Asuna soared quietly through the cloudy winter sky over the expansive floor 22. She closed her eyes as she was enveloped in a blanket of cool, soothing winds. It was refreshing; just what she needed to relax after a long day and focus on the night's festivities.

She opened her eyes as the sun's light escaped through a small gap in the clouds. It was almost concealed behind the hills and forest as it set upon the horizon. She had to hurry if the meal was to be done in time.

Asuna descended towards a large lake where her player home sat cozily nearby. The sunset illuminated the rich wood beautifully against the surrounding trees and grass. She never grew tired of the sight. The small cabin wasn't just a home for her, but a beacon of memories with Kirito that she would never forget.

She descended from the evening sky and planted her feet firmly in the snow. A soft yellow glow emanated from the cabin indicating the presence of someone inside. Asuna's heart fluttered with excitement. Kirito was home.

She opened the door and set her basket of ingredients on the counter, then turned towards the living space. The chimney sparked with the light of a homely fire, spreading a comforting warmth throughout the room. Kirito sat in the middle of the couch to the right with his eyes closed. Next to him, Yui slept soundly, wrapped comfortably in a beautiful white sweater with her head resting on Kirito's lap.

A few joyful tears began to form in Asuna's eyes as she beheld the peaceful sight before her. There were the two people she loved most in this world, just enjoying each other's company. That was true happiness.

Kirito stirred as Asuna stepped into the room. He slightly opened his eyes and grinned at the sight of his wife. "Asuna. Welcome home."

Asuna bent down and took his head in her hands, then planted a gentle kiss on his lips. "You didn't get any sleep last night, did you?" she playfully whispered, careful not to wake Yui.

Kirito shrugged. "I had homework."

Asuna shook her head and giggled. She sat down next to her husband on the opposite side of the couch, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Long day?"

Asuna sighed. "Yeah, but it got pretty exciting towards the end."

"Oh really?"

"Mhm. I caught the final moments of a duel with General Eugene. He lost."

Kirito's opened his eyes fully. "Well, you don't see that every day. Who won?"

"The White Knight."

She had his full attention now. "The White Knight? You mean the guy with god-speed everyone's been talking about?"

Asuna placed a finger on his lips. "Don't get too excited," she whispered. "You'll wake Yui."

Kirito glanced down at Yui who adjusted a little before continuing to snore away. "Sorry," his whispered back, stroking Yui's head.

"It's ok," assured Asuna. "I knew you'd be interested. Anyway, the stories are no joke. He's just as fast as they say."

Kirito thought for a moment. "I've never heard of someone so fast, but I suppose it's possible if he poured all of his stats into speed. Problem with that is, his attacks wouldn't do as much damage."

Asuna was amused. "I knew you would try to analyze it. You're so predictable," she teased. "But you're right. Now that I think about it, he took out Eugene pretty fast, but if he was able to do heavier amounts of damage like you can, the duel would have been over long before I got there."

"I see. I would love to see his strategy up close."

"You might get your chance sooner than later. I invited him to our party tonight. Well, Liz did, but he said he had other plans."

Kirito's head nearly shot up off the couch. "Wait, you met him?"

"Shhhh" Asuna warned.

"Right…" He had nearly forgotten about the sleeping child in his lap again. "How did you manage to catch him?"

"Well," Asuna paused in thought, "it's more like he caught me. After the duel, he must have recognized me and met us on the rooftop where Liz and I were watching. His actual player name is Jax. I was surprised that he knew who I was. He's such a nice guy."

Asuna looked up to see an annoyed frown on Kirito"s face. "What's wrong? Are you jealous?"

"What? No, I-"

She kissed him on the cheek. "Don't worry," she said, wrapping her arms around his. "No man can take me away from you. I love you."

Kirito smiled down at his wife. "I love you too."

They sat in silence for a while as the fire crackled and the sun completely set behind the distant trees. All was quiet until the two heard the sound of a tiny yawn. Yui slowly lifted her head and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Hey sleepyhead," said Asuna.

Yui's eyes widened and she gasped with excitement. "Mommy! You're back!" she exclaimed, throwing herself into her mother's arms.

Asuna did not hesitate to tightly embrace her beloved daughter. "Hey Yui! Did you have a good day?"

"It was kind of boring," she admitted, "but then Daddy came home!"

Asuna ruffled Yui's hair. "Good. I have to go prepare food for tonight's party now. Would you like to help?"

Yui lit up at the chance to spend time with her mother. "Of course, Mommy!" she giggled.

"Great! Let's get started."

Kirito leaned his head against the back of the couch again and smiled as he watched his two favorite people walk to the kitchen, talking and laughing. Nothing could make him happier.

