In the year 2138, the earth could best be described by a single word: ruined. The air was poisonous to breathe, to point where one needed to wear gas masks in order to go outside safely. The ground was, by-and-large, infertile, and most food was grown in science labs. The sky itself was a heavy mixture of dark grey fog 24-7. The sun had been blotted out for years, and the only thing stopping the world from cooling was the dense gasses in the atmosphere that absorbed the heat given off by the sun. The world was a perfect hellscape of man's own making, and was beyond saving. As such, instead of focusing on the ruined world around them, most people went into escapism.
Yggdrasil was a perfect example of this. It was a DMMO-RPG, or dive massively multiplayer online role playing game. Developed in japan, it was a wonder of it's time. It had the amazing ability to port human consciousness into an avatar in a semi-realistic game world, where one could be anything. And when it hit the shelves of stores in 2126, it was massively popular. Because the populace of japan desperately needed something to escape into, and Yggdrasil fit the bill beyond perfectly, the game became practically synonymous with the term "DMMO-RPG". In it, players could either make or join guilds, which were rated based on several different categories. But of all the guilds, one of the highest rated was Ainz Ooal Gown. With the lowest member count of all the top rated guilds, it was known as a miracle that they managed to get on to, and stay on, the leader board.
However, in the year on 2138, Yggdrasil was coming to an end. The game had been slowly dying for the last two years, and at present, less than 20% of the original number of players still remained. And out of Ainz Ooal Gown, only 2 players still remained online. The first was the guild leader, the splitting image of death itself, Momonga. The other was an elder black ooze, a type of slime famous for it's acidity, Herohero. They were both in the great tomb of Nazarick, the guild base of Ainz Ooal Gown.
"So, Herohero-san, how's work been lately?" Satoru asked, worried about his friend. The slime was a Manga artist on earth, and he was constantly worked to the bone by his superiors.
"If it keeps going the way its been going, I think i'm going to start looking like my avatar," the slime bleakly laughed. He did not have an easy job, and with his insane work hours, there was a serious possibility of him being worked to death. Not a very fitting fate for such a nice person.
"If you're doing that badly, you don't have to come here... I know you're tired, you should log out and rest while you can." He replied, giving a friendly hug emoji to show his support.
"You're right I should. Sorry for leaving you alone, but you know how things are, Momonga." Herohero gloomily complained.
{Herohero has logged off}
"And now I'm along again. Fuck..." He was so very lonely.
{Luci Fer has logged on}
"My dear leader, I apologize for my continued absence. But fear not, for I have returned!" Luci Fer was as chunnibyou as one could get at his age. As a hardcore role player, his art was easily done, and the persona of Luci Fer was something he could slip in and out of with only a moments prelude.
"Out of everyone who could've come on the last day, why did it have to be you?"
"Who were you expecting? Ulbert? Touch_Me? Perhaps the pervert Peroroncino?" He said dramatically. "Because I am afraid that I will have to suffice."
"Well," Satoru spoke, "How have you been?"
"All in all, not good. But things have cleared up lately, and I do need to say my goodbyes and enjoy the wonders one last time... It's sad how time erases things so easily. No matter how much effort you put into them."
"I sadly agree, but do you have to be so dramatic?" The overlord queried.
"Roleplaying is an art, and it is what YGGDRASIL was made for. I can't not be dramatic here, it is part of the character." Besides, it is far too stress relieving to stop. And with all of our stress, we could definitely use some relief. Especially you, satoru.
"Fine, do as you like Luci fer. It's not like I could stop you anyway." He said, more cheerful than before. The thought of not being alone constantly was quite nice, and he now had more than just the NPCs to accompany him to oblivion.
"Well, all things aside, it's nice to see you again. We should leave this empty chamber. Hell, why not go to throne room? We can see our greatest achievement for the last time." Satoru said, once more accepting the gloomy blanket of sadness that covered him today.
"As you wish, dear leader."
