Prologue 1: Betrayal

- I'd apologise… but I would be lying.

Those were his last words before stabbing me with a black dagger. Suddenly I felt something like a spark through my body. At the same time my connection to the Netherworld got weaker. This meant that the energy it provided me to heal the terrible wounds I had (which was the only thing keeping me alive at the moment) stopped working. As the seconds went I felt weaker and it was becoming harder to stay conscious.

Betrayal! An emption I hadn't felt since I was little. First when my mother left me in Nordberg. After that the next time was when the fucking villager threw me to the Empire without remorse only because I was magical. However even then I hadn't felt so betrayed until now. How could I? I was little! I didn't completely understand it! But now… betrayed by the being who cared and guided me for so long with the help of one of my mistresses and lovers! The same one I had saved just a couple of years ago in that remote island! They had planned my death… and they had succeeded.

As a last act of revenge I tried to access to all my remaining power and threw an energy ray to them. Gnarl (Krazak) moved out of the way with unusual speed given his age and decrepit old aspect, however Juno couldn't and was reached. I couldn't see if it was enough to take her with me, because I fell unconscious.

…

I don't how much time passed, but what I remember next was a whisper in the darkness.

- Wake up…

At the beginning it was a mere murmur. And I was so tired that I ignored it.

- Wake up! You have almost no time left! –I heard louder and stronger this time.

In my sleepy state I kept ignoring it.

- Come on, please, wake up! –the voice insisted much stronger and with a tone of despair-. I don't want you to die, son…

Son… that was a familiar word, but I didn't get it right now. Where had I heard it before? I couldn't remember someone calling me "son" ever…

Some memories came to my mind from my childhood. In them I looked with envy at other children with their families. They were called sons by their…

- … parents.

Something inside me reacted and I managed to open my eyes. Everything was dark, but I could make out a faint and bright outline above me.

I closed my eyes and opened them again.

Now that I was getting used to the darkness, a could see a faint source of light far away. However that light was slowly fading.

- Wake up! You have almost no time left! –shouted the one above me, which made me remember and get my act together.

- Who are you? Where I am? Why are you calling me son?

- I'm your father…

- My father? –I interrupted him with a loud voice-. Don't make me laugh. My father left me and died. It's impossible for you to be my father.

- Those were the lies that scoundrel called Gnarl told you! –the man exclaimed with anger, not towards me, but to… Gnarl?

That was when I remembered what happened before, how he had betrayed and murdered me… which made me feel furious again.

- GNARL! Fucking traitor…!

- He lied to you all your life –he told me somewhat calmer-. And he betrayed yoy, like he betrayed me.

- How can you be here? If you aren't dead, why didn't you come to me before? And where the hell we are? The last thing I remember is…

- No, you aren't dead, yet –stressed-, but not for long. And neither I am. At the moment we have no time for explanations because your are getting closer to really dying with each second. My power is the only thing still keeping you alive, however I am too far for that to last.

- Why didn't you talked to me before?

- The Netherworld stopped me. And before that your magic was too weak to hear me. The only chance I had was when the Empire caught and you fought at the coliseum isolated from your connection. However you were unconscious and very hurt. For you to live I had to use my power to heal you somewhat instead. Then I was too tired to talk.

- And now what changed? –I asked untrusting but remembering how then I awoke feeling better I knew I should.

- Because your connection to the Netherworld is vanishing –I remembering the dagger and the sense of isolation and lack of magic. It was true-. That is what that far light symbolize. That's why we have to act before it completely goes out.

- Where are you? How can you contact me in this… limbo?

- I promise to explain everything later. Now I'm going to make a connection between the two of us and I will send you all the power I can. That will shock your body and wake you up, making you return to the real world. My power will fight whatever is isolating you from the Netherworld, probably a poison, and letting you call again its power, although it'll be harder. Then you have to send it to me thought the new connection. That will secure and strengthen the connection and help me fight the poison while you heal. Also the Netherworld won't stop me any longer and I will be able to talk to you…

- I was just betrayed. Why should I trust you? How do I know this is not an attempt of fleeing wherever you are and for me to take your place?

- You have no other choice! It's this or death! I promise you it isn't a trap! You'll survive! And you'll get your revenge! You just have to trust me!

