[X] Doppelgänger
Persona: HEAVEN (Persona/Sword Art Online/Isekai Multicross)
Underdog Emiya
God-Emperor of Underkind
- Location
- Brazil
- Pronouns
- He
[X] Doppelgänger
[X] Doppelgänger
I assume the generic microneedle injector just got the payload swapped out, its used for things like acute allergy injectors and such where you can't muster the attention to get a needle in and may not be able to breathe enough for an inhaler.
06/14-15: One's Own Goal
- Location
- The Sea of Souls
[X] Stay in the Hospital and Play
>Do you know what happens when all the nonexistent players leave a dead game? You're about to find out!
>Advances STRENGTH.
[X] Doppelgänger
>Do you know what happens when all the nonexistent players leave a dead game? You're about to find out!
>Advances STRENGTH.
[X] Doppelgänger
SATURDAY - June 14th, 2025
Evening
Two and a half years. It's been two and a half years since your mind has become linked to the virtual world. Since then you've seen wonders of imagination no human before could have even fathomed. You've traced the path of constellations across an artificial sky, watched a world burn itself into ash and you've even beheld the fragile thing you called your soul held out at the mercy of a god.
You're staring out the windows of Tokyo University Hospital, watching the Kanda River churn with the wind. You can't say the scene before you looks any more realistic than VR. The lashing of the rain against the glass, the distant blaring of an electronic alarm, and the waters lapping against the storm walls— every last detail could be reproduced digitally.
But the one thing that anchors you is the knowledge the simple realization that this place is your home. There's no waking up from this, there's no respawn if things take a turn for the worst. Your fate lies only in the hands of nature and the architects who chose to face her.
Everyone always asked: why did Kayaba Akihiko insist on killing so many people? To what end? Why add death when SAO was already so realistic?
The difference is clear to you now. It's the difference between being in a virtual typhoon and a real one. The struggle and fear that made the virtual into the real.
"This is the largest typhoon since Reiwa 1, if the forecasters are to be believed," you hear from behind you. A man wearing a blue kimono and sandals saunters forward and takes position next to you. You've been trying to ignore him for the past few minutes. "I suppose they'll call it the Reiwa 2 Typhoon now, though I am partial to the original Typhoon Usagi. Has a nice ring to it."
"Can you leave me alone?"
The man continues like he didn't even notice your protest. "The Kanda River used to flood with every typhoon... but with the underground reservoirs beneath the city that hasn't happened in decades. Ah, I remember the old days we had to depend on prayers to placate the River, I think there was even a sacrifice! To be young again and splash around the flood waters—"
"Kikuoka you're in your 30s. They built the flood control tunnels in the 80s," you reply, trying to resist the urge to slam your head into the glass.
"Oh? Hahaha, you're right, I must've gotten my memories confused with some movie I've seen." Kikuoka smoothly laughs, "But Hiyori-chan, you're quite knowledgeable about Tokyo's architecture! How commendable!"
"That's because you told me, three times, today. Can you please go bother Shino?"
"Oh, you know how it is. I go say hi and she gives me this cold stare that reminds me of my junior high school teacher— always so intense! So I figured why not go check up on my sweet kouhai?"
You bite back your gag. "Shouldn't you be more worried? You're part of the «Ministry of Internal Affairs». Doesn't this throw a wrench in your mass surveillance plan?"
Kikuoka's smile deepens. Relaxing in his old kimono he seems more like a retiree instead of the suspicious intelligence official you know him to be. "I have a long clean-up to organize after this. There will be many sleepless nights fixing up the Social Camera infrastructure, and I have important colleagues working offshore in the Pacific who I'll need to check up on. I admit that this typhoon is quite troublesome for me indeed. But you know? That's future Kikouka's problem."
He stares out past the churning storm.
"There's nothing I can do to stop this. There's nothing I can do but trust in the abilities of those who have prepared Tokyo for this storm," Kikuoka continues. "So why not enjoy the show?"
As the typhoon lashes against the glass, you wonder what else you could be doing. The hospital was doing everything in its power to conserve energy, the lights were dimmed to the point you couldn't read your textbooks and diving was out of the question until tomorrow at the earliest. There truly is nothing you can do but wait...
"Hiyori-chan, why don't we take this rare opportunity to get to know each other better? I try to stay friendly with all my contacts!"
...and suffer through Kikuoka's small talk.
"Ah, not up for sharing? Please, let me start. I remember when I was your age, so gung-ho and hard-working— did you know that's when I joined the JSDF?"
"You joined the army when you were 15?" you splutter. "Can you just, try to lie better? Please?"
"Once you get to my age what's the difference between a few years here and there? Anyways, back in my early years I was running all over the place accepting added responsibilities, eager for those promotions. I first made lieutenant right when all the «Phantom Thieves» business started popping up— the Tokyo PD were so overwhelmed they even called in backup from the JDSF to help them arrest a suspect. I even met the «Detective Prince»! You remind me of him—"
"I'm sorry, are we talking about the same guy who was a serial murderer?"
"W-well, not the murderer part! He was always so busy, jumping from one case to the next, making media appearances, going to school and somehow finding enough free time to commit serial murder. I thought: this is a boy who understands time management."
Kikuoka slams his fist into his palm like he just came to some grand revelation. "But I've always wondered what could've changed if only he had a healthy outlet for his time. If only he allowed inefficiencies in his life, gave himself time to refresh the body and mind, then maybe he could've done without all that murdering!"
"You're trying to make a point. You're trying to lecture me. And you're doing it badly."
Kikuoka does a forced cough. "Let's not stress the details. By my estimation most major services won't be back up till Monday, and educational facilities? Even longer, probably Wednesday. What were you planning on doing with that time?"
Sighing, you slump forward. The free time affords you an opportunity to do more diving, but the GGO case still haunts you. "Farming in GGO. Too much to do, not enough funds." You send your unspoken message to Kikuoka like a bullet fired from a gun. He doesn't even register it.
"Hm... why not try something different for a change?"
"Different?"
"10000 players were trapped in SAO. Certainly, there were a few odd ones out, but overwhelmingly, the SAO player base was made up of hardcore gamers. Weren't you one of them? Surely there's a VR game you want to try on its own merits?"
Once... once, maybe. It wasn't something you consciously made the decision to stop doing. You remember the arcade behind the school, swapping Pokémon and stalking forums for any rumors of the latest Dragon Quest. And now... aside from a few nights of Otome games, it's all been taken up by VR. Games stopped being something you played for their own sake and started being something you endured instead of enjoyed. "I was planning on trying out «YGGDRASIL» for fun..."
But even as the words leave your mouth you know it was a lie. It's just another obligation, the search for more power.
Skepticism flickers over Kikuoka's face, but he manages to fake another hearty laugh. "Haha, I remember that game. They released while SAO was still active— auditing «YGGDRASIL» was half of the «Virtual Division's» budget! I even maintained an account for quite some time. It's quite the old game, but I think it's a good choice for you, Hiyori-chan!" There's a hint of genuine relief in his voice. Kikuoka seemed to approve of the idea, but you're not sure why. There's an odd emotion present there, like nostalgia.
"Then you can help me with something. «Ainz Ooal Gown». Who are they?"
"Hmm... I believe they were a guild of «Heteromorph» players, that is, the monster races. I don't recall much else... perhaps try creating a «Heteromorph» avatar? However I am curious what your interest is. I'm beginning to suspect this isn't for pleasure."
"Consider it a... side project. Who would go to a dying game for fun?"
"Everything dies, Hiyori-chan, but that doesn't mean that the game has no value, even in its current state. Let me put it this way— in my experience, there are two types of SAO Survivors, those who become violently ill at the thought of VR, and those who jump back into the pool as fast as they can. I wonder which one you are?"
"...I never had the chance to find out."
Kikuoka rests a reassuring hand on your shoulder.
"Then let me give you a suggestion, as your senior. Stay off GGO for a bit. Whatever you're trying to gain from «YGGDRASIL», forget about it. Why not take some time and just... stay inside and play? Take a lazy long weekend, enjoy the sites and sounds of a new game! I have it on good authority the servers are shutting down soon, so consider it a once-in-a-lifetime tourist opportunity. Who knows? Maybe once you come out the other side you'll be someone new. Someone much less likely to turn into a serial murderer!"
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
12:05:55 YST
Character creation took you three hours.
In Aincrad things were simple. You start off as a level-one adventurer with boilerplate armor and a single vendor trash melee weapon of your choice.
Alfheim went one extra step. You got to pick between one of nine races.
GGO went the way of Aincrad— if it wasn't for account transfer you would start with nothing besides a starter pistol.
It's practically a hallmark of the SEED-based games. Preferences would carry over, calibrations would stay permanent, features would integrate— little conveniences you took for granted. If there was one thing Kayaba Akihiko preferred in his game design it was frictionless minimalism.
The first sign that YGGDRASIL was completely different occurred when you logged in. A claxon louder than a thunderclap near burst your eardrums as the game helpfully informed you that the game was incompatible with NerveGear technology. Then after fishing your now-dusty Amusphere out of your bag, YGGDRASIL helpfully informed you that you needed to recalibrate everything.
Apparently, you were two firmware updates behind and there were hundreds of patches that remained uninstalled.
Apparently, your hairstyle was non-regulation and you had to spend half an hour wrestling into a bun just so you the device could read your brain waves.
Apparently, your 'entered weight appears to be inaccurate' and you're just going to lock that thought into the back of your mind where it belongs.
But you're done. You've gone through all the calibrations. You flipped through the 50 races on offer in a zombie-like state. You went through the initial selection menu which had so much fine text there were tooltips with submenus. You had to close a dozen 'new-player top-off advertisements', disable the 'free battle pass trial' when it asked for your credit card, and endure the mandatory 2-minute trailer for «Shangri-La Frontier».
At least suffering through the tutorial granted you 10 complimentary Cash Shop Gachapon rolls. You managed to snag 9 noisemakers and a container full of Mapo Tofu.
It was like torture, but you can finally see what all the fuss is about.
"Link Star—"
You don't finish your sentence. Those words are meaningless here.
The first time you said those words you woke up in the «Town of Beginnings». Those two hours before you realized what Kayaba had done to you were the greatest two hours of your gaming life. You ran your hands through the cobblestone road and felt the pebbles come loose. You picked an apple off a tree and lapped its juices off your fingers. You found an NPC baker, complimented her eyes, and she gave you a free muffin.
A shared dream, for that's what it was. If not for the tiny specs of the UI at the corners of your vision, you would have had no idea that you were in a virtual world.
...
You open your eyes to the world of YGGDRASIL. Your body is that of a gray, amorphous blob that resolves into a white-haired girl with a featureless face. You flex your three new fingers only to find you can't even feel them. The sun doesn't singe your eyes— it's no brighter than a lightbulb. The starter town is filled with a hazy purple smoke that smells of nothing. A majestic demonic statue towers in the center of the plaza, the effect diminished by the 30 duplicate models you see lazily copy-pasted across the town.
You can't even see straight. The minimap and battle log take up half the screen, and the intrusive status tracker takes up the other half. You had to dig through 5 submenus just to unpin the gachapon banner.
You take your first step and you almost fall over. No feedback, no proprioception, you felt more immersed with the Augma than this mess. It's like piloting a ghost, not even that, it feels like...
Like you're controlling a video game character.
You silently stare up at the jet-black sky box. «The Great Tomb of Nazarick» was somewhere on this server, and you were given an invitation. It's already clear that you will not enjoy this poor excuse for a game held together by microtransactions and glue. You're only here for one thing and one thing only— power.
And that means you have to make it to the lair of «Ainz Ooal Gown»— wherever that was.
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
13:44:34 YST
The Zombie Alchemist grinds a mortar in a constant loop. It was doing that when you accepted the quest and now 10 minutes later it's still doing it. There's nothing even inside the mortar.
"I have four bear claws. Why do I need a fifth bear claw? Bears only have four limbs."
<The nature of your request is unclear, [Lux]. You have submitted 4/5 of the required [Fungal Bear Claws]. Please return when you have submitted 5/5 of the required [Fungal Bear Claws]!>
<This is an automated message: Quest skip potions now available, ¥500 at the cash shop! 10% discount for new players!>
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
15:01:53 YST
The player named [dsfdsf] has been running into the same wall for the last half an hour. He's the first player you've seen besides yourself. You stare, transfixed at this spectacle, and finally build up the courage to send a DM request.
<[dsfdsf]: { w W w. y g g o l d. c 0 m } Sell cheap Gold FastSafe100%Satisfaction, 24/7 Support 100kGold ¥3200>
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
15:42:49 YST
You sit there watching the respawn timer count down. The Fungal Boar did more damage than you expected.
There's no fear, no disorientation. There's no sword spinning towards your life. You've called yourself [Lux] but you don't feel like Lux. You don't feel like you're here at all. You're just... puppeting a game character.
<This is an automated message: It appears you have died. Revive immediately with the Phoenix Blessing, ¥500 at the cash shop! 10% discount for new players!>
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
16:45:14 YST
Your «Doppelganger» class gives you the power to copy the forms of monsters up to your current level, albeit at a 20% stat penalty. So you could fight Fungal Boars by assuming the awesome powers of a slightly weaker Fungal Boar.
Turns out Fungal Boars only had one attack. And being 20% worse at headbutting did not make for a winning strategy.
Something to consider for when you respawn.
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
17:04:37 YST
You've done it. In the form of a Fungal Boar you've realized you can kite half the starter map into a giant monster train. Now you just need to lure them all over to the poison swamp and then you'll be swimming in EXP—
Your tusk gets stuck in a rock, there's a brief sense of disorientation, and then you fall through the level geometry.
...It appears death due to shitty coding still subjects you to the EXP penalty.
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
18:32:00 YST
<Your puny soul shall be my sustenance! Now DIE!>
The zombie minotaur slams its battle axe against your +1 Iron Shortsword. Even though it was a clean block you lost 10% of your HP just taking the blow.
<Your puny soul shall be my sustenance! Now DIE!>
There's no feedback! You have to keep glancing up at the damn HP bar just to know when you've been hurt! No Sword Skills, no magic, you have to summon a virtual keyboard to type in virtual macros to input the most basic of commands—
<Your puny soul shall be my sustenance! Now DIE!>
Can this thing shut up!?
<Your puny soul shall be my sustenance! Now DIE!>
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
18:55:53 YST
You've reached Level 10 Doppelganger, the maximum level for the tutorial map. You could now become a slightly weaker version of any of the trash mobs wandering this swamp. This does not help you defeat the Level 11 Zombie Minotaur that's literally gatekeeping you out of the rest of the game.
