Sword Art Online: Soul Binder

The Dying Island

The next morning, you and Lisbeth got a very early start to the day, having told Kirito and the others about your trip, and left the house an hour before sunrise.

"You know, we could just fast travel. It would be easier." You said with a tired tone.

"I know, but I want to take a scenic walk to the place. It may take a day or two, but I want to walk a little bit." She said seriously.

"We have to carry on with quests tomorrow..." You replied lazily.

"Quests can wait for a bit. This time, we're going to take in the surroundings." She said with conviction.

"Alright..." You said, again with a lazy, almost dejected tone.

"So, can you sing?" She asked curiously.

"No..." You said nonchalantly.

"Well, sing me a song. I want to hear you sing." She said with a giggle.

"Not happening." You said, trying to keep a serious face.

When you thought of going to an unexplored island for a vacation of sorts, you never expected to have to walk the whole thirty-or-so- kilometers to the transport hub.

"Come on, why are you so gloomy today?" She asked, pinching your cheek to try and get a reaction out of you.

"I'm just super tired." You said sluggishly.

"Come on," she began, pausing for a moment as she cups her hands together and starts pouting, "please sing for me, just a few lines?" She asked again as she looked into your eyes with a sudden dejected look

"Alright, fine." You replied, rolling your eyes. "Not like I can say no to that face anyway..." You mumbled the last part.

"Wise... men... say... only fools, rush, in. But I can't help falling in love with you. Shall I stay would it be a sin? If I can't help falling in love with you..." You sang as you slowly walked down a cobblestone path.

"There, I sang..." You said, feeling slightly embarrassed because you know that you don't have the voice for singing.

"You know, that's not half bad. Perhaps I'll have you sing for me more often." She said with a giggle.

"Yeah, right." You said with a smirk.

As you walked further down the seemingly endless path, your fingers made contact with Lisbeth's palm, which in turn led to her nervously holding your hand as you did nothing but walk. In the corner of your eye, you could see her blushing slightly, and admittedly, you are too, although not as obviously as she is.

"S-so... what's the plan once we get to Solstheim?" Lisbeth asked to prevent the walk from turning to awkward silence, although the feared awkward silence is mostly in her head, as you don't really mind not talking much, but like when the conversation goes somewhere.

"I guess we could just explore, see what the island has to offer, spend a day or two there - if it's a cool place, and then head back." You said casually.

"Sounds good to me." She said confidently.

"You know, even though I wasn't up for walking, this is actually relaxing..." You said nonchalantly as you take in the ultra-realistic scenery, then a tear came to your eye.

"I told you so. Is everything okay?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah. I just never took the time to fully appreciate the scenery until now. I had no idea that - even though it sucks to be trapped here - it's a beautiful place. Perhaps I could take the code from this game and use it to build a new Skyrim once we cleared this game... after players get over the whole situation that is." You said confidently.