November 6th 2022 1:09am

Online Chat Room

Kiri – "OMG"

Kiri – "SAO"

Kiri – "TODAY"

Calli - "we no -_-"

Calli – "thats all youv been tlking bout lol"

Kiri – "Oh come on! Don't tell me you two aren't excited for THE BEST GAME TO EVER BE RELEASED."

Kiri – "My cousin was a beta tester. He said the graphics were amazing!

Miria – "Of course it's amazing. It's the Nervgear! I'll probably abandon life itself once the game's in my hands xD"

Miria – "My mum's given me and my sis enough money for two copies! We already got the Nervgears, so we're gonna get up extra early tomorrow to make it to the sale."

Kiri – "We should totally meet up in game!"

Calli – "my mum won't get me 1 for Christmas…"

Calli – "I'm jelly…:("

Miria –":("

Kiri – "Start saving for one behind her back! Then, since it's your own money, she can't object to you buying it!"

Calli – "yea i will. once i get a job lol"

Miria – "ugh it's late. I have to be up by five tomorrow."

Kiri – "I'm not sleeping because I'M TOO PUMPED 8D"

Miria – "yeah well night guys! :)"

Calli – "nite"

Kiri – "nighty-o~"

November 6th

"You have – 300 new messages."

Something sharp hit Miri's head, and she awoke with a strangled yelp. For a moment everything felt foreign and strange, as though she was still within a dream. Pulling herself straight, Miri rubbed the sleep from her eyes and focused on detangling her knotted thoughts. Slowly her surroundings swam back into place. A computer monitor stared back at her, the steady rhythm of the continued chat between Kiri and Calli filling the screen with black scribbles about gaming, food and who the cutest boy was in a new sailing anime.

It was only then that Miri realized that she had fallen asleep at the computer. Her messy room was the same as always – blankets on the floor, gaming consoles both old and new scattered about with very little organization. The familiar scenery comforted Miri and she stretched and yawned. With a final sigh Miri leaned closer to the monitor, and spoke a slurred voice command.

"Time?"

For a few seconds there was no reply. Then – "I'm sorry – could you repeat that?"

With a frustrated scowl Miri gave the monitor a firm thump and repeated the command. "Time?" You good for nothing piece of old junk. Her computer's in-built microphone was useless, hardly picking up any of the commands she spoke. Still, that's what she got for buying one of the earlier models in voice controlled computers.

"The time is 7:30am." For a moment the systematic female voice barely registered with Miri. She blinked at the monitor, surprised. Swiping her finger across the screen, Miri opened the control panel and selected the time and date option from the menu. There was the time, as plain as day – 7:30am.

"Crap!"

She was out of the chair in an instant. With one hand ripping a comb through her hair and another pulling on a pair of odd socks, the girl stumbled hopelessly about her room as she looked for any respectable looking garments to wear out to town.

There was none.

She really needed to start buying new clothes with her spending money.

She finally settled on a plain white t-shirt, dusted with crumbs as it was, and some old trousers. It wasn't what her mother would call going out clothes – more like clothes that should never see the light of day again – but since her mother was out with one of her new boyfriends again, she couldn't dictate what she could wear.

Miri sighed and looked at herself in the mirror. It wasn't perfect. But nobody would be looking at her. Their eyes would all be on the gaming stores. She was about to enter a battlefield where only the fastest and strongest would survive – and where the slow and dull-witted would ultimately perish in the cold autumn air, moving at a snail's pace down a line stretching back many streets.

Miri rubbed her hands and looked with determination at her reflection. I'm ready! Let it begin!

---

"Saki! Wake up!"

Miri groaned in annoyance. With a hard fist she knocked (or, more or less, hit) her sister's door repeatedly. On the other side she heard her eight year old sister's rebellious voice.

"Go 'way, go 'way!"

"Saki, I'm serious! If you don't get up now, I'll leave you behind!"

"Don't wanna go to gaming today," Saki mumbled. "Wanna sleep…"

The door swung open. Saki hissed as light flooded her dark room. She peered out from beneath her blankets, squinting meanly. "Okay, get up." Miri used her most commanding voice for this as she stood threateningly over Saki's bed.

