Grand Empire Beyond the Mists

by RGQC

For as long as the new world could remember, there were Six Great Gods who saved the world from the tyranny of the Dragon Lords. But what if there were two more of those Gods who existed alongside the six? What if they still exist in the new world behind the mists of history? This is the story of Grand Cathay and the last two Great Dragons of ancient past. (One-shot) AU universe.

Hey! RGQC here and making something new for a change, mainly because I wish to spice things up a bit for my writing and stuff. So, just a heads-up. This will be just a one - shot but perhaps if it gains enough attention, I may work on a full series on it. After all, this would be an AU story for obvious reasons and in addition to that, this chapter will be full of lore stuff and the changes it will have.

With that, a do, let's get it started.

Like all my other stories, I do not own any Overlord or Warhammer content. They all belong to their respective owners. Only AU stuff in it is of my creation.
Be aware! There will be huge spoilers from the light novel about the setting!

Six hundred years ago, the beings that would become known as the Six Great Gods descended upon the new world and changed everything. Five humanoids and one undead. Or so it is told in tales, and history changed the world forever more. With the secrets of YGGDRASIL, spell casting and item making granted to the lower races, the golden age of the Dragon Lords came to an end, and with it, the beginning of a new age.

With the powers granted by the Gods, many lesser races soon overthrew their shackles and established their kingdoms and homes with new hope for a better future. But what was not told was that there were more than Six Great Gods. There were another two more Gods with them.

Two Dragonoids who names are Tharaxus and Althryssia were also there, wielding power beyond the world has ever seen, they joined the war against the Dragon Lords alongside the Six Gods, and they soon become part of what would be christened as the Eight Great Gods.

But just as the tale goes, upon the establishment of these kingdoms by the younger lesser races, the two Great Dragonoid Gods soon fell into squabble with the Six Great Gods. Their guilt over the slaying of what could be considered their kin, as well the loss of the native magic wielded by the Dragon Lords, among other factors, became too much to bear, and it looks as if to the rest of the world that a war of the heavens between the Gods was about to begin.

The Six Gods and their newly established Slane Theocracy are supported by many, while those who oppose them show their support for the Two Gods, who express their disapproval of the established doctrine of discrimination against non-humans and the supremacy of humanity. Though the tension of a potential war of the Heavens raging on was incredibly high with fighting in the streets occurring almost everywhere, a miracle happened.

In an attempt to ensure peace without dragging the world into war again, the Six Gods made an agreement, and the Two Dragonoid Gods who opposed them were allowed to leave to form their own kingdom alongside anyone who chose to follow them. Thus, many non-humans and a sizeable number of humans decided to follow their Gods east and away from what used to be their home to make a new and better one for themselves.

The journey was painful for them, many undeserved lives were lost despite the God's efforts to shelter their followers.

Traversing through uninhabitable mountains or wastelands was a struggle, with starvation around the corner and suffering constant harassment and raids in every way. Lands filled with Beastman as well as other Demi-human or other Heteromorphic species, constantly attack these outsiders who are trespassing their territories. But eventually, through pain and determination, they finally reach the promised land. A place far east and beyond the lands claimed by the savage Beastman and away from outsiders.

A place isolated from the rest of the new world to call home.

A place of new beginning.

And thus, with this very place to call home, the State of Cathay was established in homage to the God's original home before it fell to corruption and greed. With that, a new society began to take shape, with the Dragonoids Gods using whatever magic they wield to make their people thrive in their new home. While the population started out with only a million, that population soon grew over the years and the spreading of knowledge and culture offered by the Gods took hold of its people and they thrived.

Eventually, Tharaxus and Althryssia, just as they were married in their old world, married again in this new world before giving themselves new names to commemorate a new beginning. Tharaxus soon changed his name to Xen Yang (Divine Sun). While his dear wife changed her name to Quai Yin (Osmanthus Moon). Rather fitting, based on their love of their nation's once glorious history before it was consumed by megacorporations and their greed.

But not all was well, eventually Cathay's Beastman and Minotaur neighbours from the west soon caught whiff of their new neighbours and the raiding soon began on many newly established villages. Lives were lost and the need for militarisation of villages became important. To fend off any attacks, everyone must be trained to fight, and both men and women are expected to play a role in the defence of their new home.

