Looong author's note: This chapter's coming later than expected, mostly because it was very difficult to write (even though this might be the shortest chapter). Alternating POVs is a challenge, and this chapter's content was especially hard to put into words—some of it hit a little close to home, this week especially. If you're reading this, I hope you can forgive the delay and still enjoy. More than likely, given recent life-events, Ch. 9 will have a slight delay in publishing as well, but I'll do my best to get it out in a reasonable time-frame since it's going to be a doozy. I just don't want quality and my own sanity to dip for the sake of self-imposed deadlines. As always, be easy, and-be kind to the people around you, for however long you get to spend time with them.
-EF
8
Mylo
Kōhoku General: August 1st 2026, 11:30
"Go see your mom first. I'll go check-in with Kikuoka." Arimoto-sensei sighs. I know he hates hospitals.
"Are you sure?" I ask. Kikuoka said to meet near a patient room—maybe for privacy, since he's technically supposed to be dead. He might want my report too.
The double doors wail as we step into the lobby. An intercom rings. Families and nurses murmur at check-in, and that murmur diffuses through the waiting area; it's thick and hoarding air. Families huddling while they sit in the waiting area, tense poses, hoping faces, and lots of eyes looking down. I think I might hate it here too. The anxious atmosphere is suffocating, and I think it's messing with my head.
Mom's still getting better—last time I sat down with her in VR space.
"Yeah, some things are more important than just the mission." Arimoto taps my shoulder. He splits off. I may be out of tune with people's emotions sometimes, but even I can tell he's tenser than usual. It must bring back memories for him.
"Arimoto-sesei—" I don't deserve his consideration most days, especially on my bad ones. "Thank you." I bow. Ari flinches.
"C'mon, kid," He laughs and plays it off. "We're in public." He starts for the main elevator to head up to patient rooms.
Ding.
He scurries across the lobby for the elevator car, just closing its doors. He barely squeezes in, bumbling between hospital staff and patient families as the doors shut.
It broke the spell. My heart feels lighter; I'm breathing easier. Arimoto-sensei has that power.
I take an empty seat in the waiting area. I told Dr. Kurahashi I'd come in today; hopefully right now isn't too short notice. Hopefully, Mom's doing better—maybe it's wishful thinking, but I could use some of her guidance, her calm.
Alice's reveal, Kayaba's goal, Yuna's decoding, Eiji and Umbra getting a PSA out, whatever Kikuoka wants, It's hard to balance all the moving pieces. Maybe we can meditate again today—that seems to help clear her mind too.
The double doors leading deeper into the facility open wide. Kurahashi steps out into the lobby beside a girl with long braided chestnut hair and a bright smile. They're chatting with bliss, a friend of his? His eyes blink twice when he spots me. I really did try to call ahead.
He bows to the girl beside him; she bows back holding her smile despite the lobby's atmosphere and walks for the elevator for patient room floors. Dr. Kurahashi comes to me as I bow.
"I'm so sorry for the short notice. A lot's happened in the past day or so and—"
"No, no, it's all right." Dr. Kurahashi plays me down. "Listen, actually, it's good that you came early. I need to talk with you about your Mother's condition."
My pulse spikes.
"Umbra! Hurry up! We're going to miss the Clearers go for the teleport gate!"
"That's Umbra-senpai." Dummy's always soo jazzed about the front lines—that dorky smile, how he has to adjust his glasses each time he smiles. They don't completely fit, even here. How can he still smile 2 years in?
"So what? We're not going with them."
"U—Umbra!" His cheeks flare red—this time his glasses tip off. He collects them and brushes a hand over his bangs. "It doesn't matter! We should show our support!"
74 floors in. Support? Our real-world bodies probably won't last much longer.
"It doesn't matter if we're not on the front lines. We're still doing something here, right? We're alive here." He smiles again.
Life. Is this really one? "Ok, lets go. Hopefully we're one step closer to getting home."
He nods to my sentiment, but you never really thought that. Did you, Sanji?
Umbra
ALO: August 1st 2026, 11:30
"Umbra?" Eiji's calling. "Umbra?"
Amazing. I can hear his voice over the screaming wind as we fly, and over that loud memory. Sanji, that idiot—you idiot.
"Hey, you all right?" Eiji asks again.
Crap, ALO doesn't hide when you cry. I forgot. "Sorry." Just let the wind evaporate them. Now's not the time.
