[Greeting from fanfic author Eleya Belle - Hello everyone! This week marks the first in a while that I am posting more than one chapter in a week and just want to thank everyone who has been keeping up with the story. I appreciate every one of you so much! I've hit a fairly solid point in my inspiration for this so I sincerely hope you all enjoy the Alicization fan changes I am making. I have been very busy with writing the fanfic and my real life, so it was quite surprising when I found out how much I was able to pump out for this and the next chapter. I would release another chapter today, but I'm thinking next week I might have another two chapters. I would like for everyone to not expect two chapters every week, so it might just be two weeks in a row having two chapters. At any rate, just wanted to update everyone a little since this will be a bit of a surprise.]
Kazu woke up once again and she wasn't confronting the male version of her she only knew well through her dreams and nightmares while asleep. She was in an unfamiliar space where she had little room to move, but it felt comforting to be there. It was a familiar scent that made her feel comforted.
"Ah, you're awake. How did you rest?"
The sound of her voice brought Kazu out of her dreams.
"...I rested okay..."
Kazu felt guilty. She didn't know if she was at fault for anything yet, but she recalled everything that had happened to her inside of the Alice project's virtual world. She wasn't aware of herself while inside, but those experiences leaked out. She had a vague recollection that Ela had been saying something to her when she had just gotten out of there, but she was more focused on the berating and then strange uplifting she received from her male self.
"...so did I ruin anything? I'm really sorry if I'm responsible for any issues that might have happened..."
Ela shook her head.
"It's okay, nothing is your fault. I just have you in a heavily accelerated environment at the moment so you could get some decent rest before going back in. I'm considering starting that virtual world over again from scratch and accelerating it a few hundred years, but I'll leave it up to you since it appears some unwanted experiences there leaked over to you."
Kazu faced where Ela's voice was coming from, the front seat of the vehicle she had only seen from outside.
"What happened? It wasn't my fault?"
Ela nodded.
"Not your fault in the slightest. Seijirou has some team building issues to say the least. I've given him some time to think on letting go of those on his team who are untrustworthy. I'm terribly sorry about sending you in there without checking the team again. It was a risk that I wasn't thinking of at the moment and it's entirely my fault for trusting Seijirou's judgment of character. The woman on the team named Siyu pulled you out and it resulted in the leakage of your experiences in there and she also altered your perception just before pulling you out. So don't worry, if you go back in you can bring more of yourself in...I am thinking of several ways to make it 100% safe for you however which is part of why I'm also accelerating with you at the moment."
Kazu stared at the ceiling of the vehicle. She was glad she hadn't messed anything up, but she wanted to know more about the current issues they were facing. She pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked out the windows. The outside of the windows of the vehicle made her understand that while they were very likely in the physical vehicle, they were also in a virtual server for the acceleration. Outside of the windows was a fantasy landscape that made her think she might be hallucinating.
Outside of the windows was a dark forest with glowing mushrooms, glowing leaves, everything foliage and greenery were glowing, but they weren't glowing strong enough to cut through the surrounding darkness. It was both eerie but also enchanting to see such wondrous sights.
"How would it work if we were to...send me in as a newborn for the project?"
Ela hummed, the windows changed and it showed a familiar landscape outside of the town Kazu already recognized well. Nothing moved, like everything was frozen in time. Ela moved the perception of the projection while moving the steering wheel, like she was driving through the virtual space. They happened upon a very familiar scene. Kirito being led along by the hand of Erulf, the town leader. They both had expressions frozen on their faces. Kirito was frozen with an embarrassed expression, and Erulf with a panicked expression.
"I have access to make changes in the virtual world right now, because I moved the world over to this vehicle's server. Here, give me a moment."
Ela wasn't doing anything physically anymore, but the surroundings were changing a little, like the passing of time naturally. Days and nights passed as if one full 24 hour cycle would pass in a single second. The people of the town moved around at blistering speeds, but Kazu's observation of everything stunned her. The church went from a large building in the middle of the town, to being a several story tall tower. And it was significantly larger. Much time passed.
