Chapter 3: Integrity Knights


March 22nd, 379 HE

"Come along now, the pontifex herself has asked to meet you." Chudelkin strode through the ornate door in large exaggerated steps that lifted his legs up until they were nearly parallel with the floor.

I licked my lips. This... was probably an awful idea. This shitty clown was a hundred and ten percent evil, that much was clear. He was a clown, after all. Plus, to make things even more obvious, he'd frozen both Bercouli and Alice right in front of me. But still, I definitely wasn't going to be able to make it out of the tower by myself. It was way too big, and if I ran then I'd probably have another twenty-eight Integrity Knights trying to chase me down.

After one last glance at the two statues flanking me, I walked forward into the white room.

I stopped in my tracks almost immediately. "What the fuck." My jaw dropped at what I saw. And heard.

The room itself was circular and almost entirely white; aside from fluorescent lights that lined the wall and floor, the only color that I could see was the awful riot of clashing blue and red from that fat clown directly in front of me. That, however, wasn't the reason I was so shocked. Along the wall, from where it met the floor to the ceiling I could barely see and all the way around, metallic nodules protruded from the walls. Inside them were... I swallowed. I could only see pale faces with no pupils, so pale that I wasn't sure they had any skin color entirely. Every nodule held another person, and every person talked non-stop, their words overlapping. I focused on the closest one and could just barely manage to make out the words they'd said.

"...System Call. Display Rebelling Index."

I recognized them! The bald head with milky white eyes... That was the thing that had shown up and babbled about breaking the Taboo Index when I'd been forced to kill the wolf that attacked me. Speaking of... The color of their skin, it matched Prime Senator Chudelkin's chalk-white complexion perfectly. Were these, these faces underlings of his?

A shrill bell and a loud warning claxon both sounded at the same time, hurting my ears, and all of the faces stopped talking. "Oooh hoo hoo hoo," Chudelkin cackled. "It's feeding time, I see, I see!" I watched with disgusted horror as thin tubes slid down from the ceiling of the faces' cages and started pouring glop directly into their mouths. After about ten seconds of gulping down the mush, the tubes rose back up and the constant repeating Sacred Art chants started up again.

"What the fuck," I repeated.

"Aaaaah! No! No no no no no!" Chudelkin cried suddenly. He flailed around, twisting his body and clutching at his head. "The pontifex ordered me to bring her the boy before the next feeding cycle! Those miserable knights wasted so much time! Number one, number thirty! I'll have to punish them for it later!" He turned back to me and I tensed up. The gleaming yellow eyes that looked at me now didn't have any trace of humor in them. "You'd better hurry up and follow me. I can't be late!"

Well, I already knew they were evil. Then again, Bercouli and Alice had clearly hated him on sight so maybe the Integrity Knights weren't that bad after all. I wonder if they'd switch sides if I brought them Chudelkin's head? Hmm, food for thought.

Chudelkin trotted much faster now and led me to a room that looked like the world's messiest child lived there. Stuffed animals and toys littered the floor, and every color of paint that existed had to be splashed somewhere. The walls were orange and red, the two dressers were lilac and blue, and green and pink... It looked like a clown had thrown up in here, especially with the polka dots, massive bed, and awful carpet. Looking at the lines and shapes of everything, I was the straightest thing in the room. "Ghiii... I wanna play!" Chudelkin whined. "But my lady is waiting for me!"

Oh. It's his room. Of course it's his room, how could I have been so foolish.

Chudelkin gnashed his teeth. "Guhh... Ghhhhh... Graaaaaah!" After letting out a scream like he was a child that had just been told 'no', he stomped over to the lime-green dresser by the wall. I blinked when he shoved at the weirdly-shaped object and it swung open without a sound. A secret door?

From there, I followed him up a flight of steps. It was only lit by a few golden lights set along the wall, and it had to be at least two... no, three flights of stairs until we finally emerged into the light at the top. The room I stood in was totally empty, with ornate crosses decorating the wall and floor. If I'd been on the 96th floor and had gone up three flights, then that meant...

The 100th floor was right above me.

Why? Why is it one hundred floors? Does Cardinal have a fetish for that number or something?!

The only thing on the floor was a raised circle, and directly above it a hole in the ceiling. Chudelkin walked over to it and waved at me. "Hurry up already! You stinking brat," he grumbled. "Kuhhh, I'm going to be in so much trouble! Sacred Art! Generate Aerial element!"

With Chudelkin's magic, the circular plate that we were standing on lifted into the air. It slid right through the hole in the floor and raised up until it was flush with the 100th floor. I looked around in awe, staring at the high, domed ceiling. The whole thing was a colorful mural, depicting two winged women; the blue-haired one was holding a bow, and the blonde one a glowing green sword. It looked like they were fighting some shadowy figure made of purple lightning. Aside from the clouds and stars on the blue sky, a white dove carried a single piece of wheat in its beak.

The rest of the cathedral was less enthralling than the ceiling; it was the very top of the tower and so the room itself was round, with different weapons chained to the wall at a regular interval. Between the pillars holding the weapons were massive glass panes that revealed the world stretching out; we were above the clouds, and the crescent moon floated in the sky with hundreds of stars clustered in the sky.

And, in the center of the room, illuminated by the moonlight streaming down from the giant circle in the ceiling, was a bed. It was a fancy bed, with luxurious red curtains hiding the inside from my view. It sat on a rich crimson carpet that stretched towards the wall, larger than any I'd seen in the real world.

"My lady," Chudelkin called out. "I, er, I've brought the criminal to you." His eyes gleamed. "Just as you ordered. I had to Freeze a few of the Integrity Knights, the traitors."

"...Oh, very well. Which ones were they?"

Chudelkin replied, but I didn't listen to him. I was too busy reeling from the voice I'd just heard. Objectively, I could tell it was a woman's voice. But there was something about what I'd just listened to that tempted me to listen harder and let myself go. It was curiously hypnotic, and somewhere inside of my chest I craved to hear her talk more.

A craving that was fulfilled moments later. "Come closer," the woman said. "Let me see your face."

I noted Chudelkin bouncing back to the disc and leaving the room, but it was a distant part of me. Most of my attention was on the shadowed figure inside the bed curtains. I hesitated at the edge of the bed, but I'd been invited, so I brushed the curtain aside.

