Sword Art Online Museum

by asdf1asdf1

Ten years after the game of death is cleared, the long awaited SAO museum opens its doors, full of stories about the trials and horrors that the victims endured inside. Join Alice as she accompanies Yui to learn about what Asuna and Kirito experienced during their two years trapped inside.

1. Part 1

Author Notes:

Happy SAO launch day! I thought I should do something for the day so I wrote this short story.

Do note that as I have not read most of Unital Ring I essentially ignored it.

Beyond that, I ignored the new movie storyline with Mito. I assume the novels are the more canon, canon?

Lastly, because progressive is in here, I tried to bridge progressive to the main events which turns out to be... kind of hard? Beyond that, I hope you enjoy a small walk through memory lane and enjoy my original fights/hypotheses about other important SAO events we have yet to see in an official format.

Cheers,

-asdf

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The Sword Art Online Museum

Commemorating the achievements and struggles of the 10,000 players who fought against their imprisonment.

Part 1 – The Lower Levels

Chapter 1: The Entrance

As with most November days in Tokyo, the sky showed no hints of rain and a pale late autumn sun provided little warmth compared to its summer counterpart. Under those rays, Alice Synthesis Thirty, ex-integrity knight, first A.L.I.C.E., and manager of RATH's AI cooperation team, stood staring up at a large, conical shaped building.

By her side stood another woman in a metal body of the same make as her own. However, inside the mechanical shell was an AI of a completely different type. Yui, Kirito and Asuna's daughter, stood barely a finger shorter than Alice with long flowing black hair. Wearing a simple white dress that while although plain, it called attention up her shapely face. She was in all ways a beautiful, fetching, teenage girl who would fit perfectly into a high school classroom. That is until you got too close to her and noticed that the finer details of human skin were not present. For Yui was a presence that even Alice herself was baffled by.

"It is finally open…"

Yui's soft words made Alice turn back to entrance of the building that loomed in front of her. Written in plain grey block letters a meter high were the words: SWORD ART ONLINE COMMERATIVE MUSEAM. It was finally opening. Twelve years after the fateful day that everyone was trapped on, ten after everyone was freed. With a major asterisk on the date it was cleared according to Kirito and Asuna whose troubles had not ended there.

It was what was below the museum door's words that drew Alice's eye. Two swords, replicas at least four meters long that crossed at the apex of the double doors forcing museum goers to pass between them to enter the building. One of the swords was thick and completely black. A solid longsword much like her precious Osmanthus sword that she owned in the Underworld. The other was a rapier that seemed to glow with a white light. Even having never seen the weapons before, Alice could pinpoint the owners of the blades. Each one was a perfect match.

"Your father had a black sword even this long ago?" Alice said to Yui. It was not really a question.

The teenager giggled. "He really mastered the whole brooding aesthetic quite early. People thought him older than he really was because of it."

Alice snorted at the boy's foolishness. It was exactly something Kirito would do. For that very reason, a small smile touched her lips. "Well, shall we enter?"

"Yes, let's," Yui agreed. A weird contrast of adult-like maturity that a teen could not easily capture, and a childish glint of excitement coexisted within her. It was partly those properties that made her so popular. Even the staunchest critics of AI rights struggled to state their opinions when faced with Yui.

Alice attributed her own success in large part to Yui. The girl was an enigma that had never been truly replicated. A program that could not be copied. A true sentient existence that did not have its framework based upon the human soul as Alice's was.

Through Yui's actions, it was only last year when Alice could get paid as a recognized human being. It was still hard for her to own property. She still could not vote as she was not a proper Japanese citizen yet. Something about international conflicts and claims that made Alice want to wring someone's throat.

Striding alongside Yui, Alice tossed her head of golden hair back over her shoulder and briefly considered tying it up. However, from the fashion advice that she had learnt from Asuna, the effect would mar the gray three-piece suit that she wore and upset the contrast between her sapphire earrings and hair.

As it was the opening day, groups lingered around talking, including many important looking people in suits and fancy dresses. There were no cameras recording them, but people wearing the second generation of the Augma. Capable of recording and saving what the eyes and ears received in real time. They were hard to notice now as they could be customized as glasses. That did not include the growing number of people, who like Alice and Yui did not need anything like that. They had brain chips inserted and like Alice they were never not connected to the internet and the augmented world.

Stepping up to a ticket gate that she had grown accustomed to over a decade, Alice opened the file that was her ticket. Kirito had easily acquired a pair for Yui and her. Of course, the coward had also laughed and managed to wiggle out from coming. There was no one scanning the tickets, just an automatic stall. Alice shared the ticket with the machine, which verified it, and opened to admit her.

"At last…" Gazing up at the yawning museum interior, Alice felt an odd excitement course through her. She would finally get the whole story. Not just the bits and pieces that she had extracted over the years. She would finally learn the history of the man that had saved her and her world. She would learn what he had experienced that had forged him into who he was.

Feeling a slight pressure on her hand, Alice glanced over at Yui and gave her a smile. "Come. We can learn together."

"Thank you, Alice."

With their determination set, the pair entered the First Floor.

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Chapter 2: The First Day

The interior of the museum was an architectural marvel. It was a wide circular interior with what appeared to be islands floating above the ground. There was no clear path. Buildings and holographic displays were directly in front of Alice and Yui. Off to one side was a forest and what looked like a swamp on the other. The entire space had large pillars spread around it supporting a gray stone ceiling more than ten meters above the ground they stood on.

"The first floor…" Alice had seen a very similar sight with her own eyes. In the world of Alfheim, a replica of this floating fortress existed. The sights here were very reminiscent. Spread around the viewing displays were chairs where people could sit down and connect to a small VR server and wander around specific areas, maybe see scripted events.

"They did such a good job!" Yui admired happily, her eyes sparkling as she took in the entirety of the dark marble encased floor. Alice wondered if that was an intentional choice. The sky that could be seen from Aincrad was non-existent. Instead, the walls gave it a museum-y feel. But it also felt more like a prison. Unlike in Alfheim, the players here did not have wings, they did not have log-out buttons.

They fought for their lives. As I did…

For Alice, it was the thought that she could die and come back that was odd. Over the past decade, that thought process had slowly changed. She now understood why the game was so terrifying for those trapped, so dissonant mentally. If someone one day told her that she would die if her avatar health hit zero, she would now struggle to comprehend it.

"Alice?"

She jumped at Yui's voice. Realizing that she had been standing still for close to a minute, Alice smiled at the AI. "Sorry, being here makes me think."

"I believe that is a point of the museum. Oh, look! It is Kayaba's quote."

A holographic display of words popped up near the ceiling, the word writing in characters nearly a meter high. The milling crowd gasped and pointed at them. "This may be a game, but it is not something you play," Alice read. It was chilling. The man had taken something that should have been a fun distraction from the challenges of the real world and turned into a vicious trap where even the slightest misstep could result in death.

"Is that…"

Alice turned from the meter-high letters and looked at where Yui was pointing. A group of people were milling around in fancy-suits similar to what Alice herself wore. She recognized the person that they were swirling around. "That is… Klein."

Yui giggled. "I wonder if he got invited to do interviews after Dad and Mom declined."

"Yes, well they don't need more attention." Alice smiled, thinking about Kirito's inability to stay out of trouble. It was one trait about him that had not changed even as time passed. "Kirito would be unable to lie at all if they asked him about being the black swordsman."

Yui cackled at that, her eyes glittering with an excitement that a computer could never replicate. "Dad would be found out in an instant."

Sending Klein one final glance, Alice led Yui to the display of the Town of Beginnings. The fire-haired older man was preening like a peacock and was doing fine in the ring of reporters and potentially influential people. The holographic plaque that greeted them gave a friendly and warm introduction.

Welcome to the teleport square of the Town of Beginnings! Take a seat and use your VR device to emulate logging in on Nov 6, 2022 as a new, excited player! (Remember there were only 10,000 copies sold!)

Alice ignored the chair; she did not need to go through the familiar process of logging in. She had seen the teleport square before.

"Alice!" Yui complained. "We came here to learn, so come learn!"

"Wait!" But Yui did not wait. The girl sent her a teasing wink and plunked herself down on a comfortable chair. Leaning back, Yui's eyes closed, and she was gone. Sighing, Alice sat down and copied Yui. As she was not the same mysterious AI, Alice had to say the words. "Link Start!"

Her vision and senses faded to black until a screen popped up. It was a list of possible connections. For most people, they would only have the one option to connect to the private, "Start of SAO' server. Alice had another option to connect to her online portal. Ignoring it, she selected the SAO museum server.

With a flash of whirling lights, Alice was greeted by a familiar character select screen. Even as Alice tried to reach out and touch it, she found that she could not. In moments, she learned why as a narrative voice began speaking.

"Players logging in for the first time were greeted by this scene where thy could spend hours fully customizing their character. This is one of the most thorough character creators ever made for virtual reality and is the template that many future games have been based on.

