"I'm sorry Rinko-senpai, I don't know what's happening," Higa Takeru, the eccentric chief programmer of the Soul Translator, says as he types away at a keyboard in front of him.

At the moment, Rinko, Kikuoka, and Higa, as well as some security personnel dressed in sharp business suits, were all gathered around a console that Takeru was sitting in front of. Attached to the wall above said console were several screens, all beside each other in a horizontal row. The screen in the middle, the largest screen, portrayed images of the Human Empire as well as the FLA rate, which at the moment was set to 934.35. Beside that screen was another which portrayed a grey, fluctuating sphere. Above it were the words "KAZUTO KIRIGAYA" in a large white letters.

"I have no idea what could have possibly happened!" Higa says. "Just an hour ago, when I checked in on Kirito's fluctlight, he was doing completely fine! But now, it's as if soul just...died!"

"What could've possibly happened?" Rinko asks, cupping her chin thoughtfully. "Did the system glitch?"

"No, it's just simply not possible for the STL system to glitch," Higa replies with, shaking his head. "No, something in the Underworld must have impacted him emotionally. Something big and impactful enough to even affect Kirito's fluctlight. He is most likely undergoing a phase of depression."

"Depression?" Rinko asks. "Why would that be?"

"I don't know, but whatever happened in the last hour must've snapped him," Higa says. "You see, when we sent Kirito into the Underworld with the intention of healing him, we accidentally sent in his real-life persona, Kazuto Kirigaya. As a result, he entered the Underground with all of his memories, including ones with...Yuuki."

Rinko turns her head to the right. To the right of the central control room was the Ocean Turtle's clinical area. Inside of that clinic room was a cot. Lying on top of that cot was a teenage boy dressed in nothing but a simple, hospital-issued shirt and pants. Hovering right above the boy's head was a large mechanical contraction, hiding his face from view. Despite that, Rinko knew that it was RATH's latest test subject, Kazuto Kirigaya.

Sitting on a stool beside the unconscious Kirito's cot was a small, teenage girl with long, purple hair and big, bright red eyes. She was dressed in a simple purple t-shirt and jean shorts and she had Kirito's hand clasped between her own as she stared thoughtlessly down at Kirito's motionless body.

Rinko couldn't help but feel admiration for Konno Yuuki. All her life, ever since being birthed, the purple-haired girl fought constantly with death. She was diagnosed with HIV and AIDS as a baby and as she grew up, her immune system collapsed on itself. The doctors never expected her to live a long, healthy life. She should've died when she was diagnosed with pneumonia at the age of 12. She should've died multiple times due to minor diseases that her body couldn't have had the strength to fight off before beginning use of the Medicuboid. She should've died again when her body just suddenly deteriorated one day, which led her doctors to believe that she would die on that day. But she came out of each interaction

Yuuki ran into Kirito one day when he was wandering aimlessly around ALO. She challenged him to a duel and won by a pretty slim margin. She then asked him to help redeem the reputation of her guild, the Sleeping Knights. Somewhere along the journey, feelings bloomed between the two and, once Kirito had finished helping Yuuki and her guild defeat the two-headed giant in Floor 27 of New Aincrad, the two of them hit it off. That was when Yuuki came with her closest encounter to death and when Kirito learned about her critical health condition.

When she survived that attack, much to her doctors' surprise, her health suddenly started improving. Her HIV and AIDS started receding and her immune system started becoming stronger. Just a few months later, she was as healthy as a normal teenage girl could be and discharged from care.

Every single day of those few months since Yuuki's attack, Kirito went to visit Yuuki. When she was discharged, the two of them were effectively lovers.

Having survived so long despite all the odds stacked against her was, again, an admirable feat. Somehow staying cheerful throughout it all made the girl seem even more amazing to Rinko.

However, now, Yuuki didn't seem to be her cheerful and peppy self. She was uncharacteristically silent and her seemingly-permanent expression of happiness was replaced by a more melancholic one. Rinko knew Yuuki could hear what Takeru was saying despite being three walls and half a large room away from him. Very enhanced senses were an unexpected but not unwelcome consequence to fully undergoing the Medicuboid trials.

"To us, may seem like only a week since Kirito underwent the STL treatment," Higa says. "However, to him, it may seem like two years since he first awoke in the Underworld."

"Two years?" Rinko repeats. "The loneliness must've been eating away at him for a long time."

"He most likely found a companion he got close with," Higa says. "Then maybe something happened to his companion that made him fall into a state of sadness. He's blaming himself so vehemently for whatever happened to his companion that he's subconsciously attacking his own fluctlight."

"Well, is there something we can do about it?" Rinko asks.

"There is, but…"

The eccentric programmer turns to Yuuki, who's still staring blankly at the unconscious Kirito. Rinko follows Higa's gaze.

"I'm thinking maybe emotional support may be our best approach at the moment," Higa says.

"No, absolutely not! The STL may be, arguably, the most advanced technological system in the world, but we are not risking putting a random live human being inside of the Underworld!" Rinko says. "Especially not Yuuki! Although her body may now be as healthy as an average teenager's, we don't know whether her soul is ready to withstand being put into the STL! It could quite literally kill her soul!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't see how we can do this another way," Higa replies with, sighing and shaking his head. "We could try directly altering Kirito's fluctlight, but we're not even toes-deep into that kind of stuff. I don't want to risk accidentally killing his soul."

"So it looks we can't solve this problem without risking killing off one or the other," Rinko says, sighing frustratedly. "What are we supposed to do? We can't just leave Kirito's fluctlight like this, it'll make it significantly harder to pull his soul out of the STL without accidentally destroying it. And even if he comes out alive, it'll leave a life-long effect on his soul."

