Chapter 14
Game Over
May 15th, 2027
Boss Room, Floor 75
It was that day. That day when everything fell apart. The day where it all came to an end.
We were making are way into the room that held the third quarter boss. There were very few of us, maybe sixty at best. Many players, after the battle with Mars, had become reluctant to even leave the towns let alone go out to take on a floor boss. As such we had the least amount of players we have ever had in any boss raid. Despite this, we -meaning Lancelot and his guild- gathered up all those that were willing to fight and headed off to the boss room.
We all stood crowded around in a dimly lit cave with large double doors that would lead us to the boss. All of us wore grim expressions though many tried to mask them with looks of confidence. They were all conversing with friends and guild members, attempting to reassure each other. Like usual, I stood off on the side, watching them interact, my heart aching. Sometimes I wished that I would've had the chance to join a guild, but me taking the role of a scapegoat killed those chances. If only things had been different...
I jumped when a delicate hand touched my shoulder. Spinning around I saw Raven, Uno, Reaper, Kent, and Aegis all standing behind me, smiling reassuringly at me. Shock colored my face before a grin broke out on my face. I remembered that I wasn't alone. I had friends by my side.
A thunderous boom echoed through the dim cavern as Lancelot slammed his shield against the ground, gaining our attention. Without a word, Lancelot nodded to everyone and pushed open the doors.
Inside was a large platform standing in the middle of a great chasm. A thin stone bridge lead to the platform. Glancing over the edge I was met with never ending inky blackness. Swallowing hard I made a mental note to stay away from the edge at all times.
We crossed the bridge cautiously, afraid that the boss would jump out when we least expected it. But it never appeared. We made it to the center of the platform, but nothing appeared. There were tall torch stands surrounding the outer rim of the platform, but they remained unlit. We all waited with bated breath for the boss to appear. We waited a minute. Two. Three. Four. Nothing.
"Where is it?" a player asked fearfully.
I couldn't help but wonder the same thing. Where was this thing? We had been waiting for practically five minutes and still it didn't appear. Then I noticed something. A dark almost unnoticeable shift in the shadows on the right of the platform. Turning towards the shift I saw a large area that looked darker than the other shadows that covered the walls. I squinted at it discoloration, trying to figure out what I was seeing. That was when a single golden dot appeared towards the summit of the discoloration followed by a unnerving smile that looked like an upside down crescent moon.
I only had time to shout a quick "LOOK OUT" when the creature lunged forward.
The creature swept forward like a ghost at startling speeds. Something flashed in its hands followed by the sound of something cutting through the air. On instinct, most of us dove to the ground, feeling whatever it was rush through the air just above us, sending wind rippling through our hair. Unfortunately, not everyone had fast reflexes.
Three players were not able to move in time and as the creature flew past them, an invisible blade slashed through their bodies and tossed them into the air. The trio screamed with a mixture of pain and shock. We could only watch in horror as all of their health bars swiftly deplete, leaving them with nothing. With a final scream, the three players burst into pixels, leaving the room in dead silence.
The creature circled back around before stopping several feet away from the platform. At the same time, the torches burst with bright purple lights. The light illuminated the creature that had just killed three of our players.
The creature was nearly twenty feet tall and covered completely with a long black tattered cloak that had a hood that covered the creature's bowed head. In the creature's skeleton like hands was a long twenty twenty two foot scythe with an eight foot long jagged blade. The figure raised its head revealing a porcelain masked sculpted with a permanent smile over the mouth and an empty eye hole.
I could feel the creature's gaze moving over us even though there was no visible eye. It then began to giggle. A cold and chilling giggle that steadily evolved into chuckling then into full blown laughter that shook its entire body. Six health bars appeared by its head followed by a name that hovered over its cackling head.
Giggling Reaper.
Still laughing, its eye flashed gold before lunging at out group, its scythe posed to cut us all in half.
"Scatter!" the ever calm Lancelot shouted, snapping players into action.
Most tried to avoid the reaper, but some attempted to block his attack with their own. This worked for some, but the weaker players were literally blown away from the force of the attack. Several players were sent skidding across the platform, two of which fell of the edge, screaming their lungs out as they fell. Five down and fifty five to go.
