Chapter 2: Dreams of Reality
It occurred to Kirito that the feeling of waking up could be compared to having your face rise up from out of a body of water. Opening his eyes, Kirito invited rays of sunlight into his view as he gently rubbed his eyelids.
???:「Oh, you're awake?」
The first noise to enter Kirito's ears were those words which sounded so gentle and serene. Remembering the moments just before he had lost consciousness, his mind was filled with the singular image of a familiar face.
Kirito:「As….asu- Asuna?!?」
???:「You shouldn't move. You hit your head and had a broken bone, so I can't say whether it's safe to just yet」
Mumbling the name of the figure that had invaded all of his thoughts, he moved around frantically, only to realize that his body lay in a horizontal position; resting on something quite soft and furry. The voice called out softly in response to his trembling, seeking to warn him of the fragility of his body.
Switching the texture of a soft and hairy feeling to a more solid and concrete one, Kirito tumbled towards the ground. Regaining balance and a sense of mind, Kirito rose swiftly to his feet and into a defensive stance, facing towards the source of the mysterious voice that had called out to him. As he forwarded his focus towards the figure, what could only meet his eyes was a large, humanoid grey cat.
"Who is this? Is this… a beast? Or could it be similar to Silica's Companion Dragon, Pina? No, this thing is too huge to be a companion!"
Baffled at the size of the mysterious huge feline, Kirito took a further step back and instinctively raised his right arm, reaching out to his right shoulder. Instead of feeling the grip of the handle of his trusted sword, the『Elucidator』, he clutched helplessly at the cool breeze; seeping through the gaps in his clench.
???:「Oh, please don't be scared of this form. I thought at least until you woke up, I'd make you comfortable.」
Kirito:「―So you have a clear conscience? You can't be a beast then.」
???:「A beast? Well that isn't a very nice thing to say to someone who made you feel comfortable while you were out, is it?」
Kirito:「Apologies, I just don't have a good history with beasts, they are-- wait, I don't have time to talk right now! I need to find a way to log out of this game!」
As he slowly dropped his guard he turned towards the open road, making his way towards the marketplace. That is what should have happened, but his plan was quickly intruded by the white figure that stepped out in front of him, halting him in his tracks.
???:「Hey, I'm not going to let you get away just yet! I have some questions to ask you.」
Standing in front of Kirito was a young beautiful girl with long silver hair that could bedazzle a mere person and eyes as captivating as a bright amethyst. Wait….
Kirito:「Asuna!?!」
???:「I'm sorry, but I don't know anyone by that name. Besides that point, don't get any ideas about this. The only reason I stayed is because I have some questions to ask you. If it weren't for that, I would have left you behind. I mean it. So don't get any ideas.」
Spouting those words, she briefly looked away into the distance; her breath-taking aura revealed a slightly pointed ear, brushing against her silky hair. Is she an elf? He thought to himself. Aside from her ears she looked almost entirely human, it wasn't exactly the obvious appearance one would expect of an elf in VR games, but at least one perception had held true; she was incredibly beautiful.
"An elf? I've heard about a new VR game that had elves in it…, ALO wasn't it? Could this game that I dived into somehow be connected to this ALO game? No wait, a game shouldn't have anything realistic like the pain I had felt before. Pain… Wait, I can't feel any of that pain I had! … Did she heal me?"
As Kirito's mind tried to piece together what was going on, a sudden majestic bright light radiated from behind him before manifesting into a giant glow where the humanoid creature once sat. Breaking into fragments as if the petals of a rose were blown away, a small, floating cat flowed ever so smoothly out of the withering husk and into the palm of the silver-haired elf.
Could this be a unique power of the feline companion?
Realising that he wouldn't be able to weave out of this one so easily, as well as the fact that he was indebted to this girl for healing up, Kirito sought to hear out her request.
