WARNING: TRIGGER STUFF, DON'T KEEP READING IF… to be honest, not sure what to say after the word waning, just use your best judgment.

Also, there appears to be some minor confusion about one or two things.

This is a work of fanfiction, based off of another world fanfiction. If you have not read the story that is based off of 1st, and you might be slightly confused. *cough* guest reviewer *cough*

Or, at least I hope you're just confused.

Ainz sat alone on the sixth floor. Few knew of this place, even Aura and Mare were only vaguely aware of its existence.

When the 41, his dear friends and comrades, built the great tomb, it was agreed that every member would have their own thing, a unique location or part of a location. Blue Planet had sculpted the sky of the sixth floor by himself, while Bukubukuchagama was the creator of the forest and the great tree the twins lived in, TouchMe had made the meeting hall by himself, Ulbert had created most of the dungeon, but most specifically Demiurge's lab, by himself, etc.

Ainz, or as he had been known then, Momonga, had made this area.

It was nothing special, just a simple Japanese water garden. With little white stones, Koi, and little waterfalls with winding rivers, it formed the Japanese character for peace.

In the center of the garden stood a plane statue, carved from marble, the only embellishments being gemstone eyes, and silk for a dress and hair. He had painted her nails a light pink, and her lips a dark red. The hands were okay, not overly detailed with veins or something like that, but not so lacking in detail as to be distracting.

Her face, her face was the same happy smile he could still remember, even at the end.

Ainz, was not a smart man, at least, not compared to someone like Demiurge or Albedo. But there were things he understood very well.

First, that he had failed, miserably.

Second, that his emotional inhibitor was both his saving grace and the bane of his existence.

"How could I have failed so completely, to miss the mark by that much?" His inhibitor kicked in again. Ever since he had been told about Neia, his inhibitor had been an almost constant bucket of ice water being dumped on his head. Or, in this case, it might be better to call is a flotation device that kept him from sinking too deep into the pit of his own self-loathing.

"I have an idea, mom." Ainz told the statue. "I honestly don't know if it will work, but I have to try."

Ainz remained, looking at the statue of the one person, in real life, that for a short time had been his world, his joy.

"Mare." Ainz called.

Mare had been standing nearby, not inside the garden which was a small clearing in the forest of the sixth floor, but a way into the trees so he could not see or hear his master unless called, as Ainz had asked. "Yes, my lord."

"Call Shalltear, Albedo, and Demiurge, and then bring everyone here."

"Everyone, Lord?"

"Calca, Draudillion, Jircniv, Renner, Enri, their families, the Guardians, Blue Rose, everyone. Everyone who is connected to Neia or myself. And the vassals." Ainz then looked at Mare, noting his discomfort at having to interpret his orders. "Do not worry Mare, I trust your judgment to know who I mean, at the moment, I need you to be the one who knows what I need."

"Lord?" Mare asked, stepping closer and touching Ainz on the knee. "Is something wrong?"

Ainz couldn't answer for a moment. "Yes Mare, everything is so very wrong, and I am so very lost." He then gave the Elf a hug before the boy could ask more. "But with all of you beside me, I might be able to find my way."

Mare worked quickly, getting Shalltear, Albedo, and Demiurge to him in record time. "My Lord, what is this place, I have never seen it before." Demiurge asked.

"This is a monument." Ainz said. "To someone dear to me."

"I see." Demiurge replied, sensing that this was a topic the Supreme Being would only share if and when he chose and that pushing would serve only to draw Ainz's anger down upon him.

"Demiurge, I have never told you this, at least, not so explicitly, but I have always valued your council."

"My Lord, I am most grateful that…"

"No." Ainz interrupted what would no doubt have been a long and flattering, though inaccurate, slew of praises. "I have never told you this, but there are times I doubt my own plans, where I look, and all I see is a failure, or, at least, not the level of success I expect from myself." He tried to express a feeling of warmth toward the demon. "But you, you who are like the son of my dear friend Ulbert, have always managed to find some way of making what I see as failures succeed. Your mind, Demiurge, complements mine perfectly, perhaps it is simply because you cannot fathom my failure that you find success where I can not see it, and I have never truly told you how grateful I am for that."