"Everybody, hold firm!" Lancelot shouted, rallying the scrambling players.
"I can't take it, man!" a random player with short dirty blond hair and fear filled brown eyes shouted before running to the bridge, most likely forgetting that the doors locked upon entering. He had just made it to the bridge when the reaper struck again.
Giggling Reaper flew overhead, completely ignoring us and shot towards the bridge and the player. The player looked over his shoulder and shrieked shrilly when he saw what was beyond him. He quickly dove to the side to avoid the scythe aiming to cut him in two. The blade kept going and slammed into the stone bridge. Spiderweb cracks spread across the bridge from where the scythe impacted before the entire bridge shattered like glass.
The laughing reaper slowly turned its head and faced the terrified player, its golden eye flashing madly. It raised its scythe high above its head, cackling evilly as it stared down at the petrified player. Just as it was about to bring down its blade and kill the player, I raced forward with speeds that only Silfarion could grant and plunged my blade into the masked reaper's chest.
The force of my attack was able to shove the reaper away from the player, sparing him from the reaper's immediate attention. The reaper regarded me with its single glowing eye. It still cackled that unnerving cackle yet I swore I could see a glimmer of fury over being denied its prey flash in its eye. It raised its blade once more, this time its attention focused on me. I brought up my own sword, putting myself in front of the still terrified player. Just as the reaper was going to attack me, several arrows and spells shot through the air and slammed into the reaper's side.
The boss' back arched slightly from the pain and force of the attacks, but it never stopped laughing. Giggling Reaper turned to face the group and raised it scythe. It then flew forward at the group with its scythe already swinging.
Shield bearers made their way to the front of the group and raised their shields, taking the boss' attack. The line of shields was pushed back slightly from the sheer strength of the laughing monster, but they held firm. With the creature momentarily held in check, the close range fighters rushed around them and began to attack the monster.
Just as they were beginning to attack the boss, it recovered. After a few hits it swung its scythe, cutting into several players bodies, dealing a substantial amount of damage by just grazing them.
I jumped into the fray, delivering several gashes across the reaper's back with a well placed sword skill. Just as I touched back down onto the ground, Giggling Reaper spun around faster than I thought possible and slashed me viciously across the chest, sending me crashing to the ground. Groaning in pain, I glanced at my health bar that I was at half health with just one strike. I was then forced to roll away as the demented reaper attempted to stab me while I was down.
Thankfully, the other players jumped in and attacked the reaper, momentarily taking the creature's attention off me. I quickly popped a potion while the monster was distracted before leaping back into the fight.
After several minutes of just hacking at the creature, it flew straight up out of the range of our attacks. It looked down at us with its glowing eye and once more broke out in cacophonous laughter over us not being able to reach it.
"Archers! Mages! Fire!" Lancelot shouted.
Heeding his words all long range players began to rain down spells and arrows down on the boss. Even I joined in with my elemental attacks along with others that were able to get the elemental weapon skills. The reaper, almost as if not caring about our attacks, began to shift from side to side, dodging the majority of our attacks though it did take damage.
I was confused on what the boss was trying to do. It knew that we were doing damage, but it wasn't retaliating. What was it planning?
I soon got my answer as it shifted its scythe over one shoulder, both hands gripping the blade as if to cut something in front of it. Golden energy began to lick across the blade like flames across an oil soaked rag. My eyes widened when I realized what was going on.
"EVERYBODY WATCH OUT!" No sooner had I said that, Giggling Reaper began to swing his scythe rapidly, sending out blades of golden energy at us.
We all scrambled around trying to avoid the blades. I did my best to avoid the attacks or block them with my sword, but even I got hit. I heard screams of pain and despair from all around me, but I couldn't afford to look around. I heard the tell tale bursts of dying players, but still, I refused to look.
Finally the attack ended and we had a chance to breathe. Looking around I saw that three players had been killed by the boss' barrage. Looking back at the boss I saw that five health bars still remained. We had a long way to go before we beat this thing.
Giggling Reaper's laughter reached new heights as it hefted its scythe and charged us once more. Malice and bloodlust pouring from its glowing eye.
