January 2nd, 2023 – 21:10 AST, in the Town of Beginnings. Looking around myself, I saw Kirito, Asuna, Kumiko, Mace, Slapjack, T-Bar, Kentucky… and the Dark Elven Royal Guards, Vantorain and Kizmel.

We made it. Or rather, they made it. I was sure I was happier about this than either Kirito or Asuna, though they expressed themselves more as we walked across the plaza.

I stopped our parties, and turned them to face the center of the plaza, then look up.

"This is it. This where we appeared when we were first summoned, a mere hour after noon just two months ago. Five hours later, we were told by the man who summoned us, that he had deceived us about the state of our assumed mortality. By the visions experienced months before then, we were led to assume that we could return to life an indefinite number of times, as we could when we had been summoned to other worlds. This time, however, we were rendered just as mortal as any other creature in this castle. He lied to us in our world, deliberately endangering 10,000 humans like they had never been prior. He told us that our only hope of escape was to fulfil the intended purpose of our summoning, by defeating the 100 guardian beasts. And, well, that is the truth we face."

The two elves scrunched their faces, looking in the portion of the sky where I was pointing.

"He spoke in front of the backdrop of a red sky," I continued as the players stared at me, "He wore a robe of crimson, white gloves, and his form within such garb was completely unseen. His voice was booming from an empty hood, as he demonstrated a tab on the Mystic Tome which was only placed within it to taunt us about our unwilling presence in your world. ...I suppose if he were to show up again, he might choose to appear differently."

I lowered my hand, turning to Kizmel. "Of course, I'm more than grateful that I stayed long enough to meet you, and get to appreciate you to such a degree that I wish to take you back to our world."

The knight lady chuckled softly. "Oh, you…!"

I tried not to flinch too drastically. She gave me an oh-you! I began taking deep breaths, as we walked out into the town proper.

"In any case," Kizmel continued, "I am further motivated to find opportunities to assist in your efforts going up the Pillars of the Heavens."

I took them to the north of the town first, showing them the Black Iron Palace, and took them inside.

"The Black Iron Palace is a representation of life and law," I explained as I showed them around, with the Monument of Life reached first, "This stone tablet is the Monument of Life, bearing the names of every summoned adventurer. Already, over 2000 of the 10,000 names are crossed out."

Vantorain approached the tablet, looking closer at the names, as one was crossed out in the mid-left section of the lists.

"Well, then: the night did not favor this 'Kabe' person."

I shuffled anxiously past the male dark elf to look closer. "Kabe…!?"

Kizmel approached as I turned back to see her. "Did you know that one, SAUER?"

"He's with the front line in Goskai," I answered as I opened my message interface, "Either he went to get some extra hunting in before bed, or he was tricked into exiting town under the pretense of a different purpose. I can't imagine falling for the flaw in the duelling protection charm, at this point."

Vantorain turned to me. "Are the other adventurers pursuing the Pillar in danger?"

I sighed and shook my head, after a quick chat over Farscribing. "It may be a one-off incident. I just asked Brandi how she was doing with the Forest Elves, and she told me they are not going to be a factor for the rest of the floor. She will return to the front line tomorrow, and I know she can lead it with great ease. She will not allow this to happen again."

Kizmel nodded slowly. "Then… Are you suggesting that we shall proceed as normal?"

I took a deep breath. "Kabe will be missed. But his efforts alongside ours, will not be forgotten. We will rejoin our fellows in two days."

"If you insist."

"Alright… then," I began as I brought them to a series of chambers holding players with disdainful expressions, "Another purpose of the Black Iron Palace, is a prison system. Our Mystic Scribing also allows us to be immediately aware of a crime taking place, and it is able to detect… with limited accuracy… when that may be happening before us. It can then offer us the ability to immediately transport the suspect here. Eventually, we hope to have a dedicated force of adventurers to handle crimes unable to be detected or enforced by this feature of our Mystic Tomes."

Vantorain nodded, cupping his chin. "Very interesting. It is thoughtful that your summoner, while admittedly placing you in harm's way without hesitation or thought for your likelihood of success, realized that not all summoned may have the best interests of their fellows at heart."

I couldn't help but chuckle about the backspacing in the middle of his response.

"Well, the rest of this tour of the lower two floors, will be a lot more cheerful."

