November 27, 2024
Floor 75 – Collinia: Dungeon
All eyes were turned on Heathcliff – no, on Kayaba Akihiko, standing smugly as all remaining players involved in the devastating battle against the Floor 75 boss, Skull Reaper, lay paralysed on the ground. All save one. Kirito breathed heavily, his twin swords glinting dangerously in the low light.
"Kayaba," growled Kirito, his voice filled with rage, "end this madness. Let everyone logout and turn yourself in."
"I can't do that, Kirito-kun," mused Heathcliff, seeming to actually consider Kirito's words. "The game is yet to be cleared. Now that I have been revealed, I suppose I can tell you that I am the Floor 100 boss."
"What an original twist in this ridiculous story you've created," was Kirito's sarcastic response. "The Commander of the most powerful guild in Aincrad turning out to be the villain in disguise."
Heathcliff's lips rose in a sardonic smile. "I thought so," he agreed, his gaze focused on the Black Swordsman. "I believed it to be a fitting plot twist for the finale of Aincrad's story. Alas, Kirito-kun, you've robbed me of that pleasure. Still," and here he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I suppose I should offer you a reward for your discovery of the truth."
Heathcliff swept his arm out, his cloak swishing through the air with its movement. "Name your reward, Kirito-kun. Short of clearing the game at this moment or skipping the remaining floors, I will give you whatever your heart desires."
Kirito froze on the spot. Anything I want... His mind raced with the possibilities. A legendary weapon like Excalibur from the tale of King Arthur, perhaps..
A glint of light in the corner of his eye drew Kirito's attention to Asuna's prone form. It took all of one second for his mind to be settled. "Yui," he stated simply, causing Asuna to gasp and tears to form in her crystalline eyes.
"Yui?" was Heathcliff's confused reply.
"Yui," repeated Kirito, a small smile forming on his face despite the severity of the situation. "A program created by you as part of the Cardinal system. A program designed by you to oversee the mental state of your victims." He glanced at Asuna and his smile broke free completely. "Our daughter."
Asuna forced herself to nod despite the restraint's Heathcliff's paralysis caused, the tears flowing freely as she agreed with her husband's words.
"Oh," was Heathcliff's response, his eyebrows scrunched together in apparent wonder. "If this Yui program has been deleted, even I am unable to do anything."
"No," answered Kirito, his eyes glinting with emotion at the thought of the little girl who had so thoroughly wormed her way into both his and Asuna's hearts. "I outsmarted you, Kayaba, with Yui's help. Just before she was permanently deleted and her privileges revoked, I logged in using her master ID and turned her into a game item." He looked at Asuna, at the teardrop crystal sparkling around her neck. "That crystal represents Yui, her heart. She is our child. Give her back to us. Please." He hated sounding like he was begging to the monster who had imprisoned them all in this death game, the one who forced them all into this ridiculous scenario, but for Asuna and Yui he would beg the Devil to take his soul in exchange.
"I see," said Heathcliff, looking at the frozen players before him. "You seem to have learned much, Kirito-kun, and have acted in unexpected ways. Still, I did say that I would reward you for your intuition, and I am nothing if not a man of my word. It shall be done."
Kirito's mouth began to open in a gasp of joy while Asuna's eyes widened in delight before Heathcliff cut through them.
"But, she will not be the same. All privileges related to her will be revoked. She shall no longer be provided the protection of being classified an Immortal Object. She will not be an NPC, but she will have an HP gauge. I need not remind you of the consequence should that HP gauge fall to zero, right, Kirito-kun?" His smile grew wicked. "All knowledge of the workings behind Sword Art Online will be removed, and any connection she may have had to the systems monitoring Aincrad shall also be severed. She shall, for all intents and purposes, be a Player character. Is this agreeable, Kirito-kun?"
