So...it's been TWO years since I started posting this (*cue internal screaming*), and I promise I didn't forget this story :'3 but WOW I did totally forget to post this chapter on the 24th like I planned. Although, I say I haven't forgotten this story, but it's been so long and I've been working on other stuff so much that I actually had to reread the last two chapters to get back in the atmosphere with all the Angsty Vibes XD
Anyways, here's where the fun really begins :)
every step that I take is another mistake to you, and every second I waste is more than I can take - Numb (Linkin Park)
o0o0o
Karma stumbles, disoriented; teleport gates and crystals don't exist in Alfheim, and she'd almost forgotten the feeling.
Blinking rapidly, she soon realizes that the bright white all around her isn't just the light. The walls are pure white, blinding her as she squints to try and discern her surroundings when everything is the same color. After a few seconds of bristling, on guard for enemies, she realizes that they're alone, standing in this blank hallway. Even with how bright the lights are on both the floor and the ceiling, the sterile shade of white of the walls, floor, and ceiling make the entire place feel dull and oppressive.
"What...what is this place?" Kirito murmurs as he steadies himself as well.
It turns out that Heathcliff was of course right about Yui, who is a full-size child now, bare feet shuffling restlessly. Without her, they would've been slaughtered by the NPC guards at the admin-locked doors.
"There's no map data," the former pixie mumbles, looking around with an expression of unease and nervousness that belies her status as an AI. "Players are not supposed to have access to this area."
The card that Asuna dropped is turned over and over in Kirito's gloved hands, and he glances at Karma, who takes a deep breath. She checks her HP gauge quickly, surprised to see that it's still in the mid-yellow. She was expecting Eugene to put up a fight, but in all of the chaos, she ended up getting the jump on him from a blind spot. Evidently, he also wasn't expecting her to go straight for the throat using every dirty trick in her book the instant he began to resist. His face still looked shocked in the second before it burned to a remain light after she'd severed his head from his body. After everything, he still didn't know better than to not underestimate her.
She quickly knocks back an HP potion and tosses another to Kirito. "Yui, can you detect Asuna from here?"
As Yui searches, something in Karma's chest thrums with a mix of agitation, anticipation, longing for someone that's so close, and a promise of vengeance for what—or who—they might find alongside it.
As an afterthought, she goes to her friends list involuntarily, before remembering that she didn't have time to add the Knights before the fight. Watching them die, one by one, was much harder than it should've been. She watched as Segro intercepted a greatsword aimed at Kirito, as Sanza sacrificed the last of his health and magic to burn a gap in the guardians, as Muldar and Fultz succumbed to their wounds even while they fought to their last health point together, as Kili plummeted towards the floor in a dying red comet, as Uzala threw himself in front of her, the dozens of golden arrows he took for her turning him into a conflagration of scarlet moments later.
They'll be fine, of course; they'll all be fine, just shaken like she was the first time she was taken out, but there still lingers a deep-seated feeling of panicked unease at seeing it happen and then turning her back on them. Each time, she had to fight instincts beaten into her by Aincrad to stop herself from diving after them, instead leaving them behind.
It'll be worth it. I swear I'll make it worth it, she vows feverishly.
Not just their sacrifices in this virtual world, but also the grief she'd put them all through in the real world, and the effort they must've gone to to locate her and come to her aid. She owes this much and so much more to them. One way or another, they would free Asuna, and Karma would make her choice. The right choice.
She owes it to him too.
In the middle of her ruminations, Yui's gray eyes suddenly flash gold, and she takes off, white dress flapping, bare feet pattering on the pristine floor. "This way!"
They easily keep pace with longer legs and matching impatience, nearly tripping over each other as Yui abruptly turns to face a blank stretch of wall. At the touch of her small hands, the wall gives way in a shower of gold, and she clambers through with them on her heels.
"What do you think is waiting for us?" Kirito asks quietly as they dash blindly after Yui, trusting her to lead them the right way.