While some protested against such a rash law, none of them were willing to object to the will of the Gods who shepherded them to a new home.

But that wasn't all Xen Yang and Quai Yin did.

As the years went by and the State of Cathay continued to improve, relations between them and the Slane Theocracy were restored through the message spell between the Gods. However, relations between the Gods and their respective established homes continued to be lukewarm at best due to the sheer distance between the two kingdoms. And the Dragonoid couple, after finding suitable magistrates to run the new state in their absence, depart to explore the world and, most importantly, seek out the Dragon lords that still cling onto certain territories of the world.

Not to fight.

But to reconcile and find a way to understand their magic and how it can be improved upon and, hopefully, keep it from fading out. While the years passed, they have not seen much breakthrough through the understanding of wild magic after finally achieving some agreement with the strongest of Dragon Lords, which was difficult to achieve since the couple did play a part in overthrowing their rule.

But eventually, a breakthrough was unveiled.

A new spell was created, not bound to the tier system YGGDRASIL uses, but instead uses wild magic and her own creativity instead. [Shapeshifting] as Quai Yin calls it. Despite the possession of an ability for Xen Yang and Quai Yin to use their much powerful draconic forms, [Shapeshifting] goes beyond that. With it, both Dragonoids can go beyond what YGGDRASIL allows in the game and grants them the ability to shapeshift into literal dragons.

Since back in the game, they would need the World Item of the Seeds of the World Tree to even transform into a different race. But with this new spell created from Wild Magic? That World Item doesn't become much of a requirement now and Xen Yang and Quai Yin weren't going to just make themselves look like the Dragon Lords, they were going to take another inspiration from their home culture and give themselves dragon bodies which are long serpentine-bodies and the ability to fly despite not having any wings.

Thus, the first Cathayan Dragons were born.

Despite the tension between the dragonoid couple and the Dragon Lords, witnessing these outsiders who were once enemies and now creating new wild magics that even the tier magic system cannot achieve sparked interest in a handful of them, and they wished to follow in their footsteps.

And as thanks for their hospitality despite the initial hostilities, Quai Yin did her best to teach the Dragon lords on how to use [Shapeshift] and grant themselves humanoid bodies. Even though some showed reluctance or outright disgust on being taught on how to use [Shapeshift] to turn into inferior forms. The newly created Cathayan Dragons justify it that such 'inferior' forms would allow them to interact with the world in disguise without drawing unwanted attention from the world.

Which made some reluctantly admit how useful this spell will be eventually.

With that, the Cathayan Dragons depart with some of the Dragon lords following them, but before they do that, they leave behind some Message scrolls just in case either of them needs to interact with them in an emergency. And thus, with the [Gate] spell, they made their way home to Cathay, which has thrived under Magistrates and resumed their ruling.

After that, the next few decades pass fast. The state of Cathay continues to thrive under the watch of Xen Yang and Quai Yin, as well as a few Dragon Lords who also adopted the Cathayan Dragon looks but are subservient to their rule in their stay here. During this time, the first city ever built and the capital city of the State of Cathay, Wei-Jin soon housed over millions of people, all of which were made up of different races, and are seen equal under the Dragon's watch.

And to add further to that, in a grand ceremony that even included the other players and dignitaries from the Slane Theocracy and other younger race kingdoms, even the strongest of the Dragon Lords to witness such an occasion, the State of Cathay was no more. Now renamed, the Empire of Grand Cathay was proclaimed with Xen Yang adopting the title of Celestial Dragon Emperor, while Quai Yin soon earned the title of the Moon Empress.

With this proclamation, Grand Cathay will play its part in international politics between the other Kingdom and play its part alongside the Slane Theocracy in maintaining peace and prosperity. It was also during this process that the first daughter, Shiyama was born. A tremendous day for Grand Cathay as a whole.

But unfortunately, the sands of time never stop as the years pass by.

And soon, out of the Six Great Gods, five gained the curse of mortality upon entry into this world soon passed away from old age. Xen Yang and Quai Yin, being full on Dragons with a long lifespan at that point, were only there alongside Surshana, for their funeral. And comes end what would be the new Golden age after the defeat of the Dragon Lords.