I scratched the side of my head for a moment. "Though, there really isn't much else to actually tell about the Town of Beginnings. It's big, it has a lot in it, but mostly just things to help us get going."

Kirito nodded, as did Asuna. "We'll leave in the morning to continue the tour," said the latter.

I snapped my fingers. "Ah, accommodation. That may be a problem for the elves – let's take the gate up to Karluin, we'll sleep at the Skyward Siege headquarters."

As it was then agreed, we teleported to the fifth floor, and I took them to the old fort, where almost zero members actually stayed at this point – only the crafters remained behind consistently.

"It's not the most pleasant-looking place," I chuckled as we walked in, "But we made it work, when this floor was opened to us."

The next morning at six, I took everyone to the NPC café where Kirito and I had UK-style chip butties, getting the very same sandwich and giving the same explanation, but phrased more carefully in the presence of the dark elves. Then we left for Horunka, and reached it at 7:30.

"This was the first destination for most of the ones who had received visions," I explained as we entered the village, "Their visions told them of a high-quality weapon given by the mother of a sick child for medicine made of a rare flower. This vision proved to be true."

I showed the dark elves the location of the mother's house, and then took them east to the ranch, where the tour would depart from Horunka.

"This man out the front of the ranch, was one of the people whom adventurers could tell needed a helping hand. Every six or so hours, one of his calves went missing, and an adventurer would get it back for him. In the visions, it was a straightforward task, but in truth, there were red reptilian foes called kobolds – three of them – who had taken the calf. The reward was also inaccurate from the visions: the visions told of money, but in truth, the rancher also gave adventurers a basket which contained two rolls of bread and a jar of sour cream. Frugal spenders on this floor would buy the similar dry black bread from the towns on the floor, just to get by."

Vantorain chuckled heartily. "So, this Horunka was more essential than the visions foretold. It is my understanding that there is a self-elected oracle to whom the ones with visions relay their memories for said oracle to publish in books, as Kumiko told me…?"

I nodded with a smile. "Yes, I told Kizmel that, too. Her name is Argo, nicknamed 'the Rat' for her mouse-like face-painted whiskers."

Kizmel chuckled softly. "I must admit, this face-painting activity sounds like a fun concept."

I responded with a chuckle of my own. "There'll be plenty of time for 'face-painting' a few floors up."

The dark elf lady grinned. "I will look forward to it."

I made sure the thought, You might want to close your eyes, stayed in my head.

Around 9:30, we reached the Rata Plain, on the way across the floor toward Tolbana. But since the woman who wielded a replica of Illfang's axe, Valkyrie, mentioned a kobold chieftain, I decided on a brief detour to the swamp village led by said chieftain. Half an hour later, we reached the village.

Four Swamp Kobold Patrols, enemies which none of the present beta testers had seen, appeared as our two parties passed between two of the mud-and-straw huts.

"Ru guru koro?" inquired one, their red cursors bordered with yellow.

I blinked. "Uh… We understand that, uh… You have been informed of Lord Illfang's defeat?"

They lowered their weapons, pointing to the larger hut. "Oko ru gara," another said.

We followed them to the larger hut, and inside to a fancy, albeit primitive, house; fur floors, gems on display, furs and bones on the walls, and a crude throne at the back made of bones and fur, and atop the throne sat a princess-like kobold with a short fur skirt, fur cloak over her back – with a leather strap across her otherwise-bare chest to keep the cloak on – a tiara made of a monster's lower jaw, and purple war paint on her midriff in the same pattern as the blue paint on Illfang. And behind the throne, but off to each side and visible from the entrance, were two large plaques; one was empty, and the other held the restored original axe wielded by Illfang.

"Ah… More humans," the kobold lady commented, her cursor completely yellow, with a name marker above it reading «Viperhinge, Swamp Kobold Chieftain», "Although, I have never seen any with the ears pointed."

I chuckled softly at her confusion. "Those two are dark elves, your honor. They come from the higher floors, their former surface kingdoms cut in multiple circles."

"How many circles are cut from elven kingdoms?" asked Viperhinge, in broken Japanese. A question mark appeared, indicating a quest prompt.

Kirito stepped beside me to answer. "At least six are from elven land, but they are active on seven in total; their lowest presence is on the third floor."

"Hm. So, the Pillars of the Heavens exist on each of these floors?"