…

Jax shivered. It was cold in this room. It always was. He lifted his arm and removed the white glove that concealed his hand. He studied his palm and watched as he flexed his fingers. It was quite convincing, but it just wasn't the same.

Jax looked up ahead of him and his eyes grew dark with desperation. He stood behind a clear glass wall. On the other side, a massive complex machine hummed with activity. The walls of the room were covered with monitors showing all kinds of vitals, data, and activity logs.

He grimaced at the metallic pod that made up the forefront of the enormous machine. Within that shell, his real body grew thinner and thinner each day, getting just enough nutrients to stay functional. He shuddered at the thought of his own withering shell.

Jax looked back at his hand, and it glitched for a brief moment. He was nothing but a digital shadow, doomed to never walk the earth with his own two feet again. Not while he was at the mercy of Pantheon, anyway. The things they made him do… What would his parents think?

"Hey."

Jax nearly jumped at the sudden interruption of his thoughts. Beside him stood a young woman with long brown hair and a concerned look on her face. She adjusted her glasses and stuffed her hands in the pockets of her lab coat.

"Sorry if I scared ya," the scientist apologized.

Jax sighed. "Hey Lia," he said without even looking over.

Lia followed the warrior's line of sight to the pod. She looked back at Jax, then the pod, then Jax again. "Stop that."

Jax rolled his eyes and finally turned to face Lia. "Stop what?"

"You're brooding again. It's not healthy."

Jax gestured towards the pod. "Like it matters… My real body is the farthest thing from healthy."

She shook her head. "I'm talking about your mental health, dumbass. Did you eat anything today?"

"You know I don't have to."

Lia groaned. "That's not the point, Jax. You have to keep up worldly habits, or else you risk losing your grip on reality."

Jax slammed his fist against the glass in sudden anger. "This is my reality! I'm never hungry! Never sick! I am a husk of a man, incapable of ever feeling pain! Do you have any idea what that's like?!"

Lia remained still, a sad frown upon her face. "No. I don't know what that's like."

The two stood in silence for a moment, allowing Jax to regain his composure. "It's funny," he said softly. "There are probably millions of people out there that would love to take my place. To live as a ghost is to live without pain. But… pain is a regular part of life. After a while, you start to miss it."

Lia looked on without saying a word.

"I want to feel again, Lia," Jax admitted. "I long to be free from this empty existence, and… free from the murder."

"I know," she finally spoke. "I can't imagine the emotional turmoil you must be experiencing. I can't possibly understand what that's like. But, you and me, we are both slaves of Pantheon's will. Trust me, we can figure this out. In the meantime, we have no choice but to do what we are told."

Jax managed a half smile. "Don't do anything rash, Lia. I'd hate to lose my only friend."

Lia grinned and placed her hands on her hips. "Right back at ya."

Jax glanced at the time, and his smile quickly faded. "Speaking of doing what we are told, it's time for me to get going."

"I see… Who is it this time?"

"A Japanese official," said Jax, remembering the intel he had received earlier that day. "The place is heavily guarded, but," he paused, gesturing to his digital armored body, "it's not like they can hurt me."

Lia placed a hand on his chest. "Remember… don't lose yourself in the blood and fury. I want you to bring that precious mind of yours back in one piece, understand?"

Jax responded with a solemn nod as his sleek helmet materialized around his head. He then held out his hand, summoning a bright yellow portal into existence. The White Knight took one last look at his friend, sharing a brief moment of promissory eye contact, and then stepped into the spiraling ring of energy.

Jax squinted as the blinding yellow light obscured his vision. He always despised travel by portal. It was disorienting, but he had no choice. He grasped the hilt of his sword as his destination came into view, and closed his eyes. It was time to do what he did best.

The yellow glow ceased as the White Knight landed firmly upon wet asphalt. His armor made a faint pattering sound as it was softly pelted by the soft drizzle of rain. He kept still for a moment, listening to the peaceful descent of water from the dark, cloudy sky.

"Hey you! Freeze!"

Jax opened his eyes to see a taller man in a black suit with his gun drawn. 'Please,' he thought, 'just walk away.'

The man tightened the grip on his gun and clenched his teeth. "You have entered a restricted area! Remove your hand from your weapon and get on the ground!"

Jax remained motionless, making the suited man grow nervous.

The guard reached down with his right hand to grab a small radio, keeping the gun trained on Jax with his left. "Don't move!" he warned, turning to speak into the radio. "This is Perimeter 2. I've got an armed intruder by the south entrance. Send backup immedi…"

The guard stopped as a strange feeling began to form in his chest. He looked down in shock at the thin white blade lodged directly in his sternum. "How…?"

