*****Chapter 2: The End?*****
AN: Wow. Positive reactions to chapter one. Alright then, guess I won't keep you waiting any longer, so here's chapter two; enjoy!
Dammit! He shouted internally while ending the call, trying not to lose his temper. Why? Why'd they leave?! Don't they miss the game!?
Taking a breath, Suzuki Satoru, also known as Momonga, sighed wearily. Then again, I can't blame them… after all, there's only ten of us left now. What was it Touch Me said when he left? 'In the end, all dreams must end, even the heroic ones; otherwise the dreamer would never wake'?
Shaking his head at the – potentially misremembered – quote from his old comrade, Momonga just sat in his chair in Ainz Ooal Gown's meeting room. The 40 other seats were currently empty; of the 10 still in the guild, only three had been online in the past week, and all at times that Momonga himself wasn't there. To say he was starting to get depressed was putting it lightly.
I know they all have their own IRL responsibilities, but still… for ten years, we sank ourselves into this tomb; sacrificed so much for its betterment; we made it a home! And yet now, almost everyone's gone…
Sitting there for several minutes, he let his mind wander as he glanced over each vacant seat; knowing the position every member would normally have been in, were they there. As he went through the mental list, he couldn't help but think back to all the adventures his guild had, eventually reaching the seat belonging to a certain perverted birdman.
…and of course there's Peroroncino, right next to Bukubukuchagama's seat. I swear, the things he'd get up to when his sister wasn't around to reel him in. Like the time we baited the Nightmare around after dropping her into that dungeon; those were an interesting few weeks.
He quietly chuckled to himself at the recollection. It's good that none of us were killed, but I still can't believe Peroroncino tried seeing how 'real' the Nightmare's body physics were while she was in her pvp mode. Though to tell the truth, I'm still surprised the devs actually programmed facial expressions into her. She was even more scary when she looked annoyed at his convenient, and incredibly close range 'dodging'.
Shaking his head at the memory, he stopped for a moment to ponder something. I wonder though… why did they program such realistic mechanics into her? I mean, what's even the purpose of breast physics? Or real-time hair removal for that matter? And didn't Touch Me mention he thought he saw sweat forming on her after Ulbert surrounded her in a ring of fire for containment purposes?
Further speculation was interrupted by a chime sound coming from his in-game console, alerting him to a message.
Huh? Now who could that be? Wait… Herohero just logged in, and wants to go dungeon crawling with me!? YES! Finally!
Setting aside his thoughts, as there was now something far more important occupying his attention, he stood up instantly and teleported to the area of Nazarick that Herohero had arrived at. There wasn't a chance in hell that he'd miss out on the opportunity to go adventuring with one of his friends once more.
A couple years later, and the time finally came.
Atop a hill overlooking a town in one of Yggdrasil's worlds, stood a lone figure. They were staring out at the town, admiring the scenery of fireworks being launched, watching as they exploded in a menagerie of colors: hues of red, green, golden yellow, and more, providing a feast for the eyes of any person watching them.
And yet, for the lone figure it wasn't a time of celebration, for he knew the reason the fireworks went off. The game, the lifestyle, was about to die, and everything he and his closest friends had worked for was about to be all for naught; a sentiment shared by those 'lucky' few who stayed in the game up to this point.
What made this figure unique, though, was his chosen avatar: Death incarnate. A skeleton with red eyes and garbed in loose fitting black robes and a hood seemingly made from night itself, the fabric shifting and blowing of its own accord; wielding a pale white staff that sparkled with the radiance of stars, and a scythe with a blade seemingly forged from an angel's wing. It hadn't been, of course – at least so far as he was aware – but regardless, it looked like it, and perhaps that was enough.
What a damn pity, he thought sadly, continuing to watch the fireworks. All those years, the effort, the memories… gone because the game stopped making enough of a profit to warrant its continued survival. What a god damned pity…
It wasn't long before a second figure joined him atop the hill. Where he appeared to be the Reaper himself, the other person could easily have been mistaken as a Saint, dressed as they were in shining golden armor partially covered with flowing, pure white robes; uncovered face showing well tanned skin and fair features, being the one thing kept over from from their IRL appearance.