"Noooooooo!" Saki wrapped herself tighter in her cocoon of blankets. Well there went Plan One. Plan One for getting Saki up rarely worked.

The young child knew what was coming next. Miri grabbed the edge of the sheet and gave it a quick but sharp yank. The cocoon of blankets unfolded and exposed her young sister, who groaned in annoyance but still refused to admit defeat. Plan Two didn't seem to work much either.

"You really don't want to get up?"

Saki shook her head.

"Even though you know what's coming next?"

She nodded.

"The stores'll open in half an hour. Come on, Saki, I really wanna get Sword Art Online! There'll already be heaps of crowds!"

Saki pretended to snore.

Miri sighed. Why did most mornings have to play out with Miri kicking the door down and dragging her damn sister's lazy out of bed? If only Saki would comply, but she was currently going through a rebellious phase and preferred to try and get her own way, no matter how many times she failed. With a careless yank Miri dragged her sister onto the floor by her leg. Saki stayed limp as Miri dragged her out the doorway and into the corridor.

Then, without warning, Miri lightly began to tickle Saki's feet.

It didn't take much for Saki to scream out in laughter and kick at the air with her legs and hands. She was extremely sensitive when it came to tickling, and Miri knew this was Saki's ultimate weak point, the only way to get her to wake up in time. Giggling and breathing hard, Saki finally began to wail, "Stop! Stop! Stop it, stop it, stop it!"

"And if I stop it…?" Miri lightly teased.

"I'll get up, I'll get up, I'LL GET UP!"

Her cry echoed through the hallway and, after a few more seconds of torturing Saki, she finally let go. Saki gasped for air and immediately stood up, before placing a safe distance between herself and her 'evil' sister, whom she glared venomously at.

"You do know we're going out today, right?" she said breezily, giving her sister a wink. "There's that huge sale going on! We need to have breakfast now to beat the morning rush."

At the word 'breakfast' Saki's mood abruptly lifted. "Can we have pancakes? With heaps of syrup?"

"Didn't we have pancakes yesterday?"

She frowned. "But I want them again."

"Mum said no." With a careless wave of her hand Miri found her wallet and counted the money her mother had given her.

"It's just a stupid mmo," came her sister's mutter. "Why'd you have to drag me out of bed for it?"

"You know why! Something about sibling friendship and sharing your crap or whatever…"

Saki eyed Miri with a raised eyebrow, and smiled. "I thought mum told you to dress nice?"

Miri grinned. "Well mum's not here now, is she?"

"Then I should get my pancakes!"

"We don't have time! Besides, when mum's not here, I make the rules. You get toast." Without another word Miri took off downstairs, excitement surging through her veins.

"Hey, wait-!"

The two continued their back and forward arguments, as Miri, laughing, began making her sister's breakfast. She herself was too giddy to eat, though she packed a muesli in case she found herself hungry later. As Saki dressed, Miri their antique radio – an old, dusty thing from the early 2010s – and listened as the device locked on to a signal.

Saki returned from upstairs and sat down at the kitchen table. Taking a bite of the toast, she gave her sister a playful thumbs down.

"As usual, terrible and burnt. One outta ten!"

"Shut up! Kayaba Akihiko's announcing the release of Sword Art Online on the radio!"

"Kayaba Akiwho?"

"Be quiet!"

As the radio crackled, a fuzzy voice filled the room. Miri clapped her hands, her eyes wide with awe as Kayaba began to speak.

"It's been many years in development, but we've finally released it for the general public. It would be a lie to say this device hasn't had its fair share of ups and downs – but those who thought creating the Nervgear would be impossible are now proven sorely wrong. Sword Art Online is the first massive multiplayer RPG for the good folks of Tokyo. It's safe, fun and boasts graphics so realistic you'd think you're living the life of your rpg character, as opposed to just playing a game."

The radio announcer's voice replied, "Critics who have received the game beforehand have given it glowing reviews. So be sure to grab a copy of Sword Art Online before it's sold out!"

