Chapter 15: Awoken Dreamer
...
...
...I opened my eyes.
It took a second for them to focus, and there was a sense of disorientation that made my head spin. Like I'd closed my eyes for an instant and then appeared somewhere else entirely. The last time I'd felt like that had been when I got my wisdom teeth pulled out and they'd given me some anesthesia. I had just woken up, eyes bleary and unable to focus, and I had no idea where I was or who was with me.
Unlike then, though, my head wasn't spinning for too long as my eyes focused. I was lying on my back, staring up at some sort of canvas ceiling. The insides were pretty ornate, with colorful patterns running up the walls. Despite the colorful... rugs? They were rugs, or something like that... Despite the colorful fabric, the rest of the insides seemed pretty bare. A single glowing lamp hung in the center of the room, and that was about it. The floor was empty, and the only other splash of color was off by the wall where some clothes hung.
The colorful clothes were tunics and skirts, so this was a girl's room. But, why was I here, then?
I blinked slowly and as gears started turning in my head, a few more things came into focus. Close to literally, too - I could see the wall clearly enough to pick out the nice stitching on the tunic hems. That meant that this definitely couldn't be the real world.
The last thing I remembered was... A shadow of that searing light ran through my body and I felt my legs spasm in an automatic response. I must have been knocked out by it... but there was something deeper. It broke something inside me, and I'd been half-asleep for... a long time.
Definitely too long. It felt like I'd been watching the world through a dream, like I was there but also watching from the audience at the same time as events unfolded. And...
...Some of those events were kinda embarrassing, now that I'm thinking about it. Ugh, Argo was going to kill me if she finds out what Ritsu had to do for me!
So, then, I was in one of the supply tents in the Dark Territory. And Argo had come to visit me, and she'd been crying because of something I did.
Never again. I'm never going to let that happen, ever again. She's going to be the happiest woman alive as long as I have breath left in me.
As I twitched different parts of my body to test them, I realized that my hands were occupied a little bit. My left hand was clasped around a cold dagger hilt that was very familiar to me. Ritsu had carefully brought the Starry Night Dagger with me, so I had to thank her for that. The other hand, though, was warm. Warm and smooth, gentle hands were clasped around mine.
I turned my head to the side to see a goddess sitting by my bedside. And it's not just a corny saying this time, because Argo's avatar matched the few drawings of the goddess Lunaria that I'd seen floating around the Central Cathedral. She wasn't one of the big three goddesses of creation, but she was still a goddess of the moon and had been honored in a few murals. I recognized the floating ribbon, thing that twisted over her upper arms and around her head, even though the flowing dress had been replaced by a cute-looking nightshirt and shorts.
Though, I don't remember Lunaria being depicted with whiskers painted on her face, though. Oh well. She's cuter this way, in my opinion.
"...Nnn..."
I didn't really mean to make the noise I did. I guess it was instinct, at the sight of my beautiful girlfriend sitting by my side with my hand between hers. Her head was tipped to the side a little, and I realized she must have fallen asleep next to me.
"...Hey..."
Argo's eyes fluttered open and she straightened up. "Crap, must 'a dozed off..."
"You'll hurt your neck if you sleep like that."
My voice was rough from disuse, but Argo's attention whipped to me so fast that it was like an edit in video. Our eyes met, and she stared at me, her mouth open. "...Y... You're... Ricchan! Ricchan get in here!"
The tent flap to the outside opened up and Ritsu darted inside. "What? What's wrong, Argo?! Is Rythin hurt -"
She stopped talking the instant she saw my eyes open. I smiled at her and used my free hand to push myself up to a seated position. "Hey... Ritsu. I'm back."
I didn't have the chance to say anything else because two bodies hit me in the stomach like missiles. I grunted and toppled backwards, since naturally I didn't expect that. So, we all ended up on the bed, with two girls hugging me so tightly I wondered if I'd need to cast a Sacred Art to heal my ribs.
"You'd better thank Ricchan fer real," Argo mumbled. "She looked after ya all this time, so ya better mean it."
"I know, I know." I patted my girlfriend's back gently and rubbed it a little when she hummed appreciatively. "Ritsu? Thank you. Thank you so much for taking care of me while I was asleep. If there's anything I can ever do to start repaying you, just tell me."
Ritsu looked up at me, which was dangerously cute... "I'm so glad... When you wouldn't wake up, I was so worried, and now you're finally back..."
I tried to smile. "I'll try to stick around longer, this time."
Her gaze went from 'cute' to 'unimpressed'. Argo, on my other side, covered her mouth and it sounded like she was trying not to laugh. Without a word, Ritsu reached over and picked up the hand that wasn't taking care of Argo, and deliberately placed it on her head.
Message received, message received. I patted her head a few times before I started rubbing her back, and the purple-haired girl made little happy sounds.
"...I guess I can forgive you again," she said. "But this is your last chance. The next time you disappear, or go into a six-month coma, I'll be very mad at you."
"Well, no promises -"
Both girls practically growled and glared at me. I gulped.
"I promise, I won't do that ever again."
When their hackles lowered, I felt a small relief flash through me. I guess even after sleeping for six months, there were certain parts of me that still knew the proper responses to that kind of look from Argo. But, what had she been teaching Ritsu?
Speaking of Argo and Ritsu, now that the immediate rush of 'oh gods I'm awake and not in a coma, barely responding to the outside world' had passed, I realized that we were in a little bit of a compromising situation. Both of the girls were wearing soft, light clothing - perfect for sleeping in the Dark Territory, which seemed to be a little bit warmer than the average day in Japan or in the Human Empire - and while I may be asexual, that only meant I wasn't interested in the act itself. I was still a perfectly healthy young man with everything that implied, and two girls I knew and trusted very much were clinging to me very tightly.
I cleared my throat and tilted my head to the side to look into Argo's eyes for a bit. "This is fun, and I would love to hug you forever, Argo, but we probably should get to bed soon-ish."
"Mmyeah, yer prob'ly right 'bout that."
"...That was kind of a leading statement into 'Where am I sleeping'?"
Ritsu sat up and stretched. "Hmmm... Well, obviously you're staying here with me," she said.
Wait, obviously? How is that obvious? That's like, the opposite of obvious. I'm a guy, Ritsu! I know that you know that!
I looked at Argo - not exactly sure what for, though. Maybe permission, or denial, or something. Instead, she just shrugged. "I'm not leavin' yer side. Don't know what yer lookin' at me fer, Ry."
"I should have figured," I sighed. "In that case, where in here am I sleeping? There's only one bed."
Ritsu hesitated, and glanced at Argo. My girlfriend, lovely woman that she is, just snickered. "Nya hah hah! Still not seein' a problem, Ry."
"Of course you're not. So, we're... what, sharing the bed?"
Ritsu smiled at me. "I'm used to it, now," she said. Ouch, stab me right in the feelings and then twist, huh? "And I wouldn't mind at all sharing the bed with three people. It's a little too big for me alone."
