PROLOGUE CHAPTER: 1 - "From Foe to Friend, the Start & the End."

"Shit! I'm gonna be late!" Autumn Kaede, a 19 year old boy with an apparently flimsy sense of time scampered towards the VR chair without changing from his part-time job uniform. His day had been completely packed, first the swordsmanship tournament, studying, and as if that wasn't enough, work.

But the game was not even an hour away from ending, this really wasn't the time to be late.

Quickly plugging the VR gear on his head, a sense of nostalgia washed over him as he waited for the game to load. It had been quite some time since he had last seen this interface, three months to be more exact.

- YGGDRASIL - DMMO-RPG [ 2138 Platinum Edition ] -

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Quite a shame indeed, given how the time he had spent on the game with his friends had been extremely enjoyable, and how much effort and money he had spent to better his experience.

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Of course, the game had quite some years on its bones. It was by no means recent, it had been around for a decade now, but it was still hailed as one of, if not the best, DMMO-RPG to ever exist.

'And that's still an understatement honestly…'

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He stared at the makeshift void in front of him for a while, a great sadness tugging at his heartstrings. Even then, he couldn't help but smile when the pride and joy borne of his long stay in the virtual world he had come to love so much came into being right before him, pixel per pixel.

[I= Confirm account selection: YES/NO =I]

He waited not a second longer and instantly clicked on the white button-like text that appeared in front of him. A war cry went off, accompanied by a loud set of triumphal trumpets as intricate columns manifested all around him, each with the same familiar red banner hanging from them.

[I= Welcome back to YGGDRASIL, [(#9)AOG] Asmoday ! =I]

The blank void and columns flickered, immediately the darkness was overtaken by a familiar sight. Locks of slightly wavy white hair with a hint of unnatural reddish ends descended in front of him, obfuscating his vision somewhat. He swatted them aside and raised his arms from the two black marble armrests they were on as he got up with a tired noise.

"Hghnh…" he stretched his arms—he looked around, and then to the window hovering open to his right, taking in the time. "Phew. I'm not late, thank God…"

He was exactly where he had last logged out from, the 7th Floor of his Guild's base. Where he currently sat was none other than the place of a past friend of his, in truth. Though he had long since relinquished the throne and medium sized—albeit arguably beautiful in architecture—quarters to him.

He got up from his seat, and his avatar's long tunic-like dress followed. They were inspired by the Ancient Romans' way of dressing; and so was the appearance of the golden olive wreath on Asmoday's head as well, given that it certainly wasn't the item's original look. Nor was it one he really liked anymore, had he the time he'd probably change it back to how it used to be.

His avatar's eyes had slit pupils, and were in color a mixture of various shades: red, orange and yellow even.

The expression she had on her face was easily discerned, it wasn't too pronounced but anybody could read it easily enough with a single look.

A look of 'Pride,' or rather 'Arrogance,' many would deem it. Even though Autumn believed everybody to have the right to interpret it so, he'd correct both. It was a mix of many emotions, but while both pride and arrogance were on the list—what was most predominant was something else.

'Condescendance.'

It was a rightful confidence. A prideful superiority borne of Autumn's own, his comfort with Asmoday's skillset and assuredness when in her shoes.

A confidence gained with many a trial, a story rooted in a past quite far.

Back when he wasn't yet working, Autumn was lucky enough to have the time to pursue as many hobbies as he wanted. One of them just happened to involve reading many, many legends or myths.

Be they Norse, Roman, or Greek. Including even ones such as the Ars Goetia or simple olden tales. He was fascinated with them, a love that only grew as time passed. And the more he read, the more his understanding of them deepened, and eventually he was able to discover new facets to each myth and story he so liked more and more often.

During his earliest years as a reader, bookworm—some annoying pests would call him back then—he fell in love with Dragons.

They were powerful beings, ancient beyond measure. They bowed to no-one, knew no fear and most of all…They were free. Free as the flowing winds to do whatever they wanted, whenever.

Perhaps that was why he was amazed by them: because they were free. Something he wasn't.

Over the years, be it enormous glass domes, masks, or absurd regulations, life on Earth had become all that Freedom was most definitely not.

Was that love borne of Envy? Envy for Freedom? Perhaps, perhaps not. He had not yet taken the time to contemplate that, and now it was too late to.

