Those were truly joyful days.
After joining Dragon Lair, the dragon-thed guild within the Twelve Guardians alliance, I suddenly found myself surrounded by a flood of new friends.
I even got so playful praise for stubbornly sticking with the so-called "failed race" of dragons, managing to turn it into a symbol of romance and coolness.
Becoming the guild's mascot of sorts t the hidden conditions for unlocking the special class Dragon Lord, and I was even used as a sort of "celebrity mascot" for the guild.
Life was good.
It was the golden age of Yggdrasil.
A ti when cash items hadn't yet flooded the ga, when there weren't many competing VR titles, and when the world was still overflowing with things to explore, conquer, and adventure through.
A ti when the Twelve Beast Kings of the Twelve Guardians were still considered legendary.
A ti when gods and demons, skeletons and warriors, dragons and angels, all danced together in a living, breathing fantasy.
Every single day was filled with excitent—raiding powerful enemies, tearing through entire dungeons, waging massive wars between top guilds. Pure, unfiltered fun.
I rember flying my guildmates to a dungeon high above the clouds—where teleportation and flight magic didn't work.
I rember the thrill of carving a straight line through enemy ranks with my dragon breath during massive wars—thousands versus thousands—between the top-tier guilds.
One unforgettable mory: I joined the World Festival's No-Item Battle alone, as a dragon.
People scread:
"That's broken!"
"Why is there still a dragon player!?"
"Are we seriously supposed to fight that with no gear?!"
The battle quickly turned into an impromptu no-item raid, and I got to feel like a world boss facing a swarm of players in their underwear with only their bare fists.
There was that ti I wrestled King Simba, the Tiger King, in his beastman form—sparking a massive gambling event.
There was that ridiculous raffle where the prize was a "Dragon World Tour Travel Package."
I rember sneaking into worlds outside the Nine Realms—built solely for event purposes—and throwing a grand festival.
I rember invading Niflheim with the goal of taking down Kuyoyosekaigu, the World-Eater and final boss of the ga… and getting wiped out.
So many mories—truly, so many things happened.
But, like autumn leaves falling one by one, those joyful days slowly ca to an end.
The once-bustling ga grew quiet.
Players disappeared, one after another, until everything fell silent.
Yggdrasil may have been the first virtual reality ga, but it wasn't the only one.
As newer gas with more advanced VR engines were released, Yggdrasil gradually faded into obsolescence.
Players left, and few ever ca back.
Even the Twelve Guardians, once the top-tier alliance in Jotunheim, with thousands of mbers—over the ten years, their numbers dwindled into double digits.
And that was six months ago.
Now?
Only one remains.
.
"There's no one left—"
The voice echoed powerfully from my giant jaws, reverberating through the empty temple.
A colossal sanctuary, larger than most real-world buildings.
Once affectionately called the Grand Composite Temple, it housed the twelve guardian statues representing the Twelve Zodiac guilds.
This place had been the residence of the twelve guild masters, their vice leaders, and their dedicated support NPCs.
It also stored each guild's treasury, and served as the venue for major in-ga events or alliance etings.
Now… it's empty.
The NPCs are still here. The guild vaults are still here—but most are nearly barren.
When the players left, they either sold or discarded everything they owned. Even in decline, Yggdrasil's items still had value at the ti.
As they quit, many guildmates cashed out their gear and currency.
The guild master? He sold off the entire guild vault in one go, saying it would fund their final in-person etup.
I couldn't attend—not with this paralyzed body—but I watched the video they sent . Their final party looked like a blast.
So left their gear to . Others passed it down to their support NPCs, saying cool lines like,
"Though I'm leaving, my spirit remains in the guild."
We all laughed at the cheesiness, but that was the point—we laughed together. And then they left, never to return.
"What a joke… All of it."
The lined-up NPCs, of course, said nothing.
They still wear the gear of their masters—but they're not players.
Suddenly overwheld with emotion, I swung my massive tail in anger—then regretted it imdiately.
The twelve support NPCs, all at max level (Lv. 100), were sent flying like bowling pins.
They slamd into the temple walls, only to slowly return to their original positions, as programd.