-Virtual-
Giggling Reaper reeled back in pain as the last of his health was depleted. A large crack split down the length of the porcelain mask as the reaper fell backwards. Even as it died, the reaper still laughed its bone chilling laugh as if it were joyous that it had killed so many of us. With a final laugh, its mask shattered and his body soon followed. We had one, yet we lost.
Looking around, I saw that out of the forty five that our group only sixteen or so of us were left standing. We had lost about seventy five percent of our group and while I was grateful that it wasn't more, but it was still a blow. Everyone's health was dropped to either the yellow or red and all were in various stages of depression.
"That was horrible," one player whispered in horror.
"That was only the seventy fifth boss," another said. "We still have twenty five more floors to go."
"How are we going to get through this?"
I found myself asking myself the same thing. If players were scared to fight these bosses now, chances were that no one would want to participate. We would never get through floor one hundred.
I allowed my gaze to wander, sighing in relief when I saw my friends, looking a little worse for where, but safe nonetheless, before my eyes landed on Lancelot. He was standing proud over what was left of his guild. My eyes narrowed when I noted his health bar.
It was green.
Not yellow or red like everybody else, but green.
I racked my brain for images of Lancelot fighting. Throughout the entire fight, I never saw his health go past green and I definitely never saw him being healed or taking a potion. So why was his health still green?
A sudden burst of inspiration shot through me, lifting me to my feet and leading me to draw my blade. Many players gave me questioning looks before the cried out in shock when I ran at Lancelot with inhuman speeds. He only had time to turn towards me and widen his eyes before my sword was baring down on his neck.
*Clang*
My sword was stopped by a purple shield that read 'Immortal Object'.
Silence ensued. Everybody stared at us in a mixture of shock, anger, and betrayal. The shield faded, and a stepped back, glaring heatedly at Lancelot. Lancelot, for his part, remained stoic as he met my gaze.
"How did you know?" he asked, his voice revealing nothing.
"Your health never dropped below green through the entire fight," I said with a scowl. "There's no way a normal player could do that. So what are you? Some kind of NPC?"
At that Lancelot laughed a loud belly laugh. Despite the amusement in his voice, all of us were put on edge. When he finally stopped laughing he looked at me with an amused look as if I were a puppy that just barked for him.
"An NPC? Do you really think so lowly of me? No, I play a much more intensive role in this world." He gave me a piercing look. "Can you tell me who I am?"
I frowned for a minute in contemplation. He was obviously a player, or at least a real person. He was obviously someone important for Harrison to have given them invulnerability. So who could he be...
My eyes widened in sudden realization and I took a step back.
"Your him," I said, my voice hardly above a whisper. "You're Kane Harrison."
As if some switch had been flicked, everyone was on their feet, weapons drawn, and staring hatefully at the knight. The now identified Kane Harrison chuckled lowly at our reaction, before walking towards the shattered bridge. Turning to face us once more he smiled almost invitingly at us.
"Yes, I am Kane Harrison," he said. "I was hoping to reveal myself much later as a surprise twist to the game. Picture it, the peoples champion whom everyone adores turns out to be the one that trapped them here in the first place and is the hundredth floor boss to boot." His smile became slightly more deranged, much like some of the red players that we had fought. "It would have been an amazing twist. But you" -He pointed at me with a mock scolding tone- "had to go and ruin it."
"You bastard," I heard Reaper growl from behind me.
"Though I suppose I can't very well let you leave, now that you know my secret," Kane said. He raised his hand, causing all of us to tense, and snapped his fingers. At first nothing happened. Then, all at once, seven beams of light erupted around us. When the light faded seven figures stood in their places.
The figures wore pitch black armor with golden highlights, much like Kane's own armor. They each held black shields with gold crosses and silvery longs swords that with golden script running down the length of the blades. Their faces were completely covered by banded visors that shielded their eyes and expressions.
"I do apologize," he said, not sounding apologetic at all. "I had hoped that at least a few of you would make it to the final boss, after all, I was looking forward to fighting a few of you, but a lass..." He snapped his fingers once more and the knights began to slowly advance.
"So that's it then?" I demanded, my mind racing. "You're just going to kill us? Where's the fun in that?"
