Narrator POV
In the center of a large circular room stood a grand round table of obsidian luster surrounded by 41 luxurious seats.
Most of those seats are vacant with the exception of three of them. On the occupied seats sit three beings, very different from one another.
One is a skeleton wearing a jet-black academic gown adorned with gold and violet edges. In its empty eye sockets lay dark red glowing orbs, and a dark halo-like object glimmers behind its skeletal head.
This being is an Overlord, a high-ranked being that turned undead in the pursuit of ultimate magic. And its name is Momonga.
The second being is a black slime; its surface, reminiscent of coal tar, quivers and never maintains a consistent shape even for a second.
This being is an Elder Black Ooze, a race with powerful acidic abilities that is among the strongest of the slime types. Its name is Herohero.
And the third being looks like a human girl between 10 and 12 years old. She has long blonde hair, blue eyes that seem to glow with ethereal energy, and flawless, fair-toned skin. She possesses a divine beauty that leans toward the cute side. She seems completely out of place when surrounded by the two monstrous beings.
She wears a luxurious-looking blue mage robe adorned with gold edges and a beautiful pendant that glows with a soft blue, divine-looking light. It looks like a mix between a mage outfit and an aristocrat's; the skirt of the robe is only above-knee length, and she wears a pair of small, brown boots. Despite its quality, her outfit has a frilly design that resembles something meant for a young girl. But looking at the one wearing it, it only seems fitting.
She also has an earring hanging from her right ear: a small, unknown, shattered blue gem. Each fragment of the gem stays close to the others and moves around them, yet never touches another, as if they operate on their own strange magnetic field.
She is a Child of Mana, a unique spiritual being whose body is a construction of pure mana. They are the highest evolution of a Spirit of Magic, a magic caster that fused with the essence of magic. Her name is Lydia Evie Hart.
Those three beings seated around the table are players playing with a heteromorphic avatar. Momonga talks to Herohero without moving his mouth. This is because despite the advancement of technology, it is still impossible to change expressions to go with the conversation. So the players are limited to showing their feelings by their voices, movements, and emoticons.
"Wow, it's been a really long time, Herohero-san. Even though it's the last day of YGGDRASIL, I honestly didn't expect anyone to actually show up." Momonga starts the conversation in a cheerful tone.
"I agree. It's been so long, Momonga-san, Lydia-tan," replies Herohero with a tired but joyful tone.
"Even after so long, you still call me that, Herohero?" Lydia continues in her soft, quiet voice that can't hide the bit of irritation at the way Herohero still addresses her.
"Sorry, Lydia-tan, we called you that so often that it kind of became a habit." Herohero apologizes half-heartedly, his voice sounding more tired than apologetic.
Momonga, looking to change the subject, engages with Herohero again.
"This is the first time we've seen you since you changed your job in real life, so how long has it been? ...Hasn't it been like two years?" he asks tentatively.
"Ah... that seems about right. Wow⁓ It's been that long already... Oh boy, my sense of time is out of whack because I've been doing nightly overtime shifts every day lately." Herohero replies, sounding somehow even more tired than before despite obviously trying to sound cheerful.
"Isn't that a dangerous sign? Are you okay, Herohero-san?" Lydia asks softly, worried for her friend's health.
"Physically? I'm in complete rags. It's not so much as to visit a doctor, but I'm almost on the verge of it. I seriously want to run away. Still, I have to earn money to make ends meet, so I'm working for my dear life while being whipped like a slave," rants Herohero as the occasion presents itself in front of him.
"Wow..." is the only response Momonga can mutter to his friend's situation.
Momonga tilts his head back and makes an irritated gesture while Lydia can only stay silent at Herohero's venting.
"Really, it's unbearable," continues Herohero, seemingly not noticing his friends' mood while ranting.
Herohero's gloomy voice, laden with an incredible sense of reality, flew towards the other two present in the room as if to inflict a follow-up strike.
Herohero continued to complain about his work in real life to Lydia and Momonga for a while. Eventually, Herohero stopped.
"...I'm sorry for my endless complaining. I don't get much of a chance to vent on the other side." Herohero apologizes and justifies himself after finally noticing his friends' mood.
"It's okay, Herohero-san. I was the one who asked you to come, even though you were exhausted." replies back Momonga guiltily.
A faint laughter with a bit more vigor can be heard from Herohero.
"Thank you very much, Momonga-san, Lydia-tan. I'm glad that I logged in and got to meet up with you two." Herohero says to his two friends, his mood lifted after venting his real-life problems.