The radio lost connection, and started crackling statically. Saki, who decided Miri's toast was much better to play with rather than to eat, barely spared her sister a glance as Miri slung a bag over her shoulder and grabbed the house keys from the bench. "Come on," she yelled, "before mum gets back!"

Saki reluctantly followed her lead. Miri grasped her hand in her own and ushered her along. The two rushed out into the crowded streets of Tokyo, the morning lit up by flashing lights and advertisements for the Nervgear and Sword Art Online.

---

"This is taking way too long."

Saki clung close to Miri. She flinched when a forty year old man pushed roughly past. "Everybody's pushing. Are we there yet?"

"Nearly." Even Miri found herself annoyed. Everybody was shoving their way in front. Whenever the line seemed to move forward, it would abruptly move back as more people shoved before the two.

This is a battlefield! I might be twelve, but I won't lose to these guys! I gotta be stealthy…like a rogue…

"And you got me up early for this…"

"Just be quiet and eat your ice cream."

Well, Saki had to admit that the ice cream was delicious. There were food stalls lining the streets of Akihabara. People were selling sweets, deserts and even full course breakfasts. They were even stylizing the food to fit with the MMO theme.

If only she had known the morning rush would be this bad. Many gamers must have been waiting by the shops since yesterday afternoon. She wished she had preordered the game online, though mum refused to lend her credit card.

Miri was about to admit defeat, when Saki gave her a sharp nudge.

"Ouch! The hell was that for?"

"That's a game place right? I think it's open."

True. Another store had opened up. Its shelves were lined with copies of Sword Art Online. Among the crowded streets, only a few had noticed the new shop. Miri wasted no time.

Like a hunter!

"Come on. Before anyone else notices."

Miri broke away from the line. Sneakily, she took a few casual steps forward; before bolting to the entrance. Saki laughed excitedly behind her. It was near winter, though she was grateful for the cold air-conditioning inside the store. She brushed the sweat off her forehead. She deserved a moment's rest.

Though, of course, she couldn't relax just yet. The shop was beginning to flood with people. Both agitated and eager to escape the craziness of Akihabara, Miri ruthlessly pushed between two boys and chose two copies of Sword Art Online.

The sisters were first at the counter. Miri held her ground, though if anyone attempted to shove past Saki would send them a withering glare like death.

The salesperson eyed Saki sceptically, after seeing the age rating of Sword Art Online. However, she simply shrugged it off and stuffed the cash inside the register. "Here you go," the shopkeeper droned, handing them two their two copies of Sword Art Online. "Have a lovely day."

Miri didn't need to reply. She hurried Saki out of the store. Finally the nightmare was over. Half an hour later they were out of Akihabara, the two sisters thankful for the clean air.

"Well," said Miri, after the two had had their rest, "let's go home. We gotta try this game out!"

---

November 6th 1:07pm

The air of the attic was stale and pungent. Miri hated the smell.

"Yuck! You know I hate the attic! Why can't we go somewhere else?" muttered Saki.

Miri coughed. A fitful of dust rained down on the two. "I don't want any distractions…Mum and her boyfriend'll be home soon."

Saki sneezed. "So how long does it take to play it? I wanna play now."

Miri ignored her sister, and instead felt along the Nervgear's metal. It was a heavy helmet, resembling, what she would think to be, alien technology. Saki cleared in annoyance.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!"

"Relax. There's not much to it." Excited and playful, Miri plonked Saki's Nervgear on her sister's head. "There you go! It really suits you. It could be your new hat!"

Saki felt the helmet curiously. "It feels…weird," she said. Miri could almost laugh at the serious look on Saki's face. She looked as though she was seriously critiquing the console. "I'm not sure I like it."

"Whatever. Come on, it should be ready to play now. You ready?"

Saki nodded. Miri gave her a reassuring thump on her helmet.

"To start, you just say 'LINK START!' Or something. You'll be fine. Read the manual if you need help"

"That's a pretty stupid thing to say," Saki said, her face a bit lighter. Then she realized Miri was going before her. "Oh wait! Miri, can you go last? I'm not scared or anything! I just thought-"

Miri had already connected her Nervgear. She flicked the switch to 'on'. "Remember! LINK. START!"