"Well, as I said, I can't very well let you all live now that you know of my secret," Kane said, his gaze unwavering.
"Well why not fight us now? This would be the perfect time. If we lose, we die anyway. What have you got to lose?"
The game designer placed two fingers against his chin in apparent thought. The knights began to close in, forcing us to move closer to one another, forming a circle in order to keep the knights in sight. Just as the knights came within striking distance, Kane snapped his fingers once more, causing them to pause.
"I suppose you are right," he said to me. He flicked his hand out, opening his menu and pressed a few buttons. A bright light emanated from his form before it faded. "It would be rather boring if you all were to just die. I have turned off my immortality status so now I can take damage. I'll even make it so that if you kill me, I end SAO right here and now." Several players grinned and took a step forward to attack before Kane spoke again. "However! It would be unfair to take part in a fight with such outnumbering odds. So..." He snapped his fingers again and all hell broke loose.
Several players cried out in shock and pain as the knights cut into their bodies while others were able to block the attacks. My eyes had been firmly fixed on Kane's smug form and was blindsided by one of the knights. I stumbled back, reeling, and was forced to bring up my sword to defend against one of the knights. Likewise, the other players all engaged the knights with weapon skills and the few spells that were available.
We were in a very bad way. We had used up most if not all of our health and mana potions during the fight with Giggling Reaper, not to mention that the archers had used the majority of their arrows. We were not prepared to engage in another battle like this.
I watched two or three players broke from the group and ran at Kane. I wanted to shout out to them, to warn them to be careful, but I didn't dare take my eyes off the knight I was fighting. Kane most likely knew every weapon skill in the game and could easily counter them, this was most likely how he was able to fight players while sustaining minimal damage. If we wanted to beat Kane we would have to use nothing but pure skill. I wanted to go an help those that went after Kane, but I had to deal with the knight currently attacking me.
I ducked under a blade and tried to stab the knight, but was stopped by its shield. The knights had a similar fighting style to Kane. They both utilized their swords and their shields to attack as well as defend. It was a very annoying style, but thankfully, these knights weren't nearly as fast as Kane.
I swiftly ducked under the knight's arm ans plunged my blade into its side. It arched in pain, but didn't make a sound. It spun around, swinging its sword as it did, and I ducked under the swing before humping straight up, dragging my sword across the knights flank. The knight once more reared back in pain before it burst into pixels. Before I could congratulate myself, a beam of light erupted from my life. I just had time to turn towards the light before I had to jump back to avoid a sword from the new knight that had appeared.
The knights respawned after you beat them! I grit my teeth in anger and frustration as I fought. If these things appeared as soon as one was defeated, there was no way we could beat them. If we wanted to win, we would have to attack Kane himself.
However, that was easier said than done.
Knowing that I had to get to Kane in order to end this battle, I tried to circumvent the knight, but it blocked me at every turn. Getting frustrated, I attacked it with a sword skill, slashing it multiple times. I scored multiple hits on the armored fiend, but my last one was deflected by its shield. Pushed off balance, I was left wide open to a vicious slash down my back.
I stumbled forward, my body still out of my control until the system cool down was lifted. I saw from the corner of my eye the knight lunging for me. Right before it could make a shish kebab out of me, Reaper was suddenly in front of me, his blade still sheathed. With a swift swipe, Reaper unsheathed his blade, which had taken on a red light, and cut the knight in half. With a silent cry of pain, the knight was destroyed.
"One down!" he shouted triumphantly, not noticing the light that signified a knight spawning.
Feeling my body come back under my control I knew I had to act fast as the knight was no charging the still oblivious Reaper. Using the last bit of my mana, I channeled air magic down the length of my blade and launched a sky blue blade of wind at the newly spawned knight. The wind blade tore through the air, carving a path through the stone of the platform, and slammed into the knight before it could reach my samurai friend. The knight was sent flying back from the force of the attack and was thrown over the side of the platform.
Reaper had whirled around just as the knight had been thrown by my wind. He gave me a grateful look which soon became solemn when yet another knight formed.
"If you kill one, another will take its place," I said, leveling my sword at the new night.
