Author's note:

Look at that, two chapters in under a month.

Go me!

Enjoy :)

Chapter 48: Re-emergence

Sachi:

"Ah… Hah…" Coming to a stop, Sachi collapsed to the ground, her back against the age-worn stone wall of a random alley in Daedulus street.

The simple sight of Kirito had sent her scrambling away. She did not know how long she had run for, but she was multiple kilometers, or rather kilos, from where she had begun. Sitting on the dirty ground, Sachi could not even care about her casual clothes getting dirty. Only scenes from last night flooding through her mind.

Those eyes, consuming her soul.

The drink was like fire in fire in her veins. Continually pushing her further and further. The silence and tranquility she had cloaked herself in was no longer any good. She had needed attention. Now it felt like a dream, but the memories were all too real. Burned into her brain she did not think any volume would have been enough to make her forget.

"Hey there pretty lady, need a hand with something?"

Interrupted from her spiraling implosion of self-loathing, Sachi glared up at the man that had talked to her. No, men. Three of them, dirty cloaks that were beyond washing and should probably be tossed in the nearest refuse heap. Their faces were likewise scruffy and matted with dried dirt and blood. Eyes that screamed of empty lives sustained by moving from one high to the next, just trying to get through the day.

"Urgh!"

"She's an adventurer!"

"Run!"

Sachi blinked as the trio's hungry turned to terror and they sprinted away from her, looking back in fear, worried that she was chasing them. As soon as they dashed around one of the cramped corners however, Sachi's head had already fallen back to her lap.

"Why?" The worst part was Sachi did not what why she meant. Why did she act like a brazen fool? Or why had she not kissed Kirito when she had the chance.

The question could not be answered as another gang entered the alley and stared at her. This one seemed to be some sort of girl's group. The leader looked like an amazon with arms as thick as her legs and a nose that had been broken more than one time. Every one of the four women were sporting tight t-shirts with three diagonal tears in them that reminded Sachi of an old dinosaur movie her parents liked.

"Can I… help you?"

"Yeah, you can," the amazon spat, the fluid landing between Sachi's boots. "Hand over your money and your clothes."

"I'd rather not…" Sachi replied weakly. When did Daedalus Street get so dangerous?

"Heh, yeah, that's what they all say!" The amazon smirked. With no more warning she lifted her bare foot and tried to stomp Sachi's head against the wall.

Reacting with level two speed, Sachi grabbed the foot and scowled. The grime on the bottom of it was disgusting. Grossed out, she pushed it away harder than she meant to.

"N-No way!" Another woman cried as their leader crashed face first into the far wall with a crunch that made Sachi suspect that the amazon's poor nose may have been broken again.

"H-Hold on… This unassuming far east girl… Isn't she Hestia familia's Lady of the Spear: Great Twister of Dimensions!?"

"P-Please don't call me that," Sachi blushed, ducking her head. The title was so grandiose and long that it was awkward to hear out loud. She really liked the short and awesome titles that Kirito and Bell had gotten. Both of those were far better than hers.

As Sachi did not rise to kick their asses for trying to steal from her, the women looked at each other and shrugged. Moving with little to no concern, they hauled their unconscious leader unto their shoulders and sauntered away. Off to find weaker prey, Sachi supposed.

Huddling back in on herself, Sachi absent-mindedly wiped her hand on the ground, or tried to. The breaking cobblestone was too uneven and just as dirty as her hand already felt. Stopping, Sachi reluctantly began to use her top. It was a miracle she had not still been in her nightgown the way her head pounded at her.

As soon as she thought of the hangover she had induced, Sachi scowled. That was the last time she would drink, ever. It had been truly disgusting, Sachi still did not understand how she had managed to down so much of the vile fluid.

Even as she grumbled, mood soured from the dirt on her hand, her clothes, the ground, the consistent disruptions, and the pain in her head, another set of steps interrupted her.

Eyes flaring with anger, Sachi rose to her feet. This group of thieves she would be sure to deal with. "How dare you—Gah!"

Words cut off by her strangled throat, Sachi gaped at Kirito. Eyes bulging, she could not apologize quick enough.

"Ahaha, I thought that's how you might react to seeing me…" He replied, scratching his head, and avoiding her gaze.

"N-No, that's not! I was just!" Sachi did not know how to explain herself. How to explain the absolute hack-job she had made of this. Kirito had tracked her all the way to the other side of Orario to find her. The first thing she did was yell at him. Without the alcohol in her, Sachi fell silent once more. Face scarlet, she stared at the ground mortified, wishing she could melt into the mud and other fluids caked into the stones there.

"Sachi…"

"Huh?" A force on her chin—Kirito's hand—was lifting her up to face him. Trembling, Sachi gaped silently.

"Do you… like me?"

"Eh?" Mind blank, Sachi could no longer remember anything. All previous thoughts had been excised from her mind. In this moment there was only Kirito and his question. Oh, but there was also so much more. There were his big black eyes stealing her soul. The slight wrinkles of worry around his eyes, as if scared that she would reject him. His mouth moving slightly as if wanting to say more. It was just him, and it was so much more. It was always so much more when Kirito was involved.

"Sachi?" Kirito asked again, a frown growing on his face when she did not answer.

"That's… That's not fair…"

Kirito's hand left her chin, and with it, all the heat in the world. Her burning body was dunked in freezing water and left to perish in the artic wastes. He backed up a step and did a short bow of apology.

"I am sorry to put you on the spot like that. Umm, if you ever want to talk again as friends… or as something more, my door is always open to you."

With another jerky bow, Kirito turned around and began to leave. For just one moment a brief expression of pain clear in his eyes.

Rushing forward, Sachi grabbed his sleeve. The frozen world exploded around her and heat burst from her core once again.

It isn't fair.

None of this is fair.

"I don't have any options when you ask me like that…"

In an instant, Kirito had turned around, face flickering through a dozen emotions. "Of course you have a choice. I will never take your choices away from you. Whatever you want, as much or as little, I swear. I don't want you feel pressured into anything!"

Giggling, Sachi shook her head at him. "You don't understand, I never had a chance, neither did the others. No, that's not quite right, I don't need or even want a choice. If… If for even a day…"

Sachi's cheeks flamed at what she was saying. The truth in each word empowered the next. For all of her life she was on the sideline, but last night, and now here, in this dirty, rundown alley with thieves hunting around every corner, she was the main focus.

"If I can love you and receive your love in return… that is all I want. You helped me so much Kirito. I just… I just want to aid you even a little as you save everyone."

"Sachi…" Kirito's eyes had tears in them. Or maybe they were in Sachi's, she did not know. "I'll save you from this world, I swear I will."

She put a finger to his lips and smiled. "Don't swear a promise you cannot keep. If I die, it is not your fault. I just… for the next five minutes, want to be the heroine. Please?"