Kirito:「A-hem, you had some questions for me right? I can't promise I will know the answer since I just logged into this game, but at the very least I can try. I don't intend to keep on playing this game for much longer―」
Silver-haired elf:「―Game??? I'm really not sure if I healed you completely. Is this something out of my power? This could be troublesome. I think you might need to visit a professional healer to examine you properly.」
Words that sounded as if some lunatic were spreading nonsense, she couldn't comprehend what Kirito had briefly conveyed. Kirito took note of the facial and verbal response of the elf, wondering if this was a smartly made script for NPCs to use if a player were to ever break the 4th wall or was it something unworldly to Kirito.
All he could think of, standing there looking dumbfounded, were doubts and questions. Instead of allowing those thoughts to flood his mind, he refocused his sights on reaching the goal he desired most; returning to Asuna. That meant concluding this interaction as soon as possible.
He took a deep breath, and with a determined look on his face, he met the elf's eyes once more.
Kirito:「I'm fine, really. Please go ahead and ask me your questions.」
Silver-haired elf:「Hmm, if you say so... Ahem, the reason I healed you was so that you could give me any information you may have on the identity of a thief who had robbed something of great value to me – my insignia.」
"Is that really her reasoning for why she stopped to save me? If this insignia was so precious then why wouldn't she just leave me and continue searching for it. Is this just the storyline scripting?"
Kirito:「I see, so what led you to that alleyway was searching for the one who had stolen this item of yours.」
Silver-haired elf:「Y-yes, exactly. So, you know who it is?」
Kirito: 「――I'm afraid I don't.」
Silver-haired elf:「Eh? …Ahem, well that's fine. That is useful information in itself, which has made my healing of you worthwhile. We are even now. If you are truly feeling fine then we will be on our wa―」
Kirito:「Wait…, before you go, could you please help me with one last thing? Could you point me in the direction of the city's guild, you know a place where players-- I mean warriors are?」
Silver-haired elf:「Guild? Hmm, I'm afraid I am not familiar with that name. I wonder, could you mean something like The Knight's Garrison?」
''Knights? Could this be like the『Knights of the Blood Oath』guild in SAO. They surely must consist of real players and have information that could help me get out of this world.''
Kirito:「Yes! Please…, tell me where I can find this Knight's Garrison.」
Feline companion:「Heh, we actually just came from that area earlier…, you see the Royal Castle over there, if you head towards there you will pass the Knight's garrison on the way. It's located right in-between the Commercial and Nobles Districts. You can't miss it, heh.」
The now tiny and extremely cute feline companion effortlessly floated into the air as he put together a jovial impression of a city tour guide, before shooting an adorable wink towards Kirito and sinking into the palms of the angelic elf.
Kirito:「I see, thanks. ―And…, I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help to you.」
Silver-haired elf:「―Your gratitude is more than enough, besides… you did help me by sharing the information you had, even if it was to say you had none.」
Kirito:「That again huh? It doesn't sound very convincing. Perhaps you should be helping her with that sort of thing as her companion?」
Silver-haired elf:「H-huh! What!」
Feline companion:「That's going to be a difficult ask, but I will take you up on your challenge.」
Silver-haired elf:「S-stop it, that's not tru—」
The elf's face grew red with embarrassment, as the two playfully teased her, whilst clutching timidly at a crystal which lay at the centre of her chest. She was suddenly cut off from her trail of broken speech as she witnessed the boy suddenly drop his head in a sincere bow.
Kirito:「Thank you —— for everything.」
The girl's flurry of emotions slowly subsided as her eyes gently smiled back at him. As he rose and turned to head towards the large castle towering above the City, he felt a light pull tug at his sleeve. His head turned to find silky fingers under a beautiful white sleeve, decorated in purple threads, slowly releasing his sleeve. He looked up to see the elf's eyes looking directly at his own. Her amethyst eyes glittered spectacularly as though a perfect nebula resided within those gems.
Silver-haired elf:「W-what is your name?」
Kirito:「Kir―my name is… The『Black Swordsman』.」
After a moment of hesitation, Kirito spoke those words before closing the curtains on the scene and racing off into the distance. Seeing her familiar yet vulnerable face made something strange stir inside of him; his instincts, his experience, they all told him not to get any closer...