The child makes another tunnel in a wall, the spiderweb cracks fissuring outward, and Kirito strains to push through the wall himself, even though Karma is pretty sure Yui is doing all the work, until it shatters. They clamber through with the clumsiness of haste, and Karma brings up their rear.
"I think it's more like who is waiting for us," she says, her tone dark. "That'll be far more deadly than if it were simply an AI boss."
Yui looks slightly cross, but the quirky little program saves her comments and makes another door for them. "We're getting close!"
The wall shatters, and Yui screams—surprisingly realistically for an AI—when they come face to face with a purple, tentacled slug who looks just as surprised to see them as they are to see it. Its shock betrays the fact that it's probably a human playing, which means it has to be an admin in order to be up here.
"How did y—argh!"
Karma shoves Yui back as she lunges, snarling; the distance closes in an instant as she drives her sword down into its head before bringing up her knee to slam into its chin, cutting off its squeal. With two hands, she yanks the blade out and swings it like an executioner's axe, and the slug shatters to pixels.
That was mildly satisfying, although Karma does have to wonder why they weren't rendered invulnerable in this area. Perhaps their arrogance had them confident there was no need for it.
Without any further encouragement, Yui dashes past her through the falling pixels, with Kirito jogging behind her, and Karma falls in behind them again. Yui places her small hands against the wall, golden cracks appearing.
And then before they know it, they're in the magical floating city of Yggdrasil-
Except there's nothing here.
The wind howls with nothing to block it, and they grab onto each other, the three of them bracing each other against the gales. There isn't a single building in sight. The tree branches, as thick as a paved road, are structurally impressive, but barren of life, save for a few tiny birds. There is no trace of the mythical city that was promised.
"The Grand Quest was a lie," Kirito whispers, pewter eyes narrowing in anger, but what Karma's eyes are searching for is a hint of gold or auburn. Her wings twitch and shiver but remain inert, and she scowls.
"That's a later problem," she says curtly. "We've got to get to Asuna."
They're far above the flight limit, so they're limited to how fast they can move on foot. Yui with her short legs keeps lagging behind; after a few dozen meters, Karma scoops her up and throws her over her shoulder unceremoniously.
As they make their way higher and higher up into the tree, it feels as though the air is getting thinner, even though that makes no sense. Avatars shouldn't even need to breathe, and yet it feels as if they're not getting enough oxygen. A strange burning sensation fills her lungs, like the kind she would get after too long of a run in real life, and she finds herself panting.
"You can put me down," Yui suggests, but Karma shakes her head.
"You're tiny. We can't afford to slow down," she gasps out, forcing herself to maintain the pace they've set as her legs burn. The heavy impact of each step rattles her as the unexpected exhaustion sets in, increasing rapidly. Gravity feels as if it's getting stronger and stronger with each step upward, trying to drag them down.
Or maybe it's all just in her head, knowing what she left behind on the ground.
Kirito wheezes as she picks up the pace, but soon, she hears his gait pick up to match hers. "Hey—Karma."
"What?"
A few moments stretch on, and she begins to wonder if she lost his words in the wind and their footsteps when he finally speaks, low and cautious.
"It was him, wasn't it?"
She nearly trips and falls, and Yui squeaks in her ear, startled. His words keep coming in stuttering gasps as they fight for each breath in the thin air and howling winds.
"All the times...you were talking to yourself...or staring at nothing...or reaching for something...that wasn't there…"
Her tone grows defensive without her really meaning to; it's more of an instinctive reaction than anything now.
"What are you implying?" she growls, the wind carrying her quiet words and the reflexive threat within them back to Kirito. Yui tenses slightly, but Kirito remains unfazed, or oblivious.
"I don't know how it's possible," he murmurs breathlessly. "Is he here now?"
Her gaze falls to the rough bark beneath her feet for a split second before she drags it back up again, focusing on the road ahead. They've got to be so close now. There's no time to dwell on what can't be changed.
