The year was 2023. Almost a year had passed since the day players had discovered there would be no escaping the world of Sword Art Online. There would be no logging off. No way of communicating with oneโs family. Any form of friendship would need to be developed within the game, that is if such a person could be trusted.
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Or if a person had lived long enough.
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Ten thousand individuals had started in this battle. Hundreds had died with thousands more becoming Undead. Abandoned. Corpses that roamed Sword Art Online, attacking innocent players, creating an army of their own. No one knew who produced this virus -- this infection. Many had assumed it was through the work of Laughing Coffin, the murderous guild, whose members were skilled in creating lethal potions that could turn a group against each other in a matter of minutes. Indeed, they were the likely suspect but with some of their members transforming into powerful corpses, players were doubtful they were the source of what happened. Who would devise a plan so evil as creating corpses that with a single scratch or bite could add to their numbers?
*
โYou better not die.โ The words were effortless. How many times she had spoken them to him. Lying in his bed at the inn, arm draped over his side, she feared returning to the unknown danger that rested beyond the safe zone. Especially when it came to him. The fearless vigilante. His heroic determination demanded that he continue to fight but it had also made it difficult for Asuna to persuade him to stay, if only for another minute. One more minute to know he was with her, kept from any harm this world could inflict upon him. It was a selfish gesture he took notice of and one that had been proven futile even in her efforts. She would never be able to protect him from all of it. โYou hear me?โ
Her thumb gently caressed the outline of his cheek, his silence scaring her. Tearful eyes met the gaze of his grey irises. She found herself lost in them for a moment. They would speak answers words never could. โKirito-โ
*
Palms steadied on the stone table in front of her. A document detailing the map of the current floor covered a majority of it as Asunaโs eyes focused on the particular section where a group of her guild members had disappeared. Aside from their guild commander, what players remained in the Knights of Blood guild had gathered in this chamber with their second in command awaiting further instructions.
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โDo we know what caused this?โ A frightened guild member questioned.
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โI think we all know who caused this,โ Asuna responded. โIt is safe to assume that group was killed in action. Dying in an effort to defeat the Undead.โ There was sorrow in her tone, still, she managed to control her composure in this situation, as any leader or authoritative figure should. Her head raised, observing the players. โThey are advancing quickly and they are coming closer. It wonโt be long until they finally reach the border of the safe zone.โ
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An uproar erupted within the hall. It lasted a few minutes before someone shouted. โWhat then?!โ
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โWe should fight!โ Someone had said. โWe should stay in the safe zone!โ Said another.
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Some were reduced to tears, others displayed violence in lieu of their anger. She was rather glad two bodyguards protected her from any player attempting to get close to her out of malicious intent.
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Suddenly, the chaos ended as a man pushed through the crowd, standing across the table. Hazel eyes analyzed the man who was dressed in silver armor. A red cloak draped down his back and moved with him as his fist met the table. A threatening gesture, by her standards, and one she thought would nearly shatter the stone in two.
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โYou are not my leader. My friend was among the ones who went missing. Killed not by the Undead but by you. You gave the order to send those players out there.โ
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โThey would be standing in this room with all of us if she never gave that order.โ He spoke over his shoulder to the crowd before returning his gaze to her. โYou are to blame.โ
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Every player in that room was looking at her. He spoke not out of rage but sadness and disappointment. To shame her. He did not need to raise his voice for her to hear what result her decision had caused. He wanted her to feel pain, in the worst way. He wanted her to live, to continue knowing she was the reason for leading a group to their demise.
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โThat friend of mine? I knew him in the real world. He had a wife and three kids. A father is dead because of your choice. He is dead in a hospital with his family not knowing who or what caused this. Not understanding what they did to deserve something like this. If I make it out of this, I will tell them.โ
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Asuna had watched the man exit the room. That table being the only form of support to keep her from collapsing onto the ground. The whispers from surrounding guild members became nearly unbearable as if she could hear every word echoing in her mind in a constant loop she would never be able to free herself from. Frozen in her stance, she hoped no one would notice the despair in her eyes. Her glance shifted, trying to find at least one individual who did not look upon her with disappointment and resentment but found none. Her fingers clutched the fabric on her chest. The air suddenly becoming thinner with each passing moment.
One of her bodyguards stepped forward, the tone of his voice provided evidence that he was quite disturbed about her current state. โShall I escort you back to your quarters, maโam?โ
โNo,โ Asuna responded, turning to face the guard. โPlease see that the room is cleared out.โ
The guard bowed his head at her command. โI would advise leaving through the door behind us, maโam. It would not be wise to walk through the crowd.โ
โThey will not hurt me.โ She had spoken it so softly she wondered if the guard had even heard her response. Kirito would not have approved, she knew. But her real protector was absent from her and her distinct trust for people would always be her weakness. She wanted to put herself in their position. To leave the safety of the table and walk among the people she failed to protect as their leader. While innocent lives were lost under her orders, she was safe behind stone walls. A coward -- at the very essence of the word.
The hand covering her chest fell to her side and she began to walk toward the opposite door. Some members created a path, while others she gently bumped into as she continued. A single guild member blocked her way through the door. He looked down upon her with such disdain, she nearly cracked under his glare. Perhaps this was as far as she would get.
And then he spit on the ground in front of her.
She could hear the guards place their armored hands on their weapons but she raised her hand to stay them. She deserved every ounce of humiliation.
Had she been stronger, she would have stood up to such actions, but she was not strong. She was not cautious of what this man might do, what anyone would do. A broken spirit exhibited a different level of fearlessness. She took those risks and moved around him, opening the doors only enough to let herself through. It was not freedom as someone might believe. It was the beginning of a never-ending cycle. Living with her guilt alone, in that cold, barren hallway inside stone walls.
It would be no more than two hours before her guards would be given orders to search for her. Asuna made great strides to ensure she would not be found including using two skills to hide her footprints as well as concealing her location on the map. He knew where she would be after all. His company would be the only one she would willingly accept at this time. The hooded cloak clung to Asunaโs frame, hiding her face as she navigated through the village. Finally, she reached her destination -- the inn where Kirito had been guaranteed a room for his heroic efforts. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she sunk to the floor, her arms crossed atop her knees as tears ensued.