"Recommended Party Size: 3". The message in front of the boss gate just stares at you, taunting. You're sure that, in a different time, it would be trivial to find other players to help you. You're sure that, had you picked any race with an ability that wasn't 'become a weaker version of whatever you're fighting' it would be trivial to beat the tutorial boss even solo.
Your mind wanders. ¥5000 for the Level 90 Skip Potion. That's like... one good afternoon at a part-time job. Maybe two Nekoya trips. You're a working, productive member of society! It's for a good cause! It's...
No! You've come this far!
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
19:41:57 YST
<Your puny soul shall be my sustenance! Now DIE!>
Not to self. Fungal Bears fare no better than Zombie Bears.
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
20:05:41 YST
<Your puny soul shall be my sustenance! Now DIE!>
It has a second phase. Of course it does.
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
20:23:07 YST
<Your puny soul shall be my sustenance! Now DIE!>
So if you transform just as you're about to be struck your hitbox briefly stops existing...
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
20:53:07 YST
<Your puny soul shall be my sustenance! Now DIE!>
Again.
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
21:20:28 YST
<Your puny soul shall be my sustenance! Now DIE!>
Again!
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
21:30:36 YST
<Your puny soul shall be my sustenance! Now DIE!>
AGAIN!
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
21:40:40 YST
<Your puny soul shall be my sustenance! Now—
"HOW'S DOES IT FEEL!? YOUR PUNY DEAD-ASS SOUL IS NOW MY SUSTENANCE! GET FU—"
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
Evening
Your neck hurts. Your stomach is growling. You try to get up off the bed but it takes a full second for your body to remember that you do, in fact, still have knees. The clock at your bedside appears to have rewound, and the sun has long since set in the sky.
The rain has stopped in its totality. The typhoon is over.
You work the knots out of your muscles and chug the jug of water near your futon. The place Kikuoka assigned to you has more in common with a closet than a room. Back in Dicey Cafe you could always go downstairs and avail yourself of Agil's stock of soda after a long dive, but in the hospital, the only company you're afforded is the softly humming telemetry vest you were asked to wear before every dive section. If there was a nurse here actually monitoring your body you've yet to meet them.
...You didn't get much done today. You have yet to meet Suzuki. You still don't even know where the «The Great Tomb of Nazarick» even is. You were effectively doing nothing today but wasting time.
...
You could go back— scout out the new area. You still have unassigned skill points, and you should really sit down and read a proper build guide. The day is ruined anyway, what harm could a few more hours do?
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
22:24:51 YST
You step out of the teleporter gate, a level 11 Doppelganger. A quick look through some online guides revealed that all YGGDRASIL players spawn in a special low-level zone prior to defeating their first boss. You were now in the true open world, nine gigantic realms full of procedurally generated monsters and dungeons that would take days to explore by foot. Somewhere out there your target.
Off in the distance, a medieval castle floats in the sky, while a pillar of screaming skulls roars up from the ground towards it. A literal mountain of bones trembles in the distance. There were maybe 10 'Tomb' looking landmarks just over the horizon. Where the hell were you going to start?
<[Momonga]: Greater Teleport!>
It appears before you in a flash of light. The word skeleton fails to capture the scope of the creature in front of you. Its face is locked into a mocking rictus with red eyes that radiate hatred. It's wearing an ornate robe with an open chest, advertising its inhumanity with a white cage of rib bones that surrounds a pale red orb. Gigantic pauldrons in the shape of dragon bones serve as its only form of armor and the air twists around the primordial powers spewing out of the massive golden stave held in its right hand.
You know at once who this is. The one who represents «Ainz Ooal Gown».
The avatar of Suzuki Satoru.
You remember his anguished declaration of war. You feel the sheer strength of the world within him. This is the supreme being whose challenge you came to accept. As you look up into the cold red abyss that is the avatar of Suzuki Satoru, one question seizes your mind like a vice and refuses to let go.
"Why are you named after a squirrel?"
<[Momonga]: Grasp Heart!>
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Rich heiresses would probably play a better cash shop game.
yorokobe, shoujo
You're asking this of a guy who looks up to someone with the username of "Touch Me".
Been slowly reading the quest, and this is certainly a moment of all time?
06/16: Mass for the Dead [STRENGTH Rank 2]
- Location
- The Sea of Souls
SUNDAY - June 15th, 2025
22:25:05 YST
When you open your eyes it's to an overwhelming sense of disorientation. You've gotten used to the sights and sounds of YGGDRASIL— functional, but repetitive. In SAO you would be hard pressed to find leaves that were identical to one another, much less whole environments. The fungal wastes of Helheim were an exercise in efficient map design, and that was the only praise you could give. One copy pasted tree bleeds into one flat textured swamp into one generic overhanging rock formation.
But this? Marble walls engraved with a litany for the dead. Vaulted windows lined with jewels. 41 velvet chairs, each uniquely sized for it intended occupant, encircle a massive round table emblazoned with the emblem of «Ainz Ooal Gown». Every last millimeter was handcrafted— every imperfection deliberately imbued.
And the most striking thing of all?
How empty it was.
There are only two people here. The leader of «Ainz Ooal Gown»— and yourself. Your captor sits there, eyes focusing on the remaining seats, as if 40 phantoms still inhabited the room. He has said nothing to you so far, not since he killed you with that instant death attack.
Somehow he brought you to this strange room. The invasive UI informs you that you've managed to reach the Round Table Hall, in the 9th Floor of the «Great Tomb of Nazarick», along with a less than helpful message that thanks to your recent death you're back down to Level 10. Again. Oh, and you were chained down to the floor. Guess you couldn't take one of the 40 empty seats.
"So... how'd you bring me here?" you try to be friendly, but you suspect that to be a lost cause when your face has all the fidelity of a sock puppet.
<[Momonga]: You've awoken. You were weaker than I anticipated for the scion of «Sigurd the B—>
"I'm level 10! What did you expect!?"
The featureless skeleton looks blankly towards you. You wonder if he realizes how petty this revenge plot is. Momonga bristles, his hand already encrusted with barely restrained dark magic.
<[Momonga]: I expected more! The Level Potion is ¥5000! The Gear Chest is only ¥10000! What about all of Sigurd's resources? His grand army!?>
"We were at best acquaintances that met in an entirely different game—"
<[Momonga]: I remember. The grand army of Sigurd. Humans, Elves, Demi-beings of every race all together in alliance under one banner— 1500 players storming the «Great Tomb of Nazarick». He used his ill begotten gains and guile to incite the world against the likes of «Ainz Ooal Gown». For three days and three nights we fought, and very walls of Nazarick have borne witness to the blood that was spilled upon that day!>
You captor rises from his seat, a menacing flame erupting from his robe, no doubt some cash shop item effect.
<[Momonga]: But it was not enough! Upon the 8th Floor Nazarick, Sigurd himself fell to the combined strength of «Ainz Ooal Gown»! Never has anyone penetrated past. Never has the sanctity of «Great Tomb of Nazarick» been broken.>
He looks down, finally deigning to address you directly.
<[Momonga]: Do you see, [Lux]? I am magnanimous. Behold the heart of Nazarick, the place Sigurd sought his whole life to reach. Even when he stole the rightful title of «World Champion of Alfheim» he dared not try to seize us again! But I see that he plays a game longer than even I had envisioned. In honor of his commitment, even now, I shall reward his scion with a glimpse. But know that should you overstep your bounds you will be annihilated, body and soul.>
If only your incredulity could be communicated through YGGDRASIL's lack of facial mapping features, no doubt your eyebrows would be scraping the ceiling. "Well congrats, you've avenged—" You are not going to say the words «Touch Me» out loud. "—your friend. It was a hard fought battle, I'm sure. How did you even find me?"
<[Momonga]: I am patient.>
"Were you just... waiting for me to show up?" Didn't you meet this guy weeks ago? He wasn't just spawn camping the introduction zone looking for you right. "How did you even know it was me?"
<[Momonga]: I didn't. I've just been ambushing every name I don't recognize spawning into the main map. Simple process of elimination.>
You... have no idea what's sadder, the fact that Momonga's been camping you for weeks or there's so few players in YGGDRASIL that his chosen strategy actually worked. If there's one thing you can confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt is how utterly devoid of players YGGDRASIL currently was. It almost feel as if you and Momonga are the only ones here.
"Oookay... Suzuki-san, Momonga, whatever... It's nice to meet you? You've uh... really livened up this place. Love the glam." If this works like every other holder of a SEED you'll need to at least act friendly, and he did cut quite the striking figure. "So... do you want to give me the grand tour?"
The skeleton seems taken aback at the mention of his real name. With an errant twitch of one of his many rings, the bindings on you collapse into piles of dust. He seems a bit lost— you suspect he didn't really plan this encounter out past this point.
<[Momonga]: You want... a tour?>
"I've already gotten this far, might as well. Unless you want to fight again?" You flex your three fingered hand, shifting it between the faux-human form you currently use and a Fungal Bear Claw. "If you hold still I could probably kill you in about 5000 swipes."
Momonga sits still, slowly processing your request. YGGDRASIL was a dying game, so much so that his encounter with you may have been the only change of pace he's had in weeks. Whatever his stated reasons for bringing you here, you suspect his true goal was something much simpler.
<[Momonga]: Very well. I suppose... the majesty of Nazarick inspires curiosity and adoration. Who am I be a poor host?>
The incredibly out of place emoticon that floats next to his avatar's head in excitement reveals everything.
He just wants to show off.
MONDAY - June 16th, 2025
00:04:11 YST
The night sky is beautiful. The Full Moon, suspended eternally within the false sky of the 6th floor, casts every crevice with the faintest hint of silver. Everything you see in Nazarick has the fidelity you have come to associate with SAO, from glittering skies down to the exquisite masonry. There was no SEED or world AI to manage this simulation, every last detail was carved in using YGGDRASIL's creator tools.
<[Momonga]: [Blue Planet] was the one who designed the night sky— I believe it to be accurate to real world star charts. The cost in Data Crystals was quite astronomical.>
At one point «Ainz Ooal Gown» was a sizeable guild with 41 active members. All over the Tomb Momonga has been pointing out their contributions, lingering at each achievement with undisguised nostalgia. Once, YGGDRASIL was the only non-deathtrap VRMMO on the market. One could argue that it was still the only non-deathtrap VRMMO— though no one could argue that it was still on the market. Its end of service was coming up very soon.
And it's undeniable that there's simply no comparison to SEED based games. For all the visual beauty of Nazarick, the air was still stagnant, the light without heat, and even the sand beneath your feet feels like tiled floor. Impressive by the standards of computer gaming, utterly backwards by SEED standards.
Momonga takes you to a grand amphitheater, the site of many a failed invasion into Nazarick. He brags that more players have died in this one location than anywhere else in all of Helheim.
<[Momonga]: This is where the guild would spar. [Punitto Moe] said I had the correct mindset for PKing, though I was never able to beat him when he truly got serious. Fancy some rounds?>
"You... want to PvP me?" One look at the skeleton lord 10x your level is all you need to know that a rematch would go about as well as your previous match. "You'll end up sending me back to Level 1."
<[Momonga]: Your chances would increase if you had utilized a strategy. I recall during our last fight all you did was just stand there.>
"Because you killed me with an instant death spell! And I do have a strategy, it's called staying versatile!"
<[Momonga]: Oh? Do you aspire to be a Magic Caster? If so the «Doppelganger» class is a poor choice. Your spell list will not be preserved between forms, it's the racial class with the least amount of synergies. Abilities, Stats, Magic, even Equipment to a certain extent, are all based on your transformation. But any additional class you take will become useless the moment you change out of your default form.>
He seems to be knowledgeable about the «Doppelganger» class— he seems to be knowledgeable about every last detail within YGGDRASIL. "Then fine, how should I build my character, oh wise [Momonga]?" You still haven't gotten an explanation about that name!
<[Momonga]: There are a total of 45 Racial Levels in the Doppelganger class tree, which grants you a total of 45 forms alongside the ability to copy even players. The problem is your base form is the weakest of all the classes, and any additional combat classes you take you cannot use while transformed. Hence it's optimal for you to use your remaining 55 Job Levels on non-combat roles.>
Soon he launches into a highly detailed lecture on your specific build. Certain managerial classes could bypass typical item equipment restrictions, and thus made for the most optimal build for Doppelgangers, though Alchemist jobs and their increased consumable storage space was also a viable option. Which specific passives carried over after a transformation varied greatly but Momonga recites every instance from memory as if it were carved into the back of his hand.
He knew YGGDRASIL back to front, to an extent that bordered on the encyclopedic. He paints a picture of an adventure on an epic scale, of new mysteries around every corner and players struggling to overcome insurmountable odds. A massively multiplayer, user generated, sandbox of the imagination. You feel an odd sense of jealousy. This is... what the dream SAO could have been. People gathering together fighting not for life or freedom but just for simple pride...
"Your guild... sounds like it was a lot of fun. I wish I could've been here to meet everyone."
Momonga stops in his explanation. He doesn't move, or make a sound. He just sits there, unmoving, as if broken. It's faint but he makes a sound, akin to stone scraping against sand.
<[Momonga]: It's not too late, I'm sure there'll be back any...>
He stops halfway through his sentence, at the verge of something he simply could not bring himself to say.
When was the last time anyone besides Momonga walked these halls? What more did YGGDRASIL have to offer to a man who had mastered it in every way, only to find himself alone in an empty world?
You thought it would be like Shiroe and Elder Tale. That YGGDRASIL itself would be the shape of Suzuki's HEAVEN. But you're no longer so sure.
But if Suzuki had the time to spare on YGGDRASIL he could easily be playing any other VRMMO, seeking new glories and adventures. But he keeps coming back here... to a world already conquered, just sitting stagnant until someone finally turns off the lights.
The rest of Momonga's tour of the Great Tomb of Nazarick continues with all the exuberance of a funeral, with each room's majesty contrasting further with the sheer emptiness all around it.
MONDAY - June 16th, 2025
00:34:42 YST
You've reached the deepest pit of Nazarick. A great throne sits atop a raised dais, overseeing a grand hall adorned with 40 flags. You've already walked past a strange group of maids and a butler— but given the limitations of YGGDRASIL's AI system all you got out of them was an automated bow. Upon opening the giant doors to the room, you even witnessed a beautiful woman with demon horns standing guard at the entrance, her lifeless expression indicating she was also just a NPC.
"So... this is it?"
