...
"It's okay, it's okay Kazuto.. I'm so grateful I got to meet you and be with you. I love you, Kazuto Kirigaya... and I always will." I said softly as I tried my best not to cry through the pain.
"I love you.. with everything I have and more."
A white light enveloped my sight as my vision of Kazuto dwindled until I couldn't see him. Soon after that, I felt him disappear as if we separated. I closed my eyes as to hope to see the real world when I open them, but all I saw once I opened my eye was white.
The white wasn't blinding, I saw my hands and body like normal. The white space was almost a place between the virtual world of SAO and the real world.
...
..
.
"It seems we met sooner than anticipated, Shinsei." A voice spoke out.
I turned to see smoke, the gray smoke formed into a human as the clear indication of a lab coat soon became Akihiko Kayaba.
"Kayaba. What's going on?" I asked.
"I.. am not sure. The SAO system has been destroyed as to our agreement. Though it seems you were unable to log out, odd." He stated.
"So.. you're saying I'm still trapped?" I asked disappointed.
"I'm sorry, though this development is unfortunate it's out of my control." He said.
"Where are we? How can I see you? What happened to Kirito?!" I shouted.
"Please control your emotions, as I've said it's out of my control." He began. "Although, I could try to see what's happened if I scan the system... perhaps it could work. Give me one second to check some information, then I'll answer your questions."
I nod and wait as Kayaba closed his eyes and code was visibly drawn towards him.
'Kazuto.. I hope you're not still trapped.'
"Scan complete. It seems my data has been saved to your nerve gear, a copy almost. Similar to how 'Yui' as she's called is saved onto Kirito's nerve gear." He explained.
'He knew about Yui this whole time?'
"Yes. Also, 300 players have been transferred to another system... its name is ALfheim Online. You seem to have been transferred into the new system and not logged off as intended." Kayaba said.
"300 players.. how the hell did this even happen. What about Kaz-Kirito? Did he make it out?" I pestered.
"Yes, he as well as the rest of players in your friend list has been logged out... wait. No, I was mistaken." He paused.
"Who else is trapped here?!" I asked.
"Asuna.." he said lowly.
"So she's stuck too... where is she? Is she stuck in a place like this?" I asked.
"No, her whereabouts are unknown but it's clear she too was unable to log out of the game.." he stated.
"I understand... thank you Akihiko Kayaba. Even though what you done in the past is unforgivable, the information you provided is appreciated." I say with a sigh.
"Then allow me to do more." He stated. "As it stands, you are in limbo. Due to my data being stored in your system, the games system hasn't yet decided whether to treat you as a player or an 'experiment'. I have no choice but to send you into the game of ALO, this guarantees your safety from whoever it is who wishes to use your mind as an experiment." Kayaba suggested.
"A.. new game. Does the death mechanic still apply to this new game as well?" I asked.
"I'm afraid so. Since you were unable to log off during the initial destruction of the system, its prior instructions have also transferred to your player as well. Meaning this is still a death game, but that's all the information I have on the system so far. I'm sorry I can't do more.." Kayaba admitted with his head held low.
"Thank you Kayaba, and I hope we can meet once more. When this is all over of course." I say with a smile as Kayaba only smiles back and turns into smoke.
'ALfheim Online, I'll survive.. I have to in order to see Kirito.. no. In order to see Kazuto I have no choice but to survive.'
My vision went white as I was transported, a spectrum of light flashed before my sight returned back to normal. Screens formed around me as they filled the room I was in. I stood in the center of the room which had orange circles placed on the floor which surrounded me.
"Welcome, to ALfheim Online!" A feminine voice called out.
'It worked.'
"Please enter your gender and the name you wish to be identified as." The voice spoke out.
A digital keyboard appeared in front of me as well as the screen which had me input my information.
'I'm fairly confident I'm a male.. and for the name... I'll stick with Shinsei. Just in case.'
Once I put in my information and pressed continue, a lot of player models all with different styles appeared.
"There are nine races of fairies to choose from. Please select which race you wish to play as." The voice announced.
'Races.. I assume what ever race I choose will decide the color of my wings as well as abilities I may have later on.'
I scrolled through options as a black character with black winds made me pause.
'Kirito would definitely pick this one..'
I smiled to myself as I continued scrolling. Until I saw a character with blue wings and hair.
'Blue is a nice color... guess this will do.'
