Level 100 - Sword Art Online [OC x Kirito]

Chapter Seven: A Reflection Of...

~from Kirito's POV 2nd person~
You thought you'd be more surprised. Shocked, a bit, in fact.
But you weren't.
"Akihiko, huh?" you repeated softly, shaking your head and withholding the angry tears that threatened to fall when you thought of a certain girl's hand, outstretched, reaching towards yours but falling away...Asuna...Akihiko took you away from me. "Hey, Olivera. I've got a question," you asked, feeling cold and numb inside.
"What's that?" she responded.
"Akihiko. Why'd he ask you to watch me?"
Olivera shrugged and rolled over so she was lying on her elbows. She began picking at the purple flowers, and one by one, fairies flew over to assist her. A few minutes later, they had woven a floral crown, and they delicately placed it on her head before zipping back into the trees. "He said that if anyone could beat the game, it would be you. You were the one I should watch out for."
You paused, processing. You felt a strange sense of pride in knowing that Akihiko acknowledged you, but even so, you realized that Akihiko must have been sick in the head. Why else would he kill so many kids? Still... "Hey, Olivera."
"Yeah?"
"Why do you think you're here? I mean, why would Akihiko warn you about me? How does my being here influence you negatively?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I barely know anything, in fact. Only what I've told you. All I can say is that Akihiko instructed me to view your progress in the reflection pool."
"Maybe he knew that we'd meet," you said, thinking out loud. "Olivera, how does the reflection pool work, exactly?"
She looked up at the sky. "It's simple, really. All I have to do is tell it what I want to see, and the image appears. But..." She paused, eyeing you with unreadable eyes. "I don't think that it will work for anyone else, only for me. At least, it's just a hunch, but..." She shrugged, turning back to the flowers.
"Can you lead me back there?" you asked, trying to not get your hopes up, but ideas were already being set into motion within your head. What if...You didn't dare let yourself finish the thought.
Olivera was silent for a moment. "I suppose so." She stood up gracefully and immediately began walking, moving swiftly out of the clearing and between trees. You had to jog to catch up with her, and even so, you nearly lost her due to the lack of light and the thickness of the grove.
Did I do something to upset her? you asked yourself, but you'd pretty much given up on trying to understand Olivera, the strange dryad. Instead of contemplating possible mistakes, you followed her closely until you were back in the original clearing.
"This is the pool," she said softly, almost reverently.
You knelt down beside the water and stared across it. You weren't sure what you were expecting; maybe Akihiko to pop out and yell, "Surprise!" Then you'd wake up and find out that it was all a dream...
Shaking your head, you stood up, eyes caught by the outward spiraling ripples originating near the center of the pool of water. Finally, you turned to Olivera. "I need your help."
She hesitated. "If I am able, I should try to be of assistance."
"Can you use this reflection pool to find something for me?"
She studied the water as though trying to read its mood before she turned and nodded. "But first, turn around."
"Why?" you asked, even as you began turning.
"Because. The reflection pool is composed of pure water. No article of man is to ever come in contact with it." After a moment, you heard a splash, followed by silence.
"Olivera?" you asked, turning and stopping in surprise, a blush rising on your face.
Next to the pool were Olivera's clothes, and there she was, wading through the pool to the center. She was submerged up to her collarbones already, so although nothing showed, you still obeyed the urge to look away and give her privacy.
Surprisingly, her laugh trickled over the water and drew your eyes to hers.
"What, are you shy?" she asked, but then she turned and drew her hands through the water. "What is it that you are looking for?" she asked, her voice calm and soothing like the water itself.
"I'm looking for the final boss of this level. I'm looking for the final guardian of SAO," you said, your voice strong and determined, and she nodded, her eyes as unreadable as ever before she closed them and turned to the water.
"Show me the boss of this level," she whispered, and there was a sound quite like waves lapping on the shore before the pond shimmered and glowed. Suddenly, you felt yourself ignoring your previous awkwardness as you turned to look at the pool in amazement.
Reflected on the surface of the water was a bird's-eye-view of where you were now. You could see yourself, standing next to the water and surrounded by a grove of trees, and standing in the middle of the water was Olivera, radiating light in a soft glow that lit up the entire pool and entranced you so deeply that you couldn't move. From the tips of her fingers to the longest hair on her head, she was bathed in a warm light, one that drew you in and refused to let go.
After a few moments, the light began to fade and the image cleared. Olivera began wading back, and you turned away once more to let her change.
When she was done, you looked at her with wide eyes. "That was incredible," you said.
She smiled, but she looked exhausted. "I think so, too. It's beautiful."
"Yeah," you replied, but you weren't sure exactly what you were talking about - the process, or her.
Finally, you exhaled deeply before looking at her again. "There's just one thing I don't get."
"What's that?"
"You asked it to locate the level 100 boss, but all I saw reflected was this spot right here. How can that be? Or did you see something different that I couldn't?"
She let out a breath before looking up and meeting your eyes with tears in her own despite a smile on her face. As the tears began falling, her smile looked more and more like it might fall off any second, but despite all odds, it remained. "I'm sorry, Kirito. I want to tell you, but I know that if I do..."
She took a deep breath and attempted a final smile before disappearing into her tree.
"I don't understand," you said softly, tears in your eyes too. "Olivera? Olivera, please tell me that it isn't true, that I'm wrong."
You paused. "Olivera, the level 100 boss...it can't possibly be...you, can it?"