**Tck... Tck... Tck...**
This time, the transition was different.
Instead of darkness, his vision was clear.
His gaze was fixed on the monitor of his computer, which illuminated his face in his old room.
The cold, bluish light of the screen bathed his focused face.
**Tck... Tck... Tck...**
His fingers flew over the keyboard; the adrenaline of an illegal search coursed through his body. It wasn't a game. He was forcing access to the Family Register (Koseki) system of Saitama Prefecture, a Japanese civil system that centralizes census and adoption files.
(—"I see... That was the day I discovered the truth out of curiosity... But it changed many things.")
Kirito understood in just half a second what memory he was in now. One of the reasons was that, unlike the previous two, this one he remembered clearly.
(—"I was about ten years old here... Shortly after I finished assembling my computer by myself...")
**BZZZT—SHHHT!**
**CRACK! FZZZ—Shhht!**
The firewall security gave way with a sharp beep, the dull sound of hacking resonating in the stillness of the night. The screen flooded with codes. He was searching for files of the Kirigaya family, but one name caught his attention instantly: "Narusaka Kazuto." The last name was different. The first name, the same as his: Kazuto.
—"Narusaka… What surname is this?"
Murmured his ten-year-old self.
**Tck... Tck... Tck...**
He researched for hours. The connection was irrefutable: an adoption. His true identity. "Narusaka" had been his birth surname.
The shock was cold, metallic. His heart sank with an almost physical pain. His childlike eyes were glued to the screen, unable to process it.
**Beep. Click. Hiss... Thump.**
In a moment of anger, he quickly disconnected from the site, erased his traces for safety, turned off the computer, and lay on his bed, thinking in the darkness of his room that maybe what he saw wasn't true... In the end, he couldn't sleep that night.
Kirito, who was watching this, thought it was the end of the memory, but he was far from the truth. Something surprised him: time began to accelerate, like when someone fast-forwards a movie, and he reached another point connected to that discovery.
—"This is my opportunity."
The weight of that truth led his ten-year-old self, days later, to seek the final, tangible proof; the one that his child mind still refused to accept.
(—"This was inevitable.")
Kirito thought as he saw and felt everything again... the intense emotions of a young Kazuto.
**Tap... Tap... Tap...**
Meanwhile, his ten-year-old self felt the urgency in his feet. Moving stealthily through the house at dusk, after arriving home from school very early, he quietly entered Midori's room, unnoticed.
**TCHHHK—CRREAAK…**
He slipped inside, desperately searching for something that proved his hacking was a lie. But, at the bottom of the drawer, the sealed envelope from his adoptive mother awaited him, confirming everything.
After searching carefully, and knowing more or less where his mother's physical files were, he found what he was looking for deep down among all the paperwork, hidden, wrapped in clothes.
His gaze was fixed on some documents he held in his hands. On the first page, it read: "Adoption Document."
**Krrk—shff… hiss**
—"It's true..."
The emotions coursing through his young body were intense: disbelief, sadness, confusion, bitterness. His hands trembled with a silent fury, the paper crackling rhythmically under the pressure of his fingers.
**shff-tap**
**shff-tap**
Kazuto flipped through the pages quickly. Each line intensified his confusion. The rough sound of the paper turning was the only witness to his pain.
**CLACK! THUD!**
He slammed the document shut in frustration.
**Crraak—Sssshhh**
The door to that room was opened.
—"Kazuto, you arrived early. I wanted to know if…"
A feminine voice said from the door. It was Midori. His aunt. His mother. The smile she had faded instantly, replaced by a look of deep sadness.
—"Is this true?"
Kazuto murmured, his childlike voice carrying a weight that didn't belong to him, pointing to the adoption document in his hand.
—"Am I not your son… or should I call you aunt Midori?"
(—"I was so cruel… The bitterness of perceived betrayal always blinds the heart.")
Kirito thought, feeling his chest tighten at the unfair treatment he gave to Midori.
—"Haaah… yes. It's true. You are adopted, Kazuto…"
Midori sighed, her voice soft and full of pain... though there was also a slight relief detectable.
—"So I'm not your son… And this isn't my real family…"
Young Kazuto whispered, his words barely audible, but full of anguish.
—"That's not entirely true... You are my nephew, and that makes you part of me. Of this family that loves you. Just… let me tell you the whole story, okay?"
Midori quickly responded, her voice firm, but with an underlying tremor that Kazuto noticed.
—"It's the least you could do…"
Kazuto murmured with some bitterness upon learning the truth.
—"You're right. Come, sit with this woman who is going to answer everything you need to know…"
**CRREAAK… CHK!**
Midori carefully closed the door and locked it. The click of the lock sounded.
**Pap-pap-pap**
She sat on the bed, patted the space beside her, and said:
—"Come here..."
—"Okay…"
Kazuto sat with effort, leaving a small space between them.
(—"At that moment, I had no idea of the pain I was causing...")
Kirito thought of his bad behavior that day.
—"Haaah... Your mother was my sister..."
Midori took a deep breath and began to tell him the story. Each question he asked to better understand his past and origin, she answered with great patience, and that was something that calmed his ten-year-old self.
In the end, she took his hand tenderly.
—"I love you like a son. Never forget who you are. The surname… is just an identification. It doesn't define who we are."