Kirito's lips on hers were answer enough. Wrapped in pleasure, Sachi allowed the outside world to pass by without her. It did not need her. Into her private world with Kirito only one extraneous thought intruded: Maybe it wasn't the alcohol…

Argo:

Where are they heading? Growing angry, Argo silently followed the stolen caravans from one hundred paces back. Even at that distance she was wary. Every now and then the leader of the group half turned. She was invisible and it was impossible for him to sense her… yet it unnerved her.

Their path was leading them entirely around the outside of Orario, not going within two clicks of the wall. That massive structure remained a faint blur on the horizon, yet the tower at the center was visible keeping them on track. The massive circular path was an incredible distance to traverse. Made worse by the fact that they had left main roads ages ago. As night was falling, they were coming upon the great southern road. Connecting Orario to Melen, the well-traveled road always had traffic and more importantly, it had farms maximizing the yield of the fertile land.

The verdant land was constantly supplied with water from the storms that wracked the coastline to the south. Spring monsoons fade into occasional summer showers. The seasons had deepened further until now the wind had switched direction. Only cold gusts came down from the North, leaving Spring a distant memory of the future when planting season would come again.

Argo had no idea what the farmers did when there were no crops to take care off. Smoke a pipe and tell stories? Either way, it made no difference to her. The only thing that mattered was where these fools were going with the wagons.

Half an hour of slow travel over bumpy, untamed land lead them unto a side road that two farms shared. Likely, it let them cart things closer to different parts of the barren fields she walked past without going into the fields. A little while later, they encountered the main street. As if they did not care about the main thoroughfare, they continued walking on the perpendicular path.

Growling, Argo did not think the murderers had even stopped joking. What was the point of staying out of sight of the walls if one was willing to cross a busy street with zero precautions?

Stepping unto the road herself, Argo glanced South to Melen and then North to Orario. In the last light of the day, she saw no one. Without automatic electric streetlamps lining roads, no one would dare travel in the dead of night. Even Argo had not truly understood exactly how dark true night was. The sky here was brighter than the one in her old world, but it did nothing to illuminate the surroundings.

After another half an hour, the wagons ahead unveiled bullseye lanterns, the light conspicuously restricted to the right side of the caravans away from Orario. Even then, they were used sparingly, just to double check an occasional feature.

Using her own enhanced senses from levelling up twice and their light, Argo tailed them without ever tripping. In fact, Argo doubted that she even needed the lanterns.

Is it because I'm a Renart? Idle thoughts were her only company. Argo wished for a nice soft, warm bed. Maybe Kirito would be there as well, blushing as he massaged her feet, telling her what a good job she had done.

Yes, and after my feet he can do my back. It would be so easy to chastise him as his gaze keeps wandering…

Argo's smile was not quite evil, but the boy would have shivered if he had been there to see it. Eyes glazing over, Argo let the fantasies consume her mind.

Of course I only pretend to mind his eyes. His throat drying up with desire as his hands keep drifting lower on my back. Hehe… maybe I even let him see something.

At that point, Argo swiftly shook her head to cut it off. She would have slapped herself if the noise wouldn't have carried to those she followed. She had given up that future when she agreed to aid Hermes as a full member of his familia and a confidant.

"Close the lanterns," the leader's voice carried back to her. "We're here, don't let the city see us."

"Took long enough," one muttered. "This is why I don't do these stupid missions. Bloody city is too fucking big."

"It was a good test of the guns," the leader replied casually. "Move."

The path parallel to the walls changed ninety degrees, suddenly on a beeline straight to Orario. After being initially confused, Argo growled to herself about being stupid. Where they were was almost on the far side of Orario from where they had started. If their objective had been much past this, they would have gone around the North side.

Taking a step after the wagons which were now little more than shadows in the nights, Argo stopped. Something was… wrong. But the wagons were moving away from her, and Argo was not in pursuit. She had to find the entrance or base that they used.

"Stop being a fool…" Argo whispered to herself, a sardonic smile twisting her lips. Still, it was hard not to see shapes in the darkness. Twisting, writhing figures that threatened to consume her. To treat her with the same mercy these murderers showed to the cart guards.

Maybe I really will make Kirito massage my feet…

Stalking forward once again, Argo let the gap between her and the wagons in front shrink. From one hundred, down to fifty or so. Even with her enhanced senses, she could barely see the caravan. They were little more than mounds moving with the occasional swear and curse.

After another minute of walking, Argo finally registered what was wrong. These noises, careless swears that could draw attention… had been silenced by the leader. A leader that had not spoken since the lights went out.

No way… He couldn't be…

With rigid movements, Argo turned around. From the knee-high grass, an even darker shadow rose. A ragged mantle shrouding their body, the outline of a cleaver in their right hand, a gun in their left.

Argo froze, absolute terror gripping her heart. This could nothing less than a demon. A denizen of the underworld who had come claim her soul for a transaction she did not remember making.

Maybe Hermes sold it for me?

That final thought and the anger that her god would do something like that, brought some life back into Argo. Some. It did not fully melt the icy fear gripping her heart. This was not a demon, it was the leader of the caravan. At least that's what Argo tried to tell herself. Even if he had gotten behind her, she was still invisible, he could not—

"I can hear your heartbeat… I can taste the aroma of fear that bleeds from you… invisible warrior."

No way… Carefully, not making any noise at all, Argo took one, then a second stride to the side. As she moved, the figure rotated with her, taking one step in the new direction.

"Fool. Reveal yourself and explain why you follow us. I will make your death quick. Try and run and well… Our base is close. You will scream for days."

Argo, of course, took the third option. Fear still mostly encapsulating her body, she sprinted away from him and the caravan. No longer caring about tracking down the location, she ran. Leaping through the pitted land and edges of farmer's fields, Argo tried to escape the demon that had cornered her.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang! Thump!

Teeth clamping together to suppress the scream, Argo never knew exactly how loud the sound of a bullet was. Not the sound of a gun firing, that had been made clear to her in media all the time. The sound of the bullet striking flesh. Striking her flesh.

Searing pain told her that she was still alive as she continued to run away. Every step brought on a fresh wave more powerful than the last.

Away! Away! It was the only thought that could exist through the pain and fear in her mind. Those words were far too simple for the state she was in. Vision blurring, Argo's ragged breaths could probably be heard at one hundred paces as she struggled through the night.

"You think you can run from me?" The haunting voice of the demon followed her. "I can smell your blood. I will cut off your feet and drag you back."

"Hrngg!" A half-snivel, half cry of terror ripped itself past Argo's clenched teeth. One hand on her side, Argo tried to hold the blood in. Whatever hunted her could smell it, smell her.

This isn't happening, it can't be.

The situation was too ridiculous to be real. Argo was the perfect spy. No one had ever seen her when she didn't want to be. Well, besides Kirito, and Bell, kind of…

But even those two had reacted to her looking at them. Neither had been able to hunt her down. But this thing that pursued her did so with ease.

