In the world of Gun Gale Online, an MMO livestream for the upcoming BoB/Bullet of Bullets, comes on at a weapon shop.
XeXeed: People seem to ignore the fact that agility is the ultimate stat in this game. Not saying it's not important. A combination of quick firing and evasion certainly makes for a strong build. That's how it always is. Up until now, that is. To the speed freaks who maybe spent eight months raising AGI's, I have two words. My condolences.
Everyone: What?!
Host: As expected, the top player of Gun Gale Online, which is known to be the hardest VRMMO of all time, has a pretty unique take on the matter.
XeXeed: Guess being a guest on MMO Stream is a once in a lifetime chance, huh?
Host: I'm sure you're exaggerating. You're aiming to win the Bullet of Bullets again this year, right?
XeXeed: Absolutely. I'm participating in it, so I'll be aiming for the top.
Everyone: No way!
Yamikaze: You know, XeXeed, BoB is a tournament having to do with solo encounters, right? It's not like the same result will happen every time, so I kind of question your results.
XeXeed: Still, the results to highlight the weakness of the game. You're an AGI type so you would feel compelled to disagree. I actually agree that AGI builds with a powerful automatic was the optimal play style up until now. However, it's natural for an MMO's metagame to evolve. In games with a level up system, stats can't normally be reallocated, which makes it crucial to think ahead when allocating points. The strongest play style in one level range may not be the best in the next. Now, new guns would require higher STR and accuracy bonuses to actually equip them.
Gun User 1: Man, and XeXeed was the one who said AGI's were the best.
Gun User 2: Darn. He screwed us over.
A player with a cloak and a metal skull holding a gun appears.
Death Gun: XeXeed! You fraud. It's time for you to be judged by the face of true power!
A bunch of players start laughing. Then, Death Gun shoots his gun in XeXeed's face at the monitor.
XeXeed: As I said before, when it comes down to that, the players actual skills are what... Huh?
XeXeed starts feeling his heart stop in the real world and he gets disconnected.
Host: It seems like XeXeed has been disconnected. I'm sure this will be resolved momentarily, so don't go anywhere!
All of the players in the shop look at Death Gun wondering what happened.
Death Gun: This is true power, and true strength! All of you will do well to keep this name in your memories! Fear the name and the gun I wield! Death Gun!
A month later, back in the real world, almost a year has passed since Sword Art Online was cleared. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were chilling out at South Island.
Sonic: Man. Can't believe it's been almost a year since that death game finished.
Tails: Yeah. The Seed is still doing great. So many VR games.
Knuckles: I know. Wonder what the future will be.
Tails: Who knows? Maybe we should go and visit Kirito. What do you guys think?
Sonic: Yeah. That's a great idea. It's been a while since we payed a visit to Japan. Let's go!
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles jump into the Tornado and they fly off to Japan. Asuna walks down a street in Tokyo.
Asuna: I wonder what the difference is between the real world and the virtual one.
Kazuto: It's the amount of data.
Asuna: Oh! My gosh you scared me.
Kazuto: This is the right place and time, right?
Asuna: Guess I was moving on autopilot. Well, hi Kirito.
Kazuto: Don't call me that here. Hi Asuna.
Kazuto continues to look at her.
Asuna: What's wrong?
Kazuto: Oh, well, you actually look nice in those clothes. It takes me back.
Asuna: Oh, well I don't have my rapier with me. I see you're wearing all black today.
Kazuto: Well, Sugu threw all my clothes into the wash this morning, so this was all I had.
Asuna: Exactly what you get for letting it all piled up! So today, we're looking old fashioned. What a coincidence.
Kazuto: We've been dating for a year so of course something like this would happen sooner or later.
Asuna: I thought you were gonna say, sure is. Now let's go.
Kazuto: Ok.
They walk down the Imperial Palace.
Kazuto: Don't you think the Imperial Palace seems interesting?
Asuna: How is that?
Kazuto: It stretches 2 kilometers north to south, and 1.5 kilometers east to west. So it covers 20 percent of Chiyoda City. There are no railways or tunnels under it, and it is a no-fly zone. It's basically a massive space that's completely off limits, right in the middle of Tokyo. And it's not just physically isolated. No info gets in or out either. See the security cameras over there? There is a peculiar network system set up here that's inaccessible from the outside.
Asuna: That camera has a strange look to it.
Kazuto: Yeah. Even though it's in the middle of Tokyo, it's in an isolated world of its own. Actually, I think that's going a bit too far.
Asuna: Maybe just a bit.
They continue walking down the park.
Asuna: Wow!
Kazuto: So, this is what's left of Edo Castle's inner citadel.
Asuna: Let's go!