Then, with her other hand, she touched his chest, where the heart is, and added:
—"What matters is the person you are here. And how your actions make others happy. Kazuto, I am your mother… if you let me continue to be."
—"..."
His past self nodded silently. Midori smiled with relief. She opened her arms.
—"Give me a hug, if that's the case, to seal the deal..."
**Shhh—fump**
**Mmm... thump...**
Kazuto hesitated for a moment. But then, without further thought, he hugged her tightly. He buried his face in her chest.
—"Please… Don't tell Suguha about this… mom."
Kazuto said resolutely, his voice breaking with emotion.
—"Sniff… It's okay. I promise you… son."
Midori caressed his head.
Kirito, from within, felt how that memory pierced him. It was the healed pain of his identity.
And then, once again, he felt the pull into darkness.
**VWOOM—SHWIIIIIP!**
Consciousness was sucked into the darkness, leaving behind another sad… and beautiful moment.
*****
**Swish—thwip…**
—"185..."
Clarity suddenly returned once again.
Kirito felt the weight of the shinai—the bamboo sword used in kendo—firmly grasped in his hands, and he swung it in repetitions.
**Swish—thwip…**
—"186...Haaah."
His fingers, covered by the bogu gloves, were tense.
Sweat ran down his forehead, soaking the dark blue kendogi he wore, along with the hakama that barely reached his ankles.
**Swish—thwip…**
—"Haaah...187... Haaah."
He was in the Kirigaya family's personal dōjō, the same as always.
The wooden floor creaked under his bare feet.
The air smelled of wood, effort… and discipline.
**Swish—thwip…**
—"188...Haaah... Haaah."
His young body moved with precision, but with fatigue.
He was swinging, one after another, with the shinai in front.
He had already done more than a hundred, approaching two hundred.
—"Haaah... a little more... Haaah."
And he felt it.
Every muscle burned.
Every breath was heavier.
Sweat clouded his vision.
(—"This body… hasn't changed much since the last memory. Only a few months must have passed since I discovered the truth…")
**Swish—thwip…**
—"189...Haaah... I can't... keep... going..."
His past self, exhausted, lowered the shinai for a moment.
He wanted to stop.
Just for a moment.
But then, a voice echoed in the dōjō:
—"Don't stop, Kazuto! Break your limits!"
**Swish... WHACK!**
**THUMP**
And before he could react, he felt a sharp hit on his side.
It wasn't strong, but it was precise.
His master's shinai—his grandfather—had struck him accurately.
**CLATTER!**
The impact, combined with the fatigue, made him drop his sword.
It fell to the ground with a hollow sound.
—"Onii-chan!"
A worried female voice cried out.
It was Suguha, who was practicing beside him.
—"Uff!... Aaaah"
She stopped upon seeing her brother on the ground, clutching his ribs.
—"Don't stop, Suguha!"
The deep voice of their grandfather thundered.
—"He has to face this alone! Don't interfere! He must learn that, many times, there will be no one to help him in his moment of weakness!"
—"Uff... Haaah..."
Kazuto looked up as he tried to recover.
There was Takeshi Kirigaya.
His adoptive grandfather.
Standing, with the shinai still in position.
His gray beard, precisely trimmed.
His eyes, serious, hard as oak.
There was no compassion on his face. Only demand upon the young Kazuto of the memory.
However, it was a different story for Kirito, who was reliving it once more.
(—"He is more than he shows on the surface... There is deep concern hidden in his severe eyes.")
Kirito knew that, when it wasn't about kendo or strengthening character, his grandfather Takeshi was kind and a bit lenient, and much more so with Suguha than with him...
But people sometimes only remember what they don't like about someone rather than what they do.
And that was the case for his past self, who saw his grandfather at that moment.
—"Get up, Kazuto! I told you to break your limits! You have that power and talent!"
He ordered and continued in a raised tone.
—"Now! Pick up the shinai! And you won't do 200… you'll do 300! I don't care if it gets dark or if you're the last to leave this dōjō!"
His grandfather's eyes sharpened like a hawk before he pronounced the final words:
—"You're going to finish them!"
—"Gghhh... Grnnn... clench... shkk."
Kazuto, on the ground, gritted his teeth.
**Hsss—grip... crinkle**
He held his side with one hand, and with the other, the ground.
He was on the brink of breaking.
(—"I am not really your grandson… I have no blood relation to you…")
Kazuto thought with rage, and Kirito heard it echo in his subconscious.
He could feel the pain.
But Kirito, the true one, the one observing from within that memory, shook his head.
He knew his grandfather had been tough on him in kendo.
(—"Too tough, I would say.")
He almost never gave him a break.
And at that stage, with the emotions of a preadolescent running high, he couldn't understand why.
(—"But he was wrong… Because family is not just blood. It's who raises you. Who shapes you. Who demands from you because they believe in you… like Suguha and my grandfather.")
Kirito thought.
But his past self didn't think that way, not at that moment, with his head down.
Takeshi was watching him, still not seeing his face.
**Huff... clench... scuff**
Kazuto kept his head down, his fists clenched against the ground.
—"Don't tell me you're giving up? Are you going to flee every time you can't find a way out? That's not what a Kirigaya does! In this family, we are strong! We fight against adversity no matter what it is!"
Kazuto murmured, almost voiceless. Suguha didn't hear him, but Takeshi did, thanks to his training and police experience.
—"…I am not part of this family."