"Yay! Sharin' a bed with Ry an' Ricchan~!" Argo did a little wriggle in place that moved her body in interesting ways against mine. Seriously, I wasn't sure how she was doing that while more or less prone. Did her cat whiskers come with a cat spine? "An' no backtalk from you, Ry. She's earned this reward."
I sighed. "Sure, sure. I know when I'm beat. Let's just... go to bed...?"
And that's how I ended up sandwiched between Ritsu and Argo, trying to fall asleep. It wasn't easy, since both girls had decided they wanted to be pressed up against my side. Argo on the right, so that her curls brushed against my neck, and Ritsu on the left with her hair left out of their usual twintails to fall down her back in a silky waterfall. While this position wasn't new for me and Argo, the presence of Ritsu was... obviously, pretty new.
Well, it made her happy, and I owed her so much. Cuddling with her tonight was the very, absolute least I could do for her. Argo was super understanding for not getting mad, something I'm glad about. It kinda was nice, being surrounded by people who cared about me...
Poke poke poke
I grumbled under my breath. Who is poking me, how do I stop them...?
Poke poke poke
The poking stayed just as insistent as it was when it woke me up. My poor cheek was going to be permanently dented by this... rogue cheek poker. My cheeks aren't supposed to go moosh, I'm supposed to moosh cheeks! Like Silica, and Argo, and Asuna. But if I was crossdressing, then they could moosh my cheeks... but I wasn't crossdressing. I think.
I opened my eyes grudgingly and glared at the cheek poker. It took me a second to actually register who I was seeing, but once I did my irritation vanished. "Hey," I said gently to Argo.
"Hey," she said.
"...Were you just, watching me sleep?"
Argo shrugged and sat up with a luxurious stretch that started from her palms, raised over her head, and ended down at her toes. "Maybe~," she said with a grin. "But ya looked so cute, how could I not?"
There was a slight quiver to her voice and I realized what was going on. She just wanted to make sure I was going to wake up again. I couldn't possibly blame her given the situation, and if the roles were reversed I probably wouldn't have even gone to sleep last night.
Speaking of last night... My cheeks felt warm as I remembered the compromising situation I'd fallen asleep in. My other side was free of a warm body, though, and Argo and I were sitting in the tent by ourselves. Not that it was a bad thing at all, but after how long Ritsu had spent by my side taking care of me, I'm surprised that she'd left me alone for even a minute.
"Ricchan went to go get breakfast," Argo said.
I shook my head. "Are you psychic or something?"
"Nyeheheh. Nah, but ya were lookin' around so I figured you were missin' her."
"Well, maybe a little. We did spend... a while together. But..."
I wasn't sure exactly what that 'but' was supposed to be about. It felt like I needed to say something, but I couldn't quite narrow down why. I mean, given some of the things that Ritsu did while I was asleep I could understand if Argo was upset with me, but -
"Mmph."
The grunt slipped out of me without meaning it when Argo pounced and tackled me back to the bed. I looked up at my girlfriend's face while she had her hands on either side of my head and perched on my waist. I searched her eyes for some sort of anger or disappointment in me, but like before there was nothing but love.
"I really was an idiot, wasn't I?"
"Yeah, ya were. But yer back now, an' that's what matters," Argo told me. She leaned down and kissed my forehead. "An' don't worry about Ricchan takin' care 'a ya. Us gals had a lil' chat this mornin' while you were sleepin' an' talked things out."
I smiled at her. "That's good. After the three of us slept together last night -" Argo colored red impressively, and I glanced to the side. "Wait. Stop. Um, let me try that one again...?"
"Nope. Ya said it already," Argo said. "Gonna tell A-chan an' Kii-boy we slept wit' Ricchan last night~."
"Argo! You know that's not what I meant!" My lovely girlfriend just laughed at me and I sighed. My own cheeks were hot again. "Seriously though, catling. I want to make sure that... that you're not worried about anything that happened between us."
Argo looked at me and let out a slow sigh to stifle her giggles. Then, she squirmed around a bit until she was lying half on top of me, our legs tangled. I could hear her heartbeat, a slow *th-thump* beating against my chest. "That was part 'a our convo," she said. "Ricchan was worried she'd stepped over a couple boundaries. Y'know, how she'd feed ya an' sleep in the same bed an' make sure ta wash -"
"Stop, stop," I grumbled. "You don't have to list everything out, I'm embarrassed enough..."
"Nya hah hah! Big baby. But I'll tell ya th' same thing I told her. Carin' fer someone is important, an' instead 'a bein' angry, I'm just so, so happy someone was there ta take care 'a ya. If you were on your own like that... I could have lost ya forever, Ry. An' sharin' ya a lil' bit with Ricchan, heh. Small price ta pay? It's not even a price at all."
...This sounds suspiciously like something Argo and I will have to talk about later. We're both good when it comes to talking about relationship things, but maybe it would be better to save that sort of thing for when we weren't in the middle of a war for the survival of the Underworld.
So, instead, I just happily wrapped my arms around my cute girlfriend and pulled her a little closer. Argo hummed appreciatively and snuggled up closer. The two of us stayed in bed for a minute or so before I lifted my head a little bit. "You can come in, Ritsu, we're decent."
The purple-haired girl walked into the tent with a tray in her hands, already dressed and her usual twin-tails tied back up. "Not for lack of tryin'," Argo added, and I was gifted with the semi-rare sight of Ritsu's skin turning red as she blushed.
"Please don't harass my classmate, Argo."
"Aww, but she's cute when she's blushin'."
I shook my head. "Sorry about her, Ritsu..."
"N-No, I don't mind, it's okay. I, ah, actually kind of like hearing her say that." Ritsu sat the tray of food she had been carrying on a small table, and Argo and I sat up. There were three bowls of stew that smelled delicious, and my stomach chose that moment to growl. "I made sure to get a lot, so eat up!"
It was a little difficult to eat with an Argo limpet hanging off of me, but I was able to get upright. Once I nudged her a little bit, she reluctantly let go and we started on the meal.
"Come on, open up..."
I blinked and looked at Ritsu as she held a spoonful of stew up to my mouth. Argo, who had been munching on a piece of bread, leaned over to stare at the purple-haired girl. Ritsu blinked at us, confused, and then snapped her hand back so fast the spoonful of stew fell back into her bowl and splashed a little bit on her face. "O-Oh, I'm sorry! It was just habit, and I did it without thinking..."
"It's okay, Ritsu," I said. "I was jus surprised, that's all."
Argo swallowed her bite and nodded. "Yeah. But how come yer feedin' Ry, an' not me too?"
"Stop bugging her, you hedonist," I said with a smile as I bopped Argo lightly on the head.
"Ouchies. Ricchan, Ry's being mean to me..."
Ritsu giggled happily when I stared at Argo and she just grinned up at me. "I'm so glad you're okay, Rythin."