{Teleport-Throne Room}
This place was located in the deepest reaches of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. It was the most important place in the entire guild base, and if it was attacked and destroyed, the entire guild of Ainz Ooal Gown could be undone. The room was so large that even if you packed several hundred people into the room, it would still not feel crowded. The high ceiling and surrounding walls were a pearly stellar white color, with unabashed golden decorations as highlights. The numerous chandeliers which hung from the ceiling were made of precious stones and ores and contained all the colors of the rainbow. It emitted a fantastic dream-like radiance. Forty-one flags emblazoned with different symbols hung from flagpoles sunk into the walls. They swayed gently in the wind, from the ceiling all the way to the floor.
In the center of the room was a flight of stairs about ten steps high. Atop the stairs was a giant throne, which had been carved out of a giant piece of crystal, and the back of the chair was high enough to reach the ceiling above it. A huge red banner hung down behind it, proudly displaying the symbol of the guild. The symbol of Ainz Ooal Gown. It was a suitable place for them to spend what would be the last of their moments in YGGDRASIL.
"So, have you ever looked at albedo's settings?" Satoru asked, knowing that if the troublemaker had been known for doing anything in the past, it was chaos. Absolute chaos. Like, for example, the time he temporarily left the guild of Ainz Ooal Gown, only to join another guild, the angel only guild Heaven's Hand. He single-handedly got it into a war with a third guild, the demon only Sons of Satan. He "negotiated" for a single battle between both guilds to be performed at a certain place and time. Which he then told the rest of the guild. Two guilds died that day, and Luci Fer laughed at them both.
"I might have. Have you ever used the staff?" Luci Fer responded, trying to deflect off of the previous topic.
"Of course not! It was the work of guild, and it belongs to all of us, not just me! I-I couldn't!" He screeched, immediately forgetting about the former topic.
"You should use it. And before you say 'no', let me explain. I have three points. First, it's the last day, and I will hold my ground on this, even if you asked every single guild member, I know that they would all say that you should use it. It's a shame that it was never used. Second, it was made for you. It complements your build perfectly. Third, it looks bad ass as all hell, and it totally finishes your look. So let me say this. I am not asking you to use it, I am telling you. Use it." Time to hope those classes I took in making people believe me and follow me blindly payed off.
"Fine, but only since it's the last day." So they did work. Thank you, Mr. teacher. I am glad I paid for those unlisted teaching classes.
Then, the giant, 7.1 foot tall god of death went to the staff next to the throne, and grabbed it. He then opened the game's UI, and equipped it as a staff. As it appeared in his hand, he was slightly buffed, and made himself look far better than before.
"Now that that's over, you should check albedo's settings. You might find something interesting." If this works out as I planned, this is going to be great. Time to enjoy the "gift" I hid for Satoru.
"Okay, but I don't see why you're getting so excited."
{open settings menu}
"Jesus christ Tabula wrote a lot. There's so much-"
"Just scroll to the end."
"Sure... Why is that there!?" Satoru was horrified. This was not what he expected. This doesn't sound like something Tabula would do at all! "She is madly in love with Momonga." He would never write that, it doesn't sound like him at all. It sounded more like something Luci Fer would do.
"Why is what there... Dear leader?" Luci Fer laughed. This is turning out just as planned. I am an evil genius. Mwahaha!
"Did.. Did you write this? Because this doesn't sound like Tabula, and aside from him, you're the only one who would do something like this."
"No. She wasn't my NPC, so I wouldn't have the ability to change it. So I couldn't have, you know." He is calmer than I expected, so I can kind of consider this failure, but he did still freak out for a second so... Eh, it evens out I guess.
"But the staff was in the throne room, which, while a nice touch, is not its usual position. And I didn't change that. And the only way to change the settings of an NPC you didn't make was through the guild weapon aka the staff, which can be equipped by anyone, regardless of class boundaries. And Tabula hasn't logged in in two whole years, so I doubt that he would come back and only do that. Then we have the fact that only you would do something like this. I judge you as guilty."
"I see that you've been learning well, my lord. Indeed, it was I. Now that I have been judged as guilty, what punishment would you have of me? And before you tell me to change it back, let it be known that Tabula had her set as a, and I'm quoting him here, "bitchy whore". You really wouldn't want me to make her go back to being such a shameful thing, would you, dear leader?" If I am going to do anything today, it is convince him to keep that.
