*Author's note at the beginning this time! Hey Everyone, this chapter and the upcoming Chapter 8 mark the halfway point of this story. This is because I've decided to split SAO ALT: Specter into two parts, partly to avoid having an overwhelming amount of chapters under one story, and also because I just need more time to outline and think about how Part 2 will go-the story gets even crazier, promise.
So, there will be a sequel story, plus more light-hearted epilogue/side-stories after Part 2 that actively include even more familiar characters from the SAO universe (though you'll start seeing even more familiar characters from here on out in this part *hint hint wink wink*). All right, just wanted to give a quick update. So, with no further adieu: Link-Start!
-EF
7
Eiji
Tokyo: July 31st 2026, 20:21-post-mission
"THANK YOU FOR THE MEAL!" The table gives gratitude for Julia's cooking, tasting even better post-exhaustion. Everyone's still sinking into their chairs in the Arimoto's dining room. No one's really said much since we got here—Umbra hasn't come out of the room Julia offered her.
"She hasn't come out since we got here." Yuna murmurs at the table. Everyone can see her through the augma—Mylo's outspoken recommendation—to make Yuna feel like part of the group. They've gotten close.
"Give her some time," Arimoto sighs. "She's mourning her friend."
"And she's in a house full of strangers." Julia adds.
Mylo only gazes down. He hasn't spoken the entire meal. Silence falls around the table again. Julia fills it with a clap.
"Still, I'm glad everyone enjoyed the food. You all deserve some rest after a mission like that one." Julia glows.
"Thank you for letting us stay over." Yuna remarks, matching Julia's radiant smile.
I nod along. Arimoto and Julia have offered their home to us, at least until we can guarantee that the 3rd party won't come to our residences. Watching Umbra get snatched up like that, and in public—
"Don't mention it." Julia smiles. "This nest looks like a cozy couple's home, but it's an old JSDF safehouse Ari and I picked out when he took on this mission. Off the books now, of course."
It's funny to imagine a super-spy couple living together—like something out of an action movie. They have such great chemistry too. I look at Yuna, enjoying herself, smiling and surrounded by warm faces. I think this is the first time she's been able to deeply interact with people besides myself outside the gaming worlds—since her A.I. fused.
"Yuna," Julia stands up, collecting plates. "I'm going to check on Umbra first, but would you like me to show you around?"
Arimoto takes the plates from Julia and crosses into the kitchen to start rinsing. They simply smile at each other.
Yuna's ruby eyes turn to me as if asking permission. Is this separation anxiety? My heart skips a beat, but I make myself nod. She doesn't need my say; it'll be good for her to interact with others. Yuna floats over the floorboards and gently lands beside Julia, ushering Yuna upstairs. For a moment Yuna turns back to me and smiles; I make one back at her. She really did come back ok after all.
"Well, well," Arimoto calls from the kitchen with a higher pitch than usual. "Since the ladies are having their own night—" He sets a bottle of Sake on the counter.
The summer breeze whips warm air across the back porch of the Arimoto residence. The moon phases into a sharp crescent above the clouds, and streetlights buzz with cricket chirps all around the block. It's bright out tonight. Maybe that's why I'm still feeling wide awake—maybe a little dizzy too. That last one might be the Sake.
"Eiji, you good?" Arimoto smiles with flushed cheeks. He reclines on a patio chair and sets his empty glass down.
"Actually—this is my first time—"
"First time, what?" Arimoto tilts his head.
"First time having—alcohol—with strangers I mean." Why am I mumbling? Speak up. "Thank you for the drink!"
Mylo bursts laughing—first time I've seen it. What's so funny? What's he getting cocky about?
"You are 20, right? That's the legal age here?" Mylo chuckles while sipping, leaning back against the wooden balustrade.
"How old are you?" I ask. Now that I'm looking at him, he might be a bit shorter than me IRL, by just a few hairs at least. Is his game avatar taller?
"Twenty-three." Mylo hiccups.
Yeah right. "You could be faking that as part of the cover Kikuoka gave you." Why do I even care? Maybe it's that smug glint in his eye when he thinks he's beaten me at something, and it's always mixed with that dry tone—like he's pretending he doesn't care when he's actually reveling in it all. You can't win at being born earlier. "I bet Mylo's not even your real name."