—"..."
Silence thickened.
—"What did you say?!"
Takeshi asked, with a harsher tone.
Kazuto barely lifted his head.
And with a broken but firm voice, he said:
—"…No... I don't want to continue learning kendo."
—"..."
**Hmm... swish... grip**
Takeshi Kirigaya looked at him with narrowed eyes, the shinai still in his hand, firm as his judgment.
—"…What are you saying, Onii-chan?"
Instead, Suguha covered her mouth with one hand, unable to believe it.
—"Is this your limit, Kazuto?"
And shaking his head, Takeshi said:
—"Are you going to let the words of an old ex-police officer wound your pride? Or have those devices you've become addicted to lately—those screens, those games—captured your attention more than real combat?"
His voice was deep, laden with disappointment.
He wasn't shouting, but each word weighed like a blow.
Kazuto, still on the ground, felt Suguha's gaze piercing through him.
She was worried, but also restrained, obeying their grandfather's order.
With effort, he got up.
Not out of obedience, but out of dignity.
—"Grandpa... We are not at war. We don't need to survive a life-and-death battle like in the past... I don't understand it."
He slowly took off the bogu gloves, moving painfully.
He dropped them to the ground.
**CLACK—THUD!**
—"What's the point of kendo, besides winning a trophy and a little self-defense in the real world today?"
In profile, he saw his cousin's expression fall upon hearing that. She lowered her head a bit, her eyes sad.
**Shhh—click... thump**
Then, he took the shinai and carefully placed it on the wood, as if closing a cycle.
—"In the end, I'm not leaving kendo because of your words, Grandpa Takeshi..."
He said firmly, without crossing the line of disrespect.
—"...And it's not because of the devices. It's just that… I no longer want to continue in something that doesn't inspire me or that I don't understand like you do."
Her voice did not tremble.
But her eyes did, from the weight of what she was saying to her strict grandfather.
—"..."
Takeshi looked at him in silence.
His expression did not change, but something in his posture tensed, which was worse.
Kazuto looked down to avoid meeting his gaze.
He knew he was breaking something.
A bond.
A tradition.
But he also knew he could no longer pretend to be interested in something that did not attract him at that moment.
Kazuto bowed.
As a gesture of apology and closure to his training.
The posture was firm, respectful.
His forehead almost grazed the floor of the dōjō.
—"I'm sorry… and thank you for teaching me until today..."
His voice was low, but clear.
While he remained bowed, he slightly raised his gaze.
And he saw Suguha.
—"..."
Her eyes trembled.
She was watching him with her mouth slightly open, not knowing what to say.
Seeing him give up kendo…
Seeing him distance himself from something they shared…
It hurt her.
(—"I'm sorry, Suguha...")
Kazuto turned his gaze away.
He didn't want to see anymore.
He slowly stood up. He turned around. And he turned his back to them.
**Echo... thud... thud... sigh...**
**Echo... thud... thud... sigh...**
He walked toward the exit of the dōjō with firm steps, but laden with sadness.
—"Come back here now, Kazuto!"
The voice of Takeshi Kirigaya shouted, with authority.
Kazuto did not stop.
He kept his head slightly down.
He did not look back.
—"I told you, Kazuto! Come back here right now! If you don't...!"
The tone was stronger.
More demanding.
**Thup**
Kazuto heard a step behind him.
The sound of someone preparing to act.
But then, another voice stopped him.
—"Grandpa… let him go!"
It was Suguha.
**Grip... clasp**
She had firmly grasped Takeshi's hand.
He looked at her, surprised, as he turned his face toward her.
She looked down, but did not let go of his hand.
—"He… has distanced himself from me these last few weeks. He is different. And even though I don't fully understand it… I know he is suffering."
Suguha took a deep breath.
Her words came out with difficulty, but with conviction.
—"Let him go. I promise I will take his place. I will do what he was supposed to do."
—"..."
Takeshi watched her in silence.
—"Suguha... You don't understand. I know he can do more..."
—"Please, grandpa..."
Suguha, with tears in her eyes, pleaded again as she saw him resisting.
—"I... just let me show you this year that I can do more than you imagine. So..."
She released his arm and knelt on the ground to further convince him of her commitment.
**Thud!**
The sound of her forehead hitting the wooden floor was dull, dry, and full of intention.
—"Please, don't force him anymore. Let me take his place..."
That sound made Kazuto unable to ignore it. He turned around, surprised, and saw his grandfather also taken aback by his granddaughter's action.
—"What are you doing, Suguha? Get up!"
—"No! Until you accept! Please!"
Young Suguha replied with her head still on the ground, kneeling, unwilling to give in.
Takeshi looked at his other grandson, Kazuto, who returned a tired, unwilling face.
The old master sighed deeply.
—"Haaah... you are right, Suguha. I cannot force him... Fine. You can take his place."
—"Thank you so much, grandpa..."
She raised her face with a bit of encouragement from his response, though she was still trembling.
—"You won't regret it. I will work twice as hard... no, three times as hard."
**Shff... grasp... pull**
She got up from the floor with the help of her grandfather, who extended his hand to her.
—"Thank you for accepting the selfishness of two useless grandchildren..."
**Wrap... shift... thud**
He said while wrapping his arms around Takeshi, who awkwardly returned the embrace.
—"What am I going to do with you two...?"
