1 The Paladin of Pure Silver (Patreon)

"Ah.. I am not going to make it."

Standing on a small field of grass, Sebastian, also known to all the Worlds of YGGDRASIL as Touch Me lets out a sigh and plops himself on the ground, sitting cross legged.

Touch Me is a Paladin clad in shining platinum white armour, wearing a helm with an insectoid design, and a chest piece that has a huge sapphire embedded in the middle of his chest; the armour itself seems to radiate a pure and divine light. He is also adorned with a crimson-red cape with gold accents attached around his left shoulder; as well as a draped coat tail from the hips of his armour to ankle length.

He is currently in the world of Álfheimr, the home of the Light Elves and fae of all kinds. It is a world filled with sights most wonderous; of floating islands surrounded by waterfalls that sparkle in the most radiant, joyful fashion.

Right now, he is seated on one such island. Around him is a small clearing of lush, verdant grass. The grass is then surrounded by twin streams of water that come from the deeper jungle and split in half to surround his glade before falling off the edge of the island in front of him.

A soft mist rises up from over the edge of the island and glitters before his eyes like a million tiny prismatic gems. Looking further afield, he, not for the first time, beholds in awe the magnificent world of Álfheimr and it's clear blue sky. Even further away, he can see more of these floating islands, and the sight takes his breath away as if this was the first time he has seen it, just as it always has every time.

He truly loves this spot of his. It's where he has always gone whenever he felt the need to be alone with his thoughts. He didn't even tell his Guildmates about it, to preserve the peace he finds here.

Truly, Álfheimr is a beautiful world. That is why he fought to become it's Champion after all, so that he could protect this beauty.

But alas, this magnificent and painfully nostalgic sight was not why he logged in today.

Even the sight before him cannot help the way his mood sours at the reminder.

Today, YGGDRASIL dies.

By the end of today, no. By the end of the hour, Álfheimr, the beautiful world he Champions, will die.

He has so many memories of these worlds. Of exploring them, alone and together with all the friends he made on the way.

Together with his guild...

He hasn't logged in in a while, not having had the time. And truthfully, he did not intend to see the game to to it's death.

But when he checked his emails earlier, he saw one from his close friend, Satoru, inviting him and the others to spend the final moments of YGGDRASIL together. His friend has always valued this game more than anyone else, that thought alone convinced Sebastian to come online.

Satoru has always been a lonely man. Sebastian has done his best to alleviate that loneliness, and that worked. The way Satoru's voice would change whenever speaking of the Guild we all forged together and the accomplishments of all his friends always brought a smile to his face.

But over time, everyone started to leave the game, and he was no exception. The only exception it seems, was Satoru.

Sebastian feels bad that he didn't even realise Satoru was still so focused on a dying game like YGGDRASIL. He figured Satoru would have moved on to another game, but the realisation that he didn't made Sebastian feel like an awful friend.

Because he knows that Satoru must feel very alone right now.

Which is why he hurried to log on, not even responding to the email, so that he can at least be there for his friend in these final minutes, and hopefully offer some new games he can try out.

Sebastian knows that Ulbert started playing a fairly new game called Seven Hells recently.

However, when he last logged out, he did so here, in Álfheimr, as he thought he would not log back in for a while. However, his absence was longer than he thought, as that was nearly a year ago now.

If he'd have known he wasn't going to come back to the game, he would have at least put all his items and equipment in the Guild's treasury like all the others who left.

But it is too late for regrets, and it is also too late for him to make it all the way to the Great Tomb of Nazarick in time for the shutdown.

Shaking his head clear of useless thoughts, Sebastian checks the time and realises he only has a couple of minutes left. Sighing again at his tardiness, he opens his friends list and quickly finds Momonga, Satoru's in game name, at the top of it, due to him being the only one on the list that is online.

Without wasting anymore time, he taps Momonga's name and initiates a [Message] spell.

"Momonga-san!" He greets once the spell connects, "It has been too long, my friend!"

"T-Touch-san!?" His friend's surprised voice returns, "you came?"

"Indeed! Though, I apologise for only noticing your email at the last moment. I am afraid I won't be able to make it to the Tomb in time for shutdown. Still, I'm going to sit with you until the end from here in Álfheimr, if you don't mind that is."

"Of course not!" Momonga exclaims, pausing for a moment before continuing in a softer, "it is good to hear from you though. It truly has been a while. How have you been?"

"I've been well my friend. Busy, but well. My daughter recently got hired to compose for some new game! She's only recently turned nineteen but she's already doing her old man proud! Though, I'd like it if she'd tell me the game she's composing for, but she says she wants it to be a surprise... I just hope that Buku-chan hasn't influenced what kind of career choices she's making..."

"Ha! Ha! Indeed, it would suck to be able to empathise with Peroroncino-san on such subjects."

"Truly, it would. But enough about me, how have you been, Momonga-san?"