"You have selected Undine. Your character's appearance will be decided at random. Do you wish to continue?" The voice asked.
"Sure." I say and click continue.
"I'm sorry but this option is unavailable." The voice said monotone.
'Oh no...'
I scrolled onto another character with green wings and selected it.
"You have selected Sylph. Your character's appearance will be decided at random. Do you wish to continue?" The voice asked once more.
"Yes." I say and press continue.
"I'm- I I am s-sorry. That op-option is in-n-un available. Choose." The feminine voice turned robotic as the screens began to shine.
My vision was engulfed in a blinding light. Then the feeling of free fall was all that was left.
"Huh?"
I open my eyes to see the night sky and its false beauty. Then look down as it's now clear I'm crashing towards ground level.
'So.. this is ALfheim online... hopefully I don't die just by spawning in.'
I sigh as I quickly fall into the forest below, creating a crater as I land and dust flying in the surrounding area.
I groan as I force myself out of the crater and check my health once I walk a distance away from the mess I caused.
'Luckily I had temporary damage immunity. It would be best if I didn't take any damage whatsoever.'
I used my right hand to try to open my user interface... but nothing. So I tried my left and it ended up working.
Seeing the setting option I immediately went to the log out function, only to see it has been removed permanently..
'It was worth a shot..' I sigh.
Then moving onto my status window it immediately shows my gear as it has always been. But...
"What? All of the stats the gear had before are gone?? These just act like ordinary accessories..." I exclaim.
Scanning the rest of my skills I see that they are all accounted for. Even my magic abilities which for some reason are no longer in a glitch like state.
"So all my skills and stats from SAO also transferred over. Although the gear I have is now only as good as beginning gear since the effects have been removed." I clarify.
Next was the items menu. I opened it to see each item I once held was completely unknown to the game since they all had question marks.
"Uh oh.. that can't be good." I say as I continue to scroll through my now useless items.
Question mark after question mark, it was all I could see in my items list. I went from top to bottom and at the very bottom was an item that was very familiar. An item I thought was lost along with the destruction of SAO.
I pressed on the item and the bouquet from the day Kirito proposed appeared in my hand. I subconsciously began to weep silently as the reminder of Kirito and our marriage in SAO left me reminiscent.
My tears fell as they began to fall onto the bouquet.. causing the roses to shine. I stop myself from crying as to watch the bouquet morph into what seemed like a staff. It soon continued as it bent into a bow and the glowing stopped once it landed in my hands.
'A bow.. I guess this is one of the items that this game and SAO had in common, slightly..'
I equipped the bow and soon removed any items that were left unknown. Before removing any item I quickly search through my inventory but can't find Yui's Ring.
'Please Yui.. be in Kazuto's nervegear..'
Ignoring the rest of the inventory I delete everything which felt like a dagger piercing my chest with each items disappearance.
"That hurt more than it should have... I made too many memories in SAO. I can't risk having items that are foreign to this game, could cause more glitches than I'm used too..." I say with a sigh as I begin to walk through the dense forest.
'With nine races to choose from, there should be nine towns where I can get better gear. Maybe there are dungeons with better drops.. god I sound like how I was when I first started playing MMO's.'
"Y-your leaving?? You can't leave me here, we're not in Sylph territory.. I could get killed if I go alone!" A boy begged.
'Other players?'
"I'm sorry. I have to go." A female voice replied.
I peaked past a large tree to see a Sylph player with blonde hair and green attire log off with no repercussion.
"God. What's she thinking?! I can't do this by myself." The boy began to sulk.
The boy with a green cardigan hoodie and long sleeves, along with some large brown pants and matching shoes fell to the floor in the fetal position.
'Is this forest that dangerous or is he just scared...'
After some time, the boy stopped his unnecessary panic and stood. He then reached out and obtained a remote which enabled green wings.
'Woah, so flying is possible in this game... that's actually so cool!'
I watch as he began to struggle a bit before taking off in a random direction.
'I assume he went in the direction of a town.'
I step out and into the open. Reaching out just like the other did, but unable to grab onto a remote.
'Hmmm... maybe I'm doing it wrong?'
I sigh as the ability to fly is unobtainable at the current moment. Instead deciding to walk in a random direction until I reached a river or a town.
As I pass through the forest a few small monsters begin to show themselves.
'Oh, I guess this game has monsters all over.'