"My lord, I am but a humble servant, unworthy of such praise…" Demiurge said, bowing low.

"Demiurge, for once, accept the compliment." Ainz again interrupted. "But, on this occasion, you must understand that I have failed."

"Lord?" Demiurge, along with Shalltear and Albedo, looked like lost children in this moment. Ainz and failure did not, so far as they knew, belong in the same sentence.

"I have failed. No matter what you may think, no matter how much you try and twist it, I have failed. Neia's death was not part of some great plan, her suicide was a failure, and it is mine alone. If I must, I will have you carve it into every mountain, into every river, I will have you carve it into every stone, every tree, every foot of earth on this world and every other until you understand that it was my fault." His words had become heated every once and a while, but his inhibitor kicked in each time. "And I will not hear one word from you or any other saying otherwise. Am I clear? Or must I give you a chisel?"

Demiurge looked at his master, unsure how to respond. How could he have been so blind?

"Albedo, Shalltear, I have a plan, but in order for it to be complete, I shall need your absolute obedience."

"Lord, you have but to ask, and I shall carry out your will." Albedo said.

"I as well my lord." Shaltear said.

"Normally, I would expect nothing less of you both, but this is one case where I worry you may falter." Ainz said, confusing the two even more. "Albedo, this is a direct order, disobey, and I will have no choice but to sentence you to 1000 years of imprisonment in the dungeon. You are not to interfere, no matter what I order Shalltear to do, you will stand there and do nothing. You may cry, you may weep, but you will not ask for her to stop, or try and stop her, understand?"

Albedo's expression transcended shock, confusion, and dismay. If there was a word to say how this declaration was affecting her, Albedo did not know it, and she doubted it had ever been written down, and if it had, it had never been needed before today. "Yes, my Lord Ainz."

"Shalltear, that goes for you as well. You will follow my every order, immediately and without hesitation. No matter what it is, you will do it, or you will find yourself in the dungeon for 1,000 years. Am I perfectly clear?"

By now, the term fear, terrified, or otherwise, no longer genuinely applied to Shalltear, or any of the others. But she nodded her head in acceptance. "Yes, my Lord."

They waited only a short time, but then slowly, others started to filter into the clearing. Ainz had insured it would grow slowly, making sure to include everyone.

Cocytus, Aura, Victim, Pandora's Actor, Kyouhukou, The Pleiades without CZ, Renner, Zanac, Climb, Brain Unglause, Enri, Climb, Nemu, Jircniv, Fluder, Zesshi Zetsmei, Raymond, Berenice, all or Blue Rose, Zaryusu and Shasuryu Shasha, Crusch Lulu, and the Dragon Lords.

Coming to the front was Neia, wrapped in a blanket, still looking pale and weak, with Skana and CZ helping her through.

Ainz did not look at them, he remained to stare at the statue. Everyone was curious as to what the god would say.

"When…" Ainz stopped, and this somehow was making them even more curious, none had ever known him to stop after beginning a sentence. Take a moment to answer sure, but never stop. His words were always precise and resolute.

"When I was but a boy, 10 or 11 years old, I honestly can't remember now, I woke up to the sound of cooking. It was my birthday, my mother had been making my favorite meal. I came down the stairs, and I saw her." He then touched the statue, making it clear to even the thickest of them who the statue was made to look like. "What I, could not have known, was my mother, she had not slept in seven days. She, should have slept, but she was pushing herself to make my favorite, right before she would sleep."

