If you notice any errors, please feel free to give me constructive feedback. English is not my first language, so if you notice any mistakes, please mention them in the comment section at the end of the chapter. I do not own Overlord. All property rights belong to their respective creators. Let's begin the story!
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Chapter-22
Kurenai Estate,
Tokyo, Neo-Japan;
Earth – Year 2134,
Overlord Verse;
Kai groaned as the firm yet respectful voice of his personal butler, Kanami, echoed through the grand bedroom.
"Master Kai, it's time to wake up."
He buried his face deeper into the blanket, grumbling under his breath. "Just five more minutes…"
"I'm afraid five minutes passed ten minutes ago, Master."
With a resigned sigh, Kai turned over and blinked at the ceiling, the pale rays of artificial sunlight diffused through the tall curtains inside his room. His body still ached slightly — a ghost of fatigue from yesterday's late-night gaming session – A daily routine now. Dragging himself out of bed, he trudged into the bathroom, letting the shower's heat chase away the remnants of sleep clinging to his skin.
As the warm water cascaded over him, Kai leaned his forehead against the cool marble wall, allowing himself a moment of peace. 'Back to reality…' he mused, watching the mist gather on the glass door. 'Or whatever passes for it these days. I'll have to get things sorted out fast – now that the game is in its last phase.' He mused, planning for the coming months. 'The journey till now was great and I hope that the remaining time also passes quietly.'
Refreshed, and with a towel lazily slung over his neck, Kai returned to his room, quickly dressed, and followed Kanami – they walked on the familiar path through the corridors of the estate, eventually arriving at the opulent dining hall. The long, polished table stretched across the room like a runway of silence — devoid of chatter or presence – Or so it was supposed to be.
He paused at the entrance, letting his eyes scan the room again.
Unlike the usual empty hall, a boy who appeared to be in his mid-teens was seated at the table, engrossed with his breakfast that he only spared a glance at Kai's direction before he continued eating.
The sight caused Kai to sigh, before he followed Kanami to his seat and began consuming his breakfast. The Two brothers or Step-brothers engrossed in their little world, indifferent to each other's presence.
Having completed his breakfast, Ryuga got up and left the dining hall, without acknowledging Kai existence all throughout his meal. Causing Kanami to let out a sigh, at the enmity he received from his brother.
"So, Kanami… Father and Mother aren't at home?" He muttered, pausing his meal.
"Yes, they are abroad to attend a party with one of the clients, hoping to expand the business. At least, that's what I heard this morning from the secretary, while I was enquiring about the future prospects of your business venture." Kanami spoke, earning a nod from Kai.
'My relation with Ryuga was good, at least I believed it to be. While, he was always shy around me, but he used to greet me and smile at every opportunity. From his mother's interference, he did not approach me as much, while growing up, but this… I am not sure. This distance and indifference… I guess it all started after I lashed out and destroyed the showcase of my trophies.' He mused. 'Well, I have no enmity toward him or this family. Despite my rantings, it has given me everything that I could hope for in this World and even made my journey in Yggdrasil… a smooth sailing one. I am not even sure, if I can ever repay this favour.' He pondered with a wry smile.
Done with his breakfast, he stepped out and logged in Yggdrasil as usual.
******
Later that Evening;
The elevator doors opened with a muted chime, and Kai stepped into the dim corridor leading toward the underground parking section. The concrete floor gleamed under recessed lighting, and the hum of cleaning robots echoed faintly from a distance.
At the far end, near the door marked Vehicle Parking, stood a familiar figure, arms folded, posture stiff as always.
Kanami sighed, looking over at Kai.
Even in a charcoal-grey suit, the old-fashioned butler-glasses and neatly combed black hair, his expression, as ever, hovered somewhere between concern and disapproval.
"You're going alone," Kanami stated, not asked.
Kai glanced up at him as the motion sensor unlocked the parking door. "Didn't realize someone was going accompany me."
"I am your personal butler. When you wish walk into sketchy addresses at this hour, I will of course appear. It's instinct at this point with your whimsical nature. Although, I do not mind accompanying you for the peace of my mind."
Kai exhaled, amused, and tapped his comms badge to disengage the door lock.
"I'm twenty-four, Kanami. I don't think there would be a lot of man or women for that matter, out there, who wish to or can bait me with candy or something." Kai muttered, looking around the garage, looking for a car. While, completely ignoring Kanami's last statement.
Kanami's eyes narrowed, as he sighed.
