A big thank you to Guest (1), Lilly, Drmonicblood, Pizzajon, Mike Kromer, TH3 51L3NT A55A551N, Ryujin Kami, Derox-1223, WillySmith1510, Agent 94, ThisIsTheGreatestUsername, Worker72, Noobiehunter, Naruto Sakura Uzumaki, Allen Vth, FLARECROWN, DannyPhantom619, Greenrider003, Guest (2) and Raketsou for reviewing.
Chapter 1
Mousetrap
She felt like glass.
She always did, with no sharp edges. All smooth and oval. Plain and see through.
There was nothing special about her. She was normal. As normal as one could get.
She wasn't anything, she was nothing in her option.
She was very weak here with next to no immune system. She'd get sick easily, everyday she'd come down with a cold or something similar, but that was to be expected.
Often she was in the hospital due to her sickness.
One time she even joked the hospital was her summer house.
Weak body and even weaker mind.
It was an understatement to say she was pleasantly surprised when she was accepted to be a beta tester.
In fact, she gave in her application on a whim. She only did it because her best friend had sent in an application.
At the time, she never thought she'd be accepted. She only did it to appease him. Her childhood friend. The one who had been with her during all the hospital appointments and check-ups.
So when he came to her with the proposal...she couldn't say no.
She had too say yes. He had done so much for her that she just had to.
She had loved seeing his baby blue eyes brighten up. She had finally given in and filled out an application with him.
It was barely a month later when he was accepted. She had been happy for him.
So very glad! Sachi felt proud when he looked at her with that grin.
He was her best friend, the closest person to her. He was like her older brother and she loved him.
Three months passed until she herself was accepted. Now though...unlike him...she was terrified. Fear filled every nook and cranny of her body.
She was weak outside, and even weaker inside.
It was a miracle she didn't die immediately after entering that world. It was only because he was there that stopped her from getting a game over automatically.
He was by her side, helping her along. It had to be the scariest thing ever to happen to her and yet the greatest.
Sachi remembered that summer brightly. She remembered how everything had played out, all the creatures and demons. It was like everything was imprinted into her brain, and nothing she could do would let her forget. It was like the words...the information...was written on the inside of her head.
That summer was a dream. A loveable dream that she couldn't let go.
Sachi sighed. Her eyes shut as the familiar buzzing erupted around the white room. A smile spread across her face. She slid her phone out off her jean pocket.
"Sachi!" A familiar, deep, and grotty voice spilled from the speakers.
Sachi shifted on her bed. Her legs hanging over the edge.
"Sachi? Can you hear me?" That same voice chuckled.
He was eagerly speaking to her. So excited...
"Y-Yes!" She chuckled.
Sachi's voice stuttering as she spoke. She swallowed a lump in her throat. Her legs lightly swung underneath the neatly made bed.
"I'm h-here. I can hear y-you loud and c-clear." She said.
She took a sharp breathe. Sachi sighed.
"Did you get it?" Diavel asked.
He was very excited.
Sachi knew all too well why.
Sachi listened to Diavel . He rambled on and on. In complete honestly, all she could understand was a few words here and there.
It was so like him.
"Well? Did you? Sachi? Sachi?" Diavel teased.
"Diavel-kun." Sachi grunted out.
Sachi's voice was sweet and gentle as always.
Immediately, Diavel quietened to listen to his sweet and shy friend.
Sachi inhaled a deep breathe.
"I-I've got it. I'll b-be logging in s-soon." She explained.
Diavel snort through the speaker.
She giggled.
"Y-Yes. I'll be m-meeting you at the s-same stall… y-yeah the one with t-the fruits." Sachi said.
She threaded her fingers through her thick dark blue locks. She mumbled a few more words. She nodded and finally closing the phone. Her cheeks flushed from the soft click that rang out from the phone.
After they had finished the testing the game, Diavel had pressured her into pre-ordering the game.
Even though it had somehow been fun, Sachi couldn't push those thoughts away.