But the story doesn't end here. Not by a long shot.

More time passes and more children of the Dragon Emperor and Moon Empress are born, Miao Ying, Yuan Bo, Li Dao, Yin-Yin and Shen-Zoo while the empire thrives under the Dragon's watch. It was also during this time that Xen Yang began working on a project to protect his people from constant Beastman and Minotaur raiding.

What would eventually become the Great bastion.

A massive, fortified wall that stretches for hundreds of kilometres surrounds the entire empire that would prevent anyone from harming Cathay ever again. Such projects, of course, would take centuries to complete. But being the great sorcerers they are, the Dragon Emperor alongside his Empress worked together to build the greatest wall the new world has ever seen.

Countless labourers also joined in and showed their willingness to build this great wall for their Dragon Emperor, and the construction of such a marvel was done with only three gates that would allow entry into the empire. The Snake Gate, Turtle Gate, and most importantly and fortified of them all, the Dragon Gate facing west. Each gate manned by hundreds of thousands of men, with the gates themselves large enough to be considered fortified cities by themselves.

While it seems to be considered overkill by everyone, the timing of the bastion's completion was a stroke of luck. For a full century had passed since the eight player's introduction into the new world, and the Eight Greed Kings appeared. More players showed up from YGGDRASIL to the surprise of Xen Yang and Quai Yin, who had long thought that they would be the only players left alongside Surshana to watch over this world they found themselves in.

And what happened soon after caught them off guard.

The world conquest began.

Wielding powers and armies from YGGDRASIL alongside their own guild, the eight players began their relentless rampage, slaughtering anyone or anything that dares stand in their way. And by the time Xen Yang and Quai Yin had finally received news and were about to act due to so many refugees suddenly flooding into their territory and bringing dark tidings of what happened, the most shocking news struck them.

The Slane Theocracy had fallen, and with them, Surshana too.

Who, according to word of mouth, defended humanity to the last but was overwhelmed since they all jumped on him as soon as they were aware of him. This caused significant alarm for everyone and knowing that it's only a matter of time before those players come knocking on their doors, Cathay begins preparing for the absolute worst.

And that day came that while Cathay was preparing itself for war, those players had successfully subjugated every single kingdom they could get their grasp on and even the savage Beastman and Minotaur's were crushed beneath their relentless power. And thus, the Empire of Grand Cathay stood alone between them and total world conquest.

With a sudden influx of Humans, Demi-humans and a small few heteromorphic species flooding into the lands of the Dragon Emperor for safety, Cathay has built up a sizeable military to challenge them. But that wasn't all, knowing that the situation was an existential crisis to them, Xen Yang began building an army of massive animated statues to support the main Cathayan army which bears the name of Terracotta Sentinels.

These giant constructs made to resemble the ancient warriors of the dynasties of the past, they tower over any mortal being in the world, with a single one able to crush through hundreds of men without breaking a sweat in addition to moving with such inhuman agility compared to their golem counterparts.

But that wasn't all that was done, Xen Yang also crafted a special Terracotta Sentinel that possesses a soul within it, given by a great archer of the time willing to make a sacrifice of their soul to live eternally inside that sentinel. So he may watch over the lands of Cathay and protect its people from any who dares to threaten it.

And thus, that Sentinel bears the name of Saytang the Watcher was created. Wielding a massive bow known to the masses as the Wind Bow and crafted by the Dragon Emperor himself, it fires pure gigantic magic infused arrows at its foes with a special blessing granted by the Moon Empress, with its damage scaling with its target's health. Thus, its overall damage becomes deadlier as the target sustains more and more damage.

The perfect weapon against any player.

With Saytang's imposing sight, and already larger than the conventional Sentinel with its outstretched wings and great stone feathered helm, but it's not just the Emperor and Empress preparing for the shadows of war, their children too joined in the preparation in their own jobs assigned by their parents based on their skills while the Dragon Lords who were by their side took their leave to warn their compatriots of the coming crisis.

Shiyama spends most of her time and skills on the art of death magic, in addition to instant death spells, plus learning all the countermeasure spells for them. Miao Ying plays her part as the defence strategist and works on fortifying and improving the defence of the Great Bastion. Zhao Ming brings his love and mastery of alchemy into bear with sorcerers under his wing, creating all sorts of potions for the war and even (re)discovering gunpowder, which was put into great effort by the Empire in rocket artillery and cannons.