My eyes widened as I took in the sight in front of me. Immediately, I turned my head to the side, but I couldn't control the sharp inhale when I saw the woman's naked body. It wasn't like I'd never seen a girl naked; I'd spent the night at Kana's house often enough that sooner or later it was inevitable that I'd walk into her bathroom at the wrong time just after she'd gotten out of the shower. She'd been embarrassed, but it was a funny story to tease her about.

But... the woman on the bed... She was simply lounging on top of the bed sheets, nestled among the pillows. The only thing keeping her modest was her long purple hair covering her breasts and her...

I coughed again.

"I am Administrator," she said. "The pontifex and ruler of the Axiom Chuch. You poor child... you seem tired. Why don't you sit down?"

Before I knew it, I was kneeling on the wonderfully soft bed. "What do you want with me?" I asked.

Her lips curved in a smile. "I know that you come from... the other side. The realm of the gods." The realm of the - Is she talking about the real world?! How does she know that!

Still, it was helpful. "If that's the case, then you understand I can't stay here," I said. "I have something I need to do. Sorry, but being in jail isn't helpful."

"You poor child," she said. "To be burdened with such a task... But you have broken the Taboo Index, the laws that govern this world. A suitable punishment for the crime must be given."

"Hey, I was already arrested."

"And you broke free. Delaying my rest." I winced. I'd made her stay up later? Whoops. That was unfortunate. "But you truly are unfortunate, aren't you? A sapling, bent in the wind."

"...A sapling?"

"You know it yourself," she said. "How you feel the weight of expectations. How you just want to... sleep."

I inhaled sharply. Calm down, Rythin. She's just cold-reading you. You know that. You know how it works. It didn't make it easier to ignore the accuracy of her words, though. "Sleep?"

"I could grant you that," she said. "All of your burdens, gone. The selfish humans that forced you to bear them... They wouldn't matter anymore."

My fingers clutched at the silky bed sheets. "That's a lie," I snapped. "I took them willingly! Nobody made me bear anything. Everything I've done, I've done for them!"

"Was it, now?" Her voice still held that strange hypnotic quality but it twisted in mockery. "I can see the strain in your body. Your soul cries out for comfort, but you ignore it entirely. Those people you're helping... Why would they not take advantage of you?"

"Liar," I growled. "They're not taking advantage. They aren't..." Damn it, why was it so hard to focus on this? Kana had come to see me. Shino had taken care of me when I was injured. It wasn't like they were just making sure their tool was useful! Right?

Administrator smiled peacefully. "No? What do you think would happen if you were to fall apart doing what they want? Would they smile and tell you, 'It's okay'? Or would they scowl at you and curse you for being useless? After all, if you can't do what they want, surely they'd find someone that can."

No... They're not. They're my family. I call them my sisters and my brother. "They're... my family," I protested.

Was that true, though? They'd only ever said that I was their brother when they wanted something from me. Could I really believe that they wanted me around?

N-No. Stop. You know it's not like that. You know they love you. This is all just depression and paranoia talking. You're good at this. You've gone through this enough times that you're good at depression. Just shut out the dark thoughts, crush them down.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "They're my family," I repeated.

"But is that really true?" Administrator's body disappeared like it was made of smoke. "You've forgotten," she whispered. The words were breathed in my ear from directly behind me. "Deep in your heart, you remember."

I whirled to look at her, but the world faded away into darkness. I struck at where Administrator had been, but my fists only struck air as the world bloomed into color. What-

"Ya make it real hard sometimes." My eyes widened as I watched Kana, her face red with anger, turn on her heel and storm off. This was... back several months ago, during... My stomach twisted just thinking about that horrible time.

A flash of color, and I was staring at Kazuto and Asuna laughing happily with the probe on her shoulder.

A flash of color, and I stared at Kana, grinning smugly at Rika while the freckled girl handed her some fries.

A flash of color, and I sat at my desk while Kana left, not even looking back at me.

I was totally useless to them, and they hadn't noticed at all. The second I couldn't offer them anything, they abandoned me-

"Stop! Please..."

I fell forward onto the bed, barely keeping myself up with my hands. My whole body was covered in sweat, like I'd just run a marathon in boiling temperatures.

"Do you understand now?" Administrator asked me, still behind me. "They don't truly love you. They only care what you can give them." Slender arms draped across my shoulders as she pressed her soft body against my back. "But I'm different, Rythin. I'm not selfish like they are. I'll give my heart to you."

"To... me...?" I shivered at the words. At the promise in those words.

Behind me, Administrator stood up and walked around in front of me. Her nude body was on full display as she extended her hand to me. "Now come to me, Rythin," she said. "Come to me and you can experience the joy of always being loved. I will be your family. The more deeply you love me, the greater pleasure I can give you!"

That's... love? That's family?

Something in my mind stirred at the thought, rebelling at the thought. It's not like that, Nick! I could almost picture a beautiful girl with messy mouse-brown hair, reaching her hand out for me. But before I could reach her, a shimmering wall of purple and blue circuits slide into place between us, cutting off her voice from reaching me.

That's not what family is! We don't trade favors like money, we help each other when we need it! A girl with black hair and glasses stood to my right. She was... precious to me... But when I took a step forward towards her, another wall blocked her from me and cut off her voice.

I turned again to see a boy with messy black hair, but before I could even move a third wall severed him from me. His mouth moved like he was saying something, but I was... alone. In a triangular prism, all by myself.

Administrator held out her hands, and I reached for her hand. When my fingers touched hers, she pulled me forward and I felt myself pitch forward to land on her body without resistance.

"You want this, Rythin," she breathed into my ear. "But I can't give you all I have to offer yet. Like I've said, you need to give me your love first. Simply repeat after me... Think only of me, as you offer yourself to me. Now first, start a Sacred Art."

"System...call." My mouth moved without me really saying it on purpose.

Was this... the best thing I could do? Just give in, entrust myself to her?

"Very good, Rythin." Her hand stroked my hair. "Now, the rest: «Remove Core Protection»."

"«Remove»..."

Why wouldn't I give myself to her? I was alone, so tired of being alone. The people I thought were my family... They had just been lying to me.

"«Core»..."

...

...No.

I'd come this far by not trusting a single godsdamn thing I ever thought about myself or my family. I knew that I couldn't trust my thoughts about anyone. I didn't understand family, but that didn't matter. Was I going to listen to her?

