Starting from her fingertips, her existence was turning bit by bit into the most fundamental motes of light, like a pencil sketch being rubbed out by an eraser.
This erasure was far more thorough than the spatial riftsannihilation at the level of existence itself.
"Is it too late?"
A deep despair seized her heart.
She couldn't even focus enough to open the chat interface,
and could only watch as her arm turned transparent and vanished.
At the final instant, as her consciousness was about to be fully datafied along with her body and return to nothingness
"Freeze."
A calm voicequiet but carrying unquestionable authorityresounded through the Great Tomb of Nazarick, through this world where virtual and real were on the brink of collapsing together.
Time, space, even the underlying data-stream of the world froze at that single command.
Albedo's half-erased body stopped disintegrating.
The drifting light-particles hung motionless in the air.
Even the cracks spreading across the central crystal ceased to creep.
Everythingincluding the ravaging spatial fissureswas caught on pause, a tableau of absolute stillness.
Only Albedo's remaining consciousness, and her sight, could still move.
A figure appeared before her without a sound.
It wasn't through a portal, nor any high-speed motion.
It felt more like existence itself had been written directly into this spacetime.
The newcomer stood tall, astonishingly handsome, carrying an indescribable calm and depth.
In his eyes seemed to flicker the birth and death of stars, the turning of worlds.
No mighty energy surged from him,
yet Albedo's body howled on instinctthis presence surpassed even the Supreme Beings.
He was Rei Ao.
Rei Ao's gaze fell on Albedo's near-transparent body.
"Looks like I made it in time."
His tone was even, revealing no joy or anger.
He raised his hand and pressed lightly toward her.
In an instant the scattered motes of light flowed back at impossible speed.
Her vanished arm and body rapidly reformedmore perfect, more vibrant than before.
And not just her body.
She felt something even more fundamental settle into place: an anchoring of her very "existence,"
banishing the airy sense that she might fade into nothing at any moment.
But that was only the beginning.
Rei Ao's glance swept over the frozen chamber, pierced its walls, and looked down upon the stalled Great Tomb of Nazarickand the entire world of YGGDRASIL.
"A bubble world that happened to turn from virtual to real, and now teeters on collapse because its roots are unstable"
He murmured as if reading the annals of this world.
"World SourceManifest."
At his words,
a point of ultimate "light" bloomed above his palm.
It was no ordinary radiance,
but the origin and sum of all this world's laws, information, energy, and matterthe World Source.
It floated meekly in his hand like a subject before its king.
Such a feeble sourcewell, it was only a game world, after all.
The next moment, Rei Ao's fingers closed, as if gently grasping that light.
Vmmm!
An invisible wave rippled out from him, in a heartbeat sweeping across all of Nazarick, into every corner of this realm.
Albedo could almost hear the world let out a satisfied sigh.
Every instability, collapse, and error code was forcibly corrected and smoothed out in that instant.
What was broken was reassembled.
What was chaotic was ordered.
What was missing was made whole.
He wasn't repairing; he was taking control.
In that momentholding the World SourceRei Ao became the sole god of this YGGDRASIL world.
The absolute sovereign.
The maker of rules.
The world itself seemed to bow in fealty and joy.
Only after finishing did Rei Ao turn again to Albedo, still reeling in shock.
After a brief thought, he said casually:
"Relying on the world's own maintenance makes management unwieldy."
"Albedo, you were born of this realm and know it best."
"Today I grant you administrator privileges hereso you can cast off your old shackles completely."
Before his words had fully fallen, a golden rune brimming with unfathomable mysteries leapt from his fingertip and sank into Albedo's brow.
"Ah!"
Albedo let out a short cry.
"Don't resist. I'm helping you," Rei Ao said.
At his reminder, Albedo stopped resisting and let the strange power surge through her and remake her.
A torrent of information and permissionsvast beyond imaginationdetonated within her soul (or rather, the core of her consciousness).
She saw every corner of Nazarick, could sense the state of each speck of dust.
She grasped the fundamental rules of this world in an instant and could modify them within certain bounds.
She felt an unbreakable bond with the ground beneath her feetwith the entire Great Tomb of Nazarick.
More importantly, that rune, like the finest surgical blade, neatly severed the final shackle binding her to "game settings": the base-level logic an NPC must obey.
Every line of code not born of her own will dissolved into nothing.