"Ultimately, these hand-crafted characters were reset by Kayaba Akihiko when he made his declaration in front of all players at 5:30 pm. Using the Nerve Gear's camera and synchronization functions, as well as pictures stored on internal memory, Kayaba reset their appearances and heights to that of the real world. By doing this change, Kayaba forced the players to understand that they were in a new world where death was real.

"Before any of that could happen however, this character creation screen is the last thing more than 50 people saw. Before they could finish logging in, families members attempted to remove their Nerve Gears resulting in their untimely deaths."

Alice shivered in the senseless void. It was one thing to die on your feet fighting, it was entirely another thing to die knowing nothing of what was happening, having no control over your fate. It reminded Alice of Gabriel, her greatest failure. Even almost a decade later she had nightmares about that void consuming her mind, trying to consume her soul. Like these players, she had had no chance to stand against it, nothing she could do, but wished that she had.

If only, if only, then I would have been the one that…

Blinking, Alice's view changed as she entered the Town of Beginnings as herself. In the year 2034, every citizen had an official, "Virtual Reality Avatar" that was registered and had identification for use in government regulated Virtual Realms. As such, Alice's model changed somewhat. Her cheeks were touched with rouge; her hair was done up in an intricate bun with sparse curled locks swaying around her neck as she wore a beautiful blue dress that sparkled like the sun itself. The fabric would be hard to make in the real-world giving Alice, funnily enough, a surreal experience.

Taking a step off the central platform, a message greeted Alice: 'Do you want to don the garb of a starting player?' She spammed the yes button. Almost anything was better than this dress that singled her out more than if she had a third arm. Her body glowed, and Alice did not feel anything until her new garments settled on her with a real weight. They were garments that she was more familiar with. The tunic and cotton shirt on her torso could have been worn by any male in Ruild. The feminine difference was her bottoms. Her legs were suddenly breezy as a skirt that only went halfway down her thighs fluttered around her.

"How am I supposed to believe I am fighting for my life when you dress me in frilly girl clothes?" Alice complained. Touching the thick, poor-quality cloth suspended by a leather belt tied with smaller strips, Alice tried to mask what she was doing as she stuck her hand down her skirt and confirmed her fears. There were no shorts for modesty, only what seemed to be a pair of frilly panties that were completely inappropriate for the setting. "Clearly a game made by men for men."

"What are you complaining about Aunt?" Yui asked, coming from somewhere. She wore similar equipment to Alice; except she bore a bared longsword in her right hand that she leaned on her shoulder. Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail, a look Alice had not seen on the aging AI before. Once again, her eyes were excited as she gestured around. "Isn't it magical?"

Alice finally took in her surroundings. It was different from how she remembered it in Alfheim. Not the architecture, nor the large Black Iron Palace that stood prominently behind her. It was the people. The green cursors of more human looking characters, voices filled with excitement and wonder. Each one was looking forward to an adventure. One many of them would never finish.

"It is kind of sad, isn't it?" Alice replied to the girl. "This excitement and hope were killed, replaced with crippling despair in the face of an impossible challenge."

"I know that better than anyone…" Yui murmured, her face turning solemn, in a few moments though, her excitement began to bubble up as she overcame the horrors of her past. "I know that this game ruined many lives. But this was where my parents met, where I was born. To have the chance to walk their path, to confront the horrors that broke me…"

Alice placed a comforting hand on her niece's shoulder. She had so much information right at her fingertips that talking to Yui could be intimidating. Right now, she truly looked like the young girl that she was.

"This was the teleport square where everyone started. From here, players were free to investigate and explore with zero directions. Of course, there are NPC helpers spread around that were always willing to help a lost player!"

The narrator's precise, professional voice spoke within Alice's head. With a glance at Yui, Alice confirmed that the AI was hearing it as well.

"Please feel free to explore and talk to some of the NPC recreations we made of players that speak on the things they were most excited for and looking forward to with the launch of Sword Art Online." The voice continued. "Once done, make your way to the Black Iron Palace to view the player monument."

It seemed like Yui's voice had finished first as the girl started walking again before Alice's narrator had finished. She had a mirthful, laughing expression as she pointed at some of the green cursor players standing around the square. "Look! Is that Klein, again!?"

Having no choice but to follow along, Alice jogged after the girl that ran to one of the green cursor players. As Alice got closer to the laughing, jovial characters, she appreciated how tall they were, and how beautiful. Many looked like her robot body, works of art that were not realistic. They looked more like the Alfheim fairies than people of the real world as had been described to Alice.

These are the original avatars… Alice was still shocked by the height though. In general, it was taboo to change your height. Kirito had started to refer to it as 'Soul Dissonance'. Alice still did not completely understand what he meant, but essentially, the soul grew to fit the body that it existed in. It was not merely that adjusting to a different height body was challenging, it caused a disconnect between your soul and your body in the real world when used for too long.

Yui was approaching the character that she suspected to be Klein. She gaped and giggled at the character that barely resembled the man she knew. This fellow looked down-right respectable. He had straight red hair that fell to his shoulders, a noble kerchief wrapped around his head. He stood more than a head taller than Alice with chiseled features.

"My, he actually looked like a dependable knight with this appearance," Alice said, mirth entering her voice.

Of course, this drew his attention. Whirling to face her, a broad smile split that handsome face. Somehow, it gave him the impression of a dangerous stalker and Alice took a step back. "I take it back; his actual features suit him faaar better."

"Hello there!" The pre-recorded lines rang out. It was indeed Klein's voice, only distorted slightly to be slightly deeper. Either to poorly hide the man's identity or try and make it suit his visage better. "I am Klein! Logging into Sword Art Online, I realized exactly how unprepared I was for a Nerve Gear game. It was large, exciting, and overwhelming. Conveniently, I saw the Black Swordsman himself running past me at this moment. Calling out to him, I got the chance to learn how to fight from the hero of SAO himself!"

Klein puffed up his chest and preened with his hand resting on the hilt of a cheap-looking curved sword. "Yes, it was that very relationship, formed in the first hours of the game that sowed the seeds of my guild's triumphant rise! Playing the game with five of my friends, we logged in dreaming to move our guild from the previous game into SAO. Thus, was the magnificent start of Fuurin Kazan born! Look forward into learning more about our exploits and game altering decisions further in the museum!"

With a wink, the NPC went back to talking to the figure across from him. The much shorter man had spiky black hair and a patient smile. Some of his attributes reminded Alice of… "Kirito!?" Her scream overlapped with Yui's startled cry of 'Dad!'. The change was far more shocking than Klein's.

His slightly feminine looks and bangs were gone. Instead, he had the appearance of a true swordsman, hard and worn with piercing eyes. The NPC turned to look at them. Then, he blinked in surprise and confusion unbefitting his appearance. "Umm, do I know you?"

"This NCP does not have a built-in speech to give," Yui sighed. "I'm guessing my Dad could not be pressured into giving one."

Alice gave the avatar one final disappointed up and down look. It was like a Kirito from a different world. A person he could have been but ultimately was not. Giving up on the uninstructive NPCs, Alice guided them on. "Do you want to look for anyone else or move unto the monument?"

"The monument," Yui spoke without a shred of hesitation. "There is likely little of worth to be gained from conversing further with the short bits spoken by these shadows of the past."

Fully in agreement, Alice exited the teleport gate spying a few more of the museum goers interacting with the NPCs or simply staring in awe at the first floor of Aincrad. Passing into the courtyard of the Black Iron Palace, Alice stared up at it. The name suited it well, as it was the colour of pitch. Imperfections were hidden as the absorbed light made it hard to look at. Through the massive open double gates, Alice entered what should rightly be called an entrance hall. Unlike normal palaces, the Black Iron Palace had a mostly empty interior. Alice did not even know where the stairs and doors off to either side went. In this realm there was a soft purple light hovering in front of them indicating that those areas were off-limits.

Stepping forward, Alice took in the long chamber she rarely visited in Alfheim. In that game there was a massive plaque similar to the one that greeted her. Instead of names, it had floors and parties of the guild that cleared the boss on that floor. In Aincrad, it gave off a more somber feeling, the light leaking through the stain-glass on the far wall had a ghostly feel. Alice thought she could almost hear the cries of the deceased. The ones that should have respawned in this very hall had been wiped from existence by one man's pride.

"This is the Swordsmen's Monument." The announcer continued. "It lists the name of every character created on the server and strikes through the fallen. Currently, only the names of the first 251 players are crossed. They are the ones that had their Nerve Gear forcefully removed before warnings were sent out.

"When you finish, please log-out using the menu and continue your trip in the Sword Art Online Museum." The narrator took on a somber tone at the end. A sympathy for the tragic fallen that had received no opportunity to test themselves against the game.