"Yeah, me too."
Our peaceful little moment was broken when a voice called out from the tent's entrance. "Morning, Ritsu!" Kirito called. "Has Rythin had his breakfast?"
I glanced at Ritsu. "Is it okay if he comes in?"
She nodded. "Mm hmm." I grinned, then raised my voice.
"You could always ask me directly, Kirito. I don't bite."
There was a brief moment of silence where I could swear nothing moved. And then, the tent flap opened and the dim light of the Dark Territory's morning sun shone in. I winced and raised my hand up to my eyes before I realized... oh yeah. It's not actually that bright. When I lowered my hand again, Kirito was standing in the entrance, his eyes wide.
He didn't move for a few seconds, until I finally licked my suddenly dry lips and croaked out, "Of course you'd be wearing black..."
I knew what he was wearing. In my half-awake daze earlier, he had always stopped by Ritsu's house once a day to say hello, rain or shine. But... it was as good a way to get him reacting again.
Kirito coughed out a surprised laugh, and then shook his head as he chuckled. "Rythin... I can't believe it. You're, you're awake! This is amazing!"
He entered the tent after Ritsu nodded and stood in front of me. I pushed myself to my feet and wobbled a little bit on unsteady legs - but I didn't have a chance to even lose my balance because Kirito had wrapped his arms around me in a tight squeeze. I blinked in surprise, but smiled and returned the hug as Kirito pressed his face against my shoulder.
"I was so worried," he said. "You just wouldn't wake up, and it's my fault. If I'd been just a little bit faster, we could have logged out first -"
"No. No no no, none of that," I said. "You're not allowed to insult yourself. You did the absolute best you could, idiot."
Kirito chuckled weakly. Was... my shoulder getting wet? Shit. Shit he's crying now and I don't know how to fix this. "It kinda hurts your case when you call me an idiot, you know."
"Shut up, I'm the only one allowed to insult you. Comes with the territory."
For a few seconds we just stood there, hugging each other. I really missed my brother all this time, didn't I... "I'm really so glad you're alright. I missed you so much..."
I smiled and patted his back. "Don't worry, I already promised Argo I'm not leaving again. I'm not leaving you alone again. We're brothers, right?"
"Yeah. We are."
"Alright, break it up, break it up!" Argo clapped her hands sharply, and the two of us broke apart. "No stealin' my boyfriend, Kii-boy! Unless A-chan's interested in sharin'."
Kirito blushed, though I'm not sure if it was the joke or the suggestion of polyamory that made him turn red. "A-Argo," he protested. "Shouldn't you be doing goddess things?"
"Nya hah hah! I am~! I'm Ry's goddess, right~?"
"Yeah, yeah, you are and I'll love you forever and ever," I sighed. "Now eat your breakfast instead of teasing Kirito, goddess."
Argo snickered and scooped up some more stew. Kirito must have realized we were in the middle of breakfast, because he said his goodbyes and left the tent. Eugeo followed him out, only stopping to smile at me and say, "I'm glad you're alright, Rythin." Kirito's new partner really is such a sweet boy, isn't he?
"Hm... Considerin' what A-chan an' Alice got up ta last night, bet Kii-boy's ears were burnin' when he woke up," my girlfriend mentioned.
"Hm?" I glanced at her, spoon in my mouth.
"Oh, they had a Kirito Gal talk. Ya know, those two, Ronie, Liena..."
"Kirito... Gal?" Ritsu repeated.
I sighed. "Please don't get her started-"
"Ah bup bup," Argo said. "She asked. Y'see, Ritsu, a Kirito Gal has ta meet a bunch 'a criteria. They've gotta... hang out with Kii-boy a lot, but never get anywhere with him, an' he's gotta be pretty oblivious even if they're super obvious about it."
I sighed and focused on finishing my breakfast as my girlfriend ticked off the criteria one by one on her fingers. Then, Ritsu nodded. "I understand! That makes sense," she said. "So that's why you said..."
I must have missed something, but Argo nodded. "Yup, you got it," she said brightly. "But it's a lil' different in that case."
"What case?" I asked.
"Well-"
Before Argo could finish, the tent flap opened again and I saw another goddess standing there. My hazy memories recognized the longer hair, but nothing could erase Asuna's face from my memories. Unlike Kirito, my sister didn't stop at the entrance. Instead, she crossed the distance like the shooting star she'd been named after in SAO and nearly knocked me over again.
I chuckled even as I returned the hug. "What is it with people and tackling me today?" I asked. "You, Kirito, Argo and Ritsu..."
"We're worried that if we don't, you'll leave again," Asuna said, and I winced.
...I wonder if it's too late to rethink my plans to study in America? After hearing all of this, I really don't want to leave my family again. I can always take a year off. And if Kikuoka complains, I'll remind him who's saving this stupid project of his.
I patted my sister's back and pulled away to get a good look at her. She was using Stacia's avatar, but Asuna hadn't changed much at all. The only major difference that I saw was that her hair was longer than it usually was; it fell to her feet instead of ending at her lower back. She'd gotten dressed, though, and was wearing Stacia's very lovely dress.
"So what were you up to, last night?" I asked. "Argo mentioned something about a... Kirito Girl conversation?"
Asuna glanced at Argo, then sighed. "It's not like that. I was just sharing stories with them. About the time they all spent with my Kirito, and about the time I spent with him."
I nodded seriously. "I see. Getting the new harem members up to speed-"
Asuna glared at me, and a shiver ran down my spine. "Rythin, consider the time and place," she said sweetly, despite death surrounding her.
"I'll be good, no need to yell at me in that tone of expression," I chuckled. Beside me, Ritsu stared with wide eyes at the bloodlust Asuna was giving off.
A long, low horn blast echoed through the air, and all at once the happy and relaxing air of the camp disappeared. "Time to get ready," I said. Asuna nodded and left the tent with Argo following behind her. As for me...
...Huh.
"Ritsu, do you know where my -"
Ritsu was already opening up a trunk by the foot of her bed. "Alice showed me how to take care of your Integrity Knight armor," she said. "It's ready for you."
I smiled. "You're the best, Ritsu." She was staring into the chest so I couldn't see her face, just the way her ears turned red, but I could tell she smiled.
"While we're getting dressed, let me fill you in on the situation..."
...
Changing into my armor was a little awkward, but not because of any memories associated with it or anything. It was just awkward because I'd started getting changed immediately and only remembered Ritsu was in the tent with me when I'd taken off my top.
It didn't help that she assured me it was fine, because 'I've seen everyone in E Class get changed for gym before!' That chirpy delivery and cute smile doesn't change the fact that you were peeping on us, Ritsu!
My muscles should have been weak after spending six months not using them, but for some reason everything was perfectly fine. The red armor gleamed in the dim light as I walked through the camp, with Ritsu by my side. A quick question to one of the soldiers milling around got me the direction I needed to head, and Ritsu and I broke into a quick sprint through the woods.