"I can see that," Reaper quipped. A sudden chorus of screams tore our gazes away from the knight and towards the other end of the platform where almost all of the spell casters had just been destroyed by the advancing knights.
"Dammit," I said, turning back around and glaring at the knight in front of me. "This won't end until we take down Kane.
"I'm on it!" Aegis voice rang out as he ran past both me and Reaper.
"Aegis, wait!" I shouted. I tried to run after him, but a knight got in my way. In desperation I shouted, "He made the game, so he most likely knows every skill in the game!"
I'm not sure if he heard me or not. I couldn't check as I was being pushed back by the knight before me. All I could do was hope for the best.
Turning my attention back to the knight that was still attempting to cleave me in two, I gave a strong push, shoving it away from me and into Reaper's glowing blade. With several flashes, Reaper ended his skill by sheathing his sword. All at once multiple red gashes appeared on the knights visage. It stumbled a bit, but did not die. Seeking to finish it, I dashed forward and decapitated the knight, sending it to oblivion.
I immediately ran off towards where Kane and Aegis were currently fighting, trusting that Reaper would be able to handle the knight that was spawning. Even from where I was, I saw that it was a poor match-up. Kane had both the defensive and reach advantage over Aegis who was valiantly dodging Kane's blade to the best of his abilities, but it was clear who would win the fight should it continue. As an open handed monk, Aegis relied on getting in close and dealing devastating blows, but against a fully armored and surprisingly swift guardian style player like Kane, he had little to no chance. There were two other players helping him, but I knew that they would not be enough. As I tried to get to them and assist, but my way was blocked by yet another faceless knight.
"Get out of my way!" I growled, trying to muscle my way past the knight. Unfortunately, I my strength is in speed, not muscle and the knight was able to push me back.
Filled with unbelievable frustration, I attacked like wild animal denied food. Silfarion was now just a deadly arch of pure death as I carved through the knight. It did its best to block my attacks with its shield, but it couldn't keep up with my speed. I had almost killed it when it happened.
A shout then tore through the cavern and my blood ran cold. I recognized that voice, yet I hoped to whatever god there was that I was wrong. I chanced a look and saw that Kane had just leveled one of the players that he had been fighting against. A second later, I realized that that player was Aegis.
Not even caring about the knight I was fighting, I ran towards my friend. I heard the sound of something tearing through the air just over my head. On pure instinct I swung my blade behind me and felt the satisfying feeling of my blade felling another enemy. With nothing to stand in my way, I ran to help my friend.
Just reaching him, I raced to Aegis' side and pulled out my last potion. Kneeling by his side I made to pour it down my throat when his hand grabbed my wrist. I gave him a confused and worried look, but he just smiled sadly.
"You'll need it more than me," he rasped, his voice cracking, whether from emotion or pain, I'm not sure. "Promise me you'll get them out."
"Aegis..."
"Promise me!" I felt tears sting the corners of my eyes as Aegis health faded to nothing.
"I promise." He smiled and burst into pixels. He was gone.
Rage coursed through my veins over the death of my friend. The sounds of the others that were fighting Kane reached my ears and my goal was clear. I downed the potion in my hand and got to my feet. I glared hatefully at Kane, who was in the process of slashing through another player, and charged.
Kane had just turned his head when my blade cut through his chest. His eyes widened in shock before they hardened into chips. He pushed me back with his shield, causing me to stumble slightly, before swinging his sword at me. I rolled to the side and slashed at the game creator as I came to a kneel. Kane slammed his shield against the ground, right next to his own leg, blocking my strike. Arm ringing from the jarring hit, I was unprepared for the armor clad boot slam into my chin. Flung backwards, I landed ruffly onto my back. Still dazed, I instinctively rolled to the side and narrowly avoided the blade that sunk into the ground where I had once been.
Scrambling to my feet, I blocked Kane's sword as it attempted to bisect me, but I was unable to stop Kane's shield from smacking me over the head. Struggling to shake the stars from my eyesight, I slashed wildly, attempting to ward against Kane approaching. Unfortunately, Kane was not deterred and cut me across my chest before punching his shield into my gut.