And then YGGDRASIL arrived in his life. A place teeming with fantasy and where creativity itself was the limit. Where he could let go from his detached business-oriented mask and fulfill both his passion for Mythology and Dragons, at the same time even. A place where he could roleplay as much as he wanted—and no one would blame him. Most were in the same situation after all.

In other words, YGGDRASIL was where he was free to do whatever and escape the ugly tight shackles of a pollution-filled reality.

'A place of hope, freedom, relax, ambition and fun.' Was how it was described by some of its players in the reviews during its earliest stages.

True enough, the combination of all those gave birth to Asmoday.

She was a mighty Dragon with a backstory whose lore was in no way lacking any of the villain-like flair and minute details he so liked in tales. Without a doubt, of his many tries to create a character, she was his greatest masterpiece. She was his very passions and hope given form, his "Dream".

When he first began playing, at the dawn of the game, he saw many players sporting races and classes of all types. Slimes, to Human Mages, to Skeletal Liches—hell even Trolls, Demons, Dwarfs, Angels and even Chimeras! Followed by many, many more. Hundreds upon hundreds.

But ultimately no Dragons.

Or rather, there were many Wyverns and Dragonlings, but Dragons were thoroughly absent. And he soon discovered why.

Imagine his horrifying surprise when he entered the game's character creation screen and discovered there was no Dragon race. Needless to say he was incredibly taken aback. Luckily it didn't last much, as he discovered that either it just hadn't yet been discovered, or it was some advanced race. Though he was assured thanks to the Forums that if he had any intention of becoming a Dragon, his best shot at it was through evolution from Wyvern.

However it was incredibly hard to advance in the evolutionary tree of that very race. One could go from being a Wyvern to many other stages, apparently. Or so the data-mining Forums said, not that anybody had actually unlocked that yet, far too early into the game. Still, there simply seemed to be no 'Dragon' race anywhere in sight. With him being perhaps the first player to ever reach the Mystical Dragonling race—which turns out the Forums had some sense and it existed—a whole two years into the game.

Most others just quit or changed character before reaching even the second race-stage. It was saddening, really.

Though Autumn could understand.

It was simply too taxing, the time it required, and the stupidly absurd conditions that needed to be met were simply too much. Even he had to admit it. The kind of criteria that had you killing a boss at a specific time of a specific day with a specific weapon of a specific level.

Classic YGGDRASIL devs. It was just way too much.

Hell, he had to climb up an entire mountain by himself—Stormbreaker Peak, he remembered the name of the accursed thing solely because of how much he hated it—which took 11 hours of real-time only to unlock the prerequisite to a race evolution!

Why were the requisites so taxing? Why were the missions so strange and difficult?

''Shitty Devs. That's why. I'd have no grasp on such things if I was given a max level account from the start too though. Can't blame them too much...''

Time passed, and eventually he reached an impasse when it came to the advancement of his race stage. His heart still screamed at him that this was no Dragon, however.

Sure, it looked like a miniature version of it. It had scales…A humanoid form even—and definitely didn't lack wings. If it looks like a Dragon and acts like a Dragon then it has to be a Dragon... right?

Hardly.

And the problem was that no matter how much he pondered this issue, he had to do so alone. No one he knew had chosen to follow in his path. His race, his build, his weapons even, all were quite unusual. Most people went for meta-builds, even if they'd last barely a month before a new update was issued and the balance of power was thrown off back in those days. And the Devs, annoying as they were, sure as hell wouldn't help him in any way on the Official Forum; with the leak and data-mining ones already having been long shut-down thanks to the company responsable for YGGDRASIL.

'YGGDRASIL is a game of exploration, of discovery and adventure. Knowing gameplay details in advance is no fun.' They said in an issue on the Official Forum.

So he decided to search for answers himself.

YGGDRASIL was a game known for its freedom and incredibly vast amount of unknown and hidden content. And there was simply no way that there didn't exist a Dragon race.

Absolutely no way. That's what he convinced himself of.

So he started to dig deep into Forums, Weapon Lore, Flavor Text, rumors…Even going as far as exploring all the Realms of the game for the better part of months on end. Yet none of that... not Niflheim, Alfheim, nor Asgard, Midgard or Jotunheim, let alone Muspellsheim and Helheim provided him with answers.