---

Tunnels of colour swam into sight. Red, blue, purple, green…Miri felt slightly overwhelmed by it all.

Welcome. To start, touch any part of your body to calibrate.

It took a moment for Miri to figure out what was going on.

Exhilaration surged through her veins when she did.

This is the game…She felt her heart flutter in excitement. Oh my god! It's amazing! She was seeing this. Seeing it! Experiencing it! Not on some boring old computer screen, no – but in reality itself. This was real – or, as real as it could get anyway.

She hurriedly calibrated by touching her shoulder, head, and knees. She looked on in fascination as another message appeared before her eyes.

Thank you. Please wait while your game loads.

Miri would never have guessed that a simple loading screen could be so full of suspense.

She could barely control her thoughts. What would she do first? Well in mmos she barely bothered with the story arcs. Instead, she had been more interested in joining guilds, or going on quests with friends. That was how she'd met Kiri and Callie after all. But since this was a virtual reality…well, maybe the story could be some fun? It would look real to her, after all. It wouldn't just be a click-at-the-screen-and-hope-to-win kind of game. Even grinding to higher levels sounded appealing. Her mind surged with possibilities – people she'd meet, guilds she'd join, hours she'd waste in a world so different from her own…

An automated voice message jolted her from her thoughts.

Welcome to Sword Art Online. Please login.

She was glad she'd set up an account for her and Saki beforehand. Sword Art Online's website was helpful for stuff like that. She only hoped Saki would understand what to do.

Username: Miriane717

Password: ********

Thank you for logging in. Please create your character.

The character creation section would have been standard, if it were on a computer. Still, it was neat how the Nervgear automatically translated her real-life body to the game. She looked at herself long and hard, slightly unnerved by the lifelike graphics. Then she began to edit.

No longer would her hair be boring and limp! No, no, no, no. She would keep it black, like that of a warrior, but do it up in braids and adorn it with flowers. Her eyes would be the brightest blue she could think of – as opposed to her rather boring dull hazel. And…let's see…

She looked for more changes to make. She decided she'd make herself tougher than what she already was in real life. Some muscle here and there would do… With a serious hum Miri set to work, dressing her character in lovely clothing. Something black…nothing too revealing, but nothing too clunky either. She ended up choosing a black blouse, covered by an equally dark blazer. She liked the look of black tights covered by a skirt, and ending with heavy boots with white laces.

Well that looked interesting. She smiled proudly at her handiwork – though it did need something more…

She finished off with some chest and shoulder armour. She wondered how long she had been at work; scrolling through menus and menus of different clothing items and body options.

It only occurred to her when she pressed 'okay' that Saki was probably waiting. She was too excited to really worry how she'd handle the game, though either way, surely Saki was smart enough to figure out how to open a menu. She could just logout if she had to.

Loading…loading…loading…loading…

More tunnels of light. She squinted. Felt her heart beat faster. This was what she'd been waiting for, for months and months…this was any gamer's dream.

The tunnels of light dissipated. The white glow of the background faded away. She was momentarily blinded as vivid colors filled her vision. The distant chatter of people became louder, and louder, until everything was in focus.

Miri rubbed her eyes. Then, looked down at her hands. They were…hers. She took a step forward. Open and closed her fists. Her in-game body did feel weird. Though she was sure she'd get used to it.

She took a few more steps. The bodies of people were materializing. People in groups, people solo, people taking their first steps into the game. A giddy freedom settled over Miri. This. Was. Amazing.

Slowly she got used to how her body felt. She took off at a running pace, feeling the gravel beneath her feet. A soft breeze tickled her ears. People spoke loudly; some had to scream to be heard above the noise. Normally such loud voices would have bothered her. But today was not normal. Today was a wonderful day. Today was a good enough reason to scream and shout and talk.

For a long time Miri ran. Letting the feeling of pure elation take over. The wind to her body, the ground to her feet, the sound to her ears and the light to her eyes…all of it was fake, she knew, yet it had never felt so good.

Saki didn't share her feelings, however.

