Sword Art Online: Faithful Hymn

Chapter 56: Sinon - Part 1: Need For Aid

March 26th, 11:00 AM

"Yuuki... you're not next on death's list, are you?"

That thought softly lingers in my mind as I just woke up from my slumber, one day after Konno Yuuki introduced me to her guild: The Sleeping Knights. The guild members of her guild all had one major issue in common: They all are terminally ill, meaning they most likely won't recover from their diseases. 

Apart from the negativity that this newly acquired information gave me, it also was a pleasure to hear that the ill were allowed access to a peaceful, secluded Virtual Reality environment. 

The name of this environment was Serene Garden. In here, people wouldn't have to fear that others would look at them like they weren't worth associating with.

It really made me rethink my whole aspect on VR as a whole. It was clear to me that VR possessed beauty, thanks to the first time I met with Yuuki ingame. But knowing that VR is able to extend to such great heights, that really exceeded my expectations, in my regard.

This whole time, for two and a half years long, my view on VR had been manipulated by one man, Akihiko Kayaba. Despite SAO being a death game, I'm pretty sure Kayaba had no intent on letting people suffer from such losses, as well as leading some people into rehab. 

If what I heard was correct, regarding Kayaba's involvement in the Medicuboid, wouldn't that prove that Kayaba's intent regarding SAO's creation wasn't to kill, but to prove something else that I'm not able to uncover?

*knock knock*

Someone seemed to knock on the door. I'm unsure whether I should thank this person from interrupting my thoughts about Kayaba or not. Nevertheless, I answer the knocks on the door in the most polite way possible.

"It's open, come in please."

Just like that, the door opposing my hospital bed opened. Through the doorframe, a slender, dark-haired girl entered the room. I honestly couldn't expect anyone else to visit me at this kind of hour. After all, this is the girl who lent me her AmuSphere in order to kill the time I required to let my injured hand heal.

"Hey Shoji. Sorry for not making an appointment or anything of the sort, but I honestly thought you could use the company."

Shino, who was opposing the broken vessel that I would describe myself, once again spoke to me in the manner only she would. From what I've experienced so far, she's a serious kind of person. She doesn't easily take things lightly, and neither should she change her way of thinking.

Because after all, if it weren't for her and Kirito's 'detective mindsets' as I'd like to call it, who knows how the <Death Gun Incident> may have concluded.

"That's alright. Does that mean you didn't come here to pick up your AmuSphere?"

To begin with, this is the first thing I had in mind once I saw Shino's figure step through the doorframe. However, she then reached for her bag, grabbing something that would seemingly surprise me.

"Don't worry, I've got two copies!"

Shino grabs another AmuSphere, although this one seems to have a sticker with a gun on it. That easily got me thinking that the AmuSphere Shino gave me yesterday wasn't hers to begin with, but rather someone else's.