Trust? When I was just betrayed by my 'loyal' adviser and one of my mistresses?

However he was right. He was my only way to stay alive. We'd see how far this goes.

- And what the hell is your price?

- You're help. We'll talk later, but I swear you won't come badly.

- … very well.

- To transfer my energy is going to hurt –he warned me.

Several blue light rays came out of his hands and hit my chest. I concentrated in my anger to, somewhat, ignore the pain.

During the energy transfer you will be vulnerable. Repeat this spell to create a magical shield, because if you die, it's the end.

I nodded. A white light covered me and found myself in the real world again, where a 'hero' was about to give me de coupe of grace.

Some months ago a new group of 'heroes' turned up with the goal of ending my 'evil' domain. At the beginning their attempts were really piteous, however overnight they had an overwhelming success. Now I understood why: Gnarl and Juno. They had helped them from the shadows.

I punched him, sending him through the air, and with some difficulty got up. The pain was overwhelming.

- He is still alive!? How!? –cried out one of them.

- It doesn't matter. He is not in a position to fight us. When he dies we'll join Mark and our men still fighting the remaining minions and we'll go to kill his whores, destroy this place and rob it blind. Only then we'll have ended the Overlord evil.

I ignored him. I had more important things to do.

I could feel my weakened connection to the Netherworld and the new one to my father. I felt my father's magic fighting the poison which was isolating me from the Netherworld, but I clearly could feel how he was getting tired. If he was as far as he implied… to transfer his power had to be very, very hard. I didn't have time to waste.

I called the Netherworld power and sent it to him. I felt him get a second wind and fight the poison in my body even harder.

Another of the heroes tried to attack me, but I used the spell my father told me and the sudden (and invisible) magical shield repelled him. In the distance I saw Gnarl looking at me shocked.

"Now!" –exclaimed my father in my head-. "Our link has completely formed! Use your power to heal yourself while I keep fighting the poison!"

I did as I was told and while the heroes tried to break the shield, my wounds were closing. From one of them a purple liquid came out: the fucking poison.

Soon I felt like a new man. I dropped the shield and before they could react I used my 'Evil Presence' in one of them. As I suspected they were just weak minded fools, because his mind hardly put any resistance. Before the others could move, he was under my control.

- Attack.

- Yes lord –my new slave answered in a dead voice before throwing himself to the others.

His 'friends' didn't even doubt in attack him. However the distraction was everything I needed to finish them myself.

"Look out! From behind! –my father voice shouted in my mind.

I dodged at the same time I turned around to see Gnarl attacking me with the same poisoned dagger.

- Why, Gnarl? –I asked.

- You aren't a true Overlord anymore. Nowadays you're happy with a few acts of wickedness and with ruling your dark domain. That's not evilness! A true Overlord should be creating chaos nonstop and expanding his domain. You must be eliminated to make room for purer evil. Minions! Attack!

A sea of minions came to me from everywhere. Again I used my new shield spell.

- I don't know where you learned that spell –Gnarl retorted-, but it won't last.

"Is that true?! –I asked mentally to my father using the new link.

"Yes. This version is the simpler and easier to carry out without a long time of learning and practising."

"What do I do then? How the hell can he attack me with my own minions?"

"Gnarl is a Master Minion. He can summon new minions and control them, usually to clean, repair and maintain the place. This are the minions who are always outside their chambers. Find a portal and summon new ones under your own control. Those will obey you!

I did as he said and ran to the nearest portal. I didn't have a lot of anima left. It had been 'used' on missions against the new heroes and leaded by Gnarl. Now I understood how they always failed.

I summoned my own army and sent them to attack the other ones. At the same time I used my 'Halo' spell to boost their attack and defence.

With every minion busy, I went after Gnarl.

- How did you do it? –Gnarl asked shocked and afraid-. How have you neutralized the poison and healed in time?

- You are not worthy of that information, trash –I kicked him with all the weight of my armour.

- I-I'm sorry, master. I-I had to check you were still evil enough to be the Overlord.

- Who do you think you are? –I asked furiously.

- Eh?

- Who do you think you are to decide if I'm or I'm not a good Overlord?

