Chương 19: Chapter 19 - Lost Wishes
{A/N: Hello guys! Already warning you for this start of volume.
In the moment I'm writting this, it's my last weekday before starting a new semester of studies, so most of the chapters y'all see here, were drafts made before March 2024.
Giving this warning just so, no one be surprise if there is some strange delay! I'll still try to write more, I just wont have the same level of focus.
Either way, I hope you, my readers, can have some happiness/sadness, any type of emotion, while reading it!}
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Darkness... Emptiness... Solitude...
A harmonized cacophony...
The non-existence of a destiny..
That was the way to describe that scenario...
There was nothing, it couldn't see anything, but it could still have feelings...
A whole pain was building, holding tight to a head, or something that looked like one... it wasn't important... nothing there was important... just the sadness... the tears...
Tears so fake and yet so real, that not even their creator could understand them. They were honest and dishonest...
A pure illusion hidden in lies and more lies so well told that they became realities even for the most skeptical beings.
It was not known how much time had passed, how much pain had been felt, how much anger was exuded by an imaginary, non-existent breath. But if it knew one thing, something would appear, something must appear. It was not possible for nothingness and emptiness to really be uninhabited, the being that felt things was there, the being was the very antithesis of there being something in nothingness.
And as if it were desired. Something really appeared, something visible...
It was a golden, floating, almost holographic screen, with a message written in some strange language... no... there were several languages... the words kept changing their writing, making it virtually impossible to decipher what was there...
But the being knew very well what it was...
As it got closer, its body finally took on a visible shape, being a pale body, without any features, something similar to a mannequin...
It would approach and hit that golden screen with its hands forming a fist. Again... Again... and again...
It was as if it was angry with that specific item...
The punches began to be more violent, dark blood ran between its fingers, until that being seemed to get tired and fall to its knees on the ground, shaking its head incessantly. And during that movement, the jaw tried to open, creating a mouth by force with the skin tearing slowly and grotesquely, the voice now existed, being completely incomprehensible and only showing pain, hatred and anger. The same happened with the eyes, the skin was torn forming the opening for them, with blood flowing from them, revealing a completely dark sclera and red irises.
It started banging the head against that golden holographic screen... until a golden light came out...
A flash filled the darkness, turning the void into pure white...
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The torso got up from the bed quickly, breathing heavily and without much control. That person was Suzuki Satoru, a simple working man who had just woken up, and apparently had some intense nightmare, as his body was sweating a lot, even though the room was cold.
"Argh... That again..." He grumbled, getting up from the bed and going to pack his things for another day of work.
His room was very simple, just a bed and a closet, in which he always left his clothes ready, he never wanted to take long to do his chores, in fact, he always wanted to do everything as soon as possible, so that his free time could be accumulated in one part of the day, rather than divided over 24 hours. He picked a set of clothes and left his room, with the door making a characteristic creak.
Outside the bedroom, there was a hallway that led to 3 doors and the living room. He went towards one of the doors, revealing it to be the bathroom, after getting ready, he left and walked down the hall to the living room. The motion sensor activated, making the white light on the ceiling and the air purifier turn on, comparing all the necessary items in the house, that purifier was the most eye-catching thing, perhaps because it was a gift and not something very old.
He didn't think much about it and went to the kitchen, taking a bottle of vitamins from an old refrigerator, filling a glass with it and putting it on the sink. Next to it, there was a series of jars, all with different pills, Suzuki took one of each and put it in his mouth, using the drink to swallow everything in one go. This was his breakfast.
"Argh... it tastes drier today... I better buy more..." He sighed, leaning against the sink counter and holding himself back from vomiting.
As a daily thing to do, after eating, he took out his cell phone to check the time, it was still 4:43 am. It might even be early for some, but he always woke up at these times, so his biological clock was still working perfectly. Looking at the calendar to see if there was anything special scheduled for the day, he ended up seeing something he didn't want to see, or in this case, he wanted to ignore for a little longer...
There it didn't show anything important for his work, but there was a note about today being the last day of the YGGDRASIL servers, the great DMMO-RPG that made him gain friends and have some kind of happiness in his boring, sad and cold life. And this description of life could also be seen throughout the house, the only feeling he had when seeing it was loneliness and sadness, at least it started to be like that after his mother had passed away, in 2136. Facing the sink, he remembered vividly, she was making his favorite breakfast for his birthday, but when she went to say good morning to him, she suddenly had a heart attack, falling in front of him. It didn't matter if it was a decade ago, it was still fresh in his head.
"I hate how this seems like a joke... That it's really a lie and doesn't really end..." He said to himself as he started to check if everything he needed was in his suitcase.
But why say that? Simple, today, the closing day of YGGDRASIL, was April 1st, 2147. It would be a magnificent marketing move if in fact the game was trying to make a big lie, and launch an update, or perhaps an YGGDRASIL 2, with a system of account transfer so that no one loses part of the progress they made in the original game.
This was clearly the most delusional thing to think about. The game was almost dead, compared to its golden age, the number of active players was decreasing at an alarming speed, and that's not counting the players who still spent money, being one of the few ways of earning that the Devs had. This was all thanks to the accident that occurred because of the game, several sponsors decided to step aside, with two of them even suing the group of Devs, who even though they were victorious, lost a lot by paying for lawyers.
And this accident? It was the reason for Suzuki's nightmare...
It didn't happen that often, but when that nightmare repeated itself, it was always in the same way, word for word, second for second. Even though he didn't see the situation in person, the description he got firsthand, the consequences he could witness, all of that made him traumatized by the scene created by his mind.
It was always a solitary chair in the middle of a room, rotating non-stop, and every time he saw what was on the chair, it changed. At one point it was a head, at another it was a set of eyes staring at him, and he could even see a woman with a rope hanging her, his friend...