Spit flew from my mouth as I was thrown several feet. I stayed on my feet, but I was having a hard time breathing normally. Kane didn't help by charging me once more. I was forced on the defensive as Kane attacked like a whirlwind using his sword and shield in perfect tandem. I was hard pressed to defend myself against his relentless onslaught. I deflected and dodged like I had never done before. Even so, I received substantial damage. I attempted to throw in my own attacks, but Kane deflected all of my attacks. I tried to get around him, but he would intercept me and trap me in the same dance as before.
He was outclassing me in skill. He obviously had the edge as he created the game, but I had no idea he would be this good. Maybe it was because part of me still saw him as human and not another monster. Memories of our encounter with the red guilds made me hesitate when opening appeared. Even after everything Kane had done, part of me still was reluctant to kill another human.
I chanced look behind me, hoping for some sort of support, but they were all busy with the knights. The number of players fighting the knights had greatly diminished, leaving only ten that I could see. I saw Kent and Reaper fighting back to back. Uno was attempting to distribute potions among those while shoot crossbow bolts we able. I couldn't see Raven at all.
Unfortunately, the second long look proved to be a mistake. Just as I turned back to Kane, his blade had slashed through my chest. Not even giving me time to recover, he spun around and slammed his shield against the side of me face, sending me crashing to the ground.
Dazed, I could only stare helplessly from my place on the ground as Kane stood over me. A triumphant smirk on his face.
"Well, I can't say that this isn't a welcome sight," Kane said superiorly. "You should know by now, Phantom, never take your eyes off an opponent." He placed his sword just under my chin, his smirk telling me that he was enjoying this. "Shame that your story ends now."
He raised his sword high in the air, the blade taking on a blood red aura as he activated a sword skill. I tried to move my body, but I found that I was unable to move. I continued to glare defiantly at Kane, refusing to give him the satisfaction of me begging for my life, not that it would have done any good.
"This is your end!" Kane swung his sword down to snuff out my life and I could do nothing to stop him. As the blade drew nearer and nearer my life flashed before my eyes. I saw scenes of me with my family and friends even my time within SAO. I knew that those that I cared about would mourn my death, but I couldn't help but feel a strange feeling of serenity. It was as if all my cares and worries were melting off me under my emanate death. I had begun to accept my fate when someone jumped in front of me.
My eyes widened in horror as Kane's blade cut through Raven's body. It was as if time itself stopped. I could no longer hear sounds of fighting, no shouts of anger or fear, nothings. Just dead silence.
Raven fell backwards, her mouth open as if screaming in pain, yet no sound escaped her lips. I suddenly gained movement in my body and I leapt to my feet and caught Raven before she could fall. I could only watch helplessly as the last of her health was depleted her, signifying the end of her time in the game. Her time in life.
Tears spilled from my eyes, falling uselessly against Raven's face. I was so lost. We had grown so close and now she was being torn from me. I couldn't take it.
A soft hand drew me to her face and I saw the sad smile that was covering her face. Tears were falling from her eyes as well. I grasped her hand like a lifeline, unwilling to let her go.
"Please, don't go," I begged, not caring if my words were useless. I didn't want to lose her.
"Sorry, but it looks like my time" -Her body began to glow with that all to familiar light- "is over." With that, she burst into pixels along with my heart.
I tried to grab onto the fading pixels as they floated to the sky, but they faded at my touch. She was gone. Gone forever.
"Well that was unexpected," Kane laughed. "Who would have guessed that she would have impeded my attempts in such a way. Ah well. All she did was prolong your life momentarily. In the end, her attempts were meaningless."
At that something snapped in my head. It was if an invisible switch had been flipped in my head that shut down my emotions. I was angry, I knew I was, yet I couldn't feel it. I slowly got up, my off hand gripping on the blade that Raven had dropped. The one that we got from Yatagarasu all those months ago.
"Oh? Have some fight left in you do you?" Kane asked, noticing that I had stood. When I didn't answer, he tilted his head. "Hmm, no response? Are you so consumed in your anger that you can't even form coherent sentences?"
I didn't respond. I didn't have to. There was no need to talk now. My mind was surprisingly clear. I knew what had to be done. I raised my head and locked my most likely dead eyes with Kane's black ones. There was not need to waste words on a monster.