Takeshi said wearily and resigned. His voice showed a mixture of exhaustion, disappointment, and sadness.
(—"Suguha...")
Kazuto, seeing his cousin's forehead reddened from kneeling so forcefully, turned around to avoid feeling more guilty about what had happened.
His expression did not change, but his eyes softened slightly.
**SLUSH—DRAG—THUD.**
**SLUSH—DRAG—THUD.**
Kazuto, without stopping, crossed the threshold of the dōjō with heavier steps than before. He knew that Suguha had defended him.
And that…
That hurt more than any blow from his grandfather Takeshi.
★★★★★
—"..."
In the silence of the changing room, Kirito observed his reflection.
—"Damn it..."
**Slap!... Thud**
And he put his hand against the mirror with some force of frustration.
—"Hah... Hah... Grrr..."
His past self, with a frown, his face marked by effort and frustration, stared back at him from the mirror.
He was still wearing the soaked kendogi, his hands red from training, and his gaze… broken.
And yet, Kirito —the one now reliving that moment— felt not just sadness.
He felt a mix of irony and resignation.
Because, although at that moment he had wanted to flee, what he learned from his grandfather Takeshi Kirigaya was not lost.
(—"All that rigor, that discipline, that demand... transformed me.")
And he carried it with him into the virtual worlds.
Especially the first one.
The one that changed his life forever: Sword Art Online.
(—"It's what saved my life until today.")
Be that as it may, in the end, he was a warrior inside.
From blood, from spirit.
Only that at that moment… he still didn't know it.
The basic teachings of kendo, the values of resilience and concentration, evolved.
They became reflexes, instincts, convictions.
And while that deep thought enveloped him, Kirito saw how his reflection faded away.
The image of the sulky, exhausted boy dissolved on the surface of the mirror.
**VWOOM—SHWIIIIIP!**
And then, as if the memory closed on its own,
he was pulled back into the darkness.
*****
Kirito received once again the clarity of another memory.
But this time, what surrounded him was not the real world.
**K-CLANK! ZZZzzzt—HUUUM!**
It was the first time he experienced total immersion in virtual reality.
He was not in his physical body, but in his avatar, which he had already shaped.
His appearance was different, although not too much.
He had decided to reserve his most radical transformation for when the game officially launched.
He had the privilege of being one of the 1,000 players selected to test the beta of Sword Art Online.
And at that moment, his past self was excited.
He had put aside, for a day, his personal and family problems, to live a unique experience: the connection with the NerveGear, the total immersion helmet designed by the creator of the game, Akihiko Kayaba.
Up to that reconfiguration moment, there was only one thing left to define before entering the game: his avatar name.
—"..."
In front of him floated a window with a virtual keyboard.
It requested that he write the name by which he would be known in that world.
It was no coincidence that he had left it for last.
He doubted whether to use the same name he had used in other online and offline games: Kirito.
That name was a combination of his real identity: Kirigaya Kazuto.
Although several years had passed since the revelation of his origin, he still had internal conflicts.
The memory of giving up kendo and Suguha's sad face haunted him.
—"She hates me a little for that…"
Murmured his past self, the sound of guilt resonating in the virtual void.
He remembered how she had become bitter.
How she had told him she hated video games because they had transformed him into someone who fled from his obligations.
And that their sibling relationship had never been the same.
(—"I sought other things to avoid facing my real life... I was fleeing.")
Kirito thought as he looked at his 14-year-old self, entering a stage he was not proud of.
His adoptive mother, Midori, did not intervene directly.
But she encouraged him from the sidelines, telling him she believed in him.
That sooner or later, everything would be resolved.
—"But how…?"
**Fwish... grmmble...**
Kazuto whispered, scratching his virtual head in frustration.
—"How could I be 'strong' in a virtual world when I had failed in the real one?
His family problems had affected him more than he admitted.
At school, he had isolated himself for years.
He struggled to communicate fluently.
And because of that, he could not make friends, much less have a girlfriend.
(—"I had fallen into a negative cycle, which only propelled my antisocial behavior and plunged me deeper into the virtual.")
Kirito shook his head, thinking of that sad past.
But then he remembered something Midori had said:
<—"A name or a surname is just a way to identify ourselves.">
<—"What really matters... are our actions.">
A smile formed on his virtual face.
—"It's clear... Why do I doubt?"
The Kazuto of 14 years understood:
If in the real world he had fled, in this world he would not.
Kirito would be the promise not to give up.
And with more determination, he approached the keyboard.
**Tck—tck—tck!**
Without hesitating any longer, he wrote the name that would identify him in the virtual worlds…
And that, over time, would also resonate in reality among his friends:
[Kirito]
Then, a new window appeared:
[Are you sure you want Kirito to be your name?]
[Yes / No]
BEEP—CLICK!
Without thinking for a second, he selected "Yes."
Everything was ready.
**FZZZ—WHIRRR—SHHHHH!**
The whitish environment, with blue tones, circular figures, and technological patterns, began to reconfigure.
The sound of a system motor accelerating filled his ears.
As if a tunnel of light opened, hundreds of colors enveloped him.
**VWOOOM! VWOOOM!**
And pulled him into the beta world of Sword Art Online.
Kirito thought he could experience with his past self the exact moment of arrival.
But it was not so.