Coming out of his somewhat morbid thoughts, he went to the front door, deactivating all 3 electronic locks to get out and reactivating them to make everything ok. He was walking to the garage to drive to his place of work.
Once there, things happened normally, as if it were just another day. Doing paperwork, tidying up and organizing the activities that the boss requested via email, having periods of certain irritation due to the incompetence of some colleagues and receiving the same treatment when he was unable to do things at a high speed. During his lunch period, he had gotten some instant food that only needed hot water, so he put it to heat in the small cafeteria on his work floor, which was limited to just the necessary items. Taking his cellphone, made a call.
"Hello? Who is it?" A voice responded that Suzuki hadn't heard for a few months.
"Yo, Pero, it's me."
"You... I already told you not to call me, and also, stop calling me that, my name is Kazuya..." he spoke, apparently already irritated when he realized who he was talking to.
"Well, this is your sister's number, if I'm not mistaken." That sentence was said calmly, but Kazuya felt like it was a slap right in the face. "And I don't like using your real name so much, you know that."
"Kay... what do you want to talk to my sister?"
"I was just going to ask her if she would be okay with me being there when I get home."
"Well, you'll have to tell her face to face then. You know very well what she's doing now." The young man's words showed his irritation and concern.
Kazuya's older sister, Haruka, has been going through some very difficult times over the past 5 years. Having made several suicide attempts during the first 4 months after her fiancé's death, until she was forced to fill herself with medicine and, with medical advice, spend more time doing the thing she liked most, so that the medicine could work more efficient. And that thing was YGGDRASIL. She started spending more time in the game, more than any member of the group, never leaving Nazarick, always walking around the 6th and 9th floors and nothing else, even refusing to go on missions if someone tried to invade the place.
Suzuki felt sorry for her, but he couldn't try to help her out of the game, as that would be hypocrisy. The initial reason for him to start playing that DMMO-RPG was because he didn't have any friends or family, being the only way to interact outside of work. But Haruka? She could literally work there doing some live streams, and even though her audience dropped over time due to her mental decline, she didn't care.
"Alright man... I understand... she must be playing, right?" Suzuki tried to speak calmly again.
"Must she 'be' playing? OF COURSE she is! If it weren't for the need to eat or sleep, I bet her VR-Set would glue to her skull, instead of spending 17 hours connected to it!" And apparently that only irritated Kazuya even more. "You know what? Don't call again, and if you do, pray for her being able to pick up, because I won't answer it at all!!"
Before Suzuki could say anything, the call had ended. That old friend of his, Peroroncino, had also changed in those years, initially it was just concern, but after so much of his sister's addiction, he started to hate YGGDRASIL, stopping appearing in the game, in addition to changing his username in most of the other games just to not remember that place. It was likely that he would even uninstall or forcefully remove his sister from contact with the game, but that would only cause worse problems, because even in a situation like that, both of their money is largely provided by the older sister.
Everyone reacts to grief differently, and that's a fact. With the consequences changing the person, or making them worse altogether.
After thinking a little and taking the instant food to the table. Suzuki returned to his duties while eating. One hour... two hours... time passed until it was 7:30 pm. Getting up, the employee went to the boss's office, knocking on the door to enter. The room was very simple, in the same way as the entire floor, if it weren't for being a separate room or because of the slightly higher rank, that man would be at the same level as Satoru.
"What do you want, Mr.Satoru? It's very rare for you to come here... why don't you come in?" Said the head of the department.
"It's something simple, just a question... I would like to know if I could be released sooner, since I finished all the paperwork that you told me had to be done in 10 days, plus I clocked in 1 hour earlier."
The boss stared at him for a while, thinking about the situation. Normally employees leave at 10:30 pm, but as today was Saturday, the departure time was around 8 pm. "You arrived an hour earlier than usual... you've already finished everything I had set as a date on the 12th... Okay, I'll allow you 30 minutes earlier... But remember, don't think you're gaining anything. If you had asked to leave at 7 pm, I would have refused right away. But... why do you want to leave early?"
"Thank you very much boss! And... ehn... it's because I'm going to meet some friends at a bar. It's close to the birthday of one of them, so we'll take advantage of the fact that it's the weekend..." said the employee, he wanted to go and play his last day of YGGDRASIL straight away, but it wasn't a lie that he was going to see his friends and that one of them will have a 'birthday party'.
"All good. Hurry up before I change my mind..."
That situation was excellent, given how grumpy his boss usually is on Saturdays. Catching the lucky break, he turned off the equipment in his cubicle, delivered the paperwork digitally and physically to a file cabinet, and left the building through the garage.
Driving through the streets, the lights that could illuminate the floating roads were quite strong, putting a large beam in his face, something that would blind him if this wasn't common for him. The number of cars began to gradually decrease as he got closer to his house, and when he finally arrived inside the garage of his building, it was already 8:20 pm, a time at which he would normally never arrive, no matter the day.
After deactivating and reactivating the three security locks on the door, Suzuki quickly grabbed another drink from the fridge and a set of pills, his dinner being identical to the breakfast. He walked directly to the last door in the corridor, revealing that it was his room prepared for the use of the virtual device.
"When I'm done, I'm going to take a shower... I don't want to waste any more time out here..." He said to himself, taking a slightly torn power cable, putting a lot of insulating tape on it to make it stick well.
When sitting on the chair in the middle of the room, he put on his VR-helmet and connected to the console, turning it on and the classic YGGDRASIL logo appeared. There was a message in the right corner, next to the login area, saying the time the servers would close, it would be midnight. He had less than 4 real hours to enjoy everything he loved, but luckily, that translated into much more within the game...
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{2147,1st april, Saturday - 14 game hours to YGGDRASIL's End}
"So guys, is everyone here?"
"Of those who at least confirmed that would come, the only one missing is Momon- Oh wait... it appeared here that he is online now."