Every tiny movement she made, she felt the pressure. A horrible pushing against her stomach and chest.
Sachi winced. The darkness crawled along the edges of her mind. The fears came reeling forward.
She was a burden on Diavel.
She had to be. Sachi kept needing him to help her. To save her. To protect her.
Sachi was even weaker in the game then she was in real life. She wouldn't even been able to level up to10 without his help. She was that weak. It upset her so much.
Sachi even had kept Diavel in the boar filed for at least a week. She sadly, never did reach more than level 15 before the summer was up.
Diavel had long surpassed that level.
She was a burden, a heavy pressure sitting on his shoulders.
With that thought in mind, her gentle lavender eyes flickered to the side. She looked at the white clear bag sitting on the end of the bed. The blocky outline of the rather large rectangular object within the plastic was clearly visible.
Sachi swallowed a sickly lump in her throat. She still had to install it once more. Sachi did promise Diavel after all, and ever since she was a child she had never been able to break promises.
Especially to Diavel.
"And we now begin!" A loud female voice bellowed out from the television.
Sachi slowly turned her warm lavender eyes onto the screen. Sachi frowned as she watched the flickering pictures.
"It's this week's MMO Stream. For starters, we had you watch the PV. Looks like this is from last weeks launch. What were all these people in line for? Sword Art Online!"
Sachi shook her head. She weakly whimpered and stretched her arms out. She carefully straightened out her over-sized sweater. The gentle blue and purple worked in comparison with her skin and eyes.
Sachi ran her fingers through her soft locks and walked back towards the bag. Once she stood above it she simply stared at the object within the bag for minutes. She was mutely debating if it was even worth it.
To play it once more.
The first time was fun. The first time was exciting, but she couldn't do anything. She was too weak, again, the only way she had made it through the third floor was because of Diavel, and even then that was too much for her.
Sachi had heard that this time it would be a bit different. It would be slightly stronger, and she doubted she would last long.
Sachi eventually lifted the bag. She could feel the weight of the object laying within the bag. It was like a large stone. Sachi almost dropped it.
"Sachi?" A female voice called to her.
Sachi turned to the owner. She smiled meekly at the woman in white.
Her nurse. The young woman moved up to Sachi. She smiled warmly.
"Sachi, you're leaving already?" She questioned.
"Everyone so excited about that game, huh? I heard it was a start of an era." The nurse chuckled. "Oh, don't forget these. Remember two puffs day."
The nurse had spoken kindly, but Sachi could hear the concern. She handed Sachi a familiar lavender object.
Sachi bit back a sigh. She took the lavender inhaler with a shaky hand. She turned it over in her hands. Her finger-tips pressing against the plastic surface.
"Just remember your health during all that fun."
Sachi nodded. She twisted the inhaler once more.
Sick.
She was sick, as always. Ill.
The pills were the only thing that helped her at the moment. She was pretty lucky it hadn't grown worse quite yet.
"I... Y-Yes. I will." She said.
Sachi pocketed the inhaler. She exited the room. She walked along the long hallways.
Sachi glanced within the bag, and her eyes glowed as she caught the flashing colours of the case. The familiar sky and grassy hills. Her heart began beat faster. Sachi oddly found herself eager to get home.
Eager to set up the game.
Her free hand touched the familiar helmet. It felt cool against her skin.
It oddly pulsed with something she hadn't ever felt before.
Sachi shook her head. She pushed the thought away. She quickly made her way home.
For a split second, Sachi noticed how long the line was at the game store was. Sachi paused in her steps to look. She stared at how many people line up excitedly.
'Everyone sure wants to get their hands on the game, don't they?'
But could she blame them?
Really?
The game was something like no other. It sent chills down her spine as she remembered back to that summer. The summer that she got to experience it.
It was strange. She had this feeling that she was only accepted because of her condition.
Give the dying girl a chance at something great!
Sachi felt sad from the thought. She remembered only a certain amount had been chosen.