"What's with that look?" the monster said with a chuckle. "What, upset that she di-URK!" His words were cut off when Silfarion plunged into his chest. He looked at me in shock before the look became one of pain when Yatagarasu flashed over his face, leaving a long red line across his cheek.
Kane quickly got over his surprise and glared heatedly at me. He swung his sword at me, but I deflected it with a swing from Silfarion. With my left hand, I switched Yatagarasu into a reverse grip and swung at Kane, only to meet his shield. As if moving on autopilot, my body spun and slammed into the shield again with both Silfarion and Yatagarasu.
With the combined force of my attacks, caused Kane to grunt as he was forcibly moved across the ground. Still moving, I chased after him and slashed downwards with both blades, leaving a 'x' shaped gash across his front.
Kane grit his teeth in pain from my attack. With a swing of his arm, he brought his blade down upon me. I brought up my right arm and matched his sword with my own. Using my other hand a stabbed at the monster before me, only for his shield to knock my arm aside. Pushing past my blade he left a large gash down my front.
Even though I felt the blade pierce my body through the pain sensors, I gave no reaction. I was to far gone into whatever emotion was controlling my body. I swung my sword at Kane, surprising him with my lack of response to his attack, and carved through his torso. Not stopping, I brought up Yatagarasu and stabbed him in the side with it before he pushed me away with his shield.
The two of us slashed and hacked at the other, dealing damage to both our persons. Everything else around us no longer mattered. The past didn't matter. All that mattered was killing the one another and I was all to happy to oblige. I'm not sure how long we fought for but by the end of it we were both in the red.
Kane's eyes were crazed, most likely from being pushed so close to death. My gaze remained steely, though my strength was slowly leaving me. We were both reaching our limits.
With a shout, Kane charged at me, a promise of death clear in his eyes. I met his gaze and ran at him as well, releasing all my pent up emotions that I had thought lost to me in a single roar. As we neared each other, I saw Kane's shield speeding towards me, the same time he drew back his sword to stab me. Switching the course of my right arm, I swung at the shield and knocked his arm to the side. His eyes widened, but he could not stop his momentum and continued to stab at me. At the same time, I reared back my left hand and plunged Yatagarasu into his stomach the same time Kane's pierced my own.
I flinched when his sword went through my body, a mirroring flash of pain flickered across Kane's face. All my energy was gone. I had nothing left, only enough to keep my blade in Kane's stomach. Glancing up, I saw both Kane's and my health bars drop to nothing and relief flooded through me.
"It's over," I whispered.
"It would appear so," Kane said, sounding surprisingly calm. "You have won. The game is over."
I let out a breath that I didn't know I had been holding. It was all over. I looked down at Raven's blade and smiled fondly at it, thinking of Raven and how I could not have done it without her. And with that, my body shone brightly and I knew no more.
-Virtual-
I felt my consciousness come back to me and opened my eyes. I was laying down in midair as if it were solid ground. All around me was the orange skies of sunset. Great fluffy clouds were rolling lazily past and the sun was shining brightly.
I was confused. Hadn't I died? Was this heaven? I looked down at myself and saw that I was still decked out in my silver cloak. This couldn't be heaven because I was still in my SAO clothes. Not that they weren't amazing clothes, but still. So that begged the question, where was I?
"DJ?" I turned towards the sudden voice and was stunned by who I saw. Standing there, decked in dark purple clothes with raven hair flowing in the wind, forming a halo above her, was Raven.
Tears began to cascade down my face like twin waterfalls. Not even consciously aware of what I was doing, I had gotten up and all but ran at her. She let out a surprised, and rather cute, squeak when I hugged her tightly. I cried like a baby on her shoulder as I embraced her. I was so happy that she was alive that I couldn't control myself. After a few seconds, Raven returned my embrace just as tightly. I could feel something wet roll down the back of my neck, but I ignored it.
"Is this real?" I asked hesitantly, not wanting this moment to be all a dream. She chuckled lightly.
"Yes, this is real." My embrace tightened a little.
"How is this possible? You died. I died..."
"Wait, you died?" She pushed away so she could look at me and I saw the tear tracks going down her face.
"Yeah, I died as I killed Kane Harrison."