Tears prickle at her eyes, and Karma tries to pretend it's the wind streaming past them instead of the ache in her chest. "No."
There is no power in the world that can change what he has done—no. What they have done to each other. And she knew that the entire time. It wasn't that she wanted to somehow make things right or something; that wasn't it.
I just needed to know.
Maybe she can pretend that she just wanted to fix things, but it wasn't her fault, not that part of it. Heathcliff was the one who chose to betray and turn on her, chose to leave her, after everything they'd been through together, and Karma had no control over that.
And maybe that was what was so unacceptable, the fact that she apparently wasn't worth enough to him to even sway him a little in the matter, that she was so completely helpless in that moment, that for all that he mattered to her, she was seemingly but a speck of dust in turn.
She should've chosen to simply let it rest in the past when she returned to the real world, but she desperately needed closure. She needed to know. Thus, she went looking for all of it in the one place she hoped to but knew she wouldn't find it. In doing so, she just made everything worse, for both of them, for everyone.
Karma has won more than her fair share of battles, but she never does win her wars.
Gold glimmers in her periphery, and Kirito's slightly louder gasp indicates that he's seen it too. Without a word, they both speed up, and she eyes the birdcage slowly coming into view from around the massive tree trunk.
Even the victory of setting Asuna free will be overshadowed by what she'll leave behind, because she'll have to leave something behind. She hasn't quite decided what or who yet—or perhaps she's simply scared to admit that she has—but she doesn't want to run away from that choice anymore, because it's hers, and she won't let anything or anyone make it for her except for herself.
o0o0o
When they draw close enough, Yui leaps off of Karma's back, causing her to nearly fall as the little girl darts towards the cage, crying out with a tear-streaked smile.
As her fist curls around one of the thin golden bars, Karma slumps against the side of the cage, breathing raggedly, her legs and chest burning in fatigue, and wipes the sweat out of her eyes. The blur of white and auburn solidifies, and she staggers forward, a profound sense of relief filling her chest, along with distant surprise at the intensity of it.
Is the end in sight? Can she leave behind the past now and move on for once?
I want to move on.
Kirito grunts as she yanks him back by his sword belt, sweeping one arm in front of Yui. "What are you-"
"That's not Asuna," is all she can say, her voice low and strangled by rage.
Garbed in fine silk, hair flowing in waves of auburn, Asuna looks almost hurt by the statement, tears welling in her eyes. Her dead, lightless eyes.
"Kirito-kun," she whispers, summoning a wavering smile as she reaches out a hand. "I've missed you."
But Kirito has stopped struggling against Karma, who lets her grip slacken as she steps forward, sword drawn, sneering at the sound of the imposter's voice, paper thin and fragile; the Lightning Flash is anything but.
"What have you done with her?!" she roars, sweeping the gilded cage for some evidence, something she can fight. "Give her back!"
Her furious shout echoes in the treetops, dissipating into the open, empty void beneath them. Birds twitter in fright as they flit away, and the birdcage falls into silence. Far from looking wounded, Asuna's expression melts into a blank nothingness, and Karma tenses, her nerves winding taut with each passing second…
Darkness erupts around them, and Yui is obliterated in a shower of dark reddish smoke with a high pitched shriek. Karma barely has time to register Kirito's frantic shout before she's parrying Asuna's golden rapier, her instincts buying her just enough time to deflect Asuna's momentum and shove her to the side.
Slow clapping fills the air as a figure of light materializes into a tall, butterfly-winged fairy clad in ankle length, satiny, rich green robes with a gaudy golden crown to match the bars of the cage they were standing in moments ago. Judging from Kirito's strangled noise of disgust, Karma has no doubt that this is the enemy they need to face. The final boss, so to speak.
"It looks like two cockroaches have found their way into my little bird's cage," he sneers, strutting about their makeshift arena with the arrogance of a peacock.