After a year and two months of investing into his character to make her strong enough to overcome any and all difficulties his journey of discovery would no doubt provide, he was about to just plain and simple give up. He hadn't even reached a decision on what build to capitalize on, so he had kept most of his resources and skill points—level-up rewarded bonuses even—dormant, idle up to that point in time. Which had considerably weakened him.

All until, while he stood in Vanaheim—the last step of his journey—sitting atop the branch of an enormous tree that was part of the ever-expanding lush jungle that Vanaheim was, as the rain ceased and the first peaks of sunshine fell on the hundreds of emerald leaves, a yellow pop-up notified of him of the unlocking of something.

A new stage in his evolutionary tree.

Turns out that a lot of people had been taking note of his journey, and in the end banded together on the forums to make a petition addressing the Devs asking for the implementation of the race. The Devs, in turn, also greatly appreciated the dedication of the "One Who Seeks the Dragons'' as they themselves had dubbed him and his supporters.

A couple months later, by meeting the necessary criteria, which were still unknown and so would remain for the coming years—save for perhaps a dozen few players from the elite ranks of the game that managed to evolve as well, and who would thus not share the secret, fearful of losing a potential advantage—the Devs had announced that players could finally advance to the Dragon race when following the Wyvern evolutionary tree. Even if they never explained the how, nor the steps to take.

It took him alot of exploring and several tries at guessing the requirements. Things like maxing out Asmoday's current Racial Levels, new Classes, Potions, Talismans, rare Artifacts and their lot—but eventually, while on a quest in Helheim, he was finally able to unlock the race he so coveted: "Dragon".

At first, during the first couple months of his time in YGGDRASIL, he put all his points into Magic Attack, MP and Special. After all, as they say, the best defense is offense.

After that he grinded quite a lot, becoming a well known solo-player who wouldn't associate with any Guild. When asked why, he would simply shrug the question off by typing a "Dragons are beings of incredible power. But what fascinates me most about them is their freedom, I shan't ever tarnish it." And though he partly truly meant that he simply became known as a hardcore RP and eventually people stopped bothering him.

With time, going on Dungeon Raids meant for two to three people alone and clearing them, as well as exploring the Realms, all chock full of hidden treasures left empty after hours-long investigations, became routine for him. His Asmoday grew more and more powerful by the day, to the point that he eventually unlocked the next stage of his subsidiary evolutionary tree. Though with no little effort; he had to, in fact, slay a sum total of various kinds of High-Rank Dragonheirs each hidden in different spots of the depths of the Asgard to Midgard Bifrost Ocean.

"Finding them in and of itself was a huge pain…''

Though it did reward him with the corresponding achievement and allow his evolution to True Dragon, so he couldn't really complain. All the while gaining various skills and abilities, as well as unlocking a true humanoid form in the process.

That's when the true potential of the Dragon race was brought out. He had chosen the race because he had merely loved the idea, but there was simply no way for him to enjoy his time in YGGDRASIL if his character was so weak she'd die every five seconds. It sparked a competitive and mean streak in him, and eventually he started caring just as much for her set of abilities.

His new race allowed him to ignore the scaling his stats would have to go through when shapeshifting to human form, allowing him to retain his incredibly high parameters even as a humanoid, quite the skill in his opinion. But at the same time, there were no other True Dragons in YGGDRASIL to compare to—not that he knew of anyway, many were Dragons still, or Dragonoids, the other prestigious subsidiary evolution supposedly on par with True Dragon, though Autumn could not believe such rumors. For it was far too easy to get when compared to his own.

The Elemental Giant and Titan-inclined races possessed a similar skill, if only slightly weaker, with a restriction on MP-scaling. Something he thought to be the one advantage to his own, if he remembered correctly.

True Dragons were, after all, beings who were literally made out of pure Magic. Magecraft and Sorcery came to them as second nature, just as it was normal that they breathed, it too was to use Magic.

According to some pieces of Lore, they didn't even need to breathe, for their bodies had the ability to passively absorb the Magical Energy in the air and both harness it and use it as sustenance, as well as be able to slowly regenerate, another reason why they were able to live indefinitely. And YGGDRASIL surely would've had an unlimited amount of Magical Energy, were it the real World.

After the Developers' announcement, many of the players who had just started playing, and thus were still in the process of creating their character, decided to choose the Wyvern race in order to become Dragons. But incredibly few managed to do it, if at all. That's because the requirements to evolve were still thoroughly unknown to the general public.