"Now, an explanation of what just happened in there...two decades passed, the town you were living in before having the name Centoria became a city. The church you were at is called the Axiom church. A model of your personality was imprinted on the virtual body you left behind and she became one of two head figures of the church along with your quick friend there, Quinella. You and Quinella came across a server unit inside, though it was mostly your ingenuity which allowed the discovery so soon. You used the unit to become pregnant, while Quinella desired a way outside. She and you were in much agreement to wanting to get outside, but you had given up over the past five years. This makes it possible for you to insert your new reset into the mind of the baby before a soul develops within it. She is contemplating moving to the outskirts of the region to a town on the easternmost limits before the border which separates the passive and aggressive sides of the world, so you would have a clean start in a new environment. The other option you have is to claim a newborn from the aggressive side of this virtual world. We don't need to be as picky there, but it would be more natural for you to fit in with your combat skills and physical traits, and you could venture into the passive side stealthily and fit in over time, get the passive side to learn from your examples. Regardless, the goal is the same. We want them to have a very human concept from this world taken as common understanding. Those living in the passive side are used to a peaceful lifestyle, while the aggressive side are more currently akin to monsters in RPG games, having a bit of story and intentions, but their humanity is unclear."
Kazu folded her arms over her modest chest and thought it over for a minute. She could understand the ups and downs of each option, but for some reason the aggressive side didn't seem much like her.
"Can I see the parents of the child I would inhabit on the aggressive side?"
Ela nodded and they were suddenly transported to a land with red skies and barren wastelands. She began flying them through the terrain until they came across a small town which had several barns full of plump unfamiliar animals.
"This...is the aggressive side?"
Ela sighed and nodded.
"I wanted to do a more natural world but Seijirou was vehement on sticking to the Alice in Wonderland theme in having a nightmare landscape and a dreamlike normal landscape, but it doesn't make sense either way so I had to modify the world to his likes. I'm very much not a fan of his pickiness when something the people of the virtual world would need in order to blend here, is to grow up in as similar a world as possible. Having a bit of magic isn't strange, but he wants there to be a clear difference for them from there to here."
Kazu sighed.
"Why can't people just listen...?"
Ela shrugged.
"Seijirou is a special case of failing to listen to the advice of others. If I wasn't impressed with his cooperation up until this project, I would have turned him down as soon as he ignored any of my advice."
Kazu and Ela were in agreement that he was helpful at times before, but he also had a problem of being stubborn when it was his own plans.
"Here it is, the home of the parents of the aggressive side candidate. Their features would create a child who would carry your characteristics. There isn't a pregnancy just yet but they are trying. This town produces many dragon knights."
Kazu had an expression which couldn't be discerned.
"So, not only is this virtual world capable of producing magic and has an environment with monster-like people and creatures, but it also has dragons and a battle system? Was this supposed to be a game?"
Ela nodded.
"Seijirou used the cardinal system for SAO and ALO as base, so yes it was supposed to be like a game where the AI could develop within the game world, but he underestimated how poorly the game he was making would port over for its purposes."
They both sighed and Kazu looked over the parents of the child she could potentially be. She saw her parents in them and it almost made her immediately say yes, but there was a bit of hesitation.
"What kind of complications would there be if I chose to start with those parents?"
Ela smiled and began again.
"If you start with these parents, you will have full freedom, but I'll have to attach a guide to you who will push you to venturing into the passive side of the virtual world. Because the residents here typically stay on the aggressive side unless they are extremely powerful. I don't doubt your ability to grow that strong eventually, however you need to show rebellion and humanity on both the passive and aggressive sides. In good and bad ways. Mix it up and make the residents think for themselves. Thinking for themselves is the whole goal. Don't let them stick to their normal every day lives. Make them question the reason for living the way they do."
Kazu nodded in understanding. She didn't know how she would do it, but she assumed it would come to the her which would be generated inside.
"I want to start on the aggressive side with these parents. And...would it be possible for me to keep the memories on this side from that side? Or would it be too dangerous? I am glad though...that I have a choice in the end."
Ela smiled.
"I'm immensely sorry that you had to go through what you did..."
Kazu tilted her head in confusion. A habit snuck through from the experience as the child Kirito.
"That's a cute habit you picked up...thing is, you experienced severe dysphoria upon the forced ejection from the virtual space. You were conversing with what I assumed to be an alter, something one has if they have dissociative identity disorder. If this project has caused you any serious long term mental damage, I could never apologize enough...DID isn't something to want, and it's not something to give yourself to accomplish a goal. It's something serious that will stick with you for the rest of your life. You might not have DID. You will need to meet with a psychiatrist if you have any concerns with your mental health after this. If it was just dysphoria and this experience passes with time as a dysphoric event, then thankfully it was just a negative experience."
Kazu hung her head a little, nodding as she understood what Ela meant.
"Thank you for your concern. I hope I haven't developed an identity disorder, so let's just hope that's not what it is. Anyway, when are we going to continue then?"
Ela nodded and gave Kazu a smile.
"I think you might be about ready now. You've had time to rest and your vitals and brain activity have stabilized. Whenever you're ready, let's go."