He could only see, in golden letters, in his vision:
[Welcome, Kirito]
**VWOOM—SHWIIIIIP!**
And then, once again, he was absorbed by the darkness.
*****
Kirito received once again the clarity of another memory. But this time, what surrounded him was not the real world.
**K-CLANK!!**
**Drid-drip**
Tears fell continuously from his face.
(—"How could I forget that day?")
**SHHHH—CRUMBLE—GRIND!**
In front of him, the destruction of Aincrad.
The collapse of Sword Art Online, fragment by fragment, in a visual sequence that was hard to describe. Its end represented the wish of all the survivors come true.
(—"Surely, deep down, for each of us it felt as if a part of us left with this death game.")
Kirito thought, knowing that he would never have formed such a strong character by himself without the deadly obstacles he faced every day in SAO.
His self at that moment had very complex feelings, just like the person beside him, with trembling eyes… His partner and wife in the game: Asuna.
They were on a transparent platform suspended in the sky. They had just finished talking with Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of the game. And although the system was collapsing, what weighed on Kirito's heart was not just the end of the virtual world they had spent more than two years completing... It was the damage he had caused. The lost lives... even those he himself had taken to survive. The broken families.
(—"What else could I have done better?")
Kirito thought nostalgically.
But what worried his past self the most at that moment… Was the fear of not having fulfilled his promise to Asuna. Of not having protected her until the end.
(—"If I had accepted her death and given up that day... I would have truly died.")
Kirito was clear: his determination to deal the final blow, even though the system had already declared him dead, allowed them to win. However, for his self that day —and for Asuna— it was the end of their lives along with the destruction of the game.
—"Can you tell me your name?"
She said, with a tender voice, also holding back her tears.
—"...The real one. The one you use in the real world. Mine is Yuuki... Yuuki Asuna... And I am 17 years old."
—"Yuuki... Yuuki Asuna..."
He repeated her name as if he never wanted to forget it, even if he died at that moment. And then he hesitated a bit. Not because he didn't want to say it. But because the pain was suffocating him.
—"My name is… Kirigaya... Kirigaya Kazuto... And I just turned 16."
**GLUE—SYNC**
Upon saying it, he felt that for the first time, both identities merged. Kirito and Kazuto. The virtual warrior and the real young man. They were one.
—"Of course… Kirigaya… Kirigaya Kazuto… It was obvious, wasn't it? Hence the name Kirito."
Asuna said tenderly. And then, affectionately, she smiled again.
—"So you're younger than me? Although I suspected it when you were sleeping. It's just that… sometimes you act with so much maturity that all this time it was hard to know for sure."
—"GGH—GRIT."
Kirito did not respond. He only clenched his jaw as he saw her suppress her fears. He just looked at her.
**VWOOOM—CRASH—SHATTER!**
And together, from that platform suspended in the sky, they watched as the world of Aincrad began to disintegrate faster.
**CRASH-CRASH**
The floating structures were disintegrating like digital dust. And among them, the house on the 22nd floor, where they had lived together, was also crumbling.
—"..."
Asuna watched it in pain, her mouth slightly open. And Kazuto understood. That place had been their refuge. Their shared home as a couple, along with Yui.
**Sob—Clench—Drip**
Tears began to overflow from Kazuto's face. He clenched his fists tightly, and the drops fell on them as if trying to wash away his guilt.
—"I'm sorry… hic... I'm so sorry, Asuna… I failed you... Hic... I couldn't keep my promise to take you back to the real world…"
**Sniff—Clasp—Soft**
Asuna, trying to hold back, was also crying. She shook her head tenderly. She gently took his hand, with the touch of a love that transcends death.
—"It doesn't matter… I know you tried until the end... Maybe… this situation will make us end up together... in a blend that unites us in the same end... I love you... sniff..."
—"I love you too, Asuna... Sob"
**Fump... rustle... thud-thud...**
Kazuto could take it no longer. He hugged her tightly.
**Mmm... hich... sob...**
And she hugged him back, their foreheads touching, as if they wanted to merge into one.
Kirito, from his present consciousness, felt every emotion.
He was in sync with his past self.
He had accepted his name, his surname, his story.
And now, he felt how that desperation was transmitted to his current body.
But he also admired Asuna.
(—"Her bravery...")
Her ability to stand firm, even though she was broken inside.
That courage was not improvised.
It was the result of years of struggle, of death, of love in a virtual world...
That transformed her into a sword-wielding warrior.
**Shhhhhhhh... pum... pum...**
As they embraced, their silhouettes began to dissolve.
**Zaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan...**
Everything turned white.
**Fiuuuuuuuu... ... ...**
And then, dark.
★★★★★
Kirito —along with his past self— felt weakness.
Everything weighed on him. Everything hurt.
**Gaspp**
Opening his eyes was a titanic effort.
**Beeb... Beeb... Beeb**
When he finally did, he realized he was in a hospital. Hospitalized. His body was thin, malnourished, pale.
(—"Will she be okay? Has she woken up too?")
Kazuto thought from the bed. It wasn't that he wasn't happy. He was relieved. But also anxious. He wanted to see her. He wanted her to call him by his name.
**Zummmmmm**
That desire transferred strongly to his present self. And then Kirito felt it, reliving the same situation. It wasn't a tug.
**Doom**
It was a pulse. Strong. In the chest. Like a heartbeat. Like a whip.
**Doom**
One.
**Doom**
Two.