"How truly horrible…" Yui sighed approaching the monument, her eyes scanning a list of names that she could perfectly memorize if she had the desire. "Some of the strongest that could have saved thousands may have perished this way. Even worse, their family member has had to live with their deaths being their fault…"

Alice could not agree more. Stepping up beside Yui, the two women paid their respects to the somber reminder. Alice could not help but speak the names of the characters in her mind. Some were ridiculous, clearly fabrications. 'Screen Names' Kirito would call them. Some were even worse, placeholders, but all represented real lives and people.

They stood silent for more than five minutes as Alice took the time to find each and every one of her friends that had suffered in this world. Agil, Argo, Asuna, Klein, Lisbeth, Kirito, and Silica. All had survived, but Alice sought one more name. It was still unblemished on this version: Sachi. It was a name Alice had not heard from Kirito, but Asuna.

There was one day a year where Kirito grew quiet and visited a graveyard a distance away, bringing no one. It was the one person that Kirito did not talk to anyone about it seemed. He discussed Eugeo with her, but not this mysterious girl from the past.

I wonder if I will finally learn about her…

Hoping she would get the chance, Alice turned to Yui only to find the girl looking at her expectantly. Sharing a nod, they logged out as others began to filter into the Black Iron Palace, murmuring in awe at the majesty.

Used to the sensation of coming out of dive, it took Alice only moments to stand up and regain control. Yui was even faster. The girl was truly a product of both worlds and moved seamlessly between both of them. No, that probably was not true. It was more like the girl was in multiple places at the same time.

They moved into the AR displays of the first floor. They got to buy a starting weapon from the selection menu, hear the NPC dialog from some of the starting quests. Accompanying all of this was easy-to-digest dialog about how revolutionary it was at the time. Why the players were so excited to dive in and begin playing. The tone was almost happy, the beginning of a marvel of human creation. The genius of Kayaba Akihiko to bring it into reality in such a short time was awe-inspiring. It was truly not an exaggeration to say that he had moved forward their technology by decades single-handedly.

In some ways, he is both Yui's and my father… Alice thought, growing discomforted at that way of thinking. Alice was ripped from her thoughts at a dark section tucked in a corner with a viewer discretion advised sign at the entrance.

Experience Kayaba's declaration first hand. Understand the terror and horror experienced by the trapped players, their rejection of the message just delivered.

Alice made a beeline for it, briefly forgetting about Yui. This had been why she had come. Yes, she could travel to Aincrad in Alfheim, but it was not the same. It was not burdened by trauma, it existed with different rules in a different game. She needed to know, desperately, what it was that Kirito had lived through.

Grabbing a seat, Alice shared one brief glance at Yui who had followed along, her face sad but determined. Closing her eyes, Alice entered her second server on the first floor. "Link start."

Alice braced herself for what she would find. Her fears were unfounded as she found herself standing in a pleasant green field of grass with boars lounging nearby as the sky turned a burnt red in the face of the setting sun. It was idyllic, peaceful. An easy hunting ground to be conquered by new players and newbies. Little challenge, little monetary reward. It was the experience of fighting and the joy of adventuring that would bring someone to this vista.

"Many players had found their way here by this time. While the Town of Beginnings is large and has much to explore and accomplish within city bounds, the real joy for many of them was the sensation of hunting and defeating monsters.

"Why not try hunting a monster yourself? Use the weapon on your back to defeat one of the Blue Boars. Don't worry, they won't attack you! It is a perfect chance to try out the famous 'Sword Skills' for yourself that the game was named for!

"When finished hunting, climb to the top of the hill to proceed."

Alice gazed contemptuously at the creatures. It would be beneath her to fight one of these things. They had even removed their ability to fight back. It removed the already miniscule challenge that the slow pigs had possessed in the first place.

"HIYAH!"

Alice flinched as she thought she heard Asuna's battle cry. Whirling around, Alice gaped at Yui who had a rapier in her right hand and was attempting to defeat one of the monsters. She pulled back the weapon and then lunged. Sometimes the sword skill activated and then got cancelled. Most times it did not go off at all.

Chuckling, Alice made her way over to the girl. "Need help?"

"Grr… I was so sure I could do this… The manual says to assume the stance and it will go off! But my Dad and Mom speed it up so much and…"

Alice laughed at the pouting girl and drew her own blade, a standard longsword. "First, just use the sword skill. Assume the ready position." Alice found one instinctively. Kirito called it 'Sonic Leap'. Alice had first learned it as a Norlangarth Secret Style. Not accelerating it at all, she allowed her body to get pulled forward and land the leaping attack.

"But that was slow!" Yui complained.

"Walk before you run!" Alice criticized her. "If you were interested in this, why have you never…"

"Because I'm a cheater!" Yui cut-in, her cheeks flushed. "I can't learn like you all do. I can master things in seconds that take humans lifetimes… I didn't… I didn't want to…"

"Didn't want to show us up?" Alice sighed. "Well, it looks like your fears of doing that are abated. Now, come on and do it. Assume the posture." Alice did not have to say which. Both Yui and herself had seen Asuna use one sword skill above all others. A simple lunging attack that she executed faster than most people would think possible. A subconscious perfection that chilled even Alice at times.

Yui crouched, her rapier to the side. Rather than running forward at the boar, she stood there as the beast watched her warily, ready to run away. As purple light gathered around her blade, there was a brief one-second pause as the activation energy gathered. With no warning, she exploded forward. Moving only two meters, it was a lunge rather than a leap.

Yui stood there; rapier extended having finished her linear with a radiant smile on her face. "It worked! I did it!"

Alice ended the cheering with a harsh declaration. "Now hit the boar with it."

"Urk!" Yui's smile tightened. "Is that not a big next step?"

"No." Alice crushed the girl's argument ruthlessly. "They aren't even attacking. There are no easier targets."

"Grrr, everyone makes this look so easy," Yui complained, getting back into the stance.

"And all of us started doing the same thing," Alice comforted the girl. "Breathe and feel your next move. Sense the energy coalescing around your blade and then use it to strike down your opponent."

Yui did not reply, but Alice could read her motions. Some were distinctly alien, but right now she looked like every novice swordswoman learning the blade for the first time. Eyebrows furrowed, mouth moving soundlessly, shoulders hunched.

Then, as before, her blade glowed. The poor, cheap weapon shone as brightly as Alice's Osmanthus blade would have. Through some innate instinct, Yui let out a battle cry. Her grit and determination to not be left behind ever again were made obvious as she lunged forward, blade puncturing into the flank of a blue boar that had been too slow to get out of the way.

Compared to her mother, Yui had a lot of work ahead of her. Alice was still impressed. "You are still standing, not off balance, very good. Repeat this one thousand more times and you'll be ready to use it against an actual opponent."

"H-HUH!?" Yui protested. "But each repetition takes so long! We would be here for the rest of the day!"

Alice rapped her knuckles on Yui's head. "Not here silly. When you make your character later, you can practice against the variants that attack."

Yui's eyes looked dazed. "My… Character… But no one plays much anymore. I'd be by myself."

It was the most honest confession that Alice had heard from the girl. Yui had always been Kirito's daughter to Alice. This was the first time they had spent prolong time together in a casual environment by themselves. Oddly, she got the desire to punch Kirito and Asuna. Not an uncommon emotion for Alice.

"It is a good thing you are going to school soon and can make friends." Alice soothed the girl, running a hand through Yui's loose hair. The high school girl pulled away. She should not be going through adolescence troubles and the desire to find her own niche, but she acted like she was.

"Do you… Do you actually think I can make friends?" Yui asked quietly, staring out at the beautiful scenery. Multiple groups of people now walked the plains, some staggering awkward, some prowling dangerously as they executed practiced sword skills. "My parents always say I will have fun, but I am so different… Won't everyone either fear me or use me to do homework for them?"

"How should I know?" Alice shrugged. "I have almost no memory of my childhood. I was called down from the heavens supposedly and raised as an acolyte in the tower until I became a full knight. I never had friends, only a rival and a mentor."

"Yes, but you understand being an outsider. My parents were always humans around other humans. Alice, you aren't…"

"Aren't human?" She finished, sending Yui a harsh glare. "I am human. Why? Because I say I am. It is up to you if you want to be human or something different."

"…Sorry," Yui apologized, sheathing her rapier. "Let us move on. I want to see this."

Nodding, Alice let the conversation drop feeling frustrated. She should be able to do more for the girl. She just didn't know how. Alice had chosen her path but had always had a gut feeling about what was right. Many people in this world walked such convoluted paths with identical seeming outcomes. Still, strangling Kirito was always enjoyable and seemed like an appropriate response. They may not want to restrict Yui's freedom, but every child needed some direction.

Alice's thoughts were contained by this line of reasoning when they reached the check point and the forced teleportation. Her vision went blue, then black, before her vision resolved into that of a grand arena. She barely got a chance to look around the packed area when a warning screen popped up.

Warning! The following scene may be disturbing for some audiences. Viewer discretions is advised.

Alice dismissed it and waited for the spectacle to begin. People were milling with raised voices. Some were excited, others were angry. Already Alice could hear a few people stomping and screaming about their inability to log-off. Yui shivered at Alice's side. Whether it was from excitement or fear, Alice could not tell.

