While the Town of Beginnings mimicked the busiest districts of Tokyo in size and activity, Horunka evoked Magome-juku. Though Horunka had far fewer buildings than that city in the real world, everything from the lazy sloping paths to the waterwheel attached to one of the larger buildings reminded Asuna of stops there on the way to visit her grandparents. A small brook cut through the town, babbling under a rough-hewn bridge and alongside cobblestone paths, enhancing the sense of natural serenity. Under normal circumstances, such a place would wash her anxiety away.

The scent spoiled any chance of that.

It wasn't unpleasant. Far from it! One whiff conjured images of snow blanketing the ground outside, a warm bowl cradled in her hands. The smells of seasoned meat and stir-fried vegetables mingled with a sauce equal parts salty and sweet. Dashi, soy, mirin, she guessed, with distinct notes of garlic. Two weeks in the Town of Beginnings and she'd never once smelled anything like this. It permeated the air as if coming from all directions. Try as Asuna might she couldn't locate its source.

She glanced to Yuuki and caught a glimpse of longing in her face, though as soon as their eyes met Yuuki's cheeks turned pink and she looked away quickly. Guess she's as hungry as I am but doesn't want to admit it, Asuna thought. She grappled with the smell and trying to push it from her thoughts with little success. She needed to focus on the task at hand.

Yuuki beat her to the punch, scanning the street with one hand cupped over her eyes. She pointed to a building with an attached market stall, its large wooden shutter propped up over it like an awning. The sign identifying was a small wooden placard as opposed to the bold colorful banners in the Town of Beginnings, its selection of goods on display far more limited than the bigger shops. A merchant NPC stood behind the counter, head propped up by his elbow and yawning every few seconds in an idle animation.

"There it is! Let's go load up on hot pots." The coloring in her cheeks deepened. "Er, I mean, healing potions."

Asuna nodded, tamping down a chuckle. "Maybe we can get better equipment too. Something with..." She struggled a moment."...defense or attack buffs built in?"

Yuuki giggled. "Gosh Asuna. A couple hours of lessons and you're already using the lingo! You're probably a good student, huh?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "Um. I do okay."

"We might be able to pick up some new armor, but that can get pretty expensive. As for weapons..." She shrugged. "There might be some rare drops, but we'll probably need a blacksmith to upgrade those. Think I heard they don't start showing up for another couple floors."

"I remember someone telling me about that." Argo the Rat mentioned a blacksmithing skill once when she cornered Asuna in the inn, though she often tuned her out when she started rambling about the deeper game mechanics. In the future, she'd make it a point to listen.

"We'll get there eventually!"

Yuuki beamed, an expression that lingered as she chatted away with the shopkeeper. She still baffled the fencer. Unlike everyone else she'd met, Yuuki seemingly enjoyed every second of her time in their virtual prison. Her cheerful mood remained in place no matter the circumstances and she sought out the silver lining in all of Asuna's complaints with the tenacity of a bloodhound.

Even stranger, that wide-eyed optimism started to infect Asuna. While she first felt annoyed at her lack of urgency to return home, Yuuki chipped away at her cynicism the more time they spent together. The last fights before they reached Horunka went better, the blade feeling more comfortable in her hand. Her conversations with the other girl also grew easier as well. Before long, she found herself looking forward to hearing that impish giggle.

A pop-up menu pulled Asuna from her thoughts, startling her enough to make her jump.

YUUKI HAS OFFERED YOU TEN HEALING POTIONS. ACCEPT?

She accepted then navigated to the transfer screen to pay her back, but Yuuki shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, got plenty of cor to spare!"

"You saved my life, kept watch over me, shared your food, taught me about the game and now you're giving me items. I'm starting to feel a little guilty."

"I don't mind! I like helping people." Yuuki ducked her head, gave a sheepish grin. "It's lonely being a solo player, so it's... kinda been fun to spend time with you."

Calling anything about this game fun struck Asuna as strange. Still, her time alongside Yuuki had been the closest thing to it since Kayaba's announcement. But Asuna's stubborn pride followed her into the virtual world and she refused to take so much without giving something back in return. Yuuki's refusal to accept her money complicated things, but she'd think of something.