Asuna answered that question. "Well, yes, but there are also teleporter gates in the plaza of every floor's major settlement. We walked from the Town of Beginnings to get here, after teleporting from Karluin on the fifth floor."

Viperhinge blinked. "And… there are truly one hundred floors?"

"There are, indeed," Kumiko answered, "We are currently working towards the sixth Pillar – the 'we' being the humans summoned to the castle from our own world."

I nodded, closing my message interface. "Yes. Just a couple of minutes ago, the primary force on the front line has reached the fifth and final portion of the sixth floor."

"So, you should soon have the seventh floor open?"

"Sure will!" Slapjack answered proudly, "We're just taking a break for the morning and afternoon, before catching up in the evening to help them with the guardian beast of the Pillar."

"Come and tell me when you have done that, won't you? I would love for the kobolds to have some friends of other kinds, as you humans seem to be with these elves."

I chuckled with a shrug. "It is not like that for all of elven and humankind, but we are trying. We will happily include you in the bonding effort."

Her quest marker changed to an exclamation. "Oh thank you, humans! Will you two dark elves be assisting the adventurers in the Pillar?"

Kizmel chuckled proudly. "For this one, I am sure of it, as we have done it once before. I cannot be certain about future Pillars, but I hope that it comes to pass."

Viperhinge nodded with a giggle. "Well, do remember to let me know how it goes! Return soon!"

After this interaction, we left the village and headed back for the Town of Beginnings. As I explained along the way, there was little to tell of Tolbana by the tower, except the ampitheater where we held the first guardian raid tactical meeting, and a summary of the fight against Illfang. It would take us impractical lengths of time to reach Urbus on the second floor through that tower, and we were sure to find more downtime with the same hard work that earned us this day. We got back to the Town of Beginnings around 12:30PM, and teleported back up to Stachion.

I asked Brandi if they were in Murutsuki Village yet, and she answered that they were leaving in just half an hour. I told her to wait for us there, then told my companions where we were headed.

Before we could leave Stachion, though, I happened upon Valkyrie again – or more accurately, she crashed into me as I closed my messaging interface. I got up first, helping her up after.

"Well, now. You seem to be in a hurry," I chuckled as she dusted herself off, "We saw the axe on the kobold plaque. What did you get from returning it?"

"That's what I came to you for. I need you to take it," she answered as she opened her menu.

"Huh? Me? W-What is it?"

"Something for which I have no use otherwise," she replied as she opened her trade window, and added two items, "But I knew you would get plenty of mileage from it."

I shrugged and looked at the trade window when my side popped up. I saw the two items offered, which were a curved blade, and… another Crystal Bottle of Kales'Oh.

"Huh… Another crystal bottle. Kumiko here just gave me one yesterday, and I haven't had a chance to use that one yet."

"I could probably find a use for mine," Valkyrie responded with a shrug, "But I think you might have more opportunities to figure out what skills might be most useful to grab."

I nodded, blinking at the trade window. "Okay, but this curved blade you have, is that…?"

She nodded with a smile. "Illfang's old talwar. They looked after it when he left it behind, it never saw one day of neglect. I figured you'd get the most use from it as a one-handed curved blade, even if it's not exactly the original. They figure that they might be able to pass off the original as a human-size katana, but that's probably because they're so unfamiliar with katanas."

I blinked a few more times. "Okay… So, when you got it, did you look at the properties?"

"Uh-huh," she chuckled as she leaned on a tree, "It's a standard steel-quality blade, but it's actually got third-floor stats and sixth-floor durability. On top of that, it has a bonus to proficiency gaining in One-Handed Curved Blade."

"Ah, I'll get plenty of use out of that!" I replied enthusiastically, "But couldn't you just get the skill and use the talwar yourself?"

"Aw, but I wouldn't be able to do it justice," Valkyrie answered as she submitted the offer from her window and a confirmation appeared on mine, "If you do this for me, you can keep the crystal bottle after you've worn out the talwar."

I shrugged and accepted the offer. "I do need that extra proficiency. Gameplay's getting hairy with straight-up enemy players about."

Valkyrie rubbed the back of her head with a chuckle. "I even went and got you some Durability and Accuracy yesterday. I hope I wasn't out of line doing that."

I shook my head with a chuckle of my own. "Nah, those are my best upgrades every time. Thanks."