"It's not." Mylo simply says.
"Huh?" I ask.
"It's not." Mylo dryly repeats.
What the hell? "Then what is?"
"Like I'd tell you."
Ooooooh he's reveling in this too now.
Arimoto drops a loud sigh. Suddenly the back-door slides open on wooden tracks. We all turn. Umbra stands at the threshold barefoot, living room lights at her back. Her jet-black hair glistens so bright under moonlight that it turns deep navy—it's like crow feathers. No, I—probably shouldn't tell her that. She bundles herself in a hoodie as her slender legs step outside in shorts.
"Arimoto-sensei? Your wife was asking for your help with something." Umbra says with a shaky voice. She sounds tired. Arimoto just nods.
"Don't finish the rest." Arimoto glances at Mylo and the sake bottle. He steps back inside. For a while Umbra just stands there, trading intense stares with Mylo. Does he start fights with everyone he meets? What's drunk verbal sparring from Mylo like?
"What?" Umbra finally says.
"What?" Mylo talks back.
"You're making a face." Umbra responds with a matching dry tone.
"What's wrong with my face?" Mylo's voice drops even deeper, monotone.
A chuckle escapes—I can't help it. This is ridiculous, now there's two of them.
Umbra groans and crosses her arms. Mylo takes another sip of sake. His cheeks are looking rosier by the hour. I'm just waiting for who's going to get in the last word.
"Idiot." Umbra sighs. She turns back inside.
"Umbra," Mylo murmurs. Umbra pauses.
"What?" She hunches, back turned.
"Would you like to join us?" Mylo asks. "Eiji needs girl advice."
What? "What the hell are you talking about?"
Umbra turns around and huffs. Her cheeks puff as her eyes dart between Mylo and me. Is this a ploy to get her to come out and interact—at my expense?
"Well, he certainly can't get it from you; you've got no skills when it comes to talking with women." Umbra remarks.
"No, just you." Mylo dryly says. "Threatening with a knife isn't how flirting works."
"Shut up." Umbra responds.
I can't help laughing.
"What's so funny?" Umbra changes targets and turns to me now. "If you're having trouble with a girl, you shouldn't be laughing."
I cross my arms and look away, copying Mylo's indifference.
"You know," I say. "With all the tension, you'd think there's a romantic connection stirring between you two."
"AS IF." They both shout.
"Great job deflecting." Mylo says.
"Who's the poor girl?" Umbra asks. She's engaged now, and maybe it's the lighting, but there's red swelling under her eyes—the mark of tears. I see what Mylo's doing here. I'll go along.
"It's complicated." Actually, Yuna and I seem to be doing better after the mission, but—maybe it's just our feelings getting excited after the adrenaline rush of the mission.
"It's Yuna by the way," Mylo adds.
"Dude!" I was working my way up to that.
"Transparency." Mylo parrots Arimoto's line—I don't think that's how it works in this situation.
"Really? Wait—how does that work?" Umbra rubs her chin.
"Like I said, it's complicated." I lean out on the wooden boards. I didn't expect to work with these feelings right now. "A while back, Yuna's A.I. merged with the memories of the person she was based on—someone precious to me—before they—passed."
"So Yuna's not that same person?" Umbra asks.
"I don't know anymore." I admit. I stare up at the moon. "She has all of the same memories. Sometimes she even is that person—I think, but—she's also different now."
I feel Mylo lean beside me, facing the opposite way, actively listening for once.
"So what?" Umbra huffs.
"Huh?"
"So what if she's different now?" Umbra closes her strained eyes. "My best friend lied to me about what was really going on with him, probably because he was scared. If I'd been more open to the changes going on with him—maybe he'd still be—" She pauses. "Sorry, I don't mean to push my experiences on yours; I know they're different."
Umbra leans on the wooden rail with us, looking out to the moon. A summer breeze blows by again. She wipes under her eyes—more tears. "We can feel when we're changing, ya know? Sometimes that's scary—when we don't recognize our old selves anymore. Think about how she's feeling. Who can she go to about it? Who will listen to her while she finds herself again and again? Maybe the expectations from people who remember our old selves with rose-colored glasses holds us back—maybe that's why—Ugh, you've got me rambling now." Umbra runs a hand through her hair, flustered.