"So this is where you ran off to," the man spoke, voice deep and lightly accented. He then sent his solemn friend a smiling emote.
At the eye roll emote sent his way in response, the gold armored man snorted lightly. "Come on, Surshana, the other four have been looking for you; we can't send off our guild with a bang without you there to join in!"
"I'll be down in a minute, Alah Alaf," he replied with a sigh, opting to keep staring at the mesmerizing sight in front of him.
Noticing this, Alah Alaf shook his head, smiling internally. "Still daydreaming about the day you got the scythe? Or should I say, the girl who gave it to you?" he asked teasingly, getting rewarded when Surshana snapped his head over to him.
"I- you- dammit man, you promised not to bring that up again!" the skeleton of the pair spat out, hoping he sounded more annoyed than embarrassed.
"And you promised to stop being so depressed all the time. Honestly, the fact you made your entire build and appearance centered around that time you and the fucking Nightmare herself managed to clear a dungeon back during the early days of the game, all because she handed you that scythe at the end as a reward for 'completing a secret quest'." He stopped to chuckle at the fond memory. "You should've seen yourself gushing over her like she was a goddess given flesh."
He paused for a breath, only to then begin waving his arms around as if weaving a tale in the air. "Oh and who can forget that time when you panicked at having lost the scythe, went and made a more powerful placeholder scythe until you could get it back, only to then remember that you'd put it in your section of the guild's vault to keep from damaging or losing it! Because I haven't forgotten that! The look on your skelly face was comedy gold!" At the embarrassed facepalm of his friend, he let out a hearty chuckle. "So, ready to come down and join the rest of us 'mere mortals,' or should I keep going on a stroll through memory lane?"
"Oh for- fine! Fine, I'm heading down now; there, you happy?!" Surshana grumbled, finally turning away from the village and walking down the hill to where their guild base was, all the while making his friend chuckle.
"Yup! Just make sure not to say your goodbyes to everyone quite yet; I have a few things to grab, and then I'll see you there!" Alah Alaf shouted out to the skeleton as he went further and further away, before turning himself to gaze at the lively village and fireworks in the distance; nameless NPCs dancing freely in the streets making it seem as if an actual celebration was taking place.
"That said…" he began speaking, not to anyone else, but simply to clear the sudden tears he felt trying to leak out as it finally sunk in, "I am going to miss you, you boney hardass. We might not always get along, but… ah, what am I saying. We'll see each other again, I'm sure; a little thing like Yggdrasil shutting down won't stop that. Still… I just wish we could've had one last great adventure together with everyone else before the end…"
Fuyuki sighed, absently stabbing a werewolf as the claws scraped off his armor, not even scratching it due to the sheer level difference.
It had been a few years since he last played; having decided to leave once the major guilds stopped having their yearly wars, as that was one of the few things he truly enjoyed about the game by that point. But, he had decided to boot up Yggdrasil one final time since it would be shutting down later today; deciding that it wouldn't hurt to see what had become of it in the two years since he last logged in. And he could admit that he was caught off guard by the nostalgia that was hitting him as he did a simple quest for an NPC.
He stabbed another werewolf dead, and chuckled as it fell to the ground.
"Check Loot," he ordered, and smirked as a moonlit wolf's fur cape appeared in his hands. "A bit too late for that, I think… Shame, it looks cool as hell."
He heard another set of footsteps approaching from behind, and he turned with his sword in one hand and the cape in the other to see the last werewolf approaching him. Not even bothering to try (this was, after all, a low level quest) he put the cape in his inventory, picked up a nearby rock and, using a skill he had to turn thrown objects into projectiles, flicked it at the werewolf. The rock hit its forehead, killing it instantly in a shower of bright particles. If not for Yggdrasil's "young adult" rating, it would've been a red mist instead.
Upon hearing the completion indicator for the "hunt" quest, Fuyuki decided to just sit down and enjoy the sights around him: a dark and mysterious forest previously filled with monsters, now a calm resting place. He spent a solid minute sitting there and 'breathing' it all in.