Miri collapsed on the ground, laughing, only to be greeted by the face of a frowning child above.

"H-Hello?" she said, confused as to who this child was. The girl had pink hair, which pointed to the top of the sky. It almost resembled an ice cream cone upside down. Her eyes were the same bright pink. She also wore a blue-and-pink blouse, with a cotton candy skirt. She had the appearance of a comical cartoon character.

"May I help you…?" Miri went on. The girl seemed hurt by this question.

"No! No, you may not help me, 'cause you freaking failed at helping me before!"

The voice made Miri startle. No way…

"Saki?"

She couldn't help it. She started giggling madly. "Oh my god, Saki! You look like an anime character gone wrong."

The girl started to tear up. "It's not funny!" she wailed, causing a few people to turn and look. "You know I'm bad at games and stuff! And mum told you to watch me! You're the worst!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she laughed, though she didn't really mean it. "I kid, I kid. You look cute!"

"Liar…"

"No, really. You look like…a candy cane! Yeah. A pretty, multi-coloured candy cane. Nothing wrong with that, you know?"

"Weren't you worried about me?" she sobbed, though much quieter now. "Cause I was really scared."

"W-Well…" A twinge of guilt pinched her heart, snapping back her senses. "I figured you were old enough to know how to work a menu," she answered truthfully.

Saki blushed and turned her head away. "Yeah well…it's harder than it looks, okay?"

"Wow, Saki. You didn't know how to open the menu? That's a new kind of low. Even for you."

"Shut up!" She gave Miri a punch in the shoulder, a smile returning. "A-Anyway. Can we explore now? This place is huge! They've got shops and everything! Hey, is what we buy here given to us in the real world?"

Miri didn't even want to justify the stupidity of that question with an answer. She hauled herself to her feet. Right – they couldn't stay here forever. Today they'd look around, get to the first floor…Secretly she hoped the game would soon bore Saki. She wanted to join some guilds, though she wasn't sure how she could when her little sister trailed her around. And she was curious about how the fighting system worked too.

Aincrad was the name of the Sword Art Online universe, and boasted 100 floors. That was a lot of grinding. Finding a guild before she tried battling the bosses seemed like the best bet.

Saki sprung ahead, looking fascinated. "Hey, Miri, it's so real! Ohhh look at that! Can we go see what that is? Look, look, look!"

They left starting square behind and ventured into the city. Soon, Miri forgot she was even playing a game. They wandered around, looking at the shops, only to realize they had no money to buy anything. Saki often got lost in the crowd. Though thankfully Miri had remembered to add her as a friend, and taught her how to use the menu screen.

For the rest of the day they hung around the city, savouring the smells of food they hadn't tried before. Saki kept pointing at all the cute girls in the game, and explaining wisely how half of them would be men. The two ventured around in circles, until they finally decided to just walk in a straight line. They both ended up distracted on several occasions however. The alleyways, the shops, the freedom of their virtual world…nothing could compare. If Miri could choose where she would like to live, she wouldn't hesitate to answer the obvious. If only Sword Art Online were reality. If only they didn't have to logout.

---

November 6th 5:25pm

The two sisters had tired themselves. The exploration had been a long one; they had wandered around nearly half the city, and had found themselves lost on several occasions.

Miri hadn't even realized how much time had passed. It was nearly five thirty. Mum would probably be making dinner by now. She felt her stomach rumble at the thought of steaming hot rice, and delicately made fish.

Still, Miri didn't want to leave. Not yet anyway. The sunset here was vivid. Golden clouds rippled across a horizon painted red and pink. The sky felt so close…she was almost sure she could touch it.

Among the scene flew a solitary crow – or, at least, it looked like a crow. It seemed far too big to be even a raven on further inspection. When the bird flew lower, and closer, she realized its eyes were bloodshot. And horns curled out of its head. The bird may have noticed her gaze, for it turned to glare at her. For a few moments the world seemed still.

Then, the creature screeched, and flew away.

She felt an involuntary shiver curl up her spine.

She had to remind herself it was just a game. None of it was real. Her natural instinct was telling her to run – though she knew it couldn't hurt her. It was only something made out of data after all. There was nothing to be frightened of.

