Thirty minutes later
The birdcage is so close, yet so far. We are currently at the same level of the birdcage, but we are also on the completely wrong branch. Because Yui has no mapping data of this tree, it has taken us over thirty minutes just to get to this point. The sun which was in the sky earlier, is now touching the horizon, giving the once blue sky an orange color. The clouds around the tree's trunk hasn't move, but the ones farther away have been blown away by the wind. And despite it being a big tree with lots of space, no animals were around us. I was thinking that the tree is too high to sustain any life here other than itself. Even now, all of us are needing to get used to the thinner atmosphere here. It is likely that in the real world, the air is just too thin to breathe.
As I was saying, we still have some distance to cover before we make it to the branch which Asuna's birdcage is located. We've tried calling out but it seems she can't hear us even though the air up here is quite thin and the surroundings are quiet. We've gone on multiple branches, running across the full length. Sometimes we had to run back since it was only a dead end. Other times, we went back inside the tree to find other tunnels that would help us get closer to Asuna. I wished we could fly up there so we can stop wasting our time in a place like this.
"Hey Katsu-nii…" Leafa began speaking after a half-hour of silence. "Why did you and Sakuya… You know…"
"Yeah, that surprised me too. I thought you loved Violet a lot." Kirito added in.
"Don't get the wrong idea. My heart and soul is for Violet only. However, I was forced to do that by Sakuya. It was part of our exchange." I explained to them. "When she got close to me, we were whispering to each other so nobody else would hear. She told me that I had captivated her with my strength, riches and appearance, and that she wanted to be with me. I told her I already had Violet, but that only made her jealous. She then told me that in order for us to get their help, I would need to show her my resolve for saving Asuna. I would also need to satisfy her lust for me. That's why I was so angry when you saw me talking to her since I already knew what she wanted me to do. You guys know the rest of the story so I don't need to tell you."
"First it was Kazuto-nii, now you? Gosh… I never knew Sakuya was that kind of person…" Leafa muttered out. "Her actions shocked me when I saw her with both of you guys."
"I'm sorry you had to do that Katsu-nii. Betray Violet and all." Kirito apologized to me.
"In my mind, the act isn't really betrayal since I strongly believe Violet would allow me to do that. Even if she didn't, I would still do it since Asuna's life depends on that kiss we had. What I do think is betrayal, is the fact that I enjoyed making out with her. During our session, I was starting to think that she was better at kissing than Violet. I seriously need to just stop what I'm doing and compose myself…"
"Haha… We're guys, so things like that tend to happen." Kirito laughed out. "Let's just hope that Violet will let it pass and not give you a beating for cheating on her."
"Hopefully she never finds out… But I feel like you guys are going to say something about it later."
"Don't worry Katsu-nii." Leafa smiled. "I promise you that I won't tell her anything."
"In my eyes, promise is a strong word. You better not go back on your word Sugu, or else I'll revert back to my former self, just for you…"
A few minutes later
We finally made it to the branch Asuna's prison is located, and our destination is right in front of us. The golden birdcage was massive. It was shaped like a cylinder, with the top being circular like a dome instead of flat like a normal cylinder. It stood about ten meters tall and had a diameter of about six meters. A circular flower garden outlined the inside of the cage, around the walls. Protruding from one of the golden bars of the cage was some weird golden rod, which held up a large white sheet of sheer fabric. This sheet was connected to a large piece of furniture and acted like a veil for anybody on it. This piece of furniture was abnormally large, but I guessed that it was a bed. In front of this enormous bed, there was a golden-outlined red bench chair. Nearby, there were two chairs and a metallic table. On this table, a single glass vase with a dead rose stood.
Asuna was sitting on the bench chair, resting herself on her bed. She had her face buried in her arms, as if despairing. She must have known we were coming since she is the one who sent us that card. She's been waiting for us all this time, but now, we are here. Kirito and Yui picked up their pace while Leafa and I maintained it. My brother and niece reached the golden cage's entrance and grabbed on to the golden prison bars which have trapped Asuna ever since she was transported from SAO to here.
"Mama!" Yui cried out to her.
Not a second passed before Asuna instantly looked up to see whose voice was crying out for her. She turned to towards the entrance of her cage, and saw Kirito and Yui standing there. Leafa and I reached the cage and stood close behind Kirito and Yui. I could see Asuna's eyes begin welling up with tears.
"Mama, Mama!" Yui repeated.
Her body glowed as she swiped her hand against the cage's doors, causing it to disappear in a flash of yellow. She stepped foot inside of the cage and sprinted towards Asuna.
"Yui-chan!" Asuna cried out joyfully. Yui jumped into Asuna's arms and embraced her.
"Mama! I'm so happy to see you again!" Yui sobbed.
Both of them were crying tears of joy. Kirito stepped into the birdcage and slowly approached them. I looked over to Leafa, who was shifting around nervously. I elbowed her lightly, causing her to look at me. I smiled and motioned her to head over to greet Asuna. She obeyed, and slowly approached Kirito's girlfriend. Currently, Kirito and Asuna were embracing each other, with Yui in between them.
"Asuna, I'm sorry we are late." Kirito apologized.
"No…" Asuna corrected, shaking her head. "I believed in you… I knew you'd come to save me. I especially knew it when I heard Mortifer-san's voice calling out to me earlier today. You're not late at all."
My eyebrows furrowed as her words reached my ears. As I thought, it seems that the Voices gives me the unique and mysterious ability of being able to communicate telepathically by touching someone. Though it's one-sided communication, it is still pretty weird and useful. I'll ask Asuna about what exactly she heard from me later when we free her, or whenever I feel like it. Right now, I'll let the two of them enjoy their reunion.
"H-Hello, Asuna-san…" Leafa nervously greeted her. Asuna halted her embrace with Kirito and looked at the blonde Sylph. "M-My name is Leafa. In the real world, I'm Kirigaya Suguha… K-Kirito-kun's sister."
"Sister?" Asuna questioned.
"She's the one who guided us here to the World Tree. Without her, we would've taken a lot longer to get here." I informed her, taking a step inside the birdcage.
"Mortifer-san!" Asuna beamed. Her eyes which were already tearing up, is now tearing up even more. "I've never been so happy to see you again! And thank you Leafa-chan, for helping to save me. I am in your debt."
"N-No! It was nothing!" Leafa quickly responded, shaking her hands.
At that moment, the Voices inside my head grew audible. I became confused since I was in a cheerful mood, but then I felt my body go numb. No, wait... It didn't go numb, but rather all of the stimuli that was acting upon my body just simply disappeared. The cool breeze of the wind has halted. The sound of the gale is no longer reaching my ears. It's odd because the flowers are still swaying in the wind, as well as my cloak. Not only that, the aroma of flowers has disappeared completely. Even though I could no longer hear the wind, I could still hear everyone's voices.