Yuan Bo, possessing a talent for administrative and the art of bureaucracy, is placed in charge of managing the internal logistics of the empire to ensure that it can run during the battle and prepare for contingencies should the Great Bastion be breached and the intervals of Cathay be threatened. Li Dao, wielding such skills with his halberd, unlike his sibling's preference for magic in combat, was placed as Martial General of the Cathayan army, rallying the warriors of the empire and training them for the war that will decide the fate of the empire, though this at times had put him in conflict between him and his sister Miao Ying over battle doctrines.

Nevertheless, in such concerning times, the siblings will work with each other for the sake of their home.

Yin-Yin, with her belief that the skies will win the shadows of war, placed most of her efforts in the creation of flying machines. Though successfully creating the prototype of what could be considered flying ships with balloons, they were nowhere as effective as she had hoped, with many of her siblings seeing her projects as a waste of manpower and resources for the war effort.

Thus, while still putting in efforts to improve upon the designs behind the curtains to avoid unwanted criticism of her works, Yin-Yin played a role in assisting her siblings in their plans. As much as she occasionally resents how they are getting much more favorable results they're getting compared to hers. And lastly, Shen-Zoo. Unlike her siblings, Shen-Zoo is not a fighter in the traditional sense but is seen as the hope giver of her people, with her regular interactions with the subjects of Cathay same with Zhao Ming who regularly interacts and drinks with them.

Though that earns her and her brother raised eyebrows from the rest of her siblings who see such interactions as strange since, as Cathayan Dragons, they are effectively immortal while everyone else would eventually wither and die. That and the Cathayan Empire is effectively run by dragons, with everyone else below them. So why should they be concerned with the masses when Cathay's survival against the storm is all that matters right now?

With that, the eight players soon learned of the existence of Grand Cathay after conquering much of the world and marched their armies east towards the last light against total domination.

But the people of Cathay, alongside their emperor and empress, refused to yield without a fight.

Thus, the battle for the fate of the era began.

Soon, what will be known as the War in Heaven will take place, with the eight players leading their established kingdoms and armies against the Empire of Grand Cathay and this war will burn the world for two whole decades. Millions of military and civilian lives were lost in the conflict on both sides, high tier spells and super tier spells were brought into the fight, which just resulted in even more casualties piling up. Even World Items which the players and Grand Cathay possess were used in the fight, and that only increased the madness of this war, burning and shaping the lands with scars that will last forever.

Again and again, the eight players who will soon bear the name of the Eight Greed Kings threw their armies and whatever they can bring to bear against the Great Bastion, but were repelled time after time until they managed to land a blow that shocks Cathay as a whole.

In what began as a skirmish, it soon spiralled out of control for the Cathayans and in a coordinated strike by the Eight Greed Kings, Shiyama and her army were cut off from the rest of her family and were hunted down to the last. The eldest daughter of the Dragon emperor, even at her full power and in her dragon form, was overwhelmed and tragically killed.

And her death was like a rock thrown into the sea that rapidly morphs into a tremendous tsunami. Instantly, as soon as news broke out to the rest of the world that Shiyama was slain in battle, morale plummeted across the Cathayan armies. Her family, now plunged into grief over her death, barely had enough time to act before another disaster struck them. In an ongoing siege that lasted for years on end, Dragon's Gate was breached, and the Eight Kings plunged their daggers deep into the heart of Cathay.

It was that moment that despite all their strength, everyone believed that this was it.

That it was the end, with armies of the Eight Greed Kings rampaging the untouched lands and villages of Cathay and even putting sieges over all five province capitals of the Cathayan Empire ruled over by the children of the Dragon Emperor and Empress. The only good thing is that logistics is beginning to take its toll on the Eight Greed King's armies, and the Imperial Province ruled directly by the Dragon Emperor and Empress still remains untouched by war, though its armies spread thin trying to support everyone from collapsing.

