Abyss of the Shrine Maiden

The Strength of the Kindred Assassin

“Impressive. I salute your strength. Now come, young swordsman, I shall bestow upon you my mark.”

Koharu picks herself up from her knees, exhaling heavily as she sees the fourth treasure chest appear close to the entrance to the Gradeen Floating Arena, far in the northern regions of the Stalvatos Ruins. Philia happily saunters over and receives whatever “sigil” the chest contains, which prompts another voice to speak in the arena, though it is not that of the opponent she just faced.

“You who have gathered four sigils of strength, thy final trial is upon thee…”

“Another…” Koharu groans and sheathes her dagger on the back of her waist. Checking her map, the final arena is to the southwest, indicated by a giant broken circle if one was to get a satellite view of the region. She counts six arenas, four previously visited and marked by their teleport terminal colored blue, while the one next to be visited and the one in the very center have the terminals colored gray. Several other regions have yet to be explored too, all between Koharu’s current position and the next. To get there… Looks like they’ll have to go back through the Labyrinth of the Abyss but through a different exit. Great.

“Got the next step worked out, Koharu?”

Koharu closes the map and nods to Leafa. “Mhm. We’ll return to the Labyrinth of the Abyss and head for a different exit. I think we should stick to the southern routes… Leafa?”

Leafa places a hand on Koharu’s shoulder. “If you’re tired, you can say so. You’ve fought four of these Blue Dragon guys, there’s nothing wrong with tagging yourself out.”

“But...”

“Hey, I’m a fighter too. This might serve as good kendo practice. Rain and Strea are good too. Sure, we don’t all have your ability level, but we can’t let you do everything.”

True, Koharu’s tired. Each knight has been tougher than the last, and even at her most careful, she’s being roughed up. Part of her wants to take Leafa’s offer and rest up, yet every time she thinks of doing so, the thought that convinces her otherwise swallows her.

“Then maybe I’ll kill the pink-haired girl who, heh, he replaced you with. He found love with a lowly blacksmith. Oh, even better, he saved her from the one who killed you. How does that make you feel, to be cast aside so easily… Or them… To learn that the same hero of SAO is the captain of the squadron who has been on us in GGO, the same one that saved the game itself, and even encountered poor XaXa and almost died thinking he was calling them out… New friends, new guild, new partner...and you come back expecting he’ll bring you back into the fold? You’re no better than this boy on the ground, a relic of someone’s past. Nothing more of a reminder to him of a hell filled with death… Now tell me, how does all of it make you feel? Who do you think you are to him?"

It has been a month, but PoH’s words to her in their duel continue to sting. They’re beyond hurtful, they’re statements of truth. In a few days, exactly two and a half years will have passed since Koharu’s avatar fell in SAO, her real self suffering damage from the impaired pulse of her slightly damaged NerveGear. If only she woke up sooner, maybe… No, things would have still changed. PoH knew this, Jaymes knows this, she knows this.

Everything that used to be “is” about her is now “was,” and there’s nothing she can do about it except move forward and find the answer to PoH’s question. She didn’t have a direct answer back then, but now she seeks it the only way she knows possible. If she lets Leafa or someone else fight, she hinders her own path to realization.