"You're welcome! Let me know when that talwar does wear out."

Valkyrie left, and I returned to my companions, as we went to Lake Talpha, crossed it with more Droplets of Villi, and reached Murutsuki by 3PM. It only took that extra half-hour because of the graying-out map feature in the desert, similar to the Forest of Wavering Mists on the third floor. The frontline group would have navigated the area by the red brick road from the mountain to the tower.

When we got into town, everyone was already waiting at the north end.

"Bout time you showed up!" Brandi snapped, staring at Kumiko, "You and the beta chicks bothering your poor dark elf companion, crowding him night and day?"

Kumiko sighed, rolling her eyes. "We had a lot going on today, and it was all for SAUER. That's what you do all this for, isn't it? You moved the front line forward flying his flag – while Kaptyn carried it around, of course."

Chumi chuckled, an arm around each of the two wrestlers. "Can we get moving, if you two are done? You can get back to your locker room tension when you're back in the ring."

Kizmel looked at me for a moment, and I leaned near her ear. "I'll explain when it's easiest to do so."

Kumiko and Brandi shook hands, then the latter pulled the former into a hug. Kumiko looked up at Brandi, giggling at the older girl's smile.

"Missed you, bitch."

"Welcome back, you little shit."

The two cackled as they let go of each-other, and I shook my head with a chuckle.

"Alright, let's move."

From here, we had the aforementioned road to guide us, but once Murutsuki was a blur behind us, Kizmel and Vantorain became debuffed again.

"I will need the cape again…" Kizmel suggested, until she saw Brandi materializing something from within her Mystic Tome. It was a greenish-brown cube, 20cm to each side.

"This is plant material, isn't it? I believe you may need this, if I'm to understand the reason that the forest elves wouldn't just meet their enemy straight north."

Vantorain hesitantly took the cube, which resembled balsa wood in texture, and looked at Brandi.

"This is from some plant-based creature?" he asked, confused.

I answered in her place. "There was a carnivorous plant south of Murutsuki, if my visions are still accurate. However, a woman whose current actions were not in the visions, is using some type of construction-aiding tool in the shape of a magic cube, to dismember the monsters obstructing the way to the Pillar of the Heavens. She had promised to wait for us there."

Kizmel split the plant cube in half, tucking her slab of it into the pouch at her waist, and the debuff icon disappeared from my UI. Seeing this, Vantorain did the same, finally having relief in a dry area.

Kaptyn smiled, seeing the dark elves feeling better. "Brandi and I had everyone pick up every last one of those blocks, so that no-one could give them to the other elves. Gotta keep the conflict fair."

I nodded hesitantly. "Uh-huh. Good stance to have on a floor where terrain is the key factor."

Other towers had been circular or square, but this one was pentagonal. There were 46 of us in total, counting Kizmel and Vantorain, so we were just two short of the raid cap; we should have no real problem getting to the top through the afternoon, as we reached the tower itself around 4PM.

"Alright, let's pop the door open and make our way up," I encouraged my guild and other allies, while admiring the 20cm square patterns all the way across the black stone walls.

The very first room inside, was a triangular hall with a door on each of the other two walls, except when we walked in, I stared in the direction of the left door, utterly bewildered.

"What the… Why is there a hole in the wall beside the door?" asked Slapjack.

I scratched my head, glancing back at her for a moment. "So, I'm not imagining it. Theano must be leaving behind evidence of her presence, to show us the quickest way to the top. Look at the mess around the hole – similar cubes just lying on the floor. This also means she skipped all the puzzles which unlock the doors. Anyway, the monsters in here are humanoids with cobra-like heads, called Ophidians. Watch their venomous fangs."

"You got it, boss!" answered Kaptyn, as he pulled out the Flag of Valor to keep us moving forward.

Seeing the midboss chamber on the fifth floor of the tower, reminded me that not every tower was twenty floors; they were just all 100m tall. And the Ophidian midboss wasn't there, just its loot. It happened that one of my guild's fencers was in need of a new rapier, so I gave them the one looted from the midboss, and I kept the claws with +5 agility to give to Argo later. When we ascended the stairs up to the tenth floor of the tower, it was about 5:45PM…

"Look, mother! They're here!"

I smiled as we reached the top of the stairs, where Myia and Theano were waiting. "Hello, again."