I'm being silly. Though it was time to leave anyway. Their mum would be angry if they stayed any longer.

Saki was not far off, attempting to climb a tree – and failing. When she saw Miri she waved. Well it seemed Saki wasn't bored at all. She could just logon late at night if she wanted some time to herself – anyway, Saki got tired of games quickly. And she was glad that, for now, she was having fun.

"Come on. We should go. I'm hungry and mum'll be making dinner now."

"Yeah…" Shrugging, Saki opened the menu and scrolled down. "Can't we just stay a bit longer…? You can go, and I'll stay here."

"I would if I could, believe me," Miri said carelessly, "but you know I can't."

Saki paused for a moment. Then, she nodded. "Being young …" she said wisely, as though she had lived so many years in youth she had the experience to speak of its evil.

Miri sighed. "What is being responsible. It'd be nice if we could trade places, for a day or something. But whatever. Hey, does the logout button work for you?"

There was no logout button. Just a blank space where it was supposed to be. Miri cocked her head, confused. When she pressed it nothing happened.

"Hm. Must be a glitch."

Saki was vigorously pressing hers. "What happens now?" she said. "Are we stuck?"

"Well it should be fixed up soon enough. We just wait and see how we go." She noted the time –5:30. The excitement of today had made her sleepy. She just wanted dinner, and then maybe she could come back online when Saki was asleep.

"Can I go play?"

"Sure."

Her stomach rumbled louder. If only they'd gone to the first floor and killed some monsters for money or something. She read in the manual that there was a hunger gauge, and that in-game food was essential to replenish it and dispel in-game hunger.

Right when Saki was back on her tree, swinging from the branch, did the bells ring.

Saki dropped mid swing and looked about in confusion. Miri froze, startled by the high-pitched sound. Miri turned back and looked inside the city. People were still, watching the sky; some were complaining about the glitch, and others hadn't even noticed the button had gone.

Then, they started to disappear.

It was so quick Miri barely understood what had happened. One minute she was sitting on the grass, lazing about with Saki after a tiring day; and the next, she was among a throng of people, pushed about in the crowd, suddenly aware something was very, very wrong.

"S-Saki!"

People were murmuring to each other in confusion. Some loudly yelling their confusion. Her voice was lost among the aimless noise. Miri covered her ears, suddenly scared. More people were teleporting into the square. Her eyes flicked from face to face, but none of them were familiar.

She tried to calm herself. She was just being stupid. Delirious. It was only virtual reality. They must have been teleported here by the admins of the game or by whoever was watching over this place. It was just an announcement of some sort. About the glitch. Yeah…that'd make sense.

Saki would be fine. They'd meet up once the logout button was there again. It wasn't a problem.

Miri hadn't the time to worry anyway. All at once the chattering stopped. People were looking upwards, at the sky, which was now fractured into a million hexagons. Is the system breaking down? It was a silly thought, but one she couldn't get out of her head. What's going on?

Someone screamed. Rightfully so.

For from these hexagons came blood. Thick, dark, sickening blood. Pouring from the sky above. Miri couldn't take her eyes off the sky, as the blood slowly melted together, twisted and turned, forming an equally red cloak and what looked like a floor's boss. She really did feel delirious now. It all felt like a dream – blood, people pushing and shoving, pounding head…

The only thing that kept her in reality – kept her attention on the horrible figure now looming above – was his deep, rich voice.

"Attention, players. Welcome to my world. I am Kayaba Akihiko."

Kayaba Akihiko. His face was hidden inside the darkness of his cloak. He held out his arms, speaking down to them all. This man. She had admired him for so long for his expertise. When Sword Art Online had been announced she'd researched him to the point of becoming a crazy fangirl. She should have been thrilled to see her idol.

But she wasn't.

'His' world.

"As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world."

At once a surge of mutterings began among the crowd.

"Is that really him?"

"Kayaba Akihiko? The creator of this game?"

"He must have spent a lot of time on this…"

"I am sure you already noticed," he continued on, "that the logout is missing from the main menu." He paused. The crowd paused too. The pushing and shoving stopped.