Because of this, the children of the Dragon Emperor now found themselves cut off from one another with only the spell [Message] as the last few options of communication, desperation over the crisis and grief over the loss of their elder sister breeds resentment with each of them accusing the others of this disaster. Even though their parents as well as Shen-Zoo tried their best to get everyone back on the same page and form a united front, especially when such fragmentation would only spell the end of Cathay.

However, that did not stop them from bickering with each other at times of crisis.

But soon, fate turns against the Eight Greed Kings, in a stroke of desperation and perhaps luck, Xen Yang and Quai Yin were able to cast a spell that uses a combination of both YGGDRASIL's tier magic and Wild Magic which took days to channel into effect. Instantly upon its completion, the entire territory controlled by Grand Cathay was suddenly shrouded in fire and shadows.

Entire armies under the Eight Greed Kings were suddenly bombarded and burned alive by the comets of the Dragon Emperor, while ghostly shadows claws suddenly erupted from the ground and bound or attacked them in place by the will of the Dragon Empress for days at a time. In addition to that, the chaos induced by the Emperor and Empress's wrath stirred the people's hearts and with their dragon masters, a counteroffensive was struck now while the iron was hot.
The coming months after that day were met with both victory and great grief for Grand Cathay, the resulting spell cast by their Emperor and Empress to save their empire had rendered them both comatose due to the nature of Wild Magic affecting their souls. But the damage done was immense and moral for the Eight Greed King's armies shattered for good. With Cathayan spies reporting of uprisings back in their territories, they were forced to retreat out of Cathay and back to their territories.

Hopefully, never to show their faces here forever.

Truth to that hope and In an ironic sense, the very same infighting that was starting to plague the higher ups of Cathay now affected the Eight Greed Kings themselves, as they and their kingdoms began fighting among themselves over their failed invasion into the heartland of their last victim. In addition, local leaders, seeking to take advantage of their weakness to achieve independence, chose now was the best time to rise.

However, it wasn't all good news for the Cathayans. While the dragon siblings and their armies successfully expel the remnants of the invaders from their lands and even retake the Dragon Gate, internal divisions and grievances against one another spiral out with what to do next.

Miao Ying insists on securing the gates and rebuilding them better than they were before to prevent another breach from happening again. However, Li Dao, filled with fury over the loss of his older sister and the incapacitation of his parents, wishes to bring the armies out of Cathay out to wipe out the eight players while they are weakened and distracted. But, that got Yuan Bo to point out that Cathay is not even ready to march out and accused Yin-Yin over the waste of resources on her pet project.
That only got Yin-Yin to retort back and accuse Zhao Ming over the fact that her works were bearing fruit and how his 'guns' were only good at killing the army but were useless against the players they were fighting. And lastly, Zhao Ming accuses Miao Ying over her haughtiness and arrogance in believing that the Great Bastion cannot be breached against several failed sieges, and that complacency caused their empire great pain.
In the end, nothing was done, with the children of the Dragon Emperor too busy arguing against one another to come up with a new plan, all instead decided to focus on rebuilding their nation.

Though this will be the last time, they will come together willingly.

And so, this event will be recorded down in history as the tipping point on what would eventually be called the end of the War in Heaven and the beginning of the Era of Disharmony for Grand Cathay.

For the next few decades, Grand Cathay slowly rebuilt itself back from the ground, though the scars remain and the empire remained internally fractured among the Dragon siblings ruling independently of themselves. But the Empire still lives on while the Dragon Emperor and Empress lie asleep in their palace. Though such disharmony would only grow wider despite Shen-Zoo's attempt to keep both her family and their empire together.

To no avail.

One minor argument became another, and soon, civil war engulfs Cathay. Brothers and sisters turn on one another, while the Dragon siblings now fight each over the fate of their empire with different beliefs along with treating their subjects as cannon fodder, except for Zhao Ming who isn't as willing to throw his subjects into the meat grinder as his family members were.

Though, despite the children of the Dragon Emperor and Empress having their knives at each other's throats, at times literally. All of them promised to leave the Imperial Province and the capital city of their empire untouched from the civil war.

And thus, while Cathay fell into isolationism due to its ongoing civil war from within, its empire slowly became nothing but legend to the rest of the world as it moved on through time. A great empire that wields weapons beyond the imagination, and ruled by immortal dragons who are god-like sorcerers in their powers and magic. An empire from long ago that stood up against the Eight Greed Kings and won, only to vanish from the world.