The resemblance with Asuna really was ―― something.
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He glared up at the towering castle, the feeling of awe gripped his weary mind. This was what he truly cherished about VR games; the beauty he found in its world and landscapes. Despite greatly wanting to escape this world, he couldn't deny it's amazing beauty. In many ways it felt almost more real than anything he had experienced back in Japan, but perhaps that was purely down to his lack of experience.
The road was paved in a sophisticated pattern, giving the allure of bourgeois elegance, and was far less busy than the bustling plaza he just came from.
''This must be the Noble district. I just passed the commercial district so the Knights Garrison should be— ''
As his eyes scanned the surrounding area, they finally landed on two massive white buildings connected by a large archway. Instantly, he understood the felines words from earlier. The mighty arches looked as though the wings of two giant angels had beautifully eclipsed each other, revealing a wondrous pathway within. It was truly a masterful display of mason work.
As he approached the entrance, he noticed the guards standing before the expansive entrance. They wore light uniforms, nothing too eccentric or flashy, as expected from simple NPC checkpoint guards he thought.
Kirito:「Hi there, I would like to enter the Knight's Garrison to speak with one of the Knights there. Could you please tell me, am I in the right place?」
Guard:「Sure, you can find the entrance to the Royal Guard's quarters just ahead. I'm not sure which Knights are on public affairs duty today, but if you ask the receptionist there they should be able to help you.」
Kirito:「Thank you.」
Respectfully giving a slight bow of his head to the man, Kirito proceeded through the passageway. He noticed a large structure, clad in white, peer before him. The sense of safety and security, emanating from its walls, felt both similar and different to the『Town of Beginning's』in SAO.
As he made his way up the steps and through the large doorways he sighted a well dressed man sitting at an outstretched desk in the centre of the room. The room was beautifully decorated and respectfully organised, behind where the man sat stood two spiralling stairwells which elegantly entwined upwards to an open atrium.
Kirito:「H-hello.」
Receptionist:「Oh, welcome. Please, take a seat… How can the Royal Guards be of assistance to you today?」
Kirito:「Thank you, I'd like to speak with one of the senior Knights here on urgent matters please.」
Receptionist:「I see… I'm afraid there aren't many Knights in their office here today, let me see who is around… Ahh, Sir Julius is here it seems. Might I ask, what is the nature of your request to speak with him?」
Kirito:「Ermm, I'm afraid I can only discuss it with one of the Knights, please forgive me.」
From Kirito's experience, the functional roles in games tended to be NPC's whilst the more important roles in a guild were occupied by real players.
''If I explain the situation of being in a game and wanting to log out, there's a high chance he will deny my request and send me away as some lunatic… I learnt that much already from the speaking with the elf and guy at the Appa stand.''
Receptionist:「I see... I'm afraid if you can't disclose any details, then I am unable to ascertain its urgency and would have to put you on the waiting list. Unfortunately, Sir Julius' schedule is extremely busy today, it may take a few hours before you get to see him.」
Kirito:「That's fine, I can wait. Thank you.」
Receptionist:「No problem, you can take a seat over there and I will call you when he is ready to see you, otherwise you can come back a little later.」
Kirito:「I'll wait here, thanks again.」
Not like I have anywhere else to go he thought to himself. He wasn't too sure himself how long he had been in this world, but going by the change in the Sun's position, it seemed like late afternoon was now approaching. Perhaps he has been in this game for a couple of hours or so he thought.
His worries soon turned to Sugu, who would likely be asleep at this hour. Since defeating the trials of the Castle in the clouds, a feeling of distance seemed to grow in place of their once close kinship. Despite discovering they were in fact cousins rather than siblings; he had always tried to maintain their usual relationship. It seemed now though, that he had failed at even that. With his mind slowly departing off into thought of the world he had come from, he slowly sunk into his chair as sleep gradually took over his tired soul.
.
.
.
