Hey guys.
Response to reviews.
How is tier system an exagerration anyway, did you guys not see how many years did Ainz spent in the Abyss, they were not just random numbers, they actually mean 'this is how many years Ainz spent in the Abyss'.
And thank you everyone for reviews favourite and follows, I am very happy to see everyone loving my story.
On the side note, since most people want to see Ainz x Shiraori, that will be the main pairing of this series, and while it will take time, and there will be many girls who fall for Ainz, it will not turn into a harem.
Anyway, let's begin.
The Abyss: A spider?
"I am the Abyss and the Abyss is me, its me who is beyond all, and its all which is beyond myself. I am what I wish to be, for I am the existance, the non-existance, the imaginable, and the unimaginable, I am all you can and can not think, feel and cannot feel, and most of all, that which you can and can not comprehend. I am The One Without a True Name, but for now, you may call me... Ainz Ooal Gown."
-Ainz Ooal Gown.
Chapter 3
Haaaah, This is so good.' were the thoughts of a certain Zoa Ele, who liked to call herself Kumoko, sitting in a sofa, which was too big for her, with all of her legs crossed.
She had just finished eating the food Ainz Ooal Gown provided her with, and needless to say, it was very tasty, whether because of the fact that she had not eaten anything good for long time, or because the food was hust tasty, 'Whatever may be the case, I am glad that I got to eat normal food for once.'
"Did you like the food?"
Kumoko turned towards the man, err skeleton, who had saved her from dying. Then healed her and even given her food. She was very grateful to him for everything he had done for her in such a short time. This skeletal fingure was named Ainz Ooal Gown, or as she called him for now 'Lord Ainz'.
"Yes. Thank you again."
"It was nothing." The man who looked like death incarnate said as he looked at her, before continuing, "Now, since you are done eating, I believe I owe you some answers. You can ask anything and I will answer them, but please underststand, there are somethings I will be unable to tell you."
"Y-Yes, of course." Honestly, Kumoko thought that Ainz didn't owe her anything, but yet he was willing to answer her questions, it showed his generosity and kindness.
'It will be an insult to refuse his generosity.'
"Can you tell me how I reincarnated?" She asked him the question she was most curious about.
"Well." Ainz began, "To understand that you will have to understand the history of the one who reincarnated you, Admin D. I will tell you everything in short."
'So he knows about D.' Kumoko knew it would be rude to ask another question before she got the answer to the first one, but at this point, she could not suppress her curiosity.
"U-Um, e-excuse me." She asked nervous that the almighty being will get angry at her for interrupting him.
"Yes." He paused to listen to her.
Letting out a mental sigh of relief, she asked him, "Um, do you k-know D?"
"Umu" Ainz nodded, "I know a lot about her, but she doesn't know me and we have never met. I only collected information on her to prepare for my visit to this universe."
'To prepare for his visit to this universe.' She wondered if her saviour was from another universe. Not from another planet, but from another universe.
As curious she was about this, Kumoko did not ask him yet, afraid that she might anger him.
"Now, back to your initial question?"
It took her a few seconds to realise that he was asking her, and another one to stutter out a "Y-Yes."
He nodded and then continued, "Well then, the world you are reincarnated in, once was very much like Japan."
'He knows about Japan as well, but then again, he speaks Japanese, and he also knows about D, the one who reincarnated me in the first place, so it is kind of obvious, that he would know about Japan.'
"But they were much more technologically advanced, due to having access to magic." Ainz continued, "But then... they began to misuse that magic, until the planet ran out of energy that stabilized it. Then Admin D, for her own entertainment, used a powerful spell to stabilize the planet, by creating the system, which also allows those that are a part of the system to use skills. But then, a few centuries later the former hero and the former demon king, prepared a massive dimension magic spell to kill D, who was in the same classroom you were in."
'So it's partially D's fault I died. And to think she was in the class room as well, was she one of the students. And why would the previous demon king and hero want to kill her.'
"Then, as you must have already guessed, the magic, instead of killing D, killed everyone else so she reincarnated everyone who died into this world, while letting them keep their memories of previous life, thought it was mostly for her own amusement. That's how you were reincarnated."