Bang!

Argo felt the air that disrupted next to her. The path of the supersonic bullet that disrupted her strides. It was far more horrible than she could have ever imagined. Getting shot at was a true hell. The knowledge that death could take her at any moment with no warning. The bangs that signaled that herald of death, too late to tell any but the survivors.

Bang!

"Tsk… my last bullet." The voice echoed from behind Argo like an illusion, not corporeal enough to belong to any one place.

There was still real sounding anger in it. Argo's pace even injured would have outstripped the fastest horse. Olympic sprinters would be left in the dust by Argo's hobbling pace in the dead of night along uncertain ground.

Was that… the truth? Argo had not given up the dungeon altogether. She had tussled with her familia members and dungeon monsters alike. Learning how to fight everything was necessary to survive trying to fulfill her god's will. If that demon was truly out of bullets… she could try fighting it.

"I'm catching you…" The demon laughed evilly, voice echoing deeply through the night. "You cannot flee."

Argo's feet changed the sound they made on the ground. Glancing down, the grass had faded. She ran across the furrowed mounds of a barren field. Nothing grew here now, but she was back on property. Civilization. The time time back was a fraction the time it had been since they left.

"Tsk."

The muttered curse behind her notified Argo of another option. This man did not have the luxury of hunting her through the night. If she could disappear into a nearby building, he would give up. Her screams would notify people. Ganesha familia would be here before the sun rose and able to track him to his secret hideout. That meant…

Turning, Argo's knife just managed to deflect the cleaver. Backpedaling she was confused at the lack of pattern to the demon's strikes. His cowl turned from side-to-side, as if looking for her.

In the gap, Argo ran again. Sideways, head turned back to stare at the moving shadow, but still moving. Each second closer to safety. She had to believe that. It was the only thing keeping her moving at this point. Argo barely noticed that she no longer felt that icy fear. There simply was not room for it with pain and planning taking her mind.

"Your blood waters the plants," the shadow spoke again, closing in on her. "Give up already."

Argo, of course, did not answer. Sidestepping a slash, Argo thought that he was losing track of her for some reason. His gaze was focused more on the ground than her. On her blood splatters. The dark liquid almost invisible against the black ground.

Why can't it find me? Not worrying about that, Argo's mind spat out another plan in a fraction of a second. Removing her blood-soaked hand from her side, Argo tossed it, and more importantly the blood held in it, to the side. The blood arced and fell in rivulets not too different from when she had turned to block the attack.

Instantly, the figure dashed where the blood had fallen, cleaver cutting a massive path through where Argo had to have been. Meeting no resistance at all, the shadow stumbled.

Just a man after all. With almost an afterthought, Argo brought back her arm and threw the dagger. It whizzed through the intervening space, taking the shadow in the shoulder with a solid thunk.

Hissing, the shadow slid backwards and away. Argo watched it go for a moment but did not pursue them. The ache in her head threatened to bring her to her knees. Holding on for a moment more, Argo let her magic fall.

"That damn shortcoming. The stupid helmets don't have one." But Argo knew that was not true either. There was nothing that truly had no weaknesses.

Taking one last hesitant glance into the darkness of the fields, Argo shook her head and dispelled the foolish fears lingering at the edge of her mind. Limping away with a hand on her side, Argo cursed into air. "I'm definitely getting a massage from Kirito."

Aisha:

Frowning into Ishtar's quarters, Aisha's eyes ran over everything quickly. The goddess should not have had time to hide things. The result of the wargame had been announced so suddenly. Ishtar fleeing immediately and not returning…

As a level four adventurer, and someone who had led expeditions to the deep levels, Aisha knew her wishes were pointless. The signs were all here, Ishtar had cleaned it out. Taken everything she thought she needed.

Tsking angrily, Aisha briefly considered smashing that massive bed Ishtar liked to lounge on. With considerable effort Aisha stopped herself. She had to remind herself that things were looking up. Things would improve from now on.

Stepping out of the Goddess' rooms, Aisha frowned down at the people below milling slowly about. They did not have the urgency that they should. The break since the wargame had been too long. They were growing lazy.

"Stop goofing around and move your backs! If you don't remember, we're bankrupt now! Get this place spotless in the next two hours or I'm taking the lost income from disgruntled customers out of your hides!"

Aisha did not truly mean the words and the girls bustling around her knew that. Truly, Aisha was half surprised that they hadn't tied her down and flayed her alive. That, however, was a risk she was willing to take. She had failed so many of these people in helping Haruhime. Half of the Ishtar members moved about the house with a glazed look in their eyes. From having their money taken from them and being kicked out their home only for Aisha to rouse them and tell them all that she had managed to get it back for them.

The set-up she had managed to secure was dubious at best. Half of it depended upon the goodwill of Hestia familia, the true owners at this point. For the simple reason that Ishtar familia was no longer a legal entity. The familia token was no good and banks no longer accepted transactions from anyone associated with Ishtar familia. All payments had to be done in coin.

Aisha still remembered Royman's face twitching as Kirito explained to him what was happening. The elf looked both extremely angry but also relieved in some way.

Probably just glad that the city won't burn in flames from this anyway.

Aisha paused in what she was doing and stared down at the entrance doors. They stood flung open, and people were constantly running outside to beat carpets or haul things between the different buildings. Most of the surrounding entertainment district had been lax, thinking they could escape their taxes and duties. Aisha had sent runners to tell them that a new order was in charge around here and it would start tonight. People who failed to adapt would not last.

Just as Aisha was about to turn away from the doors, a cloaked figure entered. Aisha frowned at them. It was definitely cold enough to wear one, but Aisha could not rip her eyes away from the figure. That grace… The woman beneath was surely incredibly beautiful. A woman that would have a line of men waiting upon her every word.

No… It cannot be!

Yet the amazons that were passing in and out of the house had stopped and stared. None had challenged her. There were only three existences in the world that could do this.

"Ishtar…"

The cloaked figure looked up and met Aisha's gaze. "Aisha. Thank you kindly child for getting my house back."

Meeting the goddess' stare head-on, Aisha felt all energy leave her legs. Her knees wanted to collapse and kneel.

I've beaten this fight! I won't lose… not to her, not anymore!

"Kneel." Ishtar ordered, her voice seductive and filled with an authority that could not be ignored. Every single person on the ground floor staring at Ishtar did just that. Not just one knee, but both, faces against the ground groveling.

"N-No… Not again!" Turning heel, Aisha fled. Her nightmares had returned. Sauntered straight through the front door of her home. Aisha had thought things would improve, that she could recover from this. She should have known better. She was trapped forever.

Tears threatened to spill from her usually arrogant face as she fled like a child from an abusive parent.

Hestia:

"…Bored."