"Ahhhh… I'm gonna miss this game. Well, most of it…" he thought aloud, recalling all the memories, good and bad, he'd made before leaving it two years prior; and as he did so, one particular memory came to the forefront, causing him to chuckle. "At least I finally managed to kill the Nightmare, what was it… almost a decade ago now? God, time flies. Took nearly a full year to prepare and track her down, never mind all the power leveling to hit 100, but oooooh was it worth it…"
In spite of all the stress he felt at the time, and how he was regularly dying in the impromptu 'duels' between him and the Nightmare, he could honestly say that year was the most enjoyable one he'd had in the game by far. More than that, the constant duels to the death were fun. Whenever he thought he had her moveset down, she'd change it accordingly, and he'd have to do the same after the new attacks eventually killed him.
After tasting the top, battles with other players just felt stale in comparison, even if some would occasionally win against him. It wasn't that they were truly boring, but that there wasn't any real sense of accomplishment. Anyone could kill a player with the right moves and equipment, after all; there was a hard counter to almost every build in existence. Yet the Nightmare was special in that it would adapt to its opponent, hence why so few could beat it.
No one had killed the Nightmare before him, and while it was a small thing, he still held onto that fact with pride. Plenty of people had certainly beaten his record in terms of how fast and how often they'd killed or beaten her; but they weren't the first.
You could beat the record, but not the milestone.
Seeing a timer appear in his field of vision, indicating when the 'Haunted Forest' would reset, he stood up and stretched, beginning the walk back to its entrance. On the way there, however, he caught sight of movement in the distance. Deciding to see what it was, he got closer, only to stop and stare when he reached a spot clear of trees and saw what stood there, staring back at him.
"Well… I'll be damned," he muttered, followed by chuckling lightly. "You're still around after all."
There, wearing a set of what looked to be gladiator's armor made of cloth wrap and bronze snakes, sans a helmet, stood the Nightmare, watching him with blue eyes aglow just the same as they were the last time he saw them. The expression she wore, however, was unexpected: recognition.
Huh. The devs must've put a bit of effort into improving her AI; not surprising, considering all the 'quirks' she has.
The pair continued to stare at each other for a bit, before the Nightmare made a simple motion that surprised him to say the least: she waved at him, smiling ever-so-slightly. Not knowing how to respond, Fuyuki mentally blanked, only to end up returning the gesture awkwardly.
This must've been the right decision, as the NPC's smile grew, and she readied a combat stance with gauntleted fists that he was all too familiar with.
While his avatar was unable to actually make an expression, Fuyuki couldn't help the grin that formed at the offer, and any thoughts of her actions being impossible or abnormal quickly fled in favor of something he hadn't associated with Yggdrasil in years: excitement.
Readying his sword, he took in a deep breath and released it, fighting the urge to cheer in glee. "Ahhhhh, that's more like it… well come on then! LET'S FUCKING GOOOO!" And near instantly, the duel began in earnest…
Yana wandered along the palisades of the small town that she had created.
It had taken years to build it all, never mind the effort put into the custom NPC 'citizens' that inhabited it, and in only an hour it would all be gone. The familiar sound of her boots thumping on the wooden walkway was music to her ears, a sound she would never get to hear again for the rest of her life. She looked over at the moon, just barely peeking above the horizon due to it not being nighttime quite yet, feeling a few tears prick the corners of her eyes as she realized that this would be the last time she would ever see the beautifully glowing white orb again.
She took a breath and sniffled, rubbing her nose and shaking her head; before turning to the live-chat.
"Well guys… I'm not really sure what to say beyond… Thank you for staying with me all this time, all these years." She said, looking back outwards as her pet wolves pranced around the perimeter of the palisades.
She gave a hollow chuckle and shook her head. "I'm glad you all enjoyed the content I've been putting out all this time, and I'm glad you guys saw me as more than just some girl looking to make money off her voice and personality."
She glanced back at the chat and felt tears begin to stream down her face as she read the heartfelt messages being left by her dedicated viewers.
It hadn't been an easy decision, but with the announcement of the shutdown of Yggdrasil, Yana had decided that she was done with being a content creator. The stress, the hate, the creepy fans, the constant treadmill of fighting the censors and copyright laws, oh the copyright laws… It had ground her down for the past twelve years; and though she definitely had a lot of highs, she also had a lot of lows.