"I'm glad to hear you say that." Momonga answers back, happy that his friend is feeling better.
"...But I'm afraid it's about time for me to..." Herohero suddenly informs his two friends of his intention.
Herohero's tentacle moved in the air as if it was touching something. He was operating his HUD.
"Yeah... it's getting quite late already." Lydia tells him, understanding what he means. "I'm sorry, Lydia-tan, Momonga-san" Herohero apologizes, knowing that they would have wanted him to stay until the end with them.
Momonga sighed softly to conceal the emotions that had risen inside him.
"I see. That's a shame. ...Honestly, fun times fly by so fast." Momonga speaks up, trying to sound happy.
"I really want to be with you two until the end, but I'm exhausted." Herohero justifies himself, sounding as exhausted as he claims to be.
"You must be worn out." Momonga states the obvious, as if to silently accept Herohero's early departure.
"You should get some rest." Lydia adds softly, encouraging her friend to rest.
"I'm really sorry. ... Lydia-chan, Momon—no, Guild Master, what will you do?" Herohero asks, more to confirm what he already knows from the email Momonga sent him than as a question.
"I'm planning to stay online until I'm disconnected when the service ends. There's still time... who knows, another person might show up." Momonga replies, trying to sound nonchalant about it.
"...And you, Lydia-chan?" Herohero asks, turning the slime head of his avatar toward Lydia.
"Same here; I intend to stay with our dear Guild Master until the end." Lydia answers his question, trying to sound cheerful and playful despite what she truly feels deep down.
Momonga was a bit flustered but chose to remain silent.
"Is that so? ...Frankly, I didn't expect this place to still exist." Herohero adds casually.
At this moment, it is truly a good thing that there is no ability to show facial expressions in YGGDRASIL. Because if there were, one would have seen Lydia's and Momonga's grimaces at a single glance.
Lydia stayed silent and Momonga closed his mouth shut to suppress the sudden surge of emotions, since they would be revealed in their voices.
They had desperately maintained the guild because they had created it together, so it was only natural for them to be overwhelmed with indescribable sentiments when such words were spoken by one of their comrades. But those sentiments were dispelled by what Herohero said next.
"As the last remaining members of the guild, you have kept this place going so that we could return at any time. Thank you." Herohero thanks them heartfeltly.
"...We all created this place together." Lydia replies softly, flustered.
"It's the duty of the guild master to maintain and supervise it so that anyone can come back whenever!" adds Momonga, equally flustered by his friend's heartfelt gratitude.
"It was thanks to both of your presences that we were able to enjoy this game to the fullest. ...Next time we meet, it would surely be nice if it were in YGGDRASIL II." Herohero tells them heartfeltly and hopefully.
"I've yet to hear a rumor about a sequel... but I really hope that happens." Momonga replies to Herohero's words, equally hopeful for a sequel to YGGDRASIL despite the nagging feeling that there will be no such thing in the future.
"Let's meet again when that time comes! Well then, I'm feeling really, really sleepy now, so I'll log out... I'm glad I got to meet you before the end. Have a good game." Herohero tells them cheerfully despite his exhaustion.
For a short moment, both Lydia and Momonga were left speechless, not knowing how to reply; however, they gave their final words to their friend right after.
"I also had a good time thanks to you. Have a good game." Momonga tells Herohero as a goodbye.
"Thank you, Herohero-san. I hope you will have a good rest." Lydia adds, as her own goodbye to her friend.
A smiling emoticon appeared above Herohero's head with a glint. Lydia and Momonga responded with the same smiling emoticon.
Then, Herohero said his final word.
"Let's meet again in a different place." he says, before his avatar vanishes. He had logged out.
The silence returned to the guild hall. A silence devoid of memories and emotions.
Looking at the chair that Herohero was sitting in just a few seconds ago, Momonga spat out the words he was going to say at the end.
"While I understand that you're tired, since today's the last day for the game and you're already here, can't you stay until the very end—?" Momonga says hopefully to the empty air where Herohero was, despite knowing the futility of his action.
Of course, there was no reply. Herohero had already logged out to the real world. Lydia glanced towards Momonga but stayed silent.
"Haah..." Momonga let out a sigh from deep down in his heart. He could not have brought himself to say those words when Herohero was still there.
Momonga stared a the seat where Herohero was until a while ago, and then he looked around. What he saw were the 38 chairs where his old comrades used to sit. His gaze landed on Lydia for a short while.