<[Momonga]: Yes, outside of the Treasury this is the entirety of Nazarick. I hope you realize now how foolish Sigurd was for thinking his pathetic army could subjugate this place. No one will ever so much as step foot on our—>
"It seems lonely."
Momonga doesn't respond, he simply walks forward, each step followed by the ringing of his staff. The NPCs part before him like a breeze. He reaches the steps leading up to the throne. Slowly, Momonga reaches for the throne, his fingers running across the intricate designs. He removes a brilliant red ring from his hand, holding it up to inspect it in the dim light, before replacing it back upon his finger.
The lord of this empty castle takes his seat upon the throne of Nazarick— with not a single soul remaining to swear fealty to the king.
<[Momonga]: I thank you for honoring the peace of Nazarick. Do not forget that you have already been defeated, [Lux], and dare not challenge the might of «Ainz Ooal Gown» any more. You may leave.>
With a wave of his staff, a glowing blue sigil appears on the floor before you— a clear dismissal.
Momonga has spoken to you of his daily routine. The mobs in the dungeons, all the high-spec NPCs, even the simple upkeep of the Guild all had its costs, in both money and time. He was spending every last moment of free time keeping Nazarick and its followers exactly the way they were. And for what? You'd compare it to a cage, but a Tomb seemed like a far more fitting moniker.
Eat. Sleep. Work.
And come here. Alone. To wait for something that would never return.
And then?
Tomorrow— all over again.
...
"Hey... Suzuki-san. Is your company giving you time off for the Typhoon?"
The skeleton tilts his head, regarding upon you silently.
YGGDRASIL was a game that once enraptured thousands. Despite all the jank, you can't deny you had some fun in the backwater tutorial zone. You try to imagine a world filled to the brim with mysteries, players of all shapes and sizes all creating Nazaricks of their very own and putting them out for everyone else to share. You close your eyes. Is this how YGGDRASIL was meant to be played? A single player, sitting upon a pile of treasure, treading water just to keep the upkeep?
Is this really the shape of his HEAVEN? This dead world? What did Suzuki Satoru truly want?
"School isn't starting for a few days. And, well... I'm not exactly an expert on YGGDRASIL. Do you want to party up for a bit? Isn't there a dungeon or something you want to conquer?"
<[Momonga]: You are far too weak—>
"Then make me stronger. You know all the tricks around here, right? You lose EXP like candy in this game, so there must be easy ways to farm levels. Beats sitting here twiddling your thumbs . Besides, didn't you want to defeat the «World Champion of Alfheim» and reclaim it for your friend? In order for that to happen I'll need to get the title first. Or what, afraid you'll lose when your level advantage is gone?"
Momonga looks at you, unmoving. There's a second of silence, and then two, before finally...
The faintest hint of life.
And an emoticon, flickering besides the skeleton.
The sound of pre-canned laughter fills the room. Momonga spams the key over and over until the sounds overlap upon each other and become indistinguishable noise.
<[Momonga]: Interesting! Very interesting. So you haven't given up! Good, good. Yes, I suppose victory will taste all the sweeter if I can reclaim the title for the glory of «Ainz Ooal Gown»!>
Momonga begins descending the dais. There's visible excitement in his every step, it feels as if he's a completely different person from the despondent king of just a moment ago.
<[Momonga]: I accept, Lux, Scion of Sigurd! So this was your stratagem all along, to ingratiate yourself into the court of the enemy? Well played. Yes, there is no point in this if you are not the Champion!>
"Alright then... when do we start?"
With a dramatic twirl of his robes, Momonga gestures all around him.
<[Momonga]: Immediately!>
22:25:05 YST
But this? Marble walls engraved with a litany for the dead. Vaulted windows lined with jewels. 41 velvet chairs, each uniquely sized for it intended occupant, encircle a massive round table emblazoned with the emblem of «Ainz Ooal Gown». Every last millimeter was handcrafted— every imperfection deliberately imbued.
And the most striking thing of all?
How empty it was.
There are only two people here. The leader of «Ainz Ooal Gown»— and yourself. Your captor sits there, eyes focusing on the remaining seats, as if 40 phantoms still inhabited the room. He has said nothing to you so far, not since he killed you with that instant death attack.
Somehow he brought you to this strange room. The invasive UI informs you that you've managed to reach the Round Table Hall, in the 9th Floor of the «Great Tomb of Nazarick», along with a less than helpful message that thanks to your recent death you're back down to Level 10. Again. Oh, and you were chained down to the floor. Guess you couldn't take one of the 40 empty seats.
"So... how'd you bring me here?" you try to be friendly, but you suspect that to be a lost cause when your face has all the fidelity of a sock puppet.
<[Momonga]: You've awoken. You were weaker than I anticipated for the scion of «Sigurd the B—>
"I'm level 10! What did you expect!?"
The featureless skeleton looks blankly towards you. You wonder if he realizes how petty this revenge plot is. Momonga bristles, his hand already encrusted with barely restrained dark magic.
<[Momonga]: I expected more! The Level Potion is ¥5000! The Gear Chest is only ¥10000! What about all of Sigurd's resources? His grand army!?>
"We were at best acquaintances that met in an entirely different game—"
<[Momonga]: I remember. The grand army of Sigurd. Humans, Elves, Demi-beings of every race all together in alliance under one banner— 1500 players storming the «Great Tomb of Nazarick». He used his ill begotten gains and guile to incite the world against the likes of «Ainz Ooal Gown». For three days and three nights we fought, and very walls of Nazarick have borne witness to the blood that was spilled upon that day!>
You captor rises from his seat, a menacing flame erupting from his robe, no doubt some cash shop item effect.
<[Momonga]: But it was not enough! Upon the 8th Floor Nazarick, Sigurd himself fell to the combined strength of «Ainz Ooal Gown»! Never has anyone penetrated past. Never has the sanctity of «Great Tomb of Nazarick» been broken.>
He looks down, finally deigning to address you directly.
<[Momonga]: Do you see, [Lux]? I am magnanimous. Behold the heart of Nazarick, the place Sigurd sought his whole life to reach. Even when he stole the rightful title of «World Champion of Alfheim» he dared not try to seize us again! But I see that he plays a game longer than even I had envisioned. In honor of his commitment, even now, I shall reward his scion with a glimpse. But know that should you overstep your bounds you will be annihilated, body and soul.>
If only your incredulity could be communicated through YGGDRASIL's lack of facial mapping features, no doubt your eyebrows would be scraping the ceiling. "Well congrats, you've avenged—" You are not going to say the words «Touch Me» out loud. "—your friend. It was a hard fought battle, I'm sure. How did you even find me?"
<[Momonga]: I am patient.>
"Were you just... waiting for me to show up?" Didn't you meet this guy weeks ago? He wasn't just spawn camping the introduction zone looking for you right. "How did you even know it was me?"
<[Momonga]: I didn't. I've just been ambushing every name I don't recognize spawning into the main map. Simple process of elimination.>
You... have no idea what's sadder, the fact that Momonga's been camping you for weeks or there's so few players in YGGDRASIL that his chosen strategy actually worked. If there's one thing you can confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt is how utterly devoid of players YGGDRASIL currently was. It almost feel as if you and Momonga are the only ones here.
"Oookay... Suzuki-san, Momonga, whatever... It's nice to meet you? You've uh... really livened up this place. Love the glam." If this works like every other holder of a SEED you'll need to at least act friendly, and he did cut quite the striking figure. "So... do you want to give me the grand tour?"
The skeleton seems taken aback at the mention of his real name. With an errant twitch of one of his many rings, the bindings on you collapse into piles of dust. He seems a bit lost— you suspect he didn't really plan this encounter out past this point.
<[Momonga]: You want... a tour?>
"I've already gotten this far, might as well. Unless you want to fight again?" You flex your three fingered hand, shifting it between the faux-human form you currently use and a Fungal Bear Claw. "If you hold still I could probably kill you in about 5000 swipes."
Momonga sits still, slowly processing your request. YGGDRASIL was a dying game, so much so that his encounter with you may have been the only change of pace he's had in weeks. Whatever his stated reasons for bringing you here, you suspect his true goal was something much simpler.
<[Momonga]: Very well. I suppose... the majesty of Nazarick inspires curiosity and adoration. Who am I be a poor host?>
The incredibly out of place emoticon that floats next to his avatar's head in excitement reveals everything.
He just wants to show off.
MONDAY - June 16th, 2025
00:04:11 YST
The night sky is beautiful. The Full Moon, suspended eternally within the false sky of the 6th floor, casts every crevice with the faintest hint of silver. Everything you see in Nazarick has the fidelity you have come to associate with SAO, from glittering skies down to the exquisite masonry. There was no SEED or world AI to manage this simulation, every last detail was carved in using YGGDRASIL's creator tools.
<[Momonga]: [Blue Planet] was the one who designed the night sky— I believe it to be accurate to real world star charts. The cost in Data Crystals was quite astronomical.>
At one point «Ainz Ooal Gown» was a sizeable guild with 41 active members. All over the Tomb Momonga has been pointing out their contributions, lingering at each achievement with undisguised nostalgia. Once, YGGDRASIL was the only non-deathtrap VRMMO on the market. One could argue that it was still the only non-deathtrap VRMMO— though no one could argue that it was still on the market. Its end of service was coming up very soon.
And it's undeniable that there's simply no comparison to SEED based games. For all the visual beauty of Nazarick, the air was still stagnant, the light without heat, and even the sand beneath your feet feels like tiled floor. Impressive by the standards of computer gaming, utterly backwards by SEED standards.
Momonga takes you to a grand amphitheater, the site of many a failed invasion into Nazarick. He brags that more players have died in this one location than anywhere else in all of Helheim.
<[Momonga]: This is where the guild would spar. [Punitto Moe] said I had the correct mindset for PKing, though I was never able to beat him when he truly got serious. Fancy some rounds?>
"You... want to PvP me?" One look at the skeleton lord 10x your level is all you need to know that a rematch would go about as well as your previous match. "You'll end up sending me back to Level 1."
<[Momonga]: Your chances would increase if you had utilized a strategy. I recall during our last fight all you did was just stand there.>
"Because you killed me with an instant death spell! And I do have a strategy, it's called staying versatile!"
<[Momonga]: Oh? Do you aspire to be a Magic Caster? If so the «Doppelganger» class is a poor choice. Your spell list will not be preserved between forms, it's the racial class with the least amount of synergies. Abilities, Stats, Magic, even Equipment to a certain extent, are all based on your transformation. But any additional class you take will become useless the moment you change out of your default form.>
He seems to be knowledgeable about the «Doppelganger» class— he seems to be knowledgeable about every last detail within YGGDRASIL. "Then fine, how should I build my character, oh wise [Momonga]?" You still haven't gotten an explanation about that name!
<[Momonga]: There are a total of 45 Racial Levels in the Doppelganger class tree, which grants you a total of 45 forms alongside the ability to copy even players. The problem is your base form is the weakest of all the classes, and any additional combat classes you take you cannot use while transformed. Hence it's optimal for you to use your remaining 55 Job Levels on non-combat roles.>
Soon he launches into a highly detailed lecture on your specific build. Certain managerial classes could bypass typical item equipment restrictions, and thus made for the most optimal build for Doppelgangers, though Alchemist jobs and their increased consumable storage space was also a viable option. Which specific passives carried over after a transformation varied greatly but Momonga recites every instance from memory as if it were carved into the back of his hand.
He knew YGGDRASIL back to front, to an extent that bordered on the encyclopedic. He paints a picture of an adventure on an epic scale, of new mysteries around every corner and players struggling to overcome insurmountable odds. A massively multiplayer, user generated, sandbox of the imagination. You feel an odd sense of jealousy. This is... what the dream SAO could have been. People gathering together fighting not for life or freedom but just for simple pride...
"Your guild... sounds like it was a lot of fun. I wish I could've been here to meet everyone."
Momonga stops in his explanation. He doesn't move, or make a sound. He just sits there, unmoving, as if broken. It's faint but he makes a sound, akin to stone scraping against sand.
<[Momonga]: It's not too late, I'm sure there'll be back any...>
He stops halfway through his sentence, at the verge of something he simply could not bring himself to say.
When was the last time anyone besides Momonga walked these halls? What more did YGGDRASIL have to offer to a man who had mastered it in every way, only to find himself alone in an empty world?
You thought it would be like Shiroe and Elder Tale. That YGGDRASIL itself would be the shape of Suzuki's HEAVEN. But you're no longer so sure.
But if Suzuki had the time to spare on YGGDRASIL he could easily be playing any other VRMMO, seeking new glories and adventures. But he keeps coming back here... to a world already conquered, just sitting stagnant until someone finally turns off the lights.
The rest of Momonga's tour of the Great Tomb of Nazarick continues with all the exuberance of a funeral, with each room's majesty contrasting further with the sheer emptiness all around it.
MONDAY - June 16th, 2025
00:34:42 YST
You've reached the deepest pit of Nazarick. A great throne sits atop a raised dais, overseeing a grand hall adorned with 40 flags. You've already walked past a strange group of maids and a butler— but given the limitations of YGGDRASIL's AI system all you got out of them was an automated bow. Upon opening the giant doors to the room, you even witnessed a beautiful woman with demon horns standing guard at the entrance, her lifeless expression indicating she was also just a NPC.
"So... this is it?"
<[Momonga]: Yes, outside of the Treasury this is the entirety of Nazarick. I hope you realize now how foolish Sigurd was for thinking his pathetic army could subjugate this place. No one will ever so much as step foot on our—>
"It seems lonely."
Momonga doesn't respond, he simply walks forward, each step followed by the ringing of his staff. The NPCs part before him like a breeze. He reaches the steps leading up to the throne. Slowly, Momonga reaches for the throne, his fingers running across the intricate designs. He removes a brilliant red ring from his hand, holding it up to inspect it in the dim light, before replacing it back upon his finger.
The lord of this empty castle takes his seat upon the throne of Nazarick— with not a single soul remaining to swear fealty to the king.
<[Momonga]: I thank you for honoring the peace of Nazarick. Do not forget that you have already been defeated, [Lux], and dare not challenge the might of «Ainz Ooal Gown» any more. You may leave.>
With a wave of his staff, a glowing blue sigil appears on the floor before you— a clear dismissal.
Momonga has spoken to you of his daily routine. The mobs in the dungeons, all the high-spec NPCs, even the simple upkeep of the Guild all had its costs, in both money and time. He was spending every last moment of free time keeping Nazarick and its followers exactly the way they were. And for what? You'd compare it to a cage, but a Tomb seemed like a far more fitting moniker.