Even then, each and every Dragon build he had seen so far to him seemed like the typical generic build anybody who wanted to "smack strong" would have. Their defense was hardly good, and their MP?

Awful.

They just went for a physical build. Something he found so dreadfully boring. Plus, had they truly paid attention and dedicated time to research like him, they'd have found out that there were many other ways to augment one's PHY. ATK stat, which didn't include putting all one's points into it the very moment they created their character as they did.

Not that they would know.

With his new totally humanoid form he was finally able to fight off the PKers more efficiently. As time went by, he eventually accumulated an obscene player-kill count, even though it was technically self-defense he basically became a PKer himself in the eyes of many, which also assured him that a lot of annoyances would scare away from him, thankfully.

With the passage of time, as Asmoday's rise in the leaderboards of YGGDRASIL slowed down considerably, he started to notice more and more that no matter the skills and spells one might possess, you needed good gear first of all. It just made the difference. And good gear was something he himself had, for the most part that is.

Not only that, but Asmoday enjoyed the protection of menacing scales that spread from her shoulders all across her arms in a long glove-like fashion, down to the wrists where claw-like hands were, as well as a Divine class necklace.

That however wasn't enough. Not if Asmoday wished to go back to climbing the ever-steeper leaderboards, redraw his limits and finally evolve one last time before work arrived and sapped all his free time away for good.

He needed a weapon, something that would meet his niche needs. Months passed as all types of swords and polearms, even bows, made their way to his arsenal. Yet none were what he had been looking for. He kept grinding but was still unable to advance in his Subsidiary Evolutionary Tree, if he still even could.

On a day meant to be like all the others, whilst in Muspelheim, one of his favorite realms, he finally received that push he so needed in the form of a World Enemy Raid Boss.

Within the time Asmoday's right boot touched the rocky ground in front of her, the battle had already started and 29 other players were firing their best attacks. The only cue that he found himself standing right in front of the " Primal Lord Of the Fire Giants, Surtr", being the far too close for his liking swing of an enormous flaming sword that threatened to split and burn him to nothingness.

On that day and with the info he had, had he thought longer about agreeing to the Raid, entering that fight would have been the worst call he could've made. One that would leave him almost dead at its end.

Surtr was not a Boss that had high-attack power, in fact, his was incredibly low. Sure the hits that would hit, hurt. But his attacks were slow, and telegraphed a lot, easily dodgeable for someone with high agility such as Asmoday. The only problem that he faced, the reason why he was so beat up after that fight, was patience. Indeed, patience. Surtr boasted an immensely large pool of HP, that would also fill right back up when using fire-shaped or fire-infused attacks on him. Which meant using Asmoday's variations of『 Breath 』would be useless. Aswell as a good chunk of magic she was most proficient in, being a Dragon.

But the seven hour long fight would be worthwhile still. Many of his forum-found unknown Raid companions would fall, but Asmoday would remain among the last.

The roaring volcanoes of Muspellheim stopped erupting, and Asmoday's HP was almost but 13% of what she had started with - the most he had ever been damaged - yet Asmoday would nonetheless be the last to strike, making Surtr's nigh-unending health bar decay to zero, his gigantic body falling to the ground.

The enormous thud decreed it was finally time for the World Item to appear, something which took by surprise all of the present Raiders. The one closest to it being none other than Asmoday, the very same one whose instincts zeroed in on it in order to lay his avatar's virtual hands on the prize. Something in which he succeeded, to the others' dismay.

He had finally found it. An Item which would finally grant him an advantage over his [Lv.100] peers, for it could store up to [15 lv.], well, more like extra-levels: be they of xp or data, and would grant her "Sway over the powers of and derived from the Great Sun'', whatever that flavor-text meant, "as well as immunity to them".

His attention was however soon grabbed by something else. After the fight, to his dismay Asmoday remained a True Dragon. Yet that wouldn't last long. All his past efforts had finally been acknowledged in an unexpected form.

Beating Surtr bumped him into the top 5 of Muspellheim's monthly leaderboards, a position that time would not change, merely better. Which came with the privilege of being able to challenge the current holder of the Seat of the Realm.

And from that on, it was history really.