The two of us were the last ones to arrive, and I could see a line of Integrity Knights staring into the distance with some horses behind them. There were two I didn't recognize from my time at the Central Cathedral; one was a small kid with green hair, and the other was an slender woman with grey hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her eyes locked onto me immediately and didn't waver, and there was an interesting feeling of bloodlust from her - but I just smiled at her and waved hello. For some reason, this made her blink in surprise, though she slowly (and a little awkwardly) raised her hand to return the greeting. Other than the new arrivals, I saw Eugeo, Alice, and Bercouli. Kirito stood between Alice and Asuna, and Argo was next to Asuna.
When I approached, the sound of my armored boots hitting the ground at a run must have attracted their attention. Kirito and Asuna glanced over their shoulders at me and smiled. Once I got closer, Alice looked back, and her eyes widened at the sight of me. "Wha-"
"I'll be damned," Bercouli said. He had used two Sacred Arts to create telescope lenses in each hand, and was peering through it. "It looks like Emperor Vecta's got some bold strategies in mind. He's taking a risk, and it's gonna cost him big."
Alice was staring at me, but I had to not engage with that at the moment. Instead, I pulled my hands up and formed the same telescope. I adjusted my hands for a little bit until the interesting strategy came into focus.
The chasm in the distance that Asuna had created was incredibly wide, and so long that the enemy couldn't have gone around it. Instead... ropes stretched out across the gap. A quick count got me at least nine, though I may have missed it. While we were sleeping, they were trying to cross - I could already see some dark figures climbing across the ropes.
...I had to focus on what was happening. But I couldn't help but remember Alice declaring herself to be my big sister! Stop thinking about it brain, you'll make me look weird for blushing for no reason.
...Stop thinking about it! No! Of course I like the idea but stop! I get it!
"Ah... They're trying to climb across before we can stop them," I said. "But they must have just started, since there aren't that many on the rope."
Bercouli folded his arms. "This is war, folks. I wanna remind you, this ain't the time for mercy. The enemy's making their way across that canyon Asuna made. This is our chance to stop them."
I closed my eyes. This chance... There was only one thing it could be, right? And while it was regretful, avoiding conflict was the best way to save the soldiers on our side.
"Chance?" Alice repeated.
"Yeah," Bercouli said.
His explanation was short and to the point, and it was what I expected to hear. Renly, the green-haired kid that looked to be about the same age as Ronie and Tiese, was a little pale after hearing what his role would be, but there wasn't any time for arguing. As the Integrity Knights started to mount up on the horses, I reached out and caught Alice's shoulder.
"Rythin," she said, and smiled at me. "I'm glad to see that you're awake. I just wish it were better timing."
I took a deep breath, and then smiled. "Yeah, me too. Stay safe out there, Big Sis."
That little comment rewarded me with a wide smile from the blonde knight. "You too. And... thank you, for fighting with us."
"Heh. How could I leave my big sister to fight the enemy alone?" Truth be told, it didn't even cross my mind to not fight. Even if Argo, and Kirito and Asuna hadn't been here, I would have been right here alongside Alice and Bercouli. Duty as an Integrity Knight maybe, but... I'd lived with them for two years. Even if I had been someone else for all intents and purposes, those memories were a part of me.
Of course... "Bercouli," I called out.
My commanding officer trotted his horse over to me. "What's up, brat? Got something interesting for me?" I nodded, and explained to him my thoughts. When I was done, he rubbed his chin. "Sounds good. Go ahead and do that, but be quick. We'll leave without you if we have to."
"Understood, sir," I said. Bercouli nodded and wheeled his horse around. I looked around and found who I was looking for. "Ritsu," I called out. The girl turned to me and tilted her head. "I have to ask you to do something. You said Red was nearby, right?"
"Mm hmm. She should be with the other dragons," Ritsu said. "Why?"
"We have to go see her. I need you to fly back to Cardinal and talk to Kikuoka. A spy in RATH is something we can't let slide. And with the battle coming up..."
Ritsu smiled. "Understood. You don't want to leave Argo and the others alone, right?"
"Right," I said. "Sorry for being selfish about it, but I can't go. So that's why I'm asking you."
Ritsu hesitated, and then sighed. "Alright. But you owe me one, got it?"
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Ritsu. You're the best."
The three of us, since naturally Argo came with us, rode horses through the edge of camp to the dragon... resting area? Nest? Stable? I don't know. Where the dragons were. Amayori and Takeguri was there, along with Bercouli's dragon Hoshigami. Two dragons I didn't recognize were also resting - they must belong to Renly and Sheyta. And finally, the largest one there and the only dragon with a red tint to her scales...
"Hey, Red," I said gently. My dragon turned her head towards me, and let out a quiet croon. "Yeah, I'm up," I said. "It's good to see you too."
I scratched under her chin with my gauntlet, in that one place she really liked. Her eyes closed in pleasure for a second, until I pulled my hand away. "Kyuuuu," she rumbled.
Ritsu giggled, and I smiled. "Don't worry, you'll get more pats later," I told Red. "For now, I need your help. Will you let Ritsu ride you again?"
"Kyururu."
"Thanks for letting me ride on your back while your master was asleep," Ritsu said. "We'll need to fly fast, Red."
Red. It was a simple name that I'd given the dragon, partially out of spite for not being given a hatchling to raise like Alice. It was short and demeaning, and the beautiful creature in front of me deserved better.
"...Would you like a new name?"
The question surprised even me, but the red dragon rumbled and crooned something that I took to mean a 'yes'. Hmm... What would fit this dragon? Something...
"Angelus," I said. "For bravery and beauty. It suits you." The meaning of names was something I didn't particularly understand, but I'd heard about the concept behind it from Linel and Fizel.
The newly named Angelus blinked once slowly, before she cried out, "Kyuuri!" and butted me with her head.
"Nya hah hah! I think that means she likes it," Argo snickered as I had to take a step backwards to stop from getting knocked over.
"I'm glad," I said. "So..."
Ritsu turned to me - and then threw her arms around me in a tight hug. Ghk! A-Argo I promise this isn't anything like that, please don't be mad...! But my girlfriend didn't say anything, she just watched me get hugged with a happy smile. "I'm off," Ritsu breathed into my ear. Her lips brushed against my cheek as she pulled away, and I shivered.
She hopped up on Red - Angelus's back and slid into the saddle comfortably. I vaguely remembered flying on Angelus while I was in the coma, with Ritsu's body pressed against my back and her arms holding the reins around my waist. All at once, my cheeks got hot and I prayed that whatever had put Argo in a good mood hadn't ended yet. "Stay safe, Ricchan!" Argo called out, and waved goodbye as Angelus flapped her wings and took off into the air.
I stared at my girlfriend silently. 'Ricchan'? I'd been too out of it to realize last night, but she only called people by pet names if she was... 'interested' to them. As in, the only ones that I knew about were myself, Kirito, and Asuna - and we all shared a common thread beyond just being her friend. So, to call her 'Ricchan'...