Her attention wandered long enough to notice that mysterious aroma of food again. Once again her stomach growled loud enough for Yuuki to hear, prompting another giggle. Another flutter of warmth that Asuna hadn't felt in weeks. Then she knew the answer.

"Lunch."

"Huh?"

"I'm going to buy you lunch. No arguments."

"Uh, no offense Asuna, but we're closer to dinner time."

"Fine. I'll buy you dinner then." She clasped Yuuki by the wrist and dragged her away from the stall. The shorter girl stumbled, almost tripping before falling in step with her. "We're going to find wherever that smell is coming from and have some!"

"It sort of smells like udon, doesn't it? I hope so. Mama made the best udon..."

She trailed off and slowed, eventually coming to a halt. When Asuna turned around, she was greeted by the rare sight of Yuuki without a smile on her face. Her head was down, shoulders slumped. Asuna approached her slowly and tried to force a weak smile of her own.

"I miss my family too. But with someone as determined and skilled as you, I know we'll get out of this game." The words came out without much thought, and Asuna was surprised that she genuinely meant them. "I bet you'll be having your mother's udon again before you know it."

"R-right." She took in a halting breath and nodded, but the smile she gave in return short of her eyes. "We'll get out."

Asuna resumed her search, Yuuki falling in lockstep beside her. No signs for a restaurant presented themselves, nor an inn. She crossed over the bridge to the other section of town undaunted. Asuna was now a woman possessed and wouldn't be denied that bounty of the meal that taunted them both.

Then she felt it. Fingers glided across the back of her palm, starting to curl around to take hold of her hand. She wrenched it away, pulling her arms in tight. Once she saw the crestfallen look on Yuuki's face she couldn't meet her gaze, but still refused to reach out to her. She could fight alongside her and manage a pleasant conversation, but it would go no further. She refused to let anyone get close, to let herself care about anyone in this game or consider them a friend.

Not since that first day.

Not since Naeb.

Picture a room in pitch darkness without even a sliver of light peeking in. Then a bank of floodlights sparks to life and bathes everything in brightness. Now imagine the same but with all five senses: Utter silence to a full orchestra playing a crescendo, numbness to pinpricks across your entire body, a lack of smell to the kitchen of a French restaurant. To complete the experience, when your brain and nervous system stop screaming at once another and you regain a semblance of coherency, you awaken in a different body than the one you called home a minute earlier, in a world patently not your own.

Between nausea and dizziness, most people's first moments in fully immersive VR looked less like the beginning of an epic adventure and more like the aftermath of a particularly successful party.

Asuna had taken a handful of precautions based on the recommendations of her brother. She'd gone through all the NerveGear tutorials, got plenty of sleep the night before and designed an avatar at her own height. None of it helped. Her stomach lurched at the initial connection, eyes taking longer than expected to adjust to her new surroundings. When they did, her dizziness made the expanse of the Town of Beginnings seem to wash up and down like a gentle tide. Aincrad attacked her with a flood of bright colors and stylized design, eager to discard her reality and replace it with its own.

She took in a deep breath, but couldn't feel it fill her lungs. Her avatar didn't have them, after all. But she refused to cave, she would explore this strange new world. She took a confident first step into this bold new world and immediately pitched forward. The ground of below rushed at her, ready to make the acquaintance of yet another new player.

To say that Asuna's first impressions of Sword Art Online weren't favorable would've been a profound understatement. She reached her hand out, ready to log out and write the whole thing off as foolish.

You can be anything. Asuna remembered those words as she lay against the cold stone of the courtyard. A world where she'd go as far as her skill could take her. A world where she could choose her own path. A world where she wouldn't be a prisoner to someone anyone else's whim. That's the way Kouichirou described it to her. She pulled her hand back, dragged herself to her knees and tried to recompose herself.

At least she wasn't alone in her awkwardness. At least a dozen players swayed and slipped as though the cobblestone were an ice rink. A player with long spiky red hair held back by a bandanna crashed only a few feet away, then flashed her a grin and a thumbs up before staggering back to his feet... only to fall again. But a few players found success, celebrating first steps as though they'd beaten the floor boss.