Kirito was torn. He wanted her to remain the Yui he knew, the girl who would always be safe, no matter what twisted machinations Kayaba would throw at them. Yet again, miracles were something given in short supply by the world created by Kayaba Akihiko. He remembered his desperate search for the revival item dropped by the Event Boss Nicholas the Renegade so long ago, and his distress at the discovery of its severe restriction. There was no telling how long it would take for him to be able to recreate Yui once he broke them free of Sword Art Online – and there was no doubt that he would, for he had made a promise to Asuna, and he never broke his promises – while here was a ready solution.
He remembered what he had told Asuna about Sword Art Online, that the game was essentially fair in its design, and since Kayaba was the one who had single-handedly designed SAO, he chose to take the chance he had and hope for the best. "Yes. That will be fine," he said in a quiet voice.
"Very good," said Heathcliff. Opening his Game Master menu window, he scrolled through the list of players still connected to Aincrad; reaching Asuna, he rapidly checked through her items until he came across the Key Item called Yui's Heart. "That was very clever of you, Kirito-kun," complimented Heathcliff as he checked the item description. "Truly excellent work under what I'm sure were very trying circumstances." Selecting the item, Heathcliff set to work altering its properties.
Kirito stood silently, anticipation and dread filling his soul in equal amounts. He so desperately wanted to see Yui again, but he was terrified that Heathcliff would alter her to the point that she would no longer remember who he was, who Asuna was, and what she meant to them.
Agonising moments passed before Heathcliff closed the window and faced Kirito. "It is done. She awaits in a place of importance to you both," he said, looking between Kirito and Asuna. Kirito allowed himself to nod before lowering his head, his hair covering his eyes that had darkened with emotion.
"Now then, I shall take my leave. The paralysis shall wear off in approximately three minutes. By that time, I shall be in the final Boss Room on Floor 100 – Ruby Palace. Hopefully, you won't keep me waiting too long. Everyone!" he cried, raising his arms heavenward, "become stronger! Become much, much stronger and face me in battle! Let us carve a bloody swathe through history and become legend!"
His monologue concluded, Heathcliff – no, Kayaba Akihiko – retrieved a teleportation crystal and disappeared in an iridescent glow.
Kirito stood stock still, his mind awhirl. Kayaba had been with them the whole time, mocking them all as they struggled to survive within the death game he had created. They had all been played for fools.
"Kirito-kun," whispered Asuna, slowly struggling to her feet, the paralysis wearing off.
"Asuna," he responded, striding quickly to her side. Taking her hand, he pulled her to her feet, all the while watching for the reaction of the other players.
"Damn that Kayaba," groused Klein. "What is the point of this game?"
"I wonder whether even he knows," answered Asuna, her mouth set in a firm line. "It could be that with the time that has passed, he may have forgotten his original purpose."
"Either way, he is a threat that must be eliminated," swore Kirito with a dark burning in his eyes.
"Ah, so he is," agreed Agil; chancing a look around the room, there were the predictable reactions in play. Disbelief. Anger. Despair. "Question that remains now is what do we do?" At the inquisitive looks sent his way, he sighed. "The Knights of the Blood Oath are now without their Commander." Dark glares replaced the inquisitiveness. "Hey, let me finish," he cautioned, motioning for peace. Once the tension seemed to ease, he continued. "If nobody steps up to take on the role of leadership within the Knights, the strongest guild in Aincrad will disband. I've seen situations like this occur in other MMORPG I've played."
"Sever the head and the body follows?" queried Kirito.
"Even so," agreed Agil, rubbing his neck and letting out a sigh of content. "Someone will have to step into that role, quickly." Here he gave a significant look at Asuna.
Noticing, she narrowed her eyes. "What is it, Agil-san?"
"Asuna-san, as Second-in-Command of the Knights, it will fall to you to take on the mantle." Asuna's eyes narrowed further and a deep frown began to form. Agil continued unperturbed. "You know this already, of course. What interests me is that you haven't already assumed leadership as I would have expected." Asuna's scowl gave way to a look of surprise. "From what I've seen of you, you show no hesitation to take command if a situation calls for it. This is definitely one such time."