He felt thankful to Lydia for remaining with him all this time. To not leave him and Nazarick behind like the others did. Lydia's presence was one of the few things that had helped Momonga avoid descending too deep into depression.
After a while, his eyes return to Herohero's seat once again.
"Let's meet again in a different place." Momonga mumbles to himself.
Lydia lowered her head in sadness.
'Let's meet again someday.', 'See you again'
They had heard such phrases time after time. But they never kept their word.
Nobody had returned to YGGDRASIL.
"Just where and when are we meeting again?" Momonga mumbles, tired.
Momonga's shoulders shook greatly. Then his true feelings that he had bottled up for a long time burst forth.
"—Don't joke with me!" he shouts furiously at no one in particular.
He slams his hands on the table. The game judges the action as an attack and shows the damage that Momonga has inflicted on the table, with a red number appearing for a brief instant not far from where Momonga hit the table. The resulting number is "0".
Lydia's body jerks, as if startled by the sudden shout of her friend. But Momonga doesn't seem to have noticed and continues to shout.
"This place is the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick that we all built together! How could everyone give it up that easily?!" he vents to himself and Lydia.
Lydia stays silent during Momonga's outburst. She can understand Momonga's feelings. After all, she feels the same. She just doesn't express her feelings in the same way.
What followed after Momonga's fierce fury was desolation.
"...No, that's not it. They didn't give it up. They simply faced head-on the choice between 'reality' and 'fantasy'. Ah, it couldn't be helped, and there were no betrayals. It must've been a difficult choice for them..." Momonga mumbles to himself as though trying to persuade himself.
He stands up from his seat and walks towards the wall with a single, golden staff hovering on it.
Momonga POV
This staff of supreme quality is a Guild weapon and is the symbol of the guild of Ainz Ooal Gown.
The guild master is supposed to carry the guild weapon, but it has been hung up in this room instead, as losing the guild weapon would result in the disbandment of the guild of Ainz Ooal Gown.
I reached out for the staff, but stop halfway. At this very moment—even though YGGDRASIL's service shutdown is near, I feel some hesitation towards the act of debasing the glorious memories that we have made together.
The days we spent together adventuring repeatedly in order to create the guild weapon. Those good old times of dividing up into teams and gathering materials as though it was a contest, arguing over what its appearance should be like, and combining everyone's suggested ideas and making it little by little.
Those were the heydays of Ainz Ooal Gown—the times when we were most glorious.
There was a person who went as far as to strain his overworked body to show up. There was even a person who showed up after having a big fight with his wife due to him neglecting time with his family. There was also a person who laughed, saying he took paid leave.
There were times where they spent the whole day chattering, getting worked up over idle stories. There were days where they planned their adventures and swept up the treasures. There were times where they went on raids and captured hostile guilds' castles. There were days when they destroyed every hidden boss monster that they could find. They had found countless undiscovered resources. They had placed various monsters in their base and cleared out invading players.
But now there are only two members remaining.
36 out of 41 people have quit, and though the remaining three remained as guild members in name, I could not recall the last time that they'd shown up, with the exception of today. Lydia is the only one who never left; we are very similar in that. We both view this place as our true home.
As if reminded of Lydia's presence in the room, I turned towards her and was about to ask something but stopped before saying it.
Because Lydia had not moved from the moment Herohero logged out.
I start to become worried for Lydia, and my fears are confirmed when I hear a soft sniff coming from her.
She is silently crying.
Lydia had never been one to talk a lot or express herself. But one thing was sure: she was one of the kindest people I had ever met.
Lydia was the kind of person to always put her friends before herself, and she almost never got truly mad at someone.
In fact, the only time I saw her truly mad was at Peroroncino when he had pushed her too far with his teasing. And it was truly terrifying; I still believe she traumatized Peroroncino that day. He muttered about bugs for weeks.
I shake my head to stop daydreaming about the past and start walking towards her.
I honestly don't know what to say to comfort her. I had never comforted someone before. It had always been Lydia that comforted me when I was feeling low.
Truly, I'm not a good friend. Lydia had helped me so much and here I am, incapable of doing the same when she needs it the most.
Not knowing what to say, I simply put my hand on her head silently. She didn't react or complain, so I assume that must be enough.
We stay like this in silence for a few minutes.
After a while, Lydia's soft sniffles stopped and I internally sigh in relief.
I took it as a sign that she stopped crying, because it is impossible to know with the expressionless face of her avatar. I was about to say something but stopped because Lydia raised her head to look at me.
