Chapter 1.-Brain Games

February/20th/2023

Location?

?

I stare at the screen for a while wondering when it will fade and what's left of my brain will simply be… Obliterated. Fuck why didn't I be more careful? I think to myself, I let my emotions get me killed. I think of the guy I just killed, Kiba was his name. I take time to fill myself with pity before deciding I did the right thing. When it came to her safety there was nothing I wouldn't have done. I hit myself, now realizing that I never really expressed that she was more important to me than anything. I had only really even said the three words that seemed to mean more than anything to her. The words I love you, it broke my heart to think that everything I had suspected had happened. I had seen the way Al and Elina get along. I knew that if I got into a romantic relationship it would mean that I was probably gonna get my heart broken emotional or in this case physically.

"She is probably killing herself right now," I mutter to myself. Then realizing that it has been about 10 minutes since the dreaded you are dead sign faded before my eyes exposing me to pure darkness. Perhaps there is a heaven and I'm going there. Before stopping and realizing that after what I did I would probably end up in hell. Suddenly a flash of light goes around me and I see the last thing I would have ever expected to see… A loading screen. I had heard that when people die their view of heaven is whatever they think of it. Which is why now thinking about it, it did not surprise me that I saw a loading screen. Suddenly out of the pitch black appears two yellow beams of light as well as four words Welcome To Alfheim Online. I remember from my studies that Alfheim is the place in Norse Mythology where the fairies live. Which somehow does not surprise me that my afterlife would be as a fairy. After a few more loading screens I find the world suddenly change around me and the instant bright flash of light that came next left me unconscious.

"Wake up!" Shouts a voice. I open my eyes as a huge glare attacks my pupils. It must have been my long exposure to pitch darkness that's causing this. I open my eyes to see a completely white room. I try to move my body but quickly realize that my legs are chained to the wall. And my arms are handcuffed together. I look around the room and realize that it is quite small only having a small bed and a table with a chair. The only door being a large thick metal one that looks impossible to break. Reminds me of a prison cell almost. How did this happen? Is this what hell is like?

"Subject 1 is so far stable." I look straight ahead and see two of the most DISGUSTING things I have ever seen. They are like slime/goo balls that have tentacles and weird eyes coming out. Reminding me of the aliens that you would see in most movies. The first one is the one that was talking and the second one writing on some electronic clipboard.

"Who the hell are you?" I say without thinking. I need to know what the hell is going on.

"Brain waves are showing signs of fear and curiosity." The first creature states to the second, in a voice so monotone yet still human.

"What is going on and who the hell are you? And where the heck am I?" I shout. Hoping, praying for a response wondering if the creatures can even hear me. Instantly the first creature moves toward me and stares at me.

"You are subject 1, I am in charge, and you will shut the fuck up if you know what's good for you." The creature states. I move forward with my body but the chain connected to my feet hold me back. The creature quickly oozes back and looks at me. As I continue to tug on the chain that holds me back.

"Quickly subject unstable issue stun command." Yells the first creature as the second one quickly starts tapping the clipboard rapidly.

I keep struggling until a large shock, sucks the energy right out of me. I fall down on my knees and stare. How the hell did they do that? I think as I feel the chains tighten around both my hands and feet. The creature slowly oozes back.

"Haha! How does it feel to have no power subject one, no matter you should be thanking us anyways, we are giving you a second chance, and you're not dead." Exclaims the creature looking down at me in pride. I want to kick the thing to Mars, however I realize that he might be right. If this is truly a game, then somehow I managed to transfer over from Sword Art Online to this other game before I died. Which meant that I was truly alive and all I had to do was escape from this game or whatever it was, and go back to the real world. I thought about my mother, Mako, my cats, my friends that I had just met in SAO and most of all… her.

"My name is Daath and you are going to let me out of this game right now."

"Very smart, I knew that the loading screen would be a give away but that was quick Subject 1, unfortunately I cannot give you anything for your clever guess. But know this, this may be a game for most, but for you this is gonna be fucking hell." The creature says. Laughing afterwards. The words send a chill through my spine as I clench my teeth and think of what to do next. The creature suddenly stops and joins his other partner and step up to the door. It quickly opens and the two figure walk through. I try my hardest to budge towards it, but I can only watch in vain as the door once again closes.

Although the door is thick I can hear the slight sound of voices, which I assume are the creatures that were just inside.

"Should we keep him chained up?" Says one.

"Nah there's no way he's going anywhere with our security, unchain him." Says the other. Immediately the chains that hold my feet in place disappear and the handcuffs shatter. I try to get up still stuck on the floor from my lack of energy still shivering. I look at what I'm wearing and realize that I am only wearing a white shirt and a pair of what seem to be black pants. I think back to the moment when the shock sucked my energy out. How was that possible? It sends chills down my back as I struggle to get on the bed and lie down. I feel alone as I lie down wondering what it meant when they said subject 1, it made me feel like an experiment, what was going on. I wondered how it was that I had died in SAO and simply transferred over to this other game. This couldn't have been an accident, the way they said it I was convinced this had been planned. But why take people from SAO and imprison them it confused me. I knew I had to get some rest, but the questions were in my mind. If this was a game how come I couldn't access my menu? I tried using both hands and neither of them worked. I wondered if I was in the real world or if I simply had the same avatar as I had in SAO. I had the same blonde and slim body. How the hell could another game possibly know about me.