No.

How dare she try to come between me and the woman I loved? How dare she come between me and my family?! Asuna and the others loved me. They showed it every moment of every day by just asking me to be myself. They didn't demand obedience. They didn't ask me to do things for them. I just helped because I wanted to. And the same in return; I didn't offer my help because I expected something in return, I didn't demand they loved me. I knew that.

And I was going to listen to this bitch tell me they were wrong, that they didn't love me?

NO!

The prism shattered as I clenched a fist and then punched myself in the face, hard. It hurt. But the pain was sharp and real, and cut through the haze her voice had cast over me. I pulled back, ripped my hand free from Administrator's, and threw myself as far from the bed as I could.

I landed on the carpet and rolled. For a second, I just laid there on the carpet with my cheek, but I slowly pushed myself to my feet. My knees shook, but I glared defiantly at Administrator.

"Fuck you," I snarled.

"How dare you!" The woman's beautiful face twisted into an ugly scowl. "You reject me?"

I made a rude gesture, then mirrored it with my other hand. "I would rather face god and walk backwards into hell. You utter bitch."

"This close... This close to having a servant of the other realm...! But you had to refuse the synthesis ritual!" She waved a hand. "System call! Paralyze Unit ID WWD6-6321!" The chant took effect immediately, and I felt an all-too-familiar feeling in my body as every muscle locked up. This was more than ALO's in-game paralysis status effect. This was actually as though a switch in my brain had been turned off and I was nothing more than a meat puppet.

Naturally my body collapsed, and I stared helplessly up at Administrator. "Chudelkin!" she snapped.

"Yes, Your Excellency?" The clown had the nerve to hop out and land on my body, standing on top of me. "Whatever is the matter?"

"The boy refused the voluntary synthesis," she said. "Pull the senators from observation duty and use the forced synthesis ritual."

Forced... synthesis ritual? If it had something to do with that «Remove Core Protection» thing she nearly had me chant, then this was bad. Core protection... Whatever that was, it was probably important. I didn't want to lose it!

"With pleasure!" Chudelkin's awful curled boots stepped on my chest and a choked breath was forced out of me before the clown grabbed my arm with surprising strength. From there, I didn't have the ability to resist as he started dragging me back through the long flight of steps.

"Oooh hoo hoo ha ha!" Chudelkin cackled. "I can't believe it! You shitty brat... I'm going to love watching you scream as we pry open the door to your precious memories! What a wonderful day! Will you make better expressions than that little girl?"

Little girl? Were they talking about... Alice?

"It's such a rare thing, that only the most rebellious brats force us to do! We have to pause the automated senators and use a three-day ritual!" He was explaining this on purpose, I knew. Just to make me squirm. He leered down at me and licked his lips. "I still think about the face that Alice made when we stole it away from her, those tears streaming down her face! Begging desperately to go back to Rulid with her friends... But now she's an Integrity Knight, bound to serve the pontifex's will! When I think about it, I stay up all night laughing! Hoo hoo hoo ha haha!"

This piece of shit clown... I don't even know her, but if he's taking such glee in the blonde knight's suffering then I'd gladly destroy him! As soon as I could move my body again...

When we reached the automated senator's room, Chudelkin threw me down in the center of the room. I had to watch as the clown spun around and danced his way through the room, chanting a bunch of Sacred Arts that silenced the creepy pale faces. Then, once they'd all fell silent, Chudelkin spouted more words and they started chanting in unison once again.

This time, though, my body started to hover in place as purple light surrounded me. It held me motionless aside from the slightest up and down bobbing, like I'd been suspended in water. While purple arcs of energy crackled around me, that fucking clown danced and spun around and cackled some more.

...

Three days.

The nonstop chanting had lasted three days, and I hadn't been able to sleep at all as I felt myself becoming weaker and weaker. The exhaustion was bone-deep and something inside of me was becoming... loose.

Ritsu... Wait for me, alright? Whatever they're doing to me, I'm going to break free. Once I'm an Integrity Knight I'll have a dragon just like Alice and the other one, and then I'll fly back to the city to get you. Khh... Finding you will be tough, but just wait for me like you promised...

Shi-Shino. Would you be proud of me? I did my b-b-best to have faith in myself, but when it didn't work out I still, still had faith in you and the others. I hope you'd be proud.

Kana... Kana... Kana... Kana... Kana... I love you.

It was so, so hard to, think. But even through the, haze I saw, Chudelkin leer at, me. "Fuck... you," I growled.

His offended look made my lips curl into a satisfied smile before something inside me cracked -

- and my eyes closed, fast asleep -

...


July 6, 2026, 7:15 AM

Asuna leaned forward and pressed her hands to the glass panel separating us from our two idiots, and I couldn't help but smile when I saw the glittering ring on her left hand. We couldn't enter the STL room, of course; not without the special permission we'd obtained yesterday to visit Nick. But we could still look through the reinforced glass and stare through it. My friend's eyes wouldn't leave the motionless form of her boyfriend, and I stared just as intently at Nick.

The only light in the room came from the glowing machine and gave his skin an even paler glow than usual. He would always joke that it was a good thing it didn't snow much because he would go outside and I wouldn't be able to see him through the snowflakes. The stupid STL machine... Somehow, it felt like Nick's skin was so pale it was made of cold, fragile porcelain. I already wanted to hug him again, feel his warmth.

It'd been just under twelve hours since I'd seen him, but it felt like ages already. "Hey, Nick," I whispered after I pressed my forehead to the glass just like Asuna. "Miss ya already..." How long has it been for him? At least two months, according to what he'd told me. "Least yer comin' home soon. Only a few more days, 'kay?"

He's in the Underworld right now, helping Kazuto. I'm sure, the two of them together will be able to overcome any challenge at all.

"I wish they'd let me Dive in there with you," Asuna said to Kazuto, so quietly I barely heard her voice. "Maybe I could get you out..."

I closed my eyes. That way, when I felt the cool glass against my face, I could pretend it was Nick's hand instead. After a second, I let out a sigh and pulled away. No matter how much I wanted to get in there, without someone to let us in we weren't getting through the door. "...Ready?" I asked Asuna. She looked at me and smiled faintly, a tired smile on her lips, before we turned and walked away from the single glimpse we could get of our two boys.