Staring at the roof of her room, the goddess lay spread eagle on her bed. She did not move, nor did she really want to. The last few days had been busy enough to last her a lifetime.

Not that she was lazy, the races of the children were simply too frantic. If they tried relaxing a little more and reading more books, there would be no need for her to work as hard.

Still, her stomach roiled thinking of yesterday. Signing over ownership of Belit babbity and the pleasure district to Aisha Belka still had not felt right. Against all odds, her familia had won. They should have gotten more from it. They should be strongest familia in Orario.

"I guess I could recruit more children… If I had a bigger house." That was another issue Hestia was trying to avoid. A book lay open beside her hand. It was a wonderful story of a nice, traditional couple where the man tried to solve every problem with a sword, creating more complications than he solved before his dear had to step in and use a firm word to calm everything down.

Bigger house… "Gah!" Grabbing at her twintails, Hestia slammed her heels uselessly against the bed. After half a minute of thrashing though, Hestia laid limply once more. She was bored, but her mind wouldn't let her read. The source for that Hestia had only recently discovered, guilt.

Thinking about rising now, Hestia was truly considering it. As she thought another two minutes ticked away, counted by the sound of the clock in the corner of her sparse room. She had the largest room in the building, remodeled from a crumbling church, but it was not large. Her bed, just wider than the length of fingertips took up nearly half of it. A closet and a washbasin another quarter. With the desk present, it looked squashed, and she had it to herself. Most of the other girls slept double. Hestia's checks heated thinking about how more of them were now sleeping in the house. Kirito's bed did not fit three people, whatever the girls said.

"…Oh, Kirito." Hestia mumbled. She was a goddess, her memories stretched back thousands, tens of thousands of years. To a creation that she hardly remembered nor wanted to. Even the briefest of thoughts about that period made her shudder in horror. Snapping back to the present, Hestia could not remember a period of time she had ever experienced that was so short, yet so turbulent.

The times when it was just her and Kirito in her familia were growing fuzzy despite being so recent. He had been so different at that time. Angry, innocent, open, pure. He had been gripped by an earnest desire to return to his world then, focused on getting stronger in order to clear the dungeon. Hestia had been told that the children of the races changed fast, but she had never seen before.

She hadn't, had she?

Holding a hand to her head, Hestia frowned. Now that was odd. A strange head fog enshrouding her memories. No, this was her first time playing on the lower world with the children. Unlike the centuries that dragged by while Hestia napped and read, each day here was exciting and could change everything.

In moments, Hestia's frown washed away thinking about those days. Now, Kirito was more confident, his baby-faced youth begun to harden and mature into a warrior. The growth Hestia had witnessed was what she had been told to expect, but in fast forward. It was like she had bought a bag of seeds for plants that weren't supposed to flower for five years but had done so in a few months.

"Hestia!" The door to her room, banged open, Leafa's terrified face in the entryway. Briefly, Hestia forgot about the girl's panic, and sat somewhat straighter, pride surging through her. Leafa's title, the Fairy Knight, was quite good. It was the kind of title that people whispered in awe to each other when discussing their exploits such as the Silent One from Hera Familia or Gale Wind from Astrea. Why that goddess had returned was something Hestia kept meaning to look into.

"Yes?" Hestia asked after that brief pause.

"Ishtar is back!" Leafa informed her with a shout. "She claimed her old territory back last night. Aisha said she is forcing them to obey her with charm. Today… Today Ishtar has moved into the Market district."

"N-No, not even Ishtar would…" Mouth hanging open, Hestia did not want to believe it. Using an ultra-powerful monster to destroy Orario and everyone in it bringing about the end of an age for revenge was one thing. Using her powers that she rightfully should not have access to in order to manipulate the children in such a wanton manner was another sin entirely.

"A few Ganesha familia members went to confront Ishtar and stop her…" Leafa reported gravelly, her voice shaking as if she did not really believe it. "I heard… I heard they came back and reported success, their eyes glazed over. When their captain pressed them about it, they tried to assassinate her."

Hestia shivered. She felt the city getting torn down around her as the absolute worse case possibility was coming true. Ishtar had lost all shreds of self-respect. Any deities watching would be outraged. It did not break the rules… on a technicality.

"Hestia…" Leafa's voice was weak with fear. "What do we do?"

What can we do? Hestia frowned again, lines creaseless her divine features. "There is only one person in the city I know of who can resist Ishtar's charm outright. It is up to her how this ends."

"But surely-!"

Leafa's protests were cut-off by Hestia's raised hand. "We need to gather together everyone and leave. Ishtar knows where our home is. We need to hide Haruhime and the boys from her. She may be after anything at this point, but those three interested her the most originally."

"…Okay. The others here know. I'll tell them to grab weapons and get ready to leave."

"Good." Peeling herself off the bed, Hestia grumbled in her mind as she stalked over to the closet. What was I thinking, complaining about being bored? Hestia doubted she would have a moment to be bored in the next week or longer.

Sorting through the garments she owned, Hestia could hardly remember the rough cloths that she had been forced to live in. Hestia grimaced thinking about how dirty that white smock had gotten. Little better than a shift a farmer's wife may wear.

Throwing off her own night garments that Hestia had never changed out of, she quickly pulled on more suitable garments for the colder weather. Thick stockings up to her thigh, a blue cotton dress that was a little too tight around the chest and fell straight around her waist where a silver belt hugged her hips. Around her shoulders, Hestia pulled a thick gray cloak. The material was expensive due to its ability to repel water. More than that, it was warm.

Nodding to herself in the tall mirror, Hestia swept from the room, she had settled her hair in the morning leaving nothing else left to do.

Now, she had to protect her familia from a goddess that had the ability to control every single thing that she set her eyes on. How, Hestia had no idea.

With one foot in the corridor, Hestia froze, eyes bulging in horror. Where had Leafa said Ishtar had moved to? It had to be a coincidence. "Kirito." Breathing the boy's name, Hestia ran for the stairs.

Freya:

The tightening around Freya's mouth was almost imperceptible as Heathcliff finished reading the missive. It had been sparse on details, but contained enough to let Freya deduce the rest.

"Thoughts?" She mused to Heathcliff. Even in the mid-morning, Freya had a glass of wine in her hand. Its color was so faint it was almost clear. Perfect, almost. Its aroma was as icy as its taste. She barely touched it to her lips, not vulgar enough to down glass after glass as a drunkard like Loki may.

"Fascinating," came the man's honest reply. He stood straight like a good attendant, but took more liberties than any Freya had had in the past. He interested her, the man's mind was unique, she doubted there was one like him born more than once a century. At the same time, Freya knew that he was not her Odr. His soul glistened a mosaic of red hues with black veins distorting it. Doubts, regrets, and sins that had permanently marred the man. Her Odr could not have any of that.

