NOTE: Bold speech is them speaking in Japanese, Normal text is them speaking in English.

Standing right in the middle of the Town of Beginnings, Leo hadn't moved very far. A hand on his chin, and his eyebrows scrunched up, he couldn't help but wonder what type of play style he should play. When he was first researching this game, he had initially thought to go with a normal sword, maybe experiment with other one-handed weapons and shields, but… well, there's a difference between planning something and actually doing something. His preparations flew out the window when he realized there was a bit more depth to the system. The skill list directory and lists seemed to offer a bit more than he thought, and there were also outside system skills to think about.

All in all, he decided to go with the one tried and true method that got him through any and all RPGs: carry the biggest stick you can find, find the heaviest armor you can wear, find the largest slab of metal to put between yourself and anything that wants to kill you, and become a damn juggernaut. To that end, he picked [One-Handed Sword] and [Searching] for his first two skill slots, since [Two-Handed Swords] would need to be built up to, and [Searching] because an increase in detection range seemed like a good idea in general.

Decisions made, he took a step forward…

"I'm looking for a friend!"

Leo stopped his stride before it even began to look at another player talking (more like yelling for how loud she was being) to one of the guide NPC's. Chestnut brown hair, with matching eyes, had a cute face and seemed to be a bit distressed… that is if she really was a girl. You can never know for certain with just an avatar alone.

"Her name is Misumi, and she's about the same age as me!" she continued. "She's about this tall-"

"There is no player registered under the name Misumi," the NPC informed her. Huh, that sounded like a real name… Oh.

'Ah, she's a noob,' he thought to himself.

"But I know she must be here." The girl insisted.

"I ran the search again, there is no one by that name."

Leo was tempted to just leave her alone, let her figure it out herself and be on his own way. At the same time, unlike most normal games, it's much harder to justify leaving someone in distress when the world feels so real. So against his better judgment, he approached the girl and NPC.

"Hey," Leo began with a wave, getting their attention, "is everything alright here?"

She looked over at him. "Eh, yes, just trying to find my friend," she said, sounding unconvincing.

"I heard," he said. As he opened his mouth to continue, the girl looked almost horrified.

"Y-You heard?!" she stuttered, realization slowly dawning on her as her eyes went to the people around them, all staring in their direction. Embarrassment flooded her body as she covered her face with her hands.

Leo sighed. "Relax. No harm done, no one's mad at you… maybe a little amused, but-" His words made the girl retreat further into herself. "As I was saying, you wanted to find your friend, Misumi, right?"

The girl peeked out from between her hands. "Yes," she confirmed, much quieter now. "Do you know where she is?"

"No," he said plainly. "I came over to tell you that you need to use her username, not her real name."

The girl tilted her head, looking confused. "Username?"

"Yeah, the name of her account?" Leo elaborated. "The game asked you for it when you were starting up…" he continued, only to watch the girl's face fall. Ah, crap…

"Maybe… Maybe, if I can give a good enough description, I can find her?" the girl suggested, and Leo could only wince, as he had to be the bearer of even worse news.

"Well, that isn't going to work either. After all, your friend could look however she wants. I doubt anyone would use their IRL appearance for the game. I mean, look at me," he said, gesturing to himself. "Do you think I look like this for real?"

Watching the girl laugh awkwardly, a few moments passed before he sighed and pinched his nose, realizing something.

"You used a photo for your avatar, didn't you?" he asked in a deadpan tone, and the girl nodded a bit sheepishly.

Leo felt a tug at his heart strings. Damn this person for having such a cute and convincing act. "Well, we might find them if we start looking around," he offered. "If you want, we can search around together. Maybe if we can find her, then we can all play together. Sounds good?"

He knew the chances of finding her friend were practically nil, but he still felt obligated to offer help, even if it was doomed to fail.

He watched as her eyes lit up again. "Really? That would be nice of you."

"Well then, you can tell me what she's like while we do the tutorial, maybe we can figure out how to narrow down our search," he suggested, leading the girl out of the plaza. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Yuuki Asuna," she told him, with a bow that already felt a bit too formal for people just playing games… Wait a minute.

Leo tilted his head. That sounded a bit too… real, for a username. "That isn't your real name, is it?" he felt he had to ask.