"For an undead who is supposed to be emotionless and hate the living, you're surprisingly kind, Momonga." she tells me, and I can almost hear the smile in her voice.
I froze. Did she just pull something from the lore on me again? Now? I was worried about you, you know?! As I was about to respond, I was interrupted yet again by Lydia.
"Momonga... Thank you... I... I needed that." she says heartfeltly.
"Lydia... It's nothing, really. I should be the one thanking you." I reply, flustered. She was always the one who helped me when I needed it and stayed by my side until the very end.
I can feel her confusion even through her expressionless face, so I continue.
"Thank you, Lydia, for staying with me all this time in YGGDRASIL. And thank you for staying with me until the end." I clarify honestly and finally thank her for what she has done for me.
"Y-You don't have to thank me for that! It's normal! We built this place together with the others! How could I possibly leave it behind so easily? This place is really important!" Lydia replies, seemingly flustered as she speaks very quickly.
Her words overjoy me. They confirm to me that I am not the only one thinking like that. And I start laughing from pure joy, interrupting her in the process.
"Hahahahahahaha..."
"Momonga?..." she utters confusedly.
"I'm sorry, it's just that what you said made me very happy." I clarify for her, as she seems utterly confused about the development of the conversation.
After this exchange, we look at each other in silence for a short while. I eventually start talking again.
"Sooo... do you believe that the others will be mad if I take the staff for one last walk to the Throne Room?" I ask, changing the subject to cut the awkward silence.
I point at the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown on the wall.
Lydia placed her hand beneath her chin, as if she was in deep thought.
"I say go for it, Guild Master. If someone has to complain, it's us, not them." she replies in the tone of a petty child, something she likes to do when she roleplays as her character.
"Hahaha, you're right. You really are the Sage of Ainz Ooal Gown." he answers back, mirroring her playful tone.
That's an old nickname that was given to Lydia by our guildmates because of her job class, High Sage, and of her excessive knowledge of the lore and mechanics of the game. She had always found it embarrassing, but her reactions were always cute, so we never stopped calling her nicknames like that.
I turn around and walk towards the staff before Lydia could respond to the nickname.
I extend my hand towards the staff again but stop once again just before grabbing it.
I look at Lydia, who is equipped with her divine-class set of equipment and her World Item, then at myself.
"This outfit doesn't have enough swag." I mutter to myself.
I start operating the console to equip my avatar with armaments befitting my position as a prominent guild master.
On my fleshless fingers are now nine rings, each imbued with different powers. Furthermore, my necklace, gauntlets, boots, cloak, and circlet were all Divine-class.
A rippling dark-red aura rises from my feet. Although the aura is turbulent and sinister, it is not one of my skills. I had simply embedded a [chaotic aura] effect into the robe since there was some space left over in its visual data capacity. Touching it is perfectly harmless.
Numerous icons pop up in the corner of my field of vision, indicating that my abilities have increased.
Having changed my gear and armed myself from head to toe, I nod in satisfaction with my current equipment, befitting a guild master. Ignoring the cute and playful little "Oooh⁓" from behind me, I reach out my hand and grab the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.
The moment I hold the staff in my hand, it spews out a vortex of dark red aura. Sometimes it forms the face of a human in agony and crumbles away. It is so vivid that it feels as though you could hear their voices of pain.
"...Sick details." I can't help but mutter as I stare at the effects of the staff before they disappear.
"Yeah, we may have gone a bit overboard when we created it." Lydia admits softly behind me.
Lydia's POV
When the fearsome overlord of death, Momonga, equips himself with his Staff of Agony, he wordlessly starts walking towards the Throne Room, and I follow him silently.
We walk in the hallway of the 9th floor in silence, as if no one wants to break the magic of the last walk before the end.
The hallways of the 9th floor are wide and beautiful. It really deserves the name of the Royal Suite.
After a few turns, we encounter a maid NPC. Her maid uniform has a long skirt, and she has long blonde hair, a slender body, and a big chest threatening to spill out of her clothes. Overall, she looks very elegant and professional. The view makes me question myself as to why I chose to create my avatar as a loli, but I quickly conclude that it was to look cuter and more adorable, and that it's better than looking needlessly sexy.
When the maid NPC approaches us, she bows to us and Momonga stops to look at the maid, seemingly deep in thought again.
He must be remembering Whitebrim-san, as he was the chief designer of the maids in Nazarick. If I remember correctly, he used to say, "Maid uniforms are justice!" all the time to anyone willing to listen.