I glance at Eiji flying beside me, his cloak flapping wildly. He has the same intense gaze as Mylo but less annoying, not sure why. Eiji has a different kind of determination, I guess. Mylo gives off an air of obsession. Sanji did too.
"Don't worry about it." Eiji simply says. "So—your guild, can they really help?"
"We've been looking into the Kayaba fan-club, same as your team, just on the gamer-side." And I'm hoping they may have found a lead. Kei, Mitsuru, Yuji, I know they'll find a way. "We might not all be as high-tech as your girlfriend, but we're still resourceful."
Eiji simply nods with a blush. He's not hiding it, and he's not refuting anything—did he get lucky last night?
"You're in a much better mood after last night." I observe. "Something happen between you and Yuuuuuuuna?"
Eiji's cheeks burn beat red before he claps them between his hands. He still smiles.
"Yuna and I have been through a lot together, even when I was weak or lost my way. It's about time I start having faith in the future. Those 2 years of hell might be behind us."
2 years?
"How are you guys planning to fight back against Kayaba's misinformation?" Eiji switches subject.
"By spreading the truth—that Sanji's actually dead." It's a long shot, but I'm used to those. Sanji actually being dead would contradict the announcement, and it would make people weary of whatever snake-oil that imposter's selling.
"Will people believe it though?"
"They will if it comes from the right source." I just hope I'm ready for that conversation. The green-lit stone towers of Swilvane rise on the horizon. We're almost there. The guild doesn't know about Sanji either, but they've probably put two-and-two together by now.
Umbra
ALO: August 1st 2026, 11:45
We're almost to the guild-house. I've been getting a lot of stares from Sylph players walking through the streets, but I guess that makes sense. I'm using a Spriggan account and walking through the Sylph capital city like it's nothing. Not to mention Eiji's clearly no Sylph. We stick out in this oversaturation of green. The others should still recognize me though. I look closer to my real-world self right now—closer to the last time they saw me. So much has changed so fast.
"Is this it?" Eiji and I stop in front of our guild's skinny cottage two floors high and pinched between a merchant's shop and a larger pub.
"This is it." I step up to the terrace and creak the front door open. The warm light of home away from home soothes the anxiety pricking my skin. God I miss that warmth; it's a golden glow that fills the glossy wooden finish inside. I look around. The photo wall by the door has our group guild picture: I'm bracing Sanji in a headlock—he'd fallen over to pick up his glasses.
The living room feels empty. The quiet seeps out of the floorboards and hollows out the walls. Where is everyone?
A rumble of footsteps stampede from downstairs. It's the guys rushing down.
"UMBRA!"
The trio of green-haired sylphs trip over the steps and glide straight towards me.
Crap! I side-step just as they crash to the hardwood. They're limbs tangle with each other. Kei's spiked lime hair comes up for air from the tussle first, emerald eyes and sharp jaw tilted as he curiously studies Eiji's contorted and confused face. Mitsuru and Yuji untangle next and hold themselves over the floor, faces down. The sylph twins with short cut bangs bow at mine and Eiji's feet.
"Hello! And welcome back!" They shout in sync.
My God, they're so embarrassing—I don't mean to facepalm in front of them—I peak between my fingers, and they still haven't gotten up.
"Uh, he—hello." Eiji nervously bows back.
"Guys, please, there's really no need for all of this." I really missed them. The trio leap to their feet and enthusiastically bow again.
"We're just glad you're all right, Umbra-senpai." Kei.
"Senpai?" Eiji mutters. I think there's a sly grin there too—like he's mining gold for future roasts. I take it back, he might still be as bad as Mylo.
"We were worried—especially after the café." Mitsuru and Yuji stammer together.
"Wait, I think I remember you. You were there too, right?" Kei comes right out with questioning Eiji.
Eiji rubs the back of his head. "We were pursuing the same people. Actually, we may have thought they were you guys at first—"
"Us?" Kei almost laughs at the idea, but quickly sobers up. "We were just looking for our friend."
"We sort of—hacked his online accounts to figure out where he'd been." Mitsuru says.
"We got desperate." Yuji lowers his gaze.
The room falls silent.
"That took us to the café." I finish. We just wanted to make sure he was ok—after seeing that he'd visited there a lot recently—but all this—"Guys."
Everyone looks up.
"There's some things I need to update you guys on." I breathe. Speech feels heavy right now—like the events of the last two days are trapping the air at my throat—like speaking the words makes it real.
