A New DestinyNo POV:
Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games, or DMMO-RPGs for short, allow players to immerse themselves in imaginary worlds as if truly present within them. Among these virtual realms stood Yggdrasil, released in 2126.
The game featured an expansive world map offering an unprecedented degree of player freedom. These characteristics, among others, distinguished it from all other DMMO-RPGs of its era, propelling it to worldwide popularity and making it a favorite throughout Japan.
Now, after twelve years of operation, the world of Yggdrasil is about to meet its end...
3rd Person POV:
Deep within an underground tomb, in a majestically designed chamber, three individuals sat around a large round table: a skeleton wearing raven-colored royal robes, a pale aristocratic man with piercing red eyes dressed in Victorian attire complete with a high-collared black cape, and a purple slime that appeared utterly exhausted.
Momonga: "It was fun. In fact, it was a blast..."
Dracula: "Indeed, my friend. The centuries, or rather, years, have passed most pleasantly."
HeroHero: "Hey there, it's been a while, hasn't it, Momonga and Dracula?"
Momonga: "Sure has. To be honest, Hero, I didn't think you'd come. You've been gone about two years now."
Dracula: "A welcome apparition from the past. Your return pleases me, Hero."
HeroHero: "No way, it's really been that long?... Man, I guess I've been working so much my concept of time is completely out of whack."
Momonga: "That sucks. It can't be healthy for you."
HeroHero: "Tell me about it. I feel exactly like my avatar looks!"
Momonga: "Hmm..."
HeroHero: "I'm sorry. I shouldn't come here just to complain."
Dracula: "The night is young for such lamentations. Your grievances are welcome in these halls."
Momonga: "Yeah! Don't worry about it."
HeroHero: "Well, I'd better go soon. I'm beyond exhausted."
Momonga: "Right... rest up and feel better."
Dracula: "The children of the night make their music elsewhere. Rest well, Hero."
HeroHero: "Wish I could stay longer. But I've got to say, I'm kind of shocked to see the Great Tomb of Nazarick still standing!"
Momonga: "..."
Dracula: "Time has been our ally in this domain."
HeroHero: "Being guild leader suited you, Momonga, and Dracula, you were the best destroyer we could ask for. Both of you have done a great job maintaining the place."
Momonga: "Well, we created this place together. I couldn't just let it turn to dust."
Dracula: "..."
HeroHero: "Must've been hard work. Thanks for everything... I hope we'll meet again IRL."
With that, HeroHero logged off Yggdrasil for the final time, leaving Momonga and Dracula in silence.
After a few moments, Momonga began talking to himself, slightly startling Dracula as he witnessed his friend's outburst.
Momonga: "Today is the last day Yggdrasil servers will be online. Why not stay? We could reminisce and wait until everything shuts down for good." Sighs "Oh well, I'm happy that he even came at all."
Dracula:(Whispers) "Momonga."
Momonga: "I hope we meet again... huh? Right... but just when and where will that be... THIS SUCKS!"
In anger at HeroHero not staying longer before the game's shutdown, Momonga slammed both hands down on the round table, yet dealt zero damage to it.
Momonga: "This is our home! We built it together with virtual blood and sweat! How can he turn his back on it so easily?!"
Dracula: "MOMONGA! The blood of mortals runs differently from ours. He had no choice."
Momonga: "Yeah, I know, Dracula. He didn't. No one in the guild betrayed us. Our guild's weapon... the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown."
Momonga: "We played recklessly to make it. Some of us even spent PTO just to have time to grind materials. But among the original forty-one members, thirty-nine quit. Then... there were two left. Let's go—you're a testament to our guild."
Dracula: "A powerful artifact, forged in darkness. Come, Momonga, let us carry forth our legacy."
Momonga grasped the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, and Dracula followed behind him as they left the meeting room. In the corridor, they encountered a well-built, older man with silver hair and beard, accompanied by a group of beautiful, uniquely dressed maids.
Momonga: "Huh...? Oh right, his name was Sebas, and these are the combat maids of Pleiades."
Dracula: "How curious, Momonga. You spend more time here than I, yet memory fails you regarding our servants' names."
Momonga: "Please don't blame me, Dracula... We intended for the Pleiades to be the last line of defense to the throne room, but in the end, no player ever made it that far."
Dracula: "None could breach our sanctuary. The 8th floor proved to be their eternal tomb."
Momonga: "I should move them around... for the last time. It's the least we can do. What was the command? Oh, right. 'Follow me.'"
Sebas and the Pleiades fell in line behind Dracula and Momonga as they walked down the corridor toward large double doors that opened into a throne room.
Dracula: "This chamber never ceases to invoke a sense of... power."
Momonga: "I feel the same way, Dracula."
At the end of the throne room stood an impeccable beauty with lustrous jet-black hair and the face of a goddess. She had golden irises with vertically split pupils. Two thick horns protruded crookedly from her left and right temples, and a pair of black angel wings adorned her waist. She wore a pure white dress with silky gloves covering her slender hands and a golden spiderweb necklace draped across her shoulders and chest.
Momonga: "...Albedo. Hmm?"
Dracula:(Whispers) "More beautiful than any bride I have known."
As Dracula and Momonga reached the throne, Momonga seated himself and commanded both Sebas and the Pleiades.
Momonga: "Hmm, the command was 'Stand by'... right?"
Dracula: "Do not look to me for such instructions, Momonga. Even I, in my centuries of existence, forget such mundane details."
Momonga: "Hehe, sorry, Dracula... Huh? What were her settings again?"
Momonga opened Albedo's bio settings.
Momonga: "As the highest-ranking NPC in the Tomb of Nazarick. She supervises all of the guardians... Geez! This is long!"
Dracula: "Tabula's mind worked in ways that would drive ordinary men to madness. His creations reflect that complexity."
Momonga: "Huh?! No way, she's a bitch?! Ugh... he did love making contradicting characters."
Dracula: "I cannot defend his peculiar tastes, though I understand contradiction all too well."
Momonga: "Normally, you need a tool to change settings, but since I have this... Hmm, maybe I should add something...?"
Without discussing further with Dracula, Momonga used the power of the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown to rewrite Albedo's settings.
Momonga:(whispers) "She is deeply in love with Dracula."
Dracula: "Did you speak, Momonga?"
Momonga: "No, nothing really important, Dracula... What was that command again? 'Bow down.'"
Momonga commanded all the NPCs in the throne room to bow, then gazed at the banners displayed around them, each bearing different symbols.
Dracula:Sighs "Remnants of glory, now faded like the twilight."
Momonga: "Yeah, there's mine, Touch Me, Shizyuutensuzaku, Ankoro Mocchi Mochi, Herohero, Peroroncino, Bukubukuchagama, Tabula Smaragdina, Warrior Takemikazuchi, Variable Talisman, Genjiro, and yours, Dracula..."
Dracula: "The years have been... eventful. I have no regrets for the time spent in these halls."
Momonga: "Ugh, I have to wake up at 4 A.M. I better crash after the server shuts down, or I'm gonna be a zombie at work..."
Dracula: "How ironic. Farewell, my old friend."
Both Momonga and Dracula closed their eyes, waiting for the game to force them out when the service finally closed... but as the time reached zero, the world persisted, shocking them both.
Dracula: "..?!"
Momonga: "...Did the devs push back the server shutdown?"
Dracula: "...My powers... I cannot summon the console. I cannot reach the GM! What devilry is this?!"
Albedo: "Is something the matter, Lord Dracula, Lord Momonga?"
Momonga: "...?"
Dracula: "What manner of..."
Albedo: "Lord Dracula, Lord Momonga?"
To Be Continued