I grab and draw my bow, pulling back and aiming towards the small monster closest to me. A arrow manifests automatically, and once my target is clear I released.
The arrow shot forward, quickly piercing through the monster and ricocheting through the rest all in one go.
"Woah.."
'This things strong, but since I'm level one with my SAO stats, I guess that just makes me a cheater now.' I sigh.
~><~
Shinsei made his way through the forest with relative ease. He shot down any monster that he saw and learned a lot as he made his way.
The trees became scarce, until a river began to block his path. Shinsei's first thought was the follow the river, instead he looked at his reflection and noticed something new.
"Huh.."
Looking closer I saw the altercation between both my eyes. One was the same as I remembered, while the other was changed.
'Why are my eyes different colors? Were they always different.. no... Kazuto would have mentioned it. Unless he didn't notice?'
I look closer and come to a relatively simple explanation-
'Must be a glitch. A mistake since I switched games.'
"Excuse me?" A voice called out.
I turn to my right, standing besides me was a woman in blue and pale blue hair.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Uhhh... yes, yeah I'm fine. Just lost, I'm sorry." I say in return.
The woman smiles softly and begins to walk along the river.
"Let's head back into my own territory, not that I don't trust you. It's just we're in Spriggan territory and I don't want to lose my skills right now." She said.
I follow diligently, the offer for aid is needed but spontaneous.
"Spriggans?" I asked.
"You don't know? Spriggans are a race of fairy, specialized in illusion magic. Or so I'm told." She says lowly.
'Illusion magic? What other kinds of magic is there in this game?'
"Where is it we're going?" I asked.
"Undine Territory, my territory. The capital isn't so far, we can make it if we fly in no time." She states.
The woman stops as wings appear on her back. Two turquoise wings appear arched up then droop down at the ends.
She begins to rise but stops once she realizes I still stand on ground level.
"Is something the matter?" She asked.
"Not really a problem, just that I don't know how to fly." I admit.
"Really? So you are new to the game. I never would have guessed due to the unique armor you have." She says.
"I wouldn't say unique.. more like antique." I say with a laugh as she does as well.
"Let's start off with the basics. Unless you want the hard part first?" She offers.
"Tell me the hard part then I'll try the basics." I reply.
"Hmmm okay. Imagine you're in a dream, and in that dream you sprout wings. You try to fly but can't, not until you flex your back muscles enough until you soar." She said.
'Fake wings and imaginary muscles.. can't be too hard I used magic in SAO and basically flew.'
My wings emerge, a white hue covering them as three separate parts form. My body begins to hover up and down as if the wings began to carry me. Then with one final push I flew towards the woman in blue.
"I think I got the hang of this. Just lean left, fly left. Lean right, then fly right" I say.
"You learn quick. I'll be sure to go steady so you don't get left behind." She said.
"Thank you, don't worry about me. This is awesome!" I say spinning through the air.
"Let's get going, when we get to town I can show you around!" She exclaimed.
"Oh okay." I reply.
On the way to the Undine Capital, Shinsei and the mysterious woman met no altercations. Their travel was smooth and peaceful as Shinsei's main concern was figuring out the flight mechanic and limits.
"Hey, before we get to my town. What should I call you?" She asked.
"Oh yeah. I'm Shinsei. Thank you for the help!" I say while flying directly below the woman.
"Pleasure meeting you Shinsei. My names Siune, and don't worry about the other players. As long as you're with me they won't attack you." She states.
"Why would they attack me?" I asked.
"Well... due to the difference between the fairy races each faction tends to be segregated. It's rare to see a different race of fairy not in their own territory." She says.
"I see... so this could be pretty dangerous then." I realize.
"Yes, but as long as you're with me the others won't do anything. Unless we run into the general..." she said lowly.
"Huh?" I asked. "Sorry I didn't hear the last part."
"Oh it's nothing! Come on we're almost there!" She exclaimed and sped forward.
'It's risky following anyone.. since I'm sure I wasn't assigned a race that just means everyone is a threat. Even Siune... I can't let my guard down. Not for a second.'
~><~><~><~
Helloooo!!
Finally posted the first chapter after four different rough drafts all not up to par.
Sorry if this isn't what you had in mind or wanted me to write! Everything I do does have a purpose, I hope you all can be patient with me.
I'm excited for this new series and thank you for following and voting on the last story! Currently at 11k reads and it's insane, Ty again!
Adios Mi Amor~