Asuna dragged herself upright, narrowly avoiding another fall in the process. She closed her eyes, focused. One foot in front of the other. Simple. Easy. She took her first step. Remained upright. Another step. A near fall. Another, steadier this time. She kept eyes on her feet as she pressed on. She moved as cautiously as a tight rope walker over a shark tank. A little further and she started to find her rhythm. Walking came easier with each step. She could even move in a straight line now! Soon she picked up speed, walking at a brisk pace, finally felt confident enough to look up-

-just in time to see the other player a split second before she barreled into him. They tumbled in opposite directions and hit the ground hard. As she sat up, a system message appeared in front of her.

SAFE ZONE. Attacks against other players are not allowed!

"It's not like I meant to," she grumbled.

"I didn't either. No hard feelings either way?"

The stranger was already back to his feet. He stood at least six feet tall, with long silver hair that spilled out to frame his youthful face. Just like Asuna, he wore the light armor of a fencer, with a dark violet cape and tunic that matched his eyes. Asuna noticed those details before the hand he offered to her, which she finally took and staggered back to her feet. His hand felt soft, warm. Almost like the real thing. She held it a second or two longer than needed before pulling free and felt a flush of warmth to her cheeks.

Please tell me the game doesn't render blushing. Please.

"Er... no. No hard feelings at all."

If he noticed her embarrassment, he didn't call attention to it. "You must be new."

"That obvious?"

"Well, there were only a thousand of us in the beta, so odds are you're a newbie." He paused, smiled. Oh no, his avatar has dimples. "The poor balance was kind of a giveaway too. But I've seen worse. You're not doing bad so far!"

"Thanks... I think?"

"It's definitely a compliment. Name's Naeb, by the way."

"O-Oh! I'm Asuna."

"That's a cool alias. Nice customization on your avatar, too! Love how the blue and gray work together." He glanced around the courtyard. "Were you meeting friends here?"

She shook her head. "I never really played games before, but I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with this game. My brother took part in the beta test, but couldn't be here for the actual launch. So I guess I'm just here solo."

"I see." He nodded then leaned in, close enough for that flushed feeling to return to Asuna's face. "Doesn't really matter to me, but for some people talking about the world outside this game is a pretty big taboo. Say it ruins the illusion or something silly like that."

"Oh. Thanks for the warning."

Naeb looked around once more, then turned back to Asuna. "Looks like my friends haven't shown up yet. If you want, we could form a party and I could show you a little bit about the game."

"I wouldn't want to slow you down."

"You wouldn't slow me down! I'm not one of these win-at-any-cost types. I'm here to have fun." He shrugged, then smirked again. "Besides, the way we bumped into each other feels like a fated meeting between heroes. I think we're obligated to partner up for at least a little bit. If there's one thing you can't do in an RPG, it's deny fate."

"R-Really?"

"Nah. That's only in the older story-driven JRPGs."

"I wouldn't know, I haven't played many games before."

"This is one heck of a choice to start with. But hey, it might get you hooked all the same." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, no pressure if you don't want to. Last thing I want to do is be a pushy jerk. But the offer stands."

Asuna pondered the offer. She hadn't planned to stay all that long, and joining an experienced player like Naeb meant she could maximize her time. She felt at ease around him as well. Okay, and maybe he's got a cute smile. It's a bunch of ones and zeroes, but that doesn't make it any less cute.

"That sounds like fun."

"Great. Maybe we can pick up a few more people along the way. It gets easier the more people you team up with, after all! But if it ends up just the two of us, we'll make do. It's better than running solo, that's for sure." He stopped and tilted his head to the side. "After all, stumbling around isn't so scary if you have someone to pick you back up."

Cute smile confirmed. Maybe she'd enjoy her time in the game after all.

Before venturing into the virtual world, Asuna found pigs cute. Harmless. Then she encountered the boars wandering the outskirts of the Town of Beginnings. Between their glowing red eyes, sharp tusks and AI full of bad intentions, she'd never look at them the same way again. After she logged out, she'd talk her mother into tonkatsu for dinner. And, as she ate the pork dish, she'd imagine it was the ultimate fate of these monsters.