The girl, Asuna, looked confused. "Yes? What about it?" she asked curiously, and Leo facepalmed with a groan.

"You've just broken the number one rule of online gaming." He gave her a stern glare. "Never, ever tell someone you just met online your real name, address, or any other real personal information. Who knows what kind of creeps might go looking for you?"

For a moment, she looked a bit panicked. "Can I change it?!"

"I don't know. I haven't found anything saying you can," he said with a shrug, swiping his fingers down and examining the settings. "Ah well, so long as you don't go around saying your full name, I don't think it'll be a big problem." He tried to soothe her worries.

Thankfully, it seemed to work. "Okay…" she said quietly, "What should I call you, then?"

"Hmm… Normally I would tell you to call me Lion, or something like that, but seeing as how I know your name, I might as well let you know mine. Call me Leo, less of a mouthful."

"Alright, Leo… but may I ask you a question first?"

"Go ahead," he said, expecting a question about the game…

However, it wasn't what he was expecting. "Are you a foreigner, by any chance?" she inquired, and for a moment he was dumbfounded. How had she managed to figure that out?

"Yeah, but how…?"

"Your accent," she stated with a smile. "Your Japanese is good, but you can't hide how you talk," she explained. "Would you like to switch to English?" She asked, again flooring him.

"Wouldn't you be more comfortable speaking in your home language?"

She nodded. "I would, but I need to practice my English." She paused for a moment before continuing. "What better partner than someone who is a native speaker?" she asked, this time in English.

Despite his surprise, Leo smiled at her. "Alright then, if that's what you want, then I won't stop you."

"Alright!" she cheered. "Where should we start looking?"

Leo thought about it for a minute. "Well, we start with the market. We got a few tutorial quests to do, so we might run into her doing those," he reasoned.

With a nod, Asuna agreed. "Okay, let's go Leo!"

Smiling, Leo swiped down and sent her an invitation.

"Ah, what's this?" she asked as she got the notification.

"It's a party invite. That way, if we ever get separated, we can find each other easier," he explained. The girl smiled, and accepted the invite. "Now, tell me about this Misumi."

What she ended up telling him was far more than he expected, but not much that he could work with. It was mostly general information, nothing truly significant, with the most pertinent fact being that she apparently was a hardcore gamer.

It wasn't a lot to go on, but knowing that was at least enough to guess what she would do. Namely, go and start grinding exp and materials to craft better equipment.

And so that led them to their first stop in the epic search for Asuna's friend.

Well, maybe search wasn't the right term. Leo posted a few messages in the general chat asking if there was anyone who knew Asuna, or had the name Misumi, while checking the places along the tutorial quests. The first stop was the weapon shop, where they were each entitled to one weapon of their choice.

But after a quick look around, Asuna frowned. "She's not here."

Leo put a hand to his chin, in thought. "Hm… if she isn't here, perhaps she's already out and hunting mobs?" he suggested. After all, that's where you would go next after getting a weapon, wouldn't it?

"You think so?" she asked, but Leo just shrugged.

"I mean, what else would she do?" he asked, before motioning for her to follow him. "Come on, let's get a weapon and get out there."

"Do we really need one?"

"Well, unless you want to die over and over again looking for your friend, then we can forgo the weapon," Leo said rhetorically with a chuckle as they entered the weapon shop.

The two began to browse. The options were a little more vast than he originally thought, but all were made of the lowest quality and rarity. Common iron weapons… good for starting out, but anything beyond starting mobs, you might as well be fighting with a sewing needle.

"So which one are you feeling Asuna?" Leo asked as he browsed the heavier weapons.

The new player examined a few options of the one-handed swords, before grabbing a rapier. "I like this one," she declared, giving it a few test swings and a thrust.

Leo looked at her with a critical eye. "Hm, looks like it suits you. You gonna buy it?"

"I think so," Asuna said, before looking over at Leo. "How do I do that?"

A small chuckle escaped him again as he walked her through it. Once she bought the weapon, he went to pick out his.

"What are you going to buy?" she asked, only to watch as he grabbed the biggest sword available… which honestly wasn't that big, just slightly larger than most.

"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far," he intoned as he bought it. It had weight, so instead of holding it out, he let it rest on his shoulder. It was still a normal one-handed sword, but still was a decent size.

Asuna tilted her head. "What was that?"