Theano smiled and shook my hand. "I am pleased to finally see that you have caught up. Are you ready for the final step?"

I chuckled, looking back at my guild. "I think everyone else needs the context, first."

Theano nodded, as we sat down in front of the door to the boss chamber. She held up the cube while she spoke, highlighting its significance.

"Many of you must be aware by now, that Cylon, the lord of Stachion concerned with the curse, had been killed by marauders targeting Kirito, Asuna, and SAUER here. Well, he was wrong regarding the cause of the curse – it wasn't that he killed Pythagoras, it was the cube itself. The puzzles are being spread by this very cube, which is in fact… the core of the guardian beast behind this door."

Murmurs crossed the raid group, as I took a deep breath. "So, the cube will be destroyed when the guardian beast is defeated?"

"That is correct. Master Pythagoras pulled it out himself, and brought it back to Stachion… At least, that became its name when the little village grew to the town it is today. But this cube was never meant to fall into human hands. And if you need further proof: until the cube is returned to the guardian beast, its body will be indestructible. But giving back the cube will awaken it, allowing it to move and attack. Such is the way of your adventurers' duty of defeating the guardian beasts; they would not be the great task before you, if they did not fight back."

I stood up, gesturing for the rest to follow suit. "Well, that's why we're here. We need to keep going up the floors of the floating castle."

Theano smiled, a hand on Myia's shoulder. "I will assist, and Myia here has convinced me to let her fight the guardian beast with us."

I nodded with a chuckle. "We're more than grateful to have… you… onboard…"

Kirito tilted his head, looking at me. "What's up, SAUER? Don't worry them like that."

I pointed to my eye. "Look at the Ocular Scribing charm. They're the best fighters here."

Kirito and Asuna blinked multiple times in silence after glancing to their upper-left. Myia and Theano were added to our party, at levels 23 and 32 respectively.

I turned to the two NPCs with a smile. "Yeah, absolutely! We're immensely grateful to have you!"

We took some time to get ourselves back in tip-top condition, and entered the boss chamber at the time of 1800 hours. The walls, floor and ceiling were a bluish-gray, and we had about 30 meters to each wall around the room. I heard Kirito and Asuna talking to each-other out of earshot for clarity, and watched my guild take their positions around the chamber.

"Alright, Theano, go for it," I called to her, and she approached the center of the chamber. There, a similar cube say, but each side was half a meter, it was black and unreflective, and there was a hole about 20cm across on each side of a square – the core would fit flush within.

As Theano placed the cube, it slipped in as if it were oiled; no scraping or catching. The black cube then shone with golden light as Theano returned to Myia's side, and lifted off the floor, then began rotating sideways about three meters off the floor, picking up speed and blurring into the gloomy background – with the exception of the golden cube inside, making a ring of light while spinning.

Another 26 golden cubes appeared out of thin air, spinning with the first, before surrounding it and affixing themselves to it. And then the rotation slowed and finally stopped, revealing one large gold block two meters on each side. Lined up three-by-three, the cubes retained thin gaps between them, taking the form of a Rubik's Cube.

"Little different from what I recall," I commented aloud to the others, "Each side was its own color. Here, we just have gold all over."

The 26 outer cubes roared like a combustion engine, as they scrambled in the same way the typical version of a Rubik's Cube would. And when they stopped, the 54 exposed faces displayed numbers, while a single HP gauge appeared over the cube, along with its name: «The Irrational Cube».

Three of the boss' eight corners emitted pale gray lines, pointed at various players, and I called for action to be taken.

"Keep out of the gray lines!"

Raid members scattered from the drawn paths, as red laser beams traced the gray lines, blasting the walls of the chamber with heat, which was strong enough to damage anyone who just barely evaded the beams themselves. I took this time to examine the boss' numbers.

"Looks like they go from one to nine! It's not like the colors on a classic cube!"

I glanced back at the door we came through, seeing that it was closed. "Hey, Kaptyn! You're closest near the door, give it a nudge!"

Briefly lifting the flag out of place, he ran back and pushed the door, then ran back and planted the flag again. "No dice, boss!"

