Ch1. Pilot (?) Prologue
Disclaimer: I do not own Overlord. I do own OCs(there will be several in this story). Trigger warnings! Please do not hesitate to comment, as long as you possess basic human decency.
"What is this?"
A door appeared before the unsuspecting child, and before her caretakers knew it, she stepped through. There was a long corridor of white, however on the other side a most peculiar sight greeted the young girl.
"Woow!"
She poked at the strange objects in absurd fascination. Their shape was unfamiliar, their texture surprisingly solid yet yielding under pressure. She continued to explore the room and held her new 'toys' with sparkling eyes. It was only when she accidentally tipped over a glass that a loud clank was heard, and she winced. It was not just the sound of glass shattering on the floor, there was an echo, an echo of a sound. She squeezed her ears, the sound far too sudden and grating on the ears of a young child, when suddenly a new doorway opened, and like ant to a trail of scrap she scurried through the blinding corridor. On the other side, there were no new toys. Instead, she found a man.
She stared mutely at the corpse hanging from the ceiling. There were thick chains rooted deep inside his sagging muscles and pallid skin. A picture of black, red, and grey. She stepped closer.
There were a dozen nails—the size of a grown man's forearm—punctured through his every limb and torso, making every thought of movement utterly futile and ridiculous. The chains were driven deep beneath skin through the tips of the giant nails, and the head of the man was covered in a sack.
She hasn't seen a dead person up close. However, she instinctively recognized the irreversible condition that is death. The man for all intents and purposes should not draw breath, and yet the child stepped closer, a faint wheezing luring the young girl ever closer, now she was in arm's reach.
"-h-"
"he-"
"-lp."
She didn't know what she could do. Although, the 'maids' at the orphanage were quite skilled with curing her ailments, she couldn't perform miracles. Maybe, maybe she could go and call for help. They were good people; after the demonic disturbance her parents had disappeared, and although her grandparents begrudgingly took her-in, during the chaos that followed the news of defeat on the Katze plains her grandparents fled the town, leaving the little girl to fend for herself.
When the Sorcerer King took command of the fortress city, people were distraught, frightened, and untrusting. They didn't give her refuge, but there was a hand that reached out to her.
She was brought to an orphanage supported by the Golden Princess herself, and soon made new friends, and found her calling. The caretakers were colorful people, and she didn't always know what to expect, however everything she received, she greatly appreciated. After all, weeks on the street were hard on her, and in all honesty, it was a miracle she didn't get trafficked by the mobs stalking the alleys. If not for the fleeting kindness of passersby, she would've surely starved to death.
Maybe those good people could help this man. They helped her in the end. Surely, he could also be saved. They would save this man, the same as they had saved her. She knew they would!
"Wa-"
"-it-"
"Do-"
"no-"
"-t-"
"-go."
She stopped, turning back to the hanging man.
"I'll call for help. They can heal you. I'm sure they can help-"
"St-"
"-ay."
"Plea-"
"-se."
She relented after a moment of consideration. What else could she do? She was not blind; she knew that he was in pain. The uneven wheezing and the periodical trembles were a good indicator, to say nothing of the pathetic state he was-in.
She still didn't know how a man could be hurt so badly, and who would do something like this, however she had better things to worry about now. For example, how will she get him out of here? If he doesn't want her to leave, what does he expect her to do? She could not carry such a big man! She was still a child! She grumbled beneath her breath when the sounds of pained mumbling reached her ears. She looked up, and droplets of blood fell to the ground as the man shook.
"R-Remo-ve my ch-chains."
She acted without thinking, and pulled on the big cold steel anchors, however they didn't move an inch! She grumbled. She was supposed to be strong dammit! How come she can't remove simple chains? How is she going to become a great warrior worthy of respect!? This is annoying-
"Start-"
"-with th-the"
"s-sack."
She obliged, and removed the 'helmet', only to fall back in surprise.
The eyes of the man were carved out, and two thick nails were protruding in either side of his neck. The blood should've clotted long ago, there was a blackish-red substance covering the tools of torment which —defying all reason and logic— continued to draw droplets of blood even now.
While she didn't really understand the meaning of suffering, she understood pain. And that must have hurt a lot, she touched the thick cold steel and the red substance crawled over her delicate hand. She saw her surroundings shift, and a recent memory came to mind.
She cut herself with the sword during training and her blood spurted out. She hissed in horror, but the caretakers were more than kind to treat her wounds, with magic! Magic! That's the answer!
Maybe she should've focused on learning magic instead, then, then she could save this man right here! Her swordsmanship was flashy, and she liked to swing around the shiny metal thingy, however it didn't do her any good when it came to treating the wounded. If only she could have one of those magical potions… She froze, her hand firmly planted inside one of her pockets.