"Whatcha waitin' for, Ry?" I shook myself. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it. Argo raised an eyebrow. "Well, c'mon. If ya keep daydreamin' like that, then we're gonna be left behind."
"Y-Yeah," I said. Both girls were acting weird today. Maybe it had something to do with what they talked about this morning? Maybe that was it.
Well, I can worry about that later, because it'll probably be fine. Instead, I swung myself up on the horse, and Argo and I raced after the rest of the Integrity Knights. I knew Argo could handle herself - she and I fought together in ALO all the time, and she was an SAO survivor in her own right. But, I still worried about her, obviously! I wasn't going to leave her side for an instant in the battle.
...
Dust kicked up behind us as we raced towards the gorge. As we got closer, the enemy forces got clearer; most of the armored knights and the dark-skinned men and women without much in the way of weaponry or armor were on the other side of the gulf, but there were small pockets of the enemy sitting on the other side. We'd arrived just in time - any later, and enough of the enemy would have crossed to put up an effective resistance.
With this many, though? Only pockets of seven or eight people? There was no way they could stop us.
"Look out! The Integrity Knights are coming! Protect the ropes until the rest of us get across!" The desperate shout came from the other side of the gap.
By the point they realized what was happening, it was too late. We were there and there was nothing they could really do.
In the history of war, cavalry would almost always defeat infantry, with the exception of specially-armed groups like pike men. In other words, the fighters with their bare knuckles and the dark knights in their heavy armor and longswords were getting slaughtered.
Bercouli slashed them with his sword and shattered armor with heavy blows. Sheyta, the slender dark-haired woman with an intriguing sense of bloodlust around her, cut them to pieces with slashes of her whip-like rapier.
In my case, I jumped from my horse and plunged directly into the fight. With all my memories back and the priority of my Starry Night Dagger, I carved my enemies apart with precise slashes that left them on the ground dead from severed arteries and throats. When I faced off against the armored knights, though, I switched to a more power-based style and used heavy blows of my armored fists to punch through their armor.
In the end, though, killing the enemies on this side wasn't the important part. What was important was keeping the others from coming across.
So, Renly, who had been hiding from notice behind Sheyta, pulled out his Divine Object; I'd never met him before, but his boomerang was key to the plan. Someone screamed for him to stop, but it was too late. Renly threw it, and the blade whizzed by the fighters. It didn't cut into any of the enemies, but that's okay. He hadn't missed.
It sliced through one of the taut ropes that the brawlers and knights were using to climb across. The thick rope was cut in two instantly, and everyone that had been climbing across fell off with loud screams. The depths of that gap...
I shivered at the thought even as I punched a dark knight in the face to set him up for Argo's claws to pierce through his chest. I wasn't afraid of heights. Falling, though. That was different.
Renly was protected by the other knights as they charged forward, leaving the survivors to the rest of us as they passed forward. I nodded at the knights and slashed a throat even as I kicked a woman off the edge of the cliff.
Integrity Knights were equal to an army of a thousand, after all.
When the regular soldiers arrived, Argo and I moved onto the next group. It had already been shattered by Alice and Asuna passing by, but there were still some survivors for us to mop up.
At this rate... At this rate, we were going to be able to win with no more casualties.
As I thought that, though, something in my spine tingled. My sixth sense, honed by survival in SAO for years and trained further in E Class... There was something wrong. Something we weren't seeing. But... what could it be?!
Virtual Space, RATH
"Damn," I muttered quietly under my breath, before rolling my eyes at the scolding look Yui gave me. Dad swore all the time, so why shouldn't I? "It went live," I elaborated.
Yui went pale - or, well, paler than normal. "The FLA rate between the Underworld and the real world have been synced?"
"Looks that way," I grumbled. "Let me pull up the website again..." It was just a matter of thought, since the two of us were artificial intelligences and the internet was our playground. Seriously, though, it's like some people didn't realize that and insisted on putting up firewalls to keep us out.
Yui and I stared at it as we took it in. "It's horrible," she whispered. "No matter how many times I look at it."
"I know," I murmured. "The blood splatter effects are just tacky!"
Yui smacked me in the shoulder with her fists. I took it without complaint, because I knew she was desperately worried about everyone.
The weird creepy man that stayed behind in RATH instead of diving into the Underworld and insisted on profaning our home with his horrible graphic design had successfully decreased the FLA rate to one times. He'd done it super slowly, too, in order to keep anyone from noticing.
At the same time - and this is what pissed me off - he released a URL onto a large-scale video game social media website in the United States. It led anyone who visited to a certain publicity website that the idiot had probably spent less than ten seconds on.
The website itself had a bold font, with the aforementioned blood splatter special effects, declaring the following:
An all new VRMMO is now open for a limited-time closed beta.
The world's first PvP-only game is born.
Fully human avatars. No levels, no ethical limits.
Tch. The sad thing is, I could see the connections pouring in already.
In the current environment, American VRMMOs had massive legal limitations. Running servers for VRMMOs that hadn't gone through a rating board and set up a Code of Ethics was incredibly difficult, even for independent games developed through The Seed.
Most of the extreme violence was strictly controlled or limited. My research for some of Mom's writing practice for MMO Today had dug up a few limitations - dismemberment in a game meant that the enemies had to be insects, since even animalistic enemies had received complaints from animal rights activists.
Essentially, the restrictions in America were even worse than the ones in Japan. Which meant that this mysterious beta announcement, claiming to show off dismemberment, human enemies, and no limits? Naturally, the website link and the client it downloaded spread like wildfire. In just four hours, there were over thirty thousand connections to the client that jerk had created.
I could easily rip down the clients as they were uploaded, but that was pointless - the rehosts were multiplying exponentially and the only thing trying to take them down would accomplish would make the Americans even more interested in whatever was being 'censored'.
All of the connections were linked to Dark Knight accounts in the Dark Territory, letting them connect to the Underworld to fight for that blond jerk face. And since the Underworld was built off of the VRMMO Seed package, anyone with an AmuSphere and an internet connection could log in and start killing.
"Daddy... Mommy..." Yui whispered.
"We're gonna save them," I told her.
Nobody could have seen this coming. ...I bet Dad would have thought of it, though...
Yui and I had found the data packet the moment the URL was released, but we couldn't intercept it. Once we figured out the end goal, we put our minds together and came up with a plan of attack.
The two of us pulled back from the phones and traveled back over our connection to the mainland. Then, we split up and called several phones at the same time.
Tuesday, July 7, 2026
3:02 AM, Shino's apartment
I was forced out of a nice dream where I was sniping some players in GGO when my phone started ringing. I was confused for a second, and nearly fell onto the floor. Who was calling at this hour...? The glowing red lights on my alarm clock read just after three in the morning.