"Come on Kanami," Kai continued, shrugging. "Be a bit flexible, and in the worst-case scenario, I disappear. That's the least of the desired outcomes, for you or me. I will stall or fight against them than let them take me. Disappearing would lock me from Yggdrasil, I can't miss the daily dose of adrenaline from Yggdrasil."
"...That is not comforting." Kanami muttered, while he was worried for Kai's safety but was just as worried about him locking himself within a game – Completely locked out from reality.
He placed a hand lightly on Kai's shoulder as he passed.
"You have your phone turned ON, correct?"
Nodding toward Kanami, he sets his sight on a hyper car and slides inside it.
'With fuel cars now obsolete, it's either electric or hydrogen, with electric cars a bit on the pricier side.' Kai mused and held the steering, before turning off the auto-drive function and puts the car in eco mode, "Kanami just look at how cautious I am, and do not worry about me… And you know me, I would never risk my life."
Kai waved a lazy two-finger salute over his shoulder, and drove the car outside the building. As he heard muffed voice of Kanami.
'Well with the price of electric cells these days, it's to be expected.' He mused. The city's edge glowed faintly in the distance, neon sign boards and lights turned ON, the infamous night life of the Neo-Japan. He wished to roll down the window, and enjoy the cold breeze but with the condition of the environment, he didn't wish for his remaining lifespan to get divided, while the pollution did subtract lifespan in twenty-first century, it was quite different in the twenty-second century. The tyres skid against the road, as he exited the street of his home.
Kai observed the silent surrounding near his home, without any other building in its proximity. Then… click.
The ambience of the vehicle, the colour combination of the car's interior changed and the car artificially roared, as the infotainment display of the car went through an animated slide show: Hyper Mode On.
Kai's lips tugged into a smile.
'I don't know what it is…' he mused, tightening his grip on the wheel. 'But every time I drive alone on an empty road or ride for the matter,' He mused. 'I always press on the pedal till it's absolute limit and let the air rush against my skin.'
The car shot forward, Kanami who remained at home, looked worriedly at the warning notification he received on his tablet.
******
'I suppose this can be both an advantage and disadvantage with my home being a bit far from the city.' He mused, while racing on an empty road.
'With Yggdrasil nearing its end. I guess all my plans will have to speed up. With the [Fruit from the Fallen World] I can be rest assured of the power advantage, once I am in the New World.' He mused, humming to the music he had turned ON, a while back. He slowed down his speed by a bit, as he reached the intersection that led to the city, with other vehicles joining him on the road.
'But the question still stands – Which World Enemy should I chose?' He pondered. 'The [Fruit from the Fallen World] can be used only once and upon activation, the user is allowed to challenge any World Enemy that they wish to replace, and survive the battle for 10 minutes without dying. Upon failure to do so, the World Item is lost. But the selected World Enemy should have already been defeated by the player with or without his teammates, prior to challenging the World Enemy.' He mused.
'The Demon of the Abyss – Is a good choice. But the question is, can I survive his attacks? He is said to be and is stronger than Lords of Seven Deadly Sins, Ten Archangels of Sefira, Fafnir, Sutr, Eight Dragons, Odin or any other Gods, and Outer Gods that were available for us to fight against, that's from my personal experience.'
"Hmm!", 'And among the Outer Gods, the strongest were Cthulhu and The Demon of the Abyss, both of them almost equal in difficulty. While the Demon of the Abyss, surpasses him by a bit. With him being part of Outer God integration pack with other World Enemies to connect the lore and plot – As Kayaba worded it. He should be the ideal choice. Moreover, he can summon those Primordial Demons, ruler of Nine Floors before the bottom of the Abyss, and not to mention revive them. Though it was said that Abyss has infinite number of floors, but these Ten Floor Dungeon that we attempted is supposed to be located near the bottom of the Abyss with a just a single floor separating the Throne of Abyss, where The Demon of Abyss resides and the bottom of the Abyss.'
Kai contemplated as he drove his car along the road connecting the highway, as he could get to the place Indomitable Wall had shared his location to, faster through highway than entering the city by the closest entry point from his home.
'Well, the Demon was definitely strong. I still vividly remember the cut-scenes from his raid, with it being the most difficult battle of Yggdrasil for our guild, right after World Devourer's raid.' Kai mused as he reminisced the battle.