Touch_Me and Ulbert Alain Odle were talking quietly in one of the areas on the 2nd floor, they seemed to be enjoying their time there. When they saw Momonga's notification, they decided to teleport to wherever he could be at the moment. Using [Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown] to reach the 6th Floor, more specifically, the flower field.
There was Yamaiko and Ankoro Mocchi Mochi, the two were talking calmly on chairs that resembled those that could be seen in the gardens of Victorian queens, in front of them, there was a table full of cakes and cookies, but there was also a third chair, empty at the time. The two players approached them, waving.
"So, Momonga showed up here?" Ulbert said.
"Knowing him, maybe he's taking a leisurely stroll to breathe a little and get a feel for the place... But he'll probably show up." Ankoro was the one who responded and then she looked a little away. "I feel really sorry for her..."
"I agree... how will she be after the game?" The healer asked with a hint of sadness in her words, looking in the same direction.
When Ulbert and Touch_Me looked towards that direction, they observed the Pink Slime playing with her NPCs near a certain golden statue. They clearly weren't moving correctly, after all, they were NPCs, they just made commands and things programmed as possibilities by the Devs, but even so, she was there, playing with them, seeming to talk to them, stroking their hair. And not only that, there were also two other NPCs next to her, a draconic one, and a classic ghost. The blonde ghost was also having interactions with the player, while the draconic one was standing there, like a maid, perhaps due to the uniform that made her look like one...
That... was sad... Depressing... Something that everyone could feel the suffering of, even though they didn't fully know the real pain of it.
Bukubukuchagama was there, treating her and her lost fiancé's NPCs like children, like friends, like living beings. No matter how sometimes their movements were stiff and obviously dead and cold, she still seemed madly attentive to them, as if she were truly a mother with her offspring.
Her situation is not easy, it never has been since the first second. Not only was she having to deal with a huge grief, but such ways of dealing ended up leading her to the possibility of suicide, something that shocked everyone. But the worst was the sin that happened, not on her part, but on the part of those who were supposed to be her future parents-in-law.
After Keiko Kobayashi's death, some documents were discovered, they showed that half of all the money he had in his possession was supposed to be given to his fiancée, while 20% would be divided among all living members of AOG and 30% would be given to charitable companies not linked to Kobayashi Corp. Even so, his parents tried their best to prevent this money from ever going to other people, even claiming that the marriage proposal was false.
Going into mourning and having to survive allegations that the love she and he had was some kind of scam?
Hearing from her own parents-in-law that she should never deserve anyone's love?
These were actually some of the several factors that made her recovery almost impossible to achieve over a period of a decade. But so far it had only been 5 years, so it was understandable that hearing that YGGDRASIL was going to end was destroying her mind more and more. The thing that brought them together would come to an end...
And to survive this? She was ignoring it as much as possible, it wasn't a good decision, but what else could she do? Succumb to insanity? It was much healthier, momentarily, to ignore problems to feel happy for at least one last time.
But... Among all these things, it was really impressive how Keiko had made a will 2 months before his own death. It is very likely that this thought was driven by the death of another great colleague in the group, Bellriver. This really opened his eyes to this paranoia, a paranoia that turned out to be correct.
Touch_Me and everyone there were caught up in so many thoughts about what led to that unique moment, that they ended up getting scared when someone called them from behind. It was Suzuki, or rather, Momonga, he also observed his slime friend a little, lightly touching Ulbert's right shoulder and the paladin's left.
"Good night people! How are you? Did you rest well these days? Did you have anything interesting and new to say?" He spoke with that grand voice and optimism.
"Oh! Momonga. Nothing much happened to me this week."
"Not even with me, at most, the only thing that happened was my daughter winning an online 21st century history contest."
"Incredible! And you, how are our beautiful ladies?" Momonga continued, now heading towards Ankoro and Yamaiko.
"W-we're fine."
"Yes, we were talking a little just now... like... I was able to arrive earlier than expected, only because, apparently, a client of mine canceled the delivery of a 4-tier cake, before I even started making the second tier."
"Great. I was also released a little early thanks to my boss. That's why I'm here, even though I had warned y'all that I would come at 4 hours to midnight in game."
They seemed to talk a lot, and this was due to the fact that not everyone showed up every day. The insectoid paladin, for example, hadn't been in the game for 3 weeks, or the smart demon, who hadn't even been online for around 2 months. But that didn't stop everyone from at least talking through calls or video messages.
Soon Momonga went to Bukubuku to talk to her, walking calmly. "How is your day, Buku! Did you have something special?"
The slime now had the two elf NPCs on top of her, as if she were a huge cushion, but not only that, she seemed to not want to be far from that statue. "I'm great, Momonga... Just me, my darling and our children here having fun."
She said this because the golden statue was in honor of Keiko. Because of image copyrights of Kobayashi Corp., there were some problems, so they could only make a statue with the appearance of his Player Account, Hikari. In the sculpture, he was wearing a uniform that mixed the JobClasses of Wizard and Thief, with a katana in one hand, an ax in the other, and a bow on his back. The pose was simple, just him standing with his legs slightly open and pointing the sword slightly upwards, while the ax was positioned close to his left chest.
"I see, I hope you're having a great time with him, after all his birthday is in less than a week, right?" Momonga commented and sat next to Bukubuku, she happily agreed and talked more and more with him.
In this way, time passed, passed and passed. The anxiety of everyone present at AOG on this day meant that every second mattered, every inch should be loved and appreciated, everything should be seen in the last details, as a form of respect and love for everything they created together. Even though some now hate the game and others didn't have time to interact more, those who were there had to do their best.
The people who demonstrated this the most were HeroHero and Luci★Fer, both of them took photos and more photos of each area they loved in Nazarick like they were crazy, even deciding to take photos of some NPCs, who they considered special enough to NEVER be forgotten, whether because of appearance, importance, or individual Settings with those connected to other things.