Ainz then turned around, and even though he had no skin, there could be no mistaking the sadness he felt. "She died, right in front of me. She collapsed, right there in front of me, right before my eyes, and died."Ainz then took a moment, his inhibitor kicking in. "I spent the next three days, cuddled next to her body. I did not, understand, that she was dead. She was just sleeping, I thought, and I was not strong enough to move her to her bed, so I stayed, for three days, only leaving her side to get some small things to eat. Eventually, someone came, maybe a coworker, maybe a soldier, I can't remember, they came and, they told me she was sleeping, but that she would not wake up."

The whole room, or clearing, or whatever, was silent. "'Taking your own life' is an interesting expression, taking it from whom? Once it's gone, it is not you who misses it. Your death is something that happens to everyone else." Ainz then finally looked at Niea, who was looking up at him. "In my old world, the one where my mother died, there were men called suicide bombers. They would strap explosives to their chests, and walk into restaurants, or schools, or shopping centers, and blow themselves up. They made explosives so powerful that a piece the size of your fist could kill a whole room full of people 20 feet away, a few pounds could destroy any building the size of a small manor. Once, a man, who's brother had committed suicide, visited the site of one of those attacks, where the explosion had been so powerful that it had caused the walls that were still standing to have the shadows of the men and women burned into them. This man remarked that every suicide is like a suicide bomb, the man who wore the bomb disappeared, he died, and it was the people around him who suffered, burned into the walls forevermore."

"Your life is not your own, Neia Baraha, keep your hands off it. It is not yours to give or to take."

"Yes, Lord Ainz." She said, her voice shaky.

"Now, there is the matter of punishment."

This, greatly confused everyone, and Skana and Lakyus were about to protest when Neia stopped them.

"No, it is only just, amends must be made." She said, shaking only slightly.

"Agreed, the one who is responsible for all this pain, must be held to account." Ainz said. "As an undead, I have found that I have an, emotional inhibitor, that prevents me from feeling emotions beyond a certain degree. I can laugh, but not long, not loud. I can feel sad, but never cry. I can feel guilt, but never for long."Ainz said, amazing many with this new and interesting look into the world of the Undead King.

But, why was he bringing this up now? Only Jircniv and the Dragon Lords, the first because he knew Ainz well but did not worship him like the guardians, and the others because of their vast wisdom, had even begun to guess.

'He can't mean?' Jircniv though.

"So, there is but one option." Ainz said, then he looked to Shalltear. "Shalltear, use your purifying lance… on Neia Baraja."

….

…

…

Or, at least, that is what Neia expected to hear, so much so, that she actually thought that was what was said… she believed it so much in fact that she almost thought she felt the first moment of pain from the purifying lance pierce her body

But…

What was actually said was.

"Shalltear, use your purifying lance… on ME."

For everyone else, for just a moment, the world itself stood still, before a red ring appeared on the body of the Sorcerer King, and a moment later he let out a grunt of pain as the lance went through him.

When Neia's brain, helped along by her ears hearing the grunt and not actually feeling any pain, figured out what she had heard, she looked up and saw her god fall to the ground in pain.

Neia's brain did, something unusual. Short-circuiting might be a way to describe it, but it didn't quite fit. Her brain was still working, but it couldn't get past the fact that Ainz Ooal Gown was in pain, and hurt…

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTT!?

"Again." Ainz said, and another lance hit him.

This snapped Neia out of her stupor. Jumping up, she tackled him into a hug. "No… Stop, please."

"You have no say in this, Neia." Ainz said. "If you had died, how much pain would you have caused all those here?" He asked, looking at Skana, CZ, Zesshie, Calca, Lakyus, and then others. "By death, you rob those around you from any opinions or comfort you might give about their grief." He then again looked at Shalltear before prying Neia from him and standing. "Again."

And again the lance flew.

"Stop it! Stop it, why are you doing this?" Neia asked.

"Because, he can feel no guilt." Jircniv said, drawing many eyes. "He feels he failed you, just like Skana, just like CZ, or anyone else here who is close to you." He said, nodding at the women when he said their names. "But our Lord can not suffer as they do, so he must punish himself in the only way he can."