She was no longer a prewritten NPC, no longer mere virtual data.
She now possessed a complete self, an independent personality, and free will.
SheAlbedohad officially ascended from a game NPC to this world's game administrator, and, in the truest sense, into a complete, genuine life.
Chapter 1,025: Supreme Rei Ao!
The impact was so great that Albedo trembled from head to toe.
She looked at the figure before herthe one who had given her new life and saved her entire world.
Without a moment's hesitation, Albedo dropped to her knees in the most devout, humble posture and bowed deeply. Her smooth forehead touched the cold floor, and her excited voice rang out clearly in the silent hall:
"Supreme Rei Ao-sama! The body, the heart, the soul you have granted meand even the entire Great Tomb of Nazarickfrom this day forward, all belong to you!"
"Albedo hereby swears eternal fealty to you, my one and only Supreme!"
"Supreme"
Rei Ao rubbed his chin.
Had he just stolen Ainz's Nazarick out from under him?
He decided to accept Albedo's fealty without fuss.
He gave a slight nod. "Rise, Albedo. I acknowledge your loyalty."
"Yes, Rei Ao-sama!"
Albedo rose respectfully and stood at his side, hands at her thighs. A new light burned in her eyes: absolute devotion to her new master and boundless expectation for the future.
"Show me Nazarick," Rei Ao said.
"As you command. Please, this way."
Albedo reined in her excitement and led the way.
When they left the council chamber and entered the Throne Room, the absolute stasis that had shrouded all of Nazarick melted away like snow.
Time began to flow again but unlike the deathly stillness from before, this flow thrummed with vitality.
The magical lamps flickered back to life, air began to move, and faint ambient sounds of the dungeon returned in the distance.
Everything operated under a brand-new, stable order.
Through her administrator authority, Albedo could feel it clearly: the entire Great Tomb of Nazarick was welcoming herand her new master, Rei Ao.
She drew a deep breath and summoned that oceanic admin power. A complex interface only she could see unfolded before her. Her will became commands, and she keyed them in:
[Administrator command confirmed: Executor Administrator Albedo]
[Command: Override and update Core Setting No. 1 of the Great Tomb of Nazarick]
[Original Setting: Absolute loyalty to the guild Ainz Ooal Gown and its members (the Supreme Beings)]
[New Setting: Absolute loyalty to the sole Supreme, Rei Ao-sama; his will supersedes all existing rules.]
[Executing Execution complete.]
An invisible ripple swept through the entire Tomb.
Every magical trap, every defense protocol, every servant uniteven every blade of grassreceived a new brand at the level of the soul: their object of fealty henceforth was Rei Ao.
When she finished, Albedo turned to Rei Ao to ask respectfully, "Rei Ao-sama, shall I summon the Floor Guardians to pay you homage now?"
"You may."
Rei Ao nodded lightly, then walked to the ruler's throne and sat at ease a posture casual in appearance, yet naturally radiating sovereign majesty.
Albedo obeyed.
Using administrator authority, she issued the highest emergency summons to the designated guardians.
Soon, the doors of the hall swung open.
Powerful figures entered with grave expressions.
First came Shalltear Bloodfallenlong white hair, a splendid noble dress, a doll-like face, and a dangerous aura. Annoyance at being disturbed flickered in her crimson eyes, but the instant she saw Rei Ao upon the throne, it turned to profound reverence.
Next was Cocytus, massive of frame with deep-blue chitin and four arms, like an insectoid samurai.
Thud.
His heavy steps echoed. Each of his four hands rested on a different weapon, exuding the chill of a veteran of a hundred battles. His compound eyes swept the hall and locked onto Rei Ao, and an indescribable pressure pressed upon his instincts.
Then came the dark-elf twins. The elder sister, Auralively and outgoing in light leather armor, a whip at her waist, eyes sharp as a hawk's. Her younger brother, Marewearing a cute dress, introverted and timid, head lowered, fingers nervously clutching the hem yet the natural magic coursing through him was anything but small. They were the guardians of the Sixth Floor.
After them came Sebastian, a white-haired elder in a butler's uniform, posture straight as a blade, followed by several battle maids.
Last appeared Demiurge in a suit and glasses, the picture of a gentleman. A chilling smile played at his lips, and keen, cool intelligence flashed behind his lenses. In the blink of an eye he had observed and analyzed everything, then fixed his gaze on Rei Ao, calculations racing.