"So you beat the game?"
"I guess..."
"That's good," she said warmly. "But if we're both dead...does that mean that this is heaven?"
"No, it is not," said a familiar voice from our left. Turning in the direction of the voice we were shocked to see Kane Harrison himself standing before us, an unreadable expression on his face.
"You!" I shouted, leaping to my feet and shoving Raven behind me. I had no sword, but I refused to let that bastard take Raven away from me again!
"Do not worry, I mean you no harm." I snorted disbelievingly.
"Says the guy that trapped thousands of people in a death game!"
"While that is true, the game is over. Even now, all surviving players are meaning disconnected from the nerve gear and are waking up in the real world," Kane said.
"And those that didn't survive?" Raven questioned.
"As I said on the first day, all those that have perished in the game have perished in the real world." Kane answered.
"Why?" I asked. "Why did you do all this?"
"Why?" he asked pensively. "I truly do not know why. It started as my desire to make a world of my own. To make a perfect world without the corruption of the real world. Maybe I became consumed by the power that came with creating such a thing, becoming a god in my own right, but I do not recall."
"Where are we?" Raven questioned.
"The in between. Because you only recently died, you are trapped in a sort of limbo if you will. Once SAO fully shuts down, you will fade as well."
"And you?" I questioned.
"I am like any other player," he said. "As I died in the game, so shall I die in reality."
"You don't sound upset about that," Raven pointed out.
"No, I am not," he said, a small smile forming on his face. "For some reason, I cannot find a reason to feel upset over my emanate demise." He turned away from us and began to walk away. "Maybe, deep down, I was hoping that I would be defeated. Either way, it matters not. I am not long for this world and neither are you two. I bid you farewell."
With that, he burst into pixels like he would in the the game and once again, we were left alone.
"So, I guess this is it," I said.
"It would appear so," Raven said sadly. I reached out and grasped her hand within my own. She gripped my hand tightly and we faced the setting sun. "At least...we get to share one final sunset together," she said.
"Yeah." We stood silently, just enjoying the sunset. "Raven..."
"Phoebe." I gave her a confused look.
"Huh?"
"My name, my real name, it's Phoebe." I smiled at that.
"Phoebe, I'm glad that I got to spend my final moments with you."
"Likewise."
Everything began to get brighter and brighter all at once. On impulse, I faced her and kissed her. She soon kissed back and nothing else mattered except what was happening there and now. Then everything erupted in white.
-Virtual-
The sound of constant beeping drew me out of the darkness of the unconscious world. I felt myself lying in a bed, covers covering my lower body. My entire body felt stiff and weak and something was on my head. I sat up and reached up with my stiff arms and gripped the helmet that was on my head. Pulling it off, I felt something fall brush past my shoulders.
Placing the helmet on the bedside next to me, I reached for whatever it was that was touching my back. I was shocked to find that it was my dreads, or at least I thought they were. They were a lot fluffier than I remembered.
That was when it hit me. I was still alive. I had died in the game yet I was still alive.
I looked around at my surroundings and saw several bouquets of flowers that were in various stages of dying, littering around my bedside along with multiple cards. Looking at myself, I saw that I was in a teal hospital gown and tubes and wires connected me to an army of machines were stuck in my arm and chest, but I didn't care.
I tore the tubing and wires from my person, triggering a loud beeping noise, but I didn't care. I had to get out of here, I had to escape.
I swung me legs over the bed and tried to stand, only to collapse onto the ground. I struggled to stand, but my legs were too weak. That was when the doctors burst into the room.
"Oh my God! He's awake! Someone call his family!" The voice sounded strangle muffled like I was hearing him while under water. I ignored the garble that they were spewing and tried to focus on getting to me feet.
"No, you mustn't get up," a voice said. "Your body is extremely atrophied, you will most likely be unable to walk for weeks to come!"
I ignored the words and continued to try and get up, only to feel hands grab me. In that second, I flashed back to the death game and I struggled in their grip. I thrashed, punched, kicked, bit, anything I could to escape the grasps of my captors. I then felt a pin prick in my shoulder and I felt my consciousness begin to fade.
"Phoebe," I whispered before my world faded to black.