"We know." Kei speaks up, and that's all that needs to be said. The gravity of the room shifts; I know we're all feeling it. No tears or words. Kei turns his back to focus upstairs. "We did what you asked." He says. "They're waiting upstairs."
Everyone faces the stairway. Up there are Sanji's parents. They don't know yet. But I have to tell them. Otherwise, there could be more like him. Heat rises in my nerves and plummets into weight at my heels. I'm scared. I'm too scared to move.
I feel a hand rest on my shoulder. I turn. Eiji simply nods to me, full faith in his gaze. I turn back to the stairs. The others are looking back at me. They nod too.
I'm not alone.
I take lead, and we collectively climb the steps. More guild photo albums hang on the walls around the stairway: A fishing trip with Sanji and the twins holding a collective big catch, a fish spanning the three of them. Homework study nights in the living room. Him and I standing in front of this very home we pooled funds for and first bought—before there even was a guild.
It feels like my footsteps are slowing down the closer we get to the top. I would've preferred to speak with his parents IRL, but Arimoto's warning about the people who kidnapped us—It's safer this way. I still hate it, but I've known Sanji the longest. It should be me to tell them. Every inch of my body is trembling now, but I reach the top, to Sanji's room in the house. The door is shut. My hand grips the knob, carefully, silently, like I don't want to alert his parents I'm on the other side—like there's still a way to avoid this—
I feel the others put their hands over mine. They're right—they deserve the truth—together, we all turn the knob and the door creaks open. Sanji's parents are sitting at the edge of his bed, holding hands, just anticipating. They've logged in with default Sylph accounts. They probably made them in a hurry when we reached out to them about news of their son.
"Mr. and Mrs. Seijirou." I bow at the threshold, and I'm not ready to look back up and look them in the eye. "My name is Umbra. I was a close friend of your son."
"Was?" Sanji's father immediately catches my wording.
There's only moving forward now. I turn back to the others.
"Can you give us a moment, please?" I ask them. Stress is already building under my eyes.
Everyone stays frozen until Eiji starts ushering everyone back downstairs. He nods back to me—fully understanding, I think. I nod back. As the footsteps descend, the door creaks and shuts behind me.
Beside the door of Sanji's room is a wooden chair. I've sat in it many times to bother him when he was trying to study or chart out a plan for our next loot grind, or just to reminisce about how lucky we were to have survived those two years. I pull it out and sit across from Sanji's parents while trying to hold it together.
"I am a friend of your son." I correct my earlier statement. "And that's why I need to tell you, very carefully, everything that's happened."
Sanji, please, give me strength for this.
Eiji
ALO: August 1st 2026, 12:00
The room is dead silent since we've sat down in the living room, just waiting. Seeing Umbra—reminds me of what Mylo said about Ari. What kind of strength it takes to console people in dark times or grief. Maybe Yuna should've accompanied Umbra instead of me.
"E—Eiji, right?" I think his name is Mitsuru? He and Yuji look identical so it's hard to tell.
"Yeah, what's up?" I respond.
"Well—" Mitsuru trails off, gripping his legs. He's nervous. The whole room is. I know we initially came to talk about next steps in the plan, but I'm not sure now is the appropriate time.
"What he means to say is that we had something for you guys." Kei answers for him. He opens his player menu and scrolls through. He pushes the menu towards me to examine. It looks like a webpage, a black screen in dark-mode with a—countdown timer? White digits drop in sequence.
"What is this?" What am I looking at here?
"The image board full of those Kayaba fanatics that Sanji was visiting?" Kei brings up. "The entire site changed to this now."
A digital countdown—no other links or features. It's at 72 hours now. That's a lengthy amount of time, but what's it mean? Is this the release of the High-Output Scan? Why the time-limit?
"We were hoping your or Umbra might have an idea of what it might mean?" Kei postulates.
"I have some theories, but I'd like to run it by a few more people first." Maybe Yuna can make something of it. She's better at analysis.
Umbra's guild members nod. Despite the grief they're wearing since we arrived, they're also determined. Determined to make something of losing their friend maybe. I understand the feeling—maybe if I'd had the right support, like how these guys support one another, I'd have made something positive with my grief for Yuuna.
"Thank you." I speak from the heart. "You've all been extremely strong in this situation. I hope I can carry forward some of that when we learn more."
"We remember you from the café," Kei says. "You kept Umbra safe after those thugs abducted her. We know you'll do good."
"Thank you." Is all I can muster.