Eat. Sleep. Work.
And come here. Alone. To wait for something that would never return.
And then?
Tomorrow— all over again.
...
"Hey... Suzuki-san. Is your company giving you time off for the Typhoon?"
The skeleton tilts his head, regarding upon you silently.
YGGDRASIL was a game that once enraptured thousands. Despite all the jank, you can't deny you had some fun in the backwater tutorial zone. You try to imagine a world filled to the brim with mysteries, players of all shapes and sizes all creating Nazaricks of their very own and putting them out for everyone else to share. You close your eyes. Is this how YGGDRASIL was meant to be played? A single player, sitting upon a pile of treasure, treading water just to keep the upkeep?
Is this really the shape of his HEAVEN? This dead world? What did Suzuki Satoru truly want?
"School isn't starting for a few days. And, well... I'm not exactly an expert on YGGDRASIL. Do you want to party up for a bit? Isn't there a dungeon or something you want to conquer?"
<[Momonga]: You are far too weak—>
"Then make me stronger. You know all the tricks around here, right? You lose EXP like candy in this game, so there must be easy ways to farm levels. Beats sitting here twiddling your thumbs . Besides, didn't you want to defeat the «World Champion of Alfheim» and reclaim it for your friend? In order for that to happen I'll need to get the title first. Or what, afraid you'll lose when your level advantage is gone?"
Momonga looks at you, unmoving. There's a second of silence, and then two, before finally...
The faintest hint of life.
And an emoticon, flickering besides the skeleton.
The sound of pre-canned laughter fills the room. Momonga spams the key over and over until the sounds overlap upon each other and become indistinguishable noise.
<[Momonga]: Interesting! Very interesting. So you haven't given up! Good, good. Yes, I suppose victory will taste all the sweeter if I can reclaim the title for the glory of «Ainz Ooal Gown»!>
Momonga begins descending the dais. There's visible excitement in his every step, it feels as if he's a completely different person from the despondent king of just a moment ago.
<[Momonga]: I accept, Lux, Scion of Sigurd! So this was your stratagem all along, to ingratiate yourself into the court of the enemy? Well played. Yes, there is no point in this if you are not the Champion!>
"Alright then... when do we start?"
With a dramatic twirl of his robes, Momonga gestures all around him.
<[Momonga]: Immediately!>
Underdog Emiya
God-Emperor of Underkind
- Location
- Brazil
- Pronouns
- He
How dare you make me feel bad for this guy. Like...
Damn.
Damn.
Done reading the Quest so far, while I slowly compile my thoughts and quotes: It's pretty cool how you've inverted the usual direction of Persona into something fairly original.
Unfortunate that the VRMMO system is tainted from the beginning with Cardinal being Kayaba's Persona, and SEED presumably being something derived from that - it's probably not feasible to change Kayaba in a manner that renders SEEDs less inherently prone to abuse (or narrative capture by every moderately resourceful Tom Dick and Harry out there)?
(And Fluctlights is a absolute philosophical nightmare, were it not for OOC storytelling purposes I'd be surprised how the military and spy organisations haven't been busy copying everything they could take for themselves? Even if the SEED is metaphysically destroyed at the end of this Quest the problems remain unless that was the only way to read/write Fluctlights properly...
And I get the feeling that Arc 3 requires social stats because it either involves the new system they were installing, or because people are already partially succeeding at blooming SEED, since this game of whackamole is obviously untenable in the long term. And perhaps Arc 4 is then finding a way through the the base of the SEED system to fight Kayaba, in which the Max Rank SLs will be crucial either because they have totally rejected SEED or because they can use theirs for our purposes?)
Unfortunate that the VRMMO system is tainted from the beginning with Cardinal being Kayaba's Persona, and SEED presumably being something derived from that - it's probably not feasible to change Kayaba in a manner that renders SEEDs less inherently prone to abuse (or narrative capture by every moderately resourceful Tom Dick and Harry out there)?
(And Fluctlights is a absolute philosophical nightmare, were it not for OOC storytelling purposes I'd be surprised how the military and spy organisations haven't been busy copying everything they could take for themselves? Even if the SEED is metaphysically destroyed at the end of this Quest the problems remain unless that was the only way to read/write Fluctlights properly...
And I get the feeling that Arc 3 requires social stats because it either involves the new system they were installing, or because people are already partially succeeding at blooming SEED, since this game of whackamole is obviously untenable in the long term. And perhaps Arc 4 is then finding a way through the the base of the SEED system to fight Kayaba, in which the Max Rank SLs will be crucial either because they have totally rejected SEED or because they can use theirs for our purposes?)
Canonically they have.
The only issue is the Seed is a blackbox
06/17: Clattanoia [STRENGTH Rank 3]
- Location
- The Sea of Souls
AN: Two updates back to back, check threadmarks.
MONDAY - June 16th, 2025
Afternoon
"Hey."
You snuggle up harder against Kuma-kun, willing the voice to cease. The hospital bed is rock hard but you're just so exhausted...
"Hey!"
Your warm and fluffy bear is ripped away from you— Kuma-kun still has the imprint of your drool on his face. You grab for his warmth, but he's no longer where he should be, replaced by nothing the cold stagnant air of the hospital. There's some big plastic band jammed over your eyes that you lift over your forehead.
Shino stands next to you, holding a breakfast tray. She looks more annoyed than usual. "You look horrible. How did you fall sleep with that on? I hope you're not doing that with the NerveGear."
You set the Amusphere to the side and give a glance at the clock. It's 2PM. You've only been asleep for 5 hours or so, but it feels as if you got zero. Though your body is stiff you still feel dazed, unable to even contemplate doing anything else other than crawling back under the covers.
"The storm's over," Shino glances out the hospital window. "The roads are still pretty bad, and all the transit systems are out of service. We need to get out of hospital— and just what were you doing all night?"
"Important stuff..." you mumble.
She doesn't fail to hide her visible skepticism. "Seems super important, I'm sure. C'mon, let's get out of here."
"Gimme a second..." you close your eyes and roll over, but find yourself immediately nudged in the side. "Stop that... I'm too tired, maybe you can carry me back..."
"No. You weigh more than me."
"I do not! I've got muscles now!" Said muscles immediately betray you and stiffen in pain as soon you make a single attempt at getting up. Shino shakes her head as she brings the breakfast tray closer.
"Just... we need you at your best, alright? Between『 』and Pitohui things have gotten very complicated, very quickly. Remember the Derby is on July 13th, and we have first-semester Finals immediately afterward. We have less than a month and that time is going to pass us by faster than we think. Oh, and school's off until June 18th. I got a message assigning me homework through the break— your teachers are probably doing the same."
Good news with the bad, as always...
"Now eat up. Get changed and then we'll meet in the waiting room downstairs."
Shino grabs your blanket and takes it with her, the traitor, leaving you alone in the room with the sole stuffed animal you brought. You... should be getting back now. The AC needs to be checked, and you have to remove all the plushies from the waterproof garbage bag you put them in and—
Damnit.
The Derby. Finals. Work.
You're half awake eating tasteless slop, contemplating your pile of responsibilities and—
...
You've only reached Level 40 so far. Momonga lent you cold immunity armor and had you go on a killing spree in Niflheim, farming the Everfrost Caverns. The elemental spirits in that zone attacked solely with cold elemental damage. Usually, the zone was sucked dry by various bots but it appears even they now avoided YGGDRASIL, the one you saw in the starting zone being one its creator likely forgot was even running.
Level 15 in «Doppelganger», gives you a total of 15 forms you could switch to, provided they were monsters.
Level 15 in «Changeling», allows you to mimic player characters, though not their equipment.
Level 10 in «Greater Doppelganger», increasing the total number of forms up to 40, alongside the ability to copy lower-tiered equipment.
Momonga took you on a teleport guided whirlwind tour of all the useful low-level mobs in YGGDRASIL while walking you through your character optimization. Death Knights with their useful ability to resist one fatal attack, no matter how strong. Stone Golems for the best melee defense until Level 50. Blink Wolves, Lesser Shambling Mounds, Storm Hawks and even min maxed player classes, all duplicated from NPC Mercenaries Momonga hired from his bottomless pit of YGGDRASIL gold.
There's a capstone to your class, a hidden 'secret' that Momonga stated he believed only he knew about. The «Capgras», a final tier of the Doppelganger line that unlocked a passive build scan ability and granted you the ability to copy targets even without fighting them first. There was a dungeon in the depths of Vanaheim open to solo Doppelganger challengers, and Momonga would have you challenge it.
You glance at the clock. You were expected there in about 6 hours, right when the early evening was to begin. Prime time for GGO— for work.
...
Things can wait, can't they? Shiroe was right, Death Gun seemed strangely hesitant to act. Pitohui was content to wait.『 』would do some bullshit regardless of what you tried, so what's the point in worrying? It's just a few levels. A new ability to try, a dungeon to conquer— maybe you could go for that «World Champion» quest. Just one or two days. Just...
MONDAY - June 16th, 2025
20:32:02 YST
Your first mistake was thinking that YGGDRASIL was a game about reflexes. Even on the frontlines you were constrained by low-quality Dive signals and anything even remotely supernatural in terms of speed or strength needed to be managed through careful application of skills from a hotbar.
What was it Momonga said?
To play on the frontlines was to be at a sports meet.
You raise your hand, encased in the reinforced concrete of a Stone Golem. The faceless warrior slams its axe against your defense. You rush forth in an impromptu body check, all 500kg of simulated weight pushing you forward, knocking your opponent flat on their back.
Your second mistake was thinking that YGGDRASIL was just a game about ability rotations. You had your keyboard console open, a phantom human hand typing at the dozens of different command macros you had pinned— each changing with every form. The sheer weight of your options was overwhelming.
To play on the backlines was to be a concert pianist.
A faceless druid raises a hundred vines in the air. The tendrils wrap around your massive frame but in the next second you're a Shambling Mound and the vines are absorbed into your body for a near instant health refresh. Whatever countermeasure your opponent has prepared dies as you quick change into a simple human mage and expel a Maximized Fireball straight into it.
Your final mistake? Assuming that YGGDRASIL was a fair game.
"These shitty devs..!"
A dozen panels open along the side of the arena. A Thief, a Fighter, a Cleric... representatives from all the major combat classes all seem to have their arms raised— doppelgangers all. This was the capstone quest, a solo gauntlet through all the varied ways YGGDRASIL had to kill you. Momonga didn't mention that they'd end the fight by coming at you all at once.
The wings of a Storm Hawk lift you above the intersecting blades of four DPS units.
With the weight of a Stone Golem you slam onto the ground, smearing an Assassin in the process. You're a Shambling Mound again, and the Fighter is seized by a hundred arms straight into the incoming thunderbolt of its own ally. A Thief swings for a limb and you're a Wraith, the attack passing through you as you pass through it, taking its heart with you in the process.
To be versatile, to be everything was to be at the sports meet while playing the piano. With your feet.
A half dozen skeletons summoned by the Necromancer gets batted away by a swipe of your Ankylodon tail. You catch the Wizard mid cast and with a twist in the air you bite its throat out as a Blink Wolf.
And so it goes. And so it ends.
Your head rings as the final Paladin slams his hammer down, saturating your Death Knight form in holy light. Your HP falls down to the faintest sliver— but no more, as you ram your sword through the helmet of the NPC. Every single foe brought out to bear against you lays dead on the floor, the silvery blood of dozens of enemy Doppelgangers mixing together as you stand atop a literal silver sea of corpses.
A notification rings out in your menu.
<You have reached Level 41!>
<You have unlocked the special class: «Capgras». Equip now?>
The pool of silvery blood comes alive, squirming and flowing into a pillar that builds in the center of the arena. In what likely passes in YGGDRASIL for a pre-rendered cutscene you temporarily lose control of your avatar, shifting back into your base form, now that of a Greater Doppelganger.
The pool rises into the air, elongating and condensing until a silhouette takes shape, a creature with four limbs and long silver hair. You think you see it, the briefest flash of gold within the hollow indents that pass for eyes— your vision cuts out, a pre-recorded latin chant fills the air and then—
You open your eyes. You are in the center of the room, silvery blood still dripping off of you. Standing at your feet is your old body, a puppet with its strings cut, collapsed against the floor utterly unmoving.
...
It was a cheap effect, but you have to admit to being just a little bit impressed.
<[Momonga]: You finished it one try? It appears you truly are experienced fighting in different forms.>
The skeleton walks through the opening of the dungeon. You catch him glancing up and down your still unmoving form— nodding in appreciation. You shift yourself back into a form you're more familiar with before you're hit with an idea—
It's your new ability. You can see his Class Levels— 40 in the Skeleton Mage Racial Tree and the rest in various Necromancer-related specializations. You type in the new form into the virtual keyboard...
<Skeleton Mage Level 15, Lich Level 10, Elder Lich Level 10, Overlord Level 5—>
Momonga spams that stupid emoticon of his again. You cross your newly formed skeletal arms, and glower at him from your new height. Momonga simply holds up a hand mirror and turns it towards you.
...
Well. You suppose a buck naked skeleton isn't the most intimidating look.
MONDAY - June 16th, 2025
22:48:46 YST
The «World Tree» itself was much unlike the alabaster tower you've come to expect from ALO. In YGGDRASIL it looks much more traditional, a simple wooden trunk displayed on the far-off horizon, towering over the level, with an array of rainbow leaves all around it. The Tree itself existed only in the backdrop, there was no actual zone for it.
<[Momonga]: Touch-san suspected it was going to be added in an expansion. I think the entrance is still somewhere out there, waiting for a Player to stumble upon it. YGGDRASIL loves to keep you looking.>
It also strikes you as a super useful excuse if, perchance, the devs ran out of money. Just hide it behind some GM lock and trick players into thinking it was real, or in YGGDRASIL's case, wait for a player to design it themselves.
Momonga has brought you to Alfheim, to undertake the quest for the «World Champion» title. It was typically a long, time-consuming process, first requiring you to reach +400 Karma points. Karma could only be increased by undertaking extremely tedious quests for the NPCs of the good-aligned realms— or by simply shifting into the form of a high Karma monster.
Then you needed the honored blessings of the Fairy King and Queen— Oberon and Titania to your great disgust— but Momonga handed you two Quest Skip potions and with a flick on your console, you had two glowing signatures alongside a completed questlog. The game had most Cash Shop items as account locked, but this was one of the few exceptions and for that you were thankful. You were not interested in spending 5 hours reenacting Shakespeare for the video game equivalent of a participation trophy.