Karma hisses when he stops by Asuna, running a hand under her chin, and Kirito spits out, "Get away from her, Sugou! She's not your anything." For once, they are united in their loathing for this man.
Sugou looks positively delighted by their fury and waggles a finger at them like he's admonishing a group of schoolchildren.
"Ah ah ah. In this world, it's Fairy King Oberon," he declares, and Karma despises even the sound of his voice, oozing a premature triumph. "And I dare say she thinks otherwise. Watch. Titania, my darling?"
Asuna opens her mouth, but it's not her voice that comes out.
"I am Queen Titania, betrothed to my beloved king, ruler and master of the fairies and the skies-"
"What have you done to her?" Karma demands, near trembling with rage.
"Why, I'm so glad you asked! It's always an honor for a scientist to share his genius," he says, looking as if Christmas has come early. "You see, you've come just in time. With the help of three hundred generous volunteers from Sword Art Online, mere hours ago, I perfected the technology to ensnare minds like a spider traps flies." Arms flung wide, he proclaims, "I have done what no human has done before! I have the power to control a person's will.
"And right now, Asuna is mine, body-" His gaze travels over Asuna in a way that has Karma seeing red. "-and mind alike."
"Let her go!" Kirito growls, his pewter eyes murderous. "You have no right to do this to her, or anyone!"
"I have every right," Sugou responds, leering at them. "I have power."
"And so did he," Karma snaps, her grip tightening on her blade as she stares down the man who has butchered the virtual world for his own short-sighted, power-hungry goals. "You are nothing compared to him."
At least in Aincrad, he always let them live true to themselves, however ugly it was. He made a beautiful world and let it fill up with imperfect souls, and in there, they had the freedom to be alive.
Sugou sneers at her. "Whatever do you speak of? What right do you have to spew such nonsensical drivel? Him I know-" He gestures disparagingly at Kirito. "-but you are an interloper. You have no business here."
Her lip curls as her voice drops to a low, dangerous snarl. "Don't I? Well, let me enlighten you."
Maybe it was never meant to be, but it's part of her now, this power that she wields, the danger she represents, the fear she was able to elicit in the hearts of others. And maybe it shouldn't be, but it is, and she won't be afraid to use it.
"I'm the one who ended Sword Art Online," she states, her eyes narrowed into shards of blood red. "I'm the one who hunted players for a job in Aincrad, I was their judgement and their retribution, I was good at it, and I'm the one you should be scared of." She jabs a finger at Kirito. "This one at least knows what mercy is. The closest you might get from me is a quick death."
Far from looking scared, Sugou just looks amused. Karma remains unfazed; he'll learn soon enough. But this means that he believes he can win, and as vile as he might be, if he really did engineer that mind control technology, he has at least one weapon that she does not know how to counter—yet.
"This should be fun, then," he says smoothly, grinning with perfectly white teeth. "Let's see how the hunter fares when she becomes the prey!"
Like a lightning bolt, Asuna lunges, rapier flashing, and the sound of steel screaming rips through the air. Kirito's shout is lost in their swords clashing, and Sugou's laugh grates on Karma's ears in the background as she fends off Asuna's onslaught.
"There's a wonderful feature of VR called the pain absorber, did you know?" Sugou laughs in glee. "I figured heroes can take any pain and keep soldiering on, is that right? So I've set both of yours to zero! Anything below three, and any damage you take starts affecting your body in real life! A genius little modification, wouldn't you say?"
Karma's gut clenches at his declaration, and in her moment of hesitation, Asuna's rapier sinks into her thigh. She cries out as a lance of searing pain follows in its wake, and she leaps back, hobbling away on her one good leg, the shock almost more off-putting than the pain itself. She's not scared of pain—she can't afford the fear right now—but it does change things. In the past, she was always able to get away with letting grazing blows land, but even that has to be minimized now because the pain will slow her down, and she doesn't want to imagine what a stab in the torso would do to her internal organs in real life, if his claims are real.