With no warning it started. A single tile in the sky turned red, a Sacred word populating it in large letters. Alice had only later learned it was a language called English. A moment later the single rectangular hexagon tessellated. The effect was both transfixing and also terrifying as the warning coated the entirety of the bottom of the second floor. A demonstration of the graphics, perhaps, but Alice knew what was coming. Kayaba Akihiko.

A single drop of blood pooled and expanded in that ceiling of warnings. It expanded and grew, the deep magenta color that was so unique made Alice shiver as well. She had seen enough of it spilled in her life that she did not need to see anymore.

Then, when it reached exponential sizes, the bubble transformed in a cloak. Not just a cloak, but an invisible person. There was a gap between gloves and cloak with no arm. The hood was darkened but the pattern at the back of the hood was visible. "What sick mind…" Alice growled.

"T-That's a Game Master cloak!" Some NPC yelled.

It was clearly said for Alice and Yui's benefit.

From above, a sonorous male voice consumed the arena. It spoke with clear words, the inflection minimized, and pronunciation maximized, almost robotic in nature. It indicated the supreme intelligence of the being that spoke. Alice had learned more about the man behind the cloak, Kayaba Akihiko since leaving the underworld. This massive floating form gave Alice an impression she had not felt since then. Emperor Vecta was the only other person to ever freeze her soul like this. Barely human, halfway transcended into a deity.

"…The log-out button has been removed from the menu. This is not a defect. Let me repeat, this is not a defect. As of this moment, there is no way to log out of Sword Art Online."

To Alice at one point, not being able to change worlds was natural. Now, her feelings were completely different. She commonly went back to the Underworld to visit Selka now that the world's time was synced with the real world. It was as natural to her as breathing as walking between virtual, real, and mnemonic worlds.

After the declaration was made, people's screams renewed. Claims about deadlines and things they had to do. Calling it a bad joke. It made Alice's stomach twist. So many lives ruined at this moment. Things lost… and maybe things gained. The girl standing beside Alice taking this in was one of the gifts that SAO had given.

"…You must be asking why? Why would Kayaba Akihiko, creator of Sword Art Online do this? My objective has already been achieved. I created this world for the sole reason of controlling it. Good luck, players."

With that, the cloak slumped like a puppet with its strings cut. Then, it began to dissolve back into blood. Like a movie in fast forward, it sucked back into the sky and the warning ceiling dissolved like it had never been. Left alone was a sea of scared players with their divine avatars ripped away, only their real-world appearances staring back at them.

"Quite the spectacle," Yui commented, still calm, "but I do not see why this is viewer advised. Kayaba's declaration was nothing—"

"KYAA!" A terrified scream cut the stunned silence.

From there, it was pandemonium. People falling to their knees in tears, people screaming, people laughing, scanning the sky for the cameras they thought must be there. Alice was surprised to see a few people that were standing tall, yelling at the crowd, trying to call them to order.

"Why?" A girl cried, staggering toward Alice and Yui. "Why can't we leave!?"

"I… I don't know." Alice responded automatically. Her eyes were so real, so innocent.

"I didn't sign up for this!" She wailed, reaching out for Alice's shoulders. When she had grabbed them, it was like the life had gone out of the girl. Her shoulders shook, but she did not say anything.

"Umm, are you alright?" Alice prodded, placing a hand on her shoulder. A part of her knew that the girl was not real, but the girl's emotional outburst was so powerful that Alice simply could not ignore her.

"Ha…"

"Umm…" Alice shared a glance with Yui. The AI girl had a complicated expression, stealing glances at the milling, screaming crowd.

"HAhA!" The girl erupted suddenly, head snapping back, tears leaking fast from her eyes. "Yes, Yes, I see! This is a promo event gone wrong! I'll log off when it is finished. Yes, I'll rush through the game and clear it! It will be easy! Ahaha!"

"No…" Alice gasped, sticking out a hand as the girl ran off, drawing a spear that was on her back. "Don't, that's not…"

With renewed vision, Alice took in the arena again. Clasping a hand over her mouth she staggered back against a pillar. Tears in her eyes, she was helpless to change anything. The shock, the trauma. With as little effort as breaking a thin stick, Kayaba had destroyed the mental stability of thousands.

"Aunt?" Yui asked, laying a hand on her arm, "are you okay?"

I am stronger than this… With the help of Yui's touch, Alice wiped her eyes and pushed off from the column's support. This should not shock her; Alice had brought as much death. In a single stroke she had mercilessly killed thousands of artificial fluctlights from the dark territory.

"Sorry," Alice apologized. "Are you okay?" This is the beginning of your… descent, is it not?"

Yui sniffled. Her strength was hanging by a thread. "It is horrible, isn't it? The mob psychology sent them in a self-destructive spiral."

Alice watched as players swung their weapons widely against the ground and in the air—trying to break out of the very game maybe? They did not care who they hit, only that they were doing something. It was as Yui said. Mob psychology was something Alice had experienced in the underworld, but only heard a term and definition for upon coming to the real world.

The players were not spiraling through anger, building upon itself, and letting normal citizens commit acts they normally never would. No, here it was despair fed off itself. Those who stood shocked were taken in by the people weeping and screaming, succumbing to it themselves. The few trying to calm people down had given up. Alice saw one sitting against a pillar, head turned up to the sky in a daze.

Approaching, she knelt beside him. "Why did you give up?" He was an ordinary boy. Decent build, decent looks. His blue eyes met hers, a contrast with his black hair. Did the eyes not revert to their standard color? That was odd.

"Because this is my fault." He chuckled lifelessly.

"Your… fault? You are Kayaba Akihiko?" Alice did not believe it.

"No. No I am not, but I wished for this you know? I spent so long playing the beta that I got kicked from the baseball team. My grades are slipping, I stopped hanging out with friends. This world is all I want… So, when the announcement was made…"

Tears were streaming down his face. Alice could not say anything. She knew what was coming next.

"I was happy. Overjoyed that I can't log out. Now I can be a hero. Now I can stay here and be the knight I always dreamt of… even if classes don't exist."

Alice's vision went blue at that point, her time was up. The conflicted boy and the square disappeared. The entire simulacrum, created just to replay that scene, vanished and she sat up in the chair.

Yui sat across from Alice, head in her hands. "That… was a bad day."

Alice nodded, not trusting her voice. She wondered how many thousands of the people in that square were like that boy. Balancing guilt with joy at getting to leave the old world behind. A world where I can be a hero… Yes, Alice could sympathize after coming to the real world.

"Come on," Alice stood out and extended a hand. "Your parents survived that day. We can survive a vision of it."

After a long moment, Yui accepted the proffered hand and shot her a grateful smile. "Yes, let us move on."

---

Chapter 3: To Clear the First Floor

The weeks of death, Alice read. Were the time when nearly half the total casualties occurred. By far, the majority of deaths were from monsters. Of the monsters that killed players, two on the first floor combine for the highest casualties in the game. Visit the Eastern Swamp and the Horunka forest to meet these monsters and experience the dangers that they possess.

"Shall we?" Alice asked Yui, knowing what the answer would be. Already many people had passed by them. Their pace through the museum was slow. A few of the attendants looked almost bored as they glanced at a display and walked on. Alice wanted to yell at them to think and consider for a moment. Put themselves into the world and live the tragedy. She did not of course. Not only would that be rude, but it would also be presumptuous. She did not know why they had come here, what their relationship to the tragedy of Sword Art Online was.

"Yes, Let us." Yui answered with solidarity. So, they approached a booth labelled the Eastern Swamp. The murals on the walls of the small, isolated room depicted a pool viscous green liquid where a creature with a halberd was slowly rising unto the soggy land.

Inside the room, a plaque gave the description for the full dive event it contained. Kobold Swamp Troopers killed more players than any other cause in Sword Art Online. In total, it is estimated more than 500 players ended up dying to these monsters. Face off against them and experience the fear of the new players as they faced the monsters for the first time.

"This is kind of…" Alice muttered to Yui. In some ways, she appreciated it greatly. In others, she thought it was a little insensitive. Creating a spectacle of the monsters that had killed so many people. Would parents, siblings, children, friends of the dead come here and do this? Wonder if this is what killed their loved one? Between this and the other monster mentioned, if the time was in the first two to three weeks, then the chance was good.

"Shall we?" Yui asked, already claiming an empty chair. That forced Alice to take one beside a large man whose arm had flopped aggressively unto her armrest. Sending him a glare for his lack of etiquette, Alice dove into the simulation.

Arriving once more in the virtual world, Alice quickly took in her surroundings, senses alert. Unlike the other times, this place screamed of danger. The very air had an oppressive feel that made her feel like she was being watched.

Placing a hand on her hilt, she looked for Yui. Where was the girl!? "Yui!" Alice called out loudly.