She'd been offered a job at the game studio that made Yggdrasil, so she was going to take it; perhaps she would get the opportunity to help design Yggdrasil 2 in the future. It was almost funny, really: she clashed with the devs so much because of her content, and now she was going to become one.
She sniffled again and gave a wet laugh, "I told myself I wouldn't cry. Be all weepy like some stereotypical girl; but look at me now…" She swept her gaze around at the roman-esque fortress and buildings, taking them in.
Shaking her head, she brought her attention back to her chat. "This is why games reliant on a central server are always on borrowed time, guys. They are always in the noose, waiting for the moment the company decides it's no longer profitable to keep it alive; and once that moment comes, they kick the stool out." She growled and angrily wiped her tears away, though the action wasn't shown as she had locked her avatar in place to move her physical body instead, her overpriced 'streamer's augmented reality headset' allowing her to do so. "And after all the money we gave them, all the time we put into this, all the love and loyalty… it means nothing…" Sniffing, she turned back to her wolves and quickly knelt down and petted them; smiling and feeling a little better, if still melancholy.
"I'm going to miss you guys… I'll miss you all…" she whispered, even as the AI animals acted like dogs and gave her cuddles and kisses. In spite of not being able to feel it physically, she still smiled at their actions, scratching them behind their ears as a 'reward'.
After a few minutes, Yana knew she couldn't delay it any longer.
Standing, she gave her wolves one final pat, and looked at her chat for the last time. "Well guys… It's been fun. Farewell… Goodbye… and till we meet again."
Once more locking her character in place, she moved to turn her recording and feed off when she caught sight of something in the woods near her little village. It was hard to make out at first, but it looked like two players tearing into each other – along with the terrain around them, in typical Yggdrasil fashion.
She almost wanted to tell them off so they wouldn't damage her town, but upon hearing the cheer of utter joy from one of the two duelists, followed by a string of explosions that ripped apart several trees and sent the player who cheered flying off into the distance at an impressive speed, still alive no less, she simply shook her head and ignored them. They're just saying goodbye to Yggdrasil in their own little way I suppose. Oh well, not like it'll matter much anyway with the game about to end…
Turning off her stream, she sighed deeply, finally able to relax for once. Focusing back on her avatar, she walked down from the palisade, happy to just go around her village and 'greet' its residents like she always did. She'd made each and every one of them, after all, and knew them by name; something that her viewers didn't really pick up on, seeing as she didn't spend much time going around her 'guild base' on camera. No one wanted to see her painstakingly craft every building and NPC to perfection; at least, that's what she believed.
Reaching the town center, she walked over to the 'seat of honor' under the feast pavilion reserved just for her and sat. It looked down a western road that cut the town in half and, in her opinion, gave the best view of the setting sun; doubly so with the villagers moving about as if they were actually alive and getting ready for the coming night, the numerous wooden and occasional marble buildings lighting up with torches.
Well, it's been a blast… here's hoping I can at least enjoy the next Yggdrasil. Maybe I'll finally get around to making a proper guild this time…
Edge AN: Well then, the game has ended, and so did everything in it, to be forever lost in the annals of history…
Yeeaaahhhh, we all know that's not true.
Anyway, for those reviewers who asked questions about the tarnished: if I told you, wouldn't that remove the mystery of a silent protagonist? Not saying you shouldn't ask them, far from it; but what I will say is that they'll be answered in due time.
Alright, last thing before handing it off: while I know this chapter was short, that's because a large section was added to the next chapter instead. Felt out of place here. In better news, expect the third chapter soon; can't say when, but keep an eye out for it.
Pilot AN: Yana's little rant about the game shutting down pretty much reflects my personal opinions about games reliant on a central server. It always pisses me off to no end that you can never play a game again once it gets shut down; it's like if my toaster was only good for five years, and once those five years were up, the company that makes it sent goons out to smash it to pieces.
Check out Ross Scott on youtube, under the channel name "Accursed Farms" if you want to know more.
Blegh…
Beyond that, not much to say for this chapter; beyond the fact that it's a little short, but it's an important chapter nonetheless.
Hope you guys enjoyed it.
Edge: Seconded. And now offering cake! We ran out of cookies ;(