"Okay, let's hurry up and go home together." Kirito suggested.
'Yeah." Asuna nodded.
"Yui, can you log Asuna out?"
"I'm afraid I can't do that." Yui grimaced while shaking her head. "Mama's status is locked down by complicated codes which I cannot bypass or even touch. We'll need a system console to remove them and log her out."
The Voices grew even louder, causing my entire body to go on alert. What the hell is going on with them? Also, is it me, or is it getting darker? I turned around and looked at the sun. Part of it remained above the horizon, and its radiant light is still blinding. In fact, the sky and branches around us appears the same as before. The only difference, is the birdcage which is noticeably darker than before. I scratched my head, confused and looked down towards the ground. My eyes grew wide with shock and my heart began pounding when I saw it. A wave of fear washed over me, causing me to instantly draw out both of my blades and hold them tightly. Kirito, Leafa, Asuna and Yui jumped from my sudden actions.
"Katsu-nii, what's wrong?" Kirito questioned.
"Something's coming. I can feel it!" I shouted. My body began shaking as I pointed towards the ground. "Look! Look at it! Look at our shadows!"
"Our shadows?" Leafa asked. All of them looked towards the ground.
"Katsu-nii, what's wrong about our shadows?" Kirito asked.
I removed the hood which had been covering my head and turned to Kirito. I gave him the most serious look I could ever give him in a situation like this. I used the sword on my right hand, and pointed down in front of me, where my shadow was located. I then revealed to him the reason why I was acting so anxiously.
"Look at it! My shadow! It's bending towards the light!"
Another wave of fear washed over me. This time however, it seemed to reach everyone else. Kirito quickly pulled out his giant sword, and stood in front of Yui and Asuna, looking to protect them. Leafa also unsheathed her katana, but her body was shaking so violently. Without warning, I began feeling a strong force pushing down against me. No wait… It isn't pushing me down, but rather pulling me down. Soon enough, everyone was on their knees except for me. Even so, it took all of my might to remain standing somewhat straight.
"Yui… What's going on?!" Kirito struggled.
Everything around us began disappearing. The orange sky faded into a dark void. The birdcage dissolved away into pixels, leaving nothing behind. We were now in a dark room, with a single circular light underneath an invisible floor below us. Leafa could no longer handle the pressure exerting on her, and she fell flat to the ground. I was finally forced to drop to one knee while Kirito and Asuna struggled to stay crouching. Yui's body suddenly started giving off weird purple sparks which traveled across the floor around her. She was struggling in holding herself up with Asuna.
"Mama! Papa! Be careful!" Yui cried out. "Something bad is coming!"
A second later, Yui's body broke down and faded away into nothing.
"Yui!" Kirito and Asuna shouted out in unison.
The two of them attempted to crawl to each other but to no avail. I managed to get off my knees again and made my way over to Leafa. She was completely pinned to the ground and could no longer move. She's attempted to push herself up but the gravitational force was simply too strong for her. It got even worse when the pull became even stronger, causing me to fall face first onto the hard, invisible ground. All of us were now pinned down to the ground. I struggled to reach my hand out for Leafa's but she couldn't move hers at all.
"What a surprise…" a voice unbeknownst to me began speaking. "I didn't expect to see so many cockroaches in my little bird's cage"
"Are you…" Kirito gasped out.
In front of me, a person's feet came to view. Based on the form of their feet and the voice I just heard, I determined it to be a man. He wore beige-colored sandals that had two straps. One going over the bridge, and one over the area right above the heel. He wore green robes which almost reached his feet. I tilted my head up slightly and noticed his enormous sized wings. His clothing and green-tinted wings made me think he was a Sylph. However, after closely inspecting his wings, I noticed they were shaped very differently from normal fairies. He may be a Sylph or some race that looks like it. I tilted my head up even more and managed to see the side of his face. He had long blonde hair that reached his shoulders. The guy had enormous elf-like ears which were also covered by some sort of metal strip at the top. He wore a crown that had a single emerald gem at the center of it. He held an expression that I've seen before. The expression worn when a god looks down upon the people he is controlling.
"Sugou?!" Kirito finished his sentence. The man shook his head and wagged his finger.
"I'd prefer that you not use that name in this world. Call me His Highness, the Fairy King Oberon!" Sugou shouted at my brother as he used his foot to stomp down on my brother.
"Kirito-kun!" Asuna cried out.
"Onii-chan!" Leafa joined in. I remained silent as anger began building up inside of me.
"How does it feel for you guys? You can barely move a muscle, right?" Sugou taunted us. "This is gravity magic which is coming out in the next update. Perhaps it may be a little bit too overpowered?"
Sugou continued to rub the sole of his sandals on Kirito's face, causing both Asuna and I to become even angrier.
"Stop it… You coward!" Asuna snapped.
"Well then… Kirigaya-kun, or do you prefer Kirito-kun? How did you manage to get up here to this little birdcage of mine?" Sugou questioned him. The foul man retrieved Kirito's sword and began swinging it around. "I saw a strange program running just now. A program which I've never seen in the logs ever since I created this world."
"I flew… With these wings!" Kirito lied to him. To solidify his claim, Kirito summoned his wings which now work for some reason. It wasn't working earlier.
"Heh, well it doesn't matter anymore. I can just ask your mind directly."
"What?!" Kirito wheezed.
"You didn't really think I set up this entire world up for fun now, did you? Thanks to the dedicated cooperation of three-hundred former SAO players, the fundamental technology for emotion and thought control is already eighty percent complete."
Emotion and thought control? Wait… Don't tell me he's saying what I think he's saying… No, it can't be.
"When this is all complete, I'll achieve something that no one has ever done! Control of the human soul! The power of a god! And soon, that power will be entirely mine to wield! Seriously, thank goodness for virtual worlds!"
Sugou, or Oberon, began laughing maniacally while all of us processed his words. Is it really possible for someone to become that powerful and control anyone and everyone at their disposal? Not to mention, the amounts testing he has to do in order to obtain the information he needs to manipulate the human mind… If he's been doing those tests on the SAO players who are still trapped in the game, then who knows what could happen to them once they get out of virtual reality.
"Sugou!" Kirito barked.
"Tampering with the minds of other people, that's just wrong!" Leafa decided to join in but I motioned for her to stop there.
"You will never get away with this! Never!" Asuna threatened him.
"Eh? And who exactly is going to stop me?" Oberon asked. He walked over to Asuna and pointed Kirito's sword to her face. "Sadly, there is no God in this world, except for me! Now, before I go start altering your souls, let's have a fun party, shall we?"