The pause that follows his question is as telling as any answer could have been, but Momonga responds right before he was about to speak up again.

"I've been fine."

That was an obvious lie if he's ever heard one. "Are you sure? You don't sound it."

"Haaah, you're right. I suppose, well, it's silly really."

"Nonsense! Please, speak your mind."

"I just. I'm just sad, I suppose. About YGGDRASIL, I mean. This game, it holds so many precious memories of mine. I don't know, maybe I'm just being overly sentimental, but I just wish everything could go back to how it was, back in the prime days of Ainz Ooal Gown. I miss those days... I don't want to lose these memories I cherish so dearly."

For a moment, Sebastian is struck speechless by the honest emotion of his friend's tone. But he quickly gathers himself in the hopes of reassuring his friend.

"Well, I can understand your feelings, Momonga-san. But those memories will not disappear with YGGDRASIL, you know that right? Those memories that we both cherish with our friends will remain with us forever. That is the nature of life. That is why we must live to the fullest, so that the grand adventures of our lives can become treasured memories that we can hold onto until our dying breath."

There's a brief silence as his friend mulls over his words. "I suppose you're right. Thank you for cheering me up once again, Touch-san."

"Not a problem! Helping someone who is in need is just common sense after all!"

"Ha! Ha! Indeed it is. Still though, it still pains me to see Nazarick disappear after all the work everyone put into it..."

"Yeah, I agree. Nazarick represents years of hard work. Hell, I remember pulling overtime and enduring getting yelled at by the wife just to have the time to help the grind for our Guild Weapon."

That sheer nostalgia in his voice is matched by Momonga in full with his sighed response. "Indeed, those were the days..."

"That said, perhaps when YGGDRASIL II comes out and we rebuild Nazarick, maybe we could limit the amount of creative freedom Luci-san gets in design choices."

"A-aha... Yeah... I don't think anyone would complain about that. I don't think Buku would even join again if she knew he'd make another Kyouhukou."

They both share a slightly unsettled laugh at the reminder of the living army of cockroaches their friend made. It was a trap specifically designed to target female avatars, because according to their friend, "almost any girl will prefer to log out than deal with so many bugs, it's an easy win!"

And to be fair, he was right. But Kyouhukou didn't exactly help their already poor reputation...

Unfortunately, before they can keep talking, Sebastian notices the time and lets out a sigh.

"It seems we're already in the final minute Momonga-san."

"So it would seem, Touch-san."

"It has been fun, Satoru."

"Indeed. It's been a blast, Sebastian."

And with those final words, the [Message] spell ends.

With only ten seconds left until the end, Sebastian once more lets his gaze wander over the beautiful world before him. A thousand memories seem to fly by his mind's eye, images of his friends' greatest triumphs and failures all coming back to him in that one moment.

"Yeah," he sighs to himself as he closes his eyes and falls back onto the grass, smiling a sad, but contented smile. "It has been a blast."

And then the second ticks over, and everything changes.

There is no transition of any kind. One moment he is waiting for the forced log out to happen, the next, he suddenly feels.

The peaceful quiet of Álfheimr abruptly disappears. The sounds of flowing water is replaced by chirping birds. The distant noise of crashing waterfalls is replaced by a quiet cacophony of vaguely familiar sounds.

His eyes snap open as he shoots upright, only to freeze at what he sees.

Around him is a forest that he does not recognise, under a sky that is not familiar. But when his gaze is drawn to the night sky, no matter that it was a bright day not a moment earlier, he feels as though his breath is stolen away from him.

Without even really consciously thinking about it, his body begins to fly, shooting above the treeline and continuing until he rises above the clouds.

The sight that greets him is not one he could describe in words. The sky shining bright even in the night, glimmering with a million stars that sparkle like a box full of treasures.

He has seen many wonderous sights in his life, and so it takes him a moment to realise why this sky is so breath-taking to him, but when he does realise, he can't bring himself to deny it.

The difference between this sky and those in YGGDRASIL, even the one created by Blue Planet on the Sixth Floor of their Tomb, is that this... This is real.

There is no reason he should be so certain of it, but he just knows. Without a shadow of a doubt. He feels it deep inside his bones, a certainty like no other that what he sees is real.

He has never seen a real sky before. Only the renditions made online. And he is abruptly and utterly convinced in that moment, that no work of art could ever be as beautiful as this.

Yet, once the moment passes, all that is left in Sebastian's mind is an incredible confusion.

What is going on? 

Where is he?

What happened?

Why is he here?

Did something go wrong with the forced log out?

First things first, he drops back down to ground level. In an unknown situation, caution is the best approach so the cover of trees would be preferable than being out in the open sky.

Second, don't panic. Assess and understand.

First one must assess the surroundings.

He is in a forest, as he noted before. But now that he is thinking calmly, he realises that there was a city nearby that he mostly ignored first in his admiration of the sky and then in is haste. The city from first glance seems to be from the early twenty first century, which would explain the lack of smog blocking the stars.

