November 7, 2024
Aincrad: 75th Floor – Boss Room
Normal POV
Blood.
Any normal human being will cringe at the sight of flowing, bright red blood. After all, it is the means by which a human being remains alive and keeps their body functioning, and the many spiritual connotations associated with blood, especially human blood, over the millennia, further compound this phenomenon. But still, no matter how chilling or disgusting the image of blood leaving the human body is, it is still something that people expect to happen. If a person suffers from an opened wound, blood is, after all, expected, to come out. It`s just a part of being a flesh-and-blood human being.
But not a virtual one.
When Kirito pierced Heathcliff, there was, of course, the expected game`s sound effects of a blade piercing flesh, and the familiar resistance that the game simulates of the experience. He watched with quiet, but burning passion and contempt mixed with overwhelming relief as the murderer`s health points fell like a swift sword. He glanced sideways at his wonderful wife, Asuna, as he gave her a nod and a quiet, "We did it, didn`t we?" He was rewarded with a smile and a nod.
That was the moment that everything simply changed. It was at that moment that Kirito felt Kayaba lurch forward in pain on his sword and blood sprayed out from the wound down his blade, from the man`s mutilated arm, and flew out from Kayaba`s coughing mouth onto Kirito`s coat, before he gargled and hacked out his last, dying breath.
The last thirty seconds, all by themselves, were some of the most tense, jaw-dropping, shocking moments of the lives of everyone in the room. The last two years made up the most tense, jaw-dropping and shocking time of their lives.
The sight of blood, at that singular moment, put them all to shame.
Kirito POV
What? Wh- why`s there blood? Kirito thought. I don`t know if I`m hallucinating this or not, but it feels very real. I can see and smell it, and I sure as hell don`t want to touch or taste it either. Did Kayaba- no, he wasn`t expecting this at all. So what went wrong? There`s no way Kayaba would have allowed a glitch in the pain dampeners, especially not for himself. Did Cardinal do this? What is going on, why does everything feel so different all of a sudden, so- real?
As he let Heathcliff`s body unceremoniously slide off his sword to the ground, Kirito looked around, trying to find out why everything felt so weird all of a sudden. Suddenly, one of the players shouted.
"Kayaba`s dead!? Right?! SO WHY ARE WE STILL HERE?!"
That`s it, Kirito thought. Akihiko Kayaba may have been the lowest form of bastard there was, and he may have led people astray with his posing as Heathcliff, but he never lied to someone`s face directly, and was brutally honest about his intentions and end goal, and his game`s rules, as harsh as they may have been, were still fair, so he did have some semblance of sportsmanship. He wouldn`t have goaded Kirito into the duel if the reward hadn`t been real. So why-
"Mommy? Daddy?" He froze once again. "K-Kirito?" he heard Asuna stutter.
He turned slowly towards her, bloodied Elucidator and broken Dark Repulser falling from his hands, his heart hammering once more in his chest – it felt more real, visceral, somehow – and he saw his wife looking down, with wide, still-shocked, now-hopeful eyes, at the one thing that had made their love feel truly unbreakable, that made them feel like a real family, that they feared they would never see again-
"Yui."
Asuna POV
Asuna, with Kirito, immediately wrapped Yui in her arms, clutching her close to her bosom, fearing that she would disappear again before her eyes, as she wept tears of unbridled joy.
She had only known the small girl for only a few days, but she had given Asuna and her husband her complete and unconditional love from the first moment in her amnesiac state that she laid eyes on them, calling them "Mommy" and "Daddy". They only shared a few hours of time together, but Yui loved them like they were her real parents, and they, in turn, had come to love her like she was their real daughter. Even her later revelation that she was an AI did nothing to change that, in fact, it likely only served to strengthen their love, as Asuna and Kirito accepted her as a real person in spite of that. It was one of the most heart-breaking moments in Asuna`s life when the Cardinal System`s efforts to delete her after she saved the two of them in a dungeon made her dissolve into yellow fractals in her arms. Kirito, thankfully, succeeded in saving Yui`s core data into a game object-
Thinking on that, Asuna`s hand went to her neck, where she wore Yui`s Heart. It wasn`t there. And with Yui standing here, held in her arms, Asuna was fully convinced that her daughter, the brightest light in hers and Kirito`s lives, had indeed truly returned. Holding her out with hands on her shoulders, Asuna asked, "Yui, is that really you? Really? I can`t be happy without you. Can you say that you really have come back?" The little teared up herself, gave a smile that perfectly reflected Asuna`s, and simply said, "Yes." The three came together again in one great embrace, having become a family once more.