Which brings you here. A level 41 Capgras, with little more than the clothes on your back, facing the final challenge of the dreaded «World Champion» questline. Upon the foot of the «World Tree» lies a circular coliseum. It would look more impressive if you hadn't already seen this exact same building at least three separate times along Momonga's world tour.
<[Momonga]: Stop. No need to rush, we could be ambushed at any second. As a Heteromorph remember that you are always at risk of PKing.>
From who, you almost want to ask. You haven't seen a single other player all day besides Momonga. But you sigh as your companion casts a litany of detection spells— he insists on doing it practically every zone change, and you've long since given up on convincing him otherwise.
In the background, some stupid lore about the nature of the «World Champion» is being spouted off by a pre-canned announcement. You tune it out and watch the lich beside you instead.
"Couldn't you have taken this Title whenever you wanted? Does anyone even want this anymore?"
<[Momonga]: It would not synergize with my build, and YGGDRASIL bans all alt accounts. If I were to steal it, it would mean Touch-san would need to slay me to claim it again. I would not wish that to hang over our reunion.>
"Was Touch-san a friend of yours?" you ask, thankful you have a way of referring to this warrior without using his full name.
There's a moment of silence as Momonga stares at the sky and the tree off in the distance.
<[Momonga]: I do not know. I was PK'd constantly when I first started— I found the game to be an unpleasant experience until Touch-san asked me to join his clan. I suppose we must've had an enjoyable time together... to a point.>
There's a bitterness in his tone. The unmistakable truth that ultimately this Touch left the guild— that they all left.
"Did you take over «Ainz Ooal Gown» after Touch-san left?"
<[Momonga]: Once we had enough players to form a guild, everyone voted for me as the Leader, Touch-san included. That was long before they left— no, I misspoke. He did not leave, he is simply taking a break from the game.>
He says it like a mantra, but it's clear even Momonga doesn't believe it. The cutscene for the «World Champion» battle plays in the background. The two of you ignore it. "Why don't you look for him? He probably got bored or realized he couldn't afford to keep up with the money sink. That's probably true for all of your guildmates. You could still meet up IRL or play a different game—"
<[Momonga]: No... that would be... disrespectful. There was no great schism, no drama. People left because life got in the way. To join «Ainz Ooal Gown» required only two things: to be a Heteromorph and to be a productive member of society. We all promised each other that the game would be our escape from the real world, not our substitute for it. We poured our all into the game because it was our sanctuary— but the real world waits for no man.>
The theatrics are dying down. A random goddess whose name you doubt even Momonga has bothered to memorize calls for challengers to the title to step forth and face each other in mortal combat for her pleasure.
<[Momonga]: Everyone has their own lives to live. If it wasn't for YGGDRASIL we never would've met, and without YGGDRASIL we have nothing in common. So to answer your question, I would say: no. Touch-san was not my friend. We were guildmates— nothing more... and nothing less. And in honor of those guildmates, I vowed to keep our sanctuary safe, so that if anyone ever wished to return...>
There's a quiet intensity in Momonga's voice. A self-imposed burden he's placed around his own neck, though perhaps it would be more accurate to call it his shining light in the dark? You can't tell if he's broken by this game— or broken without it. MAXWELL said he was once a lost soul, chasing the promise that CONTROL would have granted him. And the freedom that he was granted brought him... here. To YGGDRASIL.
Your thoughts are interrupted. The quest line isn't about to let up— the over-decorated goddess calls out your name, and summons a weird-looking crystal. A prayer of Norse gibberish accompanies a lightshow, and a pillar of energy flows into your avatar with the fanfare of a completed tutorial quest.
And so with a wave of your hand, a notification confirms it— you are now, as far as YGGDRASIL is concerned— the «World Champion of Alfheim». Feeling the event lacks a bit of pizazz, you take out a noisemaker from your inventory and pull the tab— spraying confetti all over the floor with the sound of a wet fart.
TUESDAY - June 17th, 2025
Early Morning
You awaken in your own room. Your AC, rattled but still fully functional, offers a steady stream of cooling air. Some storm water seeped out of your bathroom but beyond that, your room was completely undamaged. You recreate your plushie fort and set the Amusphere next to your bed.
"...what time is it?"
Your clock says 4AM. Tomorrow, or more accurately later today, was the last free day you have until school restarts. After you claimed the role of Champion, Momonga insisted you at least level up enough to fully max out both of your prestige classes. Now that you had enough abilities to actually transform into some of the more tanky monster forms, Momonga took you along his usual farming route. You would one tap a zone boss and he would quickly deal the finishing blow with some absurd metamagic-buffed necrotic spell— still leaving you with 10% EXP off of level 80+ mobs.
Momonga claimed there was little reason to use both the Capgras and World Champion classes together, but to the surprise of you both it seemed the World Champion's equipment permissions carried over even through transformations— not that you had any high-level items to equip. An unexpected synergy that got around the Doppelganger's typical weakness of being unable to equip higher-tier items.
But even with Momonga's tricks your leveling was slowing down to a crawl. At Level 50 there was a sudden spike in both EXP requirements and penalties for death. Now the most effective way of gaining EXP was by clearing dungeons, but unlike overworld mob farming there was no quick and easy way to cheese that. Momonga claimed he still had a plan, and wanted to power level through a few dungeons tomorrow...
You glance once more at your calendar. You really shouldn't, not with school about to start, you being horrifically behind on your schoolwork, plus everything going on with GGO...
...
Ah, why the hell not? One more day.
TUESDAY - June 17th, 2025
18:26:42 YST
"Urgh!" Even without any functional pain sensors, the sudden lurch in your vision as you are forcibly dragged across the dungeon floor makes your head spin. The Garuda monster rears back with a piercing cry, but all you can focus on is keeping the enemy's arms trapped within your spider limbs.
<[Momonga]: Extend Magic! Draconic Might!>
The sudden surge of strength flips the stalemate in an instant. The bird monster squawks as you draw it in closer, smothering it in your arms until the thing finally shatters into pieces.
<[Momonga]: To the right! Reinforcements! Wall of Skeleton!>
A massive wall of bones covers the entrance to the chamber, giving you time to breathe and pop an MP potion. This particular dungeon in Svartalfheim was a gauntlet of sorts, with nigh infinitely spawning mini-boss monsters. Accounting for the EXP bonus you get for last hitting the opponent, Momonga's strategy was to solely crowd control and buff, while you culled boss after boss.
You've been at this for hours. You've only gained 6 levels.
"Is there any way to do this faster!?"
Momonga doesn't appear to have heard you, standing still and silent. He's been extremely distracted all day, performing every task with a noted lethargy. You caught him casting Spike Growth spells against Wyverns and miscasting buffs meant for you on himself.
You groan, shifting into a Demon Mage right as a Chimera bursts through the Skeleton Wall. You cast down a bolt of lightning only to wince as the goat head absorbs the magic.
"Tch, Momonga, can you just kill that one?" Annoyingly the worst enemies for you to fight were versatile enemies like Chimeras and magic knights, where your decreased base stats heavily negated any advantage of your Doppelganger transformations.
<[Momonga]: Found it! You want to do this faster? I have just the item.>
A strange pearl-white flute materializes in the boney hands of Momonga.
"No, wait, the Chimera first! Kill the—"
Somehow, despite his lack of lips, the clarion call of the whistle echoes clearly through the chamber. For a second nothing happens.
And then you're body slammed by a Dire Bear, two Flaming Rhinos and five different flavors of Dinosaur.
TUESDAY - June 17th, 2025
22:52:08 YST
Level 56. That's accounting for the 3 Level you lost dying. Because the YGGDRASIL devs really want to sell you microtransactions.
Want to level fast? There's a Cash Shop item for that!
Want to reduce your death penalty? There's a Cash Shop item for that!
Want to skip the whole goddamn game? There's a Cash Shop item for that too!
<[Momonga]: The EXP penalty is quite trivial. Even for me, I can do about 5 levels in a single day. The worst part about the penalty is losing your rare items—>
"I don't have any rare items to lose, and I don't have a day to grind!"
☮️
Momonga raises his peace emoticon, apparently detecting your anger. You're back in Nazarick's throne room, taking stock of your current build. Even with the untimely deaths you had many unassigned levels, and it was time to pick your first job class. Momonga was recommending the Craftsman class, but the Alchemist class was also...
...
Was there any point to all this?
Momonga's Persona was powerful, but was it worth spending all your time in YGGDRASIL? You can see why this game was so popular, the sheer amount of possibilities before you...
But with no one to play with or against.
Nobody but Momonga and the soulless NPCs of Nazarick.
"Hey Momonga," you ask, eyeing the succubus NPC standing statue still in the middle of the throne room. "Do these things even do anything?" The NPC was lavishly designed, in a tight ballroom dress that left little to the imagination. But its stillness and soulless golden eyes make her come off as nothing more than a dress-up doll.
<[Momonga]: They fight to defend Nazarick, though this one in particular has never seen combat, as no one has ever breached the Throne Room.>
You suppose being invited in doesn't count. As a test of pure curiosity you strike the NPC in the head with your fist. It flinches, but nothing else happens. Even then its eyes don't react— she must only be able to respond to certain kinds of inputs.
<[Momonga]: Stop that, [Tabula Smaragdina] would strike you down for that if he were here.>
"[Tabula Smaragdina]? The «Emerald Tablet»? That explains why he named her Albedo. I suppose there's a Nigredo and a Rubedo lying around here too?" If there was one thing that seemed to unify all of the various members of Momonga's guild, it was their dedication to sticking to a theme. Out of idle curiosity, you peruse the flavor text Albedo's creator inserted into her data.
...
New opinion. All the members of Momonga's guild are weird perverts.
<[Momonga]: Y-you understood the reference!?>
He seems taken aback by knowledge, and ignorant to your rapidly dropping opinion of his guildmate. To be fair you only knew this one because of its association with your Magnum Opus Persona...
"Like I said, I try to remain versatile. You pick up a few things here and there." You track Momonga's gaze up to one of the flags in the throne room, bearing the emblem of a squid. "I'm sure he was ah, uh... interesting person."
<[Momonga]: You two would've gotten along.>
You suspect you would be more likely to call the police on him than befriend him, but before you can protest Momonga waves his hand and an illusion of his old guildmate appears underneath his respective flag. Even the Albedo NPC briefly turns her head to look at the illusion of her creator.
You stare at the... squid monster in a gimp suit, are immediately struck with many questions, and then decide absolutely none of them are worth asking.
Momonga has stories to say about every one of his guildmates. Stories that ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime, painting a vivid picture of 40 people whom Momonga would never see again. He goes on a bit of a screed, talking about each individual NPC of Nazarick like a boy showing off his model toys. For months these 41 guild members lived and breathed in this world, putting a bit of themselves into each corner of Nazarick— at times spending real-life money, and always spending real-life time.
You don't know if it was love, or pride, or just simple boredom— but you were witnessing something people sacrificed for. And now it was all going to go away, with the press of a button. "Hey Momonga, thanks for showing a newbie around. I had fun here."
<[Momonga]: You enjoyed yourself?>
"Yeah. It's like speedrunning to an MMO endgame. And we figured out a new synergy between World Champion and Doppelganger classes— something to add to the guides. I would've loved to see this game at its peak. Shame it's shutting down so soon." Momonga immediately lowers his head at your words. You wince, deciding that may have been too blunt.
"H-hey, it's not all bad. What will you do after YGGDRASIL ends? There's plenty of other games out there..."
<[Momonga]: I suppose I'll do the same thing I did before. Eat. Sleep. Work. And do it all over again, until I can do it no longer. The same thing you will be doing.>
You haven't thought that far yet. You can't think that far, not with the world on the brink as it is. The world you are looking to save... is not YGGDRASIL, nor Nazarick. It's... the place where Suzuki Satoru eat, sleeps, works... and does it all over again. The world where, one day, you will do the exact same thing.
<[Momonga]: Let us call it a night. I have to get up quite early tomorrow again...>
"Again? I thought you had today off due to the typhoon?" He seemed sleepy and distracted all day.
Momonga laughs ruefully.
<[Momonga]: A surprise message from the boss. I had to go in this morning, and I'm expected to do the same next morning.>
So when you were sleeping off your overnight grind session, Momonga was shuffling through his day job, just to spend all night grinding dungeons with you. "...You didn't have to go that far. I'm not all that interested in reaching max level, so please go get some sleep. I have my own work I've been putting off as well..."
<[Momonga]: That's right, you work many jobs, do you not? It's rare to see a high school student catching the last train home. I understand, we all have our... responsibilities. It was good to meet you [Lux]. I had... fun as well.>
"It's not like we'll never talk to each other again. I'll come back to YGGDRASIL sometime. Maybe I can put up a better fight next time!"
He jerks at the words 'Next time'. The words seem alien to him. He's no doubt it heard it 40 times already, and found the words to be lies 40 times.
<[Momonga]: Yes... next time. See you next time, [Lux].>
You gave a final half-bow to the King of this Tomb. Even Momonga has to go back to work, so you can't afford to procrastinate. Kikuoka was right, you needed a break. Playing YGGDRASIL wasn't much of one, but it wasn't as painful as you had feared. There's no mind control, no Kayaba Akihiko plot, no SEED, just... a flawed and janky piece of entertainment, and the one soul that still plays it.
<[Momonga]: Wait!>
It's Momonga. He seems to have come to a decision. There's a pressure building as he looks down at you from his throne, while a golden light wraps around his fingers. It resolves into the shape of something truly unexpected— a scroll, glowing and decorated, in a manner that oozes expense.
Your gaze flicks up at Momonga. This... wasn't what you were expecting.
<[Momonga]: The Great Tomb of Nazarick is difficult to find, and its defenses are mighty. Should you log on when I'm not here, you may use the resources of Nazarick to help you level. And [Lux], I did declare that the title of World Champion to be the property of «Ainz Ooal Gown». I have already maxed out my Level, and can no longer claim the title. Another member will have to bear the burden of carrying the title until Touch-san returns.>
From the unfurled scroll falls a single ring. Adorned in Ruby with the sigil of «Ainz Ooal Gown». You don't sense any sinister plot from Momonga. The man really was who he seemed.
Just... lonely.
You put the ring on, sign the scroll and log out as the 43nd member of «Ainz Ooal Gown».
TUESDAY - June 17th, 2025
Velvet Room
The root of this world is diseased. A rot that transcends culture and circumstance. DEATH, LIES, CONTROL, they are not forces from without, besieging mankind's walls. They are a symptom, for at the heart of humanity now lies ennui. The belief that life means nothing, that other's lives mean nothing.