I reached for my phone, which was vibrating on the bed, and grabbed it. When I looked at the caller ID, my eyes widened, and the shreds of tiredness disappeared. Because on the screen, it said the person calling me was Nick Weyr.
Nick...? Even if I was awake, my mind was still asleep enough to conjure up an image of him from my dreams that was made me pause - okay, fine, it was very nice - and I shook my head. How was he calling me?
I answered the call and put my phone to my ear while my other hand grabbed my glasses. Before I could say a word, I heard the tense voice of a young boy.
"Aunt Shino, it's Din!"
"Eh... D-Din? What are you d-"
The electronic voice continued in a hurry. "I'm sorry I'm calling so late. But it's an emergency, so I'll explain the details as we go. Please put the phone on speaker so we can talk while you get ready to leave your apartment and take a taxi."
"T-Taxi...?"
My phone chimed suddenly to notify me of a money transfer to my electronic wallet. "It's been called to your apartment. You should be receiving the taxi fare now," Din continued even while I got dressed. "It's a gift from Dad, by the way. A small account he had set aside for you in case of emergencies like this."
I didn't question it, so I picked the easiest things to wear, just a pair of pants and a simple white top. I switched the phone back off of speaker as I opened my door and headed outside.
"You should be receiving the destination and the shortest route there to your phone now." I locked my door and made sure that the electronic keypad read CLOSED before I hurried down the steps to the street.
"Wh-What's going on? Where am I going?"
"Please hurry, Aunt Shino. Dad and Mom are in danger!"
Just like that, I started running instead of walking. "Nick?" I gasped. "And probably Kirito, too...! I thought Asuna and Kana said everything would be fine!"
Whatever the reason, it sounded like Nick and the others needed me.
"I'll explain more on the way. Yui is calling Aunt Sugu right now. She'll meet you at your destination." He giggled. "I'm jealous of her, a little bit. She got to play with the Kirigaya's security system."
"Your priorities, Din," I sighed. The taxi was waiting outside the apartment complex, blinkers flashing, and I hopped in. "Um... Minato Ward in Tokyo, please."
...
He hadn't been wrong. Sugu and I arrived at practically the same time, and followed the directions we were given. The door we stopped at looked like it was locked - until it suddenly wasn't and the two of us walked in.
"I-I'm sorry, can we help you, ladies...? Do you have an appointment?"
The man that had stopped us was wearing a white lab coat and had a laminated ID card hanging from his neck. If he was still here this late at night - or maybe it was early in the morning, now that it was just after 4:30 - then he had to be important.
I looked at Sugu, and she nodded at me. "No, we don't," I replied.
"Call Seijiro Kikuoka at the RATH headquarters right now," Sugu replied. "Tell him to check the FLA rate of the Underworld immediately. It's urgent."
"Kuh - Who are you girls?"
"There's no time. Tell him... Sinon and Leafa are here," I said.
Din, you'd better get everything else ready...
Tuesday, July 7, 2026
4:40 AM, ALO, New Aincrad Floor 22
When Aunt Shino and Aunt Sugu walked into RATH's Roppongi branch, I breathed out a small sigh of exhaustion. One down, a million more things to do. Yui seemed a little calmer now that we'd taken care of the most pressing issue.
Still, I had no idea how we're going to pull off the rest of this - we couldn't do it on our own, that was for sure. But one way or another we had to pull it off. If we failed, Mom and Dad, and Uncle Kazuto and Aunt Asuna, would be in grave danger.
Yui and I exchanged glances and a quick nod before the two of us transferred our processing power back to ALO, where we were hovering in the air across from four players. Naturally, we were in Kazuto and Asuna's cabin on Floor 22 in New Aincrad.
The Cait Sith Silica was sitting on the couch, her familiar Pina curled up next to her. The pink-haired Lisbeth sat across from her. Klein sat in the chair at the head of the table, and standing just beside him was the huge giant Agil, his arms crossed.
They had all logged in the instant we called them, even though Silica and Lisbeth had definitely been woken up, and had sat through Yui's and my update. I'm glad that Mom and Dad have such great friends!
"I swear," Klein snorted. "They're in comas, and they still managed to get caught up in something crazy. I mean, a full-on AI called Alice who was born in a virtual world made by the SDF?" He rubbed his short red hair. "Haah, this is way beyond VR games and there's no going back..."
Silica stared at her lap. "Poor Alice. She's so special, and they just want her to fly fighter jets..."
"Not right away," I replied. "RATH will use the technology for demonstrations first, both domestically and internationally. According to their internal notes."
"But my guess is that the hijackers aboard the Ocean Turtle aren't interested in demonstrations. I think once they get her, they'll use her for what she was intended," Yui continued.
Klein leaned forward. "Know anything else about those creeps? Like, who they are, or where they're from?"
Yui turned to him. "I can't confirm it, but I think... they're U.S. military or intelligence." Her wings drooped, and I rubbed her back comfortingly.
"They're behind it? Oh my god..." Liz exclaimed. She slumped back the sofa.
Yui nodded. "Again, I can't confirm they're involved with this. But if they are, and Alice does fall into their hands," she said, "they'll use her for drone warfare. I know Daddy and Mommy wouldn't want that to happen to her. Because... Because..."
I swallowed when I looked at Yui. Her hands were balled into fists, and she was trembling. This... Why did it make my eyes burn when I watched tears roll down her face?
She's... she's crying. Is my emotional output logic broken?
I'm not going to cry. I'm not.
"Because Alice... Alice is proof! Her existence proves that all VR worlds, starting with SAO, are real! That those who people who lived in them had real lives. She's the result of massive amounts of the time, money, and imagination of thousands of humans! I'm convinced beyond a doubt, she's why the Seed package was created. Its true purpose... to give birth to someone like her."
Small tears trickled down her cheeks while the others listened silently. I reached out, and Yui took my hand in her own, gripping it tightly. "Throughout all the connected worlds that sprang up from the Seed," she said, "so many people have laughed, cried, suffered, and loved. It was the radiance of all those souls, shimmering with life, that made it possible for a new form of humanity to be born in the Underworld. Daddy and Mommy. Uncle Rythin. Argo. Leafa. Klein. Lisbeth. Silica. Agil, and Sinon. It's the combination of your hearts and so many others, all woven together in a big tapestry, that gave birth to Alice!"
Yui leaned against me to hide her tears.
I just... This should have been impossible. Yui and I were top-down AIs, just aggregates of input-response data. We didn't have real emotion. It wasn't a bit that flipped between zero and one to tell us we should be happy or sad. Because we couldn't process real emotions, we couldn't truly understand the thoughts and emotions of people around us. Out of everyone, Yui and I understood that the best of all.
But, despite all that, I wanted to protect Mom and Dad, so strongly that it was like my code had been written specifically for that purpose. And I couldn't stop the tears that welled in my eyes, or the ones from Yui that made my tunic wet.