One of them barreled into Asuna and slammed her to the ground, slicing off enough of her health bar to push it into the yellow. Besides her, a young man dressed in all black charged forward and swung his blade, the edge biting into the boar's back. Despite the vicious attack, the boar's health bar only nudged down. Asuna staggered back to her feet in time to parry a strike from a second boar.

"Come on," a voice behind them called out. "These things are the most basic enemies in the whole game!"

Asuna glared at the blue haired warrior who stood behind them, shield held loosely at his side, blade still tucked in its scabbard. That distraction almost cost her dearly. Only the timely intervention of the swordsman in black kept her from taking another hit. He pushed her aside and parried away the attack, then glared back at him.

"You could be helping!"

"I am helping. I'm analyzing your performance, Takaharu. Want to know how bad you're doing?"

Before anyone either of them could launch another attack, Naeb burst into the fray and drew his blade.

"Let me show you," he said. As he drew his sword back it took on a bluish-green glow. An instant later it lashed out with more speed and force than any of the pair's strikes, lopping off a good chunk of the boar's health bar.

"Whoa," Asuna said as the boar tried staggered back to its feet.

"That's a Sword Skill," he said. "Asuna, as a Fencer you can use the same one I did, called Linear. Try using it!"

"How?"

"As you're about to attack, think of that word." He held back the two boars with his blade, casually brushing aside their attacks as he explained. "Just think about what you want to do before you do it." He paused, then added, "If it helps, you can go full shounen anime and call out your attacks until you get the hang of it. Takaharu, same goes for you, but your skill is called Horizontal."

"Horizontal!" Takaharu cried out, swinging his sword forward at the second boar. Just like Naeb, his blade started to glow and struck the boar with a devastating attack.

Asuna met Naeb's gaze, and he nodded.

"Switch!"

He stepped back and Asuna charged forward, pulling back her sword.

Linear!

As the blade started to glow, her arm moved of its own accord, pulling back then thrusting forward just as Naeb's had. The blade struck true and the boar's health bar dropped as it staggered backward. For an instant, Asuna stood with the sword jutting forward and, try as she might, her body wouldn't move.

The boar recovered, charged.

The distance between them closed.

Closer.

Closer.

Her blade shook free just as the boar came into the strike zone of her sword.

"Linear!" She screamed the command aloud this time as her blade pulled back again and launched into the sword skill again.

The boar never stood a chance. The strike stripped the last of its health and it froze in mid-air before exploding into a shower of multi-colored polygons. She turned around in time to see Takaharu dispatch the other boar with a quick strike of his own.

"Wow, very good!" Naeb said. "Especially you, Asuna. You recovered from the cooldown time and chained together that second Linear without even needing me to tell you."

"Yeah, amazing!" The blue haired swordsman walked over and handed Asuna and Takaharu a healing potion. "Think you two can figure out how to use these on your own too?"

Naeb rolled his eyes. "You'll have to forgive Diavel. He got pretty good during the beta but forgets I was there when he first logged in. Do you want me to tell them how long it took you to walk without falling on your face?"

"Thirty-seven minutes, and if it had taken a minute more I would've resigned myself to my fate and become the finest crawler Aincrad had ever seen."

Even with the generous helpings of teasing from Diavel, Asuna had already liked her newfound companions. She and Naeb ran into Takaharu not long after their first meeting, having about as much luck with his first steps as Asuna (and, apparently, Diavel). Asuna learned he too was using full dive technology for the first time but was more guarded with his reasons. He said he wanted to understand the appeal of this world, and left it at that. He contrasted almost perfectly with Naeb's knight-like appearance, looking every bit the rugged outsider.

Diavel called himself the Yuri to Naeb's Flynn. Asuna assumed that reference made sense to someone more familiar with video games. He wore heavier armor than Naeb, albeit with blue trim instead of silver and purple. He lacked Naeb's dimples, his grin wry and almost always accompanied by a joke or sarcastic comment. That he let himself be the butt of the joke as often as others made it charming rather than infuriating. He'd met Naeb met during the beta test, and Asuna had the impression they'd met offline as well.

"Anyway, there's a lot to learn, but we've got plenty of time for that," Naeb said. "I'm sure no one's headed for the dungeons right away."