Between the two of us we'd probably managed to get about a full night of sleep, but when Asuna and I turned the corner and started to climb the steps up to the main control room where we met Kikuoka it felt so different from that that I couldn't help but snicker. "Doesn' feel so tirin' now, huh?" I asked Asuna.

She smiled back at me. A little bit of the worry in her eyes had faded away after seeing Nick alive and more than well, but of course she was still worried about Kazuto. I'd caught her twisting that engagement ring early in the morning, before she'd noticed I was awake. "Not this time," she said. "I think a good night's sleep helped."

"Good, huh..." I can't say I agree with her all that much. The bed wasn't exactly, well, it wasn't my bed and that made all the difference. "Eh, maybe. Excited f'r later, A-chan?"

"Of course," she said. "They'll be awake tomorrow. I hope..."

According to Aki, at the rate Kazuto's brain network was recovering, he should wake up within a day or two. That was perfect; my excuse to my mom, to get her to let me come here, was, 'I'll be accompanying the professor and observing the research facility of a cutting-edge corporation for a few days. It's the one where Nick works' in order to match Asuna's story to her mother. Still, it only earned us a meager three days, from the 5th to the 7th. According to our schedule, we'd have to leave on the helicopter tomorrow evening. Hopefully, that'd be enough time for the boys to wake up so we could talk in the real world.

It wasn't certain, though, and there was definitely the possibility we were going to have to go home without getting to talk to them again. One look at Asuna's face told me that she was worried about that possibility, the way her eyes were lost in thought even as she walked up the stairs without thinking.

A stocky figure started tromping down the stairs on a direct course for us, clanking with each step. Asuna didn't seem to notice a thing, so when we were on the larger intermediate platform halfway up the stairs I stepped to the side and tugged her arm to get her out of the way. "Excuse me," she murmured absently, sparing just a glance up before her eyes fell back to the ground. "Mobs shouldn't spawn on the staircases, that's... wait..." she half-whispered.

I blinked at her. "...Eh?"

The clanks and whirring started up again as soon as we stepped past the person, and I started giggling. "What?" Asuna asked me. "Kana, what's so -" Her eyes opened wide as she realized what she'd seen, and she whirled around to stare at the huge boxy robot that was happily tromping its way down the steps. She must be exhausted.

The silhouette was human enough, but the skeletal structure was just a metal frame, with plastic cylinders mounted on the limbs and waist. The joints were exposed gears, and signal cables crept over all the thing's body like they were blood vessels. It had a large box on its back and a 'face' that had three lenses, each of a different size. They almost looked like eyes, if any two of them had been the same size.

"Uh... ah... a robot!" she gasped, her voice hoarse.

As soon as she said something, the robot froze mid-step and my smile dropped abruptly as my snickers died in my throat. The whirring shifted pitches and it started walking backwards up the steps! "Eep!" Asuna squeaked and clutched my arm tightly. I deny doing the same thing to her. And I wouldn't sell the truth not even for a million yrd!

The robot halted once it was on the same intermediate platform we were on, and it turned around one part at a time, head first and then body. I remembered every movie I'd seen where the robots went berserk, and even though Nick had assured me they were all nonsense I didn't really care at the moment because the robot was listening to us. And staring too, with the larger of the lenses zooming in and out to focus on our faces. Our scared faces were reflected in the lens.

We moved together, jumping back and pressing our backs against the wall to give the robot more space. Asuna and I let out quiet whimpers as the robot's head swiveled towards us, and we both sidled to the side to get away from it. But it wouldn't stop tracking us, taking another step closer before its lenses refocused.

Oh god Skynet is going to kill us.

Another whimper snuck out of my throat as I tried to get my heart to slow down, but it wouldn't stop staring and I prepared to bolt with Asuna at the first sign of aggression, our terrified faces reflected in the lens -

"Hey!" Asuna and I gasped and looked up at the top of the steps, where the sharp bark had come from. Higa stood there, hands on his hips. "You're scaring them, Ichiemon!"

I watched him walk down the steps towards us, my eyes still flicking back at the robot to not miss a single move it might make. Fortunately, it seemed to have frozen as soon as he said something. As for the man himself, he looked like he did yesterday; shorts and a T-shirt matched the thick metal-framed glasses he wore. Way more casual than the dress shirt, nice pants, and pumps Asuna and I were wearing. ...Lucky.

"Wh-what did you call this thing just now?" Asuna asked weakly, pointing at The Terminator that was still staring at us.

"His name, what else?" Higa laughed. "He's Ichiemon." The robot finally stopped staring at us and turned its head to focus on the blond man. I licked my lips as I swallowed in relief, and Asuna's shoulders relaxed. "An Electroactive Muscled Operative Machine, or EMOM. He's also the first of his type, so we added the 'Ichi' at the top." He smirked and pointed at us. "Ichiemon, get it?"

I blinked a few times, before sighing. Another stupid acronym... It didn't help my patience that his expression slowly shifted from apologetic to boastful as he explained. "Guess Ichiemom doesn't roll off th' tongue as easy..."

Asuna's expression looked like I felt as she asked, "And what is this Ichiemon doing on board?" The way her voice raised as she asked the question told me that he'd better have a really good answer for scaring the crap out of us.

"Well, we're sorta-"

"I'm using it to fine-tune a program, and Higa here is giving me a hand with it." Higa, Asuna and I all looked up at the top of the steps. Professor Rinko stood there, silhoutted by the bright light of the main monitor. "We're lab partners again, just like in college," she said with a smile.

Asuna giggled and answered the woman's smile with one of her own. "Good morning," she said.

"Morning," I waved.

"Morning, Asuna, Kana," Professor Rinko said. "Did you two sleep well?"

I exchanged a quick glance with Asuna, and then spread my hand out palm-down and wiggled it back and forth in the universal sign for 'Eh, kinda'. "So's," I added, "I take it this guy's part 'a Project Alice or whatever too?"

...

Asuna and I followed Higa and his robot up the stairs - because even though it seemed perfectly safe I remembered that look in its eye and there was no way it was standing behind me - and sort of just stood around. Without Kikuoka here to piss us off, the main control room seemed kinda empty. Asuna stared up at the main screen, which was showing a huge white tower.

"Your problem is its balancer processor runs slow," Rinko said. "Can't you buy a faster chip?"