'Was it fair? For somebody like me to take up a spot?'
Sachi made her way to the small but gorgeous house. It had a little flowerbed. A single marble tree in the yard.
It was like her. All her happiness and joy was sucked out from her. The feelings melted into the ground from the balls of her feet.
A weak girl like her getting such a specular chance of a lifetime.
She groaned. The metal of helmet smacked painfully against the side of her leg.
Sachi stalked up to her door.
Sachi poked her head through the door way. She looked at the dark hallways.
"M-Mum? D-Dad?" She called.
She received no reply.
"S-Seems they're out…" she said.
Honestly, it didn't take her long to set up in her bedroom.
She connected the helmet to the computer and then installing the game easily. It felt so easy to do. So straight forward.
Sachi remembered the first time she had to do it. It had taken her hours. She hadn't quite understood the words and numbers. Sachi had almost called the boys from her school. The boys in the computer club, but held back when she remembered she was supposed to keep it hush. Her being a beta tester wasn't something she wanted people to know.
It was also in the contract she had signed.
Sachi wondered if any of those boys had bought the game.
The sound of her phone receiving a message brought her out from her thoughts. Sachi quickly checked the words.
"See you on the other side..." Sachi read out loud.
She giggled.
Diavel was such a straight forward type of guy. He was very bright and just gracefully gained everyone's attention.
"So… h-he's already logged i-in…" She said.
Sachi glanced up at the computer screen. She took the wide helmet. She felt a strange spark hit her finger-tips. Sachi ripped her hands away as if she had been burnt.
"W-What? An electric s-shock?" She gasped.
Sachi's eyes became glassily. She recalled the very first time she had ever touched the warm helmet.
She didn't recall being shocked
'Is this some kind of sign? Not to log in?'
Without her consent, her mind began conjuring up all bad stereotypes. Things that truthfully frightened her.
'What if something bad is going to happen? What if there's a bug in the game?'
All these thoughts passed through her brain. It made her somewhat giddy as she nervously shook on the spot.
Eventually, she was able to pushed the thoughts away. Sachi reminded herself nothing bad could happen.
Diavel would be there. Also during their beta-testing summer nothing had gone wrong.
She could log out if she needed too.
From what Diavel had explained to her, beta-testing was to find out the bugs so that the creators could fix them. Nothing bad had really happened during the summer, except herself getting so many do-overs after dying in the most asinine ways.
Sachi smiled. She decided she was over thinking things. She moved to her purple bed. She made herself comfortable among the thick blankets.
Sachi peered at the helmet waiting for her on her lap. She tapped her fingers against the metal and pushed her dark hair out of her face. She then closed her eyes.
Sachi was sure Diavel was already at the stall...waiting for her.
She could almost see the avatar he possessed. It was a pretty odd avatar in her opinion, but it made sense, considering who he was as a person.
A natural leader with a glowing personality.
A fond smile appeared on her face. She finally slid the helmet over her head. Her heart picked up, and she signed in with the familiar name and password.
Sachi was presented with the familiar swirling white mist. The clouds were all the same. It surrounded her easily, and Sachi barely even noticed herself falling backward on her bed.
Sachi's arms crossed over her stomach.
She could explain it. Sachi could describe what it was like to be in her bedroom one moment, and the next in the game.
It just happened
"L-Link S-Start!"
Sachi selected 'Yes' for everything that popped up in front of her.
The glaring pink words working beautifully with the whiteness around them.
White. The colour that was assigned to her, apparently. She wanted purple, but white was hers instead.
And finally, the familiar pink words appeared.
'You have a character data from the beta test. Would you like to load it?'
She selected 'Yes' again.
Sachi felt herself become warm. The familiar white and pink flashed before her.
And then...she was there...
She was in the game...
It looked very familiar, and yet not.
They must have updated it, she concluded. The air even smelled sweeter then before.
'S-Sword Art O-Online...'
