MEMORIES OF AN OVERLORD
by Victar (vctr113062 [at] aol [dot] com)
Victar's Archive: https://www.vicfanfic.com
"I've wondered how they felt, when they... did it hurt bad enough to make them regret it? Only then, it was too late to go back?"
Chapter Seven
Memories of a Savior: Death of a Savior
In the last minutes of the life of Kreisia's most unlikely Savior, he slumped to one knee, panting and heaving with exhaustion. He started to pitch face-forward; to catch himself, he stabbed the Holy Brand Aldea point-first into the throne room floor of Overlord Clize Orzand's castle, and leaned heavily on the weapon.
*What do you think I am!?*
Yusis ignored Aldea's outrage. He looked up and blinked away the sweat streaming into his eyes, in time to see the titanic form of the Overlord dissolve. Most of the Overlord's monstrous body seemed to disintegrate; something within resembling an amorphous, jet-black blob fell away, and became a pool of sludge. Thick, black smoke poured from the sludge and started to fill the throne room.
Laminah remained vigilant. Anemos withdrew a lustrous white bead from his vest and called on its magic to purge himself of miasma poisoning; the affliction would have already killed him, if not for Aldea's anti-poison ward. Cynthia clasped her hands and whispered an invocation; holy light arced from her to the group, soothing their injuries.
The Savior and his companions had triumphed, for another turn of the cycle.
Yusis unsteadily rose to his feet, limped, and nearly stumbled. The lingering effects of a hostile spell dragged upon his movements and clouded his perception of time, but a far stronger pressure weighed on his mind. It was an ominous, horrifying feeling, even worse than the knowledge that he and his companions were about to sacrifice themselves. The impending sense of worldwide doom threatened to smother his consciousness.
Anemos invoked bardic magic to counter the spell slowing Yusis' thoughts and actions. With awareness and balance fully restored, Yusis approached what had been Kreisia's greatest threat - and before that, Kreisia's greatest hope.
In place of the Overlord Orzand stood the shimmering image of a tall, steel-eyed warrior with platinum-blond hair, and two long antenna-trails drifting from either side of his face. He wore the shadowy memory of black battle armor and a flowing red cape. A gaping, empty hole, punched clear through his body and his breastplate, disfigured the center of his chest.
The warrior collapsed to his knees, resting his gauntleted hands on the ground, and whispered, "I... remember..."
"Savior-" Yusis started to say, and heart-wrenching thickness cut off his voice.
"My name was Clize, once." The image before Yusis started to become lighter and more translucent. The soul of Kreisia's previous Savior returned the gaze of Kreisia's current Savior. "My Greater Seal has been destroyed. You must become the Greater Seal in my place, to forestall a catastrophe that would drown the world. I thank you for my freedom, and wish I could bestow a kinder fate upon you."
"Wait, Clize, please tell me. When you became the Overlord, why couldn't you keep your own mind? What happened?"
"The Voice of Orzand demanded that I destroy all life. I resisted with every fiber of my strength, fought back with every shred of my being. My consciousness was lost. My soul was buried in a void of drifting nightmare."
"I'm sorry."
"It will be the same for you. You must trust the next Savior to protect the world and free your soul; it is the only way." The fading vision of Clize vanished into drifting sparkles of light.
The Holy Brand Aldea became like golden fire that flowed through Yusis' fingers. The fire reformed into a shining, hovering sword. Aldea's brilliant light cleared away traces of airborne miasma around the Savior and his companions. Behind the Holy Brand, there remained a gathering of black smoke, steadily growing thicker.
Aldea's three pommel stones sprang from its hilt. They shot behind the Savior's companions and opened three portals of light, one red, one green, one blue, then plunged within. The oval windows radiated brightly.
Yusis knew all too well what the portals were for. Each of his three companions would have to enter one, and forfeit their lives to become Lesser Seals. Ten years later, they would arise as murderous undead monsters, bound to the Overlord's will.
Cynthia, when your summon spell brought you a Savior, it also condemned you to this, Yusis ruefully thought. Why did your spell choose me?
Why did magic meant to save Kreisia pick someone who can't bear to let you die?
Did your spell expect me to think of another way?
I have to think!
*Savior, step forward into the depths of the smoke. The rest of you, choose a portal and enter it.*
"Wait, everyone," Yusis said. "Give me a moment."
*Savior, we have very little time.*
"We're not out of time yet, Aldea!" he sharply rebuked. "We have about twenty minutes before miasma floods the world."
*How do you know that!?*
"I can just feel it. An unbelievably powerful dark magic spell is being cast right now. It's not coming from anyone or anything we can interrupt with attacks; it's coming from the miasma itself. There's a picture in my mind; it's like a loading screen bar slowly turning black from left to right, with a countdown timer measuring its progress. If the countdown finishes, then the miasma will erupt and drown all life."