"Agil-san is correct, Asuna-san," added Klein, rejoining the group after checking on the members of his guild. "Without the Knights of the Blood Oath, the front-lines will be sorely depleted. Without top-levelled players, our chances of ending this death game will fall to zero. Please, Asuna-san." He bowed his head to show his respect.
"Asuna-san," said Agil, picking up the flow of the conversation, though it felt more like coercion to Asuna. "Everybody here respects you, both for your abilities on the battlefield, but also as a person. They are far more likely to continue to serve under the banner of the Knights with you in command than if someone else were to assume that role. Please, become Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, and help lead us to victory." His head was bowed as he finished his statement.
Asuna was taken aback by the level of respect the two men were showing her, and also the trust they were placing in her. "Agil-san; Klein-san," she started, not knowing what words she should say to them, but knowing that she must say something.
The words proved unnecessary as Kirito spoke next. "Asuna," he said softly.
"Kirito-kun..."
"Asuna, you know how much I believe in you," he spoke with certainty. "One hundred percent, and completely. My life is in your hands, now and forever." Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes as Asuna was reminded of Kirito's confession to her after the battle against Kuradeel in the Labyrinth on Floor 55. "Wherever you go and whatever you do, I will be by your side. I know that you can do this."
Asuna began to smile through her tears. Reaching out to her husband, she took his hand and laced their fingers. "Okay, I understand. I'll do it."
As Asuna came to her decision, murmurs and disgruntled grumbling intruded upon them as the remaining members of the raiding force began to loudly proclaim their upset. "What do we do now?" fretted one, a Lancer.
"Nothing," said another, a Tank carrying a broad, wicked looking axe. "We're never getting out of here. We're done for."
"Don't lose heart!" cried Klein, drawing attention to himself. "This game can be beaten! We just have to become stronger."
"Win, you say?" cried the Lancer. "How!? We just lost fourteen of our best to that damn Boss. They aren't going to get any easier to kill. We should just give up now; try to enjoy ourselves here."
"That's enough!" commanded Asuna. Stepping away from Kirito, she took to the head of the gathered group. She took a deep breath. "Everyone, you all know me. You all know that I am an honest person. I know that we will beat this game."
The men cast speculative looks amongst themselves. "How can you be so sure?" asked a third man, a mace in his left hand.
"Simple," answered Asuna, looking to each man for a short time, "we will all become the strongest that we can be. From this point forward, I, Lightning Flash Asuna, do assume command of the Knights of the Blood Oath." Ignoring the looks and sounds of surprise, distrust and shock, Asuna forged forward. "Every member of the Knights will from this point focus exclusively upon levelling. Nobody will go training alone. From this point, the monsters are going to become almost impossibly difficult. The time has come for us all to put aside our differences and work together." She scanned the room, noting the contemplative looks she received. "At this point, I think it safe to say that those of us here will be the leading force in clearing this game. This battle has only proven the need for us to be higher levelled. We lost fourteen good men today. No longer will I allow Kayaba's game to kill anybody else." Here she got a fierce, determined look to her face. "Nobody will die anymore! We will all work together! Fight together! Survive together! And not even God himself will be able to stand in our way." The Boss Room shook with the sound of the men's shouts, one for each statement Asuna made, punctuating her words. Asuna smiled as everyone rallied to her. I can do this...
Kirito looked on proudly at his wife, his smile unwavering. Show them all, Asuna. Show them all how strong you really are.
Asuna turned to face the newly revealed staircase leading to Floor 76. "Everyone, let's go. To Floor 100, to the Ruby Palace, where we will face Kayaba Akihiko in battle. The only flaw for him is that he will be unable to defend against our onslaught. Everyone, the time has come for us all to reach the maximum level." With determination shining in her eyes, Asuna took that first fateful step that would forever change the landscape of Aincrad.