I glanced over at them to see that Higa and the professor had fallen into whatever seats were available once Ichiemon stopped moving around, so Rinko was in a chair while Higa sat on one of the nearby desks. The motionless robot stood by their side. Scowling at it, I made the 'I'm watching you' gesture at it.

"It's not like you don't have the budget to," Rinko continued.

"Yeah, but cooling and battery drain would still be a problem," Higa replied. "Considering that, this is the best we could do. One other option would be to tune the EAP actuator to pick up the slack," he said, scratching at his forehead.

Rinko waved a hand at Ichiemon. "Sure, but the polymer muscles are last-gen, so there's that. Upgrade to CNTs, they'll take the strain better and make it lighter."

Asuna blinked a few times. "Do ya have any idea what they're talkin' 'bout, A-chan?" I whispered to her.

"Not really..."

The long-haired beauty seemed just as bemused by all this as I was. Though it was a lot like how Nick and Kazuto got when they're discussing some project or another, except when it was my boyfriend and his best guy friend, they were kinda cute. Here, I just tilted my head and stared.

When we approached the chatting scientists, Rinko turned around. "We're in our own world over here," she said with a smile. "Sorry about the noise."

"That's okay," Asuna giggled. "If Kirito were here, he'd get a big kick out of this robot of yours."

"Actually, we're building this because the Commandante wanted us to," Higa said.

"Kikuoka did?" Asuna gasped. "What for?"

Asuna looked at the robot again, and I peered at the Terminator myself. Standing like this, it didn't seem too scary... Though I guess it was weird that they were making an advanced robot when they were trying to develop an AI. The two have to be connected somehow, so... Wait, were they trying to make a -

"A real world body for th' Fluctlight that's matured in th' Underworld, right?" I asked. The conclusion held up, and the path led from start to goal. They wanted to have AIs in the real world, so obviously they'd need something for the AI to use as its body. Unlike Yui and Din, they wouldn't be able to just live in the virtual world.

"It's a neat idea, actually," Rinko said. "But I'm not sure how serious he is about it yet."

Asuna stared at Ichiemon. "S-So, wait. The plan is to put the AIs into... that?"

I snickered. "Nyahaha! Don't be so mean ta poor Ichiemon, A-chan, yer gonna hurt 'is feelings!"

But yeah. Yui and Din would absolutely, a hundred percent chance refuse to enter a body like that. It wouldn't even be worth betting any Yrd on it!

"I'm very sorry," Asuna bowed to the robot, before she looked at me and the two of us burst into giggles.

"Not this guy," Higa said and waved his hand back and forth. "He's just for data collection. We have a second robot with on-board AI that's way more advanced! He operates a heck of a lot smoother."

"Oh, you don't say," Asuna said. Then she sighed. "I wonder what you decided to call that one," she said in the tone of someone who already knows the answer but has to ask the question anyway.

Higa looked at the two of us and grinned widely. He threw up two fingers. "Niemon, of course!" he and I said simultaneously.

Okay, now I think I get what Nick was saying when he was ranting about their sense of naming. This was ridiculous.

"Of course, because 'ni' means two..." Asuna shook her head. "Anyway, uh - why does having on-board AI in this other robot make it better?"

Rinko didn't answer right away, but got to her feet. She lifted one of her feet off of the ground and wobbled back and forth, arms outstretched. "For us to balance," she said, "our brains make lots of microadjustments." I blinked and popped one foot up in the air myself. Hey, this was fun! "To replicate that mechanically would take a lot of tech. And a bigger body to house it all in."

"Ah, I gotcha," I said while Rinko took her seat again. I wobbled and nearly toppled over before latching onto Asuna for support. "So if th' driver was a Fluctlight 'stead of a program, they'd be 'xactly like a human an' save some space on all the tech."

"Bingo," Higa said. "And the smaller the tech inside, the closer it can look like a human body. Or so we hope... For now, it's still a work in progress. Niemon's coming along, though! He's looking pretty human!" He grinned. "Well, his silhouette does, anyway."

"And maybe one of these days I'll get to see the damn thing..." Rinko's eyes widened and she turned to stare at Higa. "Wait - You haven't gotten it to walk around on its own yet, have you?"

"What?! No, of course I haven't!" Higa shrugged. "His CPU's all loaded up and ready to go, but no one's home to work the controls, if you get my drift."

Rinko sighed. "Oh..."

I tilted my head. "Um, if all ya need's a Fluctlight, what's stoppin' ya from puttin' Kazu-boy or Nick in it? Y'know, when they're usin' the STL."

"It doesn't really work like that," Higa said. "Using the STL to access Underworld means they're going through a subcomputer, not getting directly put into Underworld like the Lightcube cluster. Plus, using the STL adds protections to their Fluctlights when they're in there. Those stop the STL from accidentally erasing memories or things like that. Those protections would stop the guys from using Ichiemon or Niemon properly."

"I'm surprised Kikuoka wanted something like that," Asuna said.

"Hey, Kiks is just doing his best," Higa protested. "And we're making sure Kirigaya and Weyr stay safe. We had to relax the core protections on their Fluctlights while they were recovering, but Weyr's are back up now and we're watching things carefully anyway."

I shrugged. "'Kay, just wonderin', is all." Sketchy as Kikuoka can be, it does sound like they're being careful to keep our boys safe.

Rinko cleared her throat. "Hey, Asuna, Kana." I tilted my head and Asuna made a cute noise of confusion. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

"No, we haven't," Asuna replied.

"I dunno 'bout A-chan, but my stomach's ready for food," I said.

Rinko smiled. "Then let's go down to the cafeteria together," she said. "I'd invite Higa, but he already made plans with Ichiemon."

Her grin was teasing, and Higa took it in stride, rummaging in his pocket to produce a nutrition bar. I shook my head and followed Asuna and Rinko out of the room. "Bon appetit, ladies!" he called out.

Asuna nodded to him with a smile, then stopped just before the doorway. I looked at her, but her eyes were fixed on the computer monitor that showed that white tower. Our only glimpse of the Underworld... "Back in a bit," she whispered.

Oh, A-chan, sweetheart...