Mankind walks forward with no purpose, moved only by base fears. In every aspect except one mankind wallows in emptiness. Yes, there is one light, one true shining hope— for mankind, despite all its suffering, still dreams. Still longs for HEAVEN.
STRENGTH is a victim of this world. In his dream there will be the same meaningless lives that he sees in this one. Like a child lashing out in its ignorance he will hurt and kill but also learn. He will learn that instead of something to hoard, he will have something to lose. That instead of something to mourn, he will have something to love.
In order for this waking corpse to truly come to life, it must first shed its humanity. It must shed its ennui. And so the sleeping god shall leave his tomb, and bring with it change, destruction even... but also hope. A hope for a brighter tomorrow, a hope of conquest, of pain...
Of true meaning.
And should you disagree with his conduct? There is room aplenty for two Overlords in STRENGTH's domain.
Fuse Shokushinbutsu and the «World Champion of Alfheim» into...
[ ] Rainbow Body
You are the love that enlightens the soul and its knowledge;
You are the Effulgent Lustre that abides even in a small atom;
You fill with the ambrosia of your Grace,
Every pore of their bones, their flesh and their five senses,
And the sense organs, their breaths, the Five Elements,
That constitute the human body, the soul and its active love
That has helped to gain the divine knowledge to know you.
You are the Divine River that springs within them,
Becomes brimful, and overflows with Grace and Bliss.
-Excerpt of a poem by Tirumular.
STR: Rank F (0 Dice)
MAG: Rank D (2 Dice)
AGI: Rank F (0 Dice)
VIT: Rank S (6 Dice)
CHT: Rank B (4 Dice)
Weakness: Elec, Psy, Instant Death Effects
Null: All Physical
Archetype [Real Deal: Transcend]: You are light, passing through this transitory world. Be not afraid, for salvation will come to those who wish for it, and those who do not in equal measure. You are narratively intangible to physical forces, and any speeches you give will naturally take on the cadence of a sermon, for better or worse.
Skills:
Hamaon: Forcibly disconnect target Fluctlight from the «Main Visualizer», and destabilizes their connection if resisted. [CHT/LOGOUT]
Meditation: Your sutra will call forth true peace. Strike at the target's Fluctlight and take their karma into yourself, dealing more damage the less sure they are of their own existence. By default does 2 damage. [ALMIGHTY DRAIN]
Divine Endure: Whenever you would take fatal damage or become afflicted by an Instant Death effect, instead survive with 1 HP, provided you have SP to spare. [5 SP] [PASSIVE]
Merciful Mediarama: Generates a healing LUMINOUS element and send it into the sky. Heals all entities based on your unopposed CHT roll. [CHT/HEAL]
RELEASE RECOLLECTION
In truth there is for me no form, no sensation, no perception, no karmic formation, no consciousness, no form, no smell, no sense consciousness or object of sense consciousness and so forth; there is no self or other and no distinction of 'Buddhas' and 'sentient beings'; everything remains in the naturally perfect state of pure equality. From the depths of my heart I wish there were some way you could all be made to understand the truth in this, but you do not see it.
[Saṃbhogakāya]: No entities on the battlefield may deliberately launch a STR, MAG or weapon based attack without first succeeding on an opposed CHT roll against yourself (ties resolve in favor of opponent). Entities are not restricted from using CHT abilities or performing narrative battlefield manipulation techniques (ie, shooting at environmental fixtures, etc). [5 SP/Scene]
The root of this world is diseased. A rot that transcends culture and circumstance. DEATH, LIES, CONTROL, they are not curses raining down, they are the answer to the question, the whip that drives us forward. For at the heart of humanity lies ennui, and given the choice mankind will seek it like fireflies to the flame.
Who would not choose a dream? Who would not decide to be a god? To tear it all down and build it anew? To become a creature who has everything and can do anything— to become ennui incarnate?
He asks for the power to be granted to him, when he should instead seize it with bloody hands. He wants friends and servants to love him, when instead he should change himself— change others! Lie! Kill! Drown not in the digital wisps of a hollow dream, but in the sweat, blood and tears of the struggle!
STRENGTH does not seek death for its own sake. Yet still the corpses will pile, the rubble will fall, and all he beholds will be as ash and dust— for what reason? So that he need not be lonely. So that he can have his precious meaning. So that he may be entertained.
Fuse Shokushinbutsu and the «Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown» into...
[ ] Ash Nazg
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
-Except from Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkein.
STR: Rank C (3 Dice)
MAG: Rank C (3 Dice)
AGI: Rank A (5 Dice)
VIT: Rank F (0 Dice)
CHT: Rank B (4 Dice)
Weakness: Slash, Fire
Null: Curse
Archetype [Real Deal: Dark Lord]: You are all-seeing, all-powerful and all too willing to play the long game. You are in control of your emotions and able to switch from a fair oration to a violent, cursed screed at the drop of a ring. You have a tendency to favor plans that are entirely too complicated for your own good.
Skills:
Starfall Crater: Imbues a blunt melee weapon or your fist with the power of an infernal forge, striking with a molten blow that shatters and deforms metal when struck. [STR/BLUNT/FIRE/MELEE]
Eigaon [Wraith Form]: Generate an UMBRAL element and increase its «Main Visualizer» render priority. Specifically manifests as a horde of wraiths invisible to your opponent through normal means. [MAG/CURSE]
Dominate: Initiates Stage 1 Synthesis Ritual and attempts to brainwash all opponents— but with a maximum duration of only a single Scene. [CHT/CHARM]
Mudoon: Purge target Artifical Fluctlight from the «Main Visualizer», and forcibly injects knowledge of the transience of their existence if resisted. [CHT/INSTANT KILL]
ENHANCE ARMAMENT
Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul
[The One Ring]: Your Persona manifests as a physical Ring. You retain the abilities and stat bonuses of your Persona even when the Ring is separated from you. Your Ring can 'teleport' within your line of sight when separated (ie, you can always consider the Ring to be in range) but must be willingly picked up in order to gain its effects. An enemy that is CHARMED, MAD or in DESPAIR will almost always prioritize equipping the Ring above all else. You may also narratively attempt to trick the Ring onto others. Generally speaking, manipulating your Ring is considered a Free Action. If you switch Personas while the Ring is on another, you cannot dispel the effects until you reclaim the Ring. [Mandatory 1 SP/scene] [PASSIVE]
When Equipped to yourself [Default state]: Grants +2 Real Deal Bonus on all actions. You are IMMUNE to Mind Altering Status Effects.
When Equipped to another: Grants +2 Real Deal Bonus on all actions. They are WEAK to Mind Altering Status Effects and Instant Death Effects. They become narratively invisible to all but yourself. They are forcefully subjected to an attempted Eigaon [Wraith Form] attack and Dominate attack, targeting themselves using Kuro's stats, each Scene until the ring is removed. They may attempt to remove the Ring once per turn via opposed CHT roll with DISADVANTAGE or by cutting off their hand.
AN: The Overlord SL got away from me, so I decided just to go straight to Rank 3 that way I didn't have to think up a super move for a Persona that was going to be immediately replaced. Also lets me further tempt you all with the RD shenanigans for the endgame!
MONDAY - June 16th, 2025
Afternoon
"Hey."
You snuggle up harder against Kuma-kun, willing the voice to cease. The hospital bed is rock hard but you're just so exhausted...
"Hey!"
Your warm and fluffy bear is ripped away from you— Kuma-kun still has the imprint of your drool on his face. You grab for his warmth, but he's no longer where he should be, replaced by nothing the cold stagnant air of the hospital. There's some big plastic band jammed over your eyes that you lift over your forehead.
Shino stands next to you, holding a breakfast tray. She looks more annoyed than usual. "You look horrible. How did you fall sleep with that on? I hope you're not doing that with the NerveGear."
You set the Amusphere to the side and give a glance at the clock. It's 2PM. You've only been asleep for 5 hours or so, but it feels as if you got zero. Though your body is stiff you still feel dazed, unable to even contemplate doing anything else other than crawling back under the covers.
"The storm's over," Shino glances out the hospital window. "The roads are still pretty bad, and all the transit systems are out of service. We need to get out of hospital— and just what were you doing all night?"
"Important stuff..." you mumble.
She doesn't fail to hide her visible skepticism. "Seems super important, I'm sure. C'mon, let's get out of here."
"Gimme a second..." you close your eyes and roll over, but find yourself immediately nudged in the side. "Stop that... I'm too tired, maybe you can carry me back..."
"No. You weigh more than me."
"I do not! I've got muscles now!" Said muscles immediately betray you and stiffen in pain as soon you make a single attempt at getting up. Shino shakes her head as she brings the breakfast tray closer.
"Just... we need you at your best, alright? Between『 』and Pitohui things have gotten very complicated, very quickly. Remember the Derby is on July 13th, and we have first-semester Finals immediately afterward. We have less than a month and that time is going to pass us by faster than we think. Oh, and school's off until June 18th. I got a message assigning me homework through the break— your teachers are probably doing the same."
Good news with the bad, as always...
"Now eat up. Get changed and then we'll meet in the waiting room downstairs."
Shino grabs your blanket and takes it with her, the traitor, leaving you alone in the room with the sole stuffed animal you brought. You... should be getting back now. The AC needs to be checked, and you have to remove all the plushies from the waterproof garbage bag you put them in and—
Damnit.
The Derby. Finals. Work.
You're half awake eating tasteless slop, contemplating your pile of responsibilities and—
...
You've only reached Level 40 so far. Momonga lent you cold immunity armor and had you go on a killing spree in Niflheim, farming the Everfrost Caverns. The elemental spirits in that zone attacked solely with cold elemental damage. Usually, the zone was sucked dry by various bots but it appears even they now avoided YGGDRASIL, the one you saw in the starting zone being one its creator likely forgot was even running.
Level 15 in «Doppelganger», gives you a total of 15 forms you could switch to, provided they were monsters.
Level 15 in «Changeling», allows you to mimic player characters, though not their equipment.
Level 10 in «Greater Doppelganger», increasing the total number of forms up to 40, alongside the ability to copy lower-tiered equipment.
Momonga took you on a teleport guided whirlwind tour of all the useful low-level mobs in YGGDRASIL while walking you through your character optimization. Death Knights with their useful ability to resist one fatal attack, no matter how strong. Stone Golems for the best melee defense until Level 50. Blink Wolves, Lesser Shambling Mounds, Storm Hawks and even min maxed player classes, all duplicated from NPC Mercenaries Momonga hired from his bottomless pit of YGGDRASIL gold.
There's a capstone to your class, a hidden 'secret' that Momonga stated he believed only he knew about. The «Capgras», a final tier of the Doppelganger line that unlocked a passive build scan ability and granted you the ability to copy targets even without fighting them first. There was a dungeon in the depths of Vanaheim open to solo Doppelganger challengers, and Momonga would have you challenge it.
You glance at the clock. You were expected there in about 6 hours, right when the early evening was to begin. Prime time for GGO— for work.
...
Things can wait, can't they? Shiroe was right, Death Gun seemed strangely hesitant to act. Pitohui was content to wait.『 』would do some bullshit regardless of what you tried, so what's the point in worrying? It's just a few levels. A new ability to try, a dungeon to conquer— maybe you could go for that «World Champion» quest. Just one or two days. Just...
MONDAY - June 16th, 2025
20:32:02 YST
Your first mistake was thinking that YGGDRASIL was a game about reflexes. Even on the frontlines you were constrained by low-quality Dive signals and anything even remotely supernatural in terms of speed or strength needed to be managed through careful application of skills from a hotbar.
What was it Momonga said?
To play on the frontlines was to be at a sports meet.
You raise your hand, encased in the reinforced concrete of a Stone Golem. The faceless warrior slams its axe against your defense. You rush forth in an impromptu body check, all 500kg of simulated weight pushing you forward, knocking your opponent flat on their back.
Your second mistake was thinking that YGGDRASIL was just a game about ability rotations. You had your keyboard console open, a phantom human hand typing at the dozens of different command macros you had pinned— each changing with every form. The sheer weight of your options was overwhelming.
To play on the backlines was to be a concert pianist.
A faceless druid raises a hundred vines in the air. The tendrils wrap around your massive frame but in the next second you're a Shambling Mound and the vines are absorbed into your body for a near instant health refresh. Whatever countermeasure your opponent has prepared dies as you quick change into a simple human mage and expel a Maximized Fireball straight into it.
Your final mistake? Assuming that YGGDRASIL was a fair game.
"These shitty devs..!"
A dozen panels open along the side of the arena. A Thief, a Fighter, a Cleric... representatives from all the major combat classes all seem to have their arms raised— doppelgangers all. This was the capstone quest, a solo gauntlet through all the varied ways YGGDRASIL had to kill you. Momonga didn't mention that they'd end the fight by coming at you all at once.
The wings of a Storm Hawk lift you above the intersecting blades of four DPS units.
With the weight of a Stone Golem you slam onto the ground, smearing an Assassin in the process. You're a Shambling Mound again, and the Fighter is seized by a hundred arms straight into the incoming thunderbolt of its own ally. A Thief swings for a limb and you're a Wraith, the attack passing through you as you pass through it, taking its heart with you in the process.
To be versatile, to be everything was to be at the sports meet while playing the piano. With your feet.
A half dozen skeletons summoned by the Necromancer gets batted away by a swipe of your Ankylodon tail. You catch the Wizard mid cast and with a twist in the air you bite its throat out as a Blink Wolf.
And so it goes. And so it ends.
Your head rings as the final Paladin slams his hammer down, saturating your Death Knight form in holy light. Your HP falls down to the faintest sliver— but no more, as you ram your sword through the helmet of the NPC. Every single foe brought out to bear against you lays dead on the floor, the silvery blood of dozens of enemy Doppelgangers mixing together as you stand atop a literal silver sea of corpses.
A notification rings out in your menu.
<You have reached Level 41!>
<You have unlocked the special class: «Capgras». Equip now?>
The pool of silvery blood comes alive, squirming and flowing into a pillar that builds in the center of the arena. In what likely passes in YGGDRASIL for a pre-rendered cutscene you temporarily lose control of your avatar, shifting back into your base form, now that of a Greater Doppelganger.
The pool rises into the air, elongating and condensing until a silhouette takes shape, a creature with four limbs and long silver hair. You think you see it, the briefest flash of gold within the hollow indents that pass for eyes— your vision cuts out, a pre-recorded latin chant fills the air and then—
You open your eyes. You are in the center of the room, silvery blood still dripping off of you. Standing at your feet is your old body, a puppet with its strings cut, collapsed against the floor utterly unmoving.