It had long since been the case that he had dreamt of anything pleasant, except that it quickly turned into a horrific nightmare. Because of that fact, he greatly preferred his uninterrupted sleeps such as these; without his uninvited thoughts tormenting his mind.
He suddenly woke up frantically, not because of a mere sudden nightmare, but rather the panicked voice of a person rushing into the lobby of the Royal Guard's building.
Guard:「――Requesting a communication be sent out to the City's guards and other Knight's immediately! We have received multiple reports of large-scale fighting taking place in the cities Slums!」
Receptionist:「Y-yes, at once!」
Guard:「A building, which seems to operate as a loot house, and the surrounding area has been greatly damaged with reports that powerful ice projectiles were discharged at the scene―」
Ice projectiles… it couldn't be?
His thoughts quickly turned to the scenic elf that had saved him in the alleyway earlier, he recalled the moment blocks of Ice had briskly passed his face before clambering against the Thugs chasing him.
Guard:「―early reports say that a male Giant and young blonde girl are among the casualties, they were identified as residents of the area— 」
''Ahhh, it's not he—''
Guard:「―in addition, a young lady is also counted amongst the casualties. A girl with silver hair and dressed in a white robe. We are yet to confirm her identity or next of kin.」
Kirito suddenly sprung out of his seat as his breathing froze and his entire body became tensed and paralyzed in shock. His heart began pounded intensely, ringing into his ear drums, as he clenched his cold hands into fists.
''What is the meaning of this?! Is this the game script or… did I do something wrong? She helped me so much and now she's – dead?.''
His shaken hand moved to grip his chest in an attempt to quell the painful remorse afflicting his heart. His eyes flickered as images of his parting with the kind girl that had saved him darted across his array. Her captivating features, her defenceless smile, her worried eyes… The whole world seemed to crumble around him in that one moment when she had peered deep into his soul.
Kirito: 「――Tsk… I'm such an idiot.」
He clicked his tongue in disgust as he remembered the answer he gave her before hurriedly departing. He decided not to give her his name…, instead he gave an alias; the『Black Swordsman』.
''Why…, why didn't I just give her my name and then ask for hers! Why was I afraid, why did I run away! ―― And now… now she's… dead?''
On the wall there was a large map, it seemed to be a map of the City; it was larger than he had expected. As the Guard began pointing to the location of the incident, Kirito noticed the words were completely incomprehensible to him. It was strange, they all spoke the same language, yet the written language was completely foreign to anything he had come across.
''What should I do now? I've come all this way to find a way out of this game. There's no point in me worrying about whether or not a stranger I just met lives or dies here right? It's just a game right? --Damn it, everything I'm saying makes complete sense, so why… why do I feel like this?
What would he do if he were here?
――Tell me… what is it you would do… 『Black Swordsman』?''
Despite the apparent matches in the description of the deceased and the girl who had saved him earlier, he wanted to cling onto the hope that it was merely a coincidence or a simple mistake. Ignoring the details of the report and waiting to speak with the Knight Julius was entirely logical, but the truth was, his heart wouldn't settle unless he confirmed the facts with his own two eyes – only then could he wholeheartedly accept the pain of guilt.
That is why. That is why he suddenly darted out of the building and into the direction of the area known as the Citys Slums.
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His own mind wasn't convinced by his weak justification for having rushed out so abruptly. He had already resolved to disregard this world completely and simply find a way of logging out and returning to the 'real' world. So why was he going to such lengths to confirm whether or not this girl was dead, why should he concern himself with an NPC, was it because she saved him? What is it because of his superfluous sense of heroism? Or… was it because of that single moment before he had blacked out…the moment he saw, ever so slightly, a glimmer of the resemblance to the girl who owned the keys to his heart?
He soon found himself looking upon a run-down street as the luminous moonlight exposed the battered roads, ruined building and shattered windows. This was indeed poverty at an extreme, the people lay hidden in the shadows as he walked down its arid paths.
''This isn't just poverty… these are the faces of a people who have given up on this world.''