"Don't be sure about that," Diavel said with a frown.

"You're still bitter about that kid?

"He stole the last attack bonus from me during the boss raids."

"He was just attacking at the same time as you, so-"

"He did it to me twice. And I wasn't the only one he pulled that with, either!"

"And you've got a hundred floors to pay him back, if he's even still playing. Besides, Kayaba's has some elaborate opening ceremony planned for the game, remember?"

"Yeah. I'm sure Mr. Last Attack Bonus cares about that."

"If he doesn't, that's his loss. He's missing what makes this game special."

"What do you mean?" Asuna asked.

"This world's remarkable, and it's all in the details. Watch the flowers long enough, you'll see bees pollinating them. The forest's teeming with wildlife, and you can only harvest a few of them. There are minute changes in the speed and direction of the breeze, the water ebbs and flows like there's a tide... all those little things add up and make the world more immersive. I heard Kayaba actually took some of his programmers and studied with Imagineers for a couple weeks when he started heavy design work for SAO, and it shows."

"I haven't been to Disneyland since I was little," Diavel said. None of the four companions cared too much for the infamous real-life taboo, as it turned out. "I hear the new Avengers attraction is incredible."

"My parents took me and my brother to DisneySea a couple of years ago, but I didn't get to see everything," Takaharu added. "I need to go back!"

"I've never been."

The other three spun around and looked at Asuna as though she'd spontaneously sprouted wings.

"Never?"

She shrugged. "My parents never really saw the point."

"Blasphemy." Naeb frowned. "The Japanese parks are great. I mean, it's not quite the same as if you were walking through the original park in California. And they just opened the fifth park in Florida. But ours are a lot of fun, and you don't have to cross an ocean to get to them."

"Hopefully I'll get the chance to visit them someday."

Naeb rubbed his chin, then snapped his fingers. "I've got it. You know what we should do?"

"Fight more monsters?" Diavel said hopefully.

"We stick together. Maybe form a guild when the quest's available."

Diavel's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You really want to form a guild?"

"As long as it's with the four of you. But here's the thing. Given how far we got during the beta, I think we'll hit the twenty-fifth floor in a year. If we don't all hate each other by then, we pick a day and meet up at Disneyland or DisneySea."

"That sounds like fun!" Takaharu said.

"I'd love to meet up again," Diavel added.

"Asuna?"

The young fencer thought on it. She could imagine the look on her mother's face when she asked about going somewhere as frivolous as a theme park, let alone with people she'd met in a video game. But she could talk her father into it, and then maybe she could cut a deal with her mother. Hitting certain marks in classes, maybe. She had a year to work out the details, after all. Her smile broadened the more she thought about it, then finally she nodded.

"I'd love to."

"Then it's settled." Naeb paused. "Sea stands for Society of Explorers and Adventurers, so maybe we could be the Society of Aincrad Warriors."

"SAW?" Takaharu wrinkled his nose.

"It's a work in progress. Besides, we have plenty of time before we can even start the guild quest." Naeb smirked. "And how about this? If one of us gets the last attack bonus on the boss for twenty-five, the others have to buy their ticket."

"As long as that bastard in black doesn't get it, I'll be happy. Er, not you, Takaharu. Sorry!" He looked back to the others. "Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, our newbies probably need more training."

"I'm up for more. I've got a few hours until practice starts," Takaharu said.

"I'll pass," Naeb said. "I've been going pretty much since the start. Time for a break." He swiped the menu, then tilted his head to the side. "Huh. Weird. Guess they disabled the logout until the opening ceremonies. Still think I'm gonna sit this round out, though."

"Me too," Asuna said. "But I'd love to hear more about Aincrad if you don't mind me asking questions."

"I don't mind at all. We'll just be on the hill over there when you two are done."

Diavel nodded, but Asuna couldn't help but notice the way his gaze lingered on them a moment. The beginnings of a frown tugged at the corners of his mouth as he and Takaharu walked off. She couldn't be sure, but it felt like he suddenly regretted his choice.

"What's the most interesting thing you've seen in Aincrad?" Asuna asked as they sat atop the hill, watching Diavel and Takaharu fight more wild boars.