Sloop! An odd slurping noise came from the pool behind her. Whirling around, Alice stared at a newly appeared monster. It had a dogish face that dripped with a disgusting liquid. In its hands was the halberd from the mural.

"Let us see what makes you such a dangerous opponent." Alice declared. She wanted to attack first, but that was impossible with it in the pool of water. She would definitely lose her footing in there.

It took one step unto solid ground and paused. Raising its halberd it paused again, then leapt. Alice did not hesitate. Her instincts kicked in. She would knock the halberd aside with a normal swing then she could—Cling!

"What!?" When their weapons connected, she lost feeling in her right hand. It convulsed, opening the fingers and letting her rusty sword fall to the swamp floor. That had not been her, it was the game system that had forced her to drop the weapon. It was incredibly irritating. She wanted to scoop it up, reclaim the weapon.

Repressing the feeling, Alice sidestepped. With almost no hesitation, the Kobold trooper had lunged forward with a thrusting sword skill. When it passed by her, Alice retrieved her blade and unleashed a horizontal into the Kobold's frozen back.

The monster did not even lose half of its health. It hissed and turned around. Beady red eyes glared at her as it prepared its halberd for another swing. Now that she knew its trick, the fight would be easy.

Stepping to the side, Alice raised her blade to execute a Vertical before the halberd had even passed her. Smiling with the thrill of the fight, Alice moved to step into her swing, when a feminine scream interrupted her.

"AHH! N-No! Why is it so soggy!"

Yui's voice. Abandoning her sword skill, Alice turned her back on her Kobold and sprinted for Yui. Darting around the sparse trees, Alice jumped a puddle water and found the girl. Her rapier was laying in wet ground while Yui sat half in one of the green ponds. She was struggling to extricate herself, the thick mud clinging to her body.

Above her loomed a kobold, its halberd held in a defensive posture. Unlike a normal warrior, it did not immediately plunge the weapon into Yui's exposed chest. It stood and waited as its algorithm and behavior gave the player an opening before it struck. That gave Alice just enough time to leap the pool and tackle Yui. The Trooper's halberd cut into Alice's back dealing minor damage.

Rolling, she came up in a crouch sword still in her hand. "Stay back, Yui. I can—"

"No!" The girl yelled. Retrieving her blade, she shouldered her way in front of Alice as the Kobold came out of its post-skill freeze. "I need to see. I need this,Alice."

Reluctantly, Alice moved backwards and allowed Yui to take the lead. At that moment, her kobold finally arrived. The monster's health was slowly ticking back up since Alice had left its aggro range although clearly not its search range.

"Good luck," Alice tapped Yui's blade with her own and circled back to her opponent. Alice fought with only half a mind on her fight. By sidestepping attacks and responding in kind, she could dispose of her opponent easily. After all, this was only a first-floor monster. It had an annoying gimmick in an awful location, but it was easy to deal with provided one had the correct strategy.

That left her ample time to watch Yui. The determined girl feigned a lunge. The stupid monster did not even seem to notice. It continued to stare down Yui. Then, with a vicious grin, it leapt forward swinging. Yui, either learning from before or trying to emulate Alice, stepped backwards out of its reach. It left her too far away to retaliate.

So, the kobold swung again, and Yui backed up, staggering. The ground was mushy and uneven. If this continued, Yui would fall into a nearby pool and get killed. With a building desire to yell and call out to her, Alice forced her mouth closed. This was just a simulation to emulate the creatures that had killed the most people in SAO. They would not cause actual harm.

"You got this!" Alice called, "Stand your ground!"

Yui met Alice's gaze. Alice had disposed of her foe and now watched with bated breath. She could not help, no matter how this went. Yui wanted to know. Had to know if she would have been one of the victims to these monsters as well.

"Grahh!" Releasing a cry, Yui ran forward. Sword skills forgotten; she lunged forward with only her own speed. The kobold responded, its halberd crashing against her chest as her rapier sunk into its face. Neither girl nor monster released as their health continued ticking down from having a weapon in it.

Alice could see Yui's left hand wrapped around the hilt of the halberd restraining the flailing monster. With a light twinkle, the monster burst into blue polygons. As it died and the halberd vanished, Yui collapsed to the ground panting. Her health bar was under ten percent.

"Idiot." Alice growled marching over. "Why did you do that? That was incredibly risky!"

"No," Yui shook her head. "There is no risk here. I cannot truly know what they went through after all. My logic circuits perfectly calculated the damage that would be dealt. I am not surprised but…"

"But your emotional circuits are informing you of exactly how braindead it was? You are shivering from the rush of combat and the feeling of almost dying."

"Yes. I am."

Alice patted her on the back. "Then you know exactly how the players facing these monsters felt. Don't underestimate yourself, Yui."

The trembling girl shot her an exasperated glance. "I get enough of that from my parents, Aunt."

Alice ruffled the girl's hair for good measure. "Well, let us move on. The most deadly monster in the game lived up to its reputation I think. Let us go check out the other one."

Leaving the virtual area, Alice and Yui walked through a few real displays that held pictures and stories about some of the real people that had died there. Families left behind, goals, ambitions, stories left unfinished. It was a lot to take in and Alice found her eyes skimming the words and moving along quickly.

Maybe her heart had frozen over, but she simply did not have the excess empathy at the moment to connect with the fallen from a dozen years ago. Yui, however, lagged behind reading every word. Her face was calm and unresponsive. The same robotic expression of nothingness that Alice herself often wore. Those eyes, however, fake lenses of plastic and cameras were full of sorrow. She would remember every single word that she read today. Able to recall it in perfect detail. The pictures, the souvenirs, the heartrending letters written by relatives.

It would crush Alice's heart.

"Come on, let's take a break." Alice suggested, pulling on Yui's arm. The girl resisted, shaking her off.

"I have to know. I have to… please continue without me." Yui's reply was hollow.

"Why? Why do you have to know?" Alice hissed, trying not to disturb the other museumgoers. It continued to get busier and busier. Yet for the bustle of people, the inside was deadly quiet. Barely a breath could be heard.

"Because he made me!" Yui answered. Her husky words accompanied panting. "He stopped me from helping them! It broke me… but, but…"

"But he still made you…" Alice finished, wrapping the girl in a hug. She hated how it felt in this world. The stiffness of the unyielding plastic, the lack of heat. Yet Alice could still sense Yui beneath all of that. "You are more than Kayaba's creation. You chose your own path."

"I know," Yui insisted, "but I still have a duty to learn about those I could not help."

Alice nodded and released Yui. Finding a bench, she rested her head in her hands and closed her eyes. Of course, closing her eyes did nothing. The insufferable HUD was still with her. Alice could never escape the incessant stats, parameters, and notifications.

Ten minutes later, Yui had finished memorizing the entire wall of disturbing information. There truly was an excessive amount of information on display. It would take years for a normal person to digest it all. Yui's face made it look like she planned on absorbing every sentence and fact today.

Silently, they made their way to the next VR station. For the first time, they had to wait in line to use it. Alice thought Yui may join without her as she could stand and walk while in the virtual world. However, there were displays enough to read as they made their way to the front of the line that Yui did not leave Alice behind. From the displays, she learnt about the Horunka Forest. It contained the monsters one needed to hunt to finish a quest for one of the best One-handed swords on the first three floors. As the most popular weapon among players, it was a highly sought-after quest reward. That led a lot of beta testers and frontrunners to swarm into this forest.

Five minutes later, Alice took the place of a couple with pale faces. The woman clung to the man's arm and seemed to depend on it as they staggered away.

Inside the room, Alice saw another mural, similar to the one at the swamp portal. Here, Alice saw the red cursor of monsters gleaming in the darkness of the forest. The one monster Alice could see looked like an oversized bulb plant with a disturbingly human mouth. A bright-red fruit dangled on a thin stalk extending from its head. At the bottom was a quote. "Beware the Fruit-bearing Nepenthes. Killing them will draw the others." Alice raised her eyebrow as she sat down and prepared to enter the virtual world. It was hardly a surprise when they told you the gimmick. "Link start!" With a call, Alice once again left the museum and entered a slice of Aincrad's first floor.

It was completely different from the last three. Now, full, tall trees at least ten meters tall surrounded her. They were not close enough together to reduce sight drastically but there was also undergrowth to contend with. An expert fighter would be at home here, able to swerve around the terrain to obtain advantages. An amateur would get themselves killed.

Alice looked around and noticed as four monsters spawned in. One of them had a red-fruit on its head. Just don't hit that… Alice shook her head. It was annoying, but the creatures did not seem to have a massive aggro range. It was easy enough to avoid. So why had…

"I am sorry about this… But I need this."

Alice whirled around. She had not sensed anyone else. There was another player in front of her, distinctive with the green cursor despite the hood hiding his body. "Wait, what are you…?"

His hand snapped back, and then forward. A throwing knife glowed in his hand and darted forward faster than the speed of the arm suggested. Alice whirled around, and found his knife had flown true, right into the fruit. It swelled and burst in one motion, spewing a noxious violet smoke that spread rapidly.