"AAAH!! MY SOLUTION EPSILON!!!" HeroHero exclaimed, tightly hugging the NPC he created, or would it be better to say that his body was wrapping around hers?
She was one of the NPCs that is part of the Nazarick Battle Maids group, having a uniform consistent with her role, in addition to being a blonde with an extremely attractive body and slightly large breasts, without exaggeration. HeroHero, being a depressed programmer outside of YGGDRASIL, always dreamed of having a wife with that kind of appearance, to make it "possible", he put in her settings that he was her husband, and not only that, he made sure they shared the same race, a slime. More specifically, Solution is a Predator Slime, while her creator is a GraySlime, a species known for being able to use the game's technological equipment without difficulty.
"Aren't you hugging your NPC too much, HentaiHentai?" Luci★Fer made that tasteless joke, but he burst out laughing.
"Can't I enjoy it a little more?! Do you know how difficult it is to find another Virtual Reality service that accepts my 3D model?!? Most refuse because of her magnificent ASSets!!! Plus, those who accept are completely of my monthly budget!!"
"Hehe, I'm sorry, but couldn't you program your own virtual prototype where you would have her with you?"
"It's not the same when the Artificial Intelligence used is made by me... It would be like I was dreaming about catching my DAUGHTER!!! But not! As the Artificial Intelligence here was not created by me, I can consider her my great companion instead! Plus, my job is killing me! I wouldn't have time to create something just for myself."
Luci★Fer stared at that Gray Slime, until he sighed, giving in. "You're right, it would be bizarre for you to flirt with something that was created 100% by you... in fact, the guy you ordered this 3D model from was very good. Can you give me the contact details later?"
"By Email or Phone?"
"Email me. It makes it look more... professional..." The mechanical angel's words made them both burst into laughter.
"Anyway, I feel sorry for you. All the NPCs you created are actually just golems that function as decorations and also as traps."
"I don't need a humanoid NPC or anything like that, I just needed something beautiful! And honestly, my Golems are super cute. You can't say anything against it."
HeroHero thought for a while before speaking. "True. They are very beautiful... are you sure you didn't get the art from other places?"
"I was just inspired by some religious temples. Nothing else." The angel scratched the back of his head.
[Momonga: Hello! Guys! I want everyone to gather in the Round Table Room as soon as possible!]
"Oops! Let's go?"
"Of course, you can go ahead..." The Gray Slime continued rubbing against his NPC, making the angel have a slight look of disgust as he went to the requested spot.
Inside the meeting place, some AOG members were already there, they were all enjoying themselves as much as possible, to the point of always hanging out with their own NPCs. As the last members arrived, a light announcement began.
"Welcome, my faithful and great friends. We are here today to say goodbye to this incredible and grand world of ours, which we call our second home. I hope everyone is satisfied with everything we created together and all our hours as incredible companions!" Momonga said while his NPC, Pandora's Actor, began to play a great song through the holes in his own face, it was an incredible BGM, worthy of the heteromorph group.
"I know that most of you really won't be able to stay until the last few seconds, so I'd like to ask everyone something... Does anyone here DO NOT have any type of irl contact with another person in the group?" The skeleton continued to speak, concerned about the connections more than anything.
Only one person raised their hand, it was Garnet. "I think the only one I don't have contact with is Yamaiko, what way would you think is better?" He asked, while he had his NPC, CZ2128 Delta, a long-haired, rose-gold Automaton, on his lap.
"Oh... Well, I think Email might be the best option." She said as they already seemed to be exchanging emails with each other via private message.
"Perfect! Now that everyone is connected, we could say that the great AOG will never die! I really hope we may find a game similar to YGGDRASIL in the future." The guild leader said, clapping his hands.
"I agree... But I feel that if we find one and it's not related to strategy, I won't participate... I'll let you know in advance." Punitto Moe was the next to speak.
"How sad.. so we will already have a 'almost confirmation' that we won't have our favorite plant sadistic? Hmmmm..." Ankoro Mocchi Mochi said trying to make a cute and sad voice, meanwhile, she was hugging one of her NPCs as if it were a stuffed animal, it was a penguin called Eclair, nothing big, just a Lvl.1 NPC.
"Hehehe! Don't say things like that guys! Seeing as how the game had immense fame and is only declining due to lack of money, I bet a lot that someone will take the idea and do something similar." Tabula was the next to speak, with one of his creations behind him, this being Albedo.
Time passed more and more, approaching the inevitable end of that virtual world. Now there was almost an hour left in the game until midnight and so, several people started to say goodbye...
First it was Garnet... Then it was Ponitto Moe... Yamaiko... Ankoro... everyone disappeared one by one. Logging off to get a good night's sleep.
A sadness slowly emerged in the hearts of those who decided to stay there until the last seconds, especially Bukubuku and Momonga. The slime decided to go to a place, before meeting up with his skeleton friend and others who also wanted to support them both.
"And here we are..." Said Bukubukuchagama, standing in front of one of the rooms of the AOG members. On the door there was the symbol of the person, a heart upside down, with small horns at the top, numerous crystal symbols and in the middle one eye with the famous yin yang.
She slowly opened that door, looking at the three NPCs, Mare, Mary and Aura. "Follow me." With that order, the three artificial intelligences entered the room alongside the PinkSlime.
Inside there was a double bed in one corner, as well as what appeared to be a music box stylized to resemble a 1980s bar player. Next to it was a large mirror and what appeared to be a bookshelf full of books, all being history books, fanciful legends, or even things written by the owner of the room.