Yui and I... Everything that we'd said were just words. Since we couldn't understand emotion, how were we supposed to know how to share our desires to the humans?
So when I looked up and saw two transparent tracks of tears flowing from Lisbeth's eyes, both Yui and I experienced something rare - shock.
"Yeah. You're right. It's all connected. People, and time, and our hearts too. Flowing like a huge river."
Silica rose to her feet, her eyes wet as well, and gently reached out with cupped hands to hug us. "It's okay... Yui, Din. Don't cry. We'll Kirito and Asuna, and Rythin and Argo. I promise, we'll do whatever it takes to get them out of this. You can count on that."
"Damn straight!" Klein said. "You should've come to us sooner, kids. If there's a chance to get 'em out, hell, we're taking it!"
"You got that right. I owe 'em as much as anyone," Agil said. "'Bout damn time I started paying them back."
"Everyone..." Yui managed to squeeze out that one word as she floated in the air and bowed.
I bowed right next to her, and tried to get words past the tightness in my throat. "Thank you so much," I said. "Seriously, thank you... so much..."
"Now the hard part. There's thirty thousand American VRMMO players Diving," Klein said. "And soon it could go up to a hundred thou. The Human army's just a bunch of targets to them."
"What's stopping us from doing what the hijackers did? We can post on the same U.S. VRMMO sites too. We'll tell the players about the experiment, and the fake beta. I'm pretty sure they'll listen."
I shook my head when Liz made her suggestion. "Unfortunately that's not possible. At the center of it all is a struggle for military secrets between Japan and America. There's a very real chance that if we reveal that secret, things could get even worse, not better."
"If we said they'd be killing real people, not avatars, maybe... Oh, who am I kidding..." Silica's ears and tail drooped.
"Hmph. Well, I say we tear a page out of their playbook!" Klein said, and pumped a fist. "We'll post a notice for the beta test ourselves! Then we get the RATH guys to hand out accounts, and I bet we can get thirty or forty thousand logged on easy!"
"That's a great idea, man, but there's one problem," Agil rumbled.
"You gonna tell me what that is?"
"The time." Klein's eyes widened at Agil's blunt response. "Here in Japan, it's 4:30 in the morning. Besides us, there's not a whole lot of folks online. But in Los Angeles, it's half past noon right now. And 3:30 in New York. The U.S. has way more active players online."
Klein moaned and grumbled, as though he'd just realized that. Yui nodded and floated higher. "Agil is correct about that. In addition to the time difference, we simply have a smaller population in the first place, so recruitment will be slower."
I sighed, and my wings fluttered. "It's unlikely that we'd be able to gather even ten thousand people. In other words, since our accounts would match the enemy's level, our chances of holding our own would be extremely low."
"But like, maybe RATH has more god accounts like the ones Asuna and Argo are using?" Liz offered. "We can't start from scratch, we'd need as much time as Kirito to level up enough."
Klein rubbed his head. "Crap, game over then."
"No."
The players in the room all looked at Yui. "There are strong accounts," my friend said. "Both in terms of level and in equipment. The Americans' default accounts can't compare."
"Really? Wh- How do we get them?" Liz asked.
I swallowed. "They're... the accounts you're using to log in right now."
Everyone gasped.
"You must convert them," I said. "If you do, then you, and every other VRMMO player you can recruit, will start with stronger accounts than the Americans. Your levels are already higher, so just convert and log in!"
"Of course!" Klein said. "Why didn't any of us think of that!"
"Although... I should mention, this plan involves some risk." Yui bowed her head as she began to explain, and I could only hope that what we were asking of them... It wouldn't be too great a sacrifice.
...
Tuesday, July 7, 2026
5:02 AM, ALO, Neutral City Arun
"What I'm about to tell you is not some kind of prank."
Arun was at the center of ALfheim Online's world. More than three thousand players had gathered in the huge dome at the center of the town; the winged knights protecting the dome's roof gate had been patched out, so this place was used for meetings and negotiations among the races, or for game events.
Four players were standing on the stage, facing the three thousand other players that had been convinced to gather for this huge, awkward meeting. Agil, Klein, Silica, and standing at the front with her voice magically enhanced, Lisbeth. Yui and I hovered by their shoulders, on either side of Silica.
Twenty minutes ago, we'd sent out messages to everyone that was logged on to ALO. There were only three Lords online - Alicia Rue, Sakuya, and Eugene - but once I'd started calling in some of Mom's contacts and Dad's favors, we had convinced them to start bringing in people they knew in real life. In twenty minutes, they'd managed to assemble here.
Most of the players here were sitting or hovering by the edge of the room, while the floor in front of the raised stage was filled by four groups of neatly organized players, three of which were the Lord's private guards. The fourth belonged to the Sleeping Knights and their friends.
According to my quick scan of the player account data, nearly thirty percent of the players here were using new accounts. That didn't mean they were new to VRMMOs; instead, they'd converted their high-level accounts from other games.
They were our hope.
Lisbeth continued, desperate emotion thick in her voice.
"There's a place called the Underworld. It's a virtual world based on the Seed, made by Japanese researchers. As I stand here, tens of thousands of American players are logging into it. They've been told it's a beta for a hack-and-slash game, and they can kill anyone they come across. But the people of the Underworld are real! They're not just NPCs! They're true bottom-up AIs, with feelings and souls like us. We need your help to protect them, but there's no time to level up there. But if you convert your character accounts to the Underworld, we can save their people!"
Lisbeth's speech had ended, and murmurs and mutterings filled the hall. Most of the players just looked confused. I... Well, I couldn't blame them, honestly. It was a lot of information, and a lot of strange, top-secret information that Yui and I had only explained to everyone a half hour ago.
"I know you well, and I trust your intentions. You wouldn't have called us so early just so you could play a trick on us. And the fact Kirito and Rythin haven't logged on for over ten days suggests whatever is going on is indeed serious."
The calm, elegant woman that spoke up wore an emerald green yukata and stepped forward with grace; it fit the image that Sakuya, the Sylph Lord, deliberately cultivated. "But AIs with human souls? And the U.S. military out to steal them? It all seems so far-fetched. Diving in would be the only way to confirm it. In private, you told me you had other concerns. That converting our accounts would have risks. You should explain what those are before we decided."
"Sure," Liz replied. "Here's what I know. The Underworld... isn't a VRMMO game. It's a simulated civilization, so you'll be faced with a few issues once you Dive in. The first one is, there's no user interface to call up and manipulate. Once you're logged in, you can't log yourself out."
A gasp rippled across the crowd.
"The only way for you to log out is by dying in there. That brings me to another issue you all need to know about. The Underworld... doesn't have a pain absorber function. If you take enough damage to drop your HP to zero, you'll experience loads of virtual pain."
The sound of the players talking to each other grew even louder. Every VR server in the world had a pain absorber set to reduce the sensations of being slashed with a sword or burnt with fire. I'd heard stories from Uncle Kazuto about how it felt when the pain absorber had been dropped to fifty percent. To drop it all the way to zero...