But that didn't stop explorers from heading east to find this empire, only to never make it because of the harsh terrain and hostile locals were in the way to even reach it.

For the next century and a half, Cathay remains divided from within between the Dragon children fighting each other while occasionally going into short cease fires only to resume fighting years later. Though that wasn't the only thing happening. During that period of time, the people of Cathay began treating their dragon masters with reverence. After all, such powerful and wise beings deserve to be worshipped and anyone who speaks disrespectfully of them should be met with death.

Shouldn't they?
In addition to that, Dragon-blooded Shugengans began appearing among the Cathayan populations as ruling citizens underneath the Dragons because they were descendants of love affairs between some of the Dragon Royalty and their consorts, most prominently Zhao Ming due to his close contact with his people. While they retain the appearances of their genitors, Shugengans are known to possess more magical talent within them thanks to the Dragon blood flowing in their veins and thus, they can cast up to tier 7 magic should they train hard enough.

Alternatively, they may lack the magical talent but are much more physically fit and thus will often become military leaders underneath Li Dao.

To the outsiders, should they meet these Dragon-blooded Shugengans, they would have been called God-kin. Which isn't far from the truth.

And, like with everything, the divide endured for a century and a half alongside the Era of Disharmony, but eventually came to an end when a miracle happened. The Dragon Emperor and Empress reawakens from their slumber! Shen-Zoo, the only Dragon princess to remain in the Imperial province to watch over its people and her parents, was one of the first to be alerted to their sudden reawakening.

What followed swiftly was the reunification of Grand Cathay once again under the Dragon Emperor and Empress rule without bloodshed. With all of their children submitting immediately upon hearing of their parents reawakening. But the damage and time passing without their presence had forever changed Cathay. Their children, once united and happy with one another, now bicker over policies, ideas, past grievances, and make family gatherings now incredibly unpleasant for everyone despite their best attempts to fix the fractures in their family.

The only positive thing is that, with their return, all fighting in Grand Cathay has come to an end and the empire can now properly rebuild itself after almost two centuries of ceaseless civil war. Of course, there is much to catch up, like where did those Shugengans come from? And when did everyone start seeing them as gods?

In other news, Xen Yang and Quai Yin also made the quick discovery that Cathay's isolationism had made them unaware of the world that had moved on without them and while they originally intended to have embassies to seek out kingdoms beyond the Great Bastion, it was eventually decided that Grand Cathay should use its mysticism and legend to their advantage.
Thus, with a bit of Wild shadow magic of her creation, Quai Yin created the perfect constructs similar to her husband to serve as her eyes and ears. Barely half the height of a normal man, these constructs look neither entirely raven nor Human and are made of pure black stone. They are invisible to the naked eye, and only those with high-tier spells to see through invisibly will see them.

Thus, the perfect spies for her until she can send some actual spies to the world to infiltrate and watch.

Calling them Onyx Crow man due to their looks, thousands were crafted quickly and sent out beyond the Great Bastion with a single purpose, learn as much as they can of the world, and bring its knowledge back to Cathay. But as the first crow man back with news, followed by many more in the coming weeks, with actual spies blending into the societies of the various young kingdoms eventually, it was revealed that the Slane Theocracy had rebuilt themselves from the aftermath of the Eight Greed Kings.

Furthermore, those players were no more, destroyed by their greed at the hands of their 'subjects'. A fitting punishment to see their greed devour them whole.

And thus, the next few centuries pass with Grand Cathay laying behind the mists of legends.
Seeing the world and its inhabitants from the shadows of the night and within their walls. Watching as more players come in from YGGDRASIL every century to leave their mark on the world and fade away. Witnessing as the Thirteen Heroes formed to fight the Evil Deities before dissolving. Observing the birth of the Re-Estize Kingdom, the Baharuth Empire, the Dragon Kingdom, and the Roble Holy Kingdom after the fall of the Evil Deities.

Grand Cathay has seen it all with no intention to intervene on such lesser matter, only if another player comes into the world with the intention to bring nothing but pain and destruction to the world, or dare say, world conquest.
Then they will reveal themselves to the world once again and return to the playing field.

