Hi everyone! I'm presenting to you a new chapter! Chapter 2! I hope everyone will enjoy this new chapter! Without further ado... Let's start!

Normal POV

The next morning, Ibuki brought a tray of breakfast to Aichi's room and knocked on it. Upon hearing Aichi's response, he opened the door and entered the room.

" What are you doing?" Ibuki ask

" You wouldn't let me go outside or help and it's boring." Aichi said

" That's why you're drawing?" Ibuki ask, setting the tray on the bedside table

" More or less. I couldn't forget that world no matter how much I tried to. So I thought of trying to draw it out." Aichi said

Ibuki then looked over to the drawing as he blinked.

" What's this? An ice cave?" Ibuki ask

" It's the End Mountains. This place is where Alice had accidentally broken a taboo index. That dark entrance at the side is the place her fingers accidentally crossed. If it didn't happen, she would've still been a normal girl with her two childhood friends." Aichi said

" So what is she up to now?" Ibuki ask

" Studying in the Centoria Cathedral... I don't like that place as much as she does." Aichi said

" Why?"

" There's a weird clown like person there... Alice was crying and begging him to not do anything to her memories before they took her in as a Sister-in-training. Two years have already passed in that world..." Aichi said

" It's been only one night here. Just how much has time been accelerated in that world...?" Ibuki said

" I don't know. But even now, Alice has been working hard to study, hoping she can return home one day." Aichi said

" I see."

Suddenly, Aichi winced as he clenched his head and groaned in pain.

" Sendou?!"

" My head... It feels like someone is trying to forcefully pry my mind open...!" Aichi exclaimed

" It's just your imagination. Lie down and rest." Ibuki said as he laid Aichi down on the pillow

" ... Alice... Please be okay..." Aichi muttered

" She's going to be just fine." Ibuki assured

After a few minutes, the pain faded away as Aichi opened his eyes again to wipe a few stray tears away.

" That pain wasn't normal... It wasn't directly affecting me, but I could feel the pain... Something must have happened to Alice..." Aichi muttered

" Sendou, you should rest for now. I'll wrap your breakfast up and let you eat once you feel better." Ibuki said as he took the tray and left the room

As soon as he closed the door, he heard hurried footsteps as he inwardly sighed.

" Let him rest. Let's go to the meeting room to talk." Ibuki whispered

Once Ibuki had finished wrapping up Aichi's breakfast and set it aside in the kitchen, he sat down on the chair in the meeting room and looked at the person who had just appeared.

" Shouldn't you be in Europe, Kai?" Ibuki ask

" Kamui and Tokura told me everything. I couldn't leave him like that." Kai said

" What about Gaillard and Neve? Were they okay with you coming back?" Ibuki ask

" Yeah. If Aichi is in danger, then one more person coming back to help shouldn't be a problem." Kai said

" ... I understand."

Ibuki then turned on the hologram to contact Chris as he turned to them.

" Oh, Ibuki. I got your email. That company is willing to talk to us about the truth." Chris said

" When?" Ibuki ask

" In another few hours. They said they were busy with something for now." Chris said

" I see. Contact us the moment you get into contact with them again." Ibuki said

" Yeah."

Chris hung the call up as the hologram turned off and Ibuki sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose.

" Now do you understand? We won't ever know what's going on until those guys are ready to tell us. You can go and see Sendou but don't interrupt his sleep." Ibuki said

Kai nodded and headed to Aichi's room. He opened the door and entered just as Aichi started flinching and panted heavily.

" Alice... No...! Don't...!" Aichi exclaimed as he reached his hand out

" Aichi...!"

Kai ran over to Aichi as he quickly shot up from the bed and gasped. Kai held onto his shaking hand while Aichi took a few panicked breaths before calming down and looked around.

" I'm back again..." Aichi muttered

" Are you okay?" Kai ask

" ... Kai... kun...?"

" Yeah, it's me." Kai said

" When did you come home...?" Aichi ask

" Awhile ago. I came to see you. Tokura and Kamui told me everything. How are you feeling? Did you have a nightmare again?" Kai said

" Y-Yeah, but I'm fine now..." Aichi replied

" You sounded like you were having a bad nightmare though." Kai said

" ... Alice... Her memories were sealed away... And she was forced to become a Knight of the Axiom Church... They fed her with lies about her being a knight sent from Heaven..." Aichi muttered

" ... Are you hungry? Ibuki kept your breakfast for you in the kitchen. I'll go get it for you." Kai said

Kai let go of his hand and went to the kitchen to get Aichi's breakfast. However, as soon as he walked back into his room, Aichi was missing as he set the tray down and looked around the room. He ran into the meeting room in panic as Ibuki turned to him.

