Sword Art Online: Faithful Hymn

Chapter 33: Clearing The Taint

Not much later after I told the two girls I'd give VRMMO a shot once more, I quickly got to learn that we'll be playing ALfheim Online. I've heard plenty about the game itself not much later after I awoken from Sword Art Online. It was an immediate recommendation for SAO Survivors, while it was discouraged for many among us. Me being one of those people.

But not anymore.

"Wait a second. Don't I log in with your save data if I connect?" I ask the orange-haired girl, who does not seem to be surprised by my question at all. "No, don't worry about it. Just like the NerveGear, it scans your entire body, meaning that it detects another person, thus creating save data on the cloud." she explains to me. It may confuse some people, her explanation, but definitely not me. Once I confirmed her information as logical, Yuuki shouts through our short but helpful conversation.

"Oh Shoji! Tell me which race you'll be so that I know where to find you!" It makes sense that I should tell her which race to take, but that's the problem. I don't know any races...

"Well, I don't know any races..." I tell Yuuki, leaving her silent. She probably expected me to have basic knowledge about the game, like most gamers would have with all kinds of popular video games.

I may have played SAO, but that alone doesn't make me a gamer, right?

"Oh, of course, forgive me. Well, I'm an Imp, and Asuna is an Undine. Let's make you a mixture between our colors, purple and blue!" Yuuki says, although she seems confused regarding what the mixture could be between the colors.

"Pff, that makes blue-violet Yuuki!" Asuna then comments to her doubt, making us all laugh. I then responded in a hurrying voice. "Well, I'll see what race I'll choose. I just want to see the world, have a little fun and get Yuna back to how she used to be!" I tell of them, with Asuna knowing where I'm coming from when I get to the point right here.

"Yeah, you better go. I'll message Kirito immediately!" Asuna says before leaving the room. I then equip the AmuSphere, preparing to make my journey for a VRMMO world once more. I can't believe I'm really doing this, and this all out of heart for... two legendary warriors.

I just realized that I'm doing this out of curiosity and excitement to get along with Asuna and Yuuki, two remarkable people. What... am I doing?

"See you in ALO! Name yourself Shoji, and I'll add you so that I can find you that way instead!" Yuuki says, before logging off her camera. I then lay down on Asuna's bed, where I found myself on once I agreed to go Fulldive. I close my eyes, getting rid of the view of Asuna's roof, before saying the infamous words I hoped to never speak out loud again:

"Link Start!"

Just like that, I'm getting vibes from a terrible past. Even though I know ALO is a safe place, I can't help it but to feel anxiety each time I would dive into a VR game. The feeling that I've got a machine on my head that may or may not be able to melt your brain does not exactly make you feel comfortable, and I don't understand why other SAO survivors who play other VRMMOs don't feel the same. Maybe it's just my lack of trust once more? The same thing that prevented me from setting myself into motion to find a way to get Yuuna back to life, in some way or form?

It can't be that all of those SAO survivors lost their brains. That's one reason to know that it's my fault for doubting the reliability of VR.

"Welcome to ALfheim Online, the place where you can make a ton of new friends! Please select your race, as well as inserting your name." says a calm voice around me. I didn't notice, but I already seemed to have been teleported in the registration room. Around me, there was nothing but black and yellow colors. There was no way to get out of the room, other than choosing your race and username. Now Yuuki told me to name myself Shoji, so that she would be able to send me a friend request in order to locate me.