He then paused before saying, "If you are wondering, D was hiding as one of the students in your class. She was doing this to slack off from her work as an Administrator. "
'So she reincarnated other students as well. And slack off, geez, that self proclaimed evil god must be so lazy.' "Why did the previous demon king and hero tried to kill her?"
Ainz shrugged, "They were misguided, thinking that Admins are their enemy, and they not only ended up killing some normal students, but also wasted MA energy, which led to the planets collapse to speed up. But you must already know all this through your max level taboo skill."
She did knew, and this was what worried her, how will she survive if the planet collapses, and will Lord Ainz help her in surviving?
After letting Kumoko take some time to digest the information, Ainz said, "Your next question."
'After knowing D's history, I have one major question to ask.' Kumoko hesitated before asking, "U-Um, do you know which student D was in the class."
She had the memories of a girl named Wakaba Hiro, but, after listening to lord Ainz talk about D's past, she found herself growing suspicious about something, she could not put her finger on what it was, but somehow, the knowledge that D was in her class, made her nervous about something, so she wanted to find out who was D anyway.
"Yes, I do know, but before telling you the answer, I will have to warn you, it might not be... pleasant." The mysterious entity beyond the admins warned her.
'I-If he is saying that, t-then, what could be the answer.' Kumoko found her fear to be increasing, but now wanting to know more she responded with, "Please tell me."
Ainz nodded and then said, "D was one of the students, as I told you, but she could not have reincarnated herself, but if there were not the right amount of students, the other Admins will become suspicious of her hiding place, so, she took a small piece of her soul and merged it with a spider's soul, a spider which was present in that class room at that time, and died along with the students, she then reincarnated the spider along with the students, after giving it her memories of her time in Japan."
"No." Kumoko whispered, first it confused her why Lord Ainz was talking about something completely different from her question, but as he reached the end, it became clear to her why.
Ainz finished the answer regardless, "And that spider was you."
But Kumoko did not hear it properly, she was too lost in thought. 'I was just a scapegoat, a replacement for D, I guess, it is not too shocking after all.' She echoed in her mind with a bitter smile.
She really had no value after all, she was just a clone, not even a real person, she did not have memories of her time as a spider, and her soul was made mostly of D's fragments, so what worth is she at his point.
As she was thinking all this, she heard Ainz ask, "I am sorry for what you have to go through."
But then, why, why did a powerful being such as himself save a worthless clone like her, why?
"Why?" Kumoko whispered.
"Hm."
"Why?" She spoke a little louder, forgetting how much she was afraid of the entity confront of her. "Why did you save me, I am just worthless. I am not even a real person, you had nothing to gain from saving me, so why?"
It was only then she realised that Ainz might kill her for speaking out of turn like this, but, at this point, she did not even care, Kumoko didn't care if she lived or died, maybe dying might be a way to be free from this torture of a life.
But maybe she, like other organisms had a instinctive fear of death, as when Ainz brought his skeletal hand towards her, she flinched in fear. Only to feel surprised as he patted her head gently.
"E-Eh." She let out in surprise.
"I know it must be hard for you, and sorry I told you this without letting you prepare." Ainz said, "But, do not ever call yourself worthless. You definitely have much more worth that you realise, so much that even I have to recognise it, your potential is the most among all the beings I have ever seen, and trust me, I have seen more than four universes worth of beings. You are worth a lot more than anyone, except for myself, could ever see. Do not ever let anyone tell you otherwise."
"I-I-." Kumoko found herself completely speechless, she felt tears come to her eyes, as a warmth spread through her body. She was a normal spider in her previous life and in this life, she was just some insignificant part of the world. She had never experienced this, someone praising her, saying that she was worth more than she knew. She thought she had no one, but now, she, just... she did not know what to say anymore.
'I-Is this how it feels to be recognised, to have something said to you. It-It's such a nice feeling.' The former taratect thought as a smile made it's way to her face.
