Singularity (Rimuru x Arifureta)

Interlude | Demon Lord Rimuru

"Sensei! Sensei!" A voice of five children echoed in the outside halls of a certain room in the Monster Nation, Tempest. Rimuru's office.

"You kids! I told you Rimuru-sama's busy! Please wait and do not disturb him!" Came the familiar voice of Shuna, the reliable princess.

Rimuru looked up, putting down his pen and staring blankly at his door.

The door flung open after a few more yells and arguments outside. Five children entered, followed by a troubled and exasperated young lady.

"—Sensei—!!" They shout out loud as they hastily run into the demon lord's arms. Still confused, Rimuru shot Shuna a questioning look to which he got a "Good grief" reply

As he embraced his five troublemakers, the demon lord softly chuckled. "I thought you guys had school. What are you doing here?"

"School sucks but we still finished everything fast to meet up with you! You promised to take us out on a panic, didn't you?" Came the reply from Kenya.

"Yes, that's right! You ought to stay true to your words!" Alice said. The other three didn't say anything but they all had exited faces.

"Okay, okay. Fine. Shuna. Can you please empty my schedule for the day?"

The six of them exemplified the ideal teacher-student relationship. A relationship characterized by mutual respect, enjoyment, happiness, and fulfillment. The oni princess simply sighed and smiled as she observed the demon lord and his five students engaging in their usual antics.

"Understood."

"Thanks."

"""Yayy!"""

They all went outside, accompanied by Shuna, Shion, and Diablo, a cheerful atmosphere ever-so present around them. They were headed on to a particular spot, the cliff that provided the best view of the capital city of Tempest.

They were joined by others on their way.

"Rimuru-sama? Where are you going?" Benimaru asked as it was unusually crowdy.

"To the cliff. We plan to have some picnic. You should join us!" The Demon Lord relaxedly replied as he invited his supreme general. Gobta and Gabil who they came across to, and even Souei and Geld also joined them.

Finally, they spent the entire afternoon in such a location, forgetting their worries of the day while relieving their stress in the company of their friends. Thinking back on it now, they were so happy back then. Indeed, those were happy times...

.........

......

...

How did this happen? Where did it go wrong? No... where did I go wrong...?

The Other World was a vast void that extended into infinity. In such emptiness, physical beings have no hope of even lasting a moment, nor can their brains endure the extra-dimensional model of the place. Everything will be incomprehensible and unpredictable for them.

For decades, Rimuru was stranded here, forced to constantly battle Insectars, Phantoms, and Cryptids all on his own.

Endless hordes of them came at him and he was forced to go beyond his natural limits. He was past the breaking point multiple times, but the worries and desires... his feelings kept him from losing himself.

At some point and by some consequential circumstances, he made it back, but wished he didn't. The country he worked so hard to build, the friends he made... they were nowhere to be found.