Simple man with his overpowered army-Chapter 77: Chimes

The waking hours began with the sound of chimes clanking onto each other. It was a normal day. A day where Lud would just be going to do his morning routine. Zenith helped him all the way as always. It had been like that ever since they got to Lutah.

It was a hard change for a man who had always relied on himself in everything. To learn how to let people take care of him. That feeling of giving away something that everyone has to do when they grow too old.

But it wasn’t the age in Lud that made this necessary. It was his status as the king. When it was all a game, it was all something that Lud could distance himself from. Morning routines didn’t get filled in the game system with all its realistic settings. The game devs seemed to have some rest when making it.

Now, Lud had to let Zenith wake him up every morning. Going out of his bed before she appeared would only disturb the routine of the castle, where the king’s rest affected all his subjects.

Lud sometimes let things be and stayed inside the bed until Zenith came to his room to wake him up. The only exceptions would be an emergency or that Lud had to use a bathroom. But the bathroom matter was controllable due to other people monitoring everything he consumes and when. Lud wasn’t even allowed to drink any liquids past certain hours to avoid midnight bathroom breaks.

For some people, not needing to think all the minor things in life that had to be done would be a blessing. But in the hard working man that Lud was before coming to Lutah, at the beginning, it was like torture. He learned to let go in the end and let people do things for him that he used to do by himself back on earth.

When Zenith came to his room to wake him, Lud groggily rose up from his bed while thinking through that strange dream he went through. Part of him thought that it was all just a dream and nothing really happened, but part of him was cautious and thought that dreams might be different in Lutah. At the time, Lud couldn’t remember if anyone had told him about it, but he leaned on the likelihood of dreams being way different on Lutah than dreams on earth.

As Zenith opened the blinds, the morning sun woke the groggy king even more and Zenith said "There are few things that happened during the night that need your immediate attention, so we will skip breakfast at the table and give you some supplements as you work on the details."

Lud responded by asking "Are the things Nemesis level or mundane level?"

Zenith answered "Somewhere in between. Ms. Sarah has been acting weird recently and Lord Last has requested that you visit them."

This strung Lud right up and made him say "Let’s not waste any time then. After all, she is one of my wives."

When Lud got to the chambers where Sarah was being held, Li was already waiting along with Atkoosa and some strange woman.

Lud asked immediately "What is the situation?" He saw Sarah seemingly sleeping on a bed calmly, but Lud also felt that something was immediately off.

Li says "My lord, it seems that something relating to Them has affected Sarah. Well, at least that’s what I’ve been told so far."

Atkoosa confirms "Yes. Mätuk was here just earlier, and said that he sensed something wrong with Sarah and asked Un’I to come and keep her in a sleeping state."

Lud says "So this is Un’I? I’d say that it is nice to meet you, but I’ll assume that it isn’t time for those pleasantries."

A doll-like being with hair glowing white and blue floating on the air seemingly endlessly on her head, held her doll-like hand on top of Sarah’s head. She said "I’ve done what I can, but keeping her like this won’t last forever."

Lud asks "What does that mean? A god of sleep can’t keep something sleeping forever? Nevermind, why are we keeping Sarah sleeping in the first place?"

Li says "When Sarah came to talk to me earlier, she seemed... off somehow. She kept jammering about ’beyond the veil’ and ’is the O’s will perhaps’. I couldn’t follow what she was jammering about, but since I was having a chat with Mätuk at the time, he acted immediately and called Un’I and Atkoosa."

Lud asks "Where is Mätuk?"

Atkoosa answers "He is using his past connections with Mors to find out some details he didn’t disclose about."

Lud asks "Why not call Mors here then as well since we seem to be in a crisis of some sort?"

Atkoosa answers "It is not a crisis per say, but when Mätuk said that the words Sarah said were something Maumar told him to look out for when dealing with the one who shall not be named."

Lud asks, since he senses her there "What are your thoughts about this, Tifa?"

Tifa answers "I don’t even want to touch Sarah with a stick currently."

Lud mentions "Like she is some pest or something?"

Tifa confirms "Something like that. But this is an issue that should be taken seriously."

Lud asks "Then why wasn’t I woken up earlier?"

Zenith answers from behind Lud "I woke you up earlier than usual due to the criticality of the situation."

Lud asks "So what do we do?"

Atkoosa says "I don’t know. Dealing with that being is something that can’t be dealt with with logic."