"And as for why I saved you." Ainz said removing his hand from her head, causing her to look up at him, "I... felt like doing so would be right, I wanted you to survive. I think you do not deserve to die. And so, I saved you."
'Lord Ainz is such a kind person, he would not only save me, he also gave me food, he healed me, and even gave answer to a the questions I can.' She could feel her loyality to him growing as time passes.
"But." Ainz then said, "Do not think it as being selfless, I did it because I wanted to, nothing else."
'But that's basically being selfless.' She wanted to protest but decided against it.
"Lord Ainz." Kumoko called out, causing him to look up, "Can you tell me about yourself, about your past?"
"You want to know about me?" Ainz asked causing Kumoko to nod, while saying, "A-And also why you came here, If you don't mind."
"No, I don't mind at all." The death like figure said.
"Let me begin from the beginning." Ainz said, "I came from a world called YGGDRASIL."
"Like from Norse mythology." Kumoko asked, she remembered it being mentioned in several games from her, err D's memories.
"A-ah sorry from interrupting." She said quickly after realising her mistake.
"Its alright. And yes YGGDRASIL shared similarities with the Norse mythologies." Ainz nodded before continuing, "At first, I was an undead, weak when compared to the others of my world."
'Just like myself.' the spider felt her respect for the being in front of her rise.
"Then one day, a group of people, who hated me for being an undead, they tried to kill me. But just as I was about to be killed, I was saved by a paladin dressed in shining armour, who later led me to people I would soon call comrades, allies, family, and my first friends. We adventured together, fought together, and then one day, when we all became some of the strongest, we built a palace, a tomb, representing all of us, it was a fun time. The me at that point thought these moments will last forever." He sighed and continued, "I was so naive back then. slowly, slowly, they all left our dying world behind, leaving me alone to take care of the place we built together."
"Th-They l-left you." Kumoko said without realising she interrupted him again.
"I don't blame them for it, but yes." Ainz said, "Then the time came for our world to end, but I wished to stay till the end, not wanting to leave the only place I considered home. And when it did end, I was not thrown forcefully into another world, but instead I found myself trapped into a Void, with none of my space magic allowing me escape."
"E-Eh, you were trapped." her eyes widened, 'A place from where even someone as powerful as him can not escape.' "H-How did you escape?"
Ainz sighed, again, "Long story short, after spending countless amount of time there, I finally got out, but, I was not an undead anymore, by the time I got out, I had... transcended, to higher state of being as you see today."
'That's how he is so powerful.' Kumoko thought, 'But then again, he did mention that he alongside his friends were some of the strongest, so I would not be surprised to know that he was very strong even before his "Ascention"'
" And then I thought, why not travel accross the universes, to find out what else was out there. And-" Ainz paused a little before saying, "-maybe even find another family, a group of people I can depend on."
"A family?" She muttered.
"Yes." Ainz nodded, "People who will be by my side, and travel with me, people who I can depend on."
People he can depend on? But why? He was so strong on his own, so why?
'Maybe because he does not like to be alone. Or maybe because he wants to make a family of his own, a family not bound by blood.' Kumoko realised, he could have just forced people easily with his power, he was so strong most people will just accept his offer easily. Yet he did not do so, because he wanted people whom he could place his trust in.
'Does he trust me then?' A question came to her mind, if it was someone else she was talking about, the the answer would obviously have been no, but it was an unfathomable entity called Ainz Ooal Ooal Gown that she was talking about, he was very unpredictable, and he was also able to do things no one can, he could easily tell from a single glance whether she was trustworthy or not, so, there was not harm in asking.
'I have made my decision.' Kumoko thought before saying, "Lord Ainz."
"Yeah."
"Can I become the first member of your Family?"
Ainz Ooal Gown watched as Kumoko, the spider of the rare species, Zoa Ele, finished eating the food he had given her. 'I might have lost my chance at getting her on my side, but I have to try to regain it.'
"Did you like the food?" He asked her.
"Yes. Thank you again." the spider nodded, too quickly for Ainz's paranoia.