Through an incredible series of events, he was welcomed in Ainz Ooal Gown. And with that, in the coming months YGGDRASIL became like a second home. He forged bonds with all the guildmates, but his closest friends were Momonga first and foremost and then Ulbert, who in the end also convinced him to change his character's name from Asmoday to Asmoday Le Fay, mixing in both his like for myths and the evil vibe—along with the aspect of magic—they both so cherished; since Le Fay was none other than the title of an incredibly famous Dark Witch in a legend of Old, Morgana Le Fay.

He grew closer to Momonga the more time passed, as they both shared a fiery passion for both Magic and the game itself, likely being the most online members of all.

With time, eventually their numbers grew to 41 members, they had fun together and enjoyed countless adventures. At first all their meetings were hell, everybody disagreed or wanted to do things a different way. Go to another dungeon, use different tactics, and such. With time, however, he started using his wisdom as a gamer to help Momonga in his decisions as a leader, and eventually—because of how frequently he gave him advice on which all 41 nigh-unanimously agreed and acted upon, he became jokingly known as the "Shadow of the Guild".

They explained that it was because he seemed to be able to embody everybody's will in a perfectly balanced mix. Though the nickname didn't last long, as another took its place with the more PVPs and Raids he took part in. One that was borrowed from someone who had labeled him as such on the Forum, when complaining of how he was present at almost all battles the Guild took part in— "The Weapon of Ainz Ooal Gown".

It suited him, really. Not that he was one to admit such things, but it's true that he tried to be there as much as he could, just like a trusty sword on the hip of a warrior.

Takemikazuchi had said as much, at least. He was yet to be convinced of it himself.

As the months went by, they became the most influential Guild in all of YGGDRASIL, or one of the many anyways, and even acquired a ridiculous amount of World Items—maintaining the title of guild with most of them and growing ever more powerful, both individually as Asmoday and thus Ainz Ooal Gown as a whole.

But then reality hit.

And it didn't pull its punches, either.

A few years after he joined, the number of active Guild members dwindled down as they found more important things to do IRL.

He could understand. Bitterly, sure, but he couldn't blame them either, so he really had no choice left but to understand. Or try, at least.

Despite it all, Momonga remained. His rival, but most importantly, his closest friend had remained with him and eventually even met IRL a couple times.

Slowly, but surely, the game was dying. Its Golden Age setting. The Guild's active members went from 41 to 35, then 26, 14, and as the end approached—though in truth since a long time ago now—only two active members remained.

Asmoday and Momonga.

Momonga often vented about how sad and frustrated he was that their friends had abandoned them, and in truth, he too felt quite angered at the thought of it—but for his friend's own good he suppressed it and tried to ease Momonga's burden by prompting him to be more understanding.

They continued playing, until one day a post showed up on the YGGDRASIL forum on December 1, 2138.

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Today, the Developers have made the difficult decision to shut down YGGDRASIL DMMO-RPG permanently as the game is no longer in line with the newest technology and is getting more and more difficult to update. The official day of shutdown is January 1, 2139.

The Developers thank you for having played YGGDRASIL up until this point.''

Not even an hour later, Momonga sent emails and messages to every member of Ainz Ooal Gown asking them to stay until the shut down of the game as a last meet-up.

And there he was, scrambling over his unmoving loading screen merely half an hour away from the game's shutdown.

After a few minutes, he finally decided it was about time and teleported directly to the meeting room. Momonga was sitting at the large round table, all alone.

He was sad. After having grown closer to Momonga in the past years he now knew that YGGDRASIL was everything to him too. He had poured his heart into the game, just like him. They were truly kindred spirits and so he could not help but feel sad for him.

But now; now, they had to celebrate their efforts. It was no time to be sad. Rather, they should be happy one last time together in their home, at least.

Being sad could wait.

''Mo-chan~!'' he cheerfully spoke in the mic, for the first time in quite a while. Using the girly sounding "Buku" voice—as he had dubbed it because of Bukubukuchagama's insistence he learn it to troll with his female avatar—though currently his intention was merely to try and lighten up the mood, not a prank as he would much rather, ''Sorry for being late, I had a bit of an issue with loading in.''

He never was too good at soothing others' emotions, more the 'if your emotions don't work, shut 'em off and go for a nap, next time you wake up you'll be fine and dandy.' type. Though he'd try in the hopes to achieve some sort of result for his friend anyway.

"...Mhm? That high pitched voice..? Asmoday-san! I'm so glad you're here! And, it's fine! The important thing is that you're here, I'm so happy you could come.''

