Some say Power comes with a price, well they are right, but also wrong. If you know how to use your power efficiency, the price will be enough to pay.
Unknown Place:
Onner Zozzontei, also known as the Black Dragon Lord and the bastard son of the Dragon Emperor, was always treated lesser than his older brother and other dragon lords. Most of it was because he wasn't a true son to his father, but also his selfish and backstabbing character. But as he was flying through the skies, he felt a powerful wave, hitting him only for a second, but with enough force to make him lose control.
He was a dragon lord of common size. Black scales covered his back and his tail. His body, wings, and head had a slight sign of purple light shining from the inside. Like almost every dragon, he had horns that adorned his head, pointed to the back of it.
Onner Zozzontei: "What was this strong magical wave! This only happens when the Dragon Emperor is performing a ritual. But this magic energy is even stronger. If… If I only could feed on it… for a second… A MINUTE… nobody would dare to challenge me." A long pause came before he continued speaking to himself, starting with a devilish laugh. " Hahaha…Thy power shall be mine, anomaly… Beware everyone and fear the Black Dragon Lord… after he claimed this power for himself, of course." Still, flying in the air, he was dreaming of how he would dominate his father and his older brother, finally satisfying his desires to their ends.
He may not have been respected, but his intellect was one of the best of the dragon lords. But common sense was something he missed, what he actually needed the most. Because he did not hold any respect for the owner of this power, he simply wanted to claim it for himself. This was a part of his draconic nature, to see one as strong and other species as weak.
Onner focused on locating the source of this power, but it wasn't as easy as he imagined. It was gone as fast as it appeared. Out of despair, he landed on a small mountain, covered only by rock and surrounded by trees.
"I cannot find it…WHY can't I!" The dragon roared in his head, going wild at having lost such an opportunity. "I…I will find it. No matter what it costs, it will be MINE." At that moment, he spread out his wings, symbolizing that his will cannot be broken by any means.
What the inexperienced Dragon Lord didn't know is that the source itself wasn't relocatable because the powerful energy he felt already went through time and space and left the mortal realm, searching for even greater power. He only had to locate the big blue beacon to find the origin of his frustration, but the young Dragon didn't know this.
Eternal Tower, Throne Room:
Days after days, Momonga would sit on his throne and study the basic fundamentals of this world. He first wanted to know how this world's physics work, before doing anything else. For Momonga this task was very important because some restrictions in Yggdrasil may or may not count in this new world. As such, it was necessary to know if someone could possibly use a world item at level 20, and not the usual high level requirement in Yggdrasil.
Ainz: "I was far too long in this room. I will have to take a walk in the forest, what bad could happen? I basically own it."
He was confident in his statement, as if a wild beast would ever decide to attack him. It must have been crazy to do that. And if I decide to do so, then it would be out of pure hunger. But what would it want to eat when the target is nothing but primordial bones? Maybe it could eat them and gain extraordinary powers.
Seconds later, he disappeared and found himself at the bottom of his tower, looking back at the piece of art he made. It was beautiful. Nothing could ever compare to it.
-This was possibly a little overdrive. It is very epic to look at, hell for these inhabitants, this must be home to a god, which it is. But they don't have to know that.- Ainz thought to himself, while turning around to walk into the dark forest.
It was a beautiful part that Ainz wandered. It had the perfect lighting. The trees were far enough from each other, so they could grow freely, and the walkway was free of any bushes or trees.
Ainz, despite his appearance, didn't hate nature, even when he represented the opposite. He was more of a thinker than a destroyer. But to confuse him not to destroy would be a great sin.
Currently, all his passive effects were disabled, so he wouldn't hurt the environment with his presence.
And as he walked through the woods, he encountered a small deer family. It was one mother with her three children, searching for food in the bushes.
"To live a life so simple but also so hard. Truly a wonder and a curse."
Animals are such simple creatures, but that was also what made them so vulnerable. They had to constantly watch out for predators while searching for shelter or food.
"Let's test something."
Ainz activated his negative energy, that on release, fed on the life force of the four animals and anything positive in his radius. Everything lost its color and became black and white. But he felt nothing as the energy was sucked out of the animals and their bodies fell lifeless on the ground.
"Truly heartbreaking, but isn't this your destiny, being killed by a stronger foe that is higher on the food chain?"
He stood still, watching over the corpses. He felt both repentance and ruthlessness, but only in his thoughts and not his feelings. How could he actually feel emotions, when he was never destined to experience them?
But this moment of thought didn't last long, like the lives of these poor animals never did. The ground rumbled as if in an earthquake, and dust rose into the air. A rock started moving, revealing a creature that was beneath it.
It was a giant beast that stood three meters tall. It wore the rock as its hat and seemed to be made of dirt and stone. It held a log as long as him in his right hand and had a beard made out of bushes. and it possessed shining blue eyes.
-I have expected to be disturbed, and this will be an excellent test to meet an important creature in this world. If he is hostile, I will counter it.-
?: "Thou who wields the aura of Death" The being spoke in a deep and slow tone, it was clearly not in friendly manners with Ainz from looking at its stance. "Thou who harms the living. Thou who kill the children of the forest. Feel my wrath as you perish"
It obviously took great offense from Ainz, killing the deer family previously. Maybe it had a special relation with the creatures of this forest? From its looks, it could be mistaken for the forest itself.
"You don't know who you're standing against. Nobody in this world is worthy of judging me, not you, nobody. And I presume you are the guardian of this forest, watching over all that happens in these woods?"
"Thou are correct. I shall guard this forest to my death. That is the task that I bear. I bear no name, and thy won't save your life, unknown creature." It spoke with a deep and old voice.
"Interesting. What am I to you? I would certainly be fond of knowing your point of view."
The beast waited for a while because his request surprised it. It was prepared for battle, but not for a talk.
"Thou are the Embodiment of Death, the Bringer of the Indomitable, and the enemy of all that is living. Thou are a threat to this world, and I will save it from certain doom by ending thy life."
The being didn't change its goal. It wanted to kill Ainz, even if it was impossible for him, he had to try it. It would go against nature not to attack him, it would go against himself not to confront the enemy of all enemies.
"I say let actions speak your words." [True Resurrection]
Ainz cast the spell on the dead family. A green aura surrounded the corpses and suddenly they moved. First the ears, and then the rest of the body. Slowly, they got up and ran in the opposite direction of Ainz.
"I am Death. But I detest the killing of innocents when it isn't required."
The Forest Guardian wasn't expecting this change, of course. The being, screaming of death and misery, just brought the dead back to life. It didn't know what to think about it anymore. Was it good or bad, and the ability to bring back the dead was heard only in legends?
"Thou, who are not living, but care for innocent lives… I have misjudged you, creature of the unknown. I shall thank you for returning them back to life. If this one can receive your honorable name?"
"I am known as Ainz Ooal Gown. Now that everything has been settled, we should put our quarrels apart, don't you agree?" -This guy could give me some useful information later on. And if he doesn't comply, I'm going to have to force him, in one way or another.-
Forest Guardian: "I won't repeat what I said at the beginning."
"So you have chosen death… what a pity." -Why don't you trust your skeletal neighbor? This is pure racism from his side.-
There was silence. Ainz already cast [Time Stop] and slowly came closer to the poor Forest Guardian. He inspected the creature before casting an instant death spell on it.
Ainz: [Instant Death]
As soon as the world got back its colors, the body of the guardian fell lifeless on the floor, not even recognizing its own death.
"Be happy. I considered you an actual threat. For that, I used [Time Stop]. Now, let's see what you got for me."
[Dark Wisdom] [Wisdom of the Dead]
He used his spells to receive the corpse's spells and its memories. As he was suspecting, the Forest Guardians, like the one he killed, were all over the world. They protect forests and are all connected to one another. But no threat to the Supreme One, because they are level 40 at the maximum.
Near the Eternal Tower:
Outlaws, the pest of the world. They are selfish beings that roam the world only for their own well-being. Some may have a good reason to become one, some may do it out of fun.
?: "Dazu, c'mon, we gotta go now."
"One-sec Cheru, I think I found something for us"
Cheru was a tall and skinny beast-men, his fur is of a gray color, and his face has the looks of a wolf. Dazo on the other side, has more humane looks, mostly on his face. He is short, skinny, and has a similar appearance to a red fox.
Cheru: "We got to find food Dazu, there's no food here, so we have to plunder some villages."
Dazu: "Listen to me and come here, dammit!" To his demand, Cheru came to see what made Dazu so nervous. "You see that on top of that hill, I've never seen such a thing. But it looks like if someone can build this, think of how much food this person has."
"You're somewhat right. Well, we have little of a chance, don't we." said Cheru.
The two of them were the leaders of a small outlaw tribe of beast men. They plundered for survival because they knew nothing else. And with this golden opportunity, how could they resist the invitation?
Two hours later, near the Eternal Tower:
Dazu: "Finally we made it, brothers! Just look at that, it looks nothing of what I have seen or heard of. But it seems nobody is here. This is our opportunity, my brethren. We will sneak in and find the food that we are looking for and other valuable stuff."
Random Beastman: "Yeah, we will feast like the gods this time, I am sure of it."
The crowd of beast-men cheered at the sentence of their brother, this was going to be a great night with much food to eat.
Cheru: "Fellow Men! Let us storm this building in the name of our gods, and for our very survival. Now, let us plunder my brothers!"
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" The bandit tribe rushed at the entrance of the tower, not expecting it to open like someone was waiting for them. The heavy doors opened, and the beast men stopped their advance for the time being.
There was pure darkness. Not even the light of the sun got past the entrance into the corridor. It was more of the opposite, the darkness was eating up the light and slowly crawling out of the massive gates.
Cheru: "Behold, men! Make ourselves ready for an ambush. The owner of this place must be hiding in the dark. Stay focused!"
The beast-men cheered in unison. "Ahhi"
The two dozen beast men made a line of defense and slowly came closer to the entrance, feeling their skin getting colder by every moment. Every instinct told them to run away from this place, but their most powerful one was telling them that there would be plenty of food for all of them.
"Cheru, do you hear that? It sounds like footsteps."
"You are right Dezu, multiple ones and heavy."
They could hear it, heavy footsteps that made a metal sound every second or two. But before the unknown beings stepped into the light, a deep voice came out of the darkness."
?: "Those who dare enter the domain of the Supreme One shall fall by our hands. We who guard the sacred home of our master…shall be your end."
As the one finished its sentence, two tall in dark gray armor clad knights entered the sunlight. No part of their skin was visible, only blackness. It was like that because they did not possess a skin, but their armor was like one for them. From every hole of their armor came black gas that was just flowing out of their armor at all times. They both emitted a dark aura with their appearance. Their armor has sharp edges and a demonic look.
The two creatures were of the undead species called [Dark Knight] that are offensive type knights with a great sword as their main weapon. They also possess some combat spells like [Dark Blade] that changes the color of their great sword to a black state and every enemy hit with it would spread darkness into the enemy's body, infecting it and disabling the movement of the infected areas. Another spell they own is called [Will of the Knight], that is more of a skill that puts them into a second state when losing half of their health. It would replace their armor with armor made out of darkness and their sword would become purple and black, both emitting even more of an aura of darkness. In this state they would gain a damage boost of 20% for every critical they deal to a target and Immunity to spells when they don't move. The damage boost was stackable and was in Ainzs mind an overpowered ability. And because of that reason, he uses them to guard his tower.
This sounds like a pain in the ass for every mage, but also for swordsmen. Their level was 90 in their first form. In the second state, they would be on a par with a level 95 being. Their only weakness was their agility, as every heavily armored class has.
Fear, their greatest and most important instinct paralyzed the beast-men. Fighting humans and animals was easy, but they didn't have experience fighting against such enemies. Never have they seen a more frightening being than these Dark Knights.
"W-We came to find some food, nothing else."
The fear was clearly visible in his voice and posture. Cheru wasn't the courageous leader anymore. He was scared. These knights posed a serious threat to them. But unlike him, Dezu was stubborn and didn't watch the warning signals.
"Hah, as if we are scared of you. We are many but you are only two against twenty. If you surrender, we will let you live. You have ten seconds to decide."
The other beast men were confused. One of their leaders had the courage to talk in that way to these knights. But if they are think logical, they should be able to kill them because of their numbers alone. So they crawled under their newfound courage to face the guards.
"You have been warned…and now you will face the consequences of the thought of stealing from the Supreme One."
Both knights raised their weapons and walked in a slow motion towards the beast men gang. They also rushed at the heavy knights, but faster. But can speed stop a sword from cutting someone in two pieces?
Half of the beast men fought one knight each. The first knight used a heavy slash to cut two beast-men in half. That put the morale of the other ones down and it could get a hit on four others. The last ones got killed by a forward slash. The Dark Knight cut all four of them clean through.
The other beast men didn't seem to notice their brothers getting killed in the back. They were focused on fighting the other knight.
"Cheru! He is too strong. He killed two of our men with just one swing. We have to get out of here fast!" The desperation in Dazus voice was clear. He didn't want to die here, he still wanted to find a female to make offspring and so saving his lineage.
"Dezu, we got this. With his heavy weapon he can't keep up with our stamina, we will win, you will see."
They confused even the Dark Knights why such a being would think to defeat them. It wasn't possible for an ant to kill a human, so why would he think he was different from the rest?
"Cheru, have you gone mad? Look at him, he doesn't seem exhausted. This enemy is too powerful for us!"
While they were chatting, two more fell to the sword of the Dark Knight. He didn't take them seriously, so he was playing with them for a while.
"Why do mortals such as you have hope of defeating the impossible? Just give up and you may receive a painless death." [Dark Blade]
The Dark Knight activated its skill, and his weapon turned black. He swung his sword at the remaining beast men, still not being in striking distance, but that didn't matter because his cuts shot out black slices towards the beast-men, killing them in one blow.
Now only Dezu and Cheru remained alone, with two over 2 meter tall beings slowly approaching them. While Cheru was still optimistic, Dezu was on his way to run, but he got hit in the back by a black projectile.
"Dezu…Noooo. My brother. You will pa…"*slice*
All were dead, killed by the Dark Knights. They didn't stand a chance, but still fought. That was what made them different from humans. Their trust in their leaders was stronger than their human counterparts. That's why no one fled the scene. But if Ainz had shown up, not even their strength could have kept them from going insane.
"This is what you deserve to disturb the peace of this sacred place."
The two of them went back into the gate, closing it and pretending that this never happened.
Eternal Tower, Throne Room:
Ainz returned from his short journey, to be surprised that his residence had been attacked by beastmen.
"If this keeps up, I have to make more precautions for future attacks."
He thought about it for a second and decided what the best approach would be to this.
"Artificial fog would be perfect to confuse intruders and would hide the entrance to any enemies in the fog."
He would put this idea on a mental list to do it later. Because he found something more interesting in this world.
"This world's wild magic is more of a natural ability, instead of spells. Only some spells are special to me, but the rest, everybody can learn them. But with wild magic, I could have a better connection to the spell and have better control of it and with that, also be able to create sub-spells of one spell that work in different ways, brilliant."
Ainz's lust for discovering new things only grew at this point. But the question is, how will he get this newfound power?
Palace of The Dragon Emperor:
Dragons, fearsome creatures that are ruled by the most powerful of them, the Dragon Emperor. He was the emperor of the world, king of the dragons, ruler over wild magic and lord of the draconic rings.
His size was phenomenal, his scales were golden and bright. He put every other dragon in his shadow.
His palace was more of an open space, surrounded by pillars and other structures. He didn't have a throne, he only needed a pile of gold to sit on it.
"I feel a strong presence in the air, something I have never felt before."
?: "My Emperor, if it troubles you, we will find the source of your discomfort and extinguish it."
"No Zerboros, I need this power. I want to feed on it and grow even stronger. Then I will finally be able to kill the Dragon Lord of Old and take his draconic ring. And with his final ring I will finally have access to the World Forge and create a world item that will give me omnipotence, hahaha.." While the Dragon Emperor was laughing, Zerboros thought of the best possible way to ask the emperor about his plans.
Zerboros was not a real Dragon Lord, but the Dragon Emperor still used him as an advisor. He had brown scales and his horns were not sharp like the typical ones.
"If it pleases our emperor. But I don't understand what a world item is my Emperor?"
The Dragon Emperor frowned at the comment, but proceeded to explain it to him. "That is a name a powerful entity gave to a a mighty artifact that can change the world. Centuries ago, this entity came to our world and brought such an item with it. Then I was still young and naïve, but I understood the might of such a weapon when I saw it in action. A whole continent sunk to the sea with the relict's power, never to be seen again. And from that day onward, I wanted to claim this power for myself, out of pure greed."
It convinced the Dragon Emperor that this would be his future. But he didn't know that a similar entity came just recently to this realm, and was also the cause of this power burst.
"Do you know where my sons are, Zerboros? What am I saying? I only care for one of them, the other is a failure. How can he even be my son? He is not worthy of that title."
"Platinum Dragon Lord is currently fighting the troll nation at the border and where Black Dragon Lord is…I am sorry my Emperor, I don't know his location at the moment." Zerboros bowed for forgiveness for not being able to fulfill his master's request.
"Hahh, no need to investigate it further, Zerboros. I don't care where he is. Hopefully, he died alone in some cave. But Tsain, he is making me a proud father. I was the same when I was in his years, constantly at the front, seeking the fight for fun. Those were the best days of my life."
He couldn't be prouder of Platinum Dragon Lord. He was everything an heir should be: courageous, strong, and confident. One day when he leaves the throne for him to become the Dragon God, he will know to have left it in good hands.
"Please, my Emperor, with age comes strength. So is the nature of the dragons. You are not less powerful than when you were young. You must be even stronger!"
The Dragon Emperor laughed at the comment of Zerboros. He didn't find it funny. It was amusing that he was thinking in such a positive way.
"Yes, I am stronger, but the energy young people have is much more than their elders. When the time comes, I will pass the limits of my own strength and exceed every being in this world." Said the mighty dragon and laughed after finishing his sentence.
Behind the Dragon's Emperor's back, many laughed at his pitiful dream of becoming a god. His greed was known all over the world and nobody would be surprised if it was his downfall. If not for some powerful beings, his wish might have come true, but sadly, nobody always gets what they want.
Eternal Tower, Throne Room:
Ainz had everything planned, every step that he will make in the future. But even with all this, he still didn't feel good. Every time he thought about the good times he had with his friends, he became more lonely. He couldn't help it, because it was the only feeling he really felt. He was in need of some companion, or he would be consumed by nothingness and become an empty shell of his former glory. Of course, he had his Dark Knights,but they were not the best partners to talk with. Every being he creates praises for him to the extent that he cannot talk to them like a normal person. It is simply impossible.
"I am the Ruler of Death, One of the Void Deities, Supreme Being of Nazarick, Master of Magic, but even then, I am not complete. How I miss you, my friends. Touch Me, Ulbert, Takemikazuchi, Tabula, Peroroncino, Bukubukuchagama, HeroHero, Punitto Moe, Blue Planet and all the others…"
In his life he did not find better friends than the 41 members of Ainz Ooal Gown. To never see them again made him feel great pain. But there was one way to talk to them again. But will it be worth it?
[Replica of Old] allowed one to make a spirit replica of a person with one time use. The caster is required to know the summoned spirit or the artifact wont do a thing. It will act like the character that the caster wants to be from the memories of the caster. So the spirit would be how Ainz saw the person, not how he or she really is. The spirit will naturally not be able to contact objects or persons. The only thing it will have is the appearance of the target, movement, to think and speak and to reappear anywhere it wants because it does not possess a physical body that needs transportation. The body will also not have any colors other than white and will be a little transparent.
Ainz had such an object in his care, but did he really want to use it. Did he really want to choose one of his friends above the other?
"I could see one of them again. But who will I pick and who shall never be seen again? I wish I could see you all my friends, but it is not possible right now. Ulbert was one of my close friends like Touch Me, so who will get the role of the spirit of my old friend?"
He knew if he thought too much about it he would lose his mind. So he chose without a thought, without a hint of remorse. The artifact appeared out of a purple portal from the ground before his throne and started to glow in a white color. It was an item that had multiple rings of golden color spinning around a round object that was white as the stars in the night and it was glowing more every second.
"Please forgive me. I summon thou, spirit of a Supreme Being, One of the 41 of Nazarick. Come forth into this world as my loyal friend once again and be at my side until fate parts our way. Now come!"
The Throne Room was covered by a white light for the next seconds. The aftermath of the usage of the artifact proved successful. There, in the middle of the room, was someone, the person Momonga wanted to call into this new world. One of his closest friends.