"Hello again Kazuto, or should I say Kirito. Long time no see."
There he was standing, Kirito didn't want to belive it but he was standing right infront of him. How can you deny something like this?
"What the Hell do you want now? Haven't you done enough?"
"I have... and I'm here to make it right."
"No! I don't want to hear anymore... You took them all. They were my friends, and some were even like my family. You killed them all! Even...."
Kirito froze mid-sentence. He couldn't even say her name, not after he let her down like that.
"You loved her, didn't you?"
"Of course I did you idiot! We partied together and took down your stupid bosses, we shared moments together in this world where it felt like I was home again, where I felt that everything would be fine and that nothing could hurt me! I even promised her that I would bring her back."
"Then why don't you? Come with me and I can show you something that will blow your mind... In a different sense than before of course."
He chuckled for a slight moment then sighed, realizing that he wasn't helping the mood. He paused for a moment before looking up at Kirito and giving a gesture that he was sorry.
"What the hell are you even talking about? She's gone isn't she? The Nervegear fried her brain, you said so yourself at the beggining."
"Yes you're right. She is dead... right now atleast. You say she had her brain fried, which is true, but that is only in this moment in time."
"Wait does that mean that you have a way to go back to when she was alive, when they all were alive?"
"Yes. I can show you them, I can give you a chance to see them again. Possibly even have a chance to change what happened."
Kirito paused for a moment trying to process all of the information.
'How could he do this? This isn't possible... is it?'
Kirito stopped for a minute or two thinking about Asuna and the others. He wondered if he was being told the truth or if this was just another dirty lie.
"How does it work? How can I change history?"
"Well... Technically you can't 'change history'. The most I can do is send you back in your thoughts and alter your memory into thinking that you saved them. I can make you think that you kept them alive all the way to the end, and that you beat me freeing everyone."
"So they won't come back? All it will be is a mirage of false hope?"
"No. You're wrong Kirito, it will be much more. It will numb the pain for you. No longer will you have to deal with the fact that we could do enough. You did the best you could for everyone and I'm here to make you happy again... You'll truely believe that they're alive because of you."
Kirito couldn't speak a single word. He couldn't even make a sound. There was a long moment of silence. The room was silent as can be to the point that their ears began to ring. After a long pause Kirito stood up from crouching and cleared his throat.
"... I'll try it."
"Good, we can start as soon as you're read-"
"I'm ready right now... just one question... How is all of this possible? We're just inside of a game, this can't be done... can it?"
"Yes, it may be a game, but think about it. It's a gear that renders your nerves unusable and intertwines with your brain function. We can see all of your memories right now if we wanted to. But the main difference between seeing your past and living your past is the technology. This whole time I have been in a seed of SAO and I've been working. I finally found a way to transport into different seeds, however I have no more power than the players. Well that was true... until I hacked into the mainframe and accessed my old powers. I gave myself my previous creator powers and I was able to use that to create my time traveling technology."
"Wait a minute I'm lost. How did you do all of this?"
"You naive being. It would be a waste to tell you, you would only forget it or not understand. Just follow me and I will get us set up."
Kayaba opened a menu unlike that of any players and summoned a door covered in numbers and lines seeming to form a coding. Through it Kirito could see a large room full of computers, wires, and machines unknown to the normal eye. The two proceeded into the room and over to two machines with what seemed to be altered Nervegear attached to the tops.
"What is this? How is this supposed to help us?"
"Don't you see? These are a newer, more advanced version of the Nervegear. These connect to a deeper part of the brain on the back-lower-left side. In this membrane of the brain we can connect to your memories and be sent back in order to alter them."
"So we're waiting on what exactly?"
"For you to agree to this completely so we can connect."
Kirito took a minute to gather his senses then agreed to follow through with it.
"What is there to lose anyways?"
They climbed into the machines, hooked up the gear, and calibrated the sensors.
"Whenever I'm ready?"
Kayaba nodded and leaned back into the seat. Kirito paused and muttered something under his breath, but Kayaba couldn't understand it.
"...Link...Start!"