They walk down the path, and they get a small family to take a picture of them. At sunset, the young couple sits down at a bench.
Asuna: Hey, remember that career survey we had to fill out? What do you want to do in the future?
Kazuto: I'm thinking about wanting to get into the VR development industry.
Asuna: VR development? What type of games are you going to make?
Kazuto: I'm not making any games. I'm wanting to make some machines that can replace our current full-dive tech. I'm trying to learn by browsing the tech forums, but it's pretty hard to translate.
Asuna: It would be nice if we would always be together. I wish Yui was here too.
Kazuto: When VR comes more readily accessible, I'll be able to bring Yui here in the real world, and we'll be able to live together as a family. But right now, the data requirements are too great.
Asuna: You said something about that earlier, right? You said that the virtual and real world are different depending of the amount of data? What does that mean?
Kazuto: Well, holding hands in a game like ALO, is different than holding hands in the real world, right?
Asuna: Oh yeah. Holding hands like this means so much more. So that's what you mean by data, right?
Kazuto: Yeah, but maybe it will be possible to stimulate the human touch and pulse. You think you would be able to tell the difference between the person and their avatar?
Asuna: Yeah. Only if it's you though.
Kazuto: Huh?
Asuna: It's not just touch. It's sound, taste, and so on, right? So if the AmuSphere as it is now had an artificial reality function...
Kazuto: That's right. You would be able to tell the difference the moment you see or touch anything. But if there is a technology breakthrough someday that lets us have large amounts of sensory info at any time in the real world,
Asuna: We would be able to overcome the boundaries of the world and always be with Yui. There'll be a time when we can do that, right?
Kazuto: Of course.
Asuna: I want you to make that happen, ok?
Kazuto: Alright. I promise.
Asuna leans on Kirito and rests on his shoulders. A couple of hours earlier, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles pay a visit to Kazuto's place. They knock on the door, and he answers.
Kazuto: Hello?
Sonic: Hey Kiri... I mean Kazuto!
Kazuto: Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles? It's been a while. What are you guys doing here?
Knuckles: Thought we'd wanna meet with you. Where's Suguha?
Kazuto: She's at Kendo practice. I'm about to meet up with Kikuoka about something.
Tails: Kikuoka? You mean Chrysheight?
Kazuto: Yeah. You guys wanna come with?
Sonic: Yeah.
Kazuto: So, where are Mighty and Ray?
Sonic: They are out adventuring or something. We'll meet you at the place.
Kazuto: Alright.
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles run over to the restaurant where they will meet Seijirou Kikuoka. When Kazuto arrives, they head inside.
Waiter: Welcome.
Kikuoka: Hey, Kirito. Over here!
They walk over to the table.
Tails: Hey Chrysheight... I mean, Mr. Kikuoka.
Kikuoka: I see that you brought Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles here. So have a seat guys, I'll treat you all to something.
Kazuto: I guess I'll take you up on that offer then.
Sonic: You alright Kazuto? You don't look to happy.
Kikuoka: Yeah, just talk like we do in ALO.
Kazuto: Alright then.
Kazuto tries to order something.
Kazuto: Umm, I'll take a parfait au chocolat, a mille feuille aux framboises, and a hazelnut latte.
Sonic: I'll have an iced coffee.
Tails: I think I'll take a cheesecake.
Knuckles: I'll just have an espresso.
They order their food and drinks.
Kikuoka: I'm sorry for asking you to come here, Kirito, and I also didn't expect you to bring friends along either.
Kazuto: If you really mean that, then don't drag me out in a place like Ginza. Also, don't call me by that name in public!
Kikuoka: Now that's just cold. And wasn't I the first get by your side when you woke up in the hospital about a year ago?
Kazuto gets a flashback of when he woke up after the game was cleared. As leader of the task force, Seijirou Kikuoka of the virtual department, was the first to visit Kazuto when he woke up.
Kazuto: So, what's going on? We told you everything about SAO, right?
Kikuoka: Actually, no. It's something else. Here look at this.
He hands them a tablet, showing a news article about a man who died while playing a VR game.
Tails: Who is that?
Kikuoka: It was last month, I believe on November 14th. A landlady of a certain apartment in Nakano City has noticed a foul stench while cleaning. She release the electronic lock and looked inside to investigate. When she looked, she saw that 26 year old, Tamotsu Shigemura, died. He was dead for five and a half days. The room was a mess but it seems like it wasn't broken into, and the corpse was lying sideways onto the bed, and on its head.
Sonic: He died when using the AmuSphere?
Kikuoka: Yes. It was considered a freak accident and an autopsy was performed. The cause of the death seemed to have been heart failure.
Kazuto: So his heart just stopped? How'd that happen?