She pulled out the vial of purple, and realization dawned on her.
"Tha-"
"Wait! I've got it!" Elated, she cried, and hopped onto the hanging man, missing a flash of grimace as she jumped onto the chains and climbed on top of him. "Here! Drink! This'll help! It's a potion!"
"-arh-arghh-"
He had no choice as she proceeded to dump the contents of the vial down his throat, and a slight glow emanated from his body before she jumped back down onto the ground.
"How do you feel?" She asked hopefully, tilting her head in a curious manner.
The foreign objects puncturing his throat were pushed out, and the wounds slowly mended themselves. However, the potion didn't seem to have reached the lower portions of his body. One vial would not be enough, the girl realized.
"-arrghh- -kgh- m-much better, th-thank you."
She smiled triumphantly. "You are welcome!"
One vial may not be enough, but it's a start, she concluded.
(…)
The hanged man watched the small silhouette fade into the infinite corridor, and the brilliant gate closing behind the unexpected guest. It was not the first time someone had found the imprisoned, but it was the first time someone tried to help the ancient fiend.
"Evelyn, was it?"
He felt his senses flare after an eternity when the sack imbued with the power of the accursed divine was lifted, however there were still locks in place, barring the devil's leave.
He felt at the constraints over his astral body and pulled. He strained against the locks. He could hear clicks and clacks, and soon links shattered. His physique visibly swelled, several chains snapped as one, while two of the remaining twelve infernal nails popped out.
He deflated and let out a long sigh tinged in blackish flame. After all this time, it was none other than a human, a child no less, who would be the instrument of his salvation. Humans, mediocre creatures at best, unworthy of attention, they deserve only death and suffering, and yet…
The ancient fiend pondered in the dark, illuminated only by the diminishing glow of the divine locks eating into his flesh. Whenever he escaped, hell would await all those who conspired against him, against all those who struck him down—death would be a mercy unfit for such outrage!
The light quivered in the dark room that suddenly seemed so much darker and suffocating.
Yes, they would suffer, suffer, suffer! They would know the true meaning of pain.
The grief they felt when he overwhelmed the heavens was nothing, nothing compared to what he will do next. They will know the price of their arrogance and weakness. They will feel his wrath!
Yellow eyes of all shapes and sizes fearfully shrank back into the darkness while the bindings on the devil gradually crumbled away, and his strength once again twisted space within the prison realm. The infinite corridor howled as it barred its doors to the ancient evil, but it could not hold forever.
Not anymore.
(…)
Evelyn laid on her stomach, turning the pages of an old book with sparkle in her eyes. She liked these kinds of books, even though she couldn't read, they were very valuable and held coveted knowledge, after all they were the property of royalty and nobles, however what intrigued the little girl more than anything were the beautiful illustrations and drawings that seemingly came alive on the pages.
The orphanage while financed by her royal highness the 2nd princess, could not allow children to play with such precious objects, but this book was not the property of the orphanage. Evelyn had received it as a present from the hanged man.
He told her to choose anything she liked in the other room—it was a tough choice, after all, there were so many interesting things she hadn't seen before! Like the black ball that could float! And the staff with that weird fork shape, and those dancing flames, and, and-
Ultimately, she chose this book, and she didn't regret it one bit, it had beautiful drawings of angels and demons, and many pages depicting silver cities or infernal plains, truly a spectacle to behold.
She touched the paintings in the book and dragged her fingers over the many figures interlocked in battle. Knights of silver, and bulging monstrosities fought in a never-ending-cycle, but to the little girl, it was no more than a beautiful tale.
If all the books were like this… she had to get her hands on more!
She giggled at her perfect plan, as she carefully hid the book underneath her pillow, and headed outside to explore the library. It was a new addition to the home, and children were not supposed to visit it alone, but she wouldn't lose the books, so that should be alright, right?
A/N:
Let me know what you think! Review please!
I've been having some doubts lately, and although I've written in total over 20+ overlord(ish) fictions (not one of them longer than 5-6K words), I never got around to publishing them because I feel they are stupid, or inadequate, and I also don't want to start posting fictions which will be abandoned soon after. Damn, I'm a hypocrite and I know it…
With that said, I feel like this one has potential, and I've had quite the fun writing it, so if there is interest, I may be swayed to update and post. (I'm up to ch3 and will release them throughout the next week after a final editing phase.)
(Please note that the narrator in this story will be unreliable for the most part. ) (Also AU, so some things may not match up to source material.)
Take care, and Review!
-Eternity 999