On the side completely opposite the bed, there was a kind of small altar, with the same golden statue that exists on the 6th floor, but it was very small, enough to stand on top of a shelf, with crystal eyes with different colors, matching the color of the eyes in the real world. In front of the altar, countless items, small gifts, each given by each guild member, but the most eye-catching thing there was one of his katanas, it was inside the sheath, as a sign of respect that no one would use it. The same could be said of the other katana, which instead of being on the altar, was placed inside the Treasury, as a maximum security measure, after all, it was a World Item.
"Darling... I came again... how are you?" She said looking at the altar, with an almost tearful voice. "T-This is the last time I will be able to pray to you like this... next time... I will have to pray in that stupid world where you no longer exist... I'm sorry about that... I never wanted that... I would never leave you... you know this..."
She used the slime race's metamorphosis ability, becoming something that vaguely resembled her real appearance, then she knelt down next to the small statue and began to pray. It was a calm and slow prayer, as if she was truly believing that she would be able to hold out for as long as possible...
It was inevitable...
She would return to the real world...
She would return to the world where her love is no longer...
She just wanted to die... she didn't want to be completely honest with everyone... but the medicine never worked... that very expensive crap was a placebo effect thing, and it failed miserably for her...
The only thing that really kept her alive at that moment was the fact that the two of them, together, had created those NPCs, even if they were fake beings, they created them together with a lot of love. She still remembered very well the last funny and cute moment they had, it was a basic talk, about if they had children, it would be really cute to name them the same as their NPCs...
This cute and silly memory stuck in her mind... making her love these computer data even more...
This memory gave meaning to sets of 0 and 1...
Indeed, love can make someone blind, deaf, dumb, or even crazy. But at least she felt some happiness...
Even though her model didn't show, it was possible to hear the tearful sound of her voice. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I-I shouldn't have listened to you... I-I should have been strong and said with all my will that I would help you at that time... That way... maybe... maybe you would never have exaggerated with the speed spells... Maybe... the device wouldn't have exploded... M-Maybe..."
"Maybe I would even be pregnant by now? Or would I already have a child?... I-I hate to say this in your presence... but... we are so perverted and sassy that it wouldn't even be surprising..." Her hands went to her face, her tearful voice increasing in volume . "WHY?!? WHY WERE YOU SO NICE TO ME!!!!"
"Haruka!"
A voice caught her attention, along with a soft touch on her shoulder. When she looked back, she saw the paladin, Touch_Me, even though she couldn't see his face, his worried expression was obvious. She turned to him and he just extended his arms, making her hug him firmly. The insectoid just gave her a light headpat, trying to calm her down.
"30 minutes left now... We'll all stay on the 10th Floor as agreed... shall we go?"
"I-Do I really have to go?..."
"...Haruka...you say you knew him very well, right?" She just nodded to the question asked, then he continued. "So you know very well that he wouldn't want your last moments here to be sad... The others have already left in a happy and good-humoured way... Now it's just us left, and I know very well that if I left you here, your last moments in this game would just be pure lamentation and self-hatred..."
She took a deep breath, finally managing to face her friend. "Okay... Let's go... Can I take them with me?" She was referring to the NPCs.
"Of course. I even asked Satoru to take my NPC there." A slight smile appeared on the slime in response and soon they both started walking, with Touch_Me even taking that small statue that was on the altar, so that Keiko could be with them, in a symbolic way.
Arriving at the throne room, there were Momonga, Ulbert and Tabula. Not only them, but there were also the Pleiades, Sebas Tian, Demiurge, Albedo, Cinitrites, Nigredo, Rubedo and Pandora's Actor. Mare, Mary and Aura were ordered to get into position with the others, and they did so.
"Oh my... Did you even bring 'him' here? I hope no one is mad that you took it from the altar." Ulbert said, giving a light laugh while looking at the small statue.
"These are our last minutes here... do you think I wouldn't bring him?" The paladin was talking to the demon while the slime went towards the other two.
"I hope you can feel a lot of happiness with this goodbye... but remember, we can talk outside of the game, maybe I'll even go into your house if that grumpy brother of yours is bothering you." Tabula spoke, watching Bukubuku get closer to him.
"Okay... I would even... appreciate it if you would come see me tomorrow... Is there something bothering you?"
"No, on Sundays my work only starts at 3 in the afternoon and ends at 8 at night, so I could stop by your house in the morning, but from there I would go to work." Momonga said, head patting his slime friend to cheer her up a little.
"I'm completely free tomorrow." Brain Eater said.
"Hmmm... Momonga! Can I use the scepter for one thing?" She spoke, extending her slime arms towards the grandiose [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown].
"Oh... sure, but why?" He simply handed it to her.
Without saying anything, Bukubuku went towards Albedo and tapped the item close to her back, making the NPC's Settings appear. Tabula just observed the scene with a look that could have meant 'What the fuck do you think you're doing, bitch?'. A keyboard appeared and Bukubuku started typing something.
"What are you changing about her...?" Tabula questioned, in a very serious voice.
The slime now disguised her depressing feelings a little, having a perverted voice, very characteristic of when she is carrying out some plot. "Nothing much, I'm just deleting the part about her being a prostitute. Even though she is a succubus, her wings are too beautiful to be a whore."
"No... I can see the keyboard, you're TYPING, you haven't even clicked on backspace... WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TYPING?!?" Tabula said in an irritated voice.
"Shhh... calm down Tabula... let her have some fun... after all, it's our last day... and I don't want to ruin her mood..." Momonga said the last part in a very low voice, just for the brain eater to hear. He sighed deeply, giving up on that, after all, it was simply the last minutes of that NPC's existence, her being deleted, rewritten, or having the Settings modified, all of that meant nothing.
And so were the last moments...
In the last 10 seconds, everyone there took a deep breath, holding hands with each other, Momonga in the center sitting on the throne.
23:59:55
23:59:56
23:59:57
23:59:58
23:59:59
00:00:00
. . . . . . .
00:00:01
"Hmm?" Momonga opened his eyes observing the situation, nothing had changed, were they still in the game? But how? Why? Had the servers not been shut down yet?