**Doom**
Three times.
**VWOOOM—DOOOMM**
And the last one… The most intense… Pulled him back into a darkness much deeper than any before.
*****
(—"I returned...")
Kirito awoke once more in the blue sphere, that core suspended in the center of the room.
**Pum... pum... zumbiiii...**
It looked like a mini sun, pulsing with contained energy.
And although he had just gone through a sequence of memories spanning years of life, the surroundings had hardly changed at all.
It was as if time had never passed, in contrast to the many experiences relived.
Within the memories, everything had been extensive, deep, emotional.
But outside of them…
Barely a few moments.
—"Gaaaaaaaahhhhh!"
His body, in agony below, screamed for the pain that hadn't diminished one bit.
But through it, he could perceive the changes in the place where his consciousness resided.
**Zummm... click... pum pum**
Kirito observed two things that had changed:
His internal core was more solid, and the floating particles surrounding it.
**Bzzzt... shiiing...**
They were no longer simple fragments of light.
**Ting-ting... zzzap...**
They were connected to each other by lines, forming a complex network, as if it were a luminous web.
But at the same time, there was order.
Balance.
(—"This is... something out of the ordinary...")
It surprised him.
Something that, according to his decades of theories and research, had never occurred.
(—"Is it an anomaly? Or did something escape my calculations?")
He thought, puzzled, seeing something that was not within the original design.
Something had changed… and he didn't know if for better or worse.
(—"I hope it's the former.")
**Tck-Tk-Tck-Tck-Tck**
Beneath him, the sound of the keyboard continued to resonate.
**Tck-Tk-Tck-Tck-Tck**
The golems' hands kept writing without pause.
They were executing a new order, adapted to the circumstances.
The system had been designed to evolve, but its base programming was rigid.
Some things could not be modified in the midst of the process.
And that worried Kirito. Because now came a very critical phase:
Memory compression.
During his 200 years in Underworld, alongside Asuna, he had studied this phenomenon.
He had taught the inhabitants of the Human Realm how to manually compress their memories, maintaining their identity intact while reducing the weight of their memories.
It was a temporary solution.
Because in the end, each intelligent being was contained in a Light Cube —the cube that stored the virtual soul, or Fluctlight.
(—"If memory is compressed, the cube can support a longer lifespan… but there are limits.")
Like a hard drive, it had a limit.
And when exceeded, it began to erase old information.
To damage the soul.
To kill slowly. As happened to Quinella.
Kirito knew that what he was trying now was not manual.
It was an automated process, pushed to the extreme by the system.
And then, amidst his thoughts, he heard it:
**Clic**
Although he couldn't see what the terminal was saying from his position, he knew what was happening. The system was asking for confirmation:
[Do you wish to compress the Fluctlight?]
[Yes/No]
Without hesitation, the golem hands responded:
[Yes.]
He had configured the environment for the two systems —the compression one and the synchronization one—to work together.
**Vmmmmm... zzzuuuum...**
**Vmmmmm... zzzuuuum...**
At that moment, the four white diamonds embedded in the walls of the room —located at the four corners— began to rotate.
**Shiiink!... click-click...**
**Shiiink!... click-click...**
They pointed directly at him, that is, at the bluish spherical core.
**FzzzzZZZAAAP!**
**FzzzzZZZAAAP!**
And then, they fired four white beams at full power, after concentrating the energy at their fine tips.
**CRACK-BZZZT!**
**CRACK-BZZZT!**
The energy beams impacted in sync against the central sphere.
—"AAAAAAAAGGGHHH!"
Kirito, who until that moment had maintained a state of virtual calm, felt the pain transmitted directly to his consciousness and being.
**Zaz-Zaz-Zaz**
His virtual body, already hoarse from screaming, trembled.
The pain invaded the core of his Fluctlight.
But it disappeared as quickly as it came.
**Fiuuuu... zummmmm...**
The floating particles began to draw closer.
**Crrrrr... shhhk...**
**Crrrrr... shhhk...**
They were compressing.
**Plic... plic... plic...**
They were becoming smaller, more insignificant.
**Shwoooooomp...!**
As if they were celestial bodies drawn by the gravity of a planet, they all converged towards the central sphere.
(—"Am I here or there?")
And in the midst of that process, Kirito felt something strange.
A profound duality again.
Pain and tranquility.
As if he were in two places at once.
—"Aaaaaaaahhhh!"
He felt that his body —the one lying below, trapped in the structure— was screaming incessantly, consumed by the pain of the procedure, unable to think clearly, as if every virtual fiber were being torn apart.
But at the same time, his consciousness floated above, inside the sphere, surrounded by the memories compressing with precision.
There, everything was tranquility, reasoning, absence of pain.
It was as if his soul were being reconfigured... but also liberated.
Kirito found himself trapped in a living paradox:
his consciousness divided into two simultaneous planes,
one immersed in pain and the other enveloped in an almost celestial calm.
His mind, unfolded, perceived both realities with equal intensity,
as if his being were suspended between two worlds.
**Fiuuuu... zummmmm... crrrrr...**
The memory particles began to converge towards the sphere that contained one of his consciousnesses.
The light radiating began to solidify even more, and within seconds, the compression reached such a degree that everything fused into a single entity.
**Grrrrrnnn... ughhh... crack...**
Kirito, from inside the sphere, felt that pressure as if his soul were being shaped by cosmic forces.