Suddenly, pale light flashed from the door, forming a grid of squares. The door was large enough to accommodate what ended up being 729 separate nine-by-nine grids, with each having a handful of numbers filled, in similar font to the boss' body. That was one more than on Stachion's streets…

I groaned in frustration and turned to the NPCs. "Theano, Myia! How are you with sudoku?!"

Theano and Myia rushed back toward the door with eyes like kids in a candy store.

"It's the one we're best at!" answered the former, as they reached the door, and got to work on the puzzles. And when I recall 'getting to work', that was really what happened – each puzzle on the door took each of them only ten seconds. Ten seconds per puzzle, meant 7290 seconds for the whole door being solved – just about 120 minutes; between the two of them, an hour.

I smiled watching the first few solves, and turned to Kumiko's party. "Kentucky, when Myia gets up to the puzzles higher on the door, put her on your shoulders!"

Kentucky waved back. "Got it!"

I then raised my voice for everyone else. "In the meantime, let's distract the cube! It's more likely to aim for people hitting it, even if we can't damage it yet!"

Granted, the cube would only recognize Sword Skills, rather than just regular swings, but it was still something to do other than just running around dodging lasers for an hour.

"Last one!" called Myia from the double-doors, as Theano was solving it. When she did, all of the puzzles glowed, a rumble ran through the doors, a line of light split the double-doors as if opening, and there was a loud click like a lock unlatching.

"I wouldn't buy those sounds, just yet!" I commented aloud, as we continued dodging.

I looked back at the doors, and the puzzles suddenly transformed into numbers. 729 numbers, as opposed to 729 puzzles. They were arranged in the same pattern, nine by nine. I returned my focus towards evading the lasers, and then after another 30 seconds, the numbers flashed, and over half vanished, leaving behind more empty squares, and the grid lines thickened.

"Nine more puzzles!" I called out after looking back again to see this, warning my raid group that the distraction effort was not over. I then looked at the boss, and saw that it recognized that we were making progress.

"Three of the wall-facing faces have arms! Keep an eye on the last glowing face!"

A minute and a half later, the new puzzles were solved, and were each replaced with large numbers. Looking back again, I saw how many there were.

"Okay! Smack the cube on rows and columns to twist them! From left to right, top to bottom, the numbers are 8, 3, 4; 1, 5, 9; 6, 7, 2!"

"So, same rules?" asked Mace from behind Kumiko, "I can direct the strikes!"

"Go for it!" I replied as the rest of the players gathered around the cube, "Okay, guys! Mace will call you by name and tell you where to hit your Sword Skill. She's got experience with these cubes!"

As she ordered each strike, the Irrational Cube began directing more of its attacks toward Mace, recognizing that she was the one running the show. To that end, I took Kirito and Asuna in to clash with the boss' arms, while Mace danced around the lasers as she gave orders.

At 7:05, she ordered the final strike – rolling the center column down – and the numbers were finally arranged in the correct order. The numbers shone brightly, and with a deafening rumble, the three arms and 26 outer cubes crumbled away, exposing the black cube within, the front face holding the golden cube. Six new black arms formed from the cube, ringing at high frequency as they writhed aggressively.

"Here we go! Kill! Kill!" I ordered excitedly, "We've been here long enough!"

The two puzzle-solvers, and the two dark elves, took the central positions around the cube, and in as little as five minutes since the armor broke, the bar dipped to 10%, and the cube began swinging all six arms around wildly, all eight corners drawing their aiming lines for lasers. Players behind the NPCs deflected the arms, while more players dodged lasers. Then, as though its batteries had run dry, the Irrational Cube fell to the floor with a thud, and stopped moving.

"Yeah! Is that it?!" asked Kaptyn, as the rest of the raid backed up, unsure why the model remained. Then I walked over to it, looking at the still-present, yet nearly empty bar.

"Hm… Weird way to ask for the last hit," I commented as I pointed out the pixel in the bar, and then simply slammed my fist down on the black cube. I backed up, as cracks formed around the cube, blue light pouring from within. Then, it and the golden cube inside crumbled in an underwhelming death animation as the Last Attack message appeared for me. It was 7:10PM.

Cheers erupted around the chamber as the raid group gathered around the center of the room, and watched the exit stairs reveal themselves.

"Well, there we go! Up to the seventh floor. Let's get moving once again!"

"Yeah!"

The rest of the raid group proceeded up the stairs, while Kirito, Asuna, Kumiko's party of beta testers, the two dark elves, and the Stachion puzzle solvers, remained behind with me.