"Not that it's too much my business," Mylo adds. "But she was talking about being unsure how you felt about her. If you know you care about her, let her know it doesn't matter if she's changed. You'll still be there for her, right?"
Her memories, my doubts—I am lucky to still have her here with me. And today, maybe we broke the curse SAO left on us. She did make it back, and this time, we didn't just protect each other.
"Oh? I'm surprised you actually have good relationship advice." Umbra verbally jabs Mylo, echoing my thoughts.
"You've known me for a day." Mylo shoots back.
"I can tell a bozo when I see one." Umbra says. "I've never seen sake return someone's senses."
"I told you, knives shouldn't be used to make introductions." Mylo repeats.
"Saying a lot from someone who came to carve up my entire guild." Umbra pouts.
"I wasn't trying to make—" Mylo trails off, then hiccups. "Forget it."
"Huh? What was that?" Umbra leans in and elbows him. She wears the first smile I've seen from her, a prideful one. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She turns back to me. "Anyways, just talk to her, man. It'll work itself out."
"Real talk." Mylo adds.
"Real talk?" Umbra and I ponder.
"Sorry, American phrasing." Mylo's cheeks turn red under the moonlight.
"Ah! You're American?" Umbra ponders. "I did think Mylo was a weird name."
"That's not his real name." I chime in.
"Huh?" Umbra recoils.
We laugh, the three of us in a row against the railing.
Mylo set himself up as Umbra's verbal punching bag, and used our relationship talk to get her to open up. I remember what Arimoto told me, about Mylo's father—maybe he knows what grief in isolation does—maybe he's more emotionally intelligent than he lets on. Maybe he's changing too.
"Eiji," Mylo raises a glass of sake. "You protected Arimoto-sensei and Umbra today. I'm sure you can handle an honest conversation with Yuna."
"None of which would've been possible without you protecting Yuna like you promised." I nod back.
"Actually, it was more like she protected me." Mylo actually smiles.
"Yeah, she does that." I chuckle.
Mylo turns to Umbra. They deadlock dry stares again, but Mylo breaks the tension by breaking eye contact. He closes his eyes, like he's searching for words.
"Umbra," Mylo says. "Maybe you feel responsible for not knowing what was going on with Sanji. All I can say is that I'm truly sorry for what happened to him on my watch. I didn't know him well, but he deserved better. I can tell that much by how deeply his friends cared about him, enough to pursue his murderers on their own."
Umbra's expressionless façade slowly shifts to a trembling lip and then the start of tears. She hangs her head low while overlooking the quiet street from the balcony. She hides behind her midnight black hair as it covers her face.
"I don't know what you intend to do with everything you've learned, but we will find the ones responsible for his murder." Mylo adds.
Umbra lightly nods to the sentiment.
The backdoor slides open. Arimoto, Jules and Yuna are standing on the other side with glasses in hand. How long were they there?
"That sounded like a rally, and a call for a toast." Arimoto smiles. He grabs the sake bottle and begins pouring for everyone, a pour for Mylo and me, one for Yuna with the bottle capped as an after-image pours into a virtual glass in Yuna's hands. Arimoto passes up Julia, of course, and hands her a glass of water. Everyone holds glasses in a circle for toast.
Umbra lifts her head. She turns to us.
"To Sanji." Arimoto raises his glass. "To your old friend."
"To Sanji." Everyone toasts.
Umbra shyly shuffles to the circle as Arimoto hands her a glass. She softly chinks hers to ours.
"To Sanji." Umbra toasts.
Eiji
Tokyo: July 31st 2026, 21:30-post-mission
Everyone's settling in for the night—after collecting ourselves. Arimoto slobbers off the side in a porch chair. Julia simply brings a blanket to lay over him—I guess he's not going anywhere else tonight. She turns to me and smiles nonchalant.
"I've set up a bed for you where Mylo's staying—I hope that's ok."
Oh no.
Won't that create more tension? Maybe I should've risked staying back at my place after all.