After a short while of walking, he finally noticed a shrivelled old man in ragged clothing emerge from out of the dark alleyways and onto the main street. His eyes looked lifeless, the ones of those who had long seen even a glimpse of happiness.
Kirito:「Excuse me sir, I'm looking for a Loot house around here, I was hoping―」
???:「You must be talkin' bout Old man Rom's Loot house eh. I heard the place got wrecked after a big fight broke out not too long ago, so whatever was stolen is likely long gone by now. Not sure if there's anything left of the building, but if ya head straight to the end of the road and take a right, it's the last place on the street.」
Kirito:「Thank you very much.」
???:「I wouldn't stay out too long son; this place is probably goin' be swarmin' with Royal Guards soon. I heard someone important was killed there, they're likely goin' to break down every door in search for the culprits. Anyways, live strong kid.」
As he turned into the street where the Loot house once stood, he noticed the assembly of Guards and local residents standing outside of the half-razed and crystalized building. In the midst of the frozen destruction stood a man clad in white. His hair was that of the blazing sun, expediting an aura of heroism and strength, and at his side hung a huge Sword; masterfully decorated at the hilt.
The gargantuan aura was suffocating. There was only one other person who had emitted a sensation even remotely similar. Heathcliff, the leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath, or rather… Akihiko Kayaba, the author of his nightmares and creator of SAO.
''――This must be… a Knight... a real player.''
Kirito slowly approached the crowd, his nervous steps felt heavy as he recalled the reason why he had come all this way. He needed to know. He needed to face the truth.
As he slid through the crowd, trying to make out the scene, he was halted by a hand.
Guard:「No further than this point.」
A few moments later, he noticed men emerging from out of the rubble as they carried a motionless figure on a stretcher, the white sheet covering their body was stained in red at the waist, and an arm hung from the side...
Kirito:「――」
Kirito's head sunk low as he violently bit down on his lip; wetting his mouth with the taste of blood. A white sleeve weaved with purple threads and a golden symbol at its base. It was definitely the same garment the girl with the amethyst eyes had worn. Those tender silk fingers that had once drawn close to him…
Every time he thought he did something right, it always seemed to end up in something wrong. What is really his fault, or was he being too hard on himself? He couldn't help feeling that he should have stayed behind to help her search for what was robbed of her. He was selfish, he had prioritised his own goals and this was the consequence.
A feeling of pensive sadness settled on his heart; he would never get another chance to repay her for her kindness. Feeling isolated and empty, like a home stripped of its wallpaper, he turned to leave the crowd.
Kirito:「H-huh?」
Looking downwards as he dragged feet away from the scene with a miserable gait, he suddenly felt a warm sting press against his abdomen. His legs shook, as though the strength had been swept away from under them.
He fell to his knees.
As he felt his body heat rapidly escaping him and his breathing turn ragged, he rose his head upwards.
There stood a Shadow…, or so he thought. A sinister figure, garbed in a misty black cloak with his face concealed behind a pointed head covering, arched over him menacingly. In his right hand was a beautifully crafted short dagger with a golden hilt… its tip was red, trickling with blood.
''Is that ―― my blood?''
In a matter of moments, explosions suddenly erupted all around him as screams echoed in his earlobes. Further dark silhouettes seemed to dance across his vision as he felt warm blood splash over his face.
???:「I-it's――IT'S THE WITCH CULT!!!」
Kirito, lying on his knees with hoarse breathing, turned his head towards the screams. His eyes widened at the sight.
What once was a modest crowd of people was now a pile of corpses, littered across the ground in a trail of blood as fire parched their bodies. Further ahead was the Knight in white, with his bare hands he extinguished the approaching shadows that were swarming towards the body which lay frozen behind him.
The intense fighting kicked up a powerful gust, uncovering the blood-stained sheet concealing the lifeless body. Kirito's eyes rolled back at the sight. That was the last thing he saw…
His consciousness began to evaporate as his sense's shut down. In his closed mind he felt a gentle hand stroke his soul, before whisking away his final breath.
.
.
.
''Is this ―― death?''
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End of chapter.
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