"Oy! Since when did you two get time to have a kid? And a damn cute one at that?!"
Klein POV
With the Paralysis effect having passed away for him, along with everyone else in the room, the instant he noticed the never-before-seen little girl who had just appeared out of nowhere and started acting like she was Kirito and Asuna`s kid, with the two of them reciprocating the feeling, Klein felt obligated to march up to the two lovebirds and demand an answer from them. His shout-out caused the group to look up in surprise, and disappointment, since their special moment was very rudely interrupted.
"Now, Kirito, I know you really like Asuna and all, I mean, I`ve seen it ever since I met you two partying together back on Floor 74, but how in hell do you meet, get laid, and have like a ten-year old kid who looks like a mini-Asuna with your colors, in only two weeks?!" he ranted, gesticulating at them wildly. "Yeah," he heard Agil say. "In fewer words, how did this happen?" The sentiment was shared by the other players in the room, who now had all seemed to have forgotten about Heathcliff`s bleeding corpse, focusing all of their attention on the small, unarmed, unarmored, and innocent-looking little girl.
Kirito and Asuna stood up, both of them keeping a hand on each of Yui`s shoulders, both of them smiling warmly, but with a slight look of embarrassment, and Yui looking a little nervous at all of the new faces and staring eyes. "Klein, Agil, everyone," Kirito said loudly. "This is Asuna and I`s daughter, Yui. And before you say anything, you Klein, especially, one, she`s adopted, two, she`s an AI, the game`s original Mental Health Counseling Program-" this elicited gasps all around, as she acted too human to be an NPC. "-and three, we love her like she`s our own, so if any of you have a problem with it, you can talk to my swords!"
"Hey, hey, man," Klein said, holding his hands out. "No need to get so defensive. I mean, so much crazy stuff just happened, and a little girl calling herself your daughter literally showing up out of nowhere is the most ridiculousness I can take in one day. Although, come to think of it, what the hell did just happen? I mean, why is Kayaba`s body bleeding out on the floor like that? Why didn`t he just burst into lights like everything else does in this damn game?"
"Good question," Kirito replied, bending down to pick up his bloodied black blade, holding it up horizontally before his eyes, watching the red liquid slowly drip from the sword to the floor. "Sword Art Online is the most fully-realized virtual reality ever made, with attention paid to even minor details like insects, small animals, and even individual plants. However, even this world has limits, such as the fields, instead of being made up of millions of individual grass stalks, are instead more like a rug made to feel like grass, as trying to make all of those individual grass plants would take up too much time and resources."
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"Yeah, otherwise the game would take forever to make," Klein agreed.
"The same is true for the anatomies of every living thing. Trying to make a virtual avatar with complete internal organs, nervous system, muscle structure, and blood vessels would take too much work. And besides, during our first duel, I actually succeeded in cutting Heathcliff`s cheek, and it didn`t bleed. Also, Asuna cut his arm off, and I stabbed him through, and his avatar still reacted like any other object…" Kirito`s eyes slid over to Dark Repulser, Klein following his gaze, which was still in two pieces. "But then, why is Kayaba`s body still here, bleeding and dead instead of just gone, and why hasn`t Dark Repulser also vanished, since all weapons, once broken, are supposed to? And if Kayaba really is the final boss, and he`s dead, why isn`t the game over? Why aren`t we waking up in the real world?"
"Because this is the real world."