Sugou snapped his fingers and two pairs of chain cuffs fell from the black void above us. The cuffs clanged on the floor when it made impact. The chains holding the cuffs could have been infinite since I couldn't see the end of it above me. It just faded into the void like it was nothing. Sugou then crouched down and began cuffing Asuna's hands to the chains.
"You bastard, what do you think you're…" Kirito tried to finish his sentence but failed.
Sugou then moved on over to Leafa and did the same thing. He cuffed both of her arms to the chains and let her lay there. Sugou looked at Kirito and gave him a mischievous smile. Sugou pointed his index finger upwards, causing the chains to begin pulling on Asuna and Leafa. The two of them were lifted off of the ground for Sugou to see their entire body. Both of them continued shaking, so I'm assuming that the gravity magic is still affecting them, causing them great pain at their hands and wrists. Sugou began laughing lightly before he stuck his arms out and shouted:
"Now!"
The force of gravity became stronger, causing Asuna and Leafa to struggle even more. Red marks formed on their wrists indicating that they have been hurt due to the natural forces of accuracy.
"Great! I love it! NPC women just can't make the face you two are doing right now!" Sugou beamed. He approached Asuna and began sniffing her hair. "Ah, what a lovely smell that is… Replicating your scent from the real world was hard. I do hope you appreciate how much work it took to get an analyzer into your hospital room so he could obtain data on how he could replicate the smell."
"Stop it…" Kirito growled. Kazuto's face was full of rage. He was attempting to get up but the gravity magic was simply too strong.
"Kazuto… Stay down!" I begged him but he ignored me.
"My, my…" Sugou said, shaking his head. "Onlookers can just grovel on the ground!"
Sugou kicked Kirito on the face, causing him to fly a short distance before slamming back down to the ground. Oberon then brought Kirito's sword high up in the air before piercing my brother straight through his lower back. I could see the sword's tip protruding from Kirito's stomach. The Voices were getting louder and louder by the second. My anger is building up.
"Kirito-kun!" Asuna cried out.
Sugou left the sword inside Kirito's body and held out his right hand in the air.
"System command!" he shouted out. "Change pain absorber from level ten, to level eight!"
A small screen of light appeared, showing a green meter dropping from ten to eight. The solid lime green bar now held a yellow hue. Instantly, Kirito began crying out in pain. I could now feel pain in my body as the gravity magic continuously exerted its pressure. Sugou was delighted to see my brother in pain. I gazed into his green eyes and saw the egotistical bastard that he is. The Voices were basically screaming now. My heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest. If my rage was visible to others, I would be like a volcano that is on the verge of erupting.
"It hurts, doesn't it Kirito-kun?" Sugou chuckled. "I'll gradually let the pain increase, so do look forward to that! Of course, anything below level three will start to affect your physical body too!"
At that moment, the volcano just exploded and is now releasing all of its lava and ashes everywhere. My rage wanted me to destroy Sugou and show him no mercy, and that is what I am playing on doing right now. I fought against the gravity and pushed myself up until I was on one knee.
"You better revert that pain absorber back to level ten you fucker…" I threatened him. "Cause if you don't, I will make sure that you regret hurting my family in front of me."
"Hm?" Sugou mused. "And what do you think you can do, Mortifer-kun? Or should I say, Reaper of Sorrow?"
My eyes grew wide at his words. A sense of worry built within me.
"You… How do you know that name?" I growled at him. Sugou smiled.
"It's easy to track down a mass murderer inside a game, but I do admit it was harder to find out who you were before your files were corrupted. Since I knew it was a player, I wished to track them down and deal justice upon them for taking so many lives. Lo and behold, I found a rather interesting player log which matched that of the murderer. The log I found just happened to be yours. The exact moment you supposedly died in SAO, an unidentifiable player joined the game. This player's stats were the same as yours at that very moment. It even had the same friends, items, and currently equipped items. I suspected you to be murderer, but to make sure, I interrogated Asuna-chan. She told me everything though she doesn't remember since I had her memories wiped."
"Y-You bastard!" Asuna shouted at him. Tears flowed down her cheeks. "Mortifer-san… I'm sorry."
"You don't need to be sorry about anything Asuna…" I told her. "If I get caught and get sentenced to life in prison or death, then so be it. However, there's no way I'm letting this guy do what he wants!"
I forced myself to stand up. The force of gravity made me feel like I was going to be crushed should I lose my balance. Sugou began slowly walking towards me. He was grinning evilly and laughing on the inside. Oberon raised his fist and began swinging it towards my face. Even though his attack was completely predictable and slow, I couldn't move my arms fast enough. He punched me square in the face, causing me to lose my balance and fall back down. I felt pain from the punch, but it was only a slight sting. If the pain absorber is any lower, then I would've felt the full force behind his blow. He then walked over to Kirito and removed the sword sticking through him, causing my brother more pain due to his rough removal. Sugou then walked back over to me. His smile grew more sadistic.
"System command!" Sugou began shouting, raising his right hand outward. "Change pain absorber from level eight, to level six!"
The meter appeared once again, showing the drop of two levels. The punch he dealt on me earlier began hurting even more. Although I did not feel any pain on my eyes earlier, I could now feel a numbness in them. My jaws were also feeling a bit weird due to the internal shockwave caused by the punch. Sugou then stood over me, with Kirito's blade held out.
"Now, let me give you your retribution!" Sugou shouted maniacally as he used the giant blade to pierce right through my stomach.
Every muscle in my body contracted as a sudden, searing pain in my stomach appeared. The pain was definitely not something to laugh about. It is far more painful than getting hit with a bamboo sword without armor, and likely comparable to getting stabbed by a huge syringe. As if that wasn't enough for Sugou, he began moving the blade around my stomach, causing more waves of pain to wash over me. I wanted to shout out in pain, but I forced myself to cope with it. Sugou noticed my struggle and frowned.
"Why aren't you screaming yet? Come on, scream for me!" He shouted maniacally as he took the hilt of the blade and twisted it even more.
Another wave of pain washed over me. I couldn't really say if it was agonizing or not since I haven't experienced this level of pain in a while. The last time I've been through this level of pain was when I was hit directly hit by a drunk driver while going back home from school. I'm still surprised that I didn't die that day, though I shouldn't be thinking about that now, especially in this situation.
"You're going to have to do more than that to make me scream you god damn son of a bitch." I taunted him whilst smiling and laughing. Sugou's expression changed from delight to that of anger.
"Trash shouldn't talk back to those above them!" he snapped back.