Familiar orb-like-lights began to appear around her. All different colours again. Not one shade the same as another.
Every single one different.
'Must be their d-deigned colour…'
Sachi remembered that every player had their own special colour assigned to them. Somehow. Just how many colours were there? Sachi had no idea...she supposed shades played a big part of it.
Sachi's was so plain, so boring.
White. It seemed to suit her. Nothing special about white, just like her.
It was depressing.
Sachi lightly scratched the side of her head. It felt odd to walk around in her avatar body again. She had never really liked it.
'It's too flashy…'
Sachi came to a stop in front of a store with a large window. She stared at her avatar's reflection.
She was tall, much taller than her original-self.
It was so embarrassingly. The avatar had larger breasts. The avatar had tan skin and shoulder-length black hair. Green eyes, red lips, and perfect white skin.
It was not real.
It looked alien like.
The avatar didn't look human like at all.
Her avatar gained way to much unwanted attention. Not just that, but her avatar's starting uniform was something...else as well.
The white skirt was way too short.
To prove her point, a breeze blew up the skirt up. It made her face turn crimson. She quickly tugged on the back of the skin back down. Especially when a tall, blonde player noticed and winked at her.
She could only shake her head. Sachi run forward. She needed a cloak, like last time. She could buy another purple one...hopefully...
Sachi hated that her avatar made her look much older then what she really was.
Diavel never liked his hair. Sachi didn't understand why. She loved his hair. She remembered when the two were young. When they were in middle school, she had caught him bleaching his hair. It didn't work, he eventually, after a lot of teasing returned to his natural aqua hair.
Sachi tugged on the sleeveless pale pink vest. Sachi arched her head back to look up at the glowing sky above her.
She couldn't believe this was a game.
It felt so much like real life.
It was overwhelming.
Just like the last time.
"Sachi?" A familiar voice said.
Sachi's ears ranged. Sachi turned towards the direction of the voice. She watched the familiar avatar of her childhood friend come running up to her.
He was smiling so widely.
It really was Diavel's smile.
Sachi new it from anywhere.
"Sachi? You look exactly the same!" He snickered.
She looked down. A sweet smile made its way across her face.
Sachi's stomach twisted painfully like something wasn't right in the air.
She didn't know what it was.
She didn't understand why.
But it did.
"Isn't it great Sachi? We're back." Diavel whispered.
He whispered so that only Sachi could hear him.
"Y-Yes…Diavel-kun." Sachi said.
Sachi listened as he began rambling on about the things he had already gathered. He was speaking from experience. She smiled.
She didn't have the willpower to walk side to side with him. She wasn't brave enough, but maybe she would be someday.
Sachi nodded, and opened her storage as Diavel began to stack her up with important things.
Things she needed to survive, just like last time.
"Y-You got me s-some apple buns?" She gasped.
She remembered those from the last time! They were the best snack she had ever tasted. Oh, how she had missed them. Sachi eagerly reached out for the bun, only to have Diavel pull his hand out of the way.
A rather tall raven haired man run passed them. Another red-haired man followed after the dark haired man.
Oddly enough, she felt like she knew the raven, or at least seen him before. It was weird. She had only been here once before and no avatars were actual real.
Which meant he must have been a beta tester too.
"D-Don't tease me!" Sachi said.
Diavel laughed. He grinned widely.
"But you're so cute!" Diavel teased.
Sachi smiled. She sniffed the baked goodies before placing them into her storage.
She was going to save them for another day!
The two suns the game possessed moved through the sky pretty fast in Sachi's opinion.
She swore it had only been ten minutes since she logged on. She had brought quite a few things from the markets. She was prepared this time! Or at least prepared a little.
She was prepared for the tough journey this game will have! She had learned from the last time and wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
Sachi was so happy when she found a light purple cloak. Though it looked more like a zip up hoodie with sleeves and a large bow on the chest.
At least it hid her legs.