"Eh?" Ulbert was the next to open his eyes, letting go of Momonga and Bukubuku's hands. "How bizarre... isn't it times like these when we would simply be bounced out of the DMM-?"
His words were interrupted by something very frightening, which made even the 10th Floor tremble. An extremely loud and distorted scream came out of nowhere, it sounded frightening, as if countless beings were being tortured at the same time. Even the NPCs reacted, putting their hands over their ears as if they couldn't take it...
Wait... Are the NPCs reacting? How is this possible?! Maybe it's some event? Isn't the game over? Was it all a hoax?!?
"What the hell is that?!" Touch_Me exclaimed, seeming to be the one who felt the most pain.
"I'll go see what it is!" Ulbert said, standing up, but soon received an item in his hands, the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown].
"Use it to know where it's coming from!" Momonga exclaimed.
'E-Eh? B-But the fucking HUD isn't even showing up!' Ulbert thought when he saw nothing appearing, but strangely, it was only when he thought about it that the holographic image appeared inside his mind.
He didn't even try to question that much, he wanted to find out what the hell was making that noise more infernal than Dante's universe, so he started running at speed. He reached forward, trying to use [Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown], again, a HUD did not appear, but he could feel the power of the ring, thus creating a portal to the desired location.
Arriving there, he ended up finding himself in front of Hikari's bedroom door, this shocked him a lot, as the sound seemed to actually come from there, it was louder, making it difficult for even the Demon Player to hear his own thoughts. The door seemed stuck and had some strange black goo oozing out from underneath, so what he instinctively did was give the door a really hard kick, using his goat legs. But what was there would never be expected by absolutely anyone.
The entire room was smeared with that same strange dark goo, with Hikari's initial katana, [Kuwoi-Muramasa], spinning incessantly in the air. Below it, there was that goo, but it seemed to form a head that imitated Hikari's, that was the source of the screams. It felt like sick torture to see that.
Ulbert didn't think twice and tried to pick up the katana to use it against whatever that slime thing was, but when he touched it, the scream seemed to disappear and voices now appeared in his mind...
~~~~~~~~~
Exhaust...
Escape...
Hide...
Destroy...
Scary...
Blood...
BLOOD...
Master...
Dominate...
DOMINATE!!!!!
~~~~~~~~~
The katana's handle began to seriously burn Ulbert's right hand, making him release it. This way, it floated again, but in a more centered and less chaotic way... all so that the blade could aim against the entrance to the room and fly away at full speed.
"What... was that?..." Ulbert felt his burned hand and looked at it, it was damaged, but not in the way it normally is in the game, it was more grotesque... more realistic...
After the shock, he picked up the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] again, this time with the other hand, so he could feel where that was floating. Again, he used the guild's special ring to teleport, now finding himself close to the entrance of the great tomb, but there was something wrong...
They weren't in the poison swamps of Helheim...
It seemed like he was in a very beautiful green field, with some forests. It was night and the stars seemed much brighter and more attractive than usual in the game. He felt a bit of the wind breeze... it seemed softer, more elegant, more real...
This all distracted him, as soon the calm breeze was replaced by an overwhelming wind caused by the floating katana that had finally arrived there and passed straight by him, flying up to the heavens. It was possible to hear a pop in the air, as the item had just broken the sound barrier and was no longer visible, not even to Ulbert's sharp eyes.
——————————————
After that whole situation, the 5 decided to meet at the 6th Floor Coliseum. It was very bizarre that they heard their voices so clearly through the use of [Message] instead of text appearing, but they didn't want to think about it too much...
Text... No more text appeared, no HUD to be used. Nothing in the system seemed to exist in a tangible way, all the information came to their minds directly, as if they already knew these... This scared everyone, obviously.
"So... Is our theory that we all suffered something similar to an anime... acceptable?" Tabula complained, leaning against one of the walls.
"Apparently yes, I had asked Sebas to look for information about the area we are in, but from what Ulbert told us, it doesn't seem like we are in Helheim anymore..." Momonga was the next to speak.
"And why are we here exactly?" Ulbert questioned.
"During the time you were away... Albedo was... molested by Momonga, then we discovered that the NPCs became real. Then we will hold a meeting." Bukubuku said that as he tightly hugged Mare and Aura.
"I-It wasn't molested! I just touched her chest!" Momonga try to take out the wrong of this.
"For me this can even be seeing as rape." Bukubuku said again, while Ulbert just facepalmed about his skeleton friend's decisions.
Either way, what the slime said was another point for the theory that all of this became real, but not only that, there was an obvious example of it right there. Mare and Aura seemed super happy with their creator, they could see their expressions loving receiving hugs and affection. This has never been emulated before in YGGDRASIL.
"Bukubukuchagama-sama. I-it's squeezing me too much, won't there be a problem?" Aura was the one who said that. One more point that this was no longer a game.
"I already told you, call me mommy, mother, mom! Anything related to that! Because that's what I am to you, understand?"
"Yes mother!"
"Yes mommy!"
Aura and Mare responded respectively, making Bukubuku blush a lot and hug them more, showering them with kisses, her dream had become completely real. Slowly another NPC appeared, it was Mary, Bukubuku's other "daughter".
"Mother... According to my analysis... the other Guardians should already be arriving... it's better to release my brothers so we can stay in formation." Mary's voice was doubled, it seemed as if a mature woman and an 8-year-old girl were speaking at the same time.
Bukubuku soon released the children, just before a portal appeared in the coliseum. It was a large purple portal from which the other Floor Guardians, in addition to Sebas, arrived as ordered. This way, everyone got closer, forming a line in front of the Players.