The physical body, connected by an invisible line, also reacted:
the compression was transmitted like a deep echo.
**FzzzzZZZAAAP!—VMMMMM...**
**FzzzzZZZAAAP!—VMMMMM...**
**FzzzzZZZAAAP!—VMMMMM...**
Thanks to six energy beams —four coming from the walls, one from the ceiling, and another from the floor— the sphere managed to stabilize.
Each beam was channeled by pure-looking diamonds, radiating an increasingly intense light.
**Tck-Tk-Tck-Tck-Tck**
At the terminal, the golems' hands worked tirelessly.
**Pling!—ding**
A sound emerged, followed by a confirmation window:
the process had been successful... but temporary.
If Kirito wanted this union to last, he had to advance to the next phase:
the transformation.
Bzzzt—click. Vmmmm...
The golem hands, programmed with two essential codes, activated the next stage.
Kirito had prepared everything with meticulous dedication.
And now was the time to introduce something unique, something that even his own creator —Akihiko Kayaba— would not have imagined for the use of a Fluctlight: the seed code.
This code would be his new virtual DNA, because the seed had an indispensable characteristic for survival.
(—"Adaptability and Evolution...")
Kirito had learned that the seed —that source of virtual life that had given rise to countless virtual worlds, including Underworld—.
Was more than it seemed.
His studies allowed him to understand how to replicate it in his Fluctlight.
But…
(—"It had to be in a very vulnerable state... like now.")
**Pum-pum... shiiing...**
He understood its essence: an entity capable of adapting, growing, and surviving in any environment.
His goal was clear: to turn his soul into a living seed, capable of existing without a physical or virtual container like the Light Cube.
The current vessel was merely a life support machine, like an artificial heart in the middle of surgery.
If the system failed…
He would die for real.
**Tck-Tk-Tck-Tck-Tck**
**Bzzzt—click... vmm-pling**
The golem hands loaded the seed code into the six diamonds that Kirito had left encoded in the terminal.
It was for one-time use: he didn't want it to fall into the wrong hands, even if he died during this test.
**Fshhhh—ZUM!**
**Fshhhh—ZUM!**
**Fshhhh—ZUM!**
The white light abruptly changed to a deep green, as if the seed itself were there.
But it was nothing more than the code…
One that carried Kirito's unique touch.
**Hnnnnn—BRIIIIM!**
**Hnnnnn—BRIIIIM!**
**Hnnnnn—BRIIIIM!**
The diamonds turned green and, upon reaching their peak, simultaneously shot out in all six directions.
**KRAAACK—BZZZOOOOOM!**
The six lights impacted directly into Kirito's compressed soul at the same time.
—"Gaaaaaaaaaahhhh!"
From the outside, his body felt —and saw— the change amidst his screams:
the sphere shifted from a deep blue to a greenish blue.
The discomfort that had once invaded him began to dissipate, like a medicine slowly taking effect.
Green veins emerged on his pale skin, rising to his eyes,
thanks to the connection of the path left...
—"Jaaass..."
A brief scream, almost of relief, broke the silence.
**Zummm—clic... pum-pum-pum**
At that moment, Kirito could see himself:
divided, but in harmony.
**Sshhhhhh...**
However, the connection was severed.
—GRAAAGH!
The scream returned.
The terminal indicated a critical situation:
there were only a few seconds left to act.
(—"I must... remain...")
Kirito, inside the sphere, felt so calm that sleep tempted him.
But he knew he couldn't give up.
The darkness lurked.
And he had to resist.
**Tck-Tk-Tck-Tck-Tck**
The golem hands, aware that their task needed help to be completed, made a signal.
They pointed to the tiny spiders in all directions and then, with precision, directed their fingers toward the sphere.
The time had come for the spiders to fulfill their role...
A crucial one for success.
**Zummm—click-click...**
**Zummm—click-click...**
The golem spiders, thanks to their multiple eyes, could observe in different directions at the same time.
**Shhh... pum-pum...**
**Shhh... pum-pum...**
While witnessing the central spectacle, they remained alert, waiting for the signal to act.
**Fshhhh—ZZZIIIP!**
**Fshhhh—ZZZIIIP!**
And when their turn came, they moved as a single body, with a speed that surpassed human perception.
**Ting-ting-ting... fiu-fiu-fiu...**
**Ting-ting-ting... fiu-fiu-fiu...**
From all the walls, they shot a fine silk, almost imperceptible.
**Bzzzt—vmmm... criss-cross**
**Bzzzt—vmmm... criss-cross**
Despite their insignificant size, that silk was special:
it had been prepared in advance, made of a material capable of transmitting information, as if they were organic network cables.
**Shwoooomp...**
**Shwoooomp...**
The lines extended throughout the room, heading to the same point: the central sphere, now compressed and transformed, containing Kirito's memories and Fluctlight in a single core.
**Shiiink... clic-clic-clic**
Upon touching the sphere, the spiders didn't remain still.
**Fiu... fiu... zas!— ting**
Each one used the tip of its silk to connect with the small receiving spheres embedded in the walls.
And just before the silk touched the core, the connections were completed.
**ZZZAAAP!— Shhhiiing... criss-cross**
When each silk line made contact, a blue-green light traveled through the entire network, like an electric ray, fast and powerful, until reaching the tips where the spiders had fixed their links.