" What's wrong?" Ibuki ask

" Aichi's gone!" Kai exclaimed

" What?!"

Ibuki checked the cameras and found a footage of Aichi leaving his room as they ran towards the general direction he had went to. The door to the garden opened as both soon sighed in relief after seeing Aichi under a tree, looking up at it.

" Sendou! You worried us!" Ibuki exclaimed

" I'm sorry... I saw it outside my window and couldn't help it... I wanted to see it up close..." Aichi said

" The flowers and leaves already wilted away since it's the winter season. I don't see anything on it." Ibuki said

" I know... But it looks similar..." Aichi said

" Similar?"

" To the osmanthus tree that Alice loves..." Aichi said

" Look, you... Don't do that again." Kai said

" I'm sorry..."

Aichi then got up as the tree started glowing when his hand touched it.

" What?!"

The leaves and flowers then bloomed as Aichi smiled while the flower petals fell around him.

" No way..." Ibuki exclaimed

" Wow... It looks just like the tree..." Aichi said

" ... You can continue to admire it inside your room. Your ankle is still hurt, so you need to rest it. Don't walk out of the room without our permission again." Kai said

" Okay..."

Kai went over to Aichi and helped him back to his room while glancing over to Ibuki after passing by him. Ibuki sighed and looked up at the tree before making his way back into the office.

Meanwhile, Kai sat Aichi back on the bed and brought his breakfast to him, letting him hold the bowl.

" Here. Eat as much as you want." Kai said

" Thank you..."

" I'll change your bandages in the meantime." Kai said

" Okay..."

Aichi then took his injured ankle out from the blanket as Kai unwrapped the bandage and started applying medicine to it before wrapping it up in bandages again.

" That should do. Do you still feel unwell anywhere?" Kai ask

" No... I'm feeling much better..." Aichi replied

" I see. Don't worry about Alice too much. I'm sure she'll be fine." Kai said

" Yeah..."

Aichi quickly finished his meal as Kai set the empty plates aside while Aichi went back to drawing.

" ... Is that Alice's home?" Kai ask

" No... It's inside the cathedral... Now that she had been forcefully made into an Integrity Knight, this is her new room... All while thinking that she's actually a knight sent from Heaven..." Aichi explained

" It looks like a good place though. What's so bad about it?" Kai ask

" ... To have all of your precious memories of your previous life taken away from you and then turning into a puppet that only fights with little to no emotion... That's just wrong..." Aichi said

" ... I see. But she's just a program, right?" Kai ask

" Alice isn't just a program...! She's a living being like all of us... A human...! Other people might think that it doesn't matter since everything is just a code, but to me, everyone who's living in the Underworld are all humans... From the way they speak and their actions, those aren't just things that mere data can replicate... They're real..." Aichi said

" ... Alright, I understand. Take a good rest for now. I'll wake you up once it's time for lunch." Kai said

Aichi shook his head before continuing to draw. Kai sighed as he stood up and looked out the window before exiting the room, giving Aichi some private time. He entered the meeting room to see that Ibuki was talking to Chris.

" So, we can talk to them now?" Ibuki ask

" Yeah. I'll connect them to this line too." Chris said as he typed something in and a screen popped up, " This person is Takeru Higa. The one beside him is Kikuoka Seijirou."

" You two are the ones in charge of A.L.I.C.E?" Ibuki ask

" Yeah. It just so happens that we have guests here as well. This is Rinko Kojiro and Asuna Yuuki. They are also here for an explanation." Kikuoka said

" Is Kirito-kun safe? Were you lying when you said you could treat him? Please answer me, Kikuoka-san!" Asuna exclaimed

" Because of the attack by the fugitive from the Death Gun incident, Kirito-kun's brain sustained damage that modern medicine is unable to heal. However... Rath is the only place in the world that has the technology to treat him. I'm sure you've heard of it. The STL... The Soul Translator. If we use the STL to directly stimulate his Fluctlight, we can induce the generation of a new neural network. But it takes time. Right now, Kirito-kun is in a full-spec STL, which can only be found here. The treatment he's getting rivals that of any major hospital. He even has his own personal nurse." Kikuoka explained

" I understand. I'll believe you for now." Asuna said

" Alright, if we've come this far, why don't you just tell us everything, Kikuoka-san. Such as why an SDF officer like you would use the Ministry as a front, what are you plotting here, and why you needed Kirigaya-kun?" Rinko ask

" If you're asking that, I'm going to have you help me." Kikuoka said

" I'll decide after I hear your answer." Rinko said

" Well, then, may I assume you're both familiar with the concept of the STL? ... You guys should listen as well." Kikuoka said

" It's a machine that reads a human soul, their Fluctlight, and allows them to dive into a virtual world indistinguishable from reality." Asuna said

" It's the same as what Aichi says." Kai said

" Yeah."