"A quote from one of our past presidents. It was about foreign policy, but it feels just as appropriate for wielding a big sword."

With their weapons bought and equipped, it was time to go out into the great new world. Once the pair left the gate, they couldn't help but be in awe at the sheer size of the floor… and how real it all felt. The wind on their face, the smells in the air…

"Wow…" Leo said as he took in the view of the plains and hills.

"This… this is amazing." Asuna's eyes swept across the horizon. "How… How big is this game?"

It took him a few moments to respond. "A whole lot bigger than the articles said," he answered, finally finding his voice. He raced out and into the fields. "Come on! We have a lot of ground to cover if we are going to find your friend!"

"Hey, wait!" Asuna called out as she chased after him.

He kept on going for a long time. God, when was the last time he had run like this?

He went on and on, with a smile so large it threatened to split his face. It almost made him wish he could truly live in this world, so beautiful and untainted, a field so endless you could just run forever and ever without ever seeing another person.

He slowed to a stop, his eyes scanning the horizon. "I don't even think I can see the edge of the castle yet. Matter of fact, I haven't seen any enemies yet," he stated… only for the powers that be to instantly spawn in a few mobs.

Hornets, Boars, and a few wolves appeared out of light. Asuna, caught by surprise by the sudden spawn, couldn't keep herself from jumping.

"Eep!" she cried out as she joined Leo in the center of the ambush. "Where did they come from?!"

Sighing, Leo raised his sword. "From thin air. Well, now's as good a time as any to teach you how to fight."

"Okay, what do I do?" Asuna asked, raising her weapon as well.

For a moment, he glanced back in disbelief. Did she really…

Oh, what was he thinking? Of course, she doesn't get it.

"Step one, swing your sword. Step two, hit them 'till they die."

It was a basic instruction, but really, what did she expect? They were using swords, not fighter jets. With a nod, Asuna swung at a hornet that got close, slicing it in half.

"I got one!" she exclaimed excitedly… only to be rammed by a boar.

"Ah!" she cried out as she was knocked over.

Leo, though, was a bit more careful, since he knew what to do. Nothing was hard about swinging, swinging and stabbing. Slicing through two hornets and stabbing one wolf in the head was an easy enough task, a bit more difficult than you would actually expect, but nonetheless easy. After all, it was still only the first floor.

The fight was over soon. Asuna had gotten back up and attacked the boar that had knocked her over, and allowed the others to run head-first into her sword. Their rewards were basic, some leather from the boars and stingers from the hornets, while they got Col and Exp from the encounter.

"Um… Leo? I have a small screen that says I got 'exp'… is that bad?" Asuna innocently asked.

A deep sigh later, Leo slowly explained experience points and how they related to skills and abilities one could use in the game. While teaching her, Leo couldn't help but wonder if this was what it felt like to be a tutor, slowly walking someone through something they didn't understand.

"Okay, I think I got it," Asuna nodded as he finished his explanation.

"Good." Looking around, Leo frowned at the empty fields. He led her through more fields, fighting more mobs, but as the day went on and the sun began to set, they had to confront the unfortunate truth.

"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don't think we'll be able to find your friend," he stated. "I kinda thought the first floor would be a bit smaller, but there are still so many places to look. Too many to try covering between just the two of us to find one person. The chances of finding her are pretty damn low now."

Asuna looked at him and frowned, gazing down with a crestfallen expression. "Oh…" she muttered quietly.

"Hey, don't be like that. You can still ask for her username and a place to meet tomorrow, can't you?" he suggested.

"I guess… I just wanted to play with her today," Asuna said sadly. Once more, Leo felt his heartstrings getting tugged at.

'Please, be a real girl and not some fat dude catfishing,' he thought to himself. 'It would be so embarrassing to get dunked on by some guy pretending to be a cute girl.'

He coughed into his hand. "You want to go do something fun?" he offered.

"Fun?" Asuna asked, a bit confused.

"Yep!" he confirmed. "SAO has more than just full body motion, it can also stimulate every single one of your senses."

He picked a small wildflower and offered it for her to smell. Curiously, she took a small sniff and her eyes widened. "It… smells," she said quietly.

Nodding his head, Leo let his smile grow. "And you want to know what else does?"

"What?"

"You have 'till we arrive to guess."