"Once Umbra gets Sanji's parents onboard with spreading the word, we'll have credible witnesses to what's really going on." Kei says firmly. "People have to know the truth. Otherwise, they're going to use Sanji's death as a means to cause more harm. We can't have that."
Everyone in the room resolutely nods—turning their grief into action, resolve. On that mood, an otherworldly scream wails upstairs—unyielding—and piercing air. Parents mourning their child.
Mylo
Kōhoku General: August 1st 2026, 12:15
Her eyes haven't cleared once. That same looming curtain shades over her gaze, something deeper than the parasol's shadows over our table. Was I imagining it, that her eyes were glowing again, that her mind was awake, a product of wishful thinking?
My fist slams against the table and trembles. The windchimes ring in the periphery. The peace here is a contradiction. Seeing this hurts—Hoping hurts.
A soft touch grazes my fist. It's warm. Tears blur my vision when I look up at her. I can't see clearly because I can't stop crying. This isn't fair. Another touch—feels like both of her hands.
I wipe away the tears with my free hand. The curtain over her eyes hasn't left. She hasn't spoken once since I dived into this space. Her movements drag more; her hands grasping mine feel like all she can manage from her lingering will. Her face hasn't changed expression once, just monotone, blank.
How rapidly is her brain—her Fluctlight—deteriorating now? How much longer can she last like this, if the Medicuboid treatment isn't holding that deterioration at bay anymore?
"Mom, I'm going to help you. I promise, I'll do whatever it takes." My voice cracks.
I hold her hands in mine and squeeze. I'm searching her eyes for something, anything—but still nothing. There has to be a way to fix this.
"I won't be away much longer." I promise. The chair screeches as I rise. Her hands stay on the table. I scroll for the log out until I hear air pushing from her lips like she's struggling for words. I stop dead, lingering on every breath she leaves.
"He's—still here, with us." She whispers.
Mylo
Kōhoku General: August 1st 2026, 12:20
The blinding white hospital walls bleach into view. My body aches, probably from the tension I was holding onto while diving. That's all I can hold right now.
Dr. Kurahashi's steps clack toward my bedspace. I sluggishly rise, arching over, gripping my knees and holding too many thoughts. Only one escapes:
"What do I need to do to fix this?" I murmur.
"Huh?" Dr. Kurahashi asks.
I look to him this time to make sure he hears me. "What do I need to do—to fix this?"
Kurahashi recoils—maybe the tension, the rage is showing on my face—I'm sure Arimoto-sensei would tell me. I don't care right now.
Dr. Kurahashi takes a breath. He meets my eyes this time. "Mylo-kun, I'm not sure there is."
I can't accept that.
"This treatment is brand new. We've only used the Medicuboid in the past to mitigate pain for the terminally ill, never to promote neural-pathway construction to replace previously dead cells. I'm very sorry, but there was never a guarantee it would work. We might have to consider the possibility that-"
"I can't!" I shout. The words linger in until silence. The medicuboid rumblings in the next room echo over to this one.
"Mylo," Kurahashi removes his glasses. "I can only imagine how difficult this might be. But without the originator of the machine and the science, I'm at a bit of a loss here."
"What did you just say?" I cling to those words.
"Well, the science of Fluctlights is still new to me." Kurahashi starts. "If RATH and their technology is still inaccessible—unless you could talk with the pioneer of that technology—no, sorry, this is just rambling from me. I can talk with more of the colleagues in my medical circle in the meantime—but I think you should consider getting your mother's affairs in order."
"Let me make sure I'm hearing this right." I grit my jaw at even the idea. "You're saying that the only person who can help her now—might be Akahiko Kayaba?"
"Mylo—Akahiko Kayaba met an untimely demise. I don't want you clinging to false hope in a situation like this."
The next words hold the deepest promise I've ever spoken: "I'll find a way."
Ari
Kōhoku General: August 1st 2026, 12:20
I'll never get used to coming here. No amount of experience can adjust me to the sanitized walls, the nurses pushing squealing carts of machines and medicines down the halls, or patients attached to IV's making rounds, on their feet for the first time today. Thinking back on the past isn't productive right now. Why does Kikuoka want to meet here? Convenience? And where was he the night post-mission? I know he makes rounds between the mainland and somehow—the Ocean Turtle, but still—
I walk past an open patient room—speak of the devil—there he is. He stands in the threshold of a room. In the hospital bed, a kid with neat black hair and lanky arms sleeps. A brown-haired little missy sits at the kid's bedside.