Sugou looked around the room and began picking up all of our weapons. He took Leafa's katana, both my Obsidian Blades, and even the small throwing knives I had on my belt. He threw them all out in the air and they began hovering right around him. He took one of my blades and quickly pierced through my torso, causing me more pain but not as much as the stomach. He pierced me again on my right shoulder with my other blade, and again on the stomach with the katana. He used my throwing knives and stabbed them all throughout my arms and legs. The pain was just getting worse and worse. I wanted to scream out in pain, but I'd rather die than give this guy what he wants. And what he wants right now, is to hear me plead for mercy.
"Just scream already you piece of shit!" he yelled.
"Never…" I responded weakly. Sugou became so angry, his veins began popping out on his arms and neck.
"System command! Generate object ID Excalibur! Quantity, five!"
My eyes opened wide as five familiar looking golden blades appeared out of thin air in front of Sugou. The Holy Sword Excalibur… The strongest weapon in this entire game. I remember seeing it back in Jö tunheimr, but it was so far away that I could not see its details clearly. It was made of pure gold with two edges sharpened like katanas. The cross guard and grip were also made of gold. The pummel as well as the center piece of the cross guard was made of a bright blue crystal, making me assume it was some fictional mineral or maybe even diamond.
"System command! Give Immortality to player ID Mortifer!"
A red hexagon, similar to the one I saw back then when Kirito fought Heathcliff, appeared above me. The words read "Changed into Immortal Object". At first I was confused, but when I looked at my health bar, I saw why. My health has dropped down to the orange zone due to the damage dealt on my body. If he stabs me with the most powerful weapon in the game, I may just perish and escape his torment. He's making me immortal so he can make this torture last for as long as he wants.
"Change pain absorber from level six, to level four!"
The pain became almost unbearable now. I couldn't breathe properly because of the pain I was feeling in my chest and stomach. I hated it, but it also prevented me from screaming out. Sugou then took three of the legendary swords and placed one in my abdomen, one in my left shoulder, and the third on my left leg. The pain I was experiencing must be what people call agony, because I could no longer think straight with all of the pain I'm receiving.
"Katsu-nii!" Leafa called out to me. She thrashed around in her chains, trying to break free.
"You bastard! If you hurt my brother any more than you have, I will make sure to return it to you a thousand-fold!" Kirito threatened. Sugou ignored my brother and instead held out his hand once again.
"System command! Change pain absorber from level four, to level two!"
The amount of pain I was through doubled once again. No, at this point the pain must have squared. I recalled Sugou saying that anything below three will affect my real body. With all of these swords inside of me, it's sure to do some damage to me, though I'm just not sure how much. The ones in my stomach is sure to cause some internal damage. The blades on my arms, legs, and shoulders will prevent me from moving them properly. Finally, Sugou took the other two blades. He used one to pierce through the right side of my chest, going right through my lungs. All of the wind was knocked out of me, leaving me in a state deprived of air. I could already tell my real body is going to wake up to some agonizing pain because of this. But as if that wasn't enough, he took the final blade and pierced it right through my right eye.
"Katsu-nii!" Kirito shouted.
My eye was instantly blinded and my mind felt like slush as the blade gave me a severe headache. How am I even conscious? I thought the human body is supposed to shut down if it experiences this much pain. Wait no, my heart rate hasn't slowed at all. In fact, its beating even faster, which makes no sense. If this keeps up, I won't be able to faint.
"Still haven't screamed yet?" Sugou snarled. "Very well. System command! Change pain absorber from level two to level zero!"
Everything in my body instantly began breaking down as the pain began emulating the same feeling I would feel in the real world. This pain is beyond what I comprehended it to be. I did not care if I screamed out now. In fact, I wanted to but I could no longer muster the strength to scream. The blade in my lungs prevented me from breathing. The one in my eye gave me a massive headache. One even worse than the ones the Voices usually gives me. The gravity magic is still pulling me down, and it felt like I was being crushed by a public transport bus. What exactly did I do to deserve this torment?
What am I talking about… I completely deserve this, maybe even more. This is what I deserve for inflicting pain on the loved ones of those I killed. This is what I deserve for being so weak and unable to control my wrath. I don't have any real strength outside of video games, so I should really just stop pretending like I do. There's no way I can beat Sugou now at this state. I felt my heart finally slow down, and my vision began fading. I looked at Sugou, who seemed to be done with me as he was now walking back towards Asuna. He grabbed onto Asuna's bustier and ripped it away. The piece of white fabric broke down into millions of polygonal shapes. Asuna was now half-naked, with Sugou drooling on her exposed breasts. He then moved behind her to sniff her hair, putting his arms around her arms. He began laughing evilly.
"Shall I tell you what I'm thinking right now, Asuna-chan?" Sugou spoke out loud. "I was thinking that once I'm finished with you here, I'll go to your hospital room. I'll play a recording of what we did here in this room over there in the real world. Afterwards, we will enjoy ourselves with your real body."
Asuna's expression showed complete shock and fear. The Voices finally began screaming out as my rage built up. I was so infuriated at Sugou for even thinking of doing that to Asuna, yet here I am unable to do anything. How could I lose to someone as pathetic as him? How… could I… lose…
(Katsumoto)
I can feel the blades inside of me and the gravity which was pulling down on me. However, I could no longer feel the pain. I can remember it clearly, but my body was not experiencing any agony. The Voices were not screaming out. They were merely whispers in the distance like always. I was currently in darkness since my eyes were closed. I could see light through my eyelids, and even the scar Sugou dealt on me on my right eye. My body was cold and so I tried to curl up in a fetal position and cover myself using my cloak. However, it didn't make me any warmer.
"So… cold…" I said, shivering.
With my right ear planted on the floor, I began hearing footsteps. Whoever those footsteps belong to, they are in no rush in heading towards me. After a few seconds, I felt a presence in front of me. A shadow seemed to swallow me up, and I could no longer see the scar on my right eye.
"Are you going to open your eyes?" a man's voice called out to me. He sounded familiar, but I couldn't really place his voice. The man repeated his words, saying once again, "Are you going to open your eyes"
"I… I'm too scared to." I responded to him. I curled up into a ball even more, hoping for the cold to vanish.
"What are you scared of? The pain he dealt on you? Or the fact that he seems to be insurmountable?"
"I-I don't know… Maybe both? The latter more than the other. I can't do anything to him. After all, I'm a player while he's a GM."
"You really have stooped so low, haven't you Mortifer… Those words you spoke just now made a mockery of our battle, as well as what I put you through."
The cold suddenly disappeared. I stopped shivering and was now feeling a slight warmth.
"Our battle? What you put me through?" I asked the man.