The duo rushed back to the Town of Beginnings. More enemy mobs stood in their way, but they had gotten good enough at fighting to defeat them easily. However, as they battled, Asuna prepared a strike that was different from normal. Her sword glowed a light blue, and she shot forward with a powerful thrust, stabbing through the last large beetle.

"What was that?!" she cried out, surprise in her voice.

Leo's eyes flashed in recognition. "I'm pretty sure that was a Sword Skill!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I remember reading about them in the forum posts about the SAO Beta. You do a preparation pose, and then the game lets you perform a move that's much more powerful and faster than anything you could do normally." It was a simple explanation, but it got the point across. "How did you do that?"

Asuna looked down at her sword and got into the same stance she had before she shot forward… but nothing happened. "Why isn't it doing it again?" she asked, confused. "I'm doing what I did before, aren't I?"

Scratching his head, he then began going through a number of poses himself, like putting the sword straight out, or winding it back. But when he threw the weapon on his shoulder, it glowed a bright red, and he smashed it down hard.

"Figured it out!" he announced proudly, before noticing a small hourglass on his HUD.

… Ah.

"Okay, so after you use a skill, it goes on cooldown," he deduced.

"Cooldowns?" she asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"Yeah, it means you have to wait before you use it again," he explained. "That means we can't just keep using the same skill repeatedly." Looking over at the girl, Leo gave her a thumbs up. "Nice job being the first to figure it out!"

Asuna smiled the praise. "Thank you!"

Seeing her innocent cheer was honestly too much for Leo's heart to handle.

'God, I'm not one for praying, but please, PLEASE, let this be a real girl and not some fat guy,' he silently prayed.

Either she was a real girl, or the most convincing catfish on the planet, and he really didn't want to find out that this cute girl was really just a good imposter.

"Is everything alright, Leo?" she asked. "You're staring off into space."

He shook himself free of his thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine." He glanced over back to the town, "Come on, I still want to show you some other cool things the forums talked about." Getting back to the path, they began their return journey.

After arriving back in the Town of Beginnings, Leo had begun leading them around. "Where are we going?" Asuna asked after an odd amount of wandering.

"Well, I remember one of the beta testers gushing in one of the forum posts I read about a little diner somewhere in this town. Not like one of the main big name ones, but a small little thing that had some of the best food he ate… Unfortunately, not much compared to it after."

"Food? That's where you're taking me?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah. With every sense emulated, you can smell and taste any and all food in SAO. Think about like a four-star restaurant, but you don't have to spend a real life dime!" he explained enthusiastically.

"Really?" Asuna asked, her interest piqued.

He nodded vigorously. "Yep, and from what they said, a place over here is supposed to be excellent. I just can't remember the exact location, but I'm sure we'll find it soon." His unsure tone was a bit telling.

"Well, what's it called?" Asuna asked, wanting to be helpful.

"It's a place called 'Endure'."

Asuna blinked. That didn't exactly sound like a normal place to eat.

"O…kay?" she said slowly, but kept an eye out nonetheless. Eventually, she spotted a brick establishment with little planters outside its windows. She quietly read the name above the door. "I found it!" she called out to Leo, who whipped around with enough speed that Asuna couldn't help but be impressed.

"Aha!" he cheered. "Come on, it's supposed to be excellent stuff in there!" His excitement was almost infectious, as he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her along to the entrance.

In a word, you would call this place cozy. The man behind the counter looked like… well, a thug. His face had a nasty scar on his cheek, slicked back black hair, a blue suit and black vest, with a red tie.

"What're you buying?" he asked in a deep and almost scary voice… which was quite funny, given that everyone around him was the complete opposite. It had brown hardwood floors, stalls by the windows to sit and eat at, a piano in the corner, and the candlelight made it all feel very homely.

Leo approached the counter, and began navigating a menu. After making a selection, he received two wrapped sandwiches. However, the aroma they gave off was enough to get her full attention.

"What's this?" Asuna asked, but he responded by merely handing it over to her.

"Taste it and find out," he said, sitting at one of the open stalls and carefully unwrapping his meal.

She sat across from him and unwrapped hers. It looked almost picture-perfect to many food advertisements; the tomatoes were nice and full, lettuce green and fresh, and the meat looked almost too juicy to be real. She took a cautious test bite, and suddenly found herself unable to resist a second, or a third, or a fourth.