Kikuoka: That's what we're trying to find out.
Waiter: Sorry for the wait.
The waiter gives them their food and drinks they ordered.
Kikuoka: So apparently, too much time has passed since he died, and because there wasn't much reason to suspect the foul play, the autopsy wasn't very thorough. However, we believe that he was logged in for two days without eating anything.
Tails: Woah.
Sonic: That's just odd.
Kazuto: So what's the significance of this case?
Kikuoka: The game downloaded was called Gun Gale Online, GGO for short. Do you guys know of it?
Kazuto: Yes.
Tails: I've heard about it. It's the only MMO in Japan with pro players.
Kikuoka: Well, he apparently won first place in a ranking tournament that was held in October. He was called XeXeed.
Knuckles: So he died when playing GGO?
Kikuoka: Not exactly. He made an appearance on a TV program called MMO Stream with his game avatar. We know that from the logs. Everything I say is still not confirmed yet, but there is a blogger who wrote about a strange incident that occurred in the game just around the time of his death.
Tails: What happened?
Kikuoka: He said that around that time, there was a player acting strange at a certain bar, and weapon shop. He pointed a gun at the TV that was showing XeXeeD, and he said something about judgement, and he shot his gun. Another player who has there has captured the audio and uploaded it to a video site. There were time stamps in JST on the recording that indicate the gunshot and Shigamura's sudden disappearance from the TV program were practically simultaneous.
Kazuto: Isn't that just a coincidence?
Sonic: I bet that guy who shot his gun at the monitor has something to do with his death.
Kikuoka: This wasn't the only incident though.
Kazuto: What?!
Tails: Are you serious?! What happened?!
Kikuoka: The second one occurred on November 28th, somewhere in Saitama City. Another dead body was found, this time on the second floor of an apartment. When a newspaper solicitor looked inside, they found a dead man wearing an AmuSphere, and a foul stench.
A few people start looking at them. One of them cough trying to get Kikuoka to stop.
Kazuto: Huh?
Sonic: Yeah. Kikuoka, this wasn't a good place to talk.
Kikuoka: Well, I'll hold off on the corpse's condition, but the cause of the death was also heart failure. He was also playing GGO. His handle was Lightly Salted Roe. The incident took place in the game, at the time of his death, he was apparently at the central plaza of the SBC Glocken with his squadron, like a guild, it seems for gathering. A player came from nowhere and shot him.
Kazuto: Was it the same player as the one who shot XeXeeD?
Kikuoka: Most likely. Just like before, he said something about judgement and power, and he proceeded to declare his handle.
Tails: What is this players name?
Kikuoka: Death Gun.
Kazuto: Death Gun?
Sonic: You've gotta be kidding me.
Kazuto: Are you sure that the deaths were caused by heart failures? There wasn't any brain damage right?
Tails: What? There's no way. That's not the NerveGear.
Kikuoka: I was actually concerned about that too. But the person who performed the autopsy has confirmed that there were no issues with brain damage. But while the NerveGear emitted microwaves powerful enough to burn out transmitters and destroy part of the brain, the AmuSphere's design isn't capable of radiation that strong and deadly, or so the developers say.
Knuckles: Did the AmuSphere just stop the heart?
Kazuto: To be honest, you seem like you're being too proactive. Considering how these are just rumors and coincidences.
Kikuoka: I think there's a 90 percent chance that's all there is to it. So that's why I ask this hypothetically. Do you think it's possible to stop a players heart by shooting them in game?
A bunch of thoughts race through their heads about Death Gun.
Tails: I really doubt that.
Sonic: There's no way.
Kazuto: It could be possible, but if we assume that this Death Gun was somehow able to send some sort of signal to XeXeeD's and Lightly Salted Roe's AmuSpheres, like a sensation that can stop the heart, or maybe the taste, smell, or sound?
Kikuoka: Sensory information.
Tails: Sensory information?
Kazuto: Hold on a second. You thought all this through, haven't you? Well I don't think I could contribute to anything you geniuses haven't already thought of.
Sonic: Is that true Kikuoka?
Kikuoka: No. You've got it all wrong. I wouldn't just waste your time just like that.
Kazuto: I'm leaving.
He stands up and begins to walk away.
Kikuoka: I don't think it's possible for an AmuSphere to stop a players heart.
Kazuto: The gunshots and deaths were all just a coincidence.
Kikuoka: Hey, don't leave yet. I could order something else if you'd like. I'm actually relieved to hear you reach that conclusion. The truth is that I agree with you.
Sonic: Yeah, me too.
Tails: There's no way the two real deaths weren't caused by virtual gunshots.