Rinko led the way down to the cafeteria. As we walked through one of the many, many grey hallways - seriously they all looked the same, I had no idea how Rinko wasn't lost - a pair of researchers in white lab coats came the other way. We shuffled to the side to let them pass us, and as they did I felt -

- something. It was like something tickled at the back of my spine. Nothing concrete, and I had no idea why, but... it was like something Nick said. He could just sense something off.

Asuna and I stopped and turned to stare at the two researchers. They looked like they belonged here, with their lab coats and unshaven faces. The second guy had his hair pulled back in a ponytail, but that was all. He hadn't even turned to look back at us either.

I noticed that Asuna's fingers twitched near her belt, right where her rapier usually hung, though.

"Something wrong, you two?" Rinko had turned to look at us.

I let out a quiet breath. "...No, nothin'," I said to her.

"It's nothing," Asuna agreed.

"Come on, then."

Maybe it really was nothing. But... had that second guy, the one in the ponytail... Had he smirked at us?


March 25th, 379 HE

I opened my eyes.

Even before doing so, I'd become aware of myself and my body. I kneeled on a cold stone floor, one hand pressed over my heart. The floor was rough on my knees, and my body ached like I'd been there for a long time. But -

that was ridiculous

- that was ridiculous. After all, until that very moment I could not have been said to exist. As far as I could tell, I'd come into existence merely moments ago.

As I opened my eyes, I beheld a beautiful woman standing in front of me, looking down at me. Her long purple hair fanned out behind her like a cloak, and aside from a hairpiece that looked almost like an angel's wings she was entirely nude. However, the woman's body was the last of my worries. It was her eyes that had captured me. They were brilliant silver and when she looked at me, I saw none of her thoughts in them but only my own reflection. There was something about them that terrified me, and I wanted to attack -

I wanted to obey

- I wanted to obey her without question. There was no other emotion running through my heart at the sight.

"I am the Highest Order Administrator," she told me. "As the pontifex of the Axiom Church, I rule the Human Empire on behalf of the gods."

Without question. I accept her words instantly, for there wasn't even the possibility of going against what she had said. I could only feel terror -

adoration

- adoration for the woman in front of me. "I have summoned you from the realm of the gods," she intoned, and I listened with rapt attention. "You shall be my servant and obey my orders as Rythin, Integrity Knight Thirty-One."

I bowed my head to my summoner. "Yes, Pontifex," I said. "I shall be yours to command."

When I looked back up, a satisfied smile was on her face. "Now," she said, "you must be tired. A summoning takes energy from both myself and the Integrity Knight, so simply rest your eyes for a while. When you awake, you will be in your quarters."

I nodded, and allowed the creeping lethargy to swallow me up. I would need time to rest my body from descending to the human world, after all.

...

I woke up again, not sure what time it was. I yawned widely and stood up from my bed, then looked out the window. The light of the sun dyed the clouds above my head a bright orange and red, giving the sky a brilliant color. I couldn't remember the realm I'd been in before descending to serve the Administrator, but I doubted it had held such sights.

Hmm... Administrator hadn't given me any commands, so... I had nothing to do, did I? I paced around my room for a few minutes, but in the end there wasn't a reason for me to leave my room -

*growl*

...My stomach growled, and I bit my lip. As it turned out, there was a very pressing reason for me to leave my room. I stepped out of my room and closed the door behind me. I didn't know where I was or where I was going, though...

"Ah, you're awake."

My spine stiffened as I turned towards the voice. A girl stood there, roughly my height, with brilliant golden hair tied into a braid down her back with a white ribbon at the end. She wore a simple blue dress that turned white below the waist. "Yes?" I asked. "And you are?"

"I am Alice Synthesis Thirty," she told me. Thirty? And if I was Thirty-One, then... "Since you've just been summoned, I knew you would be tired, and I was coming to see if you had awakened. I will be your mentor, and as my disciple, you will learn Sacred Arts and swordplay from me."

Learn from her? She couldn't be any older than I was! Besides, I had been summoned immediately after her. Why would I have to be taught by someone only slightly more experienced than me? "...Fine," I said. "Thank you for your assistance."

She smiled. I'd hidden my undercurrent of irritation well enough that she hadn't noticed a thing. "Very well. Now, you must be hungry." I nodded silently. "As I thought. I will show you to a location to eat, and then help you retrieve your equipment at the armory."

I wasn't sure what she was talking about, but I was too hungry to object to anything she said then. Alice led me down several hallways in silence before we emerged into a room that ended in a tower. After a minute or two, a platform descended. "The human world has plenty of surprises," I noted quietly.

"It took me time to adjust," Alice nodded. "You might be unfamiliar with the Axiom Church for now, but you must become accustomed quickly." My lips twitched in a frown for a second before I hid the expression. Why was she saying I had to do anything? She may be my mentor, but that didn't mean she could just boss me around like that. "50th Floor, please."

"Yes, Integrity Knight," the woman manning the platform said. "System call."

The platform lurched downwards, and I jolted for a second. Alice looked at me with a small smile on her face before she turned away. She was laughing at me, wasn't she?! Tch. I gathered myself and tugged at my grey tunic, smoothing out a wrinkle. I just had to be better so that nobody could laugh at me. I didn't quite know why or understand, but seeing that smile... It lit a fire in my stomach that burned, filling me with painful humiliation.

Alice led me down the stairs of the tower until we found a room with plenty of food in it. Alice plucked two small dumplings out of the pantry and held them in her right hand. "System call. Generate thermal element, aqueous element, aerial element." Three of her fingertips lit up with a red, blue, and green point respectively. She chanted some more and the green orb turned into a sphere that she dropped the meat buns into. She put the thermal and aqueous elements in there as well and then commanded them to «burst». The wind barrier became covered in pure white, swirling in the barrier of wind. After a second, it faded away and the two meat buns fell into her hand. "Here."

Showing off, huh? I bet this was all to mock me because I didn't know how to do it. "Thank you," I said, and accepted one. It did taste wonderful warm, though. My stomach accepted the gift gratefully, and it was only after I polished it off and licked my fingers for any remaining juices that I realized just how hungry I had been.

"We'll come back for a larger meal later," Alice told me. "It's a bad idea to perform strenuous exercise after eating a lot, after all."

"Understood." I kinda wanted to eat more right then, but Alice was my mentor and so I had to listen to her.