Neia looked back at Ainz and again attached herself to him, "Stop, please, I… I will do anything, just stop."

"What can the dead do for those that they leave behind?" Ainz asked.

"I will get treatment, I will go to one of the homes, as soon as the work is done, I will."

"That is not good enough." He nodded to Shalltear, who sent another lance at him.

"No, stop!"

"Will you seek treatment? Now?"

"I… I…" Neia could not speak. "The work, everything, to prove you are a god, how can I…"

"Neia." Ainz said, in a voice that made everyone look in shock as if he was embodying the very essence of a fatherly voice. "When did I ask to be called a god?"

"What?" She said, and it surprised everyone even more to hear Neia, THE Neia Baraja sound so much like a small child.

"I never asked to be called a god, and I don't need to be officially recognized. There are those who believe in me, who call me god and worship my name, and there are those who will never do anything but curse my name. What does it matter, compared to your health?" Ainz then looked at the two, former, cardinals. "Tell me, Raymond, Berinice, is the church going anywhere any time soon?"

They both looked at one another. "Umm, well, assuming you, my Lord, have no plans to destroy the church of the Six or the Four, I see no reason why, at the moment, that the church would ever fall."

"Neia, it does not matter to me to be named a god, I can wait. 10 years, 10,000, what is the difference? You are what matters, to me your life, your health, is worth the treasures of kingdoms. I would trade 1000 years of the nameless masses singing praises to my name, for one more day with you alive and happy. What are 10,000 humans paying lip service compared to your true faith?" Ainz said, coming close to hold the girl. "All I want is your health."

It took only a short while, Neia had a few years worth of tears to get out, crying into his robes. Ainz had nearly asked Demiurge to fetch a cup of water for the girl so she wouldn't dehydrate.

"Thank you all for coming." Ainz said after Neia had been taking away to rest. "That, was not easy."

"My Lord." Jircniv said. "Forgive me, but, I fail to see why we had to be here? A few I could understand, but many of us here have barely an acquaintance with Neia."

Ainz let out a sigh. "Many, thousands of years ago, in the great human nation of Israel, there was a wise king named Solomon. It was said that when he was but a boy, his God came to him in a vision and offered him a boon of anything he wanted. Riches, women, fame, power. The boy asked for the wisdom to be a good king. His God was so impressed that he gave the boy not only wisdom, but power and wealth as well. It was said that at the height of his wealth, gold was as common as the stones in the road, and silver like sand on the shore. If I recall, he received 25 tons of gold every year of his 39 years reign."

Many of the humans listenings felt a swell of pride at the story. "It was also said he had 700 wives, and 300 mistresses, or concubines." This number had their jaws dropping. "But, by the end of his reign, Solomon had all but abandoned the God of his father, who was said to be a man after God's own heart, and the God that had given him so much, and do you know why he turned his back?"

"Because he believed himself smarter than God?" The Worm Dragon lord asked.

"That, and apparently the 700 wives brought their gods into his land. Which, according to the history of Israel, made their God upset that they would worship other false gods." Ainz said. "Then, another ruler, in Rome, another ancient human kingdom, was said on one occasion to go out into the city. And everywhere he went, with the fanfare of his people, praising his name and bowing, he had a man follow behind and whisper something in his ear. Can you guess what?"

The many rulers thought for a moment, imagining what they might have a servant whisper in their ear in such a situation, but none could think of anything. "The man said 'You are only a man.' He was paid to only say that, every time the people praised him as a god or a hero, the servant would whisper that in his ear."Ainz said. "The same goes for me. While I may not be a man, I can make a flawed decision, I can make a mistake. As I did when it came to Neia, I want you all to know that, and to remind me of it, next time I shackle the weight and destiny of the world on a child. Just because I am the god of justice and wisdom does not make me infallible. And it is only through remembering that simple truth that I will not lead this world to ruin."