By the time the sun touched the lands, orange and yellow painting the skies, Sachi found herself sitting at a small bench on the edge of the town. She rubbed her eyes tiredly.
She was just watching Diavel.
"O-Oh… I t-think I'll use my s-spear… I still have it." Sachi bravely said.
Sachi summoned her spear. It was long like a staff with two sharp blades attacked to the tip. She had gained it on a side quest with Diavel and few other people during the beta testing. Sachi had found it in a treasure chest and she had used it ever since.
Once or twice she had used bow and arrows, maybe weapon Japanese battle fans a couple of times, but preferred her staff. It was a lot easier to handle.
That and she sucked at using bow and arrows, as well as the battle fans.
She just...couldn't do it right...so bad.
"I mean… t-that wouldn't make any trouble w-would it?" She asked.
It was just spear. Sure it had stronger stats then the other starting weapons around, but it honestly wasn't as strong as any other weapon drop.
Especially compared to Diavel's sword.
"I suppose not." Diavel said thoughtfully.
"You're getting tired. You always have this kitten expression on your face when you become tired." He teased.
Diavel laughing full-heartedly.
Sachi pouted. She flushed a bright red colour and covered her face with both hands.
"I'm just kidding!" Diavel said.
"Maybe we should logout and continue tomorrow? It's most likely late now." He said.
A green like clock popped up out of an object imbedded in his arm. It ticked loudly.
"Mum will probably throw a fit if I don't come down for dinner." Diavel added.
Sachi nodded in understanding. She knew how scary Diavel's mother could be.
Her own parents were just as scary.
Another yawn bubbled through her cheery lips. Sachi pressed the menu on her arm. The white and pink menu popped up.
"… t-the logout button…" She said.
She scanned the tabs. Searched the tabs. She was double checking.
No...
She definitely couldn't see it.
Had it been moved the last time? Did they put it into another tab, or something?
The more she checked, the more her stomach tightened.
She couldn't find it anywhere.
"W-What? T-There's no logout b-button…"
"It's at the bottom of the main menu, isn't it?" Diavel said.
Diavel opened up his own menu. Unlike hers, his was two shades of green. Dark and pale green, both went hand in hand.
Sachi's green eyes widened. She looked at the tabs in Diavel's own menu. Just like hers, there was no logout tab.
"It's gone… I guess since it is the first day of service, it's only natural for there to be a bug or two… but this isn't right. How odd." Diavel said..
He scratched his chin.
"There wasn't anything about an emergency logout in the manual… won't they have to… reset the game? To manually disconnect everyone?" He added.
Sachi stared up at him. She listened intensively to everything he said.
White lights appeared out of now where.
Her body burned. Something from the pit of her stomach bubbled.
Sachi's hair raised. The hair hovered as the balls of white lights illuminated her. They surrounded her. The lights covered her skin until she was glowing brightly.
Sachi disappeared.
"Sachi!"
Sachi hiccupped. She blinked her eyes furiously. She found herself back in the great hall of the town. Sachi's heart rampaged in her chest.
Sachi looked around herself. She noticed the other players were appearing from the very same flashes of light. The only differences was the colours.
"W-What is this? Forced teleportation?" She said.
There was a ticking clock above her. She could feel the vibrations running up her legs.
Sachi's legs become jelly and almost sent her to the ground in a puddle of nerves.
Sachi's throat felt as if it was burning. If there was a hand on her throat and all it was doing was squeezing tightly. It was digging his fingers into the soft flesh.
"Diavel-kun?!" She cried.
Sachi turned her head. She blinked from the bright green lights that shined in next to her.
Diavel teleported into the hall.
He was just as scared as she was.
"W-What's going on?!"
"I... have no idea…" Diavel admitted.
Sachi looked up. She could see the blood red box appearing above them.
"What is that?" She said.
A row of sickly red boxes appeared. They filled the sky and blocking out the sun. The boxes casted a somewhat evil shadow of red over them.
Sachi gasped.