Watching them return, I couldn't bring myself to lash out again.
Instead, I simply hung my massive head low in silence.
The Guild Alliance – The Twelve Guardians.
In Yggdrasil, many guilds had ford temporary alliances to increase their strength, but never before—or after—had twelve guilds united to form such a massive coalition.
There had been an incident where eight guilds tead up to subjugate Ainz Ooal Gown, the notorious evil-aligned heteromorphic guild based in Helheim.
But after their failed attempt, that alliance quickly collapsed.
The Twelve Guardians, however, remained united for nearly ten years.
And each of those twelve guilds wasn't small. Even the smallest—Diny Guild (Rat)—had around 150 mbers. At its peak, the combined guild mbers across all twelve easily exceeded three thousand. The number of NPCs supporting those guild mbers was roughly the sa.
There was a ti when the Twelve Guardians held the center of Jotunheim, ruling an entire world.
They were even referred to as the Twelve Kingdoms at one point.
They governed worlds and dungeons, made their own laws, and ruled over both users and NPCs.
During Yggdrasil's golden age, the Twelve Guardians were effectively their own nation.
Eventually, they negotiated with the GMs and were officially recognized as the first player-established nation in the ga.
A new "guild nation" system was implented, and copycat guild nations sprang up like weeds afterward.
But now… even that has co to an end.
The NPCs still remain, but the players who once commanded and led them? They're gone.
He—I—am the last one. The only guild mber left.
The last guildmaster.
What could one person possibly do?
Last month, the total number of active players across all servers fell to just three digits.
And on that day, the number of mbers remaining in my guild was one.
The last guildmate I saw was about a month ago: Bunny Girl, the King of the Rabbit Guild. She was one of the last remaining Twelve Kings.
At first, I thought she ca by to chat for old ti's sake.
But it turned out she was there to loot what was left in her personal guild vault and sell it off.
I felt disappointed. Why bother selling off worthless items from a dying ga?
Maybe just to cover the cost of a drink or two?
When she saw I was still here, she looked surprised… then said nothing and left.
Since then, a few more people have shown up. But none of it was heartwarming.
One guy tried to grief the place, saying, "If it's all ending anyway, I'll destroy it myself!"
Another tried to sneak into the Grand Temple saying, "I just want to take so screenshots."
Over ti, I beca the only one left to deal with the occasional visitor—or intruder.
But now, even those people have stopped coming.
I'm left in solitude, drowning in loneliness, unable to leave.
For , Yggdrasil wasn't just a ga over the past ten years. It was my life.
When I was left half-paralyzed and incapable of doing anything in the real world, this ga gave a second chance.
Every day, I would wake up, log into Yggdrasil, and spend my ti wandering aimlessly through the temple, or flying over the sky above the capital of our massive guild nation.
But there was nothing left.
The NPCs remained motionless in their places. They still listened to my commands—but in the end, they were just NPCs.
Eventually, I stopped even leaving the temple.
Having soone—anyone—left to talk to in chat was the only comfort I had.
There were still a few hardcore players hanging on to Yggdrasil, people who couldn't let go.
People like , who had lived their lives here.
And so, we would spend each day exchanging idle chat ssages.
— Ikarus-sama, it's dead quiet again today. Not a soul in sight.
— Sa here, Momonga-sama. Even though I'm floating in the sky, it feels so lonely. I think there are maybe seven people left besides , but they're all off doing their own thing. Feels like I'm being excluded, y'know? Can I report this for harassnt or sothing?
— Sky? I'm underground! Everyone's so an. They could've at least left their characters behind. But no—they logged in, deleted them right in front of , and left. Isn't that just cruel?
— My guildmates are all gone, too. The only ones left are thousands of NPCs. Just and them now. A guildmaster from another guild ca by recently—I thought he wanted to talk, but he just cleaned out the guild vault and ran off.
…Honestly, you should just beco king of Yggdrasil.
Yeah, that's how it was.
But even they are gone now.
At so point, they stopped replying altogether.
Sotis I'd see them log in on the activity list—but they didn't answer my chats anymore.