"Momonga-sama! I hope that our presence will really be of great help to you, please, can you use me as an example if this meeting serves to punish us for future incompetence!!!!" The one who said this was Shalltear Bloodfallen, her voice sounded like a woman with some kind of sick desire, as if she wanted to be beaten right there without knowing the real reason for being there.
All the 5 players looked at her in shock, even the pink slime stood still, giving a long and heavy sigh. "She really was created by my brother..."
"A-Anyway! We called everyone here because something quite strange and peculiar happened! According to Ulbert, he saw that we are no longer in known territory, and luckily, I asked Sebas Tian to do more appropriate research, without straying too far from our base... Sebas, could you tell us what you discovered?" Momonga said in an intimidating and grand voice.
"Of course, Momonga-Sama." Sebas soon looked towards everyone there, including the Players. "According to a slight search I had, I discovered that we are actually in a kind of very green and flat field. I was able to observe that there is some kind of village much further to the south, due to some lights that I presume were created by very primitive fire. In addition to the fact that to the east of our location, it appears to me that there is a dense forest, but it would take more time to reach compared to the previously mentioned remnant of civilization."
"So... we are actually quite conspicuous compared to our surroundings... correct?" Tabula questioned.
"Yes... When I went back to Nazarick, I ended up noticing that our great tomb is very prominent in this region. I doubt that inferior beings will be able to detect us from afar, but if they are at a certain distance, it will become easier to see, just like seeing a blue mana steel among yellowish gold." Sebas continued.
"As the surrounding environment does not help Nazarick, it would be better to change it..." Touch_Me finally chimed in, seeming to want to distract himself from something. "And since we don't really know where we are, we can't afford to be exposed like this... I would recommend a terrain change... Mare Bello Fiore, you are a perfect being for basic terraforming of this type, would you have any ideas?"
The little femboy elf blushed extremely, possibly seeing yet another Player talking to him normally. "I-I-I would see it as a good idea... maybe cover our surroundings with hills... and after that bury the exposed part of the Great Tumb too, so that let it be just one hill among many..."
Mare's words could have been honest and a great idea, but he ended up irritating some Floor Guardians, Albedo was the one with the most fearful expression about it. "What are you insinuating?!? That we let the grand paradise of our Supreme Beings be placed 100% underground?!? Are you wanting to be tortured by any chance?!?"
'Supreme Beings?' All the Players there were confused by the term used, but soon Tabula was the next to speak. "This idea is actually very good... Everyone would suspect a single building in the middle of nowhere, even if it was surrounded by trees or buried, but if we created a huge amount of hills and buried our guild inside one of them, in fact, the People might think it was some mysterious act of nature, or that maybe there were always hills there and they just never noticed. Good Job, kid."
Those words boosted the young elf's ego while ending up destroying the Floor Guardians' leader's confidence a little, after all, the person who said it was a great idea was her own creator! This made her expression change a little, even refusing to look directly at the brain eater.
"With that out of the way, I would like to ask one more thing before our work in hiding our great guild begins. Due to the new situations, I would like all of you to give me your votes of confidence. In short, I want you to tell us how you see us. And do it by floor orders." Momonga was the one to speak, slamming the base of the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] against the floor to get everyone's attention and immediately, all the Floor Guardians present knelt down.
Shalltear was first, with a seductive and even needy voice. "Momonga-Sama! Touch_Me-Sama! Bukubukuchagama-Sama! Ulbert Alain Odle-Sama! Tabula Smaragdina-Sama! I see the awesomeness of all of you as the most exemplary and excellent imaginable! The beings that use us as tools!"
Before they continued, Ulbert gave a slight cough, being quite flushed there. "You don't need to say our names to talk about this, we still have a lot to do..." Just like him, Momonga, Bukubuku, Tabula and Touch_Me, they showed a certain strange feeling towards Shalltear's sentence.
The next one was Cocytus, who stood up slightly, slamming his great freezing weapon on the ground, his breathing seemed to freeze the air in front of him a little, his voice was quite slow. "MY.LORDS. I.SEE.YOU.AS.BEING.THOSE.WITH.A.SKILLED.IRON.FIST, WHO.DEMONSTRATE.HONOR.AND.MERCY.ONLY.AGAINST.THOSE.WHO.ARE.NOT.A.TRUE.DANGER, OR.AGAINST.THOSE.WHO.RESPECT.YOUR.DEVINE.WILLS..."
"Bukub-... Mother! You showed us a lot of affection, while Momonga-sama even gave us some things while we waited for everyone!" Aura was the one who said it.
"Yes! Mommy showed us how important we, as part of Nazarick, are to making this place really work!" Mare continued.
"I realize that the Supreme Beings are extremely friendly and incredibly kind to us, their creations, and how much they will destroy everything and everyone that gets in the way of Ainz Ooal Gown..." Mary, the most mature among the three brothers, spoke calmly, with her voice still doubled.
Next one who spoke was Demiurge, with a sly smile as he adjusted his own glasses. "I believe that the Supreme Beings really are existences above the divine itself, and that they must order us to create the best possible circumstances for survival. Such beings have the power to dominate!"
And lastly, among the floor guardians there, it was Albedo. "I see you, my lords, as absolute perfection, beings who must conquer everything that is said to not be rightfully yours! In addition to being the only ones for whom my heart can beat in all eternity... The true owners of my body, soul, mind and being!" She blushed a lot looking at the Supreme Beings, with an extremely wide smile while her wings didn't stop flapping for anything, as if she was madly excited and needy.
Tabula realized that and stared deeply at Bukubuku, after all, with the NPCs becoming real, and those answers everyone gave so far, it was incredibly easy to assume that their personalities were completely guided by the Settings. The slime was completely to blame for doing that to the succubus, but what exactly did the slime change in Albedo, so she could have that reaction?