*Are you that sensitive to miasma? Why are you superlatively attuned to dark magic, when you can feel nothing of other types? Just how corrupt are - it matters not. You must not hesitate to sacrifice yourself! I will need time to write my directive on your soul!*
"How much time?"
*Approximately five minutes, because I must take extreme care to get it exactly right on the likes of you!*
"I won't risk waiting until the last moment, I promise. Just shut up and let me think."
Lights flickered up and down the length of the hovering sword.
I want to keep my own mind as the Overlord, but I will completely lose it if I don't even try to save my friends this time. I have to try something, anything I can think of, even if it fails I have to try something-!
Cynthia, isn't there some way I can save you? Anemos, Laminah? I know you're all prepared for a fate worse than death, but there has to be something, anything!
If only we had more time-!
Yusis' eyes widened.
If only we had... 'more time'...
The Overlord can wield more than dark magic. Even a Warrior Overlord like the one we just fought. He used a battle spell that slowed down time!
Legends from Kreisia's history mention super-strong magic that no living person can cast today. But past Overlords have cast super-strong spells...
The power of the Overlord - the ability to wield magic - I've wondered if I could use it to break Kreisia's cycle. I still don't know, but if I had that power, could I-?
The greatest limits on what magic can do are power and imagination. The limit on power can be incredibly magnified, if the target accepts the spell with their whole heart.
Aldea's flickering lights momentarily froze in a checkered pattern.
*Savior!*
"Aldea, quiet. I'll make this quick, and if you interrupt me, you'll only slow it down."
Kreisia's most unlikely Savior turned to face his cherished friends - Anemos the bard, who had donned a blooming red rose for his final performance; Laminah the warrior, resolute in her loyalty to her king; and Cynthia, the Priestess of Salvation, whose reddish-brown eyes showed gentle affection.
Yusis' heart thumped. He took shallow breaths as he spoke rapidly.
"Okay, everyone. I have an idea. It won't break the cycle here and now, but maybe, just maybe-!
"Let me go first. Wait for Aldea to finish what it does. Wait for - wait for me to become the Greater Seal, and wait a little longer after that. You'll get a feeling for when to enter your portals; I'm sure of it." Magic is strongly connected to feelings. I didn't completely understand until just now; that dark magic spell pressing into my mind made it clear.
*Savior, this castle lacks ontological inertia. It will implode when I transport the Greater Seal.*
"Then hold off doing that until all three of them go through!" Yusis snapped, over his shoulder. Turning back to his friends, he continued, "When the moment comes, keep your most precious thoughts close to you, and-
"...and...
"...and I need you to trust me. Absolutely. Give all of your own strength to whatever you feel. Give everything you have. Everything."
Cynthia asked, "Yusis, what are you planning to do?"
"I don't dare say it out loud. I need your complete faith in me. Just - just believe in me, and support anything that reaches you with all your heart, will, and soul. You three..."
Yusis curled his right hand and held it over his heart. A smile parted his lips, in stark contrast to the nervousness that sent tremors through his body, making the glasses on the cord around his neck sway. "You three are the best friends I've ever had. I'm grateful to all of you."
Anemos warmly returned, "Our journey has been a consummate pleasure."
Laminah nodded. "I could not have better comrades alongside me, in service to my king."
Cynthia stepped very close to Yusis and trilled, "This is for good luck."
Yusis' eyebrows darted up. He voiced a confused, "Huh?"
Cynthia clasped her hands behind her back, and pecked his cheek with a swift kiss.
Yusis' face flushed. His hand went to where her lips had touched him. His mouth parted, but no sound came out.
Cynthia wrapped her arms around his neck, held him so tightly that the frames of his hanging glasses pressed into her body, and kissed him full on the lips. Then she released him, beaming with the happiest smile he had ever seen.
*Savior. We must go.*
Yusis' eyes darted to the hovering holy sword, then back to Cynthia. He leaned close to her delicate, furry left ear, cupped his hand, and breathed a nearly-silent whisper.
*Savior!*
"Yeah, I'm coming." Yusis followed Aldea. Billowing black smoke swiftly hid both of them from view.
"What did he whisper to you?" Anemos mused, to Cynthia. "A confession of love, perhaps?"
Cynthia's long ears twitched. "He said, 'Don't die.'"
Despite Aldea's ward against poison, Yusis coughed, deep within the roiling black smoke. He was completely blinded, yet an indescribable sense told him that a mass of tar-like miasma was nearby.
My heart won't stop pounding and my knees won't stop shaking. Is it because I'm going to die, or is it because I just kissed a girl for the first time?
"Okay, I'm ready. What do I do?" Cynthia, don't die - please don't die - can I use the power of the Overlord to save you? To save all my friends?
*Brave Savior of Kreisia. Let this be the last pain you feel.* Aldea's pronouncement carried the tone of a solemn ritual. It emanated from above and behind Yusis. A glimmer of holy power warmed his back and neck. He felt the ever-so-slightly uncomfortable sensation of Aldea's methodical consciousness, emotionlessly peering into the depths of his soul.