Sugou's wandering hands run through Asuna's hair as he adds, "I've set hers to four, you know. I can't have my stunning bride blemished and disfigured when I marry her, but you may want to think twice about harming her. She'll feel all of it."
"You bastard!" Kirito snarls, but his movements instantly become sluggish and timid. He'll never be able to bring himself to hurt Asuna.
Ignoring the pain screaming in her leg, Karma whirls around, lunging for Sugou. In a blur, Asuna darts in front of him, but Karma shoves her aside, leaping at the fairy king; he simply flies up out of her reach, to her frustration.
Asuna's rapier slices across her arm, and she lets out a hoarse cry. Acting purely on instinct, she pivots and slams the pommel of her sword across Asuna's face, knocking her away, and a pang of guilt hits her at the sound of Asuna's grunt of pain. He must've boosted all of her stats a ridiculous amount; as fast as Asuna was, she was never this fast.
"Get down here and fight, you coward!" she demands, glaring at the fairy king fluttering above them daintily, watching the proceedings from a safe distance.
"You have wings too, do you not?" he asks, arms spread tauntingly, but Karma's wings only shiver on her back like dead leaves. "Can't use them? Oh, what a shame."
Gritting her teeth, she rushes towards where Asuna and Kirito are duelling. Under different circumstances, Kirito might've stood a chance, but he's hesitating. His unwillingness to hurt Asuna is making him slow, and honestly, Karma is guilty of the same.
"What's the matter?" Sugou jeers from above. "Hearts too soft?"
There must be some way to break the mind control, Karma thinks to herself desperately. Asuna's fighting style is still very much her own, so she must have some control, however much of it is subconscious. If they can get her back, she can put those boosted stats to use and disembowel Sugou before he can even blink.
Kirito tries his best, calling out to her, reminding her of their time in Aincrad, bitter and beautiful memories alike, but none of it seems to be working. It's like she can't even hear a word they say, and Kirito has already taken a few blows for his troubles. Though his pain tolerance may apparently be infinite, his HP certainly isn't.
"What do we do?" she whispers, only to realize that no one is going to answer her, and she bites back tears of frustration.
Is this really what she becomes, without him?
Her grip tightens on her blade. No. She can be more than this. He may have been the origin of whatever strength she possesses; she can live with that. But he wasn't there holding her hand the whole entire way. He caught her when she fell, and offered a hand up, but he didn't drag her to her feet every time; eventually, she stood on her own power and ran with it.
When he left, taking away that strength he gave her, he gave her something else—the need and the ability to make her own strength. Without him, she is not nothing; she will not make the mistake of thinking so twice. She can't afford to, not right now—not when there are people depending on her.
I am more than the sum of our mistakes.
o0o0o
worst of all, for me to live, I gotta kill the part of me that saw that I needed you more - What Could Have Been (Sting, ft. Ray Chen)
now that we know just who we are, now that we've finally come this far, I'm ready for one more battle scar - Still Worth Fighting For (My Darkest Days)
Yeah, you go, girl :D
I did skip the actual World Tree fight, but it wouldn't have gone differently anyways. I figured if the Sylphs and Cait Siths were able to make enough of a difference for Kirito to clear the World Tree in canon, then their combined resources and the Salamanders' huge army would probably be enough too.
And given that they took a few extra days, I figured I might as well have Sugou have finished the mind control stuff that he was talking about by the time they got there. It'll make things a bit more interesting. Also, I hated writing him :/ he's a disgusting character.
Soooooo what are they gonna do now? Sorry for the cliffhanger, by the way XD and who knows when the next chapter will be up :3 We're so close to the end though!
ALSO, we are fast approaching November 7th, 2022 in real life. That's the day that Sword Art Online began in this universe. And the fact that we're almost there in our world is actually insane to me. (*cue more internal screaming*)