"Mmm…" She found herself enraptured by the taste of it, that she couldn't keep her satisfaction to herself. "What's this?" she asked again.

Leo smiled. "That's a boar meat sandwich," he said, taking another bite. "This place utilizes monster materials to make small meals with buffs. We've just had the cheapest item on the menu, but it's still damn tasty."

Nodding in agreement, Asuna took another bite. "It's amazing…" She couldn't believe it, the taste, texture, everything was perfectly replicated as if she were eating a real sandwich. "How is this possible?"

"I don't know the exact details, but the NerveGear uses microwaves to stimulate parts of our brain while we are wearing it. Things like touch, taste, sight, and smell are all controlled by the microwaves it sends to stimulate those centers of the brain… I think. I'll be honest, I only skimmed the manual, so take what I say with a grain or two of salt."

Asuna frowned. "That sounds dangerous…" she said quietly.

Leo shrugged. "Well, I haven't heard of anyone dying while using it yet. Besides, if it killed people, it wouldn't sell, would it?"

That didn't really put her at ease. "I… suppose that's true," she conceded.

"A wise man once said, 'It just works,'" he quoted.

Although, given it's usually used in relation to broken games, maybe it wasn't the most appropriate quote to use.

"So, what kind of games did you play before SAO?" he asked, the thought making him curious.

She looked up from her sandwich, chuckling nervously. "Oh… well, I used to play this fighting game with my friend, Misumi. Although she won all the time, I still enjoyed it," she said with a fondness in her voice. "What about you? What do you play?"

"All kinds," he replied. "Fighting games, FPS, Strategy, Simulation, Survival… but my favorite are Souls games."

"Souls games?"

It was almost as if a switch had been flipped. His expression changed from a simple fond smile, to an almost stupidly broad grin. She recognized that smile, Misumi did the same when Asuna first asked about her favorite fighting game.

… But before he could speak up, they both were covered in a blue light, finding themselves standing in the center of town.

For a moment, Leo was confused. They couldn't teleport, nor did they attempt to… What was going on?

It was then that he saw other people being teleported to the plaza as well, hundreds upon hundreds suddenly appearing, each looking just as confused and lost as they were.

"What's going on?" Asuna asked, confused.

"I'm not sure…" he said, soon being forced to stand shoulder to shoulder with Asuna due to the density of the crowd. "Is this a bug or something?"

He suddenly saw a single red hexagon hanging in the middle of the sky. Squinting, he managed to make out the words it displayed.

"Warning… System Announcement?"

And just as he finished reading…

*ccrrrr*

It cracked almost as if it were glass, jagged lines spreading from that small spot in the sky. They watched with growing concern and nervousness as the stone ceiling was rapidly overtaken by the spiderweb cracks, stretching further beyond and into the evening sky.

*cccccCCRRAACKK*

Then, they all shattered like glass, unveiling the sun sitting at its highest point, like the time of day had changed, unveiling the setting sun, being covered by… something. It wasn't a moon, as far as he could tell, but a dark spot that eclipsed it, turning the evening glow of the sunset into near-total darkness.

From the circle's bottom, a red fluid began to drip down, as if it were not merely an eclipse, but a hole in the sky itself. It poured out slowly, but never touched the ground, instead solidifying in the form of a massive red robed figure.

Then, the titanic robes spoke.

"Attention, players. Welcome to my world," it said in a loud, monotone voice that demanded everyone's undivided attention.

It also told Leo exactly who it was that was speaking. "That's Kayaba Akihiko… the creator of Sword Art Online," he whispered in awe.

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world. I am sure you have noticed the Logout button is missing from the main menu," he stated, prompting Leo to look for himself. Two fingers swiped down to bring out the menu, and a sudden feeling of dread entered his body as he noticed it was indeed missing. This feeling was amplified as Kayaba continued his speech.

"This is not a defect of the game. I repeat, this is not a defect of the game."

Asuna glanced at him, dread creeping onto her face. "Leo?" she asked quietly, her own main menu open and pointing at the missing button.

"It is a feature of Sword Art Online," Kayaba continued. "You cannot log out of SAO on your own, and no one on the outside can shut off or remove the Nerve Gear." Looking up at the disembodied robes, Leo hoped against all odds that this was just some sort of elaborate joke. "Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain, and thus ending your life."