"Is that all?" Freya asked mildly. She did not put any emotion into the words, but most people would be stammering apologies and clarifying their statements. Heathcliff barely shifted.

"Yes," he replied, with voice matching hers with a noticeable lack of emotion. "It is a curious thing, your charm. How exactly does it effect a person? How long do the effects linger? Can it create true love? Is there truly such a thing to begin with?"

"Most are questions for another time," Freya swirled her wineglass. Her discontent still did not show on her smooth face, but Freya broiled inside. Orario was her kingdom. Peeled from the dead hands of Hera and Zeus. Now, Ishtar threatened to set the entire city ablaze.

It was not that Freya could not stop Ishtar. The simpering goddess' charm would be easy enough to override, but this was also a chance. To watch them grow again. To test them again. If Freya played her cards wrong here, everyone would see her interest. The intersection of the bottomless abyss and the blazing sun had left her stunned. She would have them both.

"The city needs you, goddess." The man said diffidently, yet firmly. "Is there anyone else who can defeat Ishtar?"

"Ouranos could," Freya responded factually, ignoring the first part.

"That rock is trapped beneath the guild restraining the dungeon," Heathcliff snapped back, the first traces of anger colouring his words. "You could end this in a matter of minutes. Is there a point to delaying?"

"…" Carefully. If she was wrong… Was it worth it? Freya did not consider herself a player down here on the lower world, not really. She was the most beautiful being in existence. The worlds and wills shaped themselves around her.

Or they had until Hera.

Freya could still taste the defeat she had learned at that Goddess' hands. Had been forced to reevaluate. Before, she would have gone down and laughed Ishtar back to the heavens. Now, she refused to rely on her charm.

"Those boys will deal with her again this time." Freya declared, mind made up.

"How?" Heathcliff replied. "The only ones allowed to kill a goddess is another god or goddess. Of those you yourself claim only Ouranos and you can resist her charm."

"The other goddesses will also be nigh untouchable for Ishtar," Freya explained. She did not know why she felt defensive, forced to explain herself. Maybe… This test was too extreme?

A little stupid?

Her city had the chance of being burnt to the ground, the two most promising candidates she had ever seen for being her Odr erased. It was a gamble, but they had passed their last test with flying colours. Freya continued for Heathcliff, "Ishtar's charm is based upon sex. She believes so much in fertility that the only kind of love she recognizes is between a man and a woman."

"So… Her charm is most effective against men," Heathcliff reasoned out on his own. "It should have reduced effect on women, children, and other deities."

Freyja nodded, sipping her wine. Setting the empty glass down on a crystal table she strode to the balcony, flinging open the glass doors that separated her from the open air. The cold air rushed in, tearing through Freya's thin garments. Making no reaction to the change in temperature, Freya gripped the railing with tight hands. Staring down at the city below, Freya's eyes found the region in Northern Orario where the Hestia familia house lay.

Survive and shine brighter, my brilliant gems.

Reduced to an observer, more accurately, reducing herself, Freya watched as chaos began to beset her once idyllic city. Unable to enjoy it, her eyes were harder than diamonds as she tracked the progression below.

Asuna:

"Hehehe…" Giggling to herself, Asuna had to restrain herself from skipping through the streets. Even then, her steps were faster than normal. Fast enough that she had to stop and wait for the person travelling with her.

Kirito had a dazed expression on his face, as if unsure this situation was actually happening. Or it could just be that he was exhausted.

"Ki-ri-to-kun!" Asuna sung, stabbing his nose with a finger. "You should at least try and look happy! This is the first time I've seen you in weeks!"

"Oh, sorry."

He actually did look apologetic. He frowned, and bowed his head, scratching at his hair. "I'm just getting a bad feeling."

"A bad feeling?" It was Asuna's turn to frown. She had heard disgruntled women say before that the only time a man's instincts were correct was finding where the closest alcohol lay. For most men, Asuna would trust that; after adventuring with Kirito she would trust his instincts before her eyes.

"I-It is probably nothing," Kirito tried to assure her. "You like sweets right? Want to try a couple of different stalls for lunch?"

"S-Sure!" Asuna feigned a smile. When her eyes focused on the road in front of them again, Kirito's forced smile had slipped. His eyes resuming their glassy stare at everything and nothing.

Now that she had asked, Asuna could no longer pull back the excitement for the day. She wanted to. As members of separate familias, their time together was short. Likely, the next day Asuna could get off was another two weeks from now. If that didn't work with Kirito, it would be a month until she saw him again.

Reaching out, she enclosed his hand in hers and walked close. Shoulders brushing, she leaned her head on his shoulder. He was just an oh-so little bit taller than her that made it possible.

"Kirito," Asuna whispered, "I thought you already knew that I cannot be happy if you are not."

"Urk." The boy shivered visibly. "Sorry, I've ruined your day. We get so few opportunities and I've…"

"Hush," Asuna covered Kirito's lips with a stern finger. "Let's enjoy the time we get, okay?"

"…Ruf!" Kirito playfully bit at Asuna's finger.

Retracting her hand with the speed of a high-level adventurer, Asuna frowned at the boy. "There's no need for that now." Sniffing, Asuna whirled and began their progression anew, steering Kirito to a small stand.

A tired chientrope with large, drooping ears maned the stand. He wore a dirty white apron over thick brown clothes. "Welcome to Wally's White Wintercones. Would the wonderous wuvers wuv a wintery Wintercone?"

Asuna blinked. The alliteration had been delivered in a flat monotone. "W-Wuvers?"

"We would," Kirito followed up on Asuna's question. He threw a one thousand vali on the wooden countertop as payment.

"Wery generous, my wonderful wuvers." The man pocketed the coin, assuming the rest of it was a tip.

Asuna's eyebrow twitched. She was caught between wanting to yell at the man about the stupid forced set-up and laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Taking a look at Kirito tipped her closer to laughing. The boy's mouth was a tight line, eye twitching, on the verge of breaking down.

Opening a lid on the stand, the man reached down with a large scoop and extracted a white, fluffy looking substance from it and dumped it into a massive bowl.

Asuna blinked again. "This is… a wintercone?"

"Wabsolutely."

"…" Taking it in unsteady hands, Asuna bowed her head slightly, "thank you."

"Wally's wishes on your week."

Asuna managed to get three steps before noises began to leak from her throat. Kirito was not far behind. Strange hiccups breaking through his too-still face. Falling into a nearby alleyway, Asuna almost dropped the shaved ice, laughing.

Kirito was right behind her breaking down completely, slapping his knee hysterically.

Tears of laughter coming to Asuna's eyes, she clamped a hand to her mouth to try and repress the laughter. After a minute, when she thought she had it under control, Asuna met Kirito's gaze and another round took her.

"W-What was that?" Kirito gasped.

"I don't know!" Asuna shot out between raspy breaths. Slowly, the laughter faded as they stared at each other knowingly. Asuna knew this a scene she would remember forever.