According to my guide the armory was on the second floor of the tower, and as we walked Alice told me more about the world I'd just joined. "This cathedral stands at the very center of the Human Empire," she said. "The lower floors serve as a place of learning for the novices and young children learning their Sacred Arts. Their bedrooms are also here." She smiled. "They work their hardest, and it's quite admirable."

"Did you ever -" I shook my head, cutting my words off. Of course she wouldn't have learned here. Like me, she'd been called down to the human realm. "Never mind." Alice nodded once but didn't look at me.

The rich red carpeting that led up and down the steps of the cathedral passed under our feet as we walked, until eventually Alice pushed open a door flanked by marble gargoyles. The room inside was dark, but even still I could tell it was vast. "System call. Generate luminous element," Alice chanted. She held her hand out and several small orbs of light appeared, floating above her head.

The room we were standing in was definitely the armory, with stacks and stacks of crates and armor stands. Weapons sat neatly on the racks by the walls, and sets of armor stood at attention, silent sentinels.

"This way." She studied me up and down. "We are of similar height."

"Is that so?"

"Yes... Armor close to my own would suit you." Alice nodded. "This way, then."

I'd be wearing equipment like hers, eh? Well, as long as I didn't end up wearing a dress. It seemed impossible to fight in. How could she run around and jump without it getting in the way?

It didn't take long for her to pick out my equipment, and only a little bit longer for her to guide me through how to put it all on. I looked down at the silver and white breastplate and rapped my knuckles against it; the metal gauntlets clanked with a ringing sound. It felt a little awkward to move around in and the armor itself was standard, but it fit well enough.

"Now, for your weapon -" Alice began.

Before she could continue, I'd already walked over to the weapons and started running my hand along the hilts. Sword, sword, axe, bow, whip... None of them were what I was looking for. It was some itch in my soul that told me these weren't the right weapons for me -

"This one," I said, wrapping my hand around a small handle. It was light in my hands, and the sheath had a belt attached to wrap around my waist. It took some time to settle properly, but once it did the weight of the weapon almost clicked into place in my mind like I'd been waiting for it, just a little off-balance. When I unsheathed the dagger, it gleamed in the light of Alice's luminous elements. It was a short thin blade, but somehow it felt right in my hands.

"A dagger?" Alice nodded. "If that's your decision, then let us proceed with a mock duel. I may not be able to teach you much, as my weapon of choice is a longsword."

...

The 80th Floor of the Central Cathedral was remarkable; when I stepped out onto it, I marveled at the small grass hill and dirt path. We... were still inside, right? "The Cloudtop Garden," Alice said with a smile on her face. "This is one of my favorite places to rest. This child loves it as well." 'This child'? Alice didn't seem to notice my confusion as she walked up the dirt path to the top of the hill where a single tree stood.

She placed her hand on the bark of the tree. A light shone from the tree, blinding me for an instant, and when I blinked away the sparkles in my vision Alice was holding a golden sword in her hand. She fastened the blade and sheath to her belt, and then drew the sword with the ring of steel. "To test your skills," she said, "I will fight you here and now. Draw your weapon, and come at me!"

"Ah... But the injuries -"

"I am proficient at the healing Sacred Arts," she said. "More than enough to heal any injuries either of us will receive in the course of our battle."

I exhaled slowly. Then drew my dagger. "Very well. Let's fight!"

I rushed towards her, but Alice didn't react. The hill wasn't steep but it made her loom over me, sword in hand. I gritted my teeth and brought my dagger down and back. It started glowing and I shouted, drawing forward with the blade. A trail of light traced the path as it pulled me forward way faster than I'd been running. Alice's eyes widened, but she didn't hesitate to bring her sword down in a glowing slash of her own.

Our blades clashed centimeters from my face, and I nearly dropped to one knee. Her blade was heavy! The glowing blades sparked as we stared at each other. I could feel that I was about to lose the clash and just as my blade stopped glowing I dropped to one knee. My dagger slid down Alice's sword as I tucked into a roll to dodge her follow-through. My lips spread in a frown as I bared my teeth, and then surged to my feet to slash at Alice again with the dagger. This time it didn't glow.

Alice's eyes widened but she brought her sword up again to block my slash. I kept up with the attack, pressing my tiny advantage as much as I was able. I gritted my teeth as Alice deflected all of them, and brought my foot up -

It glowed and shot up in a quick kick towards Alice's chin. Her head snapped back as it connected with the point, and I grinned as I completed the flip. She was still rocking backwards from the hit and I stabbed forward with my dagger, slashing towards her shoulder -

*clang*

Her sword blocked my dagger but just barely, and I left a long scratch just across her collarbone. "Hm," Alice hummed as she touched the wound with her free hand. "Well done. But now I'll be on the attack!"

I barely had time to gasp before her blade started slashing towards me. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration and that was the only thing that barely let me dodge the attacks. Her eyes flicked to the left or right, and by reading that I could shift out of the way just enough to parry her blows with my dagger. Left...! Right...! Duck! And then jump back! The most dangerous ones...

"Haah!" Alice shouted as she flourished her blade. The golden blade gleamed with an emerald light as I landed lightly on the ground, and she slashed. The sword seemed to slide forward as it cut towards my chest, and I just barely managed to flip backwards. It still scratched the metal of my breastplate, leaving a deep mark in the armor.

"Gah..." The damage, combined with my heavy armor, made me topple over. I raised my dagger -

And Alice batted it away with the flat of her blade like it was effortless, before leveling her blade at my throat. I froze. "This is my victory," she said.

Khhhh... Don't look down on me!

"Your weapon was no match for my own. This Fragrant Olive Sword is a Divine Object, and no mere metal blade could hope to defeat it." So she knew I wouldn't win, but still fought me anyway?! Fuck! She was just toying with me the whole time, wasn't she! I bet this was all so I would embarrass myself in front of her. Some teacher she was!

"Looks like you two are having some fun."

The rough gravelly voice came from the edge of the green grass, and I brushed myself off deliberately before I turned to face it. "Commander!" Alice called out. "I didn't know you'd be coming by!"

Her body language had somehow transformed entirely from the stoic girl that had greeted me outside my room. Now, she was practically bouncing up and down in place, eager to please. And the cause? An old man, grizzled with scars on his face. The only reason I didn't dismiss him immediately was the sword fastened on his waist. That, and the strange shiver that ran down my spine when I met his eyes.