Lud says in a worried tone "So we are going to sit around and do nothing?"

Un’I says "Mätuk seemed to have something in mind when he went to search for Mors."

Lud mentions "You didn’t answer why Mors wasn’t asked to be here in the first place."

Atkoosa says "He tried it out before, but Mors seems to be missing."

Lud asks "Missing? How bad things can be if a god becomes missing?"

Atkoosa says "I mean Thews is more in touch with her job nowadays, but that is besides the point."

Lud asks "So is there anything we can do?"

Atkoosa looks away with a distraught look on his face. Then he says "I’m afraid... once someone shows signs of infection... the person it replaced... is effectively gone."

Li looks at Sarah with a sad look on his face. Then he takes a deep breath and says "So in the end... I end up losing all the most dearest to me."

Lud says in desperation "There has to be a way to save her. I mean why else would Mätuk go in search of Mors if he doesn’t have anything planned?"

Atkoosa says "He told us... that he went searching for Mors because he needs the god of death to perform a ritual of sorts so that the soul gets instantly dissolved rather than venture through the afterlife and reincarnation."

Lud asks "But why? Are you so scared that you can’t risk the sliver of chance to save her that you would rather make her disappear from this timeline altogether?"

Atkoosa says "I’m unfamiliar with how the one who shall not be named works, as is everyone else. It is true that there might be a means to save her that we don’t know, but if we just wait and let her be, she’ll end up infecting other people, and in turn, making those unfortunate enough disappear for good. I’d say, as far as I understand the situation, we are lucky that we got to hear the signs before the impostor fully integrated into the way Sarah lived."

In a bit of an angry tone, Lud says "You mean that we are going to kill someone just because they said a few key words? What if she read something from somewhere and just mumbled her thoughts out loud? I mean you explained those key phrases to me, doesn’t that imply that you are also infected?"

Atkoosa says "I’m not sure how Mätuk was so sure, but the worry in that raven’s eyes told me everything there is to believe."

Lud looks at Li for a second and asks "And you are fine with this, Li?"

Li responds in a saddened tone "It hurts... hurts like hell to know my one and only child is gone. And with that, the last peace of the woman I loved."

Lud asks "Then why are you so willing to accept all of this? What if they are wrong?"

Li answers "To be honest, I also hold on to hope that Sarah is still with us, but as I was once a leader of my race, I understand the need to take desperate measures in times of doubt."

Lud says "As your king, I order you to rethink all of this."

Li responds "I’m afraid that I can’t follow your order, no matter how hard I try."

Lud asks "So you are letting apathy win over you? Is that it?"

Li turns and looks Lud in the eyes. The look Li gave Lud sent shivers down Lud’s spine. A look that held unfathomable years worth of regrets. The look of a man whose last strand of peace was about to fall, should Lud continue in the foolish path of resistance.

That is the feeling Lud had when Li looked into his eyes. That feeling made Lud look away from Li’s gaze in frustration. Lud had nothing more to say.

It was then that Lud knew... Sarah... was gone. All that was left of her was a pretender.

But all of it still felt unreal. A sadness that he thought he had forgotten lingered in his head once more. Pursuing the lingering hope that Sarah was still there... would have been no better than the step he took in a moment of weakness back when he lived on earth.

To distract himself, Lud asked Un’I "So is this pretender now in the dreamworld?"

Un’I responded by saying "I sent this one’s consciousness into a separate dream bubble so that it won’t spread any further. But unfortunately, that puts me at risk, but this body I have now will be destroyed and the mind erased so that the risk is contained."

Lud asks "So are you some sort of offshoot?"

Un’I responds "Something along those lines. I am Un’I, but still not."

Soon after, Mors and Mätuk appeared from the thin air and Mors asked "So this is the girl. I’ll get on it right away."

Li says "Please do."

Mors now placed her hand hovering on top of "Sarah" and chanted an eerie hymn. The words seemed ethereal and Lud could not grasp what words were said and when. They were like sounds that Lud’s brain couldn’t process.

Once the hymn ended, "Sarah" started to evaporate from the bed she was lying on. Un’I stopped holding "Sarah" inside the dream bubble and soon, the pretender was fully gone from this world.

Then Mors turned to Un’I, and Un’I nodded her head once, and the same thing was done to that Un’I.