The air blowing on his body, the scent of the forest and the sounds of nature and distant civilisation are all enough to confirm that this is real enough. He knows the laws VR companies have to abide by, and this level of realism, even if it could be made, would never be allowed.

So he can't deny reality. He has been transported to an unknown location by unknown means. The most reasonably assumption would be that someone kidnapped him in real life and left him here to wake up.

But he was definitely flying under his own power earlier, which he most certainly could not normally do.

Thus comes the second part of the assessment.

Assessment of the self.

He looks down and sees a familiar sight. His World Champion armour, [Compliance with Law]. Confirming that, he feels inwards.

His body is definitely not as he remembers it, he can tell that much. Also, now that he's focusing on it, his eyesight is way better than it should be. His field of vision has expanded, and he can see literally everything in perfect clarity. Even from tens of metres away, he can see a cicada as if he were looking at it under a microscope, every detail, every fibre of hair perfectly visible to him.

His hearing has also clearly been improved if he can hear the city even though he's actually rather far away, and with his sense of smell alone... It's like a whole new world.

He realises the irony of the thought, but he can't think of any better way to describe it. The world just seems more that it ever has before.

However, he doesn't let the beauty of the world distract him from realising what all of this must mean.

He has been transported to an unknown place via unknown means and appears to inhabit the body of his player character.

The good news is that he seems to have at least some of his character's abilities, judging from how he flew earlier, and he was one of the top three PVP players in the game.

The bad news, is that he has been taken away from his family.

His wife. His daughter. They were going to eat unhealthy food and watch movies until late together to celebrate YGGDRASIL. They were waiting for him.

So why is he here? When he should be with them?

He feels despair overcome him and quickly searches for hope.

"[Call GM]!!!" He exclaims, but nothing happens. 

However, the act reminds him of what he was doing not a minute earlier.

"[Message]!" He calls out, trying to regain contact with Momonga, and unlike the previous spell, he feels this one activate and a glimmer of hope rises in his chest.

Only for that hope to be crushed underfoot as the spell seems to crash and fall apart, failing.

"Damnit!" He shouts in frustration and punches the nearest tree, only to be shocked out of his growing anger by the way the tree is obliterated alongside the thunderous noise of the sound barrier being broken.

The tree doesn't end or crack, instead it seems to simply transform into a cloud of fine splinters that explodes away from him. Even beyond that tree, the trees behind all bend away as if struck by a great force, the nearest even snapping at the trunk and falling down.

As the destruction starts to settle down, Sebastian allows himself to calm, realising that his body has turned into a weapon and that he should be more in control of himself.

Still, he has one last option to try before temporarily giving up all hope.

Focusing, he does his best to picture his home in his mind. It is not a difficult task. He loves his family after all. He can picture it perfectly. His wife and daughter seated at the dinner table waiting for him to join them.

The image is so real in his mind that it hurts. But he holds onto it, imagining that room in as clear detail as he can.

Then, once he is sure he has the perfect mental image, he speaks his final gambit.

"[Gate]." He speaks the name of the highest level teleportation spell, and watches with impatience as a fissure in space appears before him and slowly starts to grow, seemingly struggling to form.

Only to abruptly shatter into a million pieces, and with it, Sebastian's hope.

His knees shake as despair almost overwhelms him, but with a deep breath, he steadies himself.

"Okay. Recap," he speaks to himself in the hopes that using his voice will help him keep calm, an endeavour that can only be called half successful as doing so allows him to notice the change in his voice. "I have been transported to a foreign world, or perhaps to the past before corporations killed the atmosphere so badly that we could not see the sun. Adding to that, I am in my player avatar from YGGDRASIL. [Call GM] doesn't work, [Message] isn't reaching Momonga even though he was definitely still logged in and while [Gate] works, it can't seem to take me home."

Laying it all out like that...

Fuck.

What other options does he have?

...If [Gate] didn't work, then he doesn't really have anything.

Damnit. If he was a magic caster then maybe he'd have more options, but his spell pool is limited. If only Momonga was here. His friend could cast more than twice the normal limit of spells. Surely he'd have some solution?

No. He can't think like that. He would be a bad friend to drag Momonga into this situation.

No. He is by himself for now. But he cannot allow himself to fall into despair.

That's it. Moping around won't help anyone. There is a whole world out there to explore.

Hm. That thought solidifies a plan in his mind.

Ainz Ooal Gown has always been a guild of adventure. They were all helpless romantics when it came to a good adventure, and there is a whole world for him to now explore.

So that is what he will do. He will use the prospect of an exciting adventure as a way to avoid spiralling into a depression, and in the mean time, he will explore each and every avenue of returning home that he can possibly find.

Surely there will be someone in the world that can help him. He does not accept the notion that there is no way back. He cannot accept it. He refuses to even consider it.

"Wait for me," he whispers into the night. "I will return to you. I swear it."