Jax swiftly pulled his sword from the guard, who fell to the ground dead. He stood for a moment, staring at the body. 'I'm Sorry.'

The sound of rushing footsteps brought him to attention, and he began to move quickly forward. He was in the courtyard of the official's estate, just south of his entry point. As he neared the bridge that crossed over a large pond, a group of three guards came rushing out of the enormous house.

"Stop right there!" commanded the first.

The White Knight paid no attention to the warnings. He took a firm step and made a powerful thrust forward, activating his superhuman speed. He rushed across the bridge and wove between the first two guards, cutting them down as he went, nothing but a blur to their mortal eyes.

The third guard fell back in shock and scrambled for his radio. "Quickly! Lock down the house! We are under atta-" He was unable to finish as his head was separated from his shoulders.

'I'm sorry.'

Jax kept moving, leaving the body to fall limp on the pavement. He took the outside stairs to the second floor. The remaining guards would likely rush to move the target from his quarters to a more secure location.

He picked up speed as he ran across the balcony and barreled through a nearby window into a large open space that connected the two upper halls, just as the guards came charging up the stairs. He sprinted towards them as they opened fire. Several shots hit their mark, but the wounds immediately disappeared. In this body, he was invincible.

Jax slid down the stairs, slashing through the guards with ease. Once they were all incapacitated, he walked back up the steps to find his target. To his surprise, a short, older man went running past him.

Jax instinctively stuck out his foot and the man tripped, hitting the ground with a solid thud. Jax flicked the blood off of his sword and watched the man recover from his fall. This was his target.

The man stumbled to his feet. "Please, no!" he exclaimed starting to run down the hall again.

Jax sighed, trying hard to ignore the terrible burning sensation in his chest. He activated his speed and tripped the man again. "Please don't make this harder than it needs to be," he begged. It was for both of their benefit.

"No! You don't understand!" the man pleaded, struggling to get to his feet. "I-I have to see him! Please! Just one more ti-"

Jax plunged his blade into the man's back, his hands trembling. 'I'm sorry.'

He held the sword still for a moment, a pool of blood beginning to form, then slowly removed it. It was over, and every limb in his body felt numb. Jax sheathed his sword and leaned his back against the nearby wall, closing his eyes as he tried to find peace. The killing never got easier.

His silent quest for a sound mind was interrupted by the faint creaking of an opening door. Jax jolted upright and reached for his sword, but stopped when he saw the open door just a short way down the hall. In the doorway stood a frightened boy, not much more than 5 or 6 years old, just staring at the body in the middle of the floor.

Jax froze as the horrible burning in his chest severely intensified. Suddenly he found it difficult to breathe, as if the air were being sucked out of his lungs. He looked down at his bloodstained hands. Then he looked at the man he had just killed in cold blood. That's when he realized.

"Daddy?"

Jax clutched at his chest, starting to hyperventilate. He turned away from the body and stumbled back down the hall.

"Daddy!"

He gasped desperately for breath, flinging his hand forward to summon a portal.

"Daddy! Daddy wake up!"

He crashed against the wall in agony, his ears ringing as the portal opened.

"Daddy! Daddyyyyy!"

He was immediately whisked away by the swirling energy. After a brief moment, he fell onto the floor of his pod chamber. The portal disappeared in a bright flash, leaving behind the horrid scene and plunging the room into silence.

Jax placed a hand on the wall, his entire body shaking as he tried pulling himself to his feet. A door opened at the other end of the room and Lia walked in with a clipboard in her hand.

She stopped when she saw him. "Oh, Jax. I didn't expect you back so soon. What…" she trailed off as she realized something was wrong.

Still unable to get enough air, Jax clawed at his helmet and tore it off, dropping it at his feet. He looked up at Lia through his matted blonde hair, drenched in sweat. Finally, his legs gave out and he dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

Lia gasped and ran to him. She threw the clipboard aside and quickly knelt in front of him. "Hey! What happened?!"

Jax could do nothing between the violent shaking and uncontrollable sobbing.

"Oh, honey…" she whispered, tears forming in her own eyes. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. "Shhhh. You're ok. You're ok, honey. Shhhh."

For several minutes the two huddled against the glass wall, Lia trying her best to comfort the traumatized White Knight until his sobbing subsided into quiet whimpering.

Jax felt as if his body was being incinerated. The image of the child's face played over and over in his head. The boy's confused voice echoed in his ears. There was no coming back from this. He had gone too far. He tried desperately to speak, so that he might explain himself, but through the heavy tears and staggered breathing, only two words came through.

"I'm… sorry."