The man approached us. "So you're the newest Integrity Knight, huh?" He looked me up and down, and I shifted self-consciously. "I'm the commander of the Integrity Knights. Bercouli Synthesis One."

Commander, huh? It explained why Alice was so excited to see him. I bet she was happy he saw her beat the crap out of me. But it also explained the intense look in his eyes. "Rythin Synthesis Thirty-One," I replied.

"From what I saw, you can handle yourself in a fight," Bercouli said. "Not many of us can land a scratch on the little lady over here, even if she wasn't wearing armor."

"Thank you...?"

He grinned. "Almost makes me want to take a shot at you myself."

Alice inhaled sharply, but I nodded. "If that's a request from my commander, I must oblige," I said.

Bercouli laughed. "That's the spirit, boy! And who knows? If you beat me, then there'll be a new commander of the Integrity Knights." So that's how it worked? The strongest ruled?

It made perfect sense to me.

"Commander, will you really duel him?"

"Why not?" Bercouli asked. Alice frowned, but nodded once and stepped back. "I promise I won't cut you too badly," he said to me. "We still need Alice there to patch you up."

"The courtesy is appreciated," I said. I wasn't going to hold back at all!

As soon as he drew his sword, I launched myself forward. My dagger glowed with a blue light and I spun, slashing towards Bercouli's open side. His smile didn't so much as twitch when his sword flashed out and blocked my attack. "Good technique," he praised me, even while his blade didn't budge so much as an inch, even without the glow. "Quick on the draw, too. I can see why you were called."

I clicked my tongue. Patronizing bastard! My dagger slid upwards as I punched, my fist glowing red, and slammed my knuckles into his blade. His eyes widened as I flowed smoothly into my next technique and slashed up with my dagger, driving the tip towards his throat -

"Ghhk!" The sound was forced out of me when the scabbard to his sword slammed into my stomach. I skidded backwards and then crumpled when my knees gave out under me. It took a few seconds for my body to remember how to breathe, but eventually I managed to gasp for air.

"Not bad, not bad, kid," Bercouli nodded. His sword slid back into the scabbard with the quiet rasp of steel. "But you've still got plenty to learn."

When he turned his back on me, I snarled. Lecture me, would he? He'll be the first to find out that I would never put up with that if I could help it! I kicked off the ground and rushed straight towards him, dagger stabbing towards his back. I knew that if I plunged it just above the waist, I'd pierce his lung and -

"Uncle!"

"You little punk." I had just enough time to realize that Bercouli's sword was slashing towards me before hot pain bloomed across my cheek. The tip of his sword had sliced open my cheek, but the force of the swing's pressure blew me backwards. Bercouli stared at me hard, then shrugged. "Guess that was better than you swinging that empty blade of yours at me like earlier. But come at me with honor next time."

"Ghhh... yes sir," I ground out. Blood trickled from my cheek, but I hardly noticed. Even while Alice walked over to my side and started quietly chanting a Sacred Art, I watched Bercouli walk away.

When Alice pulled her hand away, I looked at her. "That was... foolish," she said. There wasn't any sort of good humor or tenderness in her voice. "You are lucky we are forbidden from severely injuring each other."

Whatever. It wasn't like she cared at all, right? I bet she was smiling when Bercouli cut me. "Thank you for healing me."

"Mm. Do you recall the directions to your quarters, and to the pantry?" Alice walked past me. "Forgive me for not guiding you further. I would spend some time in the sun's last moments."

I stared at her from the corner of my eyes as she climbed the hill. She didn't look back, even as she drew her sword out and transformed it back into a tree. I was on my own, huh? Well, that was fine. I liked it better that way anyway.


June 19th, 379 HE

Alice wasn't the warmest teacher but she was conscientious. Each morning she would be waiting for me to finish eating, stone-faced; she would give me a list of Sacred Arts to memorize, as well as their use. Cryogenic element, luminous element, their multiple uses and combinations... They were all drilled into me without hesitation or mercy. My pronunciation was deemed 'passable' and my memorization capabilities 'sufficient' by Alice, each time I proved to her I could spit back the Sacred Arts she'd decided I must learn that day. After that, she'd leave and I'd find myself with nothing to do but practice.

I didn't know the source of my techniques, but I was sure they were the reason the Pontifex had called me from heaven. The punches and kicks I could pull off when not wearing my armor - with the heavy metal weighing my body down, I was restricted to punches and the occasional Secret Technique that made my limbs glow. These Secret Techniques were mine and mine alone, and I made sure to never demonstrate them when other Integrity Knights were nearby.

Those Integrity Knights... I'd met several, in my time living in the Central Cathedral. In addition to Alice and Bercouli, there was Fanatio and his coterie of knights. The one battle I'd had with Fanatio, as a practice spar, had gone well enough; I'd managed to slip through his consecutive Secret Arts without hesitation, despite never seeing them before, and a dagger held to his neck had been the end of the battle.

Naturally, after all! Because I had to be the strongest, so that I'd be the most useful to Administrator.

And then one day, my hard work was answered.

"There is a beast, interfering with the lives of my subjects," the Pontifex told me. "Go to the west and slaughter it. Do so for me, my loyal Knight. Prove your worth."

"Of course, my lady," I said, pressing a fist to my chest.

She graced me with a smile. I knew that I would not fail her.

On my name as Integrity Knight Rythin, Synthesis Thirty-One!


Hoooo boy. Here we go.

So, this is going to be the direction I'm taking this story. Integrity Knight Rythin! I'm a little worried on how people will view things (since it kinda cuts Rythin out of the story in other ways) but hopefully the reception is mostly positive. I'm aware that a lot of people might not like this, or think that I should have had Rythin go to Norlangarth in order to meet (and probably grievously injure) some of the characters there, but... tough, I guess? I'm writing the story I want to write.

Moving on from that... Administrator is a bitch, we all know, moving on. Rythin does not give a shit that she's naked, so I'm not going into detail. Find fanart somewhere else, you pervs. That being said, Nick is definitely the type of person to question himself and so I had no problem letting her get him under her spell; until she made one too many comments.

Really, the biggest perk of Rythin Synthesis 31? I get to write original Nightblade-era Rythin, where he's just kind of an asshole. Some people were asking for this, so here you go! Hope you all enjoy.

Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or reviewed.