Swords of the Soul

World Of Data

I stared at the livestream of people outside a game shop, cheering about how they had camped out all night. I sighed and took off my headphones, turning off my computer. I was so excited to get back into that world, I just couldn't keep still! I pushed in my chair, ran over to my door and opened it, calling downstairs. "Mum! I'm logging on! I'll be back at ten tonight!"
She couldn't argue. She knew how excited I was for this. "Have fun!" She called back.
I closed my door and lay down, fixing my white dress so it was comfy. I slipped on my Nerv Gear and lay down on my bed. I closed my eyes, resting my head on the pillow. I opened my eyes. "I nearly forgot!" I quickly plugged in a different cord to my Laptop and NerveGear. I lay down again. "There we go..." I closed my eyes.
I listened to the silence and then clatter of dishes down below. "I love you!!" I yelled.
"I love you too, honey!" My mother yelled back, muffled by the floor.
The corners of my mouth curled up in a smile. I took a deep breath.
I heard the clock on my NerveGear make a sound, indicating that it was officially the launch time.
"... link START!" I yelled and was greeted as vibrant colors flooded my vision.
I logged in and selected my language, vision then becoming blurry and hearing changing as I drifted away from reality.
I appeared in a plaza. My vision cleared and I looked down at my hands in their white, fingerless gloves. I grinned.
'I'm back... I'm finally back!!'
I looked up and looked around. I saw other people spawning and looking around themselves, quite curious. I then blinked, remembering something. "Oh! He's probably online now... it did just launch..." I swiped with my right hand as a menu popped up. I looked in my friends list and gained a wide smile when a green dot lit up beside his name.
That certain... someone.
I started running through the streets of The Town of Beginnings, turning and following my map. I grinned and came to a halt behind a boy with black hair. "Well well," I said teasingly.
He turned around, hair swaying. His eyes went slightly wide. "Sh-Shiramane?! You're online already?!"
"Well yeah, dummy, I just got here." I poked his chest.
He blinked before sighing and relaxing. "You're right. Nice to see you again, Shi."
I frowned. "Hey! I'm not Death!" I yelled.
He started laughing. "I know. Sorry Shima."
I sighed in annoyance and puffed out my cheeks. "Yeah yeah, sure you are. Anyway, let's get going," I turned around and started walking. I waved behind me. "Come on, Kirito!"
He smiled with closed eyes and put up his right hand. "Coming Ma'am!" He jogged after me.

We continued walking for a while until we ran into another player. I said goodbye for the time and left them to fighting. I was currently training on my own. I had already become level seven in a few hours. I sighed and sat on top of a cliff by a lake, watching the setting sun bounce off it. I closed my eyes with happiness and lay on my back, spreading out like a star. "I love Aincrad," I breathed. It was around 6:00 pm, also being 18:00.

I was nearly drifting off to sleep for some rest when I heard a loud bell. I immediately sat up with wide eyes, brown and gold hair falling into my face. I stood up in my white dress-like armor. I looked over to where the bell was coming from and was instantly surrounded by light.
'Erhg...! A... teleporter?! And... did I just see Kirito?!'
Turns out, I was right. I appeared a few feet to the left of him and his friend from earlier. I was going to run over to him through the crowd and murmuring people, but something happened to the roof of the dome we were in. I stopped and looked up at a flashing shape that said one thing.
ERROR.
The whole roof exploded with them and something that looked like blood started leaking from in between them, forming into a shape. I stared in horror.
It formed into a red cloak with gold designs, floating above us all.
"Hello," a man's voice said. The voice was all too familiar to me. "And welcome to Sword Art Online. My name, is Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of this world." We all were silent, frozen in fear and shock. He continued talking, but I couldn't listen. My brain was registering it and I was hearing it, but I just couldn't replay it back to myself. "Now, I've placed a small gift into your inventories."
I swiped my hand and clicked on my inventory. I scrolled down and blinked. I clicked the object and caught it in my hands. "A... mirror?" I stared at my reflection, pale blue eyes like a glowing computer screen staring back at me. People around me started yelping as they were enveloped by light. I noticed Kirito surrounded by light, and right after, I was too.
After it died down I rubbed my eyes. I looked around to see people completely different than the ones before. They all started looking in their mirrors with wide eyes. I did the same and gasped.
My hair was a deep purple with blue highlights in my bangs. I then looked at my eyes. They were still a neon sky blue. I blinked and witnessed them change to a bright neon purple.
'Th-... this can't be happening...'
People started looking at each other, staring at their appearances. I looked down at mine once more.
'This isn't...'
"Make it through all ninety-nine floors and final one hundredth, and you beat the game. You're free to leave." Akihiko Kayaba said. "Now. Good luck, and please enjoy Sword Art Online." He disappeared.
We were silent for almost a minute before a girl screamed and the sound of a shattering mirror broke the silence. Everyone started screaming and yelling, some falling to their knees. I simply stared at the spot where the figure once floated, wide eyes filled with horror. I finally found my voice, and felt my heart become heavy with dread and sorrow. And anger.
I grit my teeth and hung my head, fists clenched and shaking. I looked up at the sky, eyes violent.
"YOU LIED TO ME!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "YOU BASTARD!! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!!" I turned and started running out of the wide area. I ran down an alley and screamed. "AKIHIKO KAYABA!!!"