After that Un’I disappeared, Atkoosa gave a big sigh and said "Now... It is finally done. Let us hope that none other was infected."

Mors says "Now that it is clear that the one who shall not be named was indeed present, we’ll have to do the same thing to those few researchers just in case."

Mätuk responded "Härth... I’m afraid that I have to agree. Let us go and find those few lygh’tefs."

And with that, Mors disappeared and now it was only Atkoosa, Lud and Li in the room.

Lud asked Li "Should we... hold on some sort of funeral for Sarah?"

Li answered "It doesn’t matter to me, but I think, for the sake of your mental health, we should hold a parting event for her."

Later that day, a parting event was held on the same graveyard where there stood a stone that represented Adam’s honour.

On that event, each battalion leader said a few words to commemorate Sarah’s parting.

First, Liz spoke. "As the first one to serve our king, it always saddens me when I see my juniors pass away before me. As the senior to all but our lord, I feel like I failed somehow in my duties. As such, I promise to try my utmost so that I won’t need to see such sudden partings anymore amongst ourselves. We’ll miss our friendly little brat of a comrade. Rest in peace, Sarah Ylfianos Rosten Ech Alifana Setto Livendig"

Second to speak was Brutus "It is going to feel weird now that our little troublemaker is gone. To be honest, I somehow felt more comradery from Sarah than any of you. I mean no offence to the rest of you, of course, but still. Both of us were very prideful. Both of us were raised from the darkness by our boss. Both... were battleborn maniacs. I’m gonna miss you, little fella. You might have been older than me, but you were always the little one. Rest in peace."

Third to speak was Marchosias "I feel very bitter. So sudden parting and I no longer can take my place as the most powerful 1v1 fighter. I mean I can, but it never will feel as sweet as if I one day would have beat Sarah in a 1v1 fight.

But if I’m to be a little softie for a moment, I’m gonna miss those times when Sarah came to me so that she could rest on my tail. I always told her that it would get in the way of my duties, but I often found myself giving in and letting her rest on my tail. I’m going to miss those moments with her the most.

I hope that... if she lives in some other form now, that it’ll grow up to be something super powerful.

Rest in peace Sarah. I’m gonna miss you."

Fourth to speak was Illi "Ai... I never really was good with speeches, so I’ll be short. In a way it’ll probably get better now that I don’t have to extend some manpower to work with everything that brat destroyed. On that sole aspect, I feel some relief.

But if I were able to choose, I’d always take up those little inconveniences rather than lose a comrade.

We never really saw eye to eye with that brat, but if there was one thing that united us was our height. And the amount of alcohol both could jugg. I always won in those contests, but she was always getting better numbers with each passing challenge.

Brat... if you live as something else now, please don’t come here to cause me more trouble like you had some score to settle with me. For that, please rest in peace."

Fifth to speak was Lych "Nuke... that was one hell of a nickname. Personally, I was scared as hell when we were paired to the same mission. I’d always make sure to take out people who would boil her blood just so that the nuke doesn’t detonate accidentally. But still...

I’m gonna miss that little innocent looking face of yours, even though the truth was that you were terrifying as hell.

Rest in peace nuke. Rest in peace."

Sixth to speak was Elisia "I always saw her like a little sister. A troublesome little sister. I had fun finding new spells that could suppress her in any way if the need ever became. Granted, that falls into Lili’s territory a bit, but I digress.

When I found out Sarah was a child of Li and some god, I was honestly touched. My heart goes to you Li Last, for you had to suffer the parting of your own young. In a way, I’m lucky that I never had to have children of my own that I had to part ways with eternally, but nevertheless, partings are always hard to deal with with sensitive souls. I wish that Sarah, no matter what she is now, will find peace.

So rest easy child. Rest easy."

Seventh to speak was Xu "As a gentleman, I find it appalling that such fate came to a young lady like Sarah. Then again, no flower blooms eternally, no matter how we nourish them.

Unfortunately, I had to live to see this young flower wither right before my eyes, though it was more of a clean cut, but enough about that.

Me and my fingers will forever more remember young Miss Sarah as an example of strength. And I’m sure Miss Weiss in the afterlife also feels the same way.

But before I become more sentimental, let me end these parting words by saying that I wish you will be reborn as a beautiful flower like you were in this life. May you rest in peace, Sarah."