"Rinko-san," Rinko hears Yuuki call followed by the soft tapping of shoes falling against the metal floo.

Rinko, Higa, and Kikuoka all turn to see Yuuki enter the central control room. Nakanishi, the head of security aboard the Ocean Turtle, greets her respectfully before resuming his original position as the Ocean Turtle's human scarecrow.

"I would lay down my life for Ki," Yuuki says sternly. "If it weren't for him, then I wouldn't have come out of the Medicuboid system alive. Not only is he my boyfriend, but I literally owe him my life and I wouldn't hesitate to risk my life if it means saving his. So, Rinko-san…"

"I guess we have our answer," Higa says, turning to Rinko.

"Yuuki…"

"Rinko-san, please," Yuuki pleads. "If I'm the only one who can save Kazuto-kun, then I'm willing to be used to do so. If something happens to him because I choose to stay inactive, then I don't know how I'll live with myself."

"We can have that arranged," Kikuoka says, standing up from his chair. "Nakanishi, you and tell Nurse Aki that we have another participant who is willing to dive into the Underworld, will you?"

"Yes, sir," Nakanishi says, bowing his head and walking out of the central control room.

Rinko closes her eyes and shakes her head, sighing. When she opens them, she sees Kikuoka, Higa, and Yuuki all looking at her.

"Why're you all staring at me?" Rinko asks.

None of the three give her an answer. Instead, they just keep staring at her. It takes her a second to realize that they were all silently asking for her verbal permission. Rinko sighs again.

"Fine, I approve of Yuuki using the STL," Rinko says.

Obviously satisfied, Higa and Kikuoka turn back to the computer screens in front of them with a nod. Yuuki breaks out into a smile and thanks Rinko before skipping out of the central control room, having seemed to regain her usual cheerful, bubbly personality.

"If her soul dies, it will be entirely your fault," Rinko says pointedly at Higa.

"Relax, her soul's in good hands!" Higa says.

"I do hope so," Rinko says. "For both hers and your sake."

"Ah, Kirito, I see that you're awake," Cardinal says, walking into one of the Grand Library's guest rooms.

The guest room was small and circular, having just enough space for a wooden cabinet, a small cot, and a wooden, circular table. Papers with words and drawings were strewn sloppily all over the table and the wastebasket under it was filled to the brim with crumbled balls of paper.

On that cot was black-haired boy who was sitting on his cot, staring down at his hands which were folded across his lap.

Kirito raises his head towards the small librarian. To her dismay, his condition didn't seem to be improving. There were dark, heavy bags under his eyes and his usually-sharp grey pupils were dull and glassy.

"Kirito, did you stay up late again last night?" Cardinal asks.

"Of course I didn't, Cardinal-san," Kirito says.

Then he yawns and rubs his eyes. Cardinal raises an eyebrow.

"Fine, I was," Kirito says, sighing.

"Kirito, I understand that you want to save your friend, but it's not something you can do on your own, especially in your condition," the Cardinal says, pushing her small glasses up her nose. "You train all day, but you never sleep at night. How do you ever expect to be in the right condition to scale the Central Cathedral again?"

"I don't need to sleep!" Kirito exclaims. "I can use my sleep time for something more important."

"And how is that working out for you?"

"Well, I-"

Then Kirito suddenly yawns.

"Okay, yeah, why don't you take today off?" Cardinal asks. "Just sleep. I'll wake you up again in the afternoon. Or maybe tomorrow morning."

"No, I'll be fine!" Kirito declares. "I don't need to take a day off."

"Kirito, the lack of sleep is making you delusional," Cardinal says. "You're not a god. You'll end up killing yourself if you keep this up."

"Well, I'm not dead yet, am I?"

"Kirito-"

"Just stop, Cardinal-san," Kirito growls. "I'm not going to take this day off and nothing you say will change my mind. Now get out of the way, I gotta go make myself breakfast."

"Well, if that's the case," Cardinal says. "System call, generate luminous element."

The librarian opens her hand. Four small, glowing yellow orbs appear in her hand. The orbs burst, enveloping the room in a bright flash of light. Kirito covers his eyes with his hands against the bright light. The Cardinal uses the opportunity to conk Kirito in the side of the head with her staff, knocking him out. He falls back onto the cot, unconscious.

"You'll thank me for this later," the Cardinal says.

The Cardinal positions the Black Swordsman into a proper lying position on the cot and covers him with the thin, brown blanket. Then, she creates another wastebasket with a tap of her staff and walks around the room, picking up crumpled balls of paper off the ground.

I really hope your obsession doesn't lead to your death, Kirito, the Cardinal thinks to herself as she turns to the sleeping Kirito. The boy looked more peaceful and relaxed than she had ever seen in the last month.

Meanwhile, in a village somewhere far from the Central Cathedral and even the city of Centoria, the door of a small cottage sitting on a small hill opens. A swarm of children run out the door, laughing and chattering amongst themselves. A tall, black haired man wearing simple peasant's shirt and pants groups the children up in a group and begins to lead them towards the town down the dirt path.

"Thanks again for taking care of the children!" the man shouts from the base of the hill, turning to the cottage. "You're really a great help to the other villagers."

A figure wearing an unfamiliar-looking blue article clothing and long black pants steps out through the door and onto the porch, his hands in his pockets and the hood of his robe over his head, hiding his face.

"of course, chief zuberg!" the figure shouts back, taking a gloved hand out of one of his pockets to wave it in the air. "anytime!"

A/N: Basically just canon divergence for the first chapter! The plot will really begin in the next chapter. Story technically takes place after the Central Cathedral raid but Kirito doesn't become a couch potato yet. Arguably, his state turns it worse. Ocean Turtle attack won't take place until after Quinella is killed.