I've read about them in the incident report—the Black Swordsman and the Lightning Flash. Still, to see them in person after reading their exploits in SAO—it's strange to see them as just kids.
Kikuoka walks for the exit; he might've seen me. He shuts the door behind him and scans me up and down.
I have to ask the obvious question. "Will they be joining us?"
"I'll be having Kirigaya transferred to the Medical College Hospital soon. He has a nurse there that can take good care of him during physical therapy." Kikuoka adjusts his frames. "Asuna didn't spend as much time in the STL; she might be good."
"But?" He's having doubts though—didn't clarify with a yes or no.
Kikuoka starts down the hall, non-verbally asking me to accompany him for a walk and talk.
"I'm not sure if I should throw them into another mess—not one of Kayaba's machinations anyway. They just got back from one of my own." Kikuoka frowns. He can try to hide his eyes behind the sun beams reflecting off his glasses, but he has a reason to hide his real thoughts on the matter. Our time in JSDF together. The SAO incident task force. Does he feel guilty, because he actually does want to throw those two at the next mission?
"I won't get them involved, not yet anyway." Kikuoka resolves. "They deserve the rest."
"That's a first for you." I jab. Maybe his conscious is coming to him from his experiences. When he told me about the Ocean Turtle incident, I was hoping it may have changed the way he does things, even a little. Involving kids. Actually, "About the kids—"
"Hmm?" Kikuoka finally faces me, his eyes clearly visible through his glasses now.
"You recruited Mylo right out the gate after his father was trapped in SAO; you recruited Kirigaya with the Death Gun incident—why bring in kids for this type of work?"
Kikuoka turns towards a window in the hall, overlooking the campus. I know he's holding onto that question for a moment, but then he smirks.
"It's embarrassing actually." He admits. "They grew up with this technology, this age of VR. Sometimes they're the only ones who really can fight. They're the future. Although, some days I do wish I got out of this line of work." Kikuoka smiles.
"No you don't." I counter him immediately. He's never been good at lying to himself.
"No, I don't." He agrees. "Anyways, I'm sorry we got side-tracked. I was trying to accomplish two errands in one place. There's some intel I needed to share with your team."
"Mylo's with his mom."
"Understood." Kikuoka nods. "It's a shame. I would have liked to have gotten her on the STL, but the situation with Kirigaya quickly came up, and I doubt the Ocean Turtle can accommodate her now with the lockdown."
"I'll pass along your sympathies, and whatever information you have." I speak matter of fact. This is no time to be looking back with regrets. These kids have enough of them already. We have to keep moving forward.
"The 3rd party that's been interfering," Kikuoka starts. His trademark smirk devolves into a deadly-serious gaze. "I believe they're being organized by someone within the Ministry of Defense."
Yuna
Seed Nexus Cyber Space: August 1st 2026, 12:20
This pattern of code is incredibly complex. It's like—sifting through information in the form of dendrites—neurons of code interwoven with each other, and still no source-code among it, no information that describes what that fake Sanji is, and no clue where he came from. I can spot an influence from the Cardinal System in the preference of numbers used—that makes sense. He was able to manipulate the game world environment, so there's a tie there with Cardinal—but still, what's the origin?
Gosh this is so frustrating!
Ugh, I'm losing patience.
We should take a deep breath.
Calm down. Everyone's doing what they can; I should too.
Analyzing…so many error messages. I need help. If only there were—two of me.
PLOP.
Why do I feel so much—lighter?
I turn left. There's a mirror image—a copy of me looking left. I turn right, and I'm seeing myself from that angle now. That's right, there's two of me. I'm staring into the eyes of myself this time—two versions with one will. We each take a corner of the code.
You can do this.
The cardinal code; let's start there. It's something we have in common.
That's right! If we examine our own source-code—
-And compare it to what we're looking for with "Sanji"-
That's it! The sequence of source code sticks out now, a string of digits isolated from the long stream we've been analyzing in the dark void of the Nexus. It's identical to ours. So that practically confirm that this "Sanji" is an A.I. But he also seems complex. Even this extracted code mimics pathways like a human nervous system. Code can't replicate that—can't replicate beings like us.
Getting ahead of yourself.
Right, right. If I take this code, then compare it against logins and access across the Seed Nexus, especially for someone so intent on accessing privileges to alter game environments—then I'll find you in—
The old SAO server.