He definitely sounded happy. Well at least that's a step out of the gloomy shadow that seemed to be cast on him before.

"Am I the only one here?'' he asked, his tone flat at the implication. He'd suspected as much, but seeing it with his own eyes was just depressing.

"Herohero was just here Asmoday-san, but he couldn't stay long.'' his tone drooped slightly, showing how disappointed he was. But there was nothing to be done. The fact that someone even visited for the last time was already more than he had hoped for, he knew they didn't care, and never would care, as much as Momonga and him.

"Well...I finished my work for today. So i'll be here by your side until the very end Momonga.'' He affirmed, in a consoling and solemn way as Momonga looked at him.

''So rejoice! This draconic beauty will be your companion for the night!" He added as he pointed to his avatar.

Momonga sent a laughing emoji, "That's true."

A couple seconds went by and Momonga broke the silence, whispering as if talking strictly to himself, though it was loud enough for Asmoday to hear "I really am happy that you came..."

Asmoday smirked in mischief, and responded while suppressing a laugh, "Ooh? Are you now? Take care not to fall in love with me~ Though I may not look the part right now, I'm a guy, you know?"

Momonga looked at him as if he was made of stone for a good five seconds without making a single sound and then they both broke into laughter.

"You're so silly Asmoday-san.''

So what? If anything he was thankful he could lighten up the gloomy mood he had been in before.

"Now,'' Asmoday got up from the chair she was sitting on and approached the Guild Weapon with slow steps, then he grabbed it and handed it to Momonga, who just stared at it for a while.

''I couldn't possibly-''

He stopped him and spoke in a serious tone, ''Mo-kun. It's yours by right, take it.''

He continued to look at it for a couple moments, ''B-But I don't know if the others would want me to…''

Asmoday closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

''Momonga-san.'' He addressed his closest friend seriously, in a way he normally never would, "You once told me that I embody the will of the entirety of Ainz Ooal Gown, so listen close, because when I say this I speak for the whole of the Guild.''

"Wha? What's all the seriousness about, Asmoday-san?''

His voice softened, "Thank you. For everything you've done, for all your hardwork and dedication. Thank you for having been the best Guild Master we could ever hope for. And most of all, thank you for having been a great friend to many, and my greatest friend to me. You deserve that weapon. It is the crystallization of our Guild and friends, if any are worthy to wield it, it's you without a doubt.''

While he talked he could sometimes hear him gulp or sniffle, showing how much simple words could do when said aloud.

He took the staff that Asmoday was handing him, ''Thank you, really... Thank you, Asmoday-san.''

Asmoday cleared his throat. "Well then, now that all of that's said and done, how about one last tour of the Tomb?''

''Of course! It'd be my honor to give such a fair Lady one last tour.'' He said in a joking tone.

He laughed at him. ''Let's go then, you lead.''

With that, they walked around the Tomb for some time, floor per floor, committing to memory as much as they could so that their home could live forever in their memories, though before Momonga visited the Floor Guardians one last time, Asmoday had a little incident with her internet connection, thus missing on that very same visit and sadly only getting to see a few NPCs because of the ticking timer.

They walked the majestic halls of the castle at a slow but steady place, passing by all the NPCs as Asmoday gave each one some parting words.

At one point they got to Floor 9, the place where the space created by Asmoday was situated: Elysium, also known as Heven—not to be mistaken with Heaven. Though they were quite similar, one was part of Abrahamic Mythology, whilst the other was part of Ancient Norse Mythology: the Realm Odin cut off from the World Tree, where the highest-ranking Angels resided.

It could be accessed through a massive black door with golden outlines that resembled runes, though right now it was impossible to check in on it. The end of the game was fast approaching, and it'd take far too long.

In front of the door that led to it however, stood the likeness of someone for whom he'd carve the time to say goodbye without a second thought.

"H-Hey Momonga…" he began shakily, almost. "Mind if you go ahead? I'll catch up in a minute."

"Mhm...?" He looked at his friend and noticed the NPC.

'Ah I see…' Momonga thought, "Sure, no problem. Take your time.", a smiley emoji popping up.

"Thanks." Asmoday spoke as Momonga made his way back.

She looked at her creation. The NPC that embodied, even if only partly, her sister.

"Ophis..." She spoke, trying to find the right words.