Kikuoka: I have a favor to ask of you four. Would you dive into Gun Gale Online to make contact with Death Gun?
Kazuto: So you're telling us to get shot by him?
Kikuoka: Umm.
Kazuto: As if I would! What would you even do if something happened?!
Kikuoka: Hold on! We agreed that he couldn't have actually killed them, right?! But, Death Gun seems to have a strict criteria with his targets.
Tails: I think I agree with Kikuoka. There could be something more than just a coincidence.
Kazuto: A criteria. Alright, fine.
He sits back down.
Sonic: So tell us about XeXeeD and Lightly Salted Roe.
Kikuoka: Well, they were both well-known, top players. So maybe he'll only target those who are well-known. If it's you who Kayaba knows as the strongest...
Kazuto: GGO isn't that easy of a game! It's about teaming with pro's you know!
Tails: You're right about that, Kazuto. What do you think makes a pro?
Kazuto: Well, that's how is sounds exactly. GGO is the only VRMMO that has a game currency conversion system.
Sonic: Game currency conversion? What's that?
Tails: In other words, you can exchange game currency for real money. So pro's are the guys making money every month as they play GGO.
Kazuto: I heard that the top players are earning anywhere from 200,000 to 300,000 yen a month. Besides, the best GGO players put in time and effort that's leagues beyond players from other games. So as if I'd stand a chance against them. Maybe Sonic and his friends can, but I don't think I can. So ask them.
Kikuoka: Wait, hold on! There's nobody else to ask except you guys. If you're hesitant about going against pros, then why don't we compensate you in the name of our partnership? This much.
He holds three fingers out.
Kazuto: So why are you so worked up about this? It's just a typical rumor on the internet, right?
Tails: Maybe not.
Kikuoka: Well, my superiors are very concerned about the matter. Full-dive technology's influence is in the immediate attention of pretty much every field nowadays. We want to address this before those trying to regulate it try to take advantage of it. We want the facts. Does that answer satisfy you, Kazuto?
Kazuto: Why can't we just contact the game admins.
Tails: We could, but the admins are in the US, so it could take a while for them to respond.
Kikuoka: Ever since the Seed was released, all sorts of VR worlds have sprouted forth. So if we are going to catch Death Gun, the only way to do so is to make contact with him in game. We will take the utmost care to ensure your safety. We're not asking you guys to get shot. You guys just need to give a judgement based on what you see. Will you guys do it?
Sonic: I'll do it!
Tails: Yeah! I'm in too!
Knuckles: I'll go as well.
Kazuto: Fine I'll do it. I have somewhere to be right now, so I have to leave.
Sonic: Alright, we'll get going as well, see you later Kazuto.
Around the time of SAO, 4,000 people have lost their lives and people try to forget about it, including Kazuto. But to him, it's like someone's forcing him to remember.
Back to when Kazuto and Asuna go on their date.
Asuna: I think I understand why you brought me here now.
Kazuto: You do?
Asuna: Yeah. If the world's composed in an axis called time, and a plane called space, the center of Tokyo... No, the center of the real world to us is here. And because of the Seed, the central axis of the ever-expanding virtual world is the castle that only exists in our memories, right? That's why the sunset here is beautiful and nostalgic.
Kazuto: Yeah, you're right. I've realized something after hearing your words just now.
Asuna: About what?
Kazuto: Aincrad. Its structure and design might have symbolized the space-time continuum. But in that case, the world that Kayaba was trying to make would have eventually dwindled, converged, and ultimately disappeared.
Asuna: But a certain swordsman and hedgehog just ruined those plans without seeing it to the end.
Kazuto: Oh. Well I'm sorry for that vice-commander.
They both laugh.
Kazuto: It still had to be done, though.
Asuna: You're right.
Kazuto: Hey, Asuna.
Asuna: What is it?
Kazuto: Umm. Nevermind. It's getting late so we should head home.
Asuna: Ok. let's come back sometime and bring everyone. It would be fun to have lunch at the grass over there.
Kazuto: Yeah. Once it's spring.
Meanwhile, in Gun Gale Online, a girl with blue hair, and wielding a sniper rifle, aims at some marching players.
Sinon: I'm in position.
Dyne: Roger that. The enemies made no change in course or speed.
Sinon: The distance from you is 400. From here is 1,500.
Dyne: That's pretty far. Are you sure you can make it?
Sinon: Of course I can.
Dyne: Well, go for it. It's all up to you, Sinon.
Sinon: Roger.
She gets ready to snipe.
Sinon: This pressure, and anxiety, and this fear. A distance of 1,500? It's like throwing a paper ball in a waste basket. Compared to that time.
She shoots her gun, killing one of the players.
Sinon: What's next?