"It was nothing." He replied, internally worried that Kumoko's opinion of him was that of a cruel and twisted being. "Now, since you are done eating, I believe I owe you some answers. You can aske anything and I will answer them, but please underststand, there are somethings I will be unable to tell you."
"Y-Yes, of course."
'She stuttered again, damn it, she is too afraid of me, if this continues, I won't be able to regain the chance of her joining me. And the fact I literally stated that I can not tell her certain things makes it worse, but it is better than giving her my word and then going back at it if she asks a question that I can't answer without risking too much.'
"Can you tell me how I reincarnated?" Kumoko asked her first question, her expression still unreadable to him, due to not using any expression reading power.
'But at least it is a simple question.'
"Well." He said "To understand that you will have to understand the history of the one who reincarnated you, Admin D. I will tell you everything in short."
"U-Um, e-excuse me."
'Did I say something wrong?' Ainz thought in his mind, but asked her "Yes."
"Um, do you k-know D?"
Sighing in relief Ainz thought, 'So that was all.'
"Umu" He answered, hoping his inner panic was not obvious "I know a lot about her, but she doesn't know me and we have never met. I only collected information on her to prepare for my visit to this universe." 'Hope that satisfied her.'
He then asked her "Now, back to your initial question?"
A few moments passed and she did not answer him, 'Shit, is she suspicious how I know so much about D.'
But then Kumoko looked up at him ans said "Y-Yes."
Ainz calmed down a little, 'Even if she is suspicious, she is not asking, at least.'
"Well then, the world you are reincarnated in, once was very much like Japan." He continued, "But they were much more technologically advanced, due to having access to magic."
Looking at Kumoko for a moment to judge her reaction, and still being unable to read her expression, he continued his tale "But then... they began to misuse that magic, until the planet ran out of energy that stabilized it. Then Admin D, for her own entertainment, used a powerful spell to stabilize the planet, by creating the system, which also allows those that are a part of the system to use skills. But then, a few centuries later the former hero and the former demon king, prepared a massive dimension magic spell to kill D, who was in the same classroom you were in." 'At least that's what D thinks, the spell might have been directed to someone other than her, but it missed its actual target and was some how redirected towards D. But that's only in theory.'
Even without using any ability to guess Kumoko's thoughts, he could guess that she had already realised how she died.
"Then, as you must have already guessed, the magic, instead of killing D, killed everyone else, 25, so she reincarnated everyone who died into this world, while letting them keep their memories of previous life, thought it was mostly for her own amusement. That's how you were reincarnated."
'Hmm I might be getting used to being unable to read her expression, it feels like I am able to guess her thoughts, somewhat, at least.' Ainz observed.
He then answered Kumoko before she can interrupt him again "If you are wondering, D was hiding as one of the students in your class. She was doing this to slack off from her work as an Administrator. "
'"Why did the previous demon king and hero tried to kill her?" Kumoko asked him.
'Because they were complete idiots who believed a certain elf bastard and thought they could actually do some harm to an admin.' that was Ainz's honest opinion, but it would be kind of rude to say that out loud, so he just answered neutrally, "They were misguided, thinking that Admins are their enemy, and they not only ended up killing some normal students, but also wasted MA energy, which led to the planets collapse to speed up. But you must already know all this through your max level taboo skill."
After pausing for a moment he said, "Your next question."
He notice how the spider seemed to hesitate, but before he could ponder on it, she asked him, "U-Um," she seemed nervous, "Do you know which student D was in the class."
'That's why she was hesitating.' He realised, before thinking, 'But should I tell her, it might be too much for her to handle, but I don't want to lie to her, what to do.' Thinking for a moment, he decided to warn her before saying anything, "Yes, I do know, but before telling you the answer, I will have to warn you, it might not be... pleasant."
She seemed to get even more nervous, "Please tell me."
'Okay, my warning sounded too ominous, saying it like that would only increase someone's curiosity, while putting more pressure in their mind. Ugh, I might have messed up again.' Contrary to his inner monologue he just nodded calmly and said, "D was one of the students, as I told you, but she could not have reincarnated herself, but if there were not the right amount of students, the other Admins will become suspicious of her hiding place, so, she took a small piece of her soul and merged it with a spider's soul, a spider which was present in that class room at that time, and died along with the students, she then reincarnated the spider along with the students, after giving it her memories of her time in Japan."