"Why!? What did you just…" But the man was already dashing away. Then, the horror began. The three nearby Nepenthes looked up, and then directly at her. It was not just them though, there were at least half a dozen other cursors that lit up, monsters looking to kill her, surrounding her.

Punch through one side, escape. Plan devised; Alice set off to execute it. Moving away from the three, she crouched as she ran and entered the stance for the sword skill Rage Spike. A present from Kirito's teaching.

Releasing the skill, Alice exploded forward faster than she could run. A vine attack clipped her cheek, but she barely noticed. Her blade dug deeply into the body of the Nepenthe. It reeled back, howling with animalistic pain at odds with its mostly plantlike body.

"Gragh!" It uttered, swiping at her with sideways swings of its vines. Alice's post-motion stiffness had just ended, and she swiped at one tendril to block it and ducked the other. It was a more complicated attack pattern than the kobolds had.

Still, with the monster more than half dead, Alice launched into a vertical. The sword skill scattered the monster that let out one last desperate whine as it burst. Still frozen in post-motion, Alice was struck from behind by a vine attack. Barely keeping her balance, she turned around to face more than five monsters that had formed up around her. Already she was down to 60% HP.

"This is brutal…" Backing up, Alice's back hit a barrier. Feeling at the seemingly empty air, she realized that she was at the edge of the instance. Chuckling she raised her blade. "Guess there is nothing else to do…"

---

Chapter 4: The Black Swordsman's Legend Begins

"That sucked…" Yui complained as they finally moved on past the VR displays. "I couldn't even kill one of them. When I tried to use a sword skill the others knocked me out of it!"

Alice nodded sympathetically. They were making decent distance now through a second memorial to victims as Yui was still raging over the experience rather than mourning those that had fallen in the Horunka forest to the unfair trap of the fruit-bearing Nepenthes. She had faired better than Yui. Putting all of her swordsmanship learned in the Underworld to bear, Alice had managed a mutual kill with the final Nepenth.

It was the best reasonable result. But… She had died. It was not a victory in SAO, it was an end to her life. So, like Yui, she had failed. The real question however, is the scenario beatable? It definitely explained all the grumpy and upset people who had left the area. Perhaps what upset Alice most was that her strategy was optimal for retreat. If the way out was open, Alice would have survived.

Kirito would have beaten them… "Grr…"

"See?" Yui misinterpreted Alice's growl. "Even you agree that it was too many. I mean, how am I supposed to learn if they surround me like that!?"

"I think that was the point," Alice answered. "The first-floor monsters are technically completely fair. That leads to complacency and over-confidence. Both the Swamp Kobold troopers and the Nepenthes punish these. Players aren't allowed to learn like they should be when starting a new MMO."

Yui finally giggled. "You are starting to talk like Papa after all this time. Mentioning MMOs so casually."

"I have been here for ten years," Alice grumped. Secretly though she was just happy that Yui was smiling again. They really needed to get through this area of death so that they could reach the happier moments of the game.

Standing up from the bench, Alice faced deeper into the museum. Impeding their way was an intimidating tower of black rock recreated directly from Aincrad and placed into the real world. It was the labyrinth tower that allowed the players to ascend from one floor to another. At the top of it sat the boss monster. Of course, the one here was only around ten meters, a fraction of the one-hundred-meter behemoths that were present in the floating castle.

Moving past the lists, Alice drew up at a panel that was different from the others. It was shoved into a corner between the path to the washrooms and the main path further in. Even the writing on it was smaller than it was on others. A picture of a man in a dark hood crouching in bushes in the Horunka forest was shown on top. It was grainy and black-and-white. Alice could not imagine why.

The scenario is based on a second-hand report from players in SAO. According to those stories, the Black Swordsman rushed to the village of Tolbana still at level one to accept the quest for the anneal blade. During his time completing the quest, he paired up with an unknown player who betrayed him and tried to leave the Black Swordsman for dead.

This nefarious plan backfired when the would-be-murderer learned that the Little Nepenthes that roam the forest do not hunt with eyes and thus killed the anonymous player. These same stories state that the Black Swordsman killed the remaining Little Nepenthes and reclaimed the quest item that had led to the attempted murder.

So, he did beat that scenario! Alice growled internally as she reached the bottom of the short exhibit. She did understand why it was shoved into this corner though. Without having solid evidence to support the event—and Kirito would not speak on it—then everything in here is hearsay and intensely disturbing. Claiming that someone attempted murder on the first day… mere hours after Kayaba's announcement. It was horrific to think about.

"Ah, that." Yui spoke in a flat voice, full of loathing. "I wonder how they heard about this."

"So, it is true?" Alice whipped her head to the side. "Kirito has never mentioned it to me."

Yui was still grimacing as if there was a bad taste in her mouth. "The writing does not explain the man's actions, Coper, Dad called him."

Alice waited patiently for Yui to continue. Neither moved form in front of the moment which Yui stared at, her eyes filled with the memories of a story she likely only heard once and in passing. "Papa was almost in awe of Coper I think. The man had fully embraced the reality of the death game in only a few hours. In order to stay stronger than the others, in order to walk at the front of the death game. That is why he tried to kill my dad."

"Still a murderer," Alice shot back. It did make more sense though, in a perverted sort of way. He was so determined to survive and get stronger quickly that he called down the monsters upon Kirito and got himself killed in the process due to a lack of information.

"Yes." Yui agreed. "He likely hated his life here which was why he so eagerly accepted SAO as his new world. It was his fondest desire."

Alice shook her head in a bemused fashion. It was a concept that she had not considered or even thought about until coming to the real world. She did not know anyone in the underworld who wanted to go to a different world entirely. "It must be all of these video games and their escapism. It helps people to give up on the life they already have."

That finally shook away the despondence on Yui's face who giggled. "You sound real old when you say that Aunt. Do you need a nursing home?"

"I," Alice sniffed. "Am immortal like you."

"Only until you upset everyone so much that they refuse to fix your body," Yui joked back.

"Oh, shush." Poking the girl's plastic body, Alice guided them into the tower, or well, the entrance. Standing there were replicas of kobolds were standing at either end.

Alice smiled at the wax statues. They were well done. It was odd to see them in realistic detail in the real world versus the virtual one. Here, maybe because they did not move, looked fake. It was not something that would ever live or kill you. That only added to the problems that the SAO players had in accepting their reality.

The plaque near the entrance of the labyrinth tower declared itself as such for the unfamiliar. Below that, it had a small sentence. This tower belonged to Illfang the Kobold Lord, boss of the first floor. Step inside and learn about the legend of the hero Diavel and the beginning of the Black Swordsman's infamy.

"Oh boy," Alice murmured. "Kirito certainly did not manage to hide himself for long."

"Hehe, Papa does have a flair for the dramatic." Yui giggled, reverting back to a younger speech pattern as she likely remembered moments from her past. "Did anyone ever tell you about the time when Papa ate players in Alfheim with transformation magic?"

"He…?" Sighing heavily, Alice placed a hand to her bowed head. It should not happen, but she could imagine the raging headache that she would have in a real body. Kirito's idiocy had managed to cause her pain both when he was not here and in a way that should be impossible. How very like him that was.

Passing into the tower, Alice found not a foreboding dungeon interior, but rather a softly lit room with different displays. Most people were crowding around a miniature set alongside the right wall. As people moved on, Alice and Yui got in position to look at the exhibit. It was a recreation of a scene from Aincrad. A Blue-haired man with handsome features stood at the center commanding the attention of the onlookers. The model man stood about the height of Alice's knee making it about a ¼ scale she guessed. Some forty-odd other miniatures were placed on the rising stone benches.

With a soft ping, she received a notification from the museum. Would you like to activate AR functionality for the relevant exhibits. Mentally allowing the permissions, the exhibit shifted before her eyes. The blue knight started to move, stepping forward and spreading his hands.

I would like to thank you all for coming today! My name is Diavel, and the role I choose is knight!

"But Sword art Online does not have a class system," Alice muttered, knowing that much. It had been explained to her plenty.

SAO doesn't have classes! Get serious! The crowd repeated Alice's thoughts back to her. Despite that, they laughed. The Blue-haired knight had an easy-going personality and had left a good impression. Watching with rapt attention, Alice saw the disruption and the emergence of the data from the beta. At that point, the meeting ended.

However, even as the figurines stopped moving, Alice continued to hear a narrator's voice. The cold female voice so often used by the real-world. This Boss meeting was held on December 2nd, almost a full month after the service launched. Progress through the game at this point was severely slowed by an over competition for resources. The players that had managed to get ahead were likewise stuck fighting monsters far below their level for little Exp.

Alice frowned and slowly nodded. Yes, she followed that… mostly. "Yui, is that really the only reason that it took them so long to clear the first floor?"

"Hmm? I am unsure as well." The girl responded, sounding upset to not have an answer. "There are certainly more possibilities that can be hypothesized. One that I think hold weight is that it took a special person to organize this boss raid."