" Correct. But I don't think you know what this project's objective is." Kikuoka said

" Objective?"

" To create a bottom-up multi-purpose artificial intelligence." Kikuoka said

" A bottom-up multi-purpose artificial intelligence?" Asuna repeated

" There are two approaches to developing artificial intelligence. One is top-down. Wherein you programme the artificial intelligence with experience and knowledge, so that in the end it will learn to replicate true intelligence." Kikuoka said

" Including the research of Dr. Shigemura, who'd been working with us here, almost everything considered an artificial intelligence right now uses the top-down approach." Higa explained

" But a top-down type can't react appropriately to anything it hasn't learned about. In other words, at this time they haven't evolved enough to be called true intelligence. Next, bottom-up artificial intelligence. This is the human brain. It involves artificially replicating the construct of a biological organ comprised of one hundred billion linked brain cells, and generating intelligence there." Kikuoka explained

" Something like that... is it even possible...?" Ibuki exclaimed

" Until now, it was thought to be impossible. But the Soul Translator can scan a human soul, the quantum field we call the Fluctlight." Kikuoka said

" And to store almost the same amount of data as a human brain, we've developed the Light Quantum Gate Crystal, aka the Lightcube, as a medium." Higa said

" Which means it can be used to copy a Fluctlight?" Rinko ask

" Correct. We have, in fact, succeeded in replicating the human soul." Kikuoka said

" Then why did you need to summon me at this point?" Rinko ask

" Because, foolishly enough, we'd missed something. The fact that an unbelievably vast and deep chasm exists between a copy of the human soul and a true artificial intelligence. Higa. Show them 'that'." Kikuoka said

" Huh? We're doing that again?" Higa said as he sighed and booted something up

" ... Is the sampling done?" A voice ask

" That's..." Kai exclaimed

" Yeah. Everything is completed with no problems." Higa replied

" Glad to hear it. But it's pitch-black, and I can't move my body. Is this a glitch with the STL? Sorry, but can you let me out of the machine?" The voice ask

" Unfortunately, but I can't do that." Higa said

" Hey, what the hell? What are you talking about? Who are you? Your voice doesn't sound familiar." The voice ask

" I'm Higa. Takeru Higa." Higa said

" ... No way! What do you mean? I'm Higa! You'll know once I get out of the STL!" The voice exclaimed

" Calm down. Don't get worked up. That's not like you. You may be a copy, but you're Takeru Higa. You calmly accept situations-" Higa said but was quickly cut off

" I'm the same as ever! If I'm a copy, then I should feel like one! This... This isn't... No! Let me out of here! Let me out of this thing!" The voice exclaimed

" You need to calm down. You're aware of the danger to your Fluctlight if you lose the capacity for rational thought." Kikuoka said

" I am being rational! Alright, then why don't I race that imposter there by reciting the digits of pi? 3.14159265358..." The voice said before static took over and the screen turned black as Higa sighed

" And he's collapsed. One minute, eight seconds." Higa said

" That was some bad taste to start this conversation." Chris said

" I apologize for that. But now you see why I could only explain it by showing you. Including myself, we've copied the Fluctlights of over ten people, and not a single one could bear the thought of being a copy. If full copies are out of the question, then what should we do?" Kikuoka ask

" What should you do? ... Raise them from the start?" Rinko ask

" Could it be..." Asuna exclaimed

" That's right. Copy the souls of newborn infants and raise them." Kikuoka said

" But what kind of environment would you raise them in? You can't create an exact copy of the real world." Rinko said

" Yes, that's impossible. But we realized something. Plenty of perfect solutions already exist on the network." Kikuoka said

" VRMMO worlds." Asuna said

" You got that right. Using the Seed, we created small villages and surrounding landscapes, and converted them for STL use." Higa said

" In the very first town we created, four members of the Rath staff raised 16 soul archetypes, that is, AI infants, to the age of 18. These 16 youths grew up quickly. Although we call them artificial Fluctlights for convenience, the way they turned out was more than satisfactory. They were all very obedient and upstanding. When they were joined in marriage, we gave them babies, in other words, new soul archetypes for them to raise. And after accelerating time in their world by 5,000, there were more and more generations, and by the time 3 weeks, or 300 years in their world has elapsed, a massive society with a population 80,000 had emerged." Kikuoka said

" But at that level, that's a civilization simulation." Rinko said

" That's true, huh? At this time, 480 years have already passed in that world, and the population of the capital, Centoria, has reached 20,000." Kikuoka said

" At this time, the artificial Fluctlights have matured into the bottom-up AIs that we'd hoped for. So we were thrilled to be able to move on to the next phase. However..." Higa said

" That's when we noticed a certain major issue." Kikuoka continued

" Issue?"

