A Theory on Godhood: An Overlord Story

Chapter 1: It Started With a Throne

Ah...it couldn't have gone any better than this, Momonga thought to himself, reclining back into the chair at the head of the table with an audible crinkle. All around him voices clamored in excitement or playful jests, filling the meeting room with a feeling of joy that it did not have for some time.

The reason? His entire guild had managed to make it for the final day of Yggdrasil.

To his right, he could see Tabula Smaragdina conversing with Tempest Aizawa, an air elemental, about the finer points of some old world religion he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to. Every so often he caught words like "Odin" or "Ragnarok" as his peripheral mind grasped the meaningless terms to him. On his direct left he chanced Luci*Fer and Ariel playing a game of what seemed to be checkers, to which the corrupted angel was handily losing to the fey player.

As he looked further down the table he could see Touch Me, the one he least expected to see here today, playfully joking with a massive, white dragon named Connaisdiam. At the opposite end he saw a group of his friends all flipping through a scrapbook, either groaning or laughing as they saw the old memories stored within the tome. Of those he could make out, he noted the tittering mandibles of the arachne Genjiro, the grasping tentacles of the mind flayer Small Cuttlefish, and the luscious mane of the chimera Beast King Mekongawa. The rest had their bodies obscured by the first three's forms, who were all standing up to show off the scrapbook.

Some of the chairs remained empty however, but they were still "warm" with the avatar's presence who had occupied them not even fifteen minutes prior. It was not until Momonga came upon the name plate of one chair that his virtual heart clenched, and he could feel his throat tighten with emotion.

Bellriver...if only you could have made it today. I know Blue Planet would have loved to see you at least one last time, if only to admonish you for not visiting him more often, Momonga thought ruefully, glancing at said seilenoi.

Blue Planet stared off into nothingness with a forlorn expression, not even budging from his spot at the table as the merriment in the air hadn't abated. Once again Momonga pondered the fate of his other friend, and tried to recall everything he knew about Bellriver's untimely death.

It had actually been a rather freakish accident, caused by extraordinarily bad luck and maltreatment of construction equipment. As Momonga recollected, an entire crane tower had fallen over in the middle of a work day, having finished building a new office building for some company he could scarcely remember. It had crushed only a single man, killing him in an instant with absolutely no warning, and no way to stop it in time.

Momonga had been reading the morning news on his phone when he saw the article, detailing the obituary of an unknown man who was known only by his internet history and name, that of Bellriver on the DMMO - RPG Yggdrasil. Momonga hadn't even bothered to finish his coffee that day, or call in for that matter. As he understood it, Bellriver's death had thankfully been painless.

He was snapped out of his daydream when he felt an armored gauntlet land on his shoulder, shaking him with a mirth that only youth could betray. He focused over his shoulder to see a heavily armored knight and a floating broadsword, the former trying to somehow tug his mighty bulk out of the chair, his robes rippling like spilled ink over the armrests. The sword orbited them like their own personal moon, bobbing in the air with childish excitement.

"Come on Sensei! Stop daydreaming and help us find everyone else. I think I saw them going towards the throne room, and we're also trying to stop Herohero from leaving..." the knight said in a boyish tone akin to pouting, while the sword bounced in agreement.

"It's true! Herohero says he's really tired, and we really don't want to see him go..." the sword said abashedly, spinning to look at the slime in question, her own voice conveying her worry.