Her Mission To Save Them All || Sword Art Online Fanfic

Chapter 40

29th March 2019
Well, Brexit and I actually have something in common; something I never thought would happen has happened. We reached 5K!
What else can I say but thank you and enjoy!

POV: Shi

I swirl the glass shot I hold between my fingers, the bright neon liquid seeming to eddy before I chuck it back, drowning the whole thing in one go. Despite its colour, it tastes like strawberry milk as I swallow, an action I hope will take the memories back down with it.

You kind of get used to it eventually, the weird quirks of this game reality can't explain; how you can hear conversations hushed behind hands from meters away and how you can see things not possible with the human eye.

That is, if you've trained in the correct skills. Most players seem to neglect these basic skills we've all been blessed with to focus on nurturing other skills never seen in reality, fantastical sword moves that can never be replicated.

That all can do, because the system is designed in such a way to be fair, and all we have to do to become strong is to follow the sword. That makes the people who don't follow this method different. Often, they are stronger than all those who followed the rules.

That makes it even more important that I subvert them too.

I crush the glass between my fingers in a show of strength not humanly possible and feel my lip curl in disgust at the little red nicks that appear on my palms. I watch my health bar inch downwards as I walk away, my hands in my pockets to hide the scars that will soon fade away.

This time, I promise myself. This time, I will challenge the one who does not play by the rules. Inside my pockets, my fists curl, wishing to draw blood, wishing that it would be enough for me to finally, finally shatter.

I just hope she will kill me before the memories take over.

************

The crowd is as thick as the day before, shoving through it becoming even more difficult the further I wonder to the open, circular stage. In fact, the crowd seems to surge towards the action, and I almost get caught up in it too.

I pull out towards my edges, scanning the crowd, only black, obscured shapes from the bright lighting overhead. Still, if I crane my neck, I can see the sea of fire that is all the orange and red cursors within the mess.

But, that's not what I search for. It should be easy, finding that one untouched player within us all. It was what first made me walk over to her two days ago, the green that wound into vines that captured my attention.

Maybe this would be the one; the one to finally end it all.

I want to know more about her. Not in a romantic sense, but so I can understand why someone like that would willingly drown themselves in a sea of red. So I can wrap my head around why she would treasure a metal carved price with a crown so dearly she was willing to kill for it.

The knowledge that I still have the move that lies in my inventory makes my core open in a light of hope I so rarely feel. Even if she is not willing to kill, I can make her.

It is kind of interesting, the way people would do more for themselves rather than others when their words rarely say the opposite. We humans are selfish. Maybe that's why I search for this rather than a way out of it all.

Failing in trying to find that green, it hits me. In the duel yesterday, she would have injured someone. I smile at the cleverness; the best way to hide is to first become the one you are trying to hide from.