Looking down at the Wintercone bowl, Asuna realized she had forgotten a spoon. Frowning at it disconcertedly, there was no elegant way to eat it without one.

"Guess we'll take turns licking it," Kirito teased. At least, Asuna assumed it was until he leaned in and did just that, eyes locked on her.

"Gross," Asuna sniffed. Then, with a mischievous smile, she brought it to her mouth and gave the pile of cold white flakes a slow, deliberate lick from the rim of the bowl to the tip of the pile. The sweet, cold of the shaved ice suffused her mouth but her body was aflame.

Did I really just do that!?

Kirito gulped. "I-I will try to behave more like you…"

"Good." Asuna instructed, pointing at the top with her finger. "After me." Asuna licked around the peak of the shaved ice in circle, shaping and reshaping the tip.

Kirito's gaze was starting to firm up from the early surprise. When he spoke, his eyes smoldered, voice husky. "I think I can do that."

Grabbing unto Asuna's wrist, Kirito leaned in, his eyes locked on hers as approached the shaved ice. "Like this?" His tongue expertly wrapped around the spot where Asuna had previously licked.

"Urgh." Cheeks flaming, Asuna had no idea what she had done. Why did I start this? WHY? Even as screamed at herself, Asuna did not back down. "You look like you've practiced that motion before."

"Hmm, I wouldn't mind practicing more on you."

Instantly, Asuna's hand holding the Wintercone was forced to her side, Kirito's body pressed against hers as his lips touched hers. Trapped between the wall and him, Asuna felt every muscle of his body. She doubted she could escape even if she wanted to. She didn't.

Minutes, maybe hours passed while Asuna was held in Kirito's embrace. At some point her spare hand had found his face, tracing the contours of his jaw. How it had firmed up from the baby-faced youth she had once been a supporter for.

"Ahh…" Gasping when she was released, Asuna's knees shook for a brief moment. Hand bracing against the wall, she at least did not fall, even if her toes were curled to their limit.

"Did I… pass?"

Asuna managed a pout when she looked up. Even if her cheeks were flushed, it was better than nothing. "I get the feeling you are practicing a little too often."

That was the wrong joke to make. Kirito's eyes coloured with a touch of guilt and sorrow. "I'm sorry." His hand caressed her face. "I will not leave them for you."

"I know," Asuna replied quickly. "I wasn't trying to imply that. I-I ruined the mood."

"Ah, no… I-I still take it too seriously. I need to learn how to joke about it as well."

"Hmm," Asuna touched his face again. "We will work on it together, okay?"

"Deal."

Asuna's knees almost crumpled for real this time as she took in Kirito's smile. The boundless happiness it contained. Somehow, Asuna had fallen, and fallen hard. Fallen to the point where Asuna did not think she would even flinch telling her mother about the situation.

I will take what I can get, and it will be enough.

With Kirito off her, Asuna pushed herself from the wall and was about to recommend they continue their date, maybe find a nice park with a bench when Kirito barred her path with an arm.

"Something's wrong."

Asuna felt for her staff instinctively, but she had left it in her room. All she had was her rapier, decoration for her dress, but she rarely went without it. Kirito wore his sword as well. The thing had pretty much replaced the cellphone that she did not part from in the old world.

Asuna's sensitive hearing began to notice a difference in the ambient sound. Orario's markets were always loud. A continual bustling that was made louder by people yelling to be heard over the din. Now, that pleasant daily noise had morphed. Pounding feet echoed, screams contained fear, the high pitch penetrating.

The clerk for Wally's Wonderous Wintercones came running past the mouth of the alleyway, mouth half open panting like a dog. Asuna took half a step back at the sheer lust that shone in his maniacal eyes.

"No… She can't be." Kirito's voice was touched with fear.

"Ishtar familia?" Asuna asked. "What would they be doing…" Letting herself trail off, there was no longer any need for words. A figure, shaded by the light behind them had stopped in the mouth of the alley.

Asuna's mouth dried, her heart quickening. The fading flush in her cheeks reignited. Asuna did not even notice as the Wintercone, carefully held until this point fell from her grip. Its splattering along the cobbled path went unnoticed.

Share Kirito? Who was she kidding, this person should have him. This person should have whomever they want.

Asuna held a hand against her head trying to dam the onslaught of unwanted thoughts. Only they hadn't been unwanted. They were hers. They were true.

Click.

The sound of heel on stone rang out as the figure turned and took one step into the alley, their face and body revealed. This time, Asuna's knees did fail.

I'm a failure of a woman. This is what I should be, but can't. Compared to her I'm a worm.

Tears of regret began to spill out and run down Asuna's cheeks. For her failure she would serve this being. Asuna did not know how to address them. Were there any words in the languages she spoke that could suffice?

"Run."

Kirito's hoarse word shocked her. Glancing over, she realized he was on the ground beside her. His wide, bloodshot eyes had a glazed appearance.

"Run, please."

The words snapped something in Asuna. Without even a nod of acknowledgement Asuna turned and sprinted away. The end of the alley had a two-story building at the end of it. Reaching it, Asuna pushed once off the street, once off the side of the building, and then grabbed the roof. Throwing herself up, Asuna was now barefoot as she ran to the peak of the building and threw herself down the other side.

Laying there panting, Asuna waited. Left hand gripping her head, her nails were on the verge of drawing blood. "What? What was that?"

She could still feel the emotions. They had not been implanted in her. That goddess had dredged them up from inside her. Asuna had simply reacted that way upon meeting what must have been goddess Ishtar.

Embarrassment curdling her stomach, Asuna crawled back up to the peak of the roof and glanced back down at the alleyway. Kirito was still kneeling, but he was facing the goddess now. She smiled down at him like a dog fighter would at a new puppy.

Asuna wanted to save him, but couldn't move. She could do nothing as the goddess beckoned with a hand and Kirito followed her from the alley. A column of followers were waiting there for the goddess. Not just the amazons that had been part of her familia but what looked like commoners and members of other familias. Most of the thirty of so following were actually male.

The goddess faded from view, Kirito as well. Beneath Asuna's hand, the tile supporting her shattered. Eyes roaring with fury, Asuna sprinted from the market. Ishtar would pay for this.

Bell:

Standing in the sweltering room, Bell felt sweat roll off his body in waves. Fat beads coating his forehead rolled down to his white shirt and stuck it to his body.

Obediently, Bell turned around when instructed, letting the blacksmith make further measurements. That was Welf Crozzo, last of the once noble blacksmiths, and capable of forging incredibly powerful magic swords.

Another red-haired man sat slumped on a chair against one of the walls. He wore an irascible smile and had a mug of ale in his hand despite the hour. He was the only other person who had agreed to make a deal with Welf; Klein his name was. Bell had never heard Kirito mention him, but the red-haired man did not stop talking about Kiri-man, as he called him.