I wondered why… but deep down, I already knew.
No one wants to admit they're the only one left.
But even so, we couldn't let go.
So here I am, logging in every single day, reliving bittersweet mories of happier tis.
It's… unbearably sad.
"But now—even that's about to end."
Yggdrasil is shutting down.
As the player count dwindled, the developers flooded the ga with cash items to stay afloat.
But eventually, they couldn't support the dwindling player base any longer.
They made the announcent:
The servers will be shut down.
It just so happened to be the end of the year, so the developers tossed out a hastily made, absurdly overpriced cash shop item as a "year-end event"—and then, just like that, announced the end.
At this point, I didn't even have the energy to complain.
Ten years of joy, one day after another. But now… I was tired. All I could do was sit on the lonely throne of this deserted temple, my gaze drowsily drifting across the puppet-like NPCs, and quietly await the end.
"Not much ti left now…"
Maybe an hour?
I glanced at the digital clock, which now pointed to 11:00, then slumped down, my massive body leaning against the floor.
Twelve NPCs stood before —each one representing one of the Zodiac signs, from Rat to Pig.
Beastfolk characters, uniquely customized by each guildmaster to their liking, now stood in silence.
They had been launched into the air earlier when I lashed out, but now they stood quietly again, unflinching, as if nothing had happened.
What would happen to them when the ga ended?
These beings, cherished by their creators for over a decade—would they simply vanish, reduced to re lines of data?
Just rigid programs with no soul… or so I thought.
But curiosity got the better of . I opened each of their profile windows.
One by one, twelve long configuration logs unfurled in front of like endless scrolls. So were short enough to skim, but others were incredibly elaborate—so long I had to scroll for minutes.
It made sense—these were masterpieces, crafted with great care by their guildmasters, each designed to support a major guild.
So much effort must've gone into them.
I scanned through the texts like I was reading a novel, then added one final line before closing each one.
After all, the only guildmaster left… was . The only guild mber, the last one standing.
[They are all mine.]
That was the line I added.
All of this… belongs to .
Like a dragon in myth, like a creature from fiction—obsessed with hoarding—greedy to the end, I made that selfish declaration.
And with a faint, self-mocking laugh at my own cringe-worthy dramatic flair, I lay down on the floor.
At Ancient Dragon Level 5, my body was massive—tens of ters long. I curled my tail around myself and rested in the center of the Grand Temple's plaza.
Only thirty minutes left, I thought… and slowly closed my eyes, feeling sleep creeping in.
I wondered: What will I do after this ga ends?
The compensation money in the bank was still untouched.
A few years ago, I had stumbled into a successful investnt in cryptocurrency with so old guildmates, giving even more financial security.
With minimal spending, even just living off dividends from the corporate bank investnts would be enough.
Maybe I could start a new ga.
I didn't know if there would ever be a Yggdrasil II, but I heard a similar fantasy-thed VR ga called Fantasy & World was doing quite well.
If this ends… maybe I'll try playing as a dragon again.
Ah—
That's right. I still had that.
Well, it's not like anyone would care if I used it now, at the very end.
With my eyes closed, I imagined myself as the strongest dragon—the glorious days of the past, those joyful years.
A faint shimr of light.
A ticklish sensation across my skin. But nothing significant.
Back in the day, using things like this would cause a GM to appear and scold you, but…
Would they even show up now?
I chuckled quietly at the thought.
If the others knew I had just casually used sothing we all once considered a sacred treasure of the guild…
I wonder what kind of faces they'd make.
Now, there were fewer than five minutes left until the servers shut down.
But for so reason… I was sleepy.
So sleepy, I doubted I'd stay awake until the very end.
But maybe that wouldn't be so bad—falling asleep and eting the end of the world in my dreams.
And when I wake up, I'll start sothing new… with a fresh heart.
60 seconds, maybe?
Maybe I'll hold out just a bit longer.
50 seconds… Just enough ti to close my eyes right at the final second.
40 seconds… Goodbye, everyone. I guess this is the last mont I'll spend with you.