'This isn't right, what's happening?'
Liquid begun to trickle out from the edges of the boxes. It fell from the skies much like water would fall.
Sachi sank back. The liquid scarily reminded her of blood.
The thick liquid curled out and began to join up. It was merging together to make some kind of figure.
A floating man. Blue light flickered around him.
He threw himself backward. Thick red robes covered his lanky body. A hood covered his face.
Sachi stared.
The man looked like a grim-reaper to her.
How ironic.
He was there to take everyone's lives. If only she knew how accurate that thought was.
He floated above everyone. The man was staring down at them through the shadows of his hood.
"Attention, players!" He said. "Welcome to my world."
'M-My world? His world? It's just a game, isn't it? How could it possibly be his world?'
"My name is Kayaba Akihiko." He bellowed.
Sachi gasped in disbelief.
'Kayaba Akihiko... as in the creator of Sword Art Online? How is that possible?'
"I am currently the one and only person who can control this world. I'm sure that you've all noticed, the logout button on the main menu has been removed." Kayaba Akihiko said.
Kayaba Akihiko brought his hand up. He called upon a row of glowing tabs.
"However, this is by no means a mistake. I repeat, it is not a mistake, but a feature of the true Sword Art Online."
Sachi stared blankly up at the man. Her mind reeled with thought.
She remembered back during the summer, her very first time logging on...somebody had spoken with her.
That person, that man! Had said his name was Kayaba Akihiko.
Could this floating man be him? Be Kayaba Akihiko?
Be Kayaba Akihiko, such a kind and nice man?
Sachi looked down at her boots. The thought scared her.
'A f-feature?'
She would remember reading something like that in the manual, but yet she came up with nothing. She didn't remember seeing anything like that on any of the pages.
"You are all unable to log out of SAO, and nobody in the real world can remove the NerveGear or interrupt its operation. Should it be attempted, a powerful burst of radiation emitted from a transmitter in the NerveGear will destroy your brain, thus ending your life!" Kayaba Akihiko said.
Sachi felt her stomach drop. She wasn't alone. Sachi looked at the other players and noticed they were just as worried as she was.
She even noticed two players, a boy and girl walking to leave. Instead, they was thrown back from barrier.
Sachi noticed it was the guy that had whistled at her earlier that day.
Diavel cocked his head to the side. He looked at the boy with a frown. Obviously, he was not pleased with the blabbering the boy was making.
Diavel caught Sachi's worried eyes. He tried to smile in hopes to comfort her.
He failed.
"D-Diavel-kun." Sachi said.
Sachi's whole body beginning to tremble. Her friend quickly stepped closer to her, and placed a comforting hand on her small shoulder.
"The s-signals emitted by the N-NeverGear's transmitter are really similar to t-the ones m-microwaves e-emit… it's v-very possible to h-have our brains fried… this is no j-joke." She said.
It was supposed to be just a game, not this.
Not this death trap!
"Unfortunately, it's certainly possible that a player's family or friends would ignore this warning, and attempt to forcibly remove the NerveGear." Kayaba Akihiko said.
Kayaba Akihiko's deep voice cutting through everyone's murmuring.
Sachi lifted her head to look up at him with wide eyes. Her lips pressed into a very tight line.
"As proof of this, 213 players have retired from both this world and the real world."
"213? People?" Diavel said. ,"Damn… 213 people dead… already."
Sachi gulped.
Kayaba Akihiko moved above them. He used a single finger to point down at them. Automatically screens begun to flicker.
Images.
It was the outside world.
The real world.
"As you can see, news of my warning and the numerous victims are being spread worldwide. Thus, it should be safe to say that the danger of removal attempts are becoming minimal. I hope you will all be at ease and focus on completing the game."
'At e-ease?!'
Sachi felt absolutely terrified.
Her eyes widened. She spotted her house on one of the screens.
"Mum...? Dad...?" She said.