" A governing body called the Axiom Church had created laws known as the Taboo Index." Kikuoka said

" Taboo Index?"

" It contained, for example, a law forbidding murder, like we have in the real world. But just by watching the news, it's clear how often humans violate that law. However, the Fluctlights obey those laws. Obey them excessively, you could say. This town is beautiful, and far too perfect. There isn't a single piece of garbage on the streets, and not a single thief. Needless to say, no murders has ever been committed." Kikuoka said

" And how is that an issue?" Rinko ask

" ... Could it be that your objective... is to create AIs capable of murder? Both Kirito-kun and I guessed that the reason for your interest in VRMMOs was because it could be applied to police work and SDF training. But... This project is far too ambitious. For an SDF officer like yourself to attempt something of this scale... What you want to do is to build AIs capable of killing enemy soldiers in battle. Isn't that the reason?" Asuna ask

" Is that true, Kikuoka-san?" Rinko ask

" ... Five years ago, when the NerveGear was announced, it struck me. This technology had the potential to upend the very notion of war. When the SAO incident occurred, I volunteered to transfer to the Ministry, and joined the task force. I did all that so I could get the project off the ground. It took me five years to finally get to this point." Kikuoka explained

" Why did you decide to take part in this project, Higa-kun?" Rinko ask

" Well, actually, my motive was a bit more personal. I was friends with this guy when I was a student at a college in Korea. And he died while serving the army. And so I thought... if this world is never rid of war, at least if people never had to die anymore, then... I know it's a pretty childish reason." Higa explained

" But you haven't spoken a word of this to Kirito-kun." Asuna said

" What makes you think that?" Kikuoka ask

" If you had talked to him about it, he never would've agreed to help you. There's one crucial point of view missing in your story." Asuna said

" And that is?" Kikuoka ask

" The rights of the artificial intelligences. These so-called artificial Fluctlights have the same cognitive abilities as humans, right?" Asuna ask

" It's not as if they have physical bodies." Kikuoka said

" But they're no different than living beings. Forcing them to kill or be killed as tools of war... Kirito-kun would never play a part in that! Never." Asuna said

" It's not like I don't understand what you're saying. But to me, the lives of 100,000 artificial intelligences are worth far less than a single SDF soldier's." Kikuoka said

" Anyway, why did you need Kirigaya-kun? Why would you use him at the risk of leaking something so highly confidential?" Rinko ask

" Oh, right. I was telling you all this to help me explain that. Why are the artificial Fluctlights unable to disobey the Taboo Index? That's when I came up with a certain experiment. If we were to block all of a real human's memories, revert them to childhood and have him grow up in the virtual world, would the subject be able to disobey the Taboo Index? To carry out this experiment, we needed a subject who was used to moving around in a virtual world. And not just a week or a month's worth, but experience amounting to years. You understand now, don't you?" Kikuoka ask

" And? There's something else you haven't told us yet." Ibuki said

" That's right. When Kirigaya-kun was doing the experiment, he had two childhood friends whom he used to play with, a boy and a girl. The one who had broken the Taboo Index back then was the girl. What she broke was 'accessing a restricted address'." Kikuoka explained

" 'Accessing a restricted address'?" Chris ask

" We confirmed a death of another Fluctlight in the girl's view in the restricted address. Most likely, she tried to help him." Higa said

" In other words, this girl prioritized someone else's life over the Taboo Index. That's precisely what we've been seeking." Kikuoka said

" What's that girl's name?" Asuna ask

" Alice."

" Alice?" Asuna repeated

" Right. That was the name of the girl in question. I was blown away by the staggering coincidence. Because 'Alice' is also the name of the concept that became the foundation of this overall project." Kikuoka explained

" Concept?"

" A highly-adaptive autonomous artificial intelligence. In English that would be Artificial Labile Intelligence Cybernated Existence. The initials form the acronym A.L.I.C.E. Our ultimate goal was to convert an artificial Fluctlight into an A.L.I.C.E.

Welcome to our Project Alicization."

And that's the end of this chapter! Thank you for reading! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I'll see everyone in the next chapter!