"Yeah, okay. So what exactly am I supposed to-"
Aldea's blade plunged into and through Yusis' back, erupting from his chest in a gout of holy fire. The cord holding the glasses around his neck was immediately consumed; the frames fell away from his pierced body, skidding and clattering on the floor.
"Aaah - AAAAAH!" Yusis shrieked, and it was only the beginning of his agony. He was not fully aware of Anemos' battle hymn, resonating through the darkness.
A searing blaze cut deep within Yusis, violently burning his flesh and his soul. He screamed until the holy fire destroyed his lungs and he could make no more sound. The radiant power held him rigidly immobile, unable to do anything but exist and endure.
Cynthia...
As torturous as the five-minute ordeal was, what came next was even more crippling.
It was like liquid sickness, concentrated bile, rage, misery, every bitter feeling, every moment of hatred he had ever known, consuming his mind even as his final living thoughts molded a lingering impression in its malice. It sluggishly pooled within his prone form, a vile, poisonous vortex that ate away at his senses, devoured his remaining flesh, and hungered for more.
The last of the pain was gone. In its place were both the desire and the complete inability to vomit.
Cynthia, do I... do I have the power I need, now?
I don't know if I'm the real 'Yusis' or just a dark magic copy, but no matter what I am, I'm using the Overlord's power to...
...I'm using the Overlord's power to...
...how do I do this?
Yusis couldn't move whatever his body had become. He hoped that he wouldn't have to. Anemos and Cynthia had once taught him that gestures or speech merely aided concentration, when wielding most types of magic.
Magic is a matter of the mind. Maybe the specifics are whatever I imagine them to be.
Yusis concentrated. A gigantic chart of symbols, descriptions, and small empty squares appeared in his thoughts. Jet-black splotches filled a handful of the empty squares.
Am I really imagining this? It looks like a skill tree from a video game.
Several abilities connected to miasma and monsters are already selected. So is a battle spell to slow down time, and a mind-related power that permanently enslaves anyone who willingly and knowingly pledges obedience.
Can I choose my other powers? I need to cast a spell that will-!
The chart marked more black squares next to the slowing-spell, filled in an additional selection, then transformed into a drop-down menu.
This 'menu option' is faded out. I don't have enough 'MP' to 'click on it'. I think I'm gaining 'MP' at a very slow rate...
...no, there's no time! I need to cast this spell now! There has to be some way-!
Another option added itself to the drop-down menu.
I can borrow the power to cast one spell, but I'll be powerless for a long time afterward. There's only one chance to do this right. I have to make the spell affect all three of my friends and all three of the miasma fonts they're going to seal.
%this is my host? this pathetic wretch is the new Overlord Orzand?% A voice of dripping vitriol prowled and snarled through Yusis' mind, disrupting his concentration. %you defective, worthless - how did a weakling like you ever - do you really think you can seal me?%
I... yeah. Yeah, I do. I'm the Greater Seal now. I'm the Overlord. And I'm using the Overlord's power.
%really. you think so.%
Yusis desperately tried to focus his will-
%the Overlord may not show mercy to the living.% The Voice of Orzand's cruel decree was simultaneous with a psychological impact that slammed into Yusis' thoughts, before he could attempt to alter fate.
%the Overlord's power is my power. you are bound by my rules. all who resist my rules have been erased, just as you will be erased.%
That's what happened to Clize, isn't it? He was 'erased'.
%resist and be erased, or erase yourself. every host before you chose one of these, and spared themselves misery. which will you choose?%
Neither. I won't resist like Clize did, and I won't erase myself. I will use your power without resisting you.
%exactly how do you think that is going to work?%
Even as the Voice of Orzand expressed its contempt, Yusis felt something flare deep inside, brilliant and undeniable.
*The Overlord must prepare to confront the next Savior in a battle to the death.*
Although Yusis was uncertain what the Holy Brand Aldea might be doing without, its engraving shined brightly within. This was an unbreakable law of the absolute highest priority, to which even the Voice of Orzand had to defer.
I have to prepare for the next Savior! I'm using your power on the Lesser Seals and their miasma fonts to prepare!
%what madness is this? the destiny of the Lesser Seals is to die and arise as Primary Servants to the Greater Seal.%
I will create a weapon no Overlord has ever wielded before - living Primary Servants!
%all life is filth.%
So you agree with me? No undead monster has ever stopped the Savior before, but living Primary Servants can do 'filthy' things like 'befriend' and betray the next Savior!
%do you think you can deceive me? even at my weakest, I can see the guilt, the fear, and the endless doubts lurking in your soul.
%yet perhaps I will bargain with you. perhaps your mad scheme could break Kreisia's cycle... in my favor.%
End of Chapter Seven: Death of a Savior