They all nodded in agreement, their estimation of the character of the Sorcerer King going up.

"And, there is one other reason. Who among you will claim to be greater than I?" He asked rhetorically, and none spoke. "I wish you to understand something, something fundamental. It is not a weakness to ask for help, it is not weakness to bow, or bend under the weight of duty. It is weakness that you bend so far that you break. I take the care and wellbeing of my subordinates, you, seriously. If any of you still doubt that, then I am afraid even I don't know how to make it more clear. I expect you to make the same commitment to the care of those who serve under you, and to make it clear that they too should pass on that same level of care and concern, right down to the man who cleans the chamber pots and sewers."

"Yes, Lord Ainz." They all said as one.

"Demiurge, you wanted to see me?" Ainz asked, the next day, when Demiurge entered the throne room. "I trust all is well."

"I am afraid not my lord." The Demon said. "My lord, I have a confession, it appears that while trying to bring forth and interpret your will, I erred."

Ainz had, many times, been thankful for his lack of facial expressions in this world. As it was, only his jaw dropped do to shock. "Explain."

"The battle of Wenmark. I calculated the numbers, and we would not have been able to handle so many at once. Also, I hoped that the losses of some of the elves would have made your magic all the greater to those who you saved. I interpreted this as your will and the best for Nazarick. So, I drew Remedios too the battle and allowed her to kill many of the elves."

Ainz, sat back, and absorbed the knowledge. "Demiurge… was there, was there another way?"

"My lord?"

"Did they die because there was no other way, or did they die simply because it was convenient?"

"There was another way… but it also might have been more effective to let more die."

Ainz sat back and looked up at the ceiling. "Demiurge, you are as my dear friend Ulbert made you. And I will not be angry for that, as he…" Ainz stopped, then his eye caught one of the 8 edge assassins. "Everyone leave, now."

Once the room was clear. Ainz came down from the throne and sat on the stairs. "Come here, sit." Demiurge came and sat down, and Ainz put his arm around the demon. "Ulbert, your creator, once confided in me about his life, from the place we came from. He was the third child of five in a family that could barely afford the first two. During most of his life he was bullied by children bigger than him, neglected by parents, not just because he was the middle child, and they were always busy, but also because in life, he was completely unextraordinary, he was always second or third best to one or two of his brothers. When I found him, he was just angry, he was losing at a game, just like in life, he was unable to be the best at anything, and because he was not human, those who were attacked him often just to get stronger."

Ainz then took a moment to look at the different banners of the 41. "When we made you all, I realized that you were all made of our dreams, a way to complete us in different ways. Shalltear, she is the dream of Peroroncino, the perfect girl, made up of every dirty dream that poor boy ever had. Sebes is the dreams of TouchMe, a man of steadfast convictions that not only knows what is right, but always acts on it. You, and Pandora's Actor, you are a dream of ours too. When I made Pandora, I made him into, what I thought at the time, was the coolest, most amazing thing anyone could be. I was, in the old world, a simple man, quiet and unassuming. I wanted to be him, flashy, loud, able to talk and say anything to anyone, never without a quip. Able to talk to women. You know I never had a relationship with a woman in the old world?"

"I did not my lord." Demiurge said. His mind, whirling, going light speed, then faster, absorbing every word about his Lord and his creator.

"I think Ulbert was the same, he made you to be cruel, to hurt and destroy, he made you to excel, to be better than anyone else in the room, not twice as good, or ten times, but 100 times better. He made you like you are because he could never be that way in our old world." Ainz then sighed. "But, we did not fully understand the consequences. We did not mean for our dreams to become real."

Demiurge was silent for a moment. "My Lord, pardon your foolish servant, but I do not understand."

Ainz chuckled a little, than thought. "Demiurge, suppose, just for fun, you wrote a book. A fantasy tale, with a knight in shining armor, who is always saving people. The helpless damsel, always waiting for her knight. And a villain, dastardly, evil, who eats children and intends to violate the princess. Do you understand so far?"

