Chapter 18: Shutdown Breakdown
[Unknown Desert]
Narrators POV
Such bitter tragedy has befallen our Hero and Heroine.
One stuck in a harsh dystopian reality, the other...
Well... Let's just say he is 'lost'.
Sera's face is still stuck in our Hero's mind.
If only she stayed for just a few seconds more...
Just...
"WHYYYYYY?!" his voice echoed for miles away. Unknown to whomever heard.
He did not notice that the scenery had changed.
Instead of the [Cathedral], he is now in some desert in the middle of the night.
Alone...
Not that it matters right now.
*Boom!*
He punched the ground and scattered the sand around him.
*Boom!*
Creating a large crater with him at its center.
*Boom!*
Forming large dunes of sand that could immure him beneath the ground.
*Boom!*
He punched till he dug himself into a hole.
*Boom!*
It was small... dark... suffocating...
*Boom!*
He did not care about the damage he was doing.
*Boom!*
He cared not if the sand that was above him was starting to bury him alive.
*Boom!*
He only cared to release his frustrations.
*Boom!*
To exhaust himself of his pitiful plight.
*Boom!*
"I was this close... SO FUCKING CLOSE!"
*BOOM!!!*
"She should have been here... She should have been WITH ME!"
*BOOM!* *BOOM!!* *BOOM!!!*
"WHYYYY?!! Why?! Why?! why?!..."
He punched and punched the ground below.
Uncaring for the damage the tremors he has caused.
*Sniffle* His tears are continuously rushing down his face as if in a race.
"... Why?"
*Sobs* Sobbing with such great heartache.
"AARGHHHHH!!!" Screaming in immense despair.
"..."
Then there was silence.
Our Hero couldn't take the pain.
He was desperate for her.
Longing for her.
He was this close to having her.
But fate... Fate was a cruel mistress indeed.
What will he do now?
How will our dear Hero fare?
------
Ainz's POV
"..."
I was so close yet so far.
So... Fucking... Far.
I just stared at the rubbles of the earth in front of me.
Sand is trickling down upon me
As if I'm trapped inside an hourglass.
Here I am, curled up in the middle of a hole, waiting to be buried in the sand.
"How come I can see clearly? How deep am I right now?... Who cares."
I continued to mope and think of Sera.
"She was too impatient... How could she leave me mere seconds before shutdown?"
"Was she so desperate to pee? Is that why she left? Maybe it was a number 2? Yeah! That must be it! Hahaha! Hahaha... ha..."
*Sigh*
She could have at least just stayed till the end.
"Well... There goes our honeymoon"
I had so many plans... SO MANY!
Now I couldn't even do it anymore without her.
I was supposed to be her Knight-In-Shining-Armor... Her Husband!
Now... What am I?
A divorcee? A widower?
I was thinking and mumbling to myself with many things at once just to distract myself from the pain.
"Grieve? She's not even dead, yet I already killed her. What the fuck!"
*Slap* *Slap* *Slap*
I slapped myself 3 times as a wake-up call.
"Now is not the right time to be a sad emo boy!"
"She wouldn't like me turning into a horrific mess..."
"I have to assess where in the New World am I"
With newfound determination, I tried to recall what had happened to me so far.
"I was supposed to be in the [Cathedral] but now I'm not"
"I'm in a desert that's one down but how many deserts are there in the New World?"
"Am I in the Wastelands? The Dolar Desert perhaps? The one south of the Slane Theocracy?"
So far that's the only thing that came to mind as I tried to recall what I knew from my previous life as a human.
Somehow, I can recall the details of my memories quite clearly.
"The perks of my INT and WIS stat perhaps?.."
I don't know.
Only one way to find out!
I unleashed my hidden wings and out came 12 golden ethereal wings, contrasting my dark wedding garb.
It seems to be unobstructed by the narrowness of the hole that I'm moping in.
It actually passes through them
"Woah! Cool~"
I then willed myself to fly, and then once I levitated a few meters off, I rushed straight towards the surface.
*WOOSH!*
It was an incredible experience and feeling.
I finally escaped the hole being filled with sand.
Only then was I able to see the damage I'd done.
A huge crater was left in my outburst, bare of sand.
"Woah... I did that? Sheesh~ I guess these hands do pack a punch!"
I said out loud as I touched my right shoulder and shoulder-rolled it for the job well done.
"Well... What now?"
All I see is sand.. sand.. sand... CACTUS! sand...
It's a desert alright.
Let me check the map real quick.
"Hmmmm... Yeah, I've got nothing"
It seems that I have to actually see my surroundings first or maybe even be there for the map to work.
Because right now, all it shows is me - a blue dot - surrounded by desert in a circular radius.
No other life or unlife detected. This desert is barren as it can be.
No enemies, no friendlies, no nothing!
"Maybe if I could fly to outer space...Would that work?"
I willed myself to fly further up to see most of the landscape surrounding me.
Only to find out I can't go beyond a certain height.
"What the...?"
No matter how hard I tried I couldn't seem to fly further.
I tried flapping my wings some more but it didn't work.
"Ehh? I thought Angels help rule the heavens but what is this?"
It seems that this is my limit. The current height I can fly so far is up until the stratosphere.