Kayaba accessed the menu and scrolled down the screen. "But this is not a defect in the game," he finally said.

Miri could almost hear the thumping of her heart. A growing panic built in her chest. His ominous words rung loud in her ears.

"I repeat…This is not a defect in the game. It is feature of Sword Art Online."

"What…?" she heard a young boy laugh, though his voice was shaking.

"A…feature?"

"I don't get it?"

"This's gotta be a joke."

"You cannot logout of SAO yourselves. And no one on the outside can shut down, or remove your Nervgear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the Nervgear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life."

"Huh…?"

"If this is a joke…it's a really sick one."

"Seriously…?"

She heard a loud voice above all the others. "Come on. Enough already. Let's go." A guy marched through the crowd, his girlfriend trailing along behind him. He made it to the exit of the square – then hit what must have been an invisible wall. "Hey! I can't get out!"

She turned away from the boy. The transmitter huh…powerful enough to fry a brain? That sounded about right. But then – if that was the truth – everybody playing Sword Art Online was screwed.

Herself.

That boy.

Saki.

No…it can't be…it's just a joke – that's all it can be…right?

"Unfortunately, several players' friends and families have ignored this warning and have attempted to remove the Nervgear. As a result, 213 players are gone forever, from both Aincrad and the real world."

213…already? No. This had to be a sick joke. This was impossible. She…she refused to believe it – that…that…

Kayaba barely allowed them to process that information before moving onto the next. "As you can see," he went on calmly, opening windows of various news sites from across the globe, "news organizations from across the world are reporting all of this, including the deaths."

She read one of the headlines to one window – reading, Multiple Victims in Online Game Incident. There was a photo of two men on the cover. She felt sick. She clutched her stomach, fully prepared to retch, hoping the nightmare would end soon. It was impossible. Impossible…

Impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible…

"Thus, you can assume that the danger of a Nervgear being removed is now minimal."

She heard the person next to her snap in frustration. "And we're meant to be happy 'bout that?"

Beside him a girl was on her knees, weeping.

To her left a boy looked, numb in disbelief, at the sky.

"I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game."

Clear…the game?

"But I want you to remember this clearly. There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost." The windows abruptly closed.

Yet again, the crowd became silent, everyone's breath paused, the quiet only broken by those already swearing or sobbing.

"And simultaneously…the Nervgear will destroy your brain."

In other words...die in-game…and die in real life?

"There is only one means of escape," Kayaba said, after letting them digest that. "To complete the game. You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, floor one. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the floor boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game."

"Clear…?"

"What's he talking about?"

"Y-You're just making that up!" the boy from before shouted.

"But it's impossible to clear a hundred floors…especially that of an mmo," a fair-haired blond lady mused. "I just don't understand the objective."

Kayaba ignored them. "Finally," he said, "I've added a present from me to your item storage. Please see for yourselves."

Miri barely had the energy to open the menu. What bad news would await her now? A present? Weak, she managed to force herself to open the item window. There, a new item appeared in the list.

Mirror…?

She hesitated. Then, slowly, she touched the item's name. A shining mirror materialized in her hands, its sheen glass catching her avatar's reflection.

She stared at her reflection, dazed, waiting for something to fall from the sky and crush her under its weight. Or for the mirror to suddenly glow so bright, it would burn her eyes out.

A splinter of pain cut through her wrist. She clutched her hand, a whimper escaping .

The pain subsided as quickly as it had come. She opened her eyes and fumbled to position the mirror correctly. She wasn't sure what she was attempting to do.

The square was enveloped with a blinding white light. When the light faded away, something felt different with her body.

The mirror caught her reflection again. But this time it wasn't that of her avatar.

The hair she had designed remained the same. However, everything else was undeniably…herself. Gaunt face, shadows under eyes, tall and lanky and hardly looking very nourished.

She glanced around. Everybody else was looking different too. The boy from before was yelling at his supposed 'girlfriend' – actually a middle aged man who looked fairly odd in his pink dress.