Others just looked to the side or gave a few coughs, completely embarrassed by the situation, the same way that happened with Shalltear, only worse. "Okay! That is enough, our great servants! I believe that, even though we haven't demonstrated 100% all the greatness that you feel coming from us, it is enough for something as simple as what was requested... Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to look at what the region around Nazarick is like..." Momonga said, turning around and creating a portal.
"Mare and Mary! Come with us! As your job will be to begin the process of terraforming the exterior landscape, you must do this as quickly as possible." Bukubuku called the two NPCs.
"Oh? Why do I need to go too, Mother?" asked the ghost.
"You will use the power of possession on Mare, so that he gains enough magical energy, this will make everything happen even faster."
"Understood, we will go with you, mommy/mother." Said the two at the same time, while following Bukubuku and Momonga.
"Wouldn't it be better to have more people to protect you, supreme beings?" Demiurge said, possibly due to the situation that they were really in such an unusual situation as to what he 'remembers' about YGGDRASIL.
"I'll go with them too... I feel like it will help cool my mind..." Touch_Me commented, going with them and soon the portal closed.
"I'll be in my lab looking at some things." Tabula said, waving to everyone, but then looked at Albedo. "And you... I will scold you later for getting excited just for saying things like that! The situation is serious, you shouldn't act in such a way, where is the professionalism of my creation?!" He tried his best to continue acting as the other NPCs described them.
"I-I'm sorry, Tabula-Sama!! I didn't know what to do, I never thought I would need to say what I feel! And every second that I waited for my turn to speak... I felt more..." She tried to continue talking, but her wings started flapping like crazy again as she looked up a lot.
"Argh... firstly, I'm your father, in theory, so it's bizarre for you to say things like that including me... I'll go check on your sisters..." He used the [Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown] he had and created a door, but he soon realized something and looked at Ulbert, the last player present there. "Could you give them the extra rings we have? As far as I remember, no one ever gave them the equipment."
"Okay, I'll do it right now." Ulbert just watched Tabula disappear from the coliseum, and so the vision went to the NPCs present. "Everyone come one at a time, please."
They all gathered close to the Demon Player, who created a portal into which he entered to have contact with the guild's Treasury. There he took a number of rings and handed them, one by one. He noticed a strange thing, the expression of each NPC seemed to be of extreme happiness or joy upon receiving that, with doubt, he asked his creation, Demiurge.
"Oh! Great Ulbert-Sama! Our happiness is incredibly justifiable, after all, these rings are owned only by the Supreme Beings who guide Nazarick! Receiving this... so precious... is something to be blessed." He said the same with a big smile on his face.
After everything had been organized, he looked at the butler. "Sebas! If anyone wants to know where I am, I'll be in my room with my son, chatting a little."
The butler agreed that he would give the message, with Demiurge looking rather happy to be called "Son", with his long ears flopping in response to this fact. They both went together through a portal to Ulbert's room on the 9th Floor.
Meanwhile, outside of Nazarick, Momonga, Bukubuku and Touch_Me were observing that beautiful landscape, being so incredible and extraordinary in their eyes, it was real, and extremely addictive. With the help of the accessory [Winged Feathers], a necklace with a jewel in the shape of a small wing, the three Players were able to fly and see everything better.
"It's... so beautiful... I still haven't realized... that this doesn't seem like a dream..." Touch_Me was the first to say something to break the silence.
"I agree... it's a shame that... I can't exactly feel it... but seeing my clothes flapping in the wind..." Momonga was very thoughtful, his skeletal body really didn't allow him to feel very gentle touches, any gentle touch he felt would actually be a placebo effect, but nothing changed the fact that his uniform moved so smoothly.
"This gelatinous body can feel too much... it's agonizing... but.... It seems to get so relaxing after a while..." Bukubuku also commented, she was still holding Mare inside her body, just with the NPC's head out, while Mary was floating next to her.
The NPCs noticed that the Supreme Beings were enjoying the landscape, so they decided to stay quiet so as not to disturb them. Bukubuku laughed lightly and seemed to caress Mare a lot, even creating a small slime tentacle to squeeze his cheeks. While this happened, Momonga and Touch_Me were stuck in thoughts, lots of thoughts.
"It would be incredible to always have a view like this, wouldn't it?" Momonga commented.
"Yes, maybe keeping it in a snow globe would be something incredible..." Touch_Me said looking directly at the stars in the sky now. "They're so beautiful... I almost want to have them one by one..."
"Why not the whole sky?" The skeleton asked.
"Well, I'm not as greedy as you."
The paladin laughed, holding Momonga from behind and rubbing the armor's hilt against his skull, while the skeleton laughed too. The slime just watched that, giving a light laugh as well.
"They even look like children..." She said to herself. "Maybe things are better this way..."
She looked thoughtfully at the sky, but then in a specific direction, to her left, or to be more specific, to the West. 'The katana flew in that direction... But why did it fly? Could it be...' She shook a little in denial. 'No, I can't think about that, now my precious babies are real, that's already a blessing... it would be too much to ask to have him too...'
After some time outside, Tabula sent a message to everyone there, it was actually his voice, which even scared them, as they weren't used to there not being a text. "Guys! I know you must be having fun and stuff, but I want everyone in my laboratory, I think it's time to start theorizing~"
"How tacky." Bukubuku said, laughing lightly, but then looked at Mary and Mare, leaving them at the entrance while the other two went through a portal. "You can start terraforming out here... if you need help or anything, you can call the other NPCs, but don't be afraid to call me too, okay?"
The two nodded and soon realized that their "mother" changed shape, becoming more humanoid than a pink blob. She kneels down to be at their level and gives them both a soft kiss on the cheeks. "Mommy loves you... don't try too hard."
"Okay mommy!"
"I understand, mother."
Both responded to her with simple smiles, but seemed very happy with all the affection. This made the slime think that she should go and try to do the same with Aura Bella Fiore, but this was not the time. Creating a portal, she teleported to Tabula's laboratory.
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