Once the whispers and mutters died down, Lisbeth continued with the third and biggest problem. "And finally... the Underworld's in a chaotic state right now, and the devs can't fully operate it. So once you convert your character data to the Underworld... There's no guarantee you'll be able to convert it back. And worse, if you die there, there's a good chance you might lose your character forever."
There was a short pause as everyone in the audience processed what she'd just said -
"Did I hear her right?"
"How can she ask that?"
"Hard pass."
"Yeah, what's the point."
Their surprise and unease was understandable. Among the three thousand players here, their game time could be measured in thousands of hours. They'd clawed and scraped their way to the max levels and competed to reach the top of the leaderboards. Naturally, being told 'You might lose your progress' would stir up voices.
"Wh-What a load of crap!" A player shouted from the back row. I tilted my head - it was a Salamander player, probably ranked at Commander; so, just behind General Eugene. "If we help, and lose our characters, you gonna to reimburse us for 'em? Or is this a trick to weaken the tribes, so you can take over?!"
He jabbed a finger at Liz as he shouted loud enough to be heard over all the other players.
"Hey-"
Klein opened his mouth to shout something, but Liz's arm snapped out to the side and halted him in his tracks.
"You're wrong! We're not tricking you. We know how hard you worked to build your characters up, and no amount of money can replace their loss. We're not asking this lightly. We're begging you to help us! Right now, our friends are fighting the American players alongside the Underworlders, but they're outnumbered, and they need reinforcements!"
Despite Liz's calm delivery, her voice still filled the air. The Salamander that had shouted first seemed to almost calm down, but then he leaned forward furiously again, to the point that one of his friends had to hold his shoulders. "You're all SAO survivors, so you should be tough enough to deal with it!" Liz flinched. "Screw your sob story! You think you're all that, just 'cause you were in that game? Here's your chance to prove how badass you are!"
"Why should we care about hijackers, or AIs or souls!"
"Don't bring this real life crap into our game and expect us to help! You and the rest of your SAO club can deal with it!"
"Go save the day again, you stuck up jerks!"
Liz looked around as the players shouted hate at her. I frowned to myself. It seems they weren't going to help at all. Well then... should I start finding people to blackmail?
Before I could disconnect, Yui's small hand gripped mine. "Look at them," she whispered, and pointed at the front of the crowd where the Lords were standing.
Despite being our allies most of the time, they stayed silent and only stared at Liz, like they were waiting for something.
"You're right," Liz said suddenly, and I realized she was smiling. "This is a real life problem! And as for us survivors... Yeah, some of us do blur the line between the real world and the virtual. But, we don't think we're tougher. Or better than anyone here. None of us think we're heroes!"
Liz walked around on stage, facing all of the angry players, and stopped next to Silica. She reached out and gripped the younger Cait Sith's hand tightly, and Silica squeezed back with an encouraging smile.
"Me and Silica... she and I go to a special school for survivors. Once a month, the students have to go to counseling, because of the trauma we still deal with. They ask us painful questions like, 'have you lost your sense of reality' or, 'do you want to hurt other people'. They make some of the kids take medication, even though it makes them sick. And the government... They're afraid of us, so they monitor us like we're a bunch of criminals!"
The fury, during her speech, had died down and been replaced with a tense, coiled silence. The Salamander that had shouted earlier now watched with wide eyes as Liz poured her heart out.
"And the truth is, it's not just us at the returnee school they're suspicious of. it's all VRMMO players. They think we're all a bunch a deadbeats. Losers dragging society down. Cowards who don't pay taxes, and can't face reality. People are saying we need the draft back, to force us to enlist because at least we can be useful there. And even though they think that about us, do you know what I believe? That this here... This is reality!"
She placed her left hand on her chest and waved around with the other, towards everything that surrounded us.
"This world, and all the other virtual worlds connected to it, are real! They're not just games we play! Here in VR, I have a real life, and I have real friends! I laugh, and I cry, and I feel real feelings the same as offline! Isn't it like that for you?! We pour our hearts and souls into this world, because it's different from what we've got out there. If it's all just a stupid game, everything we've been through is fake. If so, then in the end, what is real for us!?"
Tears rolled down her face as she shouted. Liz didn't try to stop them, though, and sniffled.
"All the worlds we've grown fuse together. They're as thick and tall as the World Tree. And from them... From them, the Underworld started to bloom. I want to protect it. So please... Please, help us."
There weren't any more words she could say, so Liz did the only thing she could do - and bowed her head.
Silently, the rest of us stepped forward to stand beside her, and bowed our heads too. Begging them to help us save the Underworld.
Dark Territory, Northern Chasm
Renly's throwing blades spun through the air and snapped another line. As the dark knights and brawlers that had been climbing across plunged into the abyss, I did my best to ignore their screams. Instead, my blade flashed out and sliced into the throat of an armored knight. I ducked away to avoid the spray of blood and glanced over the battlefield. Asuna and Kirito were untouchable on their horses, and Alice and Sheyta were protecting Renly. Bercouli, at the front, was breaking through the front lines.
"Don't stop!" the commander shouted. "Cut the next one!"
A red light bloomed overhead, and I stopped to look up and stare.
Pillars of red light were descending from the sky. Ten, twenty, forty... Too many to count touched the ground on our side of the canyon, behind the pocket of Dark Territory forces, and everything in the battle ground to a halt as even the Dark Knights and the fighters turned to look at this.
The wave of red expanded until it was like a waterfall, pouring...
"...Data?" I whispered.
Each of the red lights, probably numbered in the thousands by this point, was made up of English letters and numbers. One of them punched into the ground, and resolved into a red-colored human figure in seconds.
A resigned calm settled over my heart as I sighed. "Ah. I see."
The newly-summoned army of red knights raised their weapons and roared.
"So this is what we missed."
Hahaha, it's almost time to see just how thoroughly Rythin's presence throws things off the rails.
First and foremost, what's going on with Ritsu and Argo? Well… like Argo said, they've come to an agreement of sorts. What's the agreement? Hmmm, it could be anything at all… But in any event, I'm glad that the cast is all awake now.
For the battle, Ritsu is leaving to go back to the other half of the forces. Remember, the plan is for them to attack from behind in a little bit, so they're still behind them; in this case, it's a good thing, so Ritsu can find Cardinal and contact Kikuoka. But, Argo and Rythin are here! (In case anyone's wondering and didn't piece it together, the reason Rythin's body is fully restored is because of Lunaria's (Argo) boost to Incarnation that brought him back to the waking world.)
As for the rest of it… I hope that Lisbeth's speech was as powerful as it could be. Please, please go and watch the show yourself – I did what I could, but there's a certain power added to hearing it spoken out loud.
And then, for the stinger, Rythin's resigned acceptance that yep, this is his life now.
Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or reviewed.