"Do you really fear the pain he dealt to you, more than the pain you suffered through in that Cave? Did The Darkness Within not help you overcome you fears? And our last battle when I killed you… Your fighting spirit refused to give up and overcame the system itself, giving you the time you needed to kill me. My greatest accomplishments were all trumped by your spirit alone. So don't give me that crap about being scared of that man. It will only make you lose the great amount of respect I had for you, Reaper of Sorrow…"
My mind began functioning again. It started searching for the owner of this voice. I went through hundreds of different faces I saw in Sword Art Online, until I finally stopped at one of them. The face of the man responsible for putting me through so much pain in that game. I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in a white room. I glanced upwards and looked upon Heathcliff. No… I should say that I looked upon Kayaba Akihiko… He was looking down at me, the same way he did to Kirito after they dueled in the coliseum. I then smiled at him.
"What the hell are you doing, looking down on me?" I interrogated him.
"You're the one in a fetal position. Plus, you're forcing me to look down at you in order to talk to you." Kayaba replied.
"Shut up…"
I tried pushing myself off the ground, but my arms did not have the strength to do so. I then heard Kayaba sigh.
"Fine… I'll help you… Just take my hand." Kayaba suggested. I was about to take it when he suddenly grinned.
"I'm assuming you're going to want something in return if I accept your aid?" I grunted.
"Yes, and unfortunately, you have no choice but to accept my aid."
"Just shut up and help me up…"
Kayaba reached out even more and I grabbed his hand. My white world of peace and serenity faded away, as the feeling of agonizing pain returned to me.
(Mortifer)
I found myself back in reality, or should I say virtual reality. The pain was still excruciating, but my resolve to defeat Sugou was at its maximum. I willed myself to ignore the pain and deal with it. I opened my left eye and saw Sugou molesting Asuna. Kirito was now chained just like Leafa. He was placed right beside Sugou and Asuna, forced to watch as he played with her body. Although I couldn't really see it, I could tell he was touching her boobs. He was also visibly licking her face. Kirito was consumed with rage and was thrashing about. Leafa was crying but then noticed that I was now awake. She smiled but I gave her a glare, telling her not to alert Sugou just yet. That's when a bunch of words suddenly appeared in my vision, with the words "username" and "password" right next to them. When I saw Heathcliff right next to "username", I knew right away what sort of help Kayaba gave me.
"System login… ID Heathcliff." I commanded the system.
My sudden shouting alerted Sugou of my revival as well as Kirito and Asuna.
"Katsu-nii!" Kirito shouted out in glee.
"Eh? Awake so quickly?" Sugou said, annoyed. "Whatever… I wanted to torment you even more anyway. And what did you say? System login? Bah, like it matters"
Sugou began approaching me as I quickly inputted the login credentials of Kayaba's account using my right index finger. Floating screens of light appeared above me, surprising Sugou and causing him to stop in his tracks.
"What the? How? What is that ID you logged in with?!" He questioned.
"System command… Enable administration privileges. Set ID Oberon to level one."
Sugou's body flashed yellow and the gravity magic suddenly disappeared, allowing me to move a lot better. The strain Asuna, Kirito and Leafa were experiencing are now gone and they all relaxed a bit more. A screen of light appeared in front of Sugou, informing him of his loss of administration rights. He is now on the same rank as any player in this game.
"An ID that outranks mine?! That's impossible!" Sugou shouted. He clutched his hair and began tearing out bits and pieces of it. He also began stomping on the ground. "I am the ruler of this world! I am its creator! I am the king of this world! It's God!"
"Not even close…" I uttered out.
Sugou turned around and looked at me. I slowly sat up, with blades still inside of me. Without even caring for the phenomenal pain it would cause me, I quickly ripped away the blades stabbed inside of me, one by one. I took out the ones on my limbs first, and then the ones stuck on my torso. I casted them all aside except for two Holy Sword Excaliburs. I looked at Sugou and gave him the most intense death glare I could possibly give him.
"You stole this world… And three hundred of its people… You are just a king of thieves, ruling an empty kingdom which you stole. And for that, I shall give you your own retribution."
The ambient lights of the dark room began dimming, making the room much darker than before. It was as if the system already knew what I wanted. I let out a long sigh and held the two legendary swords tightly in my hands. I slowly walked towards Sugou and let my bloodlust consume me. The system itself seemed to read my action and mood, creating a darkness around me similar to when I am using the Surge of Darkness back in SAO. This time however, I have full control of my actions, and there is no way I am holding back.
"Don't take this personal Sugou… This is revenge for your foul deeds. Raping Asuna, hurting my brother, and playing with the minds of three hundred SAO players. I would leave it at that, but there's someone else I also need to get revenge for. You know him very well since he is the one who gave me this admin account as well as the one you stole the game engine from…"
Sugou's eyes opened wide with shock. His whole body trembled as he tried to speak out the name.
"K-K-Kayaba? I see… So that ID is his account… So even after you died, you're still thwarting with my plans to become powerful in this world?! Screw you for ruining my life!"
Sugou then looked at me with hopeful eyes. He had a nervous smile on his face as he held his hands out as if asking for a handshake.
"C-Come on now Mortifer-kun! Kayaba messed up your life as well, right? We can compromise if you want! I-I won't mess with Asuna anymore, how about that? I'll reimburse your family for any damages and pain I have inflicted on you guys! I'll even give you a job at RECT Progress? How about that?! I-I know you haven't gone to college yet, but I'm sure we can teach you how to do your job! I'll even give you a high starting salary, or a high position!"
"Did people ever tell you that you talk way too much?" I informed him. "Not that it matters anyway… Don't take this personal, because what I'm about to do to you is not revenge for the pain you made me suffer through. No… This is for everyone you've inflicted pain on, and I will return that pain to you in millions. So if you believe in some sort of God, you better ask him for help right now because there is no way I'm going to show you any mercy… I shall commit one more sin, and hope that this is the last… May death rain upon them…"
I rushed towards Sugou, with my swords held out. I knew that I was having an adrenaline rush because it looked to me like time was moving slow when I'm just moving too fast. My bloodlust wanted me to savor every single moment of pain Sugou is going to be suffering which is why I first began inflicting external injuries. I attacked him with my blades, cutting him all around his body about five times before he could even react. Should I cut him fifty times then start cutting into his muscle? Or should I cut one of his arms to the point where his skin is nearly gone? Oh dear, I can't choose between the two of them. Both of them sound too good. Maybe I'll just reside to cutting into his muscles after fifty. Skinning him would take too long with only two blades.
And so, after fifty strikes in places all throughout his body, I began making my attacks cut deeper into him. Excalibur is so sharp and smooth that I can easily cut his muscles without slowing down my attacks. I cut away at his legs, aiming for his calf and tendon. I aimed for his arms, cutting his skin, biceps and triceps. I paused for a moment, giving Sugou a moment of relief. But I then grabbed his hand and continued to slice away at the webbing of his fingers. I split the webbings all the way to the bone where I then separating his fingers as far as I could. I then broke his fingers and tore open his hand as if it was a gift box wanting to be opened.
