a true life or death battle between mountains of power. The burst of energy you would feel discovering a talent or something of the sort, that has never been within your grasp before. And finally, the look of relief spread across someone's face as you save them from certain demise. It's a harsh world, a gritty one. Its full of blood and tears. Still, knowing that, I think I would thrive in it."
"Could you kill?" He asks, fully turning to face me for the first time since he sat down. "Could you watch life leave someone's body because you willed it?"
"Sure." I shrug. "I've never done it before so I won't know what it's like. But, I have already come to the conclusion that I would do it under some circumstances. Like if someone was threatening me or a loved one, and I had the means to stop it. I would do so."
"Hmm, interesting." The large man looks to be weighing something in his mind. "Let us talk hypothetically, if you could control, some aspects of this new universe you are going to, what would that be? Let us say, for every detail you pick, I pick one to keep things interesting."
"Uh.." I did not expect that sort of question. "Well, for starters, I would want power, simple pure power. If I ever were to stand among those monsters in the guild of Ainz Ooal Gown, I would at least need that, not sure what kind of direction I want to take that power though."
"No matter." He huffed in a dismissive manner. "I will decide that for you, as the con for your detail. We are running out of time, anything else you wish to add?"
"I suppose it would be nice to be unaffected of time, or if not completely, at least let aging be inconsequential." I said as I refocused my sight on the horizon.
"Alright, seems easy enough." The man once again looks at his phone. "Though as we agreed I get to tweak something else. You picked how time will flow for you, I'll pick when in the time-line you will appear. Now is your last chance to declare any other detail."
"I want to be free, not bound by the laws or restrictions from any political alignments. I want to be free to move on my own, and be able to do as I see fit."
"A man without obligations to any nation then? Yet, I will make it so they will seek you, be it for whatever reason you can imagine."
He finally stands up and starts speaking in the same lazy voice I have grown accustomed to. "An indisputable amount of power, which I choose the direction of. You not notice aging, yet I will pick the age in which you appear. And at last, you will not be bound down, yet be sought after by many. Seems simple enough."
"I suppose introductions are in order." He was smiling now, a smile which flashed an emotion I could not truly comprehend.
"I am Death, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
The wind blowing through the trees fell silent. The movement of the rivers stopped. Everything stopped.
It was at that moment, the peak on which I was sitting, broke off, and fell down to the mountain base.
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