Sword Art Online: Tales of Aincrad

The Damaged Soul

Diary Entry Number 1: May 11th 2025, 09:18am

"Hello... I guess this is my audio diary, hang on let me check... Audio diary of SAO survivor number 1373, through this diary I will be recording my thoughts of how I lived two years inside of a virtual world and my progress in re-entering society, including thought process and any reactions that I have... from now until I am told otherwise by my designated doctor. Right, now that's out of the way I guess I should at least say something to put on the end of that. Umm... ah, I know. I knew that my life had changed forever the day we were all trapped inside of that game, without realising I had traded realities in a change that was easy and painless for not only myself, but for everyone else who was trapped with me. I have to admit that when that happened I was a little overjoyed with the whole situation, leaving a world that was bleak and angering one that opened up all sorts of opportunities".

"While I was inside of that virtual world I felt as though I could achieve anything, that I had endless possibilities within my grasp, but without my consent, I was unkindly ripped from new home and thrown back into the cold night that is reality. According to the people around me, my name is Ryousuke, but to me that is a name that has been lost for over two years while I was trapped inside of that beautiful world. But now when I look out the window, all I see is imperfection and I have come to realise that compared to Aincrad, the real world is nothing more than a bad joke. There, that sounded pretty good, should leave an impression. Well... I'll probably update this thing in a few days I guess, umm... goodbye?"

Diary Entry Number 2: May 15th 2025, 14:44pm

"Right, I have a bit of time to kill so I've got something good to say today, it might give whoever's listening to this something interesting to enjoy, anyway... I remember my time inside that world with nothing but fond memories, with the enjoyment from the thrills and excitement that I received in bountiful amounts. Before I entered the game I wasn't anything that special, I was just someone who moved with the system. My grades were average and I had a few friends but that was it, nothing that draws attention in an infinite routine that was my life. In a way, I was someone who was easily forgotten and perceived as nothing more than an insignificant nobody, never the centre of attention, just another person lost in the crowd. But in Aincrad, I was a king, well... sort of. Up on the 75th floor of that castle stood a mighty colosseum that took up most of the available space on the floor, it was here where champions and monsters would fight from dusk until dawn for the entertainment of the other players and NPCs. And out of all of those who competed, I was by far the strongest as I never lost any of my matches against either man or beast. This earned me the prestigious title of the "King of the Arena", which allowed me to rule with steel in my hands and the sweat on my brow. It was inside of this arena where I earned my title and like all champions, I relished in every moment of my glory like a flower basking in the sunlight".

"But that was all taken away from me when that world came to an end and I suddenly found myself dazed and lying in a hospital bed with monitor pads that were stuck to my chest and tubes filled with colourful liquids that were being pumped into my body, I had returned to reality where I was nothing more than a peasant whose kingdom had fallen into nothing more than a dream. I remember the first thing that I felt when I woke up was the heaviness of my body and how I struggled to lift myself into a sitting position to get a better look at the room I was in, I was so weak it felt like my body was a piece of stringy meat that was barely attached to my skeleton, which now felt as brittle as glass. It took me ten minutes but I was eventually able to stumble out of bed and by using the IV stand for support I slowly made my way towards a mirror that hung on the wall on the opposite side of the room. At first I did not recognise the man who was staring back at me, but as I continued to gaze back into the dark eyes that were fixed on me I soon realised who the man in the mirror was and I looked down and started to inspect my body. My frame had shrunk significantly and I could see the edges of my bones protruding to form lumps in my pale skin which looked as though with was turning to the colour of milk. My hands had become bony and unsightly, and they delivered an unnatural cold to my skin when I began to touch my face while I starred at my reflection. My skin was sagging and dark around my eyes while my hair had grown to the point when I could feel it on my lower back and its once golden blonde had become darker and now looked as lifeless like the rest of my body. I was partially in shock and I was dumbfounded by what I had turned into, where I had once been a proud warrior with a strong body and firm grasp on life, I had now become what I could only describe as a walking corpse. When I grew tired of looking at myself I returned to my bed to rest my aching body, I lay back down and gently maneuvered my body until I found a comfortable position, but as soon as I did I felt myself slipping into the warm embrace of sleep and I gently closed my eyes as I drifted off, but with what consciousness I had left, I found myself hoping that I would wake up once again in Aincrad and that waking up in reality had been nothing more than a bad dream. But to my disappointment, I found out quickly how wrong I had been".