The two people she loved the most was standing behind a yellow police strip that had 'Stay out' clearly on it. Her stomach dropped as she saw her mother's tear stained face, and was being held by Sachi's father.
"But I'd like you all to keep this in mind; from this point on, all methods of revival in the game will no longer function." Kayaba Akihiko said.
That meant no more do overs, nothing.
No spawning again.
"If your HP hits zero, your avatar will perish for eternity, and at that moment… the NerveGear will destroy your brain."
It was at that moment Sachi felt her heart stop and all her energy being sucked out. She was going to crash to the ground any moment.
A horrible image of her tripping and falling down a staircase somewhere in town filled her mind. Her HP dropping to zero and her body bursting into white flakes.
it could happen.
She knew it could happen.
It had happen before. Back during the beta.
"There is only one condition you must meet to be free: The completion of this game. You are all currently on the first floor, the lowest point in Aincrad. If you conquer a floor's dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, you may continue up to the next one. Assuming you manage to defeat the final boss on the 100th floor, the game will be considered cleared."
"C-Clear all 100 floors? H-How?! That's impossible…How… h-how is s-somebody… w-weak like me do that?'
"The Beta Testers couldn't even make it that far!" Somebody yelled out.
Sachi jumped and tilted her head to the side.
It was true. They didn't.
Sachi felt very small with everyone standing around her. She slowly wrapped her arms tightly around her body.
Kayaba Akihiko hardly looked worried about that, well, Sachi wasn't quite sure but she assumed it.
Kayaba Akihiko slowly lowered his mighty hand. He let out a loud sigh.
He chose to ignore that.
"And lastly, I've prepared a present for all of you in your item storage. Take a look."
"A p-present?" Sachi said.
Sachi lifted her arm. A white menu popped up. Sachi selected her storage. Along with all the items Diavel and her had already collected, she saw something she hadn't seen before.
'A m-mirror?'
With a shaky finger, Sachi tapped it. The icon glowed brightly. The object appeared in her hand. It was wide, and plain looking.
She carefully held it up to her face, and blinked slowly. She found her avatar's face staring back at her. Then suddenly, sizzling blue lights began to appear around her.
Sachi gasped and snapped her head around to see another girl near her disappear into the light.
"D-Diavel-kun!" She cried out.
Her body was covered by the light. The light orbs eat at her.
What felt like hours, but really a few minutes, the lights faded away.
Sachi gasped for breath. Her mouth hanged open. She was trying to breathe in as much as possible. Her mouth felt dry and she felt the familiar prickle in the back of her throat. Sachi's heart slowly began relaxing and the burning in her throat faded away.
Sachi's hand went for her pocket. She felt around for her inhaler just encase.
She found nothing!
'M-My inhaler…'
Of course she wouldn't have it!
It was back in the real world!
Sachi placed a hand onto her chest and pressed. Sachi tilted her head backward and breathing in.
In and out.
Out and in.
In and out.
Out and in.
She smiled sternly. A small trick she was shown. She'd have to find an inhaler, as it wouldn't help her if she went into an asthma attack.
There had to be one somewhere in this world.
How weak was she.
How pathetic.
"Sachi? You okay?" Diavel said worried.
Sachi looked up at Diavel with a small smile to lay his worries to rest.
Only to freeze. She gasped. Her eyes widening.
"Sachi, what's wrong?" He asked worriedly.
"Y-Your face… y-you look… l-like-like…"
Sachi couldn't get the words out. She turned to face towards him. Sachi showed her face to him probably.
Diavel gasp. His own eyes widened. She winced as he suddenly poked her cheek.
Sachi stepped back and looked down at herself. She couldn't help but smile. She was herself again.
Not as tall as her avatar thought. She was rather short with smaller shoulders, and a cherry face.
Sachi looked around at everyone else. The very same lights faded to reveal the other players true forms.
Nobody looked as flashy and godly as they had been moments before.
Even a few female avatars had turned out to male. A few male avatars turned out to be female.