Talking to NPC might seem silly to many, but they were the best company he and Momonga could enjoy since the time when the last members of the Guild left, he had gotten used to it.

"...I'm sorry for not having been here lately... " He paused, "I really wish I had more time…It's just that—" He abruptly stopped with a sigh.

He let out all his pent-up feelings and gave her a long, emotional, speech. One he should've given his sister when he still had the chance to. He told her how much he loved her, how much she mattered to him and how he hated the situation in which he found himself in.

But sadly this wasn't his sister. She resembled her, yes, but she was just a bag of data stuffed with a personality of his sister's creation and a backstory as well as levels, classes and skills. Not someone who could ever answer his feelings.

"Well…" She took one last look at her with eyes full of a strange melancholy and sadness, "That's all. Goodnight…. Sister."

Calling her that felt wrong, but she resembled her so much he couldn't help himself to but momentarily bask in the lie that his sister was really still with him.

She made to catch up with Momonga, and they eventually both returned to the Throne Room on the 9th floor of Nazarick, accompanied by some NPCs: the Pleiadies Battle Maids, Nazarick's Head Butler Sebas Tian, and Tiamat—an NPC of Asmoday's making, by request of Momonga.

She was one of his favorite NPCs, after all.

''This place hasn't changed a bit. Still as majestic as ever, huh?'' Asmoday said out loud without paying much attention to it. Indeed, this Throne Room was one of the most intricately designed places in Nazarick, and it was breathtaking at the very least.

Momonga then proceeded to sit on the lone throne in the room, and Asmoday sat on its left armrest—meanwhile Momonga commanded the NPCs to kneel in front of the steps leading to the throne.

"You're really into lore writing and all that stuff Asmoday-san right? Have you read Albedo's?"

''That I am good Sir, though I can't say I have." He said with uncertainty.

"Jokes aside though, I don't think I've ever had the opportunity to. All I know is what Tabula-san kept blabbering about.''

Momonga opened her lore for Asmoday to read.

"She is a demoness who holds the title of Guardian Overseer, which is the highest-ranking position in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. With flowing raven hair and golden pupils, her beauty could bewitch a nation.

She is proud of her position and confronts intruders as a confident, dignified superior being.

Regardless of how brilliant or brave her foes are, or whether she considers them strong, she will never acknowledge them as being equal to herself.

This is because she understands the meaning of the position bestowed upon her.

Her abilities befit the title of Guardian Overseer, with outstanding intelligence and combat ability.

That said, she is not omnicompetent. For instance, in pure wits, Demiurge is her superior, while Shalltear is superior in fighting ability. Yet, nobody in Nazarick can rival her administrative ability.

In addition, her feminine skills - particularly those pertaining to being a housewife - are excellent, and during her free time, she can be seen sweeping, sewing, and so on.

Though the reason is unknown, she enjoys cleanliness and her desire for such frequently drives her to clean things up.

In particular, her ability to sort bookshelves knows no peer.

However, she recognizes the possessions of others as belonging to them, so she rarely insists on cleaning up.

That said, the items accumulated through her collector's habit are typically very messy.

Therefore, it remains to be seen whether she actually likes being tidy.

This might well be an act - in order to appear as the perfect woman - though the truth of that is unknown. It is too scary to confirm.

She always has a gentle smile on her, and her elegant way of speech has made many people think she is a goddess or an angel.

That mistake is not particularly laughable, given that she is surrounded by that sort of atmosphere and acts in an appropriate way.

The fact is, it would not be wrong to view her in that way.

She was originally planned to be an angel of the highest order, but she ended up with a greatly distorted appearance after being fused with a monster from the land of dreams.

Because of that, her personality is similarly twisted, being merciless and cruel, cunning and savage. She gives her enemies despair and revels in their agonizing deaths.

Her usual expression seems to be there to suppress the urges which flow from her heart - a mask which exists to conceal her desire to perform ruthless acts upon the weak.

If the mask breaks, she would probably end up being like Empress Lu Zhi Shen or Empress Wu Zetian.

However, that only applies when dealing with those not of Nazarick.

Fortunately for those who do not serve Nazarick, one can take comfort in the fact that the mask is very sturdy and will not break easily.

She feels very strongly about her duties as the Guardian Overseer of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.

Naturally, the fact that she has ears everywhere listening for information goes without saying.

