It has been more than a year since I started playing SAO, but this was
the first time my HP bar had entered the red zone.
After the defeated target's polygon shattered, it left only a sack behind.
There wasn't a single restoration crystal left in my inventory, I had
never come this close to death before. Even though I survived, there
was no happiness or comfort in my heart. Instead, I felt an emotion
closer to disappointment. Why did I survive?
As I returned my sword back to its scabbard, the sack glowed and
then disappeared. All the items that were dropped by the target should
have registered in my inventory. Taking a deep breathe, I raised my
trembling hand and called up the inventory window.
The inventory window has many tabs with names that would irritate
most players. Weapons & Armor, Jewels/Ores, Crystals, and even
Food Ingredients, I scrolled through the window filled with item tabs
to find a single item.
A few seconds later, the item that I was searching for entered my line
of sight.
It was called «Divine Stone of Returning Soul».
My heart started to beat frantically, it felt as though blood had just
started flowing through the part of the heart that was numbed for the
past several days- several months.
Ca.... Can I revive Sachi? If this can be done, wouldn't it mean that,
Keita, Tetsuo, and the souls of every player who lost their life in SAO
since the beginning haven't been destroyed...?
This may be my only chance to see Sachi again. Just thinking of that
made my heart skip a beat. No matter what curses or swears that
might be thrown at me or any consequences that might befall because
of my lies, this time I would hug her tightly with both my arms and
look into the pair of black coloured eyes and say words from the
bottom of my heart. It is not that you will never die, but it is me who
is going protect you. To fulfil that promise, I will work hard to make
myself stronger.
After several failed attempts to select the stone from the window due
to my trembling hands, I finally managed to materialise the «Divine
Stone of Returning Soul». Floating above the inventory window is a
rainbow-coloured jewel stone around the size of an egg with such
beauty that was unable to be put into words.
"Sachi.......Sachi....."
Calling out her name, I tapped the jewel stone, then clicked on the
help menu by the window, simple instructions appeared on the panel
in a familiar font style.
[The item can be used on the player's shortcut menu or holding the
