[ table of contents ]
01: The Cage of Eden
02: The Thief of Time
03: The Day of the Fire
2016 15th February // Caribbeans
"We're reaching a practical limit to what we can achieve here, I think," said the burned man, snuffing his cigarette in a portable ashtray. "Scale this up further, and things will just become increasingly unmanageable."
"I was rather hoping to confirm that the few near-positives we identified weren't simply flukes."
"I doubt we could've reached anything resembling a solid finding in the first place." The burned man closed the lid over the extinguished cigarette. "Not until Phase Three, at the least. Without the sort of controlled environment the completed Cardinal System would permit for, the general survivability of the task just isn't high enough."
The rain continued to patter against the balcony rooftop as the two men stared out into the gloom. It wouldn't be dusk for hours, but the cloud cover was thick enough that it seemed as if night had already fallen across the island.
"Reminds me of home."
The younger man blinked in slight surprise, and turned to study the heavily bandaged face of his companion. It wasn't often that he spoke of himself.
"Unless you're referring to Okinawa, I can't really think of a place in Japan with a comparable landscape."
"No, not Okinawa," replied the burned man, stonily looking into the distance. "Arimago, in the South Pacific. A lifetime ago, I lost my son there ..."
[ sword art : EXTEND ]
01: The Cage of Eden
2024 7th November // Aincrad, 75th Floor
«The Eclipse» was activated, and Kayaba's expression was no longer one of cold calculation. Kirito might have half-way anticipated a smile of victory, but the look that instead manifested was somewhere between weariness and disappointment. In that instant, he understood that he'd already lost.
The Sword Skills embedded within the world of Sword Art Online were, in a defensive sense, nowhere near reliable. The moment that a player committed to an attack, glaring openings would inevitably appear within his guard -- artificially enforced by the system-assisted inertia that guided the avatar through the motions of combat. It was a fundamental problem that had to be overcome in the practice of real-world Kendo, and in this sense the 'advantage' of automation was nothing but a laughable drawback.
This was a fact that Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of Sword Art Online, couldn't possibly be unaware of.
Only the first five moves of Kirito's combo met the surface Kayaba's shield. As if the middle-aged man were merely showing off, eight subsequent strikes were cleanly avoided without any hint of system assistance. Ducking aside from the thirteenth slash, Kayaba entered a low stance and rammed the edge of his greatsword against the boy's abdomen.
Unprepared, and forcibly broken from his combo, Kirito was sent sprawling across the cold stone floor. By the time he'd recovered his bearings enough to realize that his HP had fallen below 15%, the tip of Kayaba's blade was resting against his throat.
"It seems that it isn't worth killing you just yet, even as an example," said the man. "I intended the Sword Skills merely as a crutch for inexperienced players. One such as yourself shouldn't have to rely upon them at all."
"S- somebody like me?" asked Kirito. "What?"
"For convenience of identification, the first nine players whose psychometric parameters exceed certain reference values are automatically flagged with Unique Skills," replied Kayaba. "As I indicated, you happen to be the first."
Without breaking eye contact or moving his blade, Kayaba dismissed his shield to inventory, and made a hand motion to call up a user interface. A few quick button presses later, and the muscular fatigue that Kirito felt within his limbs were suddenly replaced with numb immobility -- the familiar sensation of the «Paralysis» debuff.
"Y- you bastard ..."
Withdrawing his sword, Kayaba smiled faintly.
"I imagine it might sound like mockery to you no matter how I phrase it," he said, "but I truly do commend you for your effort and tenacity. As a matter of compensation, I feel it might be appropriate to offer a bit of information regarding the prospective Floors."
The smile vanished, and he turned to address the rest of the chamber.
"There exists a «Level Cap» within this game. With the experience you've obtained from clearing «The Skullreaper», I suspect that a number of you may have already reached it."
Murmurs arose amidst the group, but Kayaba ignored them.
"Including myself, no player character may advance beyond Level 100," he continued. "However, no such limitation applies to enemy mobs, and as of the 80th Floor, monsters whose strength exceeds the cap shall begin to appear amongst generic spawns."
A voice that Kirito wasn't familiar with shouted, "How the hell do you expect us to reach the 100th Floor, asshole!?"
Kayaba turned his head to meet the speaker's eyes with a steadfast gaze.
"I assure you," he replied, "it can be done. The details, however, I shall leave to all of you to figure out."
The tone was resolute, and the words were uttered with all of authority and charisma that Heathcliff had been known for. Despite himself, Kirito couldn't help but trust in the man's certainty.
"It's time now for me to take my leave." The man turned his back to Kirito, obscuring his expression. "Though you committed a grave error in the end, it wasn't a bad fight, Kirito. I look forward to seeing you again on the 100th Floor."
What followed wasn't the standard effect animation of an activated Teleport Crystal; small polygonal cubes of assorted sizes rapidly materialized along the surface of Kayaba's avatar, consuming his figure legs first. Within seconds, the man was gone, and the fifteen players that remained within the Boss Chamber were left to a disheartening silence.
//
As the «Paralysis» status gradually faded, Amaranth Crystals were distributed to anyone who still required healing. Somewhat atypically, it didn't seem as if the survivors of the encounter were in a particular rush to retreat to their respective bases or advance to the 76th Floor.
"What happened here shouldn't be spoken of," said a heavy-set man, breaking the relative silence; Kirito recognized him as one of the commanders of the Divine Dragon Alliance. "The Invincible Paladin did not betray us."
Beside Kirito, Asuna physically bristled.
"Are you saying that we should misinform the public, Orthos?" she asked.
"I'm saying that Heathcliff has to remain a symbol of hope that he was," the man replied. "The only thing to be gained from exposing the truth is a community-wide loss of morale, and we really don't need that right now. If you're in such a rush to destroy your own guild's reputation, feel free to do so, but don't drag the rest of us down with you."