I remember that one day, he and Peroroncino-san had a chat about something and then Whitebrim-san developed a fixation on designing a maid uniform for me. It was among the designs that took him the longest to complete, and given the amount of effort he dedicated to it, I couldn't refuse it when he presented it to me.
When I tried it on, I could have sworn that he cried tears of blood. Even Peroroncino-san liked it, even if he complained about the length of the skirt being too long. The skirt of the maid uniform was already one of the shortest Whitebrim-san had made and was almost outrageous; it was embarrassing to wear. Even though Whitebrim-san said that it looked really cute on me.
When I confronted Peroroncino-san about it, he told me, "If you didn't want those kinds of things to happen, then you shouldn't have made your character this cute." I found it hard to stay angry with him since he complimented my avatar, and that brought me a lot of joy because I worked hard to make it look good.
So I just put the maid uniform in my wardrobe, in my chamber on the 9th floor. In addition to other types of outfits, more or less revealing, that I receive from events or fellow guild members. Although I think that 90% of them came from Peroroncino-san. I could not refuse them because he paid for them, and I would have felt so bad if I refused something he paid real money for.
I must have been too deep in thought, because the maid NPC started a special animation.
The maid tilted her head as if to ask what was the matter.
After that, I hear Momonga talk to the maid NPC before starting walking again.
"Thank you for your hard work." he thanks the NPC as if it were a real person.
I understand why Momonga said that to the NPCs even though they are not real people. They are not only the creations of our friends but they also contain all kinds of memories. From a roleplay point of view as well, I just like imagining them as real, living entities.
I bid my farewell to the maid as well before following Momonga.
We eventually reach the stairs that lead to the 10th floor, the Throne Room.
It is a giant staircase with a luxurious red carpet covering the middle.
At the bottom of the staircase, there was a wide, open lobby with a few servant NPCs waiting for us.
There is Sebas Tian, the NPC created by Touch Me-san, who looks like a stereotypical old butler. And the Pleiades, the combat maids. Each one of them has her own unique style of maid uniform.
They bow when we approach, and Momonga seems to think of something because he turns his head towards them, then at me for some kind of confirmation, to which I simply tilt my head to the side slightly in confusion.
He apparently decides to take them with us to the Throne Room, as he uses the command words to make them follow him.
"Follow me." he commands the NPCs.
I don't have any problem with that, so I stay silent and simply follow him; Momonga also has the right to have a bit of fun before the end.
Eventually, we arrived at a massive, dome-shaped hall. A large, four-colored crystal embedded in the ceiling was emitting rays of white light. There were seventy-two alcoves in the wall, most of them filled with statues.
Every statue imitates the appearance of a demon, and there are sixty-seven of them. This room is called the Lesser Key of Solomon, also known as the Lemegeton. It was taken from the title of a famous grimoire.
The statues, modeled after the Seventy-two Demons of Solomon, are actually golems made from rare magical metals. The reason why there are only sixty-seven golems instead of the original seventy-two is that Ulbert-san got bored of the project partway through.
The four-colored crystal set into the ceiling is also a monster. If an enemy invaded this place, it would summon high-tier elementals of earth, water, fire, and wind, and launch a bombardment of offensive wide-area magic.
Combining everything, it has the firepower to easily eliminate two full parties of 12 level 100 players.
Indeed, this room is the last line of defense that protects the heart of Nazarick.
We walk across the Lemegeton with the servants and arrive in front of a great gate on the other side.
Towering over five meters, this majestic double door is meticulously engraved with a goddess on the left panel and a devil on the right panel. The engraving is so vivid that it feels as if they would jump out of the door and start attacking.
"Well, he was a chuunibyou, after all..." Momonga mutters to himself, seemingly remembering something.
At first, I was confused about what he was talking about, but I quickly understood.
"Yeah... Ulbert-san really wanted to make things over the top." I agree with Momonga. Momonga turns around and looks at me.
"...These statues won't attack me, right?" he asks, seeming genuinely unsure while pointing at the two statues at the door.
His words were full of anxiety, and I couldn't help but chuckle a bit.
"Don't worry, they will not move." I reassure him.
He seems to accept my words and touches the door. And befitting its grandeur, the door opened slowly as though it were automatic.
The atmosphere suddenly changes. The ambiance until now had resembled a shrine with its tranquility and solemnity, but the sight in front of us surpasses even that.