"While that is equally horrible, I'm still changing it."
"To what? Because if I remember correctly, you weren't the most creative of us, and your only NPC was made out of sheer chunni-ness. My point is that you shouldn't change it, because you probably can't think of anything better. Besides, why not let her be your glory chick for a day? Tabula wouldn't care, and the game is ending anyway, why not have some fun with it?"
"Fuck it, fine." Yes, I did it, I win god damn it. "But I want to know what else you changed. You're not one to do something so small and leave it at that."
"I made two of the humonculi maids traps, made shalltear have an abandonment issue with her creator, did what you see with albedo, and made eclair so much worse." Little does he know I made three of the maids traps. Mwahaha! Evil laughter is so fun...
"You're being surprisingly honest... What did you do with eclair?" Momonga rushed the information, ignoring most as it was just the maids who had little purpose anyway.
"I changed him from wanting to take over your throne, to wanting to take over your throne and your glory whores. And have a harem with every female member of Nazarick. All of them. And have a deadly fear of kyouhouku."
"WHY!? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?"
"It seemed fun, and he's already a laughing stock, why not make it more complete? Besides, Ankoro Mochi Mochi wouldn't care, she made him as a joke in the first place."
"You never manage to disappoint, only to surprise. Since we only have about 10 minutes left, I leave it as is, but you should still show some respect to the others." It was a well known fact that Satoru cared greatly for his friends. And after they had left, his eyes had quickly grown rose-tinted. The fact that he cared about his friends so much to the point where he would say that the NPCs, who wouldn't even exist in a matter of minutes, were important enough that another one of his friends shouldn't change them showed that he really did care for his comrades. Maybe even a bit too much.
"They're gone, and I don't see why they would care. But since I don't want these last 9 to 8 minutes to be covered in an awkward sadness, I think we should change the topic. Have you heard about YGGDRASSIL II? It should be in development now, we've already gotten a teaser trailer."
"Have we gotten a date yet?"
"No"
"Damn. Well, when it comes out, if we're still here, I think I'd like to play with you again. Maybe we can make Ainz Ooal Gown 2.0 or something. Sounds fun, right?"
"I was thinking about naming the new guild Gods-something-or-other, since we basically are gods here, and if we put the same amount of work into this one as we did that one, we can probably achieve literal godhood. I hear they're putting that in as a feature. Maybe you can be the god of Death, or Darkness or something."
"That does sound nice. If that happens, I'll see you there."
23:57:42
"'Bout two minutes left. I'm sad to see it go. So much effort, time and money all wasted."
"It wasn't wasted you know. We'll always have the memories of what we've done."
"And the legend we made. The eternal, everlasting name of Ainz Ooal Gown."
"And all the players we killed will forever have the guild's name to fear."
23:58:26
"Why does time have to go so fast. I don't want this to end, it's practically my life's work!"
"That is both truly sad and sadly true Momonga. But there'll always be the next game to make people cry in fear, right? This won't be a true end, only a new beginning."
23:59:11
"You're right. It isn't the end for us. But for Nazarick and the NPCs it is."
"I guess you really must have gotten attached to your glory chick in the 20 minutes you knew she was yours. Besides, they are just NPCs. We can always make more, so what does it matter anyway? It's not like they have feelings or anything. They aren't human, so why should we care?"
23:59:30
"You really shouldn't treat them like that. They're our creations, fictional or not. It's like writing a book only to find that someone on the internet made porn of your character."
"Shalltear is practically the embodiment of that, and while I agree that that would hurt, it still wouldn't matter much. They are nothing more than 1s and 0s, you know. Nothing more, nothing less."
23:59:50
"I think they're going to start a countdown now..."
9
8
"Seems so."
7
6
5
"Remember, this isn't the end. Only a new beginning."
4
3
"I can only hope."
2
1
00:00:00
00:00:01
"Why are we still here?"
A/N:
Thank you for reading, this is my first overlord fanfiction, and I hope you enjoyed it. Please tell me what you think in the reviews.