"Don't worry, he's a tight sleeper. I'm sure it won't be a bother, but—"
Julia looks over my shoulder. I follow her line of sight—to Yuna sitting on the edge of the porch balustrade, swaying her legs, carefree with her white hair glowing under the moonlight. She's radiant, beautiful.
For the first time in a while, looking at her doesn't bring back the past. It doesn't hurt. If Mylo and Umbra are right, maybe we should talk. Is now ok?
"I'll give you two a minute; she's free to rest with Umbra if it makes her comfortable." Julia bows as she rounds up Umbra and Mylo, wrapping each of their arms around hers. They stumble through the sliding door. Footsteps echo throughout the house. Julia will be a good mom for sure.
I turn back to Yuna. So carefree—I'd hate to ruin it. Maybe I should just—
"Hey, Eiji?" A.I. Yuna? "We're actually pretty lucky, huh?"
"What do you mean?" I'm genuinely curious.
"We get a lot of second chances, I think." Yuna's ruby eyes gaze on the moon. "How many times we get to try again and experience life differently."
That sounds like something—Yuuna would say.
"I think I'm starting to understand how to appreciate that—maybe." Yuna smiles gently. A shooting star grazes the night sky. "That's how we keep growing, right?"
Which one is it? Which Yuna am I speaking to? What should I say?
"Naut." Yuna turns pouting at me before releasing the frustration with a smile. She sighs and gently drops from the balustrade to the porch. She stands before me. Our eyes meet.
It doesn't matter.
"We are lucky, huh?" I repeat after her. Yuna nods.
"Yuna," I start. The conversation on the porch—no, even before that—the conversation we had when this all started—I've been so caught on correcting my mistakes, not just with Ordinal Scale, but with SAO, with her. I've been trying to escape the past by growing stronger on my own, but I'm not alone—especially not anymore. We're still here. I take Yuna's hands—real or not, the augma provides a sensation of pressure in the touch between our palms and fingertips. There's warmth there. It's different from before, just like her. "Maybe we've changed a lot too, but—I'm going to make sure—that I always accept the Yuna standing in front of me. No matter what happens, and no matter what the future holds. As long as we have each other, it'll be ok. I'm sorry I wasn't brave enough to have the conviction to say that when you really needed to hear it."
"You're the bravest swordsman I've ever known." Yuna smiles. She wipes away tears. "We'll always be together. And this time, we have others around us. We don't have to fight a lone anymore."
"Yeah." I smile. "We'll be all right."
We hold each other with the moon watching over us.
Mylo
Tokyo: August 1st 2026, 09:00
Lying down hasn't helped with the eyestrain, even when I close them. I couldn't catch more than a few hours of sleep last night.
The A.I.
Digitized consciousness.
Kayaba's Goal.
I can't put the pieces together. He's lurked the net since SAO was cleared, why move now? Why pass on his knowledge of high-output scanning to the masses? What's the endgame?
Breathe. Five objects in the room—go: Ocean-painted covers in my hands, lit incense on the corner dresser-three more things: Sun reflecting off the Oak bookshelf's glossy finish, the banzai between my bed and Eiji's, Eiji's tucked bedroll. He must already be up; I've got the room to myself.
I reach in the room cupboard and sift through the divide between Eiji's belongings and my own. Underneath, I lift the false bottom—the unused NerveGear. We're closer than ever before, so why does it feel like I'm so far behind finding Kayaba?
Deep breath. A pulse I didn't know was racing slows down. Yuna has data to sift through—maybe she can find the fake Sanji, then we can make our move.
I roll over in bed. There's less dull pain on my arms and legs now. At least the bruises from four nights ago are finally healing.
"GO! GO! GO!" I immediately hear Yuna first. Our space feels different now with the house being so—active.
I tread downstairs, bare feet curling on cold hardwood, and past the dark corner of drywall hiding half the stairway. Yuna and Umbra are in pajamas at the living room table watching TV.
"And today! More highlights from GGO's 3rd Squad Jam!"
MMO Stream? I walk in. Jules isn't here. Arimoto-sensei and Eiji are watching from the kitchen while prepping something—smells good though—an aroma of pepper and spices wafts around. Knocks on a chopping block echo across the room—Eiji's putting in work there.