"You should have seen him!" Klein was saying. "There he was, this young boy looking at us like we were disobedient children and he couldn't figure out how to teach us a lesson!"

"Ha!" Welf laughed. "I'm sure that didn't end well."

"For us it would not have, probably!" Klein added a twist with a wry smile before taking another swig. "Boy had forgotten more about the dungeon than the rest of us knew combined."

"So, Kirito ended up teaching you how to fight?" Bell asked curiously. He only heard stories about Kirito's early days from Hestia, and the goddess had spent most of her time those days working at the potato snack stall to hear her tell it.

"Yeah," Klein continued. "Fighting is bloody hard to pick up as an old man. Not that I am that old! Just compared to squirts like you and Kiri-man. Humiliating, barely managed to kill a kobold before we were… forced, to the square."

Bell was curious as to what the man had been about to say. It was clear he did not want to talk about it as he buried his face in his mug.

Welf had stopped measuring and was back at the forge. Bell understood half of what the man did to shape the pair of shoulder plates that he worked on right now. The metal glowed almost white as Welf brought the hammer down on it, curving it to his will. He had brought piles of materials for engraving the armour after he finished with the forging. Already the largest piece, the light breastplate lay completed on a table.

Bell thought it looked regal as it was, an off-white colour granted from the mixture of steel with a dungeon tortoise scales for additional hardness. Welf had plans to rim it with a crimson red. Which would, according to the blacksmith, 'make it awesomer'.

Bell did not complain, if the completed set was even better than that set he had sitting around his store, he was in for a treat.

"Oh yeah, Bell." Klein asked, changing topics on a dime. "Why are you here? Isn't that Liz chick a member of your familia now? Welfy over here is good, but he mutters grudging praise for her every now and then."

"She's busy…" Bell replied, not sure how true the statement was. "B-Besides, Welf knows how to make the armour I like…"

A raised eyebrow from Klein was all the opposition Bell faced. Blaming his red face on the heat, Bell went and sat down on a different stool. They were the only two in the entire forge. The rest of the room was lined with a mixture of adventuring gear and smithing tools. Bell was familiar with most of them, if only because a hammer was a hammer, excluding the fact that they came in a dozen sizes, made of different materials with different heads. Bell would have as little idea about fashion or baking as to their exact uses.

When Welf used his tongs to return the shoulder plate to the forge, he frowned at Klein. "You trying to drive away my second customer?"

"Second customer my ass," Klein snorted. "My whole party would take weapons from you if you didn't charge an arm-and-a-leg."

"Metal is expensive," Welf muttered in response ignoring Klein's pointed look toward the armour Bell was getting for free.

"I thought you liked that girl enough to not undermine her like this."

Bell glanced between the two flame-haired men. He did not know what they were talking about anymore.

Welf froze, shooting Klein a skeptical glance. "What do you mean?"

"Your forging stuff for free for someone with a familia blacksmith. May as well slap them in the face and tell them their stuff ain't good enough."

Bell froze. "L-Liz would never think something like that. That isn't a problem."

Another eyebrow and then an unconcerned shrug from Klein. Like he thought it was a problem, but not his. "She may not care, but that is what everyone else is going to think."

Bell stiffened. "Well that's wrong! I just want Welf's armour! This doesn't involve Liz at all."

"By the gods, how did I not see that…" Welf's mouth pursed. "Maybe… we should just say you paid for it… I'll still get to claim you wear my armour."

Klein rolled his eyes. "It's the same thing, you younglings! Just don't be surprised when Liz growls at you next time you see her."

"Urgh, she already does that." Welf muttered, moving back to work on the armour.

Bell was still disconcerted. This is what inter-familial relations mean. It was the hard truth of Orario. Usually it was only exceptional circumstances that forced familias together. Maybe that was why Zeus and Hera never had their own blacksmiths. Unless you had enough for everyone, it would sow discord. Even if that was only rumor.

Bang!

With a hearty crash, the wooden door was flung open hard enough to cause the metal weapons hanging on the wall to rock. Left in the entryway was a small figure, panting heavily.

"L-Lili!?"

"Ishtar is roaming the city." Was her immediate response. Before Bell could get in a word edgewise, Lili had continued. "We need to hide you. Better yet, get you out of the city."

"Huh? Why?" Bell stood up.

Lili frowned at him in that way that made Bell think he was an idiot. "She has a whole gaggle of people around her. One of them is… She has Kirito."

Bell froze. "She has… W-What do you mean Lili? Why would Kirito—"

"She is a goddess of beauty!" Lili screamed. "She is charming anyone and everyone. Forcing them to follow her. They have commands to capture and bring members from Hestia familia to her."

Bell gulped and stroked the knife at his side. "W-We need to fight."

"Agreed." Klein added on setting down the mug. "I could not help during the war game, but I will not leave you alone for this."

Welf nodded stolidly as well. "Give me five minutes to finish up shaping this and I'll be there as well."

"Idiots!" Lili screamed. "You men are exactly the ones giving Ishtar all of her power! One glance at the goddess and you will be swearing over your souls to her."

Bell held firm against the tirade, placing a hand on Lili's head. "It's okay Lili. I've seen Ishtar before, I'll be fine."

"Not like this…" Lili almost whimpered. "I crept close in a disguise. I-I… Oh gods, she is what a woman should be… NO! No, I do not love her, I do not care for her!"

Lili's tirade froze Bell's stomach. If the goddess's charm had this much effect… Did I just get lucky? While Bell was racked by uncertainty, Klein spoke, voice gruff.

"Does the guild have a plan for dealing with her? Is she possible to stop?"

Lili nodded doubtfully. "The guild has announced that Ishtar is resisting arrest and can be dealt with as such. However… as she has not used arcanum, gods can not strike her with their power."

"What the hell," Klein had a hand to his head. "They are seriously going to let her take command of the city? Why? Can anyone stop her?"

"I can." Bell said again. The knot of ice was slowly thawing. "I… I broke her charm once, I'm sure of it. I-I should be fine."

"Should!?" Lili screamed. "Should isn't good enough. I-I can't lose you…"

"I know." Smiling down at the girl, Bell brushed the budding tear from her eye with his thumb. "But we need our familia captain back, don't we?"

Lili threw herself against him. Bell grunted from the impact. Before he could wrap his arms around her, Lili had backed off. Her face that emerged had no emotions left. "Ishtar is holed up in the main market district. There is a counter-force building at the guild."

The three men nodded and began to prepare for a fight.

Ishtar:

Swirling a glass of wine, Ishtar blew out her pipe. Legs up on the wooden table, her wooden chair balanced on its back two legs. She eyed her surroundings distastefully. The café was not up to her standards. It was made of drab wood and had little in the way of pleasing art or beautiful gemstones. Yet, the wine's aroma was top-notch and soothed her throat after the long day of walking.