...
It was a cheap effect, but you have to admit to being just a little bit impressed.
<[Momonga]: You finished it one try? It appears you truly are experienced fighting in different forms.>
The skeleton walks through the opening of the dungeon. You catch him glancing up and down your still unmoving form— nodding in appreciation. You shift yourself back into a form you're more familiar with before you're hit with an idea—
It's your new ability. You can see his Class Levels— 40 in the Skeleton Mage Racial Tree and the rest in various Necromancer-related specializations. You type in the new form into the virtual keyboard...
<Skeleton Mage Level 15, Lich Level 10, Elder Lich Level 10, Overlord Level 5—>
Momonga spams that stupid emoticon of his again. You cross your newly formed skeletal arms, and glower at him from your new height. Momonga simply holds up a hand mirror and turns it towards you.
...
Well. You suppose a buck naked skeleton isn't the most intimidating look.
MONDAY - June 16th, 2025
22:48:46 YST
The «World Tree» itself was much unlike the alabaster tower you've come to expect from ALO. In YGGDRASIL it looks much more traditional, a simple wooden trunk displayed on the far-off horizon, towering over the level, with an array of rainbow leaves all around it. The Tree itself existed only in the backdrop, there was no actual zone for it.
<[Momonga]: Touch-san suspected it was going to be added in an expansion. I think the entrance is still somewhere out there, waiting for a Player to stumble upon it. YGGDRASIL loves to keep you looking.>
It also strikes you as a super useful excuse if, perchance, the devs ran out of money. Just hide it behind some GM lock and trick players into thinking it was real, or in YGGDRASIL's case, wait for a player to design it themselves.
Momonga has brought you to Alfheim, to undertake the quest for the «World Champion» title. It was typically a long, time-consuming process, first requiring you to reach +400 Karma points. Karma could only be increased by undertaking extremely tedious quests for the NPCs of the good-aligned realms— or by simply shifting into the form of a high Karma monster.
Then you needed the honored blessings of the Fairy King and Queen— Oberon and Titania to your great disgust— but Momonga handed you two Quest Skip potions and with a flick on your console, you had two glowing signatures alongside a completed questlog. The game had most Cash Shop items as account locked, but this was one of the few exceptions and for that you were thankful. You were not interested in spending 5 hours reenacting Shakespeare for the video game equivalent of a participation trophy.
Which brings you here. A level 41 Capgras, with little more than the clothes on your back, facing the final challenge of the dreaded «World Champion» questline. Upon the foot of the «World Tree» lies a circular coliseum. It would look more impressive if you hadn't already seen this exact same building at least three separate times along Momonga's world tour.
<[Momonga]: Stop. No need to rush, we could be ambushed at any second. As a Heteromorph remember that you are always at risk of PKing.>
From who, you almost want to ask. You haven't seen a single other player all day besides Momonga. But you sigh as your companion casts a litany of detection spells— he insists on doing it practically every zone change, and you've long since given up on convincing him otherwise.
In the background, some stupid lore about the nature of the «World Champion» is being spouted off by a pre-canned announcement. You tune it out and watch the lich beside you instead.
"Couldn't you have taken this Title whenever you wanted? Does anyone even want this anymore?"
<[Momonga]: It would not synergize with my build, and YGGDRASIL bans all alt accounts. If I were to steal it, it would mean Touch-san would need to slay me to claim it again. I would not wish that to hang over our reunion.>
"Was Touch-san a friend of yours?" you ask, thankful you have a way of referring to this warrior without using his full name.
There's a moment of silence as Momonga stares at the sky and the tree off in the distance.
<[Momonga]: I do not know. I was PK'd constantly when I first started— I found the game to be an unpleasant experience until Touch-san asked me to join his clan. I suppose we must've had an enjoyable time together... to a point.>
There's a bitterness in his tone. The unmistakable truth that ultimately this Touch left the guild— that they all left.
"Did you take over «Ainz Ooal Gown» after Touch-san left?"
<[Momonga]: Once we had enough players to form a guild, everyone voted for me as the Leader, Touch-san included. That was long before they left— no, I misspoke. He did not leave, he is simply taking a break from the game.>
He says it like a mantra, but it's clear even Momonga doesn't believe it. The cutscene for the «World Champion» battle plays in the background. The two of you ignore it. "Why don't you look for him? He probably got bored or realized he couldn't afford to keep up with the money sink. That's probably true for all of your guildmates. You could still meet up IRL or play a different game—"
<[Momonga]: No... that would be... disrespectful. There was no great schism, no drama. People left because life got in the way. To join «Ainz Ooal Gown» required only two things: to be a Heteromorph and to be a productive member of society. We all promised each other that the game would be our escape from the real world, not our substitute for it. We poured our all into the game because it was our sanctuary— but the real world waits for no man.>
The theatrics are dying down. A random goddess whose name you doubt even Momonga has bothered to memorize calls for challengers to the title to step forth and face each other in mortal combat for her pleasure.
<[Momonga]: Everyone has their own lives to live. If it wasn't for YGGDRASIL we never would've met, and without YGGDRASIL we have nothing in common. So to answer your question, I would say: no. Touch-san was not my friend. We were guildmates— nothing more... and nothing less. And in honor of those guildmates, I vowed to keep our sanctuary safe, so that if anyone ever wished to return...>
There's a quiet intensity in Momonga's voice. A self-imposed burden he's placed around his own neck, though perhaps it would be more accurate to call it his shining light in the dark? You can't tell if he's broken by this game— or broken without it. MAXWELL said he was once a lost soul, chasing the promise that CONTROL would have granted him. And the freedom that he was granted brought him... here. To YGGDRASIL.
Your thoughts are interrupted. The quest line isn't about to let up— the over-decorated goddess calls out your name, and summons a weird-looking crystal. A prayer of Norse gibberish accompanies a lightshow, and a pillar of energy flows into your avatar with the fanfare of a completed tutorial quest.
And so with a wave of your hand, a notification confirms it— you are now, as far as YGGDRASIL is concerned— the «World Champion of Alfheim». Feeling the event lacks a bit of pizazz, you take out a noisemaker from your inventory and pull the tab— spraying confetti all over the floor with the sound of a wet fart.
TUESDAY - June 17th, 2025
Early Morning
You awaken in your own room. Your AC, rattled but still fully functional, offers a steady stream of cooling air. Some storm water seeped out of your bathroom but beyond that, your room was completely undamaged. You recreate your plushie fort and set the Amusphere next to your bed.
"...what time is it?"
Your clock says 4AM. Tomorrow, or more accurately later today, was the last free day you have until school restarts. After you claimed the role of Champion, Momonga insisted you at least level up enough to fully max out both of your prestige classes. Now that you had enough abilities to actually transform into some of the more tanky monster forms, Momonga took you along his usual farming route. You would one tap a zone boss and he would quickly deal the finishing blow with some absurd metamagic-buffed necrotic spell— still leaving you with 10% EXP off of level 80+ mobs.
Momonga claimed there was little reason to use both the Capgras and World Champion classes together, but to the surprise of you both it seemed the World Champion's equipment permissions carried over even through transformations— not that you had any high-level items to equip. An unexpected synergy that got around the Doppelganger's typical weakness of being unable to equip higher-tier items.
But even with Momonga's tricks your leveling was slowing down to a crawl. At Level 50 there was a sudden spike in both EXP requirements and penalties for death. Now the most effective way of gaining EXP was by clearing dungeons, but unlike overworld mob farming there was no quick and easy way to cheese that. Momonga claimed he still had a plan, and wanted to power level through a few dungeons tomorrow...
You glance once more at your calendar. You really shouldn't, not with school about to start, you being horrifically behind on your schoolwork, plus everything going on with GGO...
...
Ah, why the hell not? One more day.
TUESDAY - June 17th, 2025
18:26:42 YST
"Urgh!" Even without any functional pain sensors, the sudden lurch in your vision as you are forcibly dragged across the dungeon floor makes your head spin. The Garuda monster rears back with a piercing cry, but all you can focus on is keeping the enemy's arms trapped within your spider limbs.
<[Momonga]: Extend Magic! Draconic Might!>
The sudden surge of strength flips the stalemate in an instant. The bird monster squawks as you draw it in closer, smothering it in your arms until the thing finally shatters into pieces.
<[Momonga]: To the right! Reinforcements! Wall of Skeleton!>
A massive wall of bones covers the entrance to the chamber, giving you time to breathe and pop an MP potion. This particular dungeon in Svartalfheim was a gauntlet of sorts, with nigh infinitely spawning mini-boss monsters. Accounting for the EXP bonus you get for last hitting the opponent, Momonga's strategy was to solely crowd control and buff, while you culled boss after boss.
You've been at this for hours. You've only gained 6 levels.
"Is there any way to do this faster!?"
Momonga doesn't appear to have heard you, standing still and silent. He's been extremely distracted all day, performing every task with a noted lethargy. You caught him casting Spike Growth spells against Wyverns and miscasting buffs meant for you on himself.
You groan, shifting into a Demon Mage right as a Chimera bursts through the Skeleton Wall. You cast down a bolt of lightning only to wince as the goat head absorbs the magic.
"Tch, Momonga, can you just kill that one?" Annoyingly the worst enemies for you to fight were versatile enemies like Chimeras and magic knights, where your decreased base stats heavily negated any advantage of your Doppelganger transformations.
<[Momonga]: Found it! You want to do this faster? I have just the item.>
A strange pearl-white flute materializes in the boney hands of Momonga.
"No, wait, the Chimera first! Kill the—"
Somehow, despite his lack of lips, the clarion call of the whistle echoes clearly through the chamber. For a second nothing happens.
And then you're body slammed by a Dire Bear, two Flaming Rhinos and five different flavors of Dinosaur.
TUESDAY - June 17th, 2025
22:52:08 YST
Level 56. That's accounting for the 3 Level you lost dying. Because the YGGDRASIL devs really want to sell you microtransactions.
Want to level fast? There's a Cash Shop item for that!
Want to reduce your death penalty? There's a Cash Shop item for that!
Want to skip the whole goddamn game? There's a Cash Shop item for that too!
<[Momonga]: The EXP penalty is quite trivial. Even for me, I can do about 5 levels in a single day. The worst part about the penalty is losing your rare items—>
"I don't have any rare items to lose, and I don't have a day to grind!"
☮️
Momonga raises his peace emoticon, apparently detecting your anger. You're back in Nazarick's throne room, taking stock of your current build. Even with the untimely deaths you had many unassigned levels, and it was time to pick your first job class. Momonga was recommending the Craftsman class, but the Alchemist class was also...
...
Was there any point to all this?
Momonga's Persona was powerful, but was it worth spending all your time in YGGDRASIL? You can see why this game was so popular, the sheer amount of possibilities before you...
But with no one to play with or against.
Nobody but Momonga and the soulless NPCs of Nazarick.
"Hey Momonga," you ask, eyeing the succubus NPC standing statue still in the middle of the throne room. "Do these things even do anything?" The NPC was lavishly designed, in a tight ballroom dress that left little to the imagination. But its stillness and soulless golden eyes make her come off as nothing more than a dress-up doll.
<[Momonga]: They fight to defend Nazarick, though this one in particular has never seen combat, as no one has ever breached the Throne Room.>
You suppose being invited in doesn't count. As a test of pure curiosity you strike the NPC in the head with your fist. It flinches, but nothing else happens. Even then its eyes don't react— she must only be able to respond to certain kinds of inputs.
<[Momonga]: Stop that, [Tabula Smaragdina] would strike you down for that if he were here.>
"[Tabula Smaragdina]? The «Emerald Tablet»? That explains why he named her Albedo. I suppose there's a Nigredo and a Rubedo lying around here too?" If there was one thing that seemed to unify all of the various members of Momonga's guild, it was their dedication to sticking to a theme. Out of idle curiosity, you peruse the flavor text Albedo's creator inserted into her data.
...
New opinion. All the members of Momonga's guild are weird perverts.
<[Momonga]: Y-you understood the reference!?>
He seems taken aback by knowledge, and ignorant to your rapidly dropping opinion of his guildmate. To be fair you only knew this one because of its association with your Magnum Opus Persona...
"Like I said, I try to remain versatile. You pick up a few things here and there." You track Momonga's gaze up to one of the flags in the throne room, bearing the emblem of a squid. "I'm sure he was ah, uh... interesting person."
<[Momonga]: You two would've gotten along.>
You suspect you would be more likely to call the police on him than befriend him, but before you can protest Momonga waves his hand and an illusion of his old guildmate appears underneath his respective flag. Even the Albedo NPC briefly turns her head to look at the illusion of her creator.
You stare at the... squid monster in a gimp suit, are immediately struck with many questions, and then decide absolutely none of them are worth asking.
Momonga has stories to say about every one of his guildmates. Stories that ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime, painting a vivid picture of 40 people whom Momonga would never see again. He goes on a bit of a screed, talking about each individual NPC of Nazarick like a boy showing off his model toys. For months these 41 guild members lived and breathed in this world, putting a bit of themselves into each corner of Nazarick— at times spending real-life money, and always spending real-life time.
You don't know if it was love, or pride, or just simple boredom— but you were witnessing something people sacrificed for. And now it was all going to go away, with the press of a button. "Hey Momonga, thanks for showing a newbie around. I had fun here."
<[Momonga]: You enjoyed yourself?>
"Yeah. It's like speedrunning to an MMO endgame. And we figured out a new synergy between World Champion and Doppelganger classes— something to add to the guides. I would've loved to see this game at its peak. Shame it's shutting down so soon." Momonga immediately lowers his head at your words. You wince, deciding that may have been too blunt.
"H-hey, it's not all bad. What will you do after YGGDRASIL ends? There's plenty of other games out there..."
<[Momonga]: I suppose I'll do the same thing I did before. Eat. Sleep. Work. And do it all over again, until I can do it no longer. The same thing you will be doing.>
You haven't thought that far yet. You can't think that far, not with the world on the brink as it is. The world you are looking to save... is not YGGDRASIL, nor Nazarick. It's... the place where Suzuki Satoru eat, sleeps, works... and does it all over again. The world where, one day, you will do the exact same thing.
<[Momonga]: Let us call it a night. I have to get up quite early tomorrow again...>
"Again? I thought you had today off due to the typhoon?" He seemed sleepy and distracted all day.
Momonga laughs ruefully.