"Well, we're going up with them, for the time being," I chuckled, walking ahead of them as they then followed, "But we'll be going back to Stachion through the gate we'll open in the town up there."

Kizmel nodded with a smile. "And then once Theano and Myia are back home, we will make our way back to Castle Galey. And with the seventh floor already open, you should catch up to us again soon, even after Vantorain and I take the Spirit Tree up there."

I chuckled again, looking back at her. "Even the shortest time away is anguish…"

"Shh…" she chuckled as she caught up to me, "You've told me that it's worthwhile…"

That, I did – back in Karluin, when I took our two parties to the guild fort on the fifth floor. When we went there last night, I thought it was just to call it a day, without an awkward situation seeking accommodation in the Town of Beginnings.

But there was more to our time there. That fort, though I was sure to give it up soon for a superior guild base on a higher floor, would most definitely remain cemented in my memories, long after I would escape Aincrad.

Kumiko had taken her party to her original quarters in the fort, while Kirito and Asuna each managed to find separate beds, Vantorain decided to have a night away from Kumiko for once, and Kizmel…

"Surely you do not intend to be alone tonight?" she asked, as I headed for my own quarters.

I turned to smirk, only to see one of her own. "Uh… If you are asking about companionship, I would imagine you are the one in need, at this moment."

She shook her head. "The one who gives everything to others, is the one who needs the most."

I found myself stunned in her embrace yet again, though my arms did slowly mimic hers.

"And I feel as if you are trying to give more than you can," she continued, sliding one arm away but keeping the other around me, "But that only means you will hurt more when you inevitably fail one single time."

I sighed as she walked with me to my quarters, arm across my back. "I do not intend to take upon the responsibility alone. I do it this way, because the two most qualified for it, are not ready. I am not the one-and-only path of guidance for them, but I must ensure they reach the end of it, so that they can lighten my workload."

Kizmel smiled and closed my door. "Well, you are doing a great job guiding them so far. That, and protecting them – you did only do that yesterday evening, after all, against your fellow summoned adventurers who had betrayed their duty."

I glanced in the general direction of each of their rooms. "…Yeah. That was just yesterday. And there will be more down the line, I know it."

The dark elf nodded as she sat down on my bed. "Well, you must also know that you will not be able to do it all on your own, even before they are ready."

"Of course. I have lost many others whom I wished to protect, who also wish to protect others. They are just as dependent for now, but they will escape Aincrad by their own doing. However, I value the two you always see with me, far greater than them – even combined. If the Skyward Siege were to turn on me in entirety, I would slaughter the lot of them for Kirito and Asuna's sake. Otherwise, I will mourn each and every one who falls flying my colors, when my work is done. Until then, all of my energy and time goes into the duty for which we were summoned. Uh… which includes showing you the early struggles before we met."

Kizmel returned her arm to my shoulders as I sat down beside her. "When you told me what had happened to you three yesterday, I told all three of you that I would protect all of you. Stop counting yourself out in that statement – you are included… and prioritized."

I lifted my head, slowly turning my head to look at her. "Is that just because I have them covered, for the most part, and I need to know when I'm getting in over my head?"

She smiled again, but the expression changed when I stood up.

"Because I'm not saying they can't do just as much for me as I have for them. They are more than enough help if I were to need it. You've seen how good they are now; but Kirito only remembers so much of his visions. At the very least, I want him to have every opportunity to give Asuna all the guidance he would otherwise be able, so that when they make it past the point where our visions are worth the time spent recalling them, he may not need me for her, but she may not even need him. I want them to retain the gratitude for each-other and myself for getting them to that point, but I want them to each find their own ways through this floating castle, even if each path converges at the Pillars regardless."

The dark elf lady chuckled softly. "Well, in the meantime, you must know that they can't help you at the same time as you help them. You need someone to hold you back if you go too far, or to pull you through when you're stuck."

I glanced briefly at her. "I only know a couple of people with that much power over me…"

I then felt a hand at my waistband, and I was drawn roughly back onto my bed. I fell flat on my back, looking up at Kizmel, who simply grinned, still sitting at the edge.

"Then, why worry? You will always have exactly what you need."

I slowly sat up. "Always…? But… My visions tell me that the elven kingdoms only reach as high as the ninth floor."