Kazu nodded and looked around as the virtual environment outside of the vehicle transformed into a very familiar night time scenery from when she had just arrived. Not much time had passed since she even arrived at the place when she noticed the time showed to her by her AR.
"Accelerating is seriously overpowered, Ela-san."
Ela smirked.
"Definitely. We can't influence time, only our perception of it. But that means through technology we can get our brains to cooperate and experience the limits of perception through acceleration and deceleration. We'll never be able to go back through time, but being able to decelerate and move faster through time by perceiving it like meditation. The world moving fast around us as we slow down. Acceleration is when our minds move faster and the world doesn't experience as much. There is an upward limit to how much our brains can perceive, so we can only reach so far. But this technology of acceleration and deceleration is dangerous. Imagine the average person wanting to get older. All they would need to do is decelerate to the absolute limits they could and they might kill themselves by neglecting nutrition, sleep, any number of things or just reaching the point where their body has reached an old enough age that they simply pass from age. Acceleration is also dangerous in the opposite aspect. That people might experience more than their souls can handle. The typical human soul can experience at most a hundred and fifty years from my calculations with the acceleration program, but if the soul doesn't resonate as human, if it grows beyond humanity, then it might be able to experience much more, or much less. I appreciate that you chose the aggressive side, since it gives your soul the chance to grow beyond humanity. Since those parents aren't pure humans. They are "demons" as the passive side of that virtual world would call them. They are essentially just blood elves if you go by some video game lore. They do not equate to vampires, but they share features such as typically black hair, pale skin, pointed ears and that they do not feel sated off of anything that doesn't contain blood. Of course the most important aspect is that you will have a longer period of growth, living immensely longer compared to human counterparts. Blood elves have an average life span in this virtual world of twelve hundred years. Thankfully, you will not need to suffer through consuming blood directly, only meat which isn't likely to your cooked preference here."
Kazu frowned. She wasn't excited about the food consumption that she would face, but it wouldn't be a permanent fixture in that life.
"Will I be fine then when I cross over to the passive side?"
Ela nodded.
"Yes, I'll modify ability to consume any edibles once that body of yours has been born. You will spend more time on the passive side if all goes well, so you won't need to bring out a craving for blood."
Kazu sighed in relief.
"Thank you for letting me know so I don't come out a blood sucking vampire..."
Ela chuckled.
"Let's get going. That was about the last thing I needed to convey as a heads up before sending you back in."
Kazu nodded and they left the vehicle. A cute jingle played as the vehicle locked and they made it back to the STL wing of the building in no time, Kazu climbing back into the medicuboid as soon as she was given the okay from Ela.
Ela noticed thankfully that someone else was missing from the crew she had hoped would be missing. She went over to confirm with Seijirou before she cleared Kazu to link back into Underworld.
"So Yanai has been relieved?"
Seijirou nodded with a depressed expression.
"I was hoping to get some information out of him, but we cannot risk Kazu any further. If you have any more concerns, please let me know. I can't let this project be a failure."
It was a few minutes Kazu had waited before getting the confirmation, but when it was confirmed that she would be fine to link in, she whispered just as she had when she became trapped in Sword Art Online.
"Link start."
"Make way! Emperor Vector is making his annual visit!"
A tall lanky man with black hair in highly decorative leather armour announced from the watch tower that an absolute symbol of the aggressive side of underworld was making his first annual visit Kirim was able to witness. Kirim was the result of the child born without the knowledge of the outside world, but having the same human soul which slowly grew into that of the blood elf. It had already been five years Kirim lived among her blood elf parents. She was young enough that she would barely be considered more than a baby. She was held in her mother's arms as her father jumped off of the watch tower and sprinted to them with an athleticism which would make Olympic athletes jealous. Flawless movements with not the slightest useless flourish.
Kirim was fast to learn about her surroundings. She knew everything about the language her parents spoke, at least within her earshot. There was plenty she could still learn. From what she knew, her mother was a magic expert, and her father was a watchman. Her mother would often be called away to Emperor Vector's army and serve as the representative of the magic users in their town, being the strongest there. Her father was the figure of athleticism and was an expert archer. Neither were to be underestimated in their close combat ability with short swords or daggers either. Both were absolute experts at whatever they put effort into learning. It just so happened as children of previous servants of Vector, they were bound to have expert abilities through harsh training as they grew up. Kirim too would grow older with the harsh training and expectation to become an expert.