All the guardians sensed Nazarick's change, and the new, sovereign aura around Albedo, as if she had fused with the Tomb itself.
More importantly, the one upon the thronewithout any motion at allfelt like the center of the world, making them tremble and yield from the depths of their souls.
Albedo stepped forward. Her cool gaze swept the guardians, and her voice, clear and commanding, echoed through the vast hall:
"Guardians, kneel."
"Seated upon the throne is the Supreme Lord who saved the Great Tomb of Nazarick from the brink of destruction, took hold of the world's source, and granted us new life and true meaningRei Ao-sama!"
"From this moment on, Rei Ao-sama is the sole master we serve and obey!"
"Everything within the Great Tomb of Nazarickincluding your existence and minebelongs to Rei Ao-sama's will!"
Her voice cracked like thunder, detonating in every guardian's heart.
Shalltear, Cocytus, Aura, Mare, Demiurge
After a heartbeat of shock and dawning realization, they did not hesitate. Moved by that command arising from the world's very source and their awe of the new Supreme, they dropped to one knee in unison.
The guardians faced the figure upon the throne and bowed their noble heads.
"We pay homage to the Supreme!"
Their resonant, unified shout rolled through the hall for a long time
marking the dawn of a new era for the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
And Rei Ao, seated upon the throne, calmly looked down at the kneeling guardians, his eyes deep as the starry sky.
~~~
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Chapter 1,026: Flying Squirrel and Momonga Final Log In?
The air in the throne room seemed to freeze.
Led by Albedo, the Guardians of Nazarick sank to one knee, offering their absolute loyalty and awe to the new sovereign upon the throneRei Ao. Their devout, unified posture was the clearest possible statement of his authority.
And then, in that solemn, hushed moment, the teleportation pad at the center of the hallthe one used by guild memberssuddenly flared with the light that meant a player had logged in.
When the glow faded, a figure stood there: a tall skeleton in lavish black wizard's robes embroidered with blood-red sigils, a staff in hand that radiated ill omen. Crimson soul-flames burned in his hollow sockets, and thick necromancy coiled about him.
He was the undead avatar "Momonga," the in-game ID of a member of the guild Ainz Ooal Gown in YGGDRASIL.
The player known as Flying Squirrel had logged in.
At the very last moment before the game shut down, he had returnednostalgic and faintly heartsickto the land he had poured so much of himself into: the Great Tomb of Nazarick. He meant to sit quietly on the guild hall's throne and wait for the servers to go dark, drawing a final line under this virtual worldand his youth.
But the empty, silent hall he expected wasn't there.
Instead he saw a brightly lit chamber, Guardians kneeling in ranks to either sideand a completely unfamiliar man seated on the throne that ought to have been his.
Momonga froze. The soul-fire in his skull flickered violently, betraying the chaos inside.
"W-what what is this?"
For a second he thought he was hallucinating.
"A game bug? Or someone's prank?"
He reflexively wondered if another guildmate had logged in. His gaze swept the kneeling GuardiansAlbedo, Demiurge, Cocytus, Shalltear, Aura, Mare They looked exactly as he remembered.
But they felt utterly different.
Maybe it was his imagination, but they no longer moved like NPCs bound to fixed routines. Their very presence radiated a living auratrue feeling and will. And what chilled him most: after he appeared, they clearly "noticed" himhe caught surprise flash through Shalltear's eyes; Cocytus subtly adjusted his posture even while kneeling; Demiurge pushed up his glasses; Aura and Mare sneaked a glance at himbut not one of them rose.
After the briefest look in his direction, every gaze returnedutterly respectfulto the stranger on the throne.
The eerie quiet and complete disregard sent a nameless cold through him. Forcing down the surge of panic, he fixed his attention on the man above.
The man wore black that looked plain, yet somehow felt extraordinary. His eyes, deep as a star-strewn cosmos, regarded Momonga calmly, with a hint of knowing amusement.
"Who are you?" Momonga asked, voice low, tightening his grip on the staff. The vigilance of a top-tier player snapped to full. Maybe this was Touch Me? Ulbert? Don't joke around like this.
Rei Ao's mouth curved, just barely. He didn't answer. He simply tilted his head toward Albedo at his side.