Sachi shrugged. With a stutter, she held her mirror up to see her own face. Her eyes widened and she cocked her head to the side, using a single hand to tug on a long lock of raven hair. Her face looked exactly like her original face, all the way to the beauty mark she had inherited from her mother under her right eye. It was a known fact that her children would have it too. The only thing that wasn't hers, was the hair sticking out of her head.
"It's r-really…m-me…"
"The scan." Diavel said.
Sachi looked at him. He was staring down at his own mirror with his hand on his chin.
"Ah. The NerveGear. It covers our entire head, right? With a high-density transmitter. So it can calculate what your face looks like. I'm assuming that's how we all look like ourselves. Or at least close to ourselves." he said seriously.
Diavel turned to Sachi. He flickered the little loose hair that stuck up in the middle of her head.
Sachi stared up at it. She had a few tiny features that were different to her real self, but they were easily overlooked.
"… but our height and body… Ah! When we first put on the NerveGear, it made us touch all over body for calibration, remember?" He said. "Okay, that came out wrong, but you get what I mean, right?"
"… so it was collecting… d-data?" She said.
"Right now, you're probably all wondering 'Why?', right?" Kayaba Akihiko said.
Kayaba Akihiko easily gained everyone's attention.
Sachi looked up at him once again.
"Why would I, Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of sword art online and the NerveGear, do such a thing? I have already achieved my goal. I created the world of Sword Art Online solely for my personal environment. And now, the preparations are complete."
"This concludes the tutorial for the official launch of Sword Art Online!" Kayaba Akihiko said.
Kayaba Akihiko's form fully casting a shadow over everyone.
"Players! I wish you the best of luck!" Kayaba Akihiko bellowed.
Kayaba Akihiko bursted with smoke. His body flickered with numbers, familiar digital aspects before he began to sag within the air.
Sachi's jaw dropped. She watched as Kayaba Akihiko began to sip back up to the red blocks.
The boxes faded away fully.
Kayaba Akihiko left behind a bright glowing orange sky. Both suns shining beautifully.
It was at that moment Sachi realized something.
Sachi's eyes widened. They widened so much that they began to burn. Almost to the point where she would begin to tear up.
She lets out a shuddered gasp.
Asthma, it was no joke.
A serious illness that she had developed when she was young.
She was so weak and fragile, it was bound to happen.
A respiratory condition marked by attacks of spasm in the bronchi of the lungs, causing difficulty in breathing. It was usually connected to allergic reaction or other forms of hypersensitivity.
It felt like her throat was being ripped apart with and what felt like dry ice was being forced down her throat.
The best part about being in the game was that she did not have it!
Her avatar was as healthy as possible, she had never got sick.
She had been fine, sure, she was still weak and couldn't fight probably but she wasn't ill.
However, just moments ago, she had a close run in with an Asthma attack.
Which shouldn't have been possible.
'T-this… this is r-reality…'
Sachi trembled. Her fingers pressed against the delicate skin of her throat. Her palms pressed against her chest as if she was expecting another attack straight away.
'Reality has n-never been s-so scary before…'
Sachi felt such sadness. And fear.
The shrieks and cries filled the air. People begun to shove one another.
Sachi yelped when a body rammed into her. It throw her backward.
"Sachi!" Diavel said. "Are you alright?"
"Diavel-kun? W-What are w-we going to do?" She whimpered.
Diavel was silent. His mouth opening and shutting. He breathed in sharply through his nose. Diavel's eyebrows pulled together and he looked to the side. Diavel dark eyes watched as everyone ran back and fourth.
Everyone was running around like headless chickens.
"Clear the game…" Diavel said thoughtfully.
Diavel's eyes widened. He smiled, and grabbed a hold of her wrist.
"Come on Sachi! Follow me!" He said.
Diavel easily dragged her after him. It almost made Sachi trip over her feet.
"Run faster Sachi. We have to hurry! If we want to survive this world then we have to gather as many supplies as possible!"