Eighth to speak was Lili "Elisia mentioned it, but I did have to find ways to deal with Sarah’s outbursts. I did make plenty of breakthroughs thanks to the need to do so, so the emptiness that I now feel will make it a bit hard to make new discoveries I wager.

To be frank, I was also a little scared of Sarah. I was always sure that when she was in her right mind, she wouldn’t harm anyone to the point of killing them. But unfortunately, her curse of being a battlefreak made it so that she would be carried away more often than not if her blood was pumping more than usual.

In the wake of this tragedy, I will take the matter of suppressing that thing in some way, though I have no idea where to even begin with a thing so vague.

I say this so Sarah may rest more peacefully. So Sarah, be at peace."

Ninth to speak was Tear "I was the one who was in charge of monitoring you, so I probably know more about you than you knew about yourself.

You had this habit of provoking people with your left hand and finishing things with your right hand. If the thing wasn’t to be taken seriously, you’d use your left hand to deal with the thing. If it was a serious matter, you’d use your right hand more often than not.

When you... married our lord... you told me that it felt weird to put the ring on the left hand for some reason. I giggled, since I knew this habit of yours that you were very unaware of.

I wish now that I’d told you more about your little habits that you were unaware of. You could be such a lady when you needed to, but you avoided those kinds of things instinctively.

I’m sure that I’ll have more time on my hands now that I don’t have to monitor you. That empty void will be hard to live with for a while, but I’m sure I’ll overcome it, like you overcame most of your habit of becoming frenzied during battles.

I will miss you, perhaps even more than I miss my former family. I’ll miss you, but I’ll never forget about you.

May you... *sniff*... rest in peace."

Tenth to speak was Tifa "I would have loved to see you suffer, you know. And now I can’t even do that.

Then again, I did see you... roughly... as my little sister. I never had one, so I don’t know if I would have been a bad big sister or something, but still.

Well, now I have to fight less over darling now that you are gone. But still, you made it too easy. To leave so early in marriage like that makes me feel like I didn’t earn this victory.

So if, by some miracle, you are reborn as a woman again, I dare you to come and fall in love with my darling again so that I can win properly this time.

Saying that, I don’t wish for your peace. I wish that you’ll return in one shape or form, be it from peaceful heaven or the pits of hell.

Come back if you can. See you then."

Eleventh to speak was Mercy "I’m a bit of a newcomer to this group, so I’ll keep this short. You were a formidable rival and I never regretted sharing Faust with you or Zolotifa.

It is a shame that it ended so soon, and I agree with Zolotifa’s words that I want you back again.

But if that is too much for this world to ask for, I wish you a peaceful rest of existence."

Twelveth to speak was Li "I had a plan where I would sacrifice myself so that I could bring Kalpa here to meet you. I had planned it and even discussed it with Maumar. All that I needed was a moment of satisfaction to end my long life so that you would have had some time to spend with your mother, the better one of us.

But another version of me blabbered my plan to you and you gave me hell for it. But regardless, I would have gone through with it some day, no matter how much you would have hated me.

Now... all of that feels pointless to me. Your song has ended, and I must once more continue to live on as someone close to me dies. All these countless years, still I venture on. But if I had to give it meaning, it would be so that the memory of my race, Kalpa and you won’t ever fade. With that said, I’ll continue to live on.

I don’t know what would become of me if I died, so I can’t say we will meet again if or when I am to part from this world.

Rest now, child of mine. Rest... Mimithokhpa. Rest... and be at peace."

Last to speak was Lud "Sarah... I’m sorry that you met such an end, and I’m forever sorry that I endangered you to such a risk. If I’d chosen differently, I’m sure that you would still be with us. Alas, I chose to take the risk, and lost the gamble.

I wish that... if you can hear me... that you find it in yourself to forgive my foolishness. As a king, I wasted your potential. But as a husband... I... I made a terrible mistake.

I wish that one day, I’ll see you again, so that I can ask for your forgiveness face to face once more. So wherever you are... Please wait for me there. I’m... sure we’ll have that opportunity one day. No... I pray that we’ll have that chance.

Until then... rest in peace... and wait for me, Sarah Ylfianos Rosten Ech Alifana Setto Livendig. See you then."

And with that, the ceremony itself was over, and people spent a moment of silence just standing there.

Strangely, no one dared to leave that place and some even shed tears. But as things go, life must go on, and eventually everyone leaves the memorial place. Lud... was the last to leave.