TOS - Vol 2, Epilogue

The Overlord Saga

Vol II. Versus

Epilogue: Aftermath

Her eyes opened, finding herself not staring at the gaping black sky as she had been expecting. Finding herself staring at a ceiling, the Overlord turned, her body stiff and sore. How long had she been asleep? She did not know. What she did know was that her wounds were healing, which meant that either the Evocator or the Witch had been in contact with her at some point. She was in her bed, her head propped up against a pillow and her body submerged in covers. She wasn’t sure how she’d gotten into the loose shirt and pants that she was in, but didn’t particularly care at the moment. She was alive, and that was all that mattered.

Forcing herself up and out of the bed, the Overlord stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. She grabbed a hold of a night stand for support, steadying herself before taking another step towards the bathroom, a weird sensation flowing through her. Looking over her shoulder at the rest of the room, she could have sworn someone was with her for a moment. She felt another presence in the room, but tried to ignore the feeling.

‘I suppose I’m just imagining things...’ she thought with an outwardly groan.

‘Or not.’ the Theurgist’s voice answered her. Startled, the Overlord looked over her shoulder again, though did not see his ghostly form behind her. Glancing to her left, she figured he was in the bathroom, though that added a few funny images. ‘No, silly... ghosts don’t use the bathroom.’ The Theurgist added with a ringing laugh in her ears.

“Where are you?” the Overlord asked, eyes flitting about the room suspiciously. “Why can’t I see you?”

‘I’m here.’

“Be more specific,” the Overlord retorted, walking into the bathroom. Her mind felt heavy for some reason- more burdened than normal. She still could see images shown to her from the Henosis spell, but some seemed more vivid than others. The Overlord realized that the nagging difference in the back of her mind was that she did not feel like herself. If anything, she felt as though she was someone different. Not enjoying the feeling, the Overlord turned on the faucet, rinsing her face gently before looking up in the mirror.

She thought she was going to scream.

Everything was normal, her hair the same, her facial features no different than before. The haunting words from the Nemesis rang in her ears as she look into her eyes, heart racing as she stood in her bathroom, unmoving. Her left eye was green, the same piercing color as before. However, her right eye was not the same color as her left, having altered to a blue tint, the pupil even barely ringed with an amber color. She startled, throwing herself back and away from the mirror. But as she looked again, she realized that it was truly there- truly permanent and nothing of her imagination.

“Holy crap,” the Overlord breathed, panic flooding her veins.

‘We’re in this together now...’ The Theurgist’s voice was not coming from somewhere else, the Overlord realized. It was coming from within her very mind. She turned, looking around wildly as if hoping to find him somewhere else. ‘... I didn’t know this would happen... But...’

“What... Why is this happening?” she asked, feeling like a very small, confused child.

‘Somehow... Our souls merged together. I’m within you. I don’t know how this happened except we never parted during Henosis. Emily... Calm down...’ he was trying to re-assure her. She didn’t think it was helping.

“Can we... un-merge?” the Overlord asked, looking in the mirror at her new blue eye. “Someone’s bound to notice this. And... I can’t really have you talking in my head. It’s weird.”

‘I... I don’t know how to fix this...’ the Theurgist admitted, ‘I’m sorry...’ She could feel that he was not lying and lowered her head. Frustrated, she slammed her fist into the counter, her bangs falling in front of her right eye.

“Damn it!”

“Overlord?” a voice called from the bedroom. The mutual thought of ‘Crap, someone’s coming’ ran through both the Theurgist and the Overlord and she continued to allow her bangs to fall over her eye. Walking calmly from the bathroom to the bedroom, the Overlord caught sight of the Ninja-Lord, standing there with her arms folded. “You’re awake!”

“Er... Hello...” the Overlord scratched the back of her neck. ‘This is really awkward timing...’ She sensed that the Theurgist agreed with her. “I just woke up. I... What’s happened?”

“You killed him,” the Ninja-Lord said flatly. “Do you remember that?” When the Overlord nodded, the Ninja-Lord continued, “The Insurgents are going to leave tomorrow morning. Thomas wanted to stay long enough for you to gather your strength, but the Insurgents and the Underlings haven’t been getting along...” Her voice trailed off momentarily before picking back up again, “We’ve begun working on the reconstruction. You’ve been asleep for three days. We had no idea when you’d come back to us.”

“Three days!?” the Overlord sputtered, “What?!”

“You needed your rest. When we found you, I thought you were dead,” the Ninja-Lord put a hand on the Overlord’s shoulder, “You looked awful. The Nemesis didn’t look any better, though. His body’s been taken care of. The rest of DIB either defected to our side or fled. Overall, the morale is high and everything seems to be in order... Why are you shaking?”

“I... I just... Really need some food...” the Overlord stammered. ‘Smooth.’ the Theurgist commented in amusement. ‘Shut up.’ came the rude reply. “I’ve been out of it for three days, right? Some pizza sounds... Really freaking good right about now. Think you could have that ordered for me?”

“Yeah, of course,” the Ninja-Lord nodded, “Now... About your scythe and your staff... Well, the scythe was demolished sometime during your rampage against the Nemesis. And the staff? Well... I think it exploded or something. Either way, the Swordmaster and Fish are looking at them... er.. what’s left of them... right now. They’re thinking about forging the two together to make you a new weapon. How does that sound?”

“As long as it’s not something lame. Like... I don’t know. A broadsword. Or a mace,” the Overlord chuckled. ‘Like you could LIFT a broadsword.’ the Theurgist added sarcastically. “I’ll be looking forward to what they have in planned. And I’ll be addressing the Underlings tonight during dinner. I might as well make my awakening known to the rest of my Fortress so we can begin getting our old routines underway. Although... I do think that some re-arranging of the Fortress is sorely needed.”

“What do you mean by that?” the Ninja-Lord asked, frowning.

“You’ll see...” the Overlord replied, a smile playing about her lips, “Let’s just say... Being in exile made me re-think a few things. And I’d like to see some change around here. Don’t get me wrong... First chance I get to go steal souls, I’m taking it. I think it’s time to expand our army, anyways.”

“You... Have a lot of plans for the next few months, don’t you?” the Ninja-Lord raised an eyebrow.

“You have no idea...” the Overlord replied smugly, “Anyways... So... About that pizza...”

“Got it, got it,” the Ninja-Lord smiled and slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind her quietly. The Overlord’s smirk faded completely and immediately as the Ninja-Lord left. She turned and promptly walked back into the bathroom, moving her bangs back to reveal the bright blue eye.

‘Colored contacts. They’re a life-saver,’ the Theurgist commented.

‘Alexi... I’ll find a way to revive you. I promise. Even if I have to claw my way through Earth and the rest of the worlds to find a way. I owe it to you to revive you,’ the Overlord closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath.

‘It’s not me anymore. And it’s not you either. It’s us. We’re one in the same. I am you. You are me. We have the same memories. We have the same mind. The same body...’ Alexi replied calmly.

‘What do you suggest? That I live my whole life with two voices in my head?’ the Overlord demanded quietly, glaring into the mirror. ‘I will not.’

She felt the Theurgist agree with her, ‘Then find a way. But keep in mind that it’d be best to keep this silent. To ourself... if you will... But until then we are the same person... We are one.’

‘We are each other.’

‘We are connected.’

‘We are the Overlord.’