"Waaaaahh!" Sugou screamed in agony.
I repeated the same process with his other hand, but slowing down to make sure I get the most out of the moment. While Sugou continued to scream like a little girl, I continued to slice and dice at his body. I used the pummel of one of my blades and smashed it against his teeth, causing them to break off against the golden surface. I stopped my onslaught once again and carefully pierced Sugou's tongue, causing him great pain as well as speech problems. His screams were now merely moans. The Voices were getting more intense, causing me a headache. If I do this for too long, who knows what will happen to my mind and sanity. Although, I have already lost the grip on my humanity with the things I am doing to this guy. I might as well continue until I pass out.
I then moved to dismembering him, starting with his legs. I slashed at his knee, cutting through his bones like a hot knife through butter. I severed his leg which disappeared in an explosion of pixels. Unable to hold himself up, Oberon fell to the ground, grasping his leg. I lifted up his other leg and lacerated it continuously before I finally snapped his knee and ripped his leg out of his thigh. I noticed that his health was dropping considerable low, so I began moving faster. I took out two throwing knives and precisely threw them at his eyes. They found their marks, blinding Sugou and causing him more agony. I then created a gash on his throat, disabling his breathing. I set my foot on Sugou's torso and leaned down to meet him in his pitiful state. His health was currently in the red zone.
"I'm sorry. I wish we could play longer, but I don't think I can hold on any longer. Neither can you. Take care now, Sugou. Sayonara."
I picked up Sugou's body by his hair, and decapitated him completely. I then took the head which was barely alive and stabbed it right inside of his mouth. His mutilated body twitched slightly before the last of his health disappeared, killing him. His body burst into millions of polygons which faded away after a few seconds. A new Voice appeared inside of my head. It was Sugou's voice. His screams of pain earlier will now remain as an echo in my head till the day I die. I looked down to my hands, which were completely normal, yet my imagination was picturing them stained in his blood. I was tempted to lick the imaginary blood off but resisted the urge. My bloodlust hasn't been satisfied, and the Voices are becoming unbearable. My adrenaline is also running out so I feel the pain of my wounds again. I need to hurry up before I pass out due to pain…
I turned around to face Asuna and my siblings. All of them looked rather scared of me, but I can't really blame them. I had lost all humanity in my just now, all so I can inflict as much pain and suffering on Sugou as possible. I guess you could compare my actions to the Surge of Darkness, except this time, all of it I had complete self-control and voluntarily committed some extremely sadistic acts. The Voices began screaming even louder and I was forced to take a knee from the pain of my wounds. My head was throbbing now. I don't have much time before I lose consciousness. I picked up an Excalibur and tried standing up. My legs didn't have enough strength and I simply fell back down. How can I cut their chains if I can't even stand? Wait…
"Kirito, pull down on your chain, as hard as you can. Quick." I heaved out. He did as he was told and I prepared myself. I threw the golden blade using all my remaining might, and cut the chains, freeing Kirito. "Now quick, get over here. I need to… remove your cuffs…"
Kirito quickly ran to me and held his hands out wide. Literally using my body weight, I held Excalibur behind my back and swung down while collapsing to the ground. Kirito's cuffs were separated, freeing his hands. He then crouched down to check on me.
"Katsu-nii! Are you okay?!" He asked me.
"System command…" I said, ignoring his question. "Enable administration privileges to player ID Kirito…"
My brother obtained admin privileges which will now allow him to do whatever he wants, including logging Asuna out of the game, freeing her. I would like to see him do that, but I can't stay awake for much longer. I… need to rest…
(Kirito)
"Katsu-nii! Hey, Katsumoto!" I said while shaking my brother's shoulders.
My brother's head was on my lap. He seems to have lost consciousness, I don't blame him. Those Voices of his must be making him suffer greatly. Those injuries Sugou inflicted on him must have been painful as well. If I recall, Sugou said that if the pain absorber is set to levels below three, it will also inflict the real body in some way. If that really is true…
I slowly set Mortifer's head down on the ground and ran over to Asuna and Leafa. I cut their chains using my blade that I picked up, and quickly gave Asuna my coat to hide her nakedness. I then removed their cuffs with a quick swipe of my blade. Leafa ran straight to Mortifer and examined him.
"Leafa, can you please check on Katsumoto's real body?" I asked her. "Sugou said that pain levels below three will inflict damage on the person's real body. If it was set to zero, then I don't know how much pain it could possibly inflict on him."
"R-Right! I'll log out now! If I see anything really serious, I'll try to treat it right. Otherwise, I'll come back and tell you all the damage that's been done." Leafa quickly responded.
My sister hastily opened her menu with a swipe of her left hand. She searched for the log out button and exited the game. Her avatar disappeared in a bright flash of pixels. Now all that remained in the room was me, Asuna, Mortifer's sleeping body, and all the swords Sugou and Mortifer used to torture each other. Just seeing one of those blades makes me recall all that had transpired just now. Asuna seemed to be having the same problem since she looked at the blades with fear. I knew Mortifer had a point where he would snap, but I didn't know it was that scary. It reminded me of his execution as well as his battle with Heathcliff. His ferocity and viciousness were that of an animal. While part of me is saying that Sugou deserved a terrible punishment, the other part is telling me that Mortifer went way too far. Who knows what that could have done to Sugou's body, especially when the pain absorber was set to zero.
"Kirito-kun…" Asuna whispered behind me, making me jump back into reality.
I turned around to face her and embraced her in a hug. We both fell to our knees, right next to Mortifer's sleeping body, and continued our embrace for a few more moments. I looked at Asuna's face and felt a huge wave of relief wash over me, causing me to begin crying tears of joy. Asuna pulled me close to her and I began crying on her shoulder.
"I-I'm sorry we took so long…" I apologized to her.
"No…" she said, shaking her head. "I believed in you. No, I still believe in you. I always have and always will. And after what happened to Mortifer in SAO, I too believe in him now. Just like how his guild believes in him. I believe that you guys are my heroes, and that you'll always come to save me when I need your help."
"T-That isn't t-true…" I sobbed out. "Mortifer is the only hero. I don't have any power at all, and had to rely on him to do everything. He went through so much pain and suffering all because I asked him for help… If only I was stronger, I could…"
Asuna silenced me with her hand. I looked at her and noticed tears in her eyes. She then gave me a warm smile.
"That's not true Kirito. You are strong. I know that. Your brother knows that as well, more than anybody. After all, you are the biological brother of the strongest person I've ever met. For you to be as weak as you think you are, that's not right…"
"Putting it like that, it kind of hurts since you're saying that I'm only strong because I'm related to Mortifer." I laughed out. "But… I'll do my best to be strong then."