<[Momonga]: A surprise message from the boss. I had to go in this morning, and I'm expected to do the same next morning.>
So when you were sleeping off your overnight grind session, Momonga was shuffling through his day job, just to spend all night grinding dungeons with you. "...You didn't have to go that far. I'm not all that interested in reaching max level, so please go get some sleep. I have my own work I've been putting off as well..."
<[Momonga]: That's right, you work many jobs, do you not? It's rare to see a high school student catching the last train home. I understand, we all have our... responsibilities. It was good to meet you [Lux]. I had... fun as well.>
"It's not like we'll never talk to each other again. I'll come back to YGGDRASIL sometime. Maybe I can put up a better fight next time!"
He jerks at the words 'Next time'. The words seem alien to him. He's no doubt it heard it 40 times already, and found the words to be lies 40 times.
<[Momonga]: Yes... next time. See you next time, [Lux].>
You gave a final half-bow to the King of this Tomb. Even Momonga has to go back to work, so you can't afford to procrastinate. Kikuoka was right, you needed a break. Playing YGGDRASIL wasn't much of one, but it wasn't as painful as you had feared. There's no mind control, no Kayaba Akihiko plot, no SEED, just... a flawed and janky piece of entertainment, and the one soul that still plays it.
<[Momonga]: Wait!>
It's Momonga. He seems to have come to a decision. There's a pressure building as he looks down at you from his throne, while a golden light wraps around his fingers. It resolves into the shape of something truly unexpected— a scroll, glowing and decorated, in a manner that oozes expense.
<You have been invited into the guild «Ainz Ooal Gown». Accept [Y/N]?>
Your gaze flicks up at Momonga. This... wasn't what you were expecting.
<[Momonga]: The Great Tomb of Nazarick is difficult to find, and its defenses are mighty. Should you log on when I'm not here, you may use the resources of Nazarick to help you level. And [Lux], I did declare that the title of World Champion to be the property of «Ainz Ooal Gown». I have already maxed out my Level, and can no longer claim the title. Another member will have to bear the burden of carrying the title until Touch-san returns.>
From the unfurled scroll falls a single ring. Adorned in Ruby with the sigil of «Ainz Ooal Gown». You don't sense any sinister plot from Momonga. The man really was who he seemed.
Just... lonely.
You put the ring on, sign the scroll and log out as the 43nd member of «Ainz Ooal Gown».
TUESDAY - June 17th, 2025
Velvet Room
The root of this world is diseased. A rot that transcends culture and circumstance. DEATH, LIES, CONTROL, they are not forces from without, besieging mankind's walls. They are a symptom, for at the heart of humanity now lies ennui. The belief that life means nothing, that other's lives mean nothing.
Mankind walks forward with no purpose, moved only by base fears. In every aspect except one mankind wallows in emptiness. Yes, there is one light, one true shining hope— for mankind, despite all its suffering, still dreams. Still longs for HEAVEN.
STRENGTH is a victim of this world. In his dream there will be the same meaningless lives that he sees in this one. Like a child lashing out in its ignorance he will hurt and kill but also learn. He will learn that instead of something to hoard, he will have something to lose. That instead of something to mourn, he will have something to love.
In order for this waking corpse to truly come to life, it must first shed its humanity. It must shed its ennui. And so the sleeping god shall leave his tomb, and bring with it change, destruction even... but also hope. A hope for a brighter tomorrow, a hope of conquest, of pain...
Of true meaning.
And should you disagree with his conduct? There is room aplenty for two Overlords in STRENGTH's domain.
Fuse Shokushinbutsu and the «World Champion of Alfheim» into...
[ ] Rainbow Body
You are the love that enlightens the soul and its knowledge;
You are the Effulgent Lustre that abides even in a small atom;
You fill with the ambrosia of your Grace,
Every pore of their bones, their flesh and their five senses,
And the sense organs, their breaths, the Five Elements,
That constitute the human body, the soul and its active love
That has helped to gain the divine knowledge to know you.
You are the Divine River that springs within them,
Becomes brimful, and overflows with Grace and Bliss.
-Excerpt of a poem by Tirumular.
STR: Rank F (0 Dice)
MAG: Rank D (2 Dice)
AGI: Rank F (0 Dice)
VIT: Rank S (6 Dice)
CHT: Rank B (4 Dice)
Weakness: Elec, Psy, Instant Death Effects
Null: All Physical
Archetype [Real Deal: Transcend]: You are light, passing through this transitory world. Be not afraid, for salvation will come to those who wish for it, and those who do not in equal measure. You are narratively intangible to physical forces, and any speeches you give will naturally take on the cadence of a sermon, for better or worse.
Skills:
Hamaon: Forcibly disconnect target Fluctlight from the «Main Visualizer», and destabilizes their connection if resisted. [CHT/LOGOUT]
Meditation: Your sutra will call forth true peace. Strike at the target's Fluctlight and take their karma into yourself, dealing more damage the less sure they are of their own existence. By default does 2 damage. [ALMIGHTY DRAIN]
Divine Endure: Whenever you would take fatal damage or become afflicted by an Instant Death effect, instead survive with 1 HP, provided you have SP to spare. [5 SP] [PASSIVE]
Merciful Mediarama: Generates a healing LUMINOUS element and send it into the sky. Heals all entities based on your unopposed CHT roll. [CHT/HEAL]
RELEASE RECOLLECTION
In truth there is for me no form, no sensation, no perception, no karmic formation, no consciousness, no form, no smell, no sense consciousness or object of sense consciousness and so forth; there is no self or other and no distinction of 'Buddhas' and 'sentient beings'; everything remains in the naturally perfect state of pure equality. From the depths of my heart I wish there were some way you could all be made to understand the truth in this, but you do not see it.
[Saṃbhogakāya]: No entities on the battlefield may deliberately launch a STR, MAG or weapon based attack without first succeeding on an opposed CHT roll against yourself (ties resolve in favor of opponent). Entities are not restricted from using CHT abilities or performing narrative battlefield manipulation techniques (ie, shooting at environmental fixtures, etc). [5 SP/Scene]
The root of this world is diseased. A rot that transcends culture and circumstance. DEATH, LIES, CONTROL, they are not curses raining down, they are the answer to the question, the whip that drives us forward. For at the heart of humanity lies ennui, and given the choice mankind will seek it like fireflies to the flame.
Who would not choose a dream? Who would not decide to be a god? To tear it all down and build it anew? To become a creature who has everything and can do anything— to become ennui incarnate?
He asks for the power to be granted to him, when he should instead seize it with bloody hands. He wants friends and servants to love him, when instead he should change himself— change others! Lie! Kill! Drown not in the digital wisps of a hollow dream, but in the sweat, blood and tears of the struggle!
STRENGTH does not seek death for its own sake. Yet still the corpses will pile, the rubble will fall, and all he beholds will be as ash and dust— for what reason? So that he need not be lonely. So that he can have his precious meaning. So that he may be entertained.
Fuse Shokushinbutsu and the «Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown» into...
[ ] Ash Nazg
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
-Except from Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkein.
STR: Rank C (3 Dice)
MAG: Rank C (3 Dice)
AGI: Rank A (5 Dice)
VIT: Rank F (0 Dice)
CHT: Rank B (4 Dice)
Weakness: Slash, Fire
Null: Curse
Archetype [Real Deal: Dark Lord]: You are all-seeing, all-powerful and all too willing to play the long game. You are in control of your emotions and able to switch from a fair oration to a violent, cursed screed at the drop of a ring. You have a tendency to favor plans that are entirely too complicated for your own good.
Skills:
Starfall Crater: Imbues a blunt melee weapon or your fist with the power of an infernal forge, striking with a molten blow that shatters and deforms metal when struck. [STR/BLUNT/FIRE/MELEE]
Eigaon [Wraith Form]: Generate an UMBRAL element and increase its «Main Visualizer» render priority. Specifically manifests as a horde of wraiths invisible to your opponent through normal means. [MAG/CURSE]
Dominate: Initiates Stage 1 Synthesis Ritual and attempts to brainwash all opponents— but with a maximum duration of only a single Scene. [CHT/CHARM]
Mudoon: Purge target Artifical Fluctlight from the «Main Visualizer», and forcibly injects knowledge of the transience of their existence if resisted. [CHT/INSTANT KILL]
ENHANCE ARMAMENT
Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul
[The One Ring]: Your Persona manifests as a physical Ring. You retain the abilities and stat bonuses of your Persona even when the Ring is separated from you. Your Ring can 'teleport' within your line of sight when separated (ie, you can always consider the Ring to be in range) but must be willingly picked up in order to gain its effects. An enemy that is CHARMED, MAD or in DESPAIR will almost always prioritize equipping the Ring above all else. You may also narratively attempt to trick the Ring onto others. Generally speaking, manipulating your Ring is considered a Free Action. If you switch Personas while the Ring is on another, you cannot dispel the effects until you reclaim the Ring. [Mandatory 1 SP/scene] [PASSIVE]
When Equipped to yourself [Default state]: Grants +2 Real Deal Bonus on all actions. You are IMMUNE to Mind Altering Status Effects.
When Equipped to another: Grants +2 Real Deal Bonus on all actions. They are WEAK to Mind Altering Status Effects and Instant Death Effects. They become narratively invisible to all but yourself. They are forcefully subjected to an attempted Eigaon [Wraith Form] attack and Dominate attack, targeting themselves using Kuro's stats, each Scene until the ring is removed. They may attempt to remove the Ring once per turn via opposed CHT roll with DISADVANTAGE or by cutting off their hand.
AN: The Overlord SL got away from me, so I decided just to go straight to Rank 3 that way I didn't have to think up a super move for a Persona that was going to be immediately replaced. Also lets me further tempt you all with the RD shenanigans for the endgame!
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- Location
- The Sea of Souls
Fluctlights are my absolute favorite part of SAO, if only because there are so many horrifying implications you can play around with. There's a half dozen Black Mirror episodes that deal with the idea of a digitized soul too— honestly, I know most people love Aincrad and most SAO fanfiction is practically exclusively Aincrad, but Alicization and all the wacky sci-fi shenanigans are my absolute favorite part of SAO.
If there were a handful of 'ideas' that birthed this quest, the biggest would be the convergences between SAO's Fluctlight theory and Persona 5's Cognitive Psience, especially because it gives me a built in explanation behind how FullDive VR actually works.
And about Arcs I don't intend for the structure to be all that much of a secret. ALO and GGO through the first semester, the Summer of Ordinal Scale, Alicization for most of the second semester, with a tentative calendar 'endpoint' in November. Then there's a short epilogue/final arc before wrap up. I had intended this quest to run no longer than 2 years but I doubt I'll make that goal.
The OS arc though covering a decent chunk of time is intended to be a 'short' arc in the sense that there won't be many subplots and will be fast paced. Alicization is intended to be just marginally bigger than ALO and GGO, and I haven't planned the final arc much beyond the very basic outline.
Oof...Meditation is tied to the Philemon option, which might be narratively...suspect.
@afreaknamedpete if you please, will there be any consequences come endgame for stacking our fusion choices one way or another?
Also wasn't expecting uh...fucking SAURON to be the Etteila option, but...okay. Shame it switches over to a hybrid physical/magic attacker. And has a mandatory SP drain when we're pretty sure we need to take Ys into the BLANK fight.
Granted, Rainbow Body also has a mandatory SP drain, but that one's easier to work around...
Damn it, no matter which choice we take, we're also losing Tetraja...
One other thing, is Saṃbhogakāya mandatory like The One Ring, or does the '5sp/scene' cost just mean it costs that much once we activate it?
Ugh...starting to think it would have been better to keep Sokushinbutsu for the BLANK fight if I knew THESE were going to be the fusion options.
But...against my better judgement:
[X] Rainbow Body
Much as I'd like to give Philemon and the HEAVEN system the finger in this instance, we lose too much mechanically by picking Sauron (and isn't THAT a rare sentence?).
Sauron is a gimmick, Rainbow Body is basically a mechanically 'refined' Sokushinbutsu (even if I find many of the changes to be questionable).
And Hiyori might find it distasteful to be using a Persona in the form a ring after what happened with Sugou at the end of ALO...
@afreaknamedpete if you please, will there be any consequences come endgame for stacking our fusion choices one way or another?
Also wasn't expecting uh...fucking SAURON to be the Etteila option, but...okay. Shame it switches over to a hybrid physical/magic attacker. And has a mandatory SP drain when we're pretty sure we need to take Ys into the BLANK fight.
Granted, Rainbow Body also has a mandatory SP drain, but that one's easier to work around...
Damn it, no matter which choice we take, we're also losing Tetraja...
One other thing, is Saṃbhogakāya mandatory like The One Ring, or does the '5sp/scene' cost just mean it costs that much once we activate it?
Ugh...starting to think it would have been better to keep Sokushinbutsu for the BLANK fight if I knew THESE were going to be the fusion options.
But...against my better judgement:
[X] Rainbow Body
Much as I'd like to give Philemon and the HEAVEN system the finger in this instance, we lose too much mechanically by picking Sauron (and isn't THAT a rare sentence?).
Sauron is a gimmick, Rainbow Body is basically a mechanically 'refined' Sokushinbutsu (even if I find many of the changes to be questionable).
And Hiyori might find it distasteful to be using a Persona in the form a ring after what happened with Sugou at the end of ALO...
- Location
- The Sea of Souls
Saṃbhogakāya costs 5 SP per scene, and needs to be activated to do anything.
The One Ring is just always on, and always drains SP. Effectively you always get the +2 roll bonus unless you want to play around with ring shenanigans.
Are you perchance accusing me of including an opaque morality system that will determine the tenor of your final arc? Good sir, this is a Persona quest, not an SMT quest! In this establishment we only include binary choices at the very end game that arbitrarily lead to bad endings, and the occasional 60 dollar new ending rerelease!
But seriously, uh... yes? I'm not using Order/Chaos like most SMT but there is an Order/Chaos equivalent that I am tracking, both between Persona choices and narrative choices.
The One Ring is just always on, and always drains SP. Effectively you always get the +2 roll bonus unless you want to play around with ring shenanigans.
Are you perchance accusing me of including an opaque morality system that will determine the tenor of your final arc? Good sir, this is a Persona quest, not an SMT quest! In this establishment we only include binary choices at the very end game that arbitrarily lead to bad endings, and the occasional 60 dollar new ending rerelease!
But seriously, uh... yes? I'm not using Order/Chaos like most SMT but there is an Order/Chaos equivalent that I am tracking, both between Persona choices and narrative choices.
Underdog Emiya
God-Emperor of Underkind
- Location
- Brazil
- Pronouns
- He