Normally she would've laughed at such a comical scene. This was far from funny though. The further this joke went on, the less it became like a joke and the more it felt disturbingly real. She looked at the mirror again, her eyes a watery mess. She then threw it at the ground, and it shattered into a million blue shards. Kayaba was still overhead. Observing them. Watching them in amusement, she might've guessed.

Finally Kayaba had enough observation. "Right now you're probably wondering 'why?'" he said, to which Miri wanted to scream 'what do you think?!' "Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online and the Nervgear, do all this?" He paused.

"My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason. To create this world and intervene in it."

To become a God?

"And now, it is complete."

More silence. More deafening, echoing silence.

"This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. Good luck players."

The cloak began to glitch. The sound of static filled the air. Red steam poured up from the cloak, as it was broken from its suspension; it twisted and bent, and was lifted back into the hexagons. The silence continued, until the red alert warnings disappeared. The sky became normal again. A magnificent golden horizon, streaked with clouds. It looked like a scene from a painting.

No one paid attention to that though. Instead, the silence continued for a moment longer. Miri continued to stare at the sky, half-expecting Kayaba to appear again and go on about what a hilarious prank that was.

Her thoughts were getting stupider by the second.

That wouldn't happen.

Just as the peaceful silence could not continue on.

Someone broke the trance the players were all absorbed in with a high pitched scream. It was followed by another scream. And another. Until panic gripped the square. The crowd was suddenly moving. Miri just wanted to lie down and waste away. She couldn't run. She couldn't fight her way through. It was all too much. Someone's foot collided with her shoulder.

"Out of the way," another man barked, when she still remained in place.

It would be nicer to waste away. To close her eyes and sleep until something happened to bring her back to the real world. Wouldn't it be nice to have a good nap, and wake up to see her mother's concerned frown? To reassure her everything was just a nightmare, and none of it was real?

She closed her eyes so tight they hurt. But when she opened them things remained the same. The clearing was almost emptied. Her HP bar had taken a bit of a battering.

She saw a little boy in the corner of the square. He was crying. An older lady next to him was trying to calm him down.

Saki.

That's right…

Saki.

Just the name spurred her on. She scurried to her feet. She looked around, hoping desperately to see her little sister there.

"S-Saki!"

No reply.

Miri couldn't stay here. Her sister…she had to find her. She opened the friends menu. She almost didn't want to look. Would Saki be alive? Was she…okay?

She forced herself to click on the option 'friends list.'

Next to Saki's username was a green light.

Online.

Miri exhaled in relief. Just seeing that was enough to give her hope.

She had to find Saki. Yeah…she couldn't leave her by herself. If there was anything that girl was hopeless at, it was gaming.

She felt a smile tug at the corners of her lips. She was so tired…they should have logged off earlier.

But she couldn't think of that just yet. Every urge in her body screamed 'give up and go to sleep.'

But for Saki's sake she had to keep going. With an unsteady step Miri found herself stumbling out of the square.

"Saki!" she called again.

Pandemonium had erupted in the city. She checked the friends list again. Saki was still online.

Everything would be okay. That was the promise she'd made to her long ago. Everything will be okay. Nothing's gonna change.

She collapsed again. Heaving. Breathing felt hard. Someone approached her; they bent down to the ground and placed a hesitant hand on her back.

She heard their words, but they sounded so distant. "You okay?"

Do I look okay to you?

Miri shook the hand off her back. She ran. Far away. Or as far away as she could muster. She felt feverish. Was that even possible in this game? Or was her mind just playing tricks on her?

She ended up in an alley, leaning against the cool stone walls for support. She slipped down to the ground again.

She had to find Saki.

She had to.

Tears stung her eyes. She had never asked for this. She just wanted to go home…

The more she thought of Saki the more exhausted she became. Her vision blurred. She tried to lift herself to her feet, but she collapsed again. Miri closed her eyes. Even thinking was hard. Her brain throbbed with every thought, every confused feeling she felt in her chest. She rested her head against the wall. It would surely be nice to sleep…

Finally she could see nothing but darkness. Hear nothing but the sound of her beating heart.

End of chapter one—