Maybe the house being active isn't so bad.
"Oh! Mylo! Come watch!" Yuna leans over the back of the chair at the dinner table. She waves me over as I slouch to her and Umbra. Eiji and Ari probably have kitchen duty covered.
"You sleep in pretty hard. Didn't take you for the slothful type." Umbra remarks.
"Beautiful people worry about beauty sleep." I shoot back—almost automatically. Driest voice possible. Umbra's forehead creases, got her.
I turn to MMO stream on the TV. People usually watch this in-game. On broadcast: flashes of gunfire and red pixels flying along a beachhead. A squad of players move in sync along a coastline with jagged rocks. One in camo looks comically small to be dual-wielding grenade launchers, another in bulk that fits the aesthetic more, and—wait—those two look familiar: a little one wearing all pink—the floppy ears on her knit cap make her look like a rabbit, small enough to be one too, and—a tall slender woman, all black, with—crosses on her cheeks—weren't those two there when Arimoto-sensei—the footage immediately cuts back to the reporter, a blonde with cat ears.
"Oh! We apologize for cutting out from the footage, but a special announcement is just underway, courtesy of RATH. And you don't wanna miss it!"
Huh?
Footage cuts to a small podium stage crowded by reporters. Camera lights flash as a petite young woman with short straight black hair approaches the podium. Dr. Rinko. I've never met her, but Kikuoka and Arimoto-sensei have mentioned her before in passing. I've also read her files in the classified SAO incident report, her connection to Kayaba. If she's heading RATH now, it's no wonder Kikuoka didn't want to approach her about our operation.
"Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules," She starts. "Today, our organization is announcing the birth of the world's first true artificial general intelligence."
Wait, the Alice reveal— "That's today?"
"Huh?" Yuna and Umbra turn to me. I hear Eiji stop chopping in the kitchen. I turn back to Arimoto-sensei. Our eyes meet. Eiji and Arimoto-sensei come around the kitchen counter and take seats at the table too.
"Wait, do you two know about this?" Eiji asks me.
"We knew it'd be soon. We'd been so busy with our ghost hunt that this was honestly the last thing on our minds, I think." Arimoto says.
Everyone glues to the TV. More camera flashes reflect in Dr. Rinko's green eyes. The resolution's so clear I can make out her freckles. I'm taking in every detail of this moment because—
"And now, allow me to introduce…Alice!" Dr. Rinko makes way for the blonde girl confidently crossing the stage to the podium as her long blonde braid waves behind her. She's wearing a school uniform—she looks so ordinary. No one would be able to tell she's in an artificial body from the screen.
To the rest of the world, this'll change what it means to be human.
"She's so pretty—" Yuna trails off, her mind's on a totally different wave. I guess this is pretty exciting though.
"Wait, you and Yuna knew about Alice before though, right?" I turn to Eiji. They had to have known—to have taken part in the War in Underworld.
Eiji simply nods. "The gist of the situation was explained to us, but even still—"
"Who knew it'd come to this?" Umbra murmurs. "I'd heard rumors in ALO, but—"
Alice gives a knightly bow on stage. As she rises, her deep blue eyes smile.
"People of the real world, I'm pleased to meet you." She says. "My name is Alice. Alice Synthesis Thirty."
"He's told us himself: Tomorrow, something new will be unveiled upon the world. It will shake the very foundation of what it means to be human."
Why would the fanatics time their announcement to tie-in with this one?
"Mylo?" Yuna snaps me out of it.
"Leave him be," Umbra stares into the TV. "Keep listening."
"At this moment, I'm sure that many of you would feel uncomfortable if asked to acknowledge artificial Fluctlights as humans and to grant them human rights." Dr. Rinko persists through the Q&A. "But in another century, or perhaps two centuries, we'll be living in the same society as them, as a matter of course, interaction with them without discrimination, even marrying into families with them. That's what I firmly believe. And if that's the case, shouldn't we shy away from treating them as objects and abusing them?"
"But Doctor!" A reporter insists, standing and almost pleading. "Their existence is too different from ours! How can we possibly acknowledge man-made machines as being the same as humankind?"
"I feel bad for the little lady up there. Has to sit up and take this dribble." Arimoto groans.