"Special how?"

"I mean," Yui explained. "That it was probably widespread that none of the successful boss raids in the beta test were deathless. That meant anyone organizing it would have to deal with people dying, potentially themselves."

"Ah, so this Diavel person was the first one brave enough to fight it." Yes, Alice could see that. Certainly, competition had slowed them down, but Yui's explanation added further delay to it. Delays that would not be present on the other floors.

From there, they learned more about Diavel and his acts. How he had created and led a team through the first floor, increasing their levels and even spending all night grinding at an obscure part of the floor for the hair colour change item. The picture they painted was that of a hero. Alice just… did not know his name from the stories of SAO. That gave her an uneasy sense of foreshadowing as they moved up to the 'boss chamber' as they called it.

It was a large chamber with columns lining it and was just below the proper second floor of the museum. It was a miniature replica of the boss room. There were rows of chairs lining either side of the wall with a break in the middle. A plaque in the middle informed Alice that there were two VR scenarios they could partake in here. The first is the fight against Illfang, and she could find out the fate of the raid party. The second was simple called the beginning of the Black Swordsman's legend.

"Shall we join?" Alice asked Yui.

"Of course," the girl winked back.

This event was instanced as well, but unlike the Nepenthe fight, allowed up to four people to band together in the same boss raid. So, sitting down, Alice accepted Yui's invite and felt the pull of VR consume her as the chamber melted and was replaced by a larger version. She was already in the midst of an ongoing battle.

A massive Kobold wielding a Shield and Buckler flailed with mostly vertical sword skills as people surrounded and poked it. Calling out instructions was the man that they had learned all about, Diavel the knight, commander, and maybe even hero. His sword was imbued with a more luminous luster than the others in the raid, his armour shining brighter. Alice guessed it was purely artificial to make him stand out.

"Thanks for helping us. The aid is appreciated."

Alice whirled to face the speaker. The voice was familiar. "Kiri…" Alice trailed off as she stared at the oddest NPC she had ever seen. The gear on his body was mostly leather and muted to darker shades, but the face was simply a blur. No features could be seen at all. On the left edge of her vision, Alice could see that Yui and she were not alone in the party. They had joined a party led by The Black Swordsman, with The Lightning Flash as the second.

"Black Swordsman," a woman in a red cloak spoke, clearly supposed to be Asuna. "They will be spawning soon."

"You grow more astute everyday Lightning Flash, Come, let us strike them down with the anger and power of all who have fallen and all who still struggle to return to their loved ones!"

What… "THE HELL IS THIS!?" Alice exploded. "That is supposed to be Kirito and Asuna! What horrible representation!"

"I think that's the point," Yui said. Unlike Alice's anger, Yui had a hand over her mouth and tears forming in her eyes. She was on the verge of breaking down into fits of laughter.

"If you two will not be helpful than stand back."

Alice bristled. She glared into that hood. "Maybe the impersonation is better than I thought. Worry about yourself Red-riding hood."

"The name is Lightning Flash."

Alice snorted, standing beside the fake Kirito. "Sure it is, Asuna."

The NPC seemed to jump in an unnatural way. Alice thought she saw the edge of piercing Auburn eyes peeking out from underneath. "Do I… know you?"

Alice did not answer. This is not the real Asuna, she reminded herself. Once, again, and then a third time for good measure. As she did so, the kobold companies spawned in.

"I'll knock up their weapons, you guys switch in and deal the damage!"

"Got it!" Alice's voice overlapped with the fake Asuna's. Sending her another glare, Alice was off. Preparing herself, she jumped in when Fake Kirito expertly blocked the attack and unleashed a blistering Vertical against the Kobold.

Clang!

With the loud sound of metal on metal, Alice's sword rang off of Asuna's rapier that had been darting in for the Kobold's throat. The result was both of them staggering with recoil and the kobold escaping with minimal damage.

"Please sync your attacks better. I know that if we connect our hearts and believe in each other, we will conquer this peril." Throwing out that nauseating line, fake Kirito once more mechanically sent the Kobold's weapon flying with no real effort.

This time, it was Yui that rushed in. Smiling broadly, she unleashed a Linear right into the Kobold's midsection. It took away about 15% of the monster's HP. Higher than Alice would have guessed for striking an armored section.

"Me next!" With only that warning, the Fake Asuna also did a linear. Her attack did far more damage, the blade expertly piercing the Kobold's neck; its weak point.

Not willing to be outdone, Alice changed her stance expertly and used a Horizontal. Lifting the trajectory, Alice had to fight against the skill itself and threatened to cancel it. By forcing her weapon through with a battle cry, she achieved her aim. With an arc of blue light, Alice's sword cut perfectly through the exposed neck that Asuna had also exploited.

Her skill did immense damage finishing off the elite monster. Satisfied, Alice stood up and hefted her blade so it rested on her shoulder. She noticed now that it had been improved from the previous versions. Not to the same level as the blade Fake Kirito was using but good enough.

Smirking at Fake Asuna, Alice could feel the invisible eyes from under the red hood glaring back at her. Sometimes it was all too easy to forget that some of the characters were NPCs and start treating them like humans with wills.

"Excellent display of swordsmanship ladies!" Fake Kirito boasted with a raucous laugh. "Why, I was left so stunned that I do not think I could pick if you asked me who I wanted to marry!"

What!? Flinching, Alice cut off her glare to gape at Fake Kirito. All of them did. The line was so sudden and random it almost mad Alice think that it was a quote from the man himself. But surely Kirito was not stupid enough to actually say something like that… right?

"I think I need to have a talk with papa when I get home…" Yui muttered. She had arrived at the same conclusion.

Despite the jarring interruption, the fight blinked ahead. With clear time dilation, the HP bar of the boss drained again until it was half full. Then, more mobs spawned, and Alice's party got another opponent.

Possessing overwhelming firepower, they worked together with Yui's fake parents to kill their opponent. Then, the boss's health dropped to the final bar. Roaring, Illfang tossed with weapons aside. The players stood back, understanding that it would be invincible during the animation. A silly property Alice thought. It was not realistic to how fights actually played out.

Then, Fake Kirito gasped. "By the Ruby Palace! That be not a Talwar of Indian origin as it drew from its sheath in the time of the beta test. That weapon that doth reside upon its belt and has been drawn is none other than a nodachi, a Japanese blade! Harken to my words, Diavel, hero of Sword Art Online! Jump away from the creature and its awful blade. For if you fail to do so, then it shall unleash upon you and yours its most devastating attack by far! An area of effect sword skill known by the dreadful moniker of 'Whirling Wheel', it will stun everyone it hits and is extremely challenging to block or turn aside."

Of course, long before Fake Kirito finished this dreadful monologue that had Alice debating to claw her ears off, the boss had acted. The testers were stunned as the hefty Kobold leaped into the air, primed itself, and then exploded into the fastest spin Alice had ever seen. Each of the six party members fell to their knees, an icon depicting the stun effect now hovering by their cursors.

The boss, of course, did not stop there. Two more sword skills against Diavel and the knight soared limply to the ground ten meters back. So this was his fate… Alice ran over with fake Kirito and listened to the final whispered exchange. Gone was the grandiose speeches and playful words. The creators knew enough to provide an air of solemnity to the moment as Diavel, with his final words, beseeched Kirito to kill the boss.

Then, the scene faded, and Alice woke up in the chair. She wanted to scream again. Yes, the speech had been stupid, but it may have been necessary. It tried to pull Alice away from what she should have been watching and realizing. Initially, Alice had considered the real-worlders as above her people. She thought they were like Kirito, knowledgeable and incredibly powerful. Meeting Asuna had only confirmed that. Obviously, her delusions about them had been punctured by meeting more of them.

Despite her should have knowing better, Alice had mistaken the SAO players as warriors. Similar to the lesser integrity knights. People of honor and resolve. There had been none of that when Kirito had yelled his warning. They had frozen and shrank in front of the boss when it broke from the pattern they had predicted.

In the end, the hero Diavel had not been able to inspire anyone but Kirito. Of all the people in room, there was no one better.

Finally sorting through the experience, Alice strode up to Yui who was reading some information on displays placed in the middle of the room. It held two swords, one of which she recognized as the blade Illfang had drawn.

"This is that difference from the beta test," Yui summarized for Alice's sake. "It changed out a heavier sword with different attacks for a katana-class weapon. It is thought that the only person in the raid that had seen the weapon class before was Dad."

"Hmm…" Alice eyed the life-sized recreations with an appraising eye. Both were curved blades but yes, there were distinct differences. The nodachi was a good quarter of a meter longer and thinner. More importantly though, was as Yui stated, the change in sword skills. That horizontal skill made encircling the boss extremely dangerous. Something that had been optimal when it used a hatchet.

"Well then, shall we enter the final vision of the first floor?" Yui's voice had a note of apprehension and excitement to it.