A series of gasps echoed around the plaza, Asuna doing the same as she frantically turned her head to stare at him.

"Does it have enough power to do that?!" she asked anxiously.

"I… I don't know…"

A series of gasps echoed around the plaza. "Unfortunately, friends and families of several players have ignored this warning and attempted to remove the Nerve Gear. As a result, two hundred thirteen players have been removed from both Aincrad and the real world."

To add proof to this statement, Kayaba's avatar pulled up multiple news feeds and sites detailing the situation. "As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting this, including the deaths. Thus, you can assume the danger of a Nerve Gear being removed is now minimal," he added, as if that would provide anyone some kind of comfort.

Leo felt sick to his stomach as the news sunk in… and he wasn't the only one. Asuna was in no better state beside him. "I hope you will all relax and attempt to clear the game," Akihiko continued. "But I am not without kindness. You have two lives, the first being the one you are on now. If you die, you will revive as normal, but a "curse" will be placed upon you. Among other effects, it will change your avatar's appearance, and your health points will be reduced by half. If your HP reaches zero again while in this state, your avatar will be deleted, and simultaneously the Nerve Gear will destroy your brain."

The duo was in shock. "There is only one means of escape: to complete the game," Kayaba revealed, a holographic map of Aincrad appearing before him, with a red dot on the bottom floor. "You are currently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, Floor One. If you make your way through the labyrinth dungeon and defeat the floor boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on Floor One Hundred, and you will clear the game," he explained, as the red dot slowly progressed to the top.

'To leave… we have to beat the game?' Leo thought to himself in shock. 'But… how are we supposed to do that without dying repeatedly?!'

"Finally, I have two gifts for you. The first is a present from me in your item storage. Please, see for yourselves."

With trepidation, he opened his inventory and looked for the present that Kayaba had given them. It was a simple hand mirror. Leo and Asuna selected it and examined it for only a few moments, before a flash of light blinded him.

When his vision returned, he was left looking at his own face… His real face. With no small amount of shock, his gaze ventured upwards to the sounds and gasps of surprise that echoed around him. Everywhere he looked, he saw players experiencing the same change, avatars shifting to their real bodies. Teenagers turning into children, beautiful girls turning into plain-looking guys…

"Leo, is… is that you? What happened?" Asuna asked, confused and nervous.

"I-It seems we all got reverted to our real appearances," he could barely say through the shock of it all.

"But how is that possible?!"

He was silent for a few seconds, racking his brain for a possible explanation. "The helmet covers your whole head, so it could have scanned it. As for the rest, I don't… wait, maybe it's because of the calibration procedures?"

She frowned. "Calibration procedures?"

"Yeah, when you use a NerveGear for the first time, you have to do certain motions, like touching your toes, in order to calibrate it. I think that's how it knows things like our real height and body shape," he elaborated.

"But… I didn't do any of that when I used it."

"… Perhaps, since you used a photo, the system used that instead?" he suggested. What other explanations were there, after all?

"The second is a special location, here on this floor." Aincrad's hologram changed, the upper floors disappearing, then zooming in on a small part of the first floor. "It is a challenge for only those with the determination to look death in the eye and confront it head on. A nexus of passageways that will bring you to distant lands, far away from Aincrad. There, you'll face hardships and opponents that will bring even the most skilled of players to their absolute breaking point, and beyond."

Kayaba's avatar fell silent for a moment.

"But…" he continued. "Should one manage to overcome these trials… Should one persist and triumph over all odds… I assure you, you'll find rewards, the likes of which cannot be found anywhere else in the hundred floors of this castle. You shall find the entrance in the western part of this floor, right at its very edge, as shown on this map."

"Right now, you're probably wondering… 'Why?'. Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online, and creator of the NerveGear, do all this?" The empty robes were silent for a moment once again. "My goal has already been achieved. I developed this game for one reason, to create this world and intervene in it. And now, it is complete. This ends the tutorial for the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you all good luck, and more importantly…"

As he spoke, the moon-like object blotting out the sun had begun to move away, bathing them all in light and blinding them. When their vision returned, Kayaba was no more, but his final words still echoed throughout the game world.

"Prepare to Die."