Its interior was enormous: a space wide enough to fit hundreds of people with room to spare, and a ceiling so high that you had to look all the way up. The walls were white, adorned with a variety of golden embellishments. Hanging from the ceiling, rows of opulent chandeliers crafted from rainbow-colored gems gave off a fantastical brilliance. From the ceiling to the floor, a total of forty-one giant banners with different patterns decorated the walls.
There is a low stairway that has about ten steps at the innermost area of the room, lavished with gold and silver, and at the top stands a majestic throne that seems as though it were cut from a gigantic crystal. On the wall behind it is a huge dark red banner embroidered with the guild's coat of arms. On the two sides of the throne are also two double doors leading to the 11th Floor; the doors are reinforced as though containing something.
This is the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick's most important place.
"Ooh..." both Momonga and I utter at the same time.
Even we are in awe of the magnitude of the room, despite visiting it regularly. After all, it's an entire floor dedicated solely to this room.
The Throne Room.
Momonga steps into the hall and I follow him. It is so vast that it feels as if it would swallow every sound of our footsteps.
At the end of the room, there was the Throne of Kings, a world-class item that serves as the throne and heart of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
Standing next to the throne was a female NPC called Albedo.
Clothed in a pure white dress, she is a beautiful woman with the face of a goddess. In contrast to her dress, she has lustrous jet-black hair flowing down to her waist.
Although her golden irises and vertically split pupils are peculiar, she is an impeccable beauty. However, on her left and right temples are two thick horns protruding crookedly, and on her waist are black angel wings. Perhaps due to the shadow cast by the horns, her goddess-like smile seems like a mask concealing her true self.
She wears a golden spiderweb necklace that covers her shoulders and chest. Donned in a silky glove, her slender hand is holding a strange object that appears to be a wand. It is about 45 cm long and, extending from its tip, a black sphere is floating in the air.
If I remember correctly, this is a World Item given to her by her creator, Tabula Smaragdina, despite the protests of the other members of the guild.
She is the Overseer of the Floor Guardians of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. She is an NPC who supervises the seven Floor Guardians, which means she ranks above all the other NPCs in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. It is for this reason that she is allowed to stand by in the Throne Room.
Momonga looks at Albedo.
"I knew she had a World-class item before, but how come she has two now?" Momonga asks, turning towards me for an answer.
I don't know either, so I simply shrug. Momonga then gives up on that and commands the NPCs that were following us to stop.
"Standby." he uses the command word to make them stop.
Momonga then climbs the stairs to the throne and sits on it. Not wanting to be left behind, I sit on the armrest of the throne on the opposite side to Albedo.
Now that I think about it, I look kinda comical when I picture myself in that position. But it's too late to regret, so I stay where I am.
"I wonder what kind of setting she has." Momonga mumbles as he turns his skeletal head towards Albedo.
I look over for a bit but don't give much attention to it. I watch the throne room around us instead.
"...Huh? What the hell is this?!" I hear him exclaim softly beside me.
I try to look over his shoulder out of curiosity, but my short height, combined with the height of Momonga and the size of the throne, prevents me from seeing what he is talking about.
I quickly give up and turn instead to all the banners in the throne room. Each one of them represented a guild member.
I still hear Momonga muttering to himself from time to time, but I don't give it too much thought.
"Kneel." Momonga suddenly uses the command words to make the NPCs in the Throne Room kneel.
Albedo, Sebas, and the Pleiades kneel simultaneously.
I don't want to look at the time. I don't want to know how much time is left. I want this moment to last forever. I don't want it all to disappear.
But I have to. I raise my left hand, as if looking at a watch, and see: 23:55:51.
Just a little more than 4 minutes before everything ends.
"...It was really a great time. Truly, the best years of my life." I say quietly to Momonga beside me.
I fight to not let my voice tremble from the emotions.
"I'm really grateful to you and the others for accepting me and being my friends." I continue, exposing one last time the sentiments held in my heart.
Momonga looks at me in silence. Then he just puts his hand on my head and keeps it there while looking at the banners in the room.
We stay like this in silence for a long while that seems to stretch indefinitely. And Momonga finally say,
"Yeah, it was really fun..."
There are only 30s left before the servers shut down and neither of us wants to break the silence.
It is at this point that all my pent-up feelings begin to emerge once again. I'm trying my hardest to remain composed and hold back my tears. The least I could do for the game that allowed me to find friends is to say goodbye to it with a smile...
23:59:35
36,
37...
Will everything really end?
39,
40,
41...
Just like that?
48,
49,
50...
I don't want this to end...
58,
Don't cry...
59,
0:00:00...
1,
2,
3...
"...Huh?"