One feature of CNO allows players to fly through the air. Players can do this either using an Aerial class NBS, or by equipping the Jetpack gadget. Players can reach a maximum height of roughly 15 meters with in-game flight mechanics. While flying in CNO is far rougher compared to the famous Flight Engine used in Alfheim Online, the concept for flying controls are similar to ALO's Voluntary Flight where the player controls their flight via their thoughts. In CNO, the player mentally adjusts the thrust output and direction of their wings or jetpack to control both their height and direction of flight. However, in both the cases of Aerial class NBS models and the Jetpack gadget, players can only fly for a limited time before being forced to descend and wait for it to cooldown. The max flight time between these two methods differ, with Aerial class NBS models having a max flight time of five minutes and Jetpack gadgets having a max flight time of two minutes.

-Cyber Nexus Online Manual: In-game Flight Mechanics

The darkening shroud of night.

The pelting touch of rain.

The fear of death.

The cries of a person.

The laughter of a killer.

The unrelenting urge to kill.

Rage. Blinding rage.

The sorrow of the aftermath.

Hana shot up from her bed with a gasp. Her breathing was heavy, her heart was racing, and sweat was dripping from her forehead. She brought a hand to her face as she relaxed her breathing and noticed a wet sensation. Tears had formed in her eyes.

It was just a dream. Calm down. You're not there anymore.

Hana turned to the digital clock on her desk, seeing the time was 4:45 am. She still had about an hour and a half before she needed to be up. So after calming herself, she laid back down in her bed, closed her eyes, and tried to go back to sleep.

Sleep however, did not come easy after the nightmare she had just had.

Hana wasn't sure how much more she had managed to actually sleep, but before she knew it her alarm woke her back up. She groggily reached out her arm and hit the snooze button on it before forcing herself awake. She stretched her arms out with a yawn.

It was a typical Monday morning routine. She got up, got dressed, went to the kitchen where she ate a quick breakfast with her parents, and finally left the house to begin her commute to school. She was sixteen and as such was in her second year of high school. Well, technically her first year of high school, but she was working hard to catch up to where students of her age were supposed to be.

Hana wasn't a normal high school student. And the school she attended was not a normal school.

After a roughly thirty minute trip that included taking various subway lines, Hana finally arrived at the front gate to her school. She had been attending here for almost a year now. It consisted of a trio of three story buildings with a link bridge between them. It used to be a metropolitan high school, but was abandoned due to unification and reorganization. Then, a little over a year ago, it was repurposed into a brand new school. With a brand new name to boot.

The SAO Survivor School. Or the Temporary School for Middle and High School Students Who Have Returned From SAO if you wanted to call it by its official name.

Hana, or Violet as she had gone by back in SAO, still couldn't fully believe everything that had happened to her almost three years ago. She had been trapped in the infamous VRMMO known as Sword Art Online, and forced to fight for her life for two whole years. One wrong move, one fatal mistake, and the Nerve Gear that had been strapped to her head would have fried her brain and killed her. Thankfully, she found friends during her time in Aincrad, joined a guild, and managed to survive up to the fateful day SAO was cleared.

Now she was just an ordinary student. Well, maybe "ordinary" wasn't the best word for it. But it was far better than fighting for her life in Aincrad, she could say that much for certain. She attended classes, studied hard, and unlike a vast majority of students at her school, still played VRMMOs.

The only notable difference between Hana and her avatar Violet was her hair color. Unlike her lavender-colored hair in VR, which she had obtained using a dye item in Aincrad, her real world hair color was black. She had grown slightly in the past two years, but the difference between her appearance now and that of her avatar that mimicked her body from three years ago wasn't much.

When Hana had decided to try VR gaming again after the SAO Incident, her parents had understandably been somewhat concerned. Even she wasn't entirely sure why she had decided to return to the virtual world. Given that she had lost two years of her life to SAO, she should have wanted nothing to do with VR. But there was some call, some… allure that made her return. She had decided to try out Cyber Nexus Online back in July and she had been playing it ever since. She had even found a close friend in the game by the name of Tae, even though he was a bit obnoxious from time to time. She treasured that friendship she had with him. Even though she had never told him - or anyone in CNO for that matter - about the fact that she was a SAO Survivor.

Hana went inside the school and once first period started at 9 am, she went about her day. Her nightmare from last night still had her a little shaken at first, but she quickly managed to dispel its presence in her mind. She was used to it. After all, it wasn't the first time she had experienced that nightmare, and she doubted it would be the last.

When lunch period finally came, Hana began making her way to the cafeteria. As she turned the last corner on her trip there, she heard a voice call out to her.

"It's been a while, Violet."

Recognizing the voice, Hana turned to find another student staring at her. He was in the same year as her, and had dark brown hair along with green eyes. She had passed by him occasionally during her time at the school, but she had first met him back in SAO. Seiji, or Gale as he went by back in his SAO days. He was the leader of the guild she was a part of back in Aincrad.

"It certainly has, Gale." Hana responded. "Did you need something?"

"I just wanted to talk and catch up. It's been forever since we sat down and had an actual conversation." Seiji said. "I hear you've been playing CNO recently."

Hana raised a brow. There was one friend from her old guild that she had mentioned CNO to, but she wasn't aware that information had circulated to Gale. "I am."

"The gang and I actually got into it recently too. Just a couple months ago in fact." Seiji explained. "I actually watched the live stream of the event yesterday and saw you in it. I'm glad to see your skills from SAO haven't rusted away."

"I guess so." she said. "If this is about wanting the Ultra Core, forget it. Someone else has it and I don't see him giving it up."

"Don't worry, it's nothing like that. I'm simply looking to invite you back."

"Invite me back?" Hana asked.

"Yeah. I'm looking to revive the Sparrow Wing guild from SAO. All the others have agreed to join up again. I'd like to get the whole gang back together if possible."

Join Sparrow Wing. It wasn't the worst offer in the world. She was on friendly terms with all of the members back in Aincrad. Even now after the SAO Incident, she had talked to each of the members at least once or twice, as they all attended the SAO Survivor School. But at the same time, there was a reason not to join. A deep personal reason that she didn't want to admit.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I have to decline."

Seiji blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting that answer from her. "Why?"

"I want to put SAO behind me. As important as the guild is to me, I think it's best for me personally if I don't join." Hana explained. "Sorry."

Seiji was quiet for a few moments, taking Hana's answer in. He let out a sigh, though Hana couldn't help but feel there was a tone of irritation to it. "Very well. I guess I'll see you around CNO then." He began to walk away, but not before adding one last thing. "Just make sure not to get in our way. Sparrow Wing is going to be the top guild in CNO before long. I'd rather not have to treat you as an enemy if I can avoid it."

Hana watched as Seiji turned the corner and walked out of sight. She knew from the time she had spent together with him that Seiji was serious about what he said regarding having Sparrow Wing be on top in CNO. But she couldn't help but feel there was something darker beneath the surface in his voice.

She wanted to be wrong, but she had a feeling this wasn't over.

A/N: Hello readers. I know it was short, but I hope you all enjoyed the epilogue for this story's first arc. As I'm sure you can tell, the next arc will deal a lot with Hana/Violet. As for what it will entail, sorry but you'll just have to wait to find out. No spoilers from me.

See you all next time for the start of SAO Broken Wings' next arc. Sparrow's Trap.