"Harder boy," Ishtar ordered.

"Yes." Massaging her feet was an unassuming youth. Ishtar shared many things with her familia leader, Aisha. The most prominent of such was their taste in men. Ishtar liked them tall, strong, and bold. Unlike Aisha, Ishtar liked to break them. Not the way her old leader Phyne had, but with her body. Ishtar liked to turn their muscles to jelly as they collapsed unconscious from pleasure. Leave them begging her for more. Even the hardest man was putty in her hands.

This youth, did not meet her standards. Not usually anyway. Ishtar had put her charm on overdrive throughout the day, only now letting it fade to a bit above the lowest that it could go. The exposure the boy had faced during the day should have left him a slobbering mess around her. One touch of her feet should have sent him into whimpers of ecstasy.

Even now… Ishtar tsked irritably seeing the flat front of his pants. His eyes were glazed over. A black abyss that had frozen. Nothing from within escaped. Somehow unnerved by them, Ishtar turned her gaze back to the workers of the café.

The owner had put on a white apron while she worked, distributing drink and food to Ishtar's followers. She was an innocently pretty white-haired girl that still sent her the occasional frown. Ishtar would just have to break her will later. She hated when people resisted her. It was just her luck to have not one, but two familia captains capable of doing so.

First had been the frog-like Phyne. Ishtar would have thrown her out if she hadn't been one of the most promising adventurers Ishtar had met. She had been lost to the dragon's song along with Tammuz. That still made Ishtar frown. Tammuz had been the perfect body servant. Ishtar had repaid his loyal services with more pleasure than most people would know in their lifetime.

After that, Ishtar had been stuck with Aisha as captain. The familia rift had sealed. Aisha was simply too charismatic, too good at leading. Too soft. Ishtar thought she had broken the girl, but that turned out for naught as well. Surrendering the wargame to save one stupid amazon girl.

Left in a bad mood from her thoughts, Ishtar did consider ordering something done to that girl over here. Maybe make an example of her by allowing the men here to use her as they saw fit.

But is there time?

Tapping her pipe against her lips, Ishtar was trying to think frantically. She needed to do something. She needed to find Hestia and stab the cocky goddess through the heart. She wanted the other members to watch Ishtar do it and tell her how glad they were that they could serve her instead.

Oh, and Ishtar would let them. Every single one would beg her to allow them to sell their bodies. All-the-while, they would barely glance at the man they once proclaimed to love. Oh yes, it was all so close Ishtar could almost taste it.

And yet… she was nervous. Freya familia had not moved. No news from Loki familia either. Ishtar could not risk sleep in such an exposed location, but things had gone too slow today.

"Are you… worried?"

!? The boy… had spoken? Ishtar openly gaped at the black-haired youth whose eyes were finally directed at hers. Ever since she first captured him, the boy had not looked at her, not really. She could put her face in his vision, but he was not really looking at her. Ishtar had thought it a sly ploy until he began accepting her orders without complaint.

"Oh, you want to help me?" Ishtar smiled, not caring for the moment that the relaxing massage had ended.

"I… I like helping people." The boy frowned, as if he was not completely sure the statement was accurate.

"Then will you help me?"

A light finally shone in his eyes. "I want to make people happy."

"Good," Ishtar smiled like a predator. Beckoning the owner over, a plan took root in Ishtar's mind.

Higa:

"No way…" Higa's tired eyes saw nothing on the screen. Even if they did, it would not matter. The red spikes escalated until what had once been a circle exploded into nothingness. The copied consciousness shattered.

"As we see, copies are no good. That is why we must discover the blank slate. From there, we will build our world."

Higa removed his glasses and ran a hand over his face. He had no doubt that it would work. Things just worked around this man. Higa did not understand why.

Rolling an eye up and to the right, Higa stared at the project manager. The one that had recruited him for this not long after the NerveGear went up for sale. The project finally got underway a little more than a year ago. It was the same man known the world over as director of the DOO Rescue Force, Kikuoka Seijirou.

"Question, Higa?"

Higa just shook his head, seeing little more than a blurry outline without his glasses. For the second time, Higa had been forced to endure listening to his soul collapse. Not his, per say, but a copy of his soul. Higa felt like he was living in a dream. What they had accomplished here simply was not possible, not in their lifetime.

If Higa had to guess, they had moved forward the study of the soul and AI by at least twenty years, if not fifty. These were scientific breakthroughs on the same scale as fire and the printing press. On the same scale as Kayaba's NerveGear and Cardinal program that rankled the Rescue Force.

Higa did not consider himself an optimist. He was pragmatic. Always had been. So when he heard the offer to try and construct a top-down AI, Higa knew that accepting would likely stall his career forever. Knew he would get no higher than the place he now sat. Yet, he also knew that if he said no, he would forever regret not doing all he could to prevent more senseless deaths in war.

"Well," Kikuoka pressed. "My plan?"

Will probably work. "Mother's won't accept if you tell them what it is really for."

"So you think I am correct?"

Higa grudgingly nodded. Nothing Kikuoka did failed. This past year had been one jaw-dropping success after another. Finding trapped light in microtubules of the brain. Each one fluttering between two quantum states in addition to normal brain activity. Figuring out how to scan and read those states. Then how to write them into different stages. They now had the power to manipulate one's soul. It was not an exact science at this point, but memories could be ripped whole from a person.

Higa shivered at the thought. But the wonder did not stop there. There was clearly no medium that they could impose a soul upon. That was impossible, it would have to be a brain. Until Kikuoka casually announced reading about a material called praseodymium. Higa had almost pulled his hair out when they managed to copy a soul upon it. That led them to today, the confirmation that copies always collapsed.

But Kikuoka had an answer to that as well. Babies, fresh from the womb could be scanned and uploaded. Lacking an ego, they would grow not knowing themselves to be a copy.

Higa was flabergasted thinking about it all. They had started and practically finished what should have been a new branch of science in the course of a year. It was unthinkable what they had accomplished. Most scientists did their best, but they struggled against a mountain of problems. The need to publish, lack of funding from governments, experienced techs moving on to new jobs leaving a project to dry up. It was a marvel science moved as fast as it did. Yet, none of those problems touched Kikuoka's pet project. Everything went exactly as he wanted it to.

"Those freed from the NerveGear…" Higa spoke suddenly. He was not sure why. He did not think he wanted the answer. Delaying the question for a second more, he put his glasses on and turned to scrutinize Kikuoka. "You are going to read their souls in the Soul Translator, aren't you?"

"Of course." Kikuoka answered. "Even as they lay trapped in another world… I can rescue them… Talk to them… In a way."

Higa shivered even as he sat sweating in the hot room. The smile on Kikuoka's face… For the first time, Higa wondered if we would regret his choice to accept working on this project.