The dragon slumbers for now.

But how long can it sleep before someone reawakens it?

Deep in the floating palace complex over the grand sacred city of Wei-Jin, the Dragon Emperor sits alone with his Empress by his side and children for a family meal. An event he organizes countless times monthly and insists they all come to keep track of their progress in their respective provinces and slowly heal the wounds of the past.

He hoped, at least.

Unlike the first time he had made such an event which every one of them except for Shen-Zoo were throwing fists at one another literally, it is now replaced by an uncomfortable atmosphere instead with them glaring at each other and somewhat polite to one another in front of them, or instead trying to earn both his and their mother's favour over the others.

Which makes it a pain to manage and ensure that parental favouritism doesn't become a problem.

In the midst of this awkward lunch session, the fluttering of feathers caught the attention of everyone in the room before a single Onyx crow man flew into the room before landing and waddling towards Quai Yin with a scroll in hand. It caws with urgency, while the Dragon siblings all watch as their mother gingerly takes the scroll off its hand and opens it. But what stunned them was the sudden widening of her eyes, as did Xen Yang when he took a quick glance at the scroll. As if what they read shocks them.

"Is something wrong, mother?" Miao Ying was the first to speak, while the rest of her siblings glanced at her, almost annoyed that she spoke first.

"Yes… my dear daughter…" Quai Yin utters as she passes the scroll to her dear husband to read the contents while closing her eyes. "It appears a discrepancy in the map in the lands of the humans was detected not too long ago. It was different from the report yesterday." Her comment only made Yuan Bo frown before speaking.

"In what way, mother?" He asks only Xen Yang to close the scroll and rest it on the table while earning everyone's attention.

"Another familiar place owned by players from YGGDRASIL has arrived into this world…"

"Player? Here?" Is it that time of a year already for another to show up, father?" Zhao Ming ponders while brushing his messy beard before drinking some wine. Before Miao Ying frowns at the news.

"It is to be expected. But my main concern is whether this new change poses a threat to Cathay. Or if this 'place' appears with or without any of its occupants." The storm Dragon ponders audibly. Only for Li Dao to scoff.

"Tch! Where is that blasted place located at? We might as well destroy it before whoever comes with it shows themselves."

"And miss our chance to claim wherever secrets that lie within it that could be put to use, as we missed with Eryuentiu? Not a chance!" Yin-Yin counters before she and her brother glare at one another before Shen-Zoo steps in.

"That's enough both of you! I understand why you think that way, but please be patient, and I'm sure mother and father will tell you what they know and what stuns them!" She begged before Xen Yang spoke again.

"Thank you, Shen-Zoo. But as I was about to say, that new structure is located in the Re-Estize Kingdom and close to the borders of the Baharuth Empire." The Dragon Emperor explains as his wife conjures a map onto the table as he points exactly where this new guild is located at.

"Right between two Kingdoms? It is impossible we can do something about it without alerting the world to our existence." Yuan Bo comments while the siblings glance suspiciously. "But what bothers you so much, if we may ask."
"Because based on the description of how that structure looks, we know who owns it." Quai Yin mutters while bearing a look as if she's reliving an old memory.

"Because that belongs to only one guild we know, and it bears the name of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. The only place known to be an unconquerable dungeon throughout all of YGGDRASIL." Xen Yang says before his glowing golden eyes met all his children.

"That guild is called Ainz Ooal Gown."

And there's that!

Frankly, I don't really have many plans besides making this story a one - shot, since I lack the brain capacity to make something more from it at the moment. It will definitely be an AU universe due to so many factors.

So perhaps down the line, I may make this story no longer a one shot.
So who knows?
But still, I at least hope you all enjoy reading this one shot of an idea that's been in my head for some time now and hopefully inspire more writers to get creative since last I checked, most stories will follow Nazarick's path. But what about another player who exists in the world before Ainz and his NPCs appear in the new world?

Just food for thought, I suppose.

Anyway, do let me know in the reviews what you think of this story because if this earns enough favourites and follows, I may decide to expand on the story and explore how Nazarick and Grand Cathay will deal with each other. Perhaps a Cold War like scenario would happen, should Cathay reveal itself to the world?

With that, I'll take my leave.

RGQC out!