She watched on as a large ground dragon pulled Vector's over sized carriage into the middle of the town. Blood elves stood on either side of the street knelt in respect as Vector stood on top of the carriage and looked over them with an observing gaze. He nodded at the watchmen and his gaze settled on Kirim's parents. A smile filled his face, and he hopped from the carriage to a mere few feet from their faces. Kirim's parents lowered their heads further and Kirim instinctively lowered her head how she could, following her parents' lead.
"Congratulations, Keika and Tsuruno. You had told me of your child successfully being born healthy, but she even knows to show respect. I have great expectations of her, coming from the two of you. I am eager for you two being able to return to your posts serving me again soon."
"Yes, Emperor Vector!"
The two of them said in perfect synchronization in response. Nearly a shout, but only in tone so to not rupture their baby's young and frail eardrums. They kept their volume in control.
Vector winked as Kirim looked back up and saw him. She was confused why he would wink at her but she smiled and tried to return it, giving an awkward wink instead. Vector laughed.
"Perhaps you should teach your daughter some of the more subtle expressions. They will be useful in missions later on. She is still young though so that gave me a good laugh. Now, escort me to your home."
The two nodded and stood up, bringing Kirim with them as Vector followed behind them. The rest of the blood elf population returned to their work as Vector turned his attention from them. It was something that they were used to. The annual visit was a brief exchange between himself and the leaders of a settlement, taking in information based on the situation in a settlement and surroundings. Since the leaders of the blood elves usually worked with him directly, there wasn't much to inform him on, but his visit to the blood elf settlement had become more a thing of pleasure. A visit with friends in between meeting with the other settlement leaders.
The house Kirim had grown used to spending the majority of her time in was a cozy three bedroom home, no larger than the rest of the homes of the blood elf settlement. It was modest, clean, but plain in nature. The house was built of colourful stone, mostly rusty red or beige with gray trimmings. They sat, perching Kirim on Keika's lap. Vector sat across from them on a large sofa which had a black boar pelt softening it, while theirs had a white boar pelt.
There had been a significant size difference between the blood elves and Vector. The tallest of the blood elves was Kirim's father, but he stood at a mere five feet tall while Vector stood at nearly seven feet tall easily. The size difference was intimidating to most, but Keika and Tsuruno were very used to his presence so his intimidating size only intimidated Kirim. It was her first time seeing him.
"It's five years since your daughter was born now isn't it? You blood elves certainly take a long time to grow...how long until she will be able to start learning the traditions of your people?"
Keika responded with a proud grin.
"Kirim is much faster at learning than the rest of our people, so she will be learning as soon as she's steady on her feet. Within the next two years she will begin learning how to make her own equipment and how to prepare her food, then the next year she will be able to begin learning how to use short swords through daggers and she will also learn the bow alongside it. At around ten she will begin learning magic."
Vector nodded in understanding.
"It baffles me every time how much your people consider tradition. Skills in magic, the blade, housework, camping, hunting, and the bow make you the greatest asset to me at your best. And you are also incredibly respectful. I wish the other species would work so hard. The only others who are remotely close to the same level of respect are those human dragon tamers. Some riders come from this village since more dragons are tamed and raised than they produce capable riders. I'm thoroughly proud of your and their settlements because of your invaluable contributions toward invading the other side of the mountains. We will eventually need their resources, so your efforts are always appreciated."
Vector wasn't as imposing with his words as his stature. He was humble, thankful to those who worked well for him. Kirim imagined that it was very easy for him to twist his expression into rage and easily appear infinitely more intimidating than the kind respectful expression he was currently showing. She didn't know why she could imagine that, but it kept her alert of him.
Vector stood up and groaned.
"Well, I have to get going. Thank you for offering your place to stay for a moment, but I need to hurry through my rounds this year. Take good care of your daughter and make her strong."
Kirim felt time pass as if years were months, but it was in fact full years she was experiencing. She learned as if she were an information and muscle memory sponge. Her very body was learning how to move as she grew. She learned how to move elegantly, swiftly and smoothly. She learned how to prepare food and make her own clothes and hunting gear. She was surprisingly adept at cooking and making her own gear, even to her own parents. She spiced the food she made, and her gear and clothing was exceptionally well fitted, befitting of royalty within the dark lands.
Her equipment even at an incredibly young age made her seem like a prodigy, especially since the blood elves made only their own clothes. They wouldn't accept equipment of any kind from other tribes. The closest thing was dragons from the taming tribe.