"So in a sense, this should be heaven then?"
I'm literally above the clouds.
"But... This is bullshit! I have wings but I can't somehow 'fly' beyond the stratosphere? Heck, the satellites can reach even higher than me!"
What is this supposed to mean?
Is it because my skills and abilities are from a game that's why game logic still applies to me?
The same way where there's an invisible barrier that won't allow players to go beyond it cause of the limit of the game? or is it because this is the limit of an Angel's flight? Like how certain birds can't go beyond a certain height since that's the limit of their physiology?
"Well that surely busted my dreams of 'Planetary Travel'"
After I mused with my new discovery, I then admired the world I saw before me.
"It is beautiful..."
It was indeed overwhelmingly beautiful.
I haven't experienced sky diving or been to space ship but flying this far up made me witness a new core memory.
Vast land stretched so far away.
The desert margin is by far large, it is in the center of a great landmass.
The desert is surrounded by a vast grassland at its edges while obstructed by high mountain ranges in between.
The other side of the mountain is a very dense forest with a large river with numerous branches at its center.
Beyond the forests and rivers are the beaches and the dark vast sea.
There are little islands surrounding the large island continent.
For a while, there was only silence as I continued to admire the view.
The moonlight continued to shine behind me, casting a large shadow on the clouds beneath me.
The scenery complimented my dark suit all so well that it almost made me shine like a chandelier in the middle of the night sky.
"I wish you were here, Sera... You would have loved it"
"...."
"Wait a minute... That's right! A WISH!"
I immediately opened my Inventory to check my items stored.
It was a good thing I still have my Game Screen, makes it easier for me to check what I have.
Unlike our OG Daddy Bones who has to access his items only through memory or through his access to the Guild System. I can do so because of my 'NPC System', at least that's what I call it.
"Please please please where is it? Where is it!...."
I scoured my whole inventory to look for Sera's gift for my 3rd Creationday as if it was my birthday.
It was a ring.
"Aha! Found you!"
Shown on the screen is a ring, plain as it may look but it holds great power.
I took it out of my inventory and immediately equipped it on my finger.
It looks just like a simple ring that has no kinds of decorations whatsoever.
Engraved upon it are three shooting stars that emit a silver light.
I admired the ring for a while and with extreme determination...
"I wish...."
-----
Hello! You guys have to stay hanging for a while cause I'm currently on a ship that is bound for another Island~ It has no coverage so I took it upon myself to update early.
In the previous chapter, it really did get intense! Phew ~ Good thing I survived (≧▽≦)
You guys really love Sera huh? She loves you too! ( ˘ ³˘)♥
Anyways, this chapter is pioneering the 2nd Volume of this Fanfic!
Thank you so much for the immense support and love! Without you all, we wouldn't reach the 2nd volume cause I wouldn't upload this often (~￣³￣)~
What are your thoughts on today's chapter? Let me know in the comments.
Any suggestions? Violent reactions? Comment and Review them for I welcome them all~
And of course, I am grateful to you all who are continuously investing Power Stones in my work! I truly appreciate you all!
(◍•ᴗ•◍)❤
Avacus_XD
kainebartz16
hisanobu
hunterhunter
Clod443
idk_what123
Dreamy_C
Caeruleum21_
Dudo_Max
anthony_sainz
blue_king
Shota_Prince
WABALABADUBDUB
Daoist2MagJ2
Zek221
Ulamog_Dragneel
Korkyros
kvf
alfattah_irawan
Steven_CAS
Crimson_Comet
JoZ555
youcef
TudoNossoNadaDeles
Lakerus43
Psywarrior
Shadow_fox001
Daoist16laAP
ClockwiseHunter
WolfinsteinLives
Grayard_08
Cap_Gidra
mrsarcastic
CYPHERSHOT2002
Agora1
Wizardz
aMz
reeeeeeeeeeee2345
Gerado_Cortez_3947
Nathan_Just
Basrodeq12
Order_66
Alesand
LukeTheMan
lex_rei
DaoistJ3G2Ya
Koteiko
WEIRD_Stuff
mstanky
Romel_Rivera_3883
GuyTB
GodOfDegenerates
Darknessblood
LordOfSandDunes
Nobody_Nowhere
BARTOLOMEU374
Infinite_Shadow_57
Deathcount2748
Dark_Soulsbestgame
Alex_Pendragon666
Colin_Apple
Romance_guy
JoZ5555
Vision_of_mind
Ismail_akif_Beyhan
The_Mutated_Nut
NiNteNdo
Lobvillio
Brian_Mtz_licea
Thingwithheightlegs
Nelom
_2MUCH4ME_
BrilliantStar
Riku_66
White_Phantom_375
MateusPormann
LuciferEveningstar
Log671
Enlightenment12
KingLettuce
GaryDaSnail
DaoistBe4bOv
Tommorow
Grady_Davis
OnyxRexDragon
MetratonXII
AlexanderX
PABELO
nachodrago888_8
milicek250
DaoistJWelwu
Ibrahim_NiR
Subash_kumar_M
Tejon
Cuslto
Hope you liked it!
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Reyviel_Faesly
Reyviel_Faesly Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone