The train rattled softly as it sped through the dimly lit tunnels of the city's subway system. It was Sunday evening, and the car was almost empty, just a few scattered passengers dozing off or staring blankly at their phones.
Dane Harper sat in his usual spot by the window, his headphones on and his phone glowing in his hands. The screen displayed the familiar title screen of Harem, Dragons, and Deities (HDXD), his favorite visual novel.
Dane was a man of simple pleasures.
At 27, Dane has long since accepted that his life wasn't going to be some grand adventure.
"Hehehe...
He laughed to himself, clearly content with himself at this moment as he was looking at his screen with pride.
"Finally... fucking finally...
His days were spent in a cramped office cubicle, crunching numbers for a job that barely paid the bills. His nights? Those belonged to him. And for Dane, there was no better way to spend them than diving into the worlds of his favorite games.
HDXD was his obsession. It had everything he loved: high-stakes fantasy, overpowered characters, and, of course, the harem routes.
The game was infamous for its complexity... multiple endings, branching storylines, and a level of difficulty that made even the most seasoned gamers sweat.
But Dane had poured nearly 7,000 hours into this game.
He was no noob, although this game was the longest VN he has ever played hands down.
However, he isn't complaining; he lives for this shit.
"Got to catch 'em all."
And catch them all he did.
Because Dane knew every twist, every character, and every possible outcome in HDXD, and tonight, after months of grinding, he was finally on the verge of achieving the legendary Overlord of Humanity Ending.
The screen flashed as Dane made his final choices.
He'd maxed out his stats, recruited every female character worth recruiting, and conquered every major faction in the game. Now it was time to claim his prize.
The game's protagonist, Xeres, stood atop a massive fortress, with a legion teeming with humans, dragons, demons, monsters, gods, and armies of loyal followers all behind him, about to end Father Chaos.
The women of his harem stood by his side, each one a powerhouse in their own right. There was Helldora, the Divine Dragon queen with scales that shimmered like gold; Lira, the half-elf assassin with a smile that could kill; and Selene, the goddess of war who had forsaken her divine throne to fight by his side; Moka, the vampire heiress; and a lot, lot more... too many to name in one go, to be honest.
However, together, they were unstoppable.
But at this moment it was just about Xeres, as he was about to end Chaos.
Xeres looks down with a cold look on his face as if taking in the sight of their great march through the Land of Discord.
The battlefield was a graveyard of many lesser chaos gods and chaos spirits. The air was thick with the stench of burning flesh and the metallic tang of blood.
The skies were torn open, bleeding light and shadow as the final moments of the war unfolded.
At the center of it all stood the Overlord of Humanity, his armor cracked and scorched, his body battered but unbroken. In his hand, he gripped a flagpole, a simple, unadorned shaft of steel crowned by the white banner of Terra, the emblem of humanity's unity and strength.
Beneath him, Father Chaos writhed; his current form was a swirling mass of immense, unmatched darkness, and the primordial force of entropy, the embodiment of all that sought to destroy and unravel, was now brought low.
His once-omnipotent presence flickered like a dying flame, his power shattered by the relentless will of The Overlord of Humanity.
The Great Overlord stepped forward, his boots crunching over the broken remains of Chaos minions.
"Pathetic!"
He said as he planted the flagpole into the ground beside Father Chaos, the white banner fluttering defiantly in the ash-filled wind.
"y-You...you YOUOUUUU!!... FOOL... ignorant... stupid... naive... bastard."
Father Chaos hissed his voice with a guttural growl that seemed to echo from the depths of the void of his being.
However, Xeres remained still and just listened to the soon-to-be-dead chaos ruler.
"You are nothing but a speck... cough!!... cough!!... A fleeting moment in the infinite expanse of time... cough! You cannot destroy me... because Chaos is eternal."
The Overlord's gaze was cold, his eyes like shards of ice reflecting the dying light of the battlefield.
But Xeres just gave him a mocking smile, as he replied.
"Chaos!?.... Hehehe... Oh please, it's nothing more than a lie."
He said, his voice low but carrying the force of a thousand thunderclaps.
"A crutch for those too weak to impose their will upon the universe. But humanity... humanity does not crumble... We do not bow. WE RISE!!...
He gripped the flagpole with both hands, lifting it high above his head. The tip of the pole gleamed with a deadly edge, forged from the remnants of a thousand fallen enemies.
"This flag."
The Overlord said, his voice rising.
"Is the symbol of our unity, our strength, our will. But it is not yet complete. It lacks the blood of the one who sought to destroy us; your blood... And Chaos will be the final stroke. The mark of humanity's grand victory."
With a roar that shook the heavens, the Overlord drove the flagpole down, piercing through Father Chaos's chest. The primordial being let out a deafening scream, his form convulsing as dark, ichorous blood spilled forth, staining the white banner crimson.
The Overlord twisted the pole, driving it deeper and deeper and lifting it up for all to see. At that moment, the world took a deep inhale, and everyone bowed down, even the Overlord's wives themselves.
The pole itself, however, was planted firmly in the heart of Chaos's broken form. He leaned forward, his face inches from Father Chaos's fading visage.
"Heh... eternal, eh?!... Good joke, but I guess you are nothing more but a joke now A stain on the banner of humanity's triumph... Hehehe.... how fitting."
The ruler of chaos trembled as he was dying; his power was so weak at this moment, and his body was so injured now that all he could say was.
"...Mortal... me... bested by a mortal... i-i-impossible!"
At these words, Xeres smiles, a prideful look on his face as he says.
"Mortal? Perhaps...
"Buttttttttt I am more than that, you know... I am the culmination of humanity's strength, its ambition, and its will. And through me, humanity will rise above the petty squabbles of dragons, gods, and demons alike. We will carve our own path, a path of order, a path of power... of dominance."
He said while looking at his subjects, raising the flagpole even higher, for all to see, he need not shout. His normal words alone echoed in the souls of all who submit to humanity's great throne.
"That's why, my subjects, let it be known that this is only the beginning."
The Overlord of Mankind said proudly.
"The universe is vast, and there are still those who would oppose us. But together, we will forge a new era... one where humanity stands above all... this was but one Chaos god down for the count... you can say we did this universe by rising above it and putting it down like the dog it is... my people, let's paint our great flag, not just one but one of many colors, or logo will be a symbol of hope for the future generation, and a symbol of fear for all outside the throne... all will fall, all will kneel, and all will serve this one great order... The order of humanity for this order is the only order worth serving."
Helldora stepped forward, her golden scales shining brightly as she said.
"Where you lead, we will follow, Darling."
She said, her voice filled with unwavering devotion.
Xeres nodded, his gaze turning toward the horizon.
"Well, then shall we begin our great march in the name of humanity?"
Like that, the game came to an end.
"Finally."
Dane muttered to himself.
"Like damn, it took me long enough, but still."
As he looks at Xeres looking down on his subject, posing the flag upwards like a badass, as chaos rules fade away and end, the credit starts to move upwards. Of course, he scrolled through the ending credits, savoring every detail. Xeres harem had grown to a large proportion, each one more powerful and alluring than the last.
They ruled over a vast empire, their influence spreading across the universe as they ushered in a new era of humanity. It was everything Dane had ever wanted in a fantasy: power, adventure, and, of course, the perfect harem.
As the credits rolled, Dane glanced out the train window. The city lights blurred past, a stark contrast to the vibrant world he had just left behind. He sighed, already feeling the weight of the early morning looming over him as he worked overtime today.
But then, something strange happened.
The train lights flickered.
The hum of the engine grew louder, more distorted. Dane frowned, pulling off his headphones. The other passengers seemed to notice it too; a few of them looked up, their expressions uneasy.
And then, everything went dark.
The train screeched to a halt, the sudden jolt throwing Dane forward in his seat. The lights were completely out now, plunging the car into pitch-black darkness.
For a moment, there was silence... a heavy, scary silence that made Dane's heart race.
And then the sound came.
It was loud.
So loud that it felt like the world itself was tearing apart.
Dane clapped his hands over his ears, but it didn't help. The noise was everywhere, inside his head.
Or just so loud it was impossible to block it out.
Dane's vision blurred. His body felt like it was being pulled in a thousand different directions. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. The last thing he saw was a flash of light, brighter than anything he personally had ever seen, and everything went black, as Dane and everyone else in the world died.