"Please do." Asuna smiled.
"Now… Let's get you logged out." I told her. I began moving my hands to fiddle with the menu but she stopped me.
"Wait… I want to know of Mortifer's condition before we go." Asuna requested.
"We will wait for my sister then. Unless Katsu-nii did get some serious injuries, she should be back by now." I told her.
As if it were a coincidence, Leafa appeared in a flash of white in front of us. She opened her eyes and blinked twice, getting used to the lighting. She looked at us and ran over to Mortifer's body.
"Suguha, what's Katsumoto's condition?" I asked her.
"He's bruised slightly in some places in his body and has a few cuts which I covered up with bandages. I didn't really see any other injuries or signs of internal bleeding. We're going to have to get him checked up to the hospital to make sure. But, there is one big thing…"
Leafa's voice failed. She looked at Mortifer and made a nervous expression. She held her stomach as if her insides were churning from the thought she was having in her mind.
"Sugu, what happened to Mortifer?" I demanded.
"His… His eye…"
"What about it?"
"When I entered the room, his face and NerveGear was painted with blood. I was afraid to take off the NerveGear since I was still scared of accidentally killing him. That's how many players died at the start of Sword Art Online after all… Anyways, his right eye was bleeding profusely, I put a piece cloth on his eye and weighed it down with a bag of ice. When the ice melts, it should dampen the cloth a little bit and clean the wound somewhat. I couldn't tell if it was just the area around his eye or the eye itself that was bleeding. Should I just call for an ambulance? I've already prepared to treat him later, but I was just wondering…"
"I would say yes, but Katsumoto doesn't like going to hospitals to get treated. After what happened to him in that car accident, he's refused to go to a hospital for proper treatment and says to let nature have its way with his body. He also said something about hurting his pride if he shows weakness like that. If it is indeed an injury directly on his eye, then he has no choice but to let us."
"Talk about stubborn…" Asuna laughed out.
"Yeah… He really is." I said, smiling a bit.
"So, should we just stay here and wait for him to wake up?" Leafa asked me.
"That's the only thing we can do right now. Do you want to log out now Asuna, or wait for my brother to get back up?"
"I'll wait a bit longer. I want to thank Mortifer for saving me." Asuna stated.
"You don't need to…" A weak voice spoke from below me.
I looked down and saw my brother as he slowly opened his eyes. We all smiled as we looked down on him, happy that he woke up. He tried sitting up but immediately winced from the pain. That's when I realized that the pain absorber was still at zero.
"System command! Change pain absorber from level zero to level ten." I commanded.
The meter appeared in front of me, showing the bar rise up to full. When it did, Mortifer let out long sigh of relief. He slowly sat up and put his hand on his face. He stayed silent for a few moments, before breaking down and crying. Leafa got behind Mortifer and wrapped her arms around his neck, comforting him. I retrieved his swords and gave it to him. He held his blades tightly with one hand, hugging them close to his chest. He remained like this for a minute before finally calming down.
"I want you to be completely honest with me…" Mortifer began. "Did you think I took that way too far?"
Mortifer's question caught us off-guard. While we all wanted to take revenge on Sugou, I'm confident that none of us would have tortured him to that extent. The mental damage Mortifer inflicted on him is likely to be very high. After all, Mortifer looked like a sadistic serial killer throughout the entire torture session.
"Yeah… It somewhat pains me to say it, but you took it way too far with Sugou." I told him.
"That's what I thought…" Mortifer sighed out. "Anyways, how long was I out?"
"Ten or so minutes. Sugu checked on your real body for injuries. She said your eye is pretty bad right now. You may need to go to the hospital."
"Ugh… I think I'll pass." Mortifer loathed. He let himself fall to the ground and spread his arms open wide. "So Asuna… You want us to log you out of here anytime soon? Or do you still want to stay here for a bit longer. You said earlier that you wanted to thank me before logging out. While you didn't actually do it, you have nothing else to do here."
"Well, I guess you are sort of right. Okay then, log me out." Asuna asked us.
"Kazuto, you do the honors. Afterwards, you should log out right away and go meet up with Asuna in the hospital. Sugu, you can do whatever you want. I'm going to stay here for a bit. I want to rest and check up on what happened to Yui. I'm pretty sure she is completely fine, so don't worry too much. If not, I'll find a way."
I opened up my menu and went through the dozens of options inside of it. Almost all of the things in this admin menu are things meant for game developing which means that a normal person wouldn't understand it. But since my foster mom works as a video game developer and has taught both me a few things, not all of it was gibberish. I scrolled through the menu for a few seconds before finally finding the log out option. I searched for Asuna's name and forcefully logged her out. Her avatar began glowing brightly as it slowly faded away. Before she disappeared completely, she smiled and embraced me tightly. She completely disappeared a moment later. I watched as the particles that Asuna's avatar dissolved into fly upwards until it was no longer visible. I then let out a long sigh.
"It's finally over, huh Katsu-nii?" I asked him.
"I hope so, cause I'm not in any condition to do anymore fighting, nor do I feel like it." He responded. "Now go on and meet up with Asuna in the hospital. You shouldn't keep her waiting. I'll meet up with you there once Oka-san is home. That way, I can take the car over there."
"Are you sure? You may have some serious injuries once you log out of the game, and you're practically blind in one eye according to Suguha. Will you even be able to see properly in the darkness of the night?" I questioned him.
"Who knows? If I get in a car crash, then so be it. But I assure you that I won't be the one who is crashing onto someone else."
"Whatever then. See ya' later then Katsu-nii."
I opened my menu and hastily logged out of the game, eager to get to Asuna as soon as possible.
(Mortifer)
The moment Kirito disappeared, I stopped holding back. The pain of the wounds done on my real body is reaching me here, and it is not fun. I groaned loudly and put a hand over my eye. Internal damage is certain and blindness is a given. However, the levels of these conditions are still unbeknownst to me. I panted heavily as waves of pain continued to wash over me. Holding it back took a huge toll on me and I am now unable to do so. Leafa sat down next to me, visibly expressing her sympathy for me.
"I'm surprised you held that back for so long." She began speaking.
"Ah… So, you know how severe my injuries are then?" I panted out.
"I've already called an ambulance to come by our house. If I told Kazuto-nii that one was coming, then he would never go back to Asuna until you're fully treated, no matter how much you told him to do so."
"Thanks for that, and you're right, he would never go to Asuna. There's no way I have minor injuries with this pain I'm feeling. I'm glad Kirito reset the pain absorber, or else I would still be in agonizing pain. So then, tell me what's wrong with my body."