- I'm the one who chooses the next one! –he answered with uncommon pride, which surprised me a little.

He took advantage of the moment to pounce on me, again, with the dagger at hand. I was ready this time. I dodged him and used my lighting attack. The torture made him drop the dagger.

- False! You chose candidates when there isn't an Overlord! It's the Netherworld the one who decide at the end! The Netherworld chose me! And it still accept me as such! That is the way since the Black Baron, the creator of everything! That is how is written in the books he left and you, minions, kept! Books you made me read! You were the one who tried to cut the connection so it would considered me dead!

- Yo-you ha-have c-ceased to be e-evil –he stuttered thanks to the torture-. Y-you n-no l-longer d-do e-evil t-things.

– False. I no longer cause chaos. I've just consolidated my domain- I stopped the lighting and caught him by the neck, raising him quite a bit.

- CHAOS IS EVILNESS!

- According to whom? You? Who are you to decide what is evil? YOU! ARE! A! MINION! –I shouted while I used my weapon to cut his limbs one by one-. YOUR MSSION IS TO SERVE THE OVERLORD, NOT TO QUESTION HIM!

- I'M SORRY, MASTER! –he begged.

- It's too late –and I cut his head off.

From his body an enormous black cloud came out.

- What is that? –I asked loudly, used to ask Gnarl through my helmet and be answered at any moment. I shook my head.

"Concentrated dark energy" –the tired voice of my father answered me and startling me. I forgot about him-. "Try to absorb it like anima."

Having nothing to lose I did as I was told. The black cloud went to the gem that I had in the middle of my left glove and it concentrated and merged until, somehow, became solid and fell to the ground what I recognized as 5 dark crystals. I quickly ordered my surviving minions to take them and put them with the rest I had left.

"Thanks" –I said to my father.

"You're welcome. Now you should finish the remaining threats inside the Netherworld. I need rest. Setting up the link and fight the poison from this distance was magically and mentally exhausting. We'll talk tomorrow and I'll explain my plans. However if you need anything call me through the connection."

"Very well…" –I answered with some doubts. What the hell should I say? He'd just helped me… but I didn't trust him yet. I'll see what he wanted and if I didn't like it, I'd refuse him. After all, I was the Overlord. I took what I wanted without caring for the consequences."

A looked around and saw so many minions corpses…

- Did any else forget that a minion must be loyal to the Overlord above everything else? –I asked the survivors.

None answered, they were confused because they were newly born and didn't know anything beyond 'obeying the Overlord' and 'kill'.

- Throw all corpses and bits to the foundry –I ordered after summoning even more-. I don't want any remain.

Like many times before, I used my link to the Netherworld to ask for a mental map of the tower (also called the Netherworld) and see where the remaining enemies were. It showed me many Gnomes and a last hero in my Private Quarters. The Gnomes were the ones who built the tunnel and let the heroes come here. The Netherworld also showed me something that froze me for a few seconds: my mistresses were dead.

I summoned all minions I could with what little anima I had left and head for there. I found the Gnomes destroying everything and the remaining 'hero' stealing my gold. Very quietly I got closer and with my powerful axe I opened his head.

Then I sent my minions to attack the Gnomes, and given I have no anima left, it was a good way to replenish it.

I went round the Private Quarters to the place my two loyal lovers had locked themselves. The path was full of human and Gnome corpses.

Fay's corpse was the first thing I saw. She was surrounded by an even greater amount of corpses. That meant she died protecting Kelda, as I had asked. Why had I asked that when Kelda could protect herself? Because she was pregnant.

I found her at the back in the middle of a blood of sea and with a sword through her womb.

That image struck deep in my soul.

I cried in a rage. Kelda, my Kelda. Maybe I didn't know what love was, however since I was little most of my good memories came from her company. I cared a lot for her. I liked her.

"What?" –I hear in my mind my father's voice, startled by my sudden cry-. "Oh…"

He didn't say anything else.

There was no need.

Hello.

This is a translation of the fic I started last week. I'm doing it to practice my English, so I ask you to tell me any grammar or languages mistakes you find.

I'll try to continue this at the same time I write the original one in Spanish.

I hope you like it.