Asuna turned to Kirito for support, but he shook his head in response.
"I'm not really savvy on the political end of things, but I'm with Orthos on this," he said. "There are plenty of players out there who manage to get on with their lives only because they trust that heroes like Heathcliff will lead them to safety -- back to the real world. We can't take that away from them."
Asuna's gaze softened, and she closed her eyes in resignation.
"I understand," she replied.
//
Information regarding the conquest of a floor wasn't system-indicated to anyone beyond the relevant boss chamber. Rather, news of advancement was normally distributed through player-maintained channels and news publications; and as such, there wasn't anything the way of fanfare when the clearing party of the «Knights of the Blood Oath» arrived forlornly at the Teleport Gate in the «Steel City of Granzam».
A familiar face awaited them in the crowd gathered at the Gate Plaza, though -- Daizen, the rotund man who served as Bursar to the guild.
"Sub-c'mmander!" he exclaimed. Rushing to them, he grabbed ahold of Asuna's hands. "Thank the gods yer alright! Is it true!? Did the C'mmander really fall in combat!?"
Kirito saw Asuna clench her jaw.
"I want an update," she said, removing her hands from his grasp and taking on a tone of calm authority. "When did you receive this information?"
"Ten minutes ago, the team we stationed in the «Starting City» ta investigate the dungeon at «Black Iron Castle» sent in a message." Tears began to gather in the Bursar's eyes. "Said that th' C'mmander's name was cross'd out on the «Monument o' Life» along with five o' th' others! I thought the worst!"
Asuna glanced at Kirito and the other members of the party and gave a slight nod. Kirito returned it; he could guess the conclusion she had probably drawn: Kayaba had apparently seen fit to take the management of his reputation into his own hands. All that was left for them to do was to move with the flow.
Setting a hand on Daizen's shoulder, Asuna said, "I need you to calm down, Daizen. Breath."
The fat man squeezed the tears from his eyes and nodded, wiping at his face with a kerchief he'd retrieved from his pocket. Inhaling and exhaling for several cycles, his breathing seemed to slow.
"Are you ready?" asked Asuna. The man nodded, and she continued, "The Commander did indeed fall, but on account of his sacrifice, the 75th Floor has been cleared. I'll be acting in his place as temporary leader of the guild until we can convene the other officers on a vote for a formal replacement. In the meantime, I'd like for you to make immediate arrangements for a public announcement of the Commander's passing."
More tears began to stream from Daizen's eyes, but standing at a close approximation of ramrod straight, he gave Asuna a formal salute.
"I hear ya', C'mmander Asuna!" he shouted. "Will do!"
2024 3rd August // Tokyo, Japan
At a window in unlit apartment, a tanned, red-haired man examined his handiwork: A sword that comprised entirely of solid metal, including the hilt. Rotating the blade in the moonlight, he followed the thin, circuit-like grooves that glinted along the length, carefully eyeing them for consistency. Eventually, satisfied that there wouldn't be any problems, he paced over to the bed at the center of the room.
Upon the mattress, there was a boy with sunken features and mild muscular atrophication -- naked except for the electronic helmet he wore, and the IV lines that fed into his left arm.
Holding the tip of the sword perpendicular to the boy's sternum, the man said, "Sorry about this."
But he wasn't. Not really. Without any hesitation at all, he plunged the sword into the boy's chest, sinking it down to the crossguard.
Though the blade was of such length that the tip should've exited the spine and pierced through the bedding, no such thing occurred. The wound upon the chest was itself bloodless and immaculate, as if instantaneously healed about the cut. Lines of light streaked the surface of the hilt and pommel, spreading across the boy's skin from the point of penetration.
The red-haired man closed his eyes.
//
When he opened them again, it was daytime, and he was lying upon a bed of leaves. The English text beside the green bar at the top left of his field of vision spelled 'Sirou.' Below, there was a string of numbers, and then 'LV 76.'
"Shimizu Kurou ... Sirou ..."
Snorting at the coincidence, he stood and dusted himself off, trying to recall the hand gesture the game manual had described.
"Think it went something like this ..."
Putting his thumb and index finger together, he pulled downwards, and a white interface menu manifested. He pressed his finger against the box marked 'Friends,' and found the surface surprisingly solid.
In the submenu that expanded, there were only ten usernames, and six of them were greyed out. The low number wasn't unexpected; according to what he'd found during the background check, Shimizu was a loner with few friends, and didn't seem to be on good terms with his guardian. It was probable that the boy was a solo player of some sort.
Though it would've made for a clean start, he resisted the urge to simply delete everything on the list; having access to the profiles of Shimizu's associates might be useful if he ran across them at some point.
Dismissing the menu, he opened the boy's inventory for a brief look -- and found himself somewhat lost. MMORPGs weren't something he had a lot time for, and to someone without much familiarity with Sword Art Online, the item names weren't very informative. One item in particular did manage to catch his eye, however: a «Hand Mirror», inexplicably at the top of the menu.
Pressing the item entry, a small mirror with a grey metallic frame materialized and dropped into his hand. Out of curiosity, he brought it upwards to get a glimpse of 'Sirou's' face.
"You've gotta be kidding me ..."
In the real world, Shimizu Kurou was a seventeen year old with fairly nondescript facial features and medium length black hair. His hair in Sword Art Online, however, was of a different length and color.
"Seems like Alaya's been having its fun again, hm?"
It didn't matter to him, though. Even if the Counter Force opted arbitrarily to toy with his fate, so long as he could pursue his goals unimpeded, he would pay no heed to its interference.
Emiya Shirou's mind had long ago turned to steel ...
[end segment]
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Originally Posted by fallacies