Alice nodded, feeling the same emotions with an undercurrent of doubt. After Kirito's distraction speech, she hoped that this next scene was more accurate to what actually happened. It was a story she had heard from Asuna and Agil, but she wanted to be there, to feel the hate that Kirito selflessly absorbed.

So, with a reserved excitement, Alice moved on to learn about the conclusion of the pivotal fight. A momentous event in history that most people did not even know about.

When Alice next entered the VR space, she was not a player able to interact and help, she in 'Spectator' mode it was called. She had sensation but had no body. That let her walk around and observe from any angle but could not interact with anything. It would be a movie then. Only in the last few years had experiences like these gotten more popular.

As such, she could not sense Yui nor any of the other museumgoers that were viewing this same scene at the same time.

After the death of Diavel, the raid group was in disarray. On the verge of fleeing, they would have doomed the remaining five members of Diavel's party to death. The narrator explained coolly. Making the situation worse, another three of the Ruin Kobold sentinels spawned in.

The frozen scene began to move. Illfang roared loudly, chest out, wolf-like head pointed to the ceiling. The smaller kobolds chirped excitedly, sounding like those demonic dog-things from the real world called hyenas. It was as the narrator said, the groups that should have been restraining the smaller kobolds were backing off, leaving them to aggro the fallen members of Diavel's party who were only now getting to their feet.

"Someone has to deal with the boss!" Alice yelled at them, knowing it was pointless. Then, she saw him. Off to the side, Kirito had stood up and gripped his blade, staring toward Illfang. Alice hurried over as Asuna stepped up to his side.

"Lightning Flash, you should…"

"I'm going." Fake Asuna cut him off.

Fake Kirito paused and then nodded. The facial blur still as distracting as ever. Thankfully the dialog sounded more natural. "We use the same tactic." Then with a deep breath, Kirito yelled out at the raid group, "Everyone! Take three steps away from the boss! Do not surround it!"

Alice took an unconscious step back at the carrying voice. It had boomed loudly enough through the room that it got everyone's attention. As they followed his instructions automaticaaly, Kirito rushed in, going directly for Illfang. Whether the boss had a special aggro system or through a fluke, it looked at Kirito and prepared a sword skill.

Kirito glanced at it momentarily and prepared the stance for Slant as he continued to close the gap.

Activate it! Alice yelled at him mentally. She did not understand the boy's intentions. Slant was not the right skill anyway. He should have come in low with Rage Spike or used Sonic leap to try and close the distance and interrupt the sword skill before it fired. It was like he was—

Swish! With the sound of cutting air, Illfang exploded forward. Its katana was a blur in the air, moving with incredible speed that Alice had hardly ever seen. Kirito was going to be cut down by that skill. This made no sense. How did he win fighting this sloppily?

Clang!

The sound of colliding swords disabused Alice of her superiority. It was a chilling display of swordsmanship. He was this good already!? That maneuver was not supposed to be possible. Katanas were one of the most powerful weapons, they had range, speed, and did incredible damage. But only if they hit. Against highly armored enemies they were essentially useless as they had no weight behind the attack.

Yes, Kirito was pushed back, but he took no damage from the exchange. This was a foolhardy, essentially impossible way of neutralizing a powerful weapon. The expected strategy would be a shield wall and spears.

Into this gap, Asuna rushed releasing a quick Linear before rushing past. Even her role in this was challenging. She had a small window of time to hit.

This is what I missed… Alice sat down stunned and watched. He had been so young. This was the beginning of his journey. His first time being a hero. With no one to watch her, Alice cried invisible tears as the boss fight continued.

Incredible.

Simply incredible.

Half a dozen times, a dozen. Alice wondered if she could meet even one of those skills. Some of them were Iai type and had confusing activating stances. Even Illfang looked bewildered as its eyes crunched up with frustration.

Then, the balance broke. Kirito finally misread an activation and was cut into deeply by the powerful weapon. From there, it was chaos as they were saved by one of the parties that had regrouped. Then, as Kirito healed, he called out attack directions for them.

With the most important part to her over, Alice stood up and approached more closely for a better view as the end of the fight came. As the defenders surrounded it too closely, the boss unleashed its ultimate skill stunning them. Then, Kirito broke in again, knocking it from the air and inflicting it with the tumble status ailment.

Rushing with Asuna, Kirito then scored the last hit, securing the win. "It should have been a rout…" Alice whispered. In fact, she could bet that Kayaba had been counting on that. Maybe he had not anticipated how slow the start was going to be, but she could see it in the design of the fight. An overreliance on beta knowledge leading to a punishment in the boss chamber. The cruel trick of a mass murderer.

The veracity of the exact words spoken next moments cannot be confirmed, but the general events are accurate. The narrator warned as Kirito was congratulated by Asuna and Agil. Unlike Fake Kirito and Asuna, his identity was not being hidden. Even if they had tried, not many people had that skin tone and bald head in Japan.

"WHY!?" A sharp voice penetrated the din. It came from a kneeling man with a head like a cactus. Alice had met him in the previous dioramas and stories. This was Kibaou, the Fang King, hater of all beta testers. Even a blind person could have inferred at this point that Kirito was a beta tester. "Why did you let him die!?"

The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. "Let him…?" Fake Kirito answered, still kneeling on the stone floor.

"Of course!" Kibaou stood up, raging, tear-stained cheeks visible to all. "You recognized the weapon; you knew what it was going to do! If you had shared this information, Diavel would still be alive!"

Alice wished she could see Kirito's expression, but the boy just sat there, not responding to the accusation.

Then, the fateful comment. "He must be a beta tester! There are more here, aren't there!?"

Alice could expect the result as the people that had fought side-by-side with no issues began to look at each other with suspicion. What could have been a unifying moment where they came together in resolve to carry on Diavel's will had been ruined permanently. With those few words, Alice watched as the final chance of a single force conquering the game as one shattered.

Through the growing noise and accusations, Alice watched Kirito. With head slumped he rose. Then, a foreign noise dominated all. Laughter. Hideous, mocking laughter. The condescension in it textured Alice's skin.

"Beta tester?" Fake Kirito asked, scorn dripping from every word. His head lifted proudly as he sauntered toward Kibaou, the person that had accused him. "I wish you would not compare me to those newbies. They were amateurs who couldn't even level. You guys are better than them!"

"W-What!?"

Alice felt the same way. Who was this? Did Kirito really pull off such a masterful performance of arrogance as young as he was?

He continued with no hesitation. "I reached floors higher than anyone else. That is why I knew about the boss's skills. Far more than any information broker. Don't confuse us again."

"T-That's so much worse…"

"He is a cheater!"

Eventually they somehow combined into 'Beater'. A rather ugly world as far as Alice was concerned that Kirito picked up on and gave his seal of approval. The new name for the selfish villains of Sword Art Online.

Attaching the Last Hit bonus from the boss, Kirito spun dramatically as a black coat settled over his shoulders. It fell almost to the floors and was pure black. Alice's eyes bulged, her mouth gaping—at she would be if she had a body. She knew this coat. It was a copy of the one he summoned when channeling his incarnate power in the underworld. She did not realize how old it was nor the significance of its origin.

Kirito spoke one last small piece over his shoulder as he walked away. "I am going to activate the teleport portal on the second floor. Only come with me if you don't mind risking death."

As he reached the steps up to the next floor, the vision ended. Everything faded to black and then back to colour as Alice woke up in the real world. Staggering to her feet, she touched a hand to her head. She felt like she should be covered with sweat, heart thumping frantically. Neither, of course, were possible. Her body was robotic and did not fluctuate for minor things like emotions.

"Ah, Dad was amazing, wasn't he…" Yui whispered, rising to her feet beside Alice. "But… did he do the right thing? Could he not have just calmed them down and explained?"

Alice considered that. "Maybe… It was a good idea for an on-the-spot creation. Something I have learned from all the public speaking and arguments that I must attend is this. Emotional humans do not respond well to reason. Only emotion can meet emotion, reason can meet reason. That crowd was not reasonable. They needed an emotional display."

"I understand that, but!" Yui stomped on the ground. "At least he is finally getting the recognition that he deserves…"

"Yes…" Alice agreed, memories of his fight flashing through her mind. It was one of the most impressive feats of swordsmanship she had ever seen.

"Look, what is that?" Yui pointed at a small altar in the corner that people funneled past following the signs up to the second floor.

Shrugging, Alice cut through the traffic and approached it.

The dark secrets of the hero Diavel?

As indicated by his character name meaning Devil, one can guess that the origins of Diavel was far from the most selfless man. Rumors suggest that the man had duplicitous dealings behind the scenes attempting to reduce the strength of the Black Swordsman by buying his sword prior to the boss fight.

Alice only sighed. This was not a simple story. These were the tales of real people and people did things for complicated reasons. Every word of the plaque could be true. It did not discount any of the work that Diavel did.

"Rest well," Placing a hand on the inscribed rock, Alice turned and left for the second floor, Yui following slowly behind her.