Kizmel shook her head, with another chuckle, as she pulled me into another hug.

"For someone so bold at times, you sure are overly cautious. You have seen that I can come and go from floor to floor as I please, regardless of the surface kingdoms from which each floor originated. You must know that I am aware of how you feel by this point, if you currently fear missing me once you pass the reach of your previous visions."

I turned to stare into her onyx eyes, sparkling in the moonlight from the window.

"You would follow me to the very top?"

"You have said that you want me to see your world. If there is a way, I want it to happen."

"W-Well..." I couldn't get much more out before she turned my head to keep our eyes locked.

"And I will not let you forget how eager you seemed, in promising to find a way. You have to realize how clear it must be, now: if you think there could be a way... Please. Find it. I will help you do so."

Although I felt like such a loser for allowing a digital construct to provoke it, I gave my eyes the rare permission to leak.

"H-How will I know? I mean… That, um… That you will speak strongly at my side, when we ask the queen if an elf and a human may be so undyingly loyal to one-another?"

She lifted a hand to my cheek, thumb wiping my tears, her face as red as I was sure mine was, for what felt like the first time I had seen it even nearing that hue.

"Until we do speak to her, I can only tell you once, how you will know."

I blinked a couple of times, lightly shivering. "Once? How will I remember what you're about to say?"

Another chuckle left her lips, before she brought them to mine. The same ones I had thought about back when I first saw her in the game's official service – no, even in the beta. I had thought that there may be no way to actually prevent her from dying, and now after knowing that she initially wanted to, I had seen her gratitude for life, and realized that she had more reason for it than just the keys. Lips that I was sure, with complete confidence, would be permanently inaccessible.

She slowly moved away after about fifteen seconds, her grin just as mischievous as when she had snuck into Zumfut after taking me there for the third floor's first meeting. It was as if she knew that I was completely frozen now. I didn't even remember if her eyes closed – mine did not function that whole time, whatsoever.

"Because you will really have to wait for the day I can tell you again."

I finally mustered my voice, not just through nerves, but through tears. "My patience will be unmistakably excruciating from this day to that one… But I will endure all agony it entails… for you."

She gave me one last chuckle before laying back, scrambling under the covers behind me.

"If you continue your current pace, it should not be that painful. But I will share it for that time, as well as all pain we may find on the tenth floor and higher."

I finally coughed out a chuckle of my own, and climbed in beside her. "And in my world?"

She slithered closer, a warm red cheek pressed into my neck. "Yes… your world, too…"

I chuckled again, softly, as she drifted off, and I started to contemplate the modern belief that ghosts could interact with electronics. I almost wondered, with all that the NerveGear could do, if it was possible…

"After just over three years, could she have found a way to reach me…?"

I gently shook the silly thought out of my head, and fell asleep with a Dark Elven Royal Guard in my arms.

No.

I had fallen asleep with Kizmel, Pagoda Knight of Lyusula, in my arms.

A/N: So... I kind of figured out where I'm going with this whole thing. I needed a character for SAUER to be, I needed a motivation to push him forward, and I needed some kind of message for the story to convey – a question for the cast to answer through actions. I thought I had all of these, when I started writing this fanfiction. But according to other authors on the Discord server I often plug – SAO Fanfiction Central – I only really found all of these things in Chapter 22. I knew my first work would suffer from 'First Project Syndrome', but it has paid off, apparently. And I'm glad I made it to that point.

So, although there aren't really any statistical milestones to speak of right now, I'd like to thank you all once again for allowing me to get this far. Perhaps your silence was a sign; telling me that there was something missing that couldn't really be described well by just one or two people at separate moments.

If you want to have easier opportunities to express your thoughts of my work so far, and potentially shape the future of all my work – which includes jabbing my ribs with a stick regarding In Defense of Beaters – then join the aforementioned Discord server using the key: Sycypugbxq

Next week is likely Aincrad Interim Chapter 3. I have two pages of VI26 already, and I'm hoping to reach a point where I have multiple chapters written in advance, like I did from 1 to 3, and from 12 to 19. I'm also mentally toying with the idea of a fanfiction for The Addams Family, specifically the 1964 TV series sitcom. I need to watch it through another couple times to note down things I want to use.

For now, though, see you next Friday/Saturday overlap.