Everyone`s heads suddenly jerked up at the statement, looking toward its speaker, Yui. She continued. "Everything that is happening here, from the blood to the broken sword, is outside of the abilities of the Cardinal System, which runs the servers that Sword Art Online is based. Also, before all of this, as an AI and a purely digital existence, I could sense all of the workings and coding of Cardinal. But now, I am unable to sense the system at all, my five physical senses are all noticeably sharper, and also-" she grasped Asuna`s hand and placed it on the left side of her chest. After a moment, Asuna`s eyes widened and she gasped.
"I have a heartbeat, something no one in a virtual world should have, and yet I do. And everything alive that has a heartbeat, invariably, has a heart."
Klein`s own hand came over to his own chest, and, for the first time in over two years, he felt his heart pounding away, stronger than it ever had before. His reaction to this mimicked Asuna`s, and that of everyone else, as they all clutched where their hearts were. No way, Klein thought. This is so not happening. Being trapped in a virtual game until you die is crazy, but this-
Suddenly, there was a sound of ringing. Or rather, a lot of ringing, and it came from each and every player, or rather, from their pockets. And it sounded just like their menus. Klein reached down to his belt, pulling out-
A phone? Across its screen, he read [Important Message – Cardinal System]. He immediately tapped it, and read what Cardinal had to say.
Normal POV
All across Aincrad, only a few minutes before, life was going on as normally as it had for two years. People were shopping in markets for gear, clothing, armor, weapons, food, and other merchandise; guilds were meeting to discuss and handle their affairs and businesses; parties were hunting monsters, clearing dungeons, and performing quests; there were families, friends, and couples simply enjoying time together in a peaceful corner of the virtual world.
Silica was once again part of a new party, she and Pina were adventuring with them through the 49th Floor for the first time, exploring the main settlement of Myujen.
Lisbeth was in her shop on the 48th Floor, in the settlement of Lindarth, as she began putting all of her newly purchased metals in their appropriate places, so as to be ready for any new customer`s potential order.
Argo was in the Hidden Dungeon below the Town of Beginnings on the 1st Floor, trying to uncover its secrets.
Thinker and Yulier were in a meeting with the higher ranking players in the Aincrad Liberation Force, or Army as most people called them, discussing what to do about Kibaou, and his act of betrayal.
Nishida was just fishing on the 22nd Floor, like always.
The moment when it happened, not everyone noticed right away, but it was by those who saw their menus vanish in front of them, refusing to reappear in spite of all command, witness monsters and players alike in combat bleed when cut open, and saw Immortal Objects like houses suddenly take damage when blades met their walls. Then they all noticed the new menu ringing in their pockets or on their belts, and they all read the same message, delivered straight from the Cardinal System:
[The world of Sword Art Online, the castle of Aincrad, has, through an unforeseen and unexplainable phenomenon, become a physical existence in the real world.
[In regards to the players` menus, they have now manifested in the form of these tablets, each of which can only be used by the player it manifested to, and share many of the same functions as the original player`s menus, except for direct access to player`s and guild`s storage, which can now only be accessed through newly manifested storage points located in every settlement, and the tablet serves as the key for each player`s and guild`s own storage – no one can use their tablet to access storage that belongs to someone else.
[Players` avatars are now their real bodies, complete with flesh and blood, with player stats being translated into them. Also, player skills are now also real, with real world knowledge of these same skills now being a part of all players` consciousness.
[The NPCs have remained, and are now fully sentient and sapient human beings. The monsters and animals also remain and are now also fully realized physical existences and living creatures. The environment of Aincrad is now also fully physical, with all minute details previously not a part of the game due to the lack of necessity now included, such as indoor plumbing.
[The castle of Aincrad itself is now a fully realized physical existence in the real world. As the overseeing AI of Sword Art Online, I still remain the caretaker in charge of the maintenance of Aincrad`s newly manifested numerous systems, from weather control and air pressurization of each individual Floor to maintaining the floatation of Aincrad, so that it does not plunge to the ground below, endangering the lives of everyone in the castle and below it.