February/25th/2023

Alfheim Online- Location ?

Daath

It's been five days now still now and I still have no idea where the hell I am. I know that somehow I am trapped in some other game except this time as a prisoner. The prison is some kind of laboratory filled with white hallways that seem to go on forever. Usually I spend all day in the cell except for when I eat where I am escorted out by strange robot knights that take me to a nearby eating facility. Sometimes I they knock me out and do something with me… which I still have no idea what it is. There are too many questions and literally zero answers. I am known only as Subject 1 and for as much I can tell there are 5 other subjects. They like me seem to all be from SAO. It makes me wonder why anyone would do this to us. Whenever I am brought to eat I see them, however, I am watched closely and not allowed to talk to them. So while eating we all stare at each other wondering the same questions. The rules that are set by the warden is simply if you do anything you shouldn't you are tortured for 10 minutes. I know it is a game but somehow they manage to decrease the pain absorbers and fuck it hurts me. Which is how I am in the state I am in. I tried to speak to another of the subjects and yep… mistake.

"Subject 1 you understand the consequences. Confirmed?" says the slime creature from the first day.

"Where the hell am I and when can I get out?" I retort.

"Subject 1 for your insubordination you will be punished. Set pain absorbers to 7 and shock." Says the monster.

Immediately I can feel the electricity flowing through my body. How the hell do they even recreate that feeling in a game. I feel the pain way past the normal bump, it feels like it's almost affecting my real body. I scream in pain, and look at the emotionless monster.

"Subject 1 I hope you understand the rules and what happens when you defile them." Continues the torturer.

"Fuck you…" is all I can mutter as my eyes began to black out, however before they do I hear something.

"Good subject 1 is passing out continue tests on the brain as scheduled this time perform fear as punish…."

I slowly pass out. I wake up to see something extremely unfamiliar. Somehow I am back in SAO. Lying down on a bed in a familiar room.

"What the…" I mutter to myself.

"Did you say something?" replies a familiar voice. I turn my head and realize the voice is coming from a girl whose head is resting on my shoulder. She is certainly beautiful as it takes me a while to recognize the long black hair and stunning brown eyes. It is Aeri.

"Nothing its just…"

"I love you." She replies as she brings her head up to face mine and then stares at me. Before bringing her lips to mine and kissing me.

"Tell me this isn't a dream," I say as our lips part, and she snuggles her head into my chest.

Suddenly she screams as she falls off the bed. The room turns dark and she starts clenching her chest as a sword protrudes her chest.

"Daath!" she screams in pain as I quickly get out of bed and rush straight to her, however I am too late. Within seconds she flickers and explodes into polygons. My chest feels like its gonna explode as I began to weep.

"Aeri! Aeri! No!"

Suddenly everything goes black. I open my eyes and find myself lying on a hard bed that was all too familiar. I see four robotic knights standing guard and the same damn creature that was torturing me for once smiling.

"How does it feel subject 1?" says the slime. What happened was just a dream. I am so happy that it was and that hopefully she is still alive in SAO. However, I would give anything to have that one minute back with Aeri. I realize that somehow the dream was no coincidence because simply put you can't have dreams in a video game. You can become tired but you will never dream. This monster somehow had something to do with it. I don't know how but somehow he did.

"How the hell did you do that to me?" was my reply.

"Subject 1, that is none of your concern but know this, we hold all the power and pretty soon with the data we have gathered we will have your power as well." was the reply given to me. It scares me that I have no idea what is going on. However, whatever it is, it is wrong and I know that I have to stop it somehow. I long for the friends that I had in SAO, even though they most likely would not be my friends if I had not met them in the game.

February/25th/2023

Tokyo Metropolitan Neurological Hospital – Tokyo

Kikuoka Seijiruo

"Sir, I don't understand these five are all out that cursed game and yet they still have not woken up."

I stare at the doctor is confusion. When suddenly a skinny teenage boy starts screaming. The doctors rush over to him however he does not stop. His heart rate is increasing rapidly as though he was being tortured. But how is it all possible? SAO can't possibly have real life effects. It has shown none so far so how?

"What is happening with him?" I exclaim.

"We don't know sir it appears he is having… a nightmare." Replies the doctor.

"But he is in a game how is that possible?" I respond.

"I don't know, but these five are all having problems that we cannot explain." Mutters the doctor completely confused.

"We need to find out what is happening with them, I want them all brought to the Tokyo

Scientific Lab of Medicine immediately. Declare them dead to their families, whatever is happening we must keep this a secret." I declare, immediately the doors are shut and doctors start working hard to move the patients. I know in my mind that to the families this is wrong however if people found out that people were mysteriously still stuck even after declared dead, people would panic. I knew that for these patients and for their families we had to do this.