30 seconds… Should I have done sothing more? I feel a strange sense of regret, despite not thinking of anything specific.
20 seconds… I don't know why, but I feel sad. Like I might cry.
10 seconds… But… I'm just so tired. I really want to sleep.
5 seconds… 4… 3… 2… 1…
"Yes… this is the end."
"Let sleep—a deep, long sleep… long enough to forget the past ten years…"
I closed my eyes. And then—
I felt nothing.
I was pulled into a deep slumber.
...
THUD.
The great dragon closed his eyes.
The sole ruler of the kingdom, the one who had once declared everything his own, had fallen asleep.
A single tear rolled from his eye, soaking into the pristine white marble beneath him.
In front of him, twelve retainers who had stood motionless for so long… slowly opened their eyes.
Rat. Ox. Tiger. Rabbit. Dragon. Snake. Horse. Goat. Monkey. Rooster. Dog. Pig.
Twelve beastfolk, each representing a sign of the Zodiac, quietly threw themselves down before their slumbering master, offering the highest gesture of respect.
For years—decades—they had watched him.
He had raged at them, grieved before them, even blad them.
But through it all, he stayed. He ruled. He protected.
To them, he was a great master.
Now that master had closed his eyes, weary from it all.
And now, it was their duty not to disturb his sleep—
but to watch over it.
...
Silently, the twelve finished their bows and turned toward the outside world.
Their master had grown weary from the ages and fallen into slumber.
So now, they must prepare—for the day their master awakens once more.
With thoughts of the glorious day yet to co, the twelve beastfolk stepped out of the temple without a sound, careful not to disturb the dragon's dream.
Thus began the quiet stirrings of a small yet vast kingdom—hidden in a corner of another world, waiting, silently, in the shadows.
-----------------
Na: ???
Title: The World Dragon That Must Not Be Awakened
Positions: Head of the Dragon Branch of the Twelve Guardians of Jotunheim, Guild Master of the Twelve Guardians, King of the Twelve Guardians' Kingdom
Residence: Temple of the Twelve Gods, Jotunheim, Dragon's Shrine
Alignnt: Evil (Karma Value: -100)
Height: —
Level: Total Lv. 100 ???
...
Race Levels:
Dragoling – 10
Young Dragon – 10
Adult Dragon – 10
Elder Dragon – 5
Ancient Dragon – 5
Others – Total 50 ???
...
Class Levels:
Draconic Mage – 10
Dragon Knight – 10
Dragon Priest – 10
Dragon Lord (Hidden Class) – 5
Unlocked upon eting conditions: 3 dragon-related classes, 40 racial levels, a certain number of dragons and related kin under command, plus other hidden criteria
Others – Total 50 ???
...
Profile:
The forr guild master—and now current clan leader—of Twelve Guardians, the largest and most powerful demi-human guild in Yggdrasil.
??? is the last remaining dragon player in existence.
Originally recruited as the guild's "mascot," he gradually rose through the ranks as more players quit, eventually becoming guild master… and finally, the de facto monarch of the guild-nation.
He continues to stand as the last remnant of his fallen kingdom, occasionally fending off raiders and griefers.
...
Guild Na: Twelve Guardians
Guild Level: Total 3000 [Max World Value] ???
[Nation Bonus]
Description:
An alliance guild supposedly ford by gathering twelve demi-human races in Jotunheim—though in reality, only the guild leaders were customized to match each zodiac race.
The mbers themselves were mixed in species, though generally aligned with the philosophy of their respective clan.
While ford from twelve guilds, they were officially recognized by the developers as a guild-nation occupying shared territory.
Each guild maintained its own base, spread across three dungeon zones, seven open-world fields, and two special zones.
After recognition as a formal nation, additional buildings and NPCs were added, making it functionally a city.
As Yggdrasil declined, the guild-nation collapsed and was restructured—through GM intervention—into a single unified guild: The Twelve Guardians.
In the process, many of the standard combat NPCs were removed, leaving only the custom-made and recently added national NPCs. Most removed NPCs were converted into neutral non-combatants.
Estimated to possess five World-Class Items, consolidated from the original twelve guilds post-rger.
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