******
The Throne of Abyss – Within the Myriad Palace of Abyss:
World Enemy: Sovereign of ORIGINAL SINS – The Demon of the Abyss;
They stood before it—Kai at the centre, his coat trailing lightly, as he stood in the Myriad Palace of Abyss. The raid party stood in silence, the aftermath – the mental exhaustion of the previous nine floors still weighing on their shoulders.
They entered through the door, leading to the Ruler of the Abyss.
Zaroth was the first to open his mouth; "The final stage… the origin of sin… At the bottom of the Abyss, how poetic," He muttered, in a joyous glint.
Sooner had they stepped inside the Myriad Palace of Abyss; it unfolded.
Layers peeled backward into themselves like folding glass, revealing a tunnel of darkness – no floors, no ceiling, just a void suspended across multiple layers of reality.
And beyond it, at the far end, a single, black throne sat upon a disc of still black water, threatening to consume all the light and life from the cosmos. The Demon of the Abyss rested upon it – head lowered, arms draped across the throne like a corpse long dead. Its presence distorted the space around it, their vision blurring, cloaked by the absence of the vacuum of space around the Demon of the Abyss – Ever distorting.
< Mor Initium Kai Telos of Vanitas Regnum Anta – World Champion: Recognized>
< Rex sub luna of Vanitas Regnum Anta – World Champion: Recognized>
< Shining Knight of Vanitas Regnum Anta – World Champion: Recognized>
< Red Thorn of Vanitas Regnum Anta – World Champion: Recognized>
Kai was surprised by the pop-ups they received.
It was then, the Demon of the Abyss opened its eyes; The Yggdrasil screeched, being subjected to its vision. Reality was rewritten as the Demon of the Abyss woke up from its slumber.
{Madness-I}
{Madness-II}
{Madness-III}
{Madness-IV}
{Madness-V}
{Madness-VI}
{Madness-VII}
{Aura of Despair-l}
{Aura of Despair-II}
{Aura of Despair-III}
{Aura of Despair-IV}
{Aura of Despair-V}
{Aura of Despair-VI}
{Aura of Despair-VII}
{Insanity I}
{Insanity II}
{Insanity III}
{Insanity IV}
{Insanity V}
{Insanity VI}
{Insanity VII}
{Aura of Death I}
{Aura of Death II}
{Aura of Death III}
{Aura of Death IV}
{Aura of Death V}
{Aura of Death VI}
{Aura of Death VII}
{Corruption I}
{Corruption II}
{Corruption III}
{Corruption IV}
{Corruption V}
{Corruption VI}
{Corruption VII}
…
Many debuffs were applied against the trespassers of Abyss, it was HE, whose very visage would drive anyone who laid their eyes to insanity and corruption.
The Great Old One, the Demon of the Abyss had awakened, its movements a voracious maelstrom, indiscriminately devouring the essence of both the deceased and the living who dared to wander within its malevolent grasp.
The very essence of His existence was a blight upon the cosmos, a perverse anomaly that twisted the fabric of reality into grotesque parodies of their original design.
The Demon of the Abyss movement of stretching its body, caused the continuum of time to decay and space to distort, as space-time turned obsolete.
The Umbra Mortalis, the very Shadow of Death itself, surged forth like a sinister tide of obsidian flames, scorching through the world's crust as The Demon's presence after its long slumber, seeped into the world's foundation, akin to a malignant ink corrupting the integrity of a fragile edifice of multiple lower and higher dimension alike.
The sinister, tar-black conflagration unfurled like venomous tendrils in the darkness of the cosmos, engulfing all of existence in its inexorable advance. His existence, his presence – The Great Entropy sought to revert creation back to the primordial void, erasing every trace of the cosmos' inception.
The Yggdrasil trembled with the weight of His malevolence, fissures spreading like a plague, swallowing worlds whole, and reshaping them in a grotesque mockery of their former selves. Mountains crumbled, their once-majestic peaks now mere rubble at the feet of the Ruler of the Abyss.
The Demon of the Abyss had now awoken, gazing down at the mortals, while HE remained draped over the throne of the Abyss.
The car's GPS pinged softly, dragging him back to the present. The city loomed closer now. Streetlights glimmered in the distance. He eased the car down to a crawl.
Streetlights passed by in slow intervals, shadows of tall buildings stretching out
Kai glanced at the digital map. The location was tucked between a decommissioned business district and what looked like a retrofitted warehouse. He slowed as he approached the corner and turned toward the location Indomitable Wall had texted him. He parked across the street, turned off the car, and exhaled.
******
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**The End**
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