"Present company excluded?"

Damn the way Aincrad made her feel even the slightest blush. Once again she hoped it didn't show. "If I'm the most interesting thing you've seen here then I doubt you've done much exploring."

He laughed. "Sorry. Can't let Diavel do all the teasing, right?" Leaning back, he looked up at the sky as a few wispy clouds floated past. "There's an event a few floors up that involves elves."

"Elves?"

"Mmmm hmmm. It's the first piece of a pretty elaborate quest, but it starts when you stumble across two elves fighting. You choose which one of help so I picked the dark elf. I really wanted to save her."

"Did she...?"

"Yeah. She died saving my life. It's a real shame." He chuckled nervously, then added, "She was pretty cute."

"Maybe with the four of us, we can save her."

"I don't think we could. Pretty sure it's a mandatory loss kind of thing."

"That's not fair!"

"It's a storytelling technique from back in the JRPG days. It's cheap, but it's a good way to get you invested in a story."

He paused, stretching a hand out to the sky above. "There was one other thing... there's a lake a few floors up. Most of the time, the water's perfectly still so it's like a mirror. At night, when the stars are out and the fireflies are drifting through the air... it feels like you're dancing in the stars."

"That sounds amazing." Asuna ran her fingers over the grass next to her. It felt strange. She'd been in the virtual world of Aincrad such a short time, yet felt like she belonged. During her brief stint with Naeb, Takaharu, and Diavel, she felt like she'd had more real conversations than in years of spending time with her classmates. Perhaps that comfort explained why she continued. "When I was was ten, I wanted to be an astronaut more than anything in the world. I know the names of every Japanese astronaut, memorized star charts and even dragged my dad to a program at the Miraikan."

"What stopped you?"

"Finding out how sick you got when you first went into space." After a moment, her shoulders slumped. "That, and my parents."

"They pressured you a lot?"

She nodded. "They wanted me to focus on something practical, which meant following one of their paths. But I don't have a passion for economics like my mother, and I know I don't want a career in business either."

"So what do you want to do?"

She ducked her head forward. "Haven't figured that part out yet. How about you?"

"You'd laugh."

"You don't have to tell me, but... I swear I won't laugh."

Naeb took in a deep breath. "I talk about all this Disney stuff because I want to be an Imagineer. That's part of the reason I love spending time here, I want to see how people like Kayaba build their worlds. One day, I want to do the same thing in the real world."

"I'm guessing it's not an easy job to get."

"It's not as tough as, say, becoming an astronaut, but it's not walk in the park either. No pun intended."

"Still, it sounds like an amazing career!"

"Could you tell my dad that?" Naeb sighed. "Three generations of doctors and they want me to be number four. Never mind that I've got some offers to some great engineering and design schools. Smith College in the United States even offered me a full scholarship to study art or engineering. I'd hate every second of medical school. My dream is to create something that touches the lives of others. Imagine helping people through the most difficult of days, offering them a little escape from the stress of everyday life. That's what I want to make. The sort of thing I needed. And, from the sound of it, something you could use too."

"Something kind of like Sword Art Online?"

"It's something to do until you figure out what's next, at least."

"I never expected to feel this way about a video game, but I think I'd like to come back. To see if we could reach that twenty-fifth floor."

"Does this mean you're not giving your brother's NerveGear back to him?"

"If I need to, I'll get my own."

"They're not cheap. You must be pretty well off."

Asuna huffed and put a hand on her hip. "Or maybe I'd feel motivated to work hard and save money, so I could keep hunting monsters and having conversations with interesting people."

"I see. I hope you meet some eventually, then."

"Maybe I already have."

Her hand brushed over the grass again, but this time her fingers slipped past his. They exchanged a look.

"You shouldn't rush to judgment."

He had a point. But Asuna had never met anyone like Naeb before. At times it felt like a competition between her classmates for higher test scores and eventually greater prestige. Naeb cared about none of that. He cared little for clearing dungeons first nor his rank in class. He wanted to make the world a better place and to help others. She wanted to see where that desire would take him, how he'd change the world for the better.

"First impressions are important, but I'll have a year to decide whether or not I'm right."

