Game Over: A Sword Art Online Story

Chapter 1

I swung my saber down unto the beast's left shoulder, cutting it off permanently. The red crystals, supposedly created to look like blood, poured from its shoulder to the ground, disappearing at the touch of the green grass. The beast screamed in rage and charged feebly at me.

Stupid idiot, I thought. I slid on the grass and extended my saber. It made a slicing sound through the beast's left leg. It collapsed and made a huge thudding sound onto the ground, making it shake ominously. Without hesitation, I ran as fast as I could and jumped, with my arm and sword lifted behind me.

"Yaaaaah!" I yelled as my saber met the beast's heart. The beast roared in pain and finally started to vanish into tiny polygons. I took a deep breath and smiled when purple words appeared in front of my view, listing my experience and rewards. I inserted my silver saber into my sheath and sat down, raising my head to the sky.

It all seemed so real: the grass, the beast, the skyline. I didn't have any friends who played SAO, but I didn't care, because I got this beautiful view all to myself. What would happen if the real world actually looked like this? I wondered in awe. Speaking of the real world, I thought I had enough for a day in SAO. I stood up, pulled out a screen, and looked for the log-out button.

I scrolled all the way down to the bottom of the screen. "Wait a sec. Wha...?" I ask myself. Where the heck was the log-button? I exited the screen and pulled it out again. Still no log-out button. "Huh? But that's...I must be glitching," I said to myself, trying to hide the fear in my voice. My heart pounded as I realized what was going on.

Suddenly, a bell tolled, startling me. I started to see a blue light for three seconds, but faded after. A forced teleportation, I thought. I looked around to see the beautiful skyline disappear and change to the Town of Beginnings. Among the town, billions of players and they were clamoring about in inquiry.

I looked up and saw the bottom of the second floor covered in red hexagons screaming WARNING and SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT. Then a giant figure with a robe and crimson hood emerged from the sky. People muttered in confusion and anger, "Where is his face? Can we log-out now?" 

As they muttered, the right arm of the figure lifted as well as the other arm. A man's calm, deep voice spoke.

"Welcome to my world, dear players."

Your world? Could that mean...I thought.

"My name is Akihiko Kayaba. As of this moment, I am the only one alive to control this world."

Akihiko Kayaba!! The founder of Sword Art Online!! What's he doing here?! I thought, bewildered. I looked to see other players whisper in shock and exchange worried glances.

"You may have noticed that there is no longer a log-out button. This is not a bug, but a feature," Kayaba said in a smooth but ominously calm voice. 

Feature? I wondered.

"You will not be able to log out of the game until the entire castle is conquered. Also, the NerveGear cannot be removed or shut down externally. If forceful means of exit are attempted..."

Everyone went silent.

A heavy silence filled the air along with players holding their breaths in apprehension and fear.

"...the powered microwaves contained inside your NerveGear will scramble your brain and shut down all vital processes."

Scramble your brain...shut down all vital processes...

In other words, death. Everyone murmured in fear at the sound of that.

"Unfortunately, friends and families of several players have ignored these warnings and removed their NerveGears, the result being...that two hundred and thirteen players have already been permanently retired from Aincrad and the real world," Kayaba explained in a dry voice.

I heard a scream from someone among the crowd, but everyone was still unable to speak. 

Two hundred and thirteen players. All dead in just minutes, I thought.

Kayaba continued his speech. "Proceed with caution, players. Sword Art Online is not a game, but another reality. You all know well enough that if you die, you can come back to life. However, this does not meet the standards I have put for you. When you hit points drop down to zero, your avatar will be permanently deleted..."

Please don't say it, please don't say it! I thought in fear.

"...and the NerveGear will destroy your brain."

"No...no...why...?" I managed to breathe out. I looked at the left of my vision and saw a thin, blue bar with the numbers 342/342. My remaining life.

If it hit zero, that would be it for me. I would die and be gone forever from both Aincrad and the real world. The moments with my parents and brother that just happened hours ago would be the last. I would never sit with them at dinner, or play games with my brother, or watch movies together. Is this really the end for me?

"I have given you all a gift. You will find it in the item storage."

I pulled out the inventory tab and found a new item labeled HAND MIRROR. I tapped on it and selected MATERIALIZE. The mirror appeared in my hand.

I looked at the mirror but nothing happened. All I saw was my face, my chestnut hair tied in a braid, and my armor. I looked at everyone else and they were looking into their own mirrors as well.

Suddenly, a bright white light enveloped a player and then a few more. The same light surrounded me and, a few seconds later, faded. But there was something different...

Everyone looked different, mostly in facial looks. I reluctantly held the mirror and looked into my reflection. "Wha-!" I exclaimed.

It was my real-life face. My light-brown hair rested on my shoulders in straight locks, my innocent-looking face, my eyes the color of chocolate. The features of my real world look was in SAO. I guess the NerveGear was smarter than I thought.

The giant figure was still up in the sky, though. Did he have anything else to say besides the dreading news we heard? 

"You are probably asking yourselves, why? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of SAO and the NerveGear unit, do something like this?"

Everyone went silent and held their gazes.

"This wasn't an act of terrorism or ransom or a goal of any kind. In fact, this situation was my ultimate goal. I created the NerveGear and SAO to build this world and observe it. I have now accomplished it."

A short pause happened, then Kayaba's voice rang through the crowd.

"This concludes the tutorial phase of Sword Art Online. I wish you good luck, dear players."

The figure rose to the sky and the red wall of hexagons and messages disappeared. The game returned to its normal state. The only difference was the dreadful rules we all were given.

Finally, after many whispers and murmurs and silences, the place erupted with noise.

"Let me out! I want to go home!"

"Curse this game!"

"This can't be happening, right? Tell me I'm dreaming, tell me!"

No matter the many screams and protests that rose above the crowd, we could not get out. I looked up to see the sky in beautiful colors, just how I liked them when I played this game.

So beautiful, I thought, yet so cruel.