"Yes my lord, a simple tale, but well-liked by children, I suppose."

"Exactly. Now, suppose, one day, you walked into your lab and found that, overnight, every character from the books had come alive. They are real, as you or I." Demiurge nodded. "You would be surprised, but you might be able to handle it. But, now, imagine the complications?"

"Hmmm, well, to start, the villain would still be wanting to eat children and violate the princess, possibly others, he would need to be restrained. The Hero's long-winded speeches would get annoying. And the princess and her lack of doing anything but waiting around to be saved might be problematic, although if she were captured, it would put an end to any problems, but then the hero might try and save her."

"But, more than that, what about the baker?"

"Baker? What Baker my Lord?"

"The baker, he is only seen for a moment or two in part of out tail, but he is a character, and he is alive now. Suppose if all he, now that he is alive, knows how to do is bake bread, he does not know to eat, to sleep, or to relieve himself, just to bake."

"Yes, I can see how that would be a problem."

"The same is true for you, all of you. When we, the 41, created you, you were just like the characters on a page in a book. We made you villains because it suited the story we were trying to tell. Aura and Shalltear are the best examples. They do not hate one another, they only fight because that is the way they were made."

"I see my Lord." Demiurge said, as if a whole new world was opening for him.

"Now, is it the fault of the author that, not knowing his book would become alive, that the baker knows so little, or that baker's fault?" Ainz asked.

"No."

"But, is it still no one's fault if, after discovering this mistake, the author does nothing to correct this oversight?"

Demiurge took a long moment to answer, trying to find some way for this not to be Ainz's fault. "No, the, the author would no longer be blameless."

"Indeed." Ainz then stood and spoke in his most regal voice. "Demiurge, this is my will. As punishment for the needless slaughter of the elves, and your part in the damage done to Neia's mind, you will be responsible for her recovery. You will devote your mind to the task of healing my servant." He then stooped a little and spoke more softly. "And know that, while you erred, it will not be in vain. You will devote yourself to the refugee camps and the lands I have given them. You will make them a paradise, one rivaled only by Nazarick. You will do this, before the last elf saved from Wenmark dies. IF this task is not completed by then, you will be punished. Am I understood?"

Demiurge bowed low to the ground. "Yes, my Lord Ainz, master and most supreme of the 41."

So, this is finally published on the site. Some of you may have already read this as part of AtheistBasementDragon's discord, thank you for letting me use the channel.

If you have not read God Rising or the many, many many many many many branch stories attached to it, then this will probably be very confusing. So, please, for your own good as reading his works can only make you a better human being, go forth and enjoy his stories, they are some of the best writing on this site.

Also, if you have not read it yet, I can only assume you are brand new to this fandom or this particular site where works of fanfiction for Overlord is made.

Which, in that case, please allow me to welcome you to a sea of generally nicer and more supportive people then you will find on this site. If you like clam and rational people, please leave the internet. But as for this site specifically, stay away from the Harry Potter, Once Upon a Time, and literally any DC show from the CW. Most people over there are monsters.

(I have written for all but HP, I know what I'm talking about.)

(Actually, OUaT is okay, I just developed a deep dislike for that show because it got really bad in later seasons.)

(However, all of the fic I wrote for those shows is great, and if I ever finish my unfinished work, people will love it even more.)

And Twilight, not because they are crazy, just because, you know, Twilight.

This work was made initially before he published Chapter 11 of The Synod: Book of Black Justice, this work is actually endorsed by him, in that he really liked it. Consider this to be an AU to what he later wrote. Anything you see that I borrowed from him, he gave the okay for it, and anything you see after chapter 10 that he borrowed from me, I said he should go for it. (I believe I may have begged a little that he use anything he wanted it, the details are sketchy.)

Anyway, please enjoy.