But that doesn't mean she knows everything. Even she is plagued by mysteries that she can never hope to solve. One such mystery being her Masters.

In addition, she smiles all the time - to the point where one might say she does not show any other emotion.

Her smile is nothing more than a poker face to her.

She can also show emotions like anger, grimaces and fake tears.

Her sophisticated lady's face will not break, even when she is torturing the fools who oppose her.

By her appearance alone, she is a perfect beauty.

Incidentally, she's a slut."

Asmoday immediately laughed, unable to keep the urge down.

"Man, that was a good one Tabula-san, what a plot twist…" He said with a loud laugh, "Still, what's with the extreme gap moe? Poor Albedo...'' He was silent for a few moments, "How about we make a little tweak? Do you have a way of changing it?".

"Well, since I have the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown here I can access the master source, so yes. What do you want to change?"

"How 'bout we take out the slut part?"

Momonga moved to do just that, but Asmoday stopped him, "Wait! Can I do it? I've never had the opportunity to use the staff, even if I had basically the same verbal authority as you, because there could only ever be one Guild Master.''

Ainz looked at her for a few seconds and then relented amused, ''Sure.''

The orange virtual keyboard and screen rotated towards Asmoday, she started writing something and then closed the tab without giving Momonga any chance to peek.

"So, what did you change Asmoday-san?'' He asked curiously.

Asmoday coughed twice and looked straight at him, then, putting to good use all of Bukubukuchagama's lessons—in the most girly voice he could muster, he seductively whispered. "Se-cr-et!"

Momonga stared at him, likely blushing under his helmet, for a good twenty seconds and then Asmoday burst out giggling as he mumbled something incredibly Peroroncino-like, akin to "Damn virtual traps… he's even got game..." or so he heard at least.

Momonga would deny it later on.

A little time went by, and Momonga started looking at the various flags on the columns near the ceiling and pointing at them. " Ankoro MochiMochi, Peroroncino, Bukubukuchagama, Warrior Takemikazuchi, Tabula Smaragdina, Variable Talisman, Genjiro…''

He kept listening to his voice speaking their names one by one, with no small amount of nostalgia.

"… Me, and in the end, someone with a long name." he joked, "Asmoday Le Fay,'' he finished.

''We really had a great time.''

[23:58:34]

Asmoday hummed, withholding his nostalgia so as not to ruin the moment.

[23:58:12]

"I have to wake up at 4 AM tomorrow morning, definitely not looking forward to that…'' He lightly chuckled.

"...Hey Suzuki, if there ever is an YGGDRASIL II or something of the like... Wanna play together?''

[23:59:01]

For once, even Momonga dropped the charade of slight formality and answered using his real name without honorifics, "I'd like that Autumn.''

They fell into a comfortable silence as both faced the foreign emotions threatening to burst at the thought of what was about to happen. They did so together, they were best friends after all.

[23:59:24]

And their world was ending…

"So is this End… 'Apocalypse' of sorts we're facing, your handiwork O' mighty Dragon of the Apocalypse?'' Momonga joked.

"...Guess so huh?'' Asmoday chuckled weakly.

"If so... I wish I could take it back and make all this last even a little longer. I wish it could last forever...'' He spoke in a soft tone.

[23:59:49]

Momonga responded, "So do I my friend, So do I...''

[23:59:52]

''Sleep well, or you'll feel tired tomorrow.'' Spoke Asmoday.

[23:59:54]

"Same to you,''

[23:59:56]

"Goodbye Nazarick." They spoke in unison and turned to each other, "Goodnight''.

[23:59:58]

The virtual clock ticked.

A small tear through their Dream.

Steadfast repaired by hope, on waves of wishes transported.

For a new Start. So that it may be Eternal.

[23:59:59]

The falling of YGGDRASIL's last 9 leaves,

yet but a piece of one, the most powerful wishes would keep afloat.

Amidst the chaotic shining lights it would follow stream after stream, bifrost after bifrost.

For an old End. So that it may prove Finite.

The end of an Era.

[00:00:00]

Yet its spirit would continue living.

Only to end up in a Land uncovered. The shiniest of Treasures.

[00:00:01]

And the unexpected start of a New One.

For all that is Finite is beautiful, ever-more to appreciate.

Yet all that lasts eternally in spirit, is ever so pleasing to the heart.