"Your arms and legs were bleeding pretty heavily, but that was only due to the numerous number of places you were stabbed in. I've patched up all the bleeding wounds so you should be fine there. Your chest isn't really showing any signs of internal bleeding but I could be wrong. You may have broken or fractured ribs due to the blades cutting through it as well as the gravity that was acting upon you. The worst part is your stomach. It wasn't bleeding that much on the outside, but there are cuts that have slightly healed already due to your abnormal healing and metabolism. Internal bleeding is certain, meaning surgery is required to heal you properly. The injuries you sustained here are far worse than what you received in the car accident back then."
"No doubt about it… At least then it was only after I got surgery since I was knocked out the moment I got hit. Here however, I was conscious during the torturing. And while I'm going to be asleep during the surgery, the pain I will feel afterwards remains... I wonder if I can still do normal things again after this."
"Let's just hope that you can." Leafa sighed out. She then stood up and stretched her arms. "I'm going to go and log out now and treat your body a bit more before you are taken to the hospital. If you are still inside the game when they arrive, I'll tell them to keep your helmet on just in case. Good bye now Katsu-nii."
"See you later Suguha."
My sister opened her menu and disappeared in a bright flash of pixels. I was now all alone in the room. Lied down and stared at whatever was in front of me. Was there a ceiling to this dark room, or is it just empty space? I can't tell since everything was pitch black, even the floor. The lack of color bothered me and so I looked down towards my body instead. I was almost given a heart attack when I saw someone standing near me. He had a very familiar face and wore a long white lab coat. His black pants and black shoes only added in to the scientist vibe. However, upon recognizing his face, I knew that he was no scientist, but a game developer instead.
"Having fun there, Mortifer-kun?" Kayaba spoke to me.
"Eh, not really. But I'm better off than you are right now. I think…" I responded to him. "You're not alive, aren't you?"
"You could say I am alive, or you could say that I am not. It depends on how you define the word Life. I am an echo of the mind that was Kayaba Akihiko. An afterimage of it uploaded to the Internet."
"So… you scanned your brain into the Internet?" I questioned him.
"Precisely."
"Don't really know how you did that but whatever. You do the craziest things anyway, like making virtual reality. Well, I guess I need to thank you for helping me out."
"There is no need to thank me." He responded. I raised my brows in curiosity. "I do not mean to spoil anything, but I have already prepared a gift for you to receive. Because of that, helping you now requires a payment, or rather a favor."
"If it has to deal with caves, fears, darkness or more pain and misery, then count me out. Otherwise, go ahead and hit me with it."
Kayab stared blankly at me for a second, before looking upwards. A bright golden light glowed above us and slowly floated down before it was at eyelevel with Kayaba. There was a weird object in the center which also seems to be the cause of the golden light. It was an egg-shaped translucent object with other glowing colored lights inside of it as well as a white core. Around the core were three rings that spun in place. The egg then floated down and rested itself on my chest. It was extremely light, yet had a solid texture like glass. Even though I wasn't holding it, it stood perfectly still on its rounded bottom.
"So… What's this?" I asked him.
"The beginning of a world… The Seed." Kayaba responded. "Once it sprouts into a sapling, you will understand what it is. When that happens, whatever you do with it is up to you. You can let it blossom into what it is, or delete and forget about it. However, if you have any feelings left for that world beside hatred, then I suggest you keep it…"
I looked at Kayaba and The Seed in wonder. This thing is the beginning of a world? And what does he mean about feelings for that world? Wait a minute…
"Heathcliff… Is this thing, what I think it is?" I questioned him.
"I don't read minds, so I cannot answer that. Even if I could, I wouldn't answer it. I'll be going then." Kayaba stated. His ethereal body began floating off. "I hope we meet again Mortifer-kun. No… Kirigaya Katsumoto-kun. But as of now, this is good bye."
Kayaba Akihiko's body disappeared in a brilliant flash of light which covered the entire room. I was completely blinded for several seconds before the light died down. When I opened my eyes, I found myself back inside the birdcage, lying down on the bed. The sun was still up somehow, but I wasn't arguing since it made the sky glow with brilliant colors of yellow and red. The Seed disappeared from its resting place on my chest. If it is a digital thing meant for me, Kayaba must have saved it inside of my NerveGear's local files. Yes, that's the only explanation. I lied there for a while before I saw some weird wormhole appear above me. My eyes opened wide with surprise as a little girl suddenly fell out of the portal and landed right on top of me, knocking the wind out of my avatar.
"I'm sorry Oji-chan!" A familiar voice cried out. I looked at the girl's face and determined it to be Yui.
"No… it's fine." I groaned. "I'm glad you're safe. How did you get away?"
"I took shelter inside Papa's NerveGear. Since the system can't delete or access the local memory of a player's own device without permission, I was able to avoid being completely deleted. It took me some time to come back since I had to redownload my files into the game. Where's Mama and Papa?"
"Asuna is back in the real world. My brother left to go see her in the hospital."
"Really?!" Yui beamed. "I'm glad! I'm so glad! I really am…"
"We'll be back to see you soon. But what will you do if this world gets deleted?"
"Well as I said, my core program is inside Papa's NerveGear, so I won't be deleted along with it. I can also download my files to your NerveGear so all of us can be together forever!"
"Well, that's nice to know then." I said. I looked over to the setting sun and remembered my current condition. "I'm going to need to go now Yui. My body is currently very injured. An ambulance will be arriving at my home soon. It will be easier to treat me if I am not logged into the game."
"I understand Oji-chan." Yui smiled. "I hope you recover quickly so we can see each other again. I love you!"
"I love you too Yui…" I told her. I sat up and pulled her into a hug.
I opened my menu and searched through the dozens of components inside of it. I then found my way to the log out button and disappeared from ALfheim.
(Katsumoto)
The moment I logged out, the pain increased a tenfold. I was having trouble breathing and my stomach ached badly. I wasn't in my bed anymore. In fact, I was already being carried away to the ambulance. I was forced to close my right eye due to the blood and could only see through my left.
"Katsu-nii! You're awake!" Suguha cried out gleefully.
"Quick, remove his NerveGear! Do it carefully though!" a doctor's voice commanded.
The medics removed my bloodstained NerveGear and began treating my eye right away. I held back the urge to cry out in pain since it hurt like hell. I then felt a quick shot in my arm. The pain subsided a bit and gave me another sensation. It wasn't painful, but rather pleasurable. It made me feel relaxed and a bit euphoric. Was that morphine just now? Well whatever, I needed it anyway. The pain was too much, and now I feel a lot better. I then found myself drifting away into a deep sleep. Before that happened however, I managed to hear one last thing from the medics.
"Full speed to Tokorozawa General! We need to get him to the ER for surgery, right now!"
Tokorozawa… That's… Asuna's hospital…