"No." Kumoko whispered, causing him to feel bad for her, it was obvious how shocked she shocked she was after realising where he was getting at.
But still, feeling that he should still finish answering her, and to confirm her theory, he finished with, "And that spider was you."
Kumoko seemed to have gotten even further in shock, at his confermation, He wondered if there was a better way to answer her, but could not think of any.
He then tried to comfort her by saying, "I am sorry for what you have to go through." 'Ugh, that was such a bad way of putting it.'
"Why?" She whispered.
"Hm." Ainz would have raised an eyebrow if he was capable of doing so. 'Could I have up set her even further?'
"Why?" She repeated as she looked up at him again "Why did you save me, I am just worthless. I am not even a real person, you had nothing to gain from saving me, so why?"
'Poor girl.' Ainz felt bad for her, to struggle for your life and then to find out that you were just a scapegoat, it was just so harsh.
'I should have been more careful towards my approach to her true identity.' But he knew that there was no use crying over spilled milk, even though he could reverse time easily, it just didn't feel right to him, to treat it like a game, so he just raised his hand gently placed on Kumoko's head, though she did flinch at first, letting out a "E-Eh.", but slowly she relaxed.
"I know it must be hard for you, and sorry I told you this without letting you prepare." He said patting her head, "But, do not ever call yourself worthless. You definitely have much more worth that you realise, so much that even I have to recognise it, your potential is the most among all the beings I have ever seen, and trust me, I have seen more than four universes worth of beings. You are worth a lot more than anyone, except for myself, could ever see. Do not ever let anyone tell you otherwise."
"I-I-." Tears appeared in Kumoko's eyes.
Ainz sighed mentally in relief when it at least, seemed like he managed to comfort her, 'Now, here comes the hard part, how should I explain why I saved her, I can't just say, "Because of your rare species." ,even thought that is half the reason.' "And as for why I saved you." He paused to think, and said, "I... felt like doing so would be right, I wanted you to survive. I think you do not deserve to die. And so, I saved you." 'This is such a lame excuse, there is no way she is going to fall for it. Should I just place all my hope on my luck.'
"But." He continued, deciding against betting on his luck, "Do not think it as being selfless, I did it because I wanted to, nothing else."
"Lord Ainz." Kumoko said unexpectedly, "Can you tell me about yourself, about your past?"
'Eh.' "You want to know about me?" Ainz felt a little surprised.
The spider nooded and added, "A-And also why you came here, If you don't mind."
"No, I don't mind at all." He did not mind, it seemed only fair, considering how much he already knew about her, 'Its been so long since I about YGGDRASIL, anyway.'
"Let me begin from the beginning." He quickly switched to story mode, "I came from a world called YGGDRASIL."
"Like from Norse mythology." Kumoko said quickly, before shying away at the same speed, "A-ah sorry from interrupting."
"Its alright." Ainz mentally chuckled, 'That surprised me, but I never thought I will ever find a spider this cute. She is like child excitedly listening to stories told by adults.' "And yes YGGDRASIL shared similarities with the Norse mythologies." he paused, "At first, I was an undead, weak when compared to the others of my world."
"Then one day." He continued, "A group of people, who hated me for being an undead, they tried to kill me. But just as I was about to be killed, I was saved by a paladin dressed in shing armour, who later led me to people I would soon call comrades, allies, family, and my first friends. We adventured together, fought together, and then one day, when we all became some of the strongest, we built a palace, a tomb, representing all of us, it was a fun time. The me at that point thought these moments will last forever." Ainz sighed audibly, "I was so naive back then. slowly, slowly, they all left our dying world behind, leaving me alone to take care of the place we built together."
"Th-They l-left you." Kumoko sounded shocked at that.