Public resistance had to be expected though. Who knows how the rest of the world feels watching this right now?
Alice takes charge on the mic. She's surprisingly composed.
"I acknowledge and accept the fact of you real worlders as our creators. I am grateful to you for creating us. But as another person born in my world once said, what if the real world is also a world created by others?" Alice digs into the reporter. "What if there were even more creators outside it? If one day, your own creators appeared before you and ordered you into slavery, what would you do? Would you grovel on the ground, pledge your loyalty, and beg for mercy?"
"She's advocating for human rights, poignantly, I might add." Arimoto-sensei smiles. "I like her spunk."
Alice's steady composure relaxes on screen, she even smiles.
"I have already had many interactions with real worlders." She says. She places a hand over her heart, genuine. "I am all alone in a strange world, but they've encouraged and supported me. They've taught me many things, and taken me to many places. I am very fond of them. And that's not all. I even love one of these real worlders."
Love?
"Love?!" Yuna and Umbra exclaim.
"That's what got your attention, huh?" Eiji sighs.
"Whenever I think of this person," Alice's smile spreads, but she hangs her head low. "Whom I'm unable to see now—even this steel chest of mine feels like it's about to burst."
Reporters and attendees look awestruck—the idea of an A.I. truly feeling—truly being—human. It's probably shocking the entire world, her sincerity.
Alice reaches out her right hand. "I have a right hand that I will extend to the people of the real world. But I will not fall to my knees or grind my forehead in the dirt. That's because I am human."
Dr. Rinko takes the mic now.
"Our hope is that, through the virtual world, you can all interact with newly-born artificial Flutlights, and this will change how you feel about them." She says. "That's all we ask of everyone watching this broadcast."
That's it.
Digitized consciousness—a new rise of humanity through artificial intelligence—blurring the lines—the chair groans across the floor as I shoot up and stand—and at the same time, it looks like something catches Alice's attention too. Her gaze shifts away from the crowd of reporters. She looks surprised. She stands as the reporters watch her behavior, dumbstruck.
"I must go." She simply says. "Please excuse me."
She immediately turns and walks off stage.
"What the heck was that?" Eiji says what's on everyone's mind.
"Kid?" Arimoto-sensei looks up at me. He's the only one that's noticed my shift in mood. "What's up?"
"I—I think I know why they're doing this." I stammer. The pieces are coming together. His goal's the same as it's always been—blurring the lines. "If you want the public to accept humanity born through the SEED NEXUS, what better way than to bridge the gap?"
Eiji's eyes widen next. He's already picked up on where my mind's at.
"The world will accept artificial Fluctlights—if they can live just like them." He finishes my thought for me.
The Ocean Turtle lockdown—the controversy—this new humanity's fate is in the hands of the same government that jeopardized it nearly a month ago. But If human beings on this side simply became just like the artificial Fluctlights—blurred the boundary just a bit—
Kayaba knew it'd come to this. He's going to take control out of the government's hands—consequences be damned.
In the silence of the living room, we're all processing the same thought. The end result isn't necessarily evil, but the potential means—persuading people to undergo the high-output scan—
BZZT!
Arimoto-sensei's chair vibrates. He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his cell phone. The screen illuminates in the reflection of his eyes.
"Kikuoka-dono wants to meet at Kōhoku General." Arimoto looks up at me first.
"I'll come with you." I was planning to visit Mom sometime today now that the mission is up. We couldn't get in touch with Kikuoka last night. "Maybe he's found something."
"I'm also still analyzing data from 'Sanji's' severed arm. The data is a lot to untangle so it'll take some time, but I think if I can sift through it and find the source code, I can figure out where his A.I. at least came from—maybe even track his signature across the Seed Nexus." Yuna adds.
Eiji backs out from the table. "And, in the meantime, Umbra and I can dive in, check in with her guild, and start spreading the word about the dangers of the high-output scan. Players need to know that whoever's wearing Sanji's face is lying. It might not lead to much, but it's a start."
"I do need to let my ALO guild know I'm all right." Umbra says. "If I explain the situation to them, they'll help."
Everyone's so determined. We're starting to feel like a team.
"All right," I nod. "Let's get it done."