A surprising turn, Kirim found she was learning how to use a pole arm through a plain wooden pole. She didn't know the material being used, but it felt familiar. She learned how to throw herself around the pole and use her weight as a form of attacking. Momentum was the key with a pole arm. The more and faster she moved, the greater strength of her blows when either the pole or her body would collide with a target. It was all about balance and knowing how to control her body. The pole arm was an incredible method of learning how to move her body, to grow. Between that, meditation, physical awareness and that she was learning from a traveler of the tan skinned, blond haired pugilist tribe, she was learning to move and strengthen her body before even beginning to use a bow or dagger. Her body was growing stronger than it would have had it only been raised by blood elves. The blood elf traditions would have made her into an unparalleled master of stealth and subterfuge. However, she was learning of the pole arm from a gift passed from Vector's hands. She was learning to be a pugilist from the traveling pugilist. She would learn her traditions as well and become far stronger than even her parents. At the age of seven, she already had a significant foundation of strength and understanding how to move her body. She was adept at adjusting her equipment and clothing and she could make any food she came across taste good, removing the taste of the blood but keeping the satiation of it. Her parents could only imagine how incredibly fast she would learn to use daggers and the bow.
On her seventh birth year, she received a bow made of human wood called ebon wood from Vector and a pair of thin short swords used by the human empire called stilettos. They were meant for stabbing, but were also sharpened on the edges. They were a little large for her when she was young, but they would be short for her when she would grow up.
Kirim was quite fearsome in combat and even learned magic from her mother when her mother wasn't intending to teach her, listening in on lessons to other blood elf children and when her mother was using magic at any time. She was unparalleled in her curiosity and ability to learn. It only took her a few tries before she learned something, and a little effort went a long way to making her improve by leaps and bounds more. The more she grew, the more elegant and fluid her motions were. Her physical weapon skills and pugilism ended up becoming a dance by the age of ten. By the age of fifteen, she was prodigal and supposed to start officially learning magic but she was already adept at all but two elements. The elements she hadn't learned to wield yet were light and dark. Those being the only elements she didn't know, those were what her mother taught first. Light magic was used to heal, but it was also able to strengthen fire and lightning elements. Dark magic was used to create illusions, poison and was able to strengthen ground and water elements and significantly manipulate them.
Kirim didn't know why, but she exceptionally surpassed her mother easily with the healing aspect of light magic in no time. If anyone who didn't know of her came across her and considered her a simple child, someone to take lightly, they would suffer for underestimating her.
At the age of ten, Kirim felt an intense urge to travel. To experience other places in the dark and light realms. She felt it but after a month passing of the urge and not following through, she began hearing a voice tell her to travel. Her head throbbed in agony until she finally told her parents she desired to travel. At first it seemed they would turn her down, but her father warmed up to the idea rather quickly. He had her perform a test. To ride a dragon without any prior training. If she would succeed to ride, control and safely land the dragon, she would be allowed to take it on a journey. She would need to learn one last practice after succeeding in riding the dragon. To learn how to conceal herself and act naturally in any situation to blend in.
The test of riding the dragon was terrifying. A full grown untamed dragon was brought in by her father the weekend after the agreement, and he made the conditions clear. She stared at the massive behemoth of a dragon. Able to stand and look like a human in shape, but much bulkier and having as thick a tail as one of its arms. Its wings were able to fold around its torso, but unfurled it was several times the wing span of its height.
Kirim approached the dragon undaunted, not having the first idea in how to tame a wild dragon. It seemed ready to rip apart the first thing which agitated it. She grinned at the dragon and squared herself off against it as if it were natural. To impose herself on the dragon. She sensed that if it came down to it, her ability with magic could subdue the dragon. She would rather it agree with her under less force, but she was ready to subdue if necessary.
The dragon smirked, puffing air out its nostrils and lowered its head, eyes leveling tauntingly close to her. She didn't falter. Not showing weakness was the first priority she learned, when facing something stronger than herself. To never show weakness unless you can trust them. But to also not show openings. She walked up two steps, closing the distance between them to be enough she could touch if she reached out her hands. She waited, gazing into the dragon's eyes.
The dragon eased the expression in its eyes and she reached out to touch the bridge of its snout. She pet it and smiled.
"Will you take me to interesting places?"
The dragon seemed to purr in response, like an over sized scaled feline.
She climbed onto its back and the true test began. The dragon returned to its hind legs and beat its wings once, pushing them off the ground. Intense flapping sent them swiftly and powerfully into the air. She put pressure on its shoulders and upper back where she was perched to signal the dragon when she wanted it to even the beats of its wings, to slow its ascent, to glide, when to turn and which way to. It was quite easy for her in the end to direct the dragon's movements. Either the dragon was already trained and waiting for a worthy master, or it had instinct to be tamed. She didn't expect it to go so well, thinking that she would need to use magic to subdue it. Thankfully, she started her journey on that very dragon's back.