For the first time since they'd met, Naeb's smile faded. "Asuna, it'll be a lot of fun to meet up and all, but... you never know. I might not be quite what you're expecting offline."

"My brother told me there are parts of ourselves we never want to show." Without realizing it, her thumb rubbed against the base of her ring finger. "Maybe that's true. But I don't think discovering a different side of someone isn't bad. Who knows, what you find might make you like someone even more. That's why... I think it would be nice to meet the real you, Naeb."

It was his turn to blush now, and Asuna realized with horror the game not only registered the embarrassment but seemed to exaggerate it as well.

"Even if I'm not nearly this handsome in real life?"

She shrugged. "You don't even know that I'm really a girl, do you?"

"In that case, I'll tell you the truth." Naeb's smile melted. He closed his eyes, took in a sharp breath. "My hair's not really silver. It's blue."

"Oh. In that case forget everything I said earlier, the guild's off."

Neither of them could hold back their laughter after that.

"You two rested up yet?" Diavel asked a short time later as he approached, Takaharu in tow. "The opening ceremony's supposed to start in a little while. I figured we could head back into town, try to get good seats."

"Sure." Asuna got back to her feet and walked toward them. She'd taken only a few steps when she realized Naeb hadn't joined her. Instead, he'd fallen to one knee as he tried to get up, fingers pressed against his temple.

"Naeb?"

He waved them off. "I... I'm fine. I think. Just felt really dizzy all of the sudden." He rose to his feet, then plunged forward after his first step. Asuna barely managed to catch him before he hit the ground.

"Okay, I get it. You're razzing me," Diavel said. "Very funny, but you-"

"No." Naeb's voice was strained now, breaking up like a bad cell phone connection. "Something's wrong... trouble controlling... interference..."

The other two ran to his side, flanking Asuna. All three traded looks of concern.

"Did anything like this happen in the beta?"

Diavel shook his head. "Normally you'd just log out. This is..."

"I'm sure he'll be okay," Takaharu said. The look on his face suggested he wasn't so sure.

"Bet my mom's just upset I've been playing so long," Naeb said, his voice clear once again. "I bet she's trying to unhook-"

He never finished the sentence. Instead, he threw his head back and let out a loud, agonized scream. The static returned. For a moment, a second, higher pitched voice screamed in unison with Naeb. His hand clamped onto Asuna's. Their eyes met. He started to say something, but no words came out. He froze like a statue then started to glow. An instant later, he shattered into polygons just like the boar, leaving Asuna's arms empty.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Takaharu shivered. "That scream..."

"P-probably just a malfunction. Let's get back to the Town of Beginnings, I'm sure he'll respawn in no time."

They returned to the Town of Beginnings, weaved their way through the streets. They ignored murmurs about the missing logout button and the increased panic that drove them. Finally, they arrived at the building that housed the Chamber of Resurrection.

However, they didn't see the large altar that Diavel told them to expect. Instead, they saw a massive stone monument. The green marble looked black from most angles, sucking in all the light around it like a black hole. Carved into the surface were ten thousand names. They found Naeb's name there, the only one with a line cut across it. As they watched, lines obliterated three more names. It was only a short time later that Kayaba made his announcement and they learned the significance of what they'd seen.

Naeb was the first victim of Sword Art Online.

Author's Note -

First of all, apologies for the delays on this chapter. I'm happy to report I've got the next few installments in at least a draft zero form, so I hope to reduce the delays between chapters going forward.

There's not a lot of Yuuki here, but I wanted to tell the story of Naeb and how it will inform Asuna's journey going forward. The idea that someone could have disconnected the NerveGear even before Kayaba's announcement is a horrific thought and underscores the seriousness of the situation. I came to like Naeb as I developed him and following through was a difficult decision for me. But his fate will have a huge impact on Asuna going forward.

I'll close the A/N by reassuring you that Chapter Four will be all Asuna and Yuuki, and those of you familiar with the light novels might have a good idea of what's going to happen next, though as always I've got a few twists and turns to keep you guessing.

Thanks for reading! Comments, questions and critiques are always welcome! I tried a few different things with the narrative. Hopefully they worked, or at least didn't derail things too badly.