"I don't blame them for it, but yes." Even though he did not blame them for choosing real life, it still hurt the past him, thought it didn't bother him any more, "Then the time came for our world to end, but I wished to stay till the end, not wanting to leave the only place I considered home. And when it did end, I was not thrown forcefully into another world, but instead I found myself trapped into a Void, with none of my space magic allowing me escape."
"E-Eh, you were trapped." Kumoko said I a surprised tone for some reason, "H-How did you escape?"
He sighed as memories came back to him, "Long story short, after spending countless amount of time there, I finally got out, but, I was not an undead anymore, by the time I got out, I had... transcended, to higher state of being as you see today."
" And then I thought, why not travel accross the universes, to find out what else was out there. And-" 'Should I tell her.?' this was half the reason why he decided to travel universes, as well why he saved Kumoko, " -maybe even find another family, a group of people I can depend on."
Just like how Ainz Ooal Gown used to be, no, even better, a group of people who depend on each other, and are alway by each other's side when needed.
"A family?" Were the words whispered by Kumoko.
He nodded, "Yes, people who will be by my side, and travel with me, people who I can depend on."
Kumoko went silent for some time, many seconds passed, and this silence... triggered Ainz's paranoia, 'Damn it, I must have screwed up again, why I am so bad at it.'
Before his paranoia could go even further, he heard the spider sitting accross him say, "Lord Ainz."
"Yeah." He responded to her, hoping he did not sound nervous.
"Can I become the first member of your Family?"
'Eh' Ainz froze at her question, 'Wait, wait WAIT, what is going on? How did she make this decision, I didn't do anything for this to happen, all I did was screw up, is she making fun of me, no, she is too afraid of me to do so, then, why?'
Assuming that it was just a stroke of dumb luck, but still not wanting to take any chance he asked her, "Why?"
"Because I want to." She replied simply, "Please."
"By becoming a 'Part of my family' you will be connected to me forever, are you sure you want this."
He was referring to a contract which he developed using his boundless powers, it involves merging a fraction of his true powers with the very existance of the contracted person, while it could be terminated by removing his energy from the contracted person, it was a very risky since it will definetly shatter the person's existence and even Ainz himself could not prevent it, since the his true powers are immune to his reality manipulation. But any one contracted will get powers to surpass everything except for himself, and if they do not already have a human form, they will also gain the ability to take on a human form, the looks of which will be based on 'How would they have looked like if they were human instead of the species they are'.
"I don't mind, lord Ainz." She responded simply again.
'This is progressing too fast for me.' "Very well then." Ainz sighed, before extending his skeletal hand to her, "Through this permanent contract, you will gain immense power, along with many bonus abilities, you will also become unable to die, not unless I let you. Accepting this contract will lead to you connection to everything to be broken, and you will only be connected to myself and others of out family. This will last forever, do you still accept it?"
"Yes." Without hesitation Kumoko tooke his hand.
Kumoko watched as Lord Ainz seemed to be surprised at her question. And she felt a little proud, that, even if in a mundane way, she had surprised an all powerful entity.
"Why?" He asked her.
"Because I want to. Please." She didn't even realise that there was no stutter in her voice.
"By becoming a 'Part of my family' you will be connected to me forever, are you sure you want this."
'This is even better.' For Kumoko, to be able to stay connected to the person she was loyal to above all else was just an added bonus. "I don't mind, lord Ainz."
"Very well then." Ainz sighed, before extending his skeletal hand to her, "Through this permanent contract, you will gain immense power, along with many bonus abilities, you will also become unable to die, not unless I let you. Accepting this contract will lead to you connection to everything to be broken, and you will only be connected to myself and others of out family. This will last forever, do you still accept it?"
"Yes." Kumoko felt no hesitation as she took Ainz's skeletal hand, and then she felt her connection to the system breaking, and her power increasing.
'So, this is the power lord Ainz can grant. Amazing.' Was her thought as her power increased to the point that she felt invincible.
To be continued...
Before anyone goes on saying that Kumoko was too OOC. Well, let me remind you, in the canon, she had already became an Administrator by the time she found out that she was just a spider. And hence, she did not react the same as she would have if she found the fact out when she was just another organism part of the system.