As I awoke rather suddenly, frenzied and In a panic; my senses nulled In the sense of a void and my mind left reeling and utterly disoriented. It took me a few moments to regain my composure and to ultimately yield my already escalating heart-rate and ragged breaths, my one eye of cerelean-blue darted and flickered Incessantly around my small, acquainted room; beads of cold sweat were already collected on my upper back and forehead. Heh, even now I could feel the sudden chill envelop my skin to a cold and for my hairs to stand on end.

It was then that I sat up with reluctance and brought a thinly lithe hand to my forehead; my touch while delicate was shaking nevertheless as I murmured ever so softly

"Gods. Not another nightmare"

My countenance contorted without restraint; It was no matter, the dark of the room shielded me from any and all misjudgements and prying eyes, so was the benefits of the sanctuary that was my room. My gaze fell upon the rightmost desk closest to my nightstand; the trifecta desktop monitor had cast a low sheen of gray as the programs that rendered and were left Idle on It's systems and respective windows that were also opened as well; but one name was marked prominently on-screen In a manner where I'd have to squint as my vision had not quite adjusted to the darkness.

'ZASKAR'

To any eyes that would be upon at this moment had any been there to visualize me then my remaining eye would've seemingly twinkled In rememberance and nostalgia; Intoxicating as It may have been

Flashback Start

Friday, June 21st, 2024

"O-Oi! What gives Cade? Why not try something a little bit different for a change? It's very well just like any MMO or RPG you've played at this point!"

"I think you failed to mention the label of VR being added to the terms MMO and RPG. Quite the volatile mix, no?"

I say with a no small amount of exasperation evident, a pale hand reached to pinch the bridge of my nose; my form falling slack and leaned back In my desk-chair. 'By all the Gods, this woman'll be the death of me someday I jus' know It'

"Arrrggghhhhh! How long are you trying to hold off on the Idea of playing any VR games? SAO Is a thing of the past now ya' know"

My breath hitched as my voice of response; the reasoning I had held that had left my being. It's disappearance was ultimately too unkind to let my demeanor shift noticably. She didn't know; no matter how much It pained me to hear her words of Indifference; of that teenaged naiveté that left her diaphragm, the assaults to my damaged mind and psyche; like a jackhammer repeatedly bent on breaking me down over and over.

"I . . know that much. Really, I do. It's jus' really hard to get behind the helm of that sort of thing, ya' know after everything that happened to the survivors of SAO."

'From a logical standpoint, she's more than right; after the death game was cleared - No, rather beforehand, Argus, the company who developed and distributed the NerveGear went bankrupt and most to all of operable Nerve Gear were confiscated by order of the Japanese Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 121; the fallout from the SAO Incident was groundbreaking and tragic; that much was unprecedented In It's severity as It was felt all throughout the VR and respective gaming Industries at the time but most If not all developers and players have discarded the worries and supposed falsehoods associated with VR games

My eye flickered to the dormant helm that rested perpedicular to my bed; It's dark and navy hue adorned with singe marks and marred metal; It's frame bulky yet once was sleek to the touch. It's trifecta of bold lettering long since faded from soot and embers

"Why do I still even own you . . ? Even after you took her from me . ."

My Idle whispers were heavy with uncertainty, anger and spite; the Irony was heavy and held deep In my train of thought as all this emotion was only directed at a piece of machinery that was once hailed as an engineering marvel, but now a failed prison that once shackled my sister to a seesaw of fate,tragic as It was for she lost her fight.

"Look lass; I'll see what I can do to get the hardware and maintain It, not to mention the AmuSphere to boot, honestly I've no Idea how you got your hands on one of those things."

For a moment I thought I had spoken out of line; my current demeanor overall held a bite to It I felt would easily snap at anyone present, but I grew patient as I heard a lengthy sigh on the other end

"You're not entirely wrong there, parents got It for my sister originally as a congratulations gift for her being top-tier for last year's regional kendo tournament; she doesn't care much for VR and my parents are still on the fence of It as well so she second-hand gifted It to me along with the money for a new game for It. I guess she knew our parents wouldn't gift me otherwise . ."

Never have I wanted to slam my head so hard In my short and bittersweet 19 years of life; I completely acted out of turn and Insensitivity, she's always lived In her sister's shadow as Inferior and less of a genius the eldest was; her parents less than motivating and more devout to the latter child; It pained me to hear such news from my childhood friend

"I promise to see you again In the virtual world, okay? I jus' need to subtract the funds from my savings and pick up the hardware; and don't worry It's nothing some work around the neighborhood or part-time slaving can't help replace" I say the last with no small amount with mirth and playful sarcasm, luckily even she didn't pivk up so because she responded with a seemingly visible rise In her mood and an octave higher

"Mhm! Mhm! Now there's the Vik I've come to know, always so headstrong and conveniently compassionate! Now I know you received the spare GGO cartridge I had, It already comes with a complimentary 3-month membership; all you need Is your awaiting AmuSphere! Oh! And should you happen to be able to dive In tomorrow, my Avatar name will be Kureha; got It? We can't use our names IRL" She fired back with feigned Innocence but noticeable excitement nevertheless

"Mhm, well alrighty' then, I'm gonna' get some shut-eye for tomorrow so I can go and grab the gear, goodnight "Kureha-chan"

"Ehhhhh?!-" I hung up In her mid-response to let her squirm a bit and smirk casually at my small tease at her; she always does the same anyhow tenfold.

My eyelids started to grow heavy as my vision blurred and deteriorated, my body eventually succumbing to the physical exhaustion that weighed heavy on my body; my mind lingering on a thought that was unanswered as my mind gave Into the clutches of rest

"Yuri . . What do I do?"

Authors Note: Many things as Ideas came to mind and were explored very vaguely In this prologue of the story; now further chapters may remain sparse and ultimately not as long as to many of your likings as my schedule Is unorthodox, but essentially, this Is my sort of Introduction of my character. Any and all feedback and/or constructive critcism would be greatly appreciated, Til' next time lads

-Mallus