[Finally, thanks to access to global positioning satellites, the location of Aincrad is determined to be, at its lowest point, precisely 2,000 meters above Tokyo.
[Thank you for reading this message. End.]
Tokyo: Kirigaya Household
Suguha POV
Suguha couldn`t believe her eyes. At first, she thought that she was hallucinating, the long hours and myriad adventures in ALfheim Online as the Sylph swordswoman Leafa finally getting to her. But, she could not recall ever seeing a flying castle in ALfheim, or even hearing the vaguest rumors of one there. And yet, here it was, floating above the city in grand majesty, looking to be at least the size of the World Tree in ALfheim, if not bigger. She had already pinched herself on her arms and cheeks as well as slapping herself to see if it was a dream and confirmed it wasn`t. Standing there with her mother, and the other people in the street, it was a very surreal experience.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
"Where did it come from? It just appeared out of nowhere!"
"What`s it doing here?"
"Is this the end of the world?!"
Suguha gasped, beginning to contemplate just now how much danger they may be in. Her heart began to race and tears started forming in her eyes as her fear began rising, taking the place of her earlier confusion. And, she even began to fear for her older cousin- no, brother, as he was still trapped in that game of Sword Art Online, fighting for his life, completely oblivious to the fact that there was a GIANT FREAKING FLOATING CASTLE sitting right above Tokyo.
Wait, she thought, as something occurred to her. She realized the castle was actually familiar. She had never seen it in real life or in ALfheim, of course, but she had seen a picture of it-
"Mom! I know what that castle is! It`s Aincrad!" she yelled. Midori then turned to her in confusion, along with everyone on the street who heard her.
"What? Suguha, how do you know what that is?" her mother inquired.
"Because I`ve seen it before, on the case of Kazuto`s copy of Sword Art Online!"
Everyone around quietly or loudly gasped at that. Sword Art Online was the most infamous grouping of three words in history, ever since it was launched two years and one day ago, trapping 10,000 people in a virtual game, where the players had to beat the game to escape, or die trying. So far, over 3,000 had perished.
"Do you know what this means?"
"All of the players trapped by Sword Art Online might still be up there! Alive and well!"
"Miki, you made it."
"Asaki, are you still alive?"
Kazuto, wait for me, Suguha thought. I`m coming.
Asuna`s Hospital
A nurse, Shouzou Yuuki and Sugou Nobuyuki gazed at Aincrad through the window, as they contemplated the meaning of what they were looking at.
"Mr. Yuuki, do you realize what this means?" Sugou asked him.
"Tell me," Shouzou replied.
"The moment that we witnessed your daughter pass away here, Aincrad simply appeared out of nowhere, the very same place where Sword Art Online happens."
Shouzou`s eyes widened in hopeful surprise. "Which means Asuna might be still alive."
He immediately called his wife, giving her the news of the players` deaths, the arrival of Aincrad, and his hopes for Asuna`s survival.
Sugou, on the other hand, began thinking on something else entirely. Aincrad, a digital existence suddenly becoming a physical existence, possibly with all of its in-game features translated to the real world. If it happened once, it could happen again. And again, and again, and again, in any configuration we like. All we have to do is figure out how.
SAO Task Force Headquarters
Two years and one day had passed since the emergence of the crisis known as the SAO Incident. Two years since the ineffectual response to it known as the SAO Task Force. Seijirou Kikuoka, who headed the task force was sitting at his desk, drinking his coffee and reading reports that detailed the players` current progress through Aincrad and their remaining numbers, when the room suddenly went dark. He turned around, and saw the impossible, in the form of the real life vision of Aincrad. At first, he thought he was hallucinating, but then he heard his secretary burst in through the door, breathless, and then drop the papers she was clutching at the sight, confirming the strange reality of the situation.
Turning to her slowly, maintaining a semi-calm demeanor, he said, "Call everyone. We need to discuss what just happened, and find out what to do next."