**BZZZT— PULSO... glow**
Their tiny bodies changed to the same color as the core: blue-green.
—Tzzzt-pling!— ding-ding-ding—
And the reason was that they allowed each of those tiny rays carrying a fraction of their creator's Fluctlight to strike and then a clear sound would be heard along with a luminous light from their bodies.
Fshooooom... bri-bri**
**Pum-pum-pum...**
All of this, just before those lights followed their paths to each receiving sphere —hundreds in total— each with preconfigured patterns to receive a fraction of Kirito's soul.
(—"I... don't... know...")
Kirito immediately felt his mind emptying. And he didn't even remember why he was doing all this.
(—"...")
He felt something being torn from him.
That he was forgetting things, although he didn't know exactly what.
It was like having a brain collapse, a loss of selective memory, but without knowing what had been lost.
**Shlllk— crck**
**Zummm— shhh**
All the silks were finally joined in their designated places.
The core, which maintained its intensity, was surrounded like a cocoon:
like when a worm enters its state of transformation into a butterfly.
**Trrrrnííín— brrzz**
**Trrrrnííín— brrzz**
The spiders resonated in sync, producing a sound that seemed like joy for a job well done...
Despite their bluish-green color.
**Crunch**
**Crunch**
However, they kept biting the silk, even after finishing.
**Tck-Tk-Tck-Tck-Tck**
The golem hands typed the last commands upon confirming that the code and compression of their creator's Fluctlight had worked.
**Fwoosh... shhh... hum**
With that, the six rays from the diamonds stopped, and thanks to the threads, the core managed to stabilize...
**WEEEOOO!—WEEEOOO!**
However, amidst all this, only one alarm persisted.
**BEEEP-BEEEP-BEEEP!**
The terminal emitted a cacophony of alerts that resonated throughout the spherical room.
The light pulsed red...
And in front of the screen appeared some blocking windows:
[Authority Denied]
[System Lock]
**Tck-Tk-Tck-Tck-Tck**
The golem hands tried to regain control, but again and again the alarm sounded, preventing it.
**FZZZT**
...
Suddenly, the noise stopped.
The alarm system collapsed.
**Buzzz**
The red light flickered one last time and went out, leaving the room in an artificial twilight, illuminated only by the bluish-green glow of Kirito's sphere.
**Vmmmp— zaaap— shiiing**
In the middle of the room, a hologram began to form, slowly taking on a more solid human shape.
—"Je, je, je... Je, je, je."
A dry laugh echoed in the silence, amplified by the laboratory's sound system.
**Fzzzt-fzzzt**
It finished materializing in the center of the room, right next to the floating sphere, until it finally became clear who it was.
It was Higa Takeru, in his white coat, smiling with an arrogance that exceeded any limit.
(—"...")
—"Grraaaag..."
The eyes of Kirito's body, reddened, opened in surprise, amid a scream of pain.
—"Please, young Kirigaya. Don't make that surprised expression."
Higa said, his voice calm and laden with mockery, as if explaining a formula to a child.
—"Did you really think a library hidden in the dustiest corner of a virtual world would escape my control? How naive..."
**Fwoooosh...**
He said, as he flew towards his vulnerable and trapped body.
Higa leaned down, his sharp face looking satisfied at seeing his guinea pig in desperation.
—"I am the one with the master keys, hero Kirito. Remember? I knew everything from the first day you entered my... prison..."
And nodding his head, he continued:
—"The time was accelerated, yes, but always under my controlled calculation. Did you really think I would forget something so basic about the world I helped create?"
Then he raised his face, looking around with his hands in his coat pockets.
—"Though I must admit that here, in the library, time is much faster. You almost caught up to me there..."
Feigning disappointment at seeing him again, he said:
—"But in the end, your grand plan, Kirito... is simply a mockery. Why didn't you take my final advice when we parted ways?"
Higa paused, waving his hand in the air with disdain.
—"The dying animal that pretends to die to escape. It's such a beautiful metaphor that makes me want to keep it."
Shaking his index finger in the air, he added:
—"But you are not an animal, Kirigaya. And I am not a lion from a documentary... I am a scientist seeking perfection."
—"¡HHIIGGAAAAAAAA!"
Kirito's body shouted his name in fury, as if wanting to tear him apart. Still, Higa didn't care.
—"Look at yourself, young Kazuto. You are a mess... What would your friends, your family, Asuna... think if they saw how far you've come to escape?"
**Pap-pap-pap**
He mocked arrogantly, hitting his face with one of his hands as he continued:
—"But I must admit, you've brought me a surprise. An extra gift, even. By building all this, you left me valuable information on the terminal..."
Bringing his face close to Kirito's ear with great pleasure and satisfaction, he added:
—"I will take advantage of it... and much more. You have indeed contributed to the future, hero Kirito... no, young Kirigaya Kazuto."
**Shhhft...**
Higa stepped back a meter behind his back and raised his right hand, simulating a gun.
**BzzzzZZZT**
The air around him began to vibrate with visible and concentrated energy.
—"You know? I like firearms. They are mechanical, Kirito. They obey logic, like robots. And, like them, they don't feel..."
—Not like you, Kirito... So, if you so desire to die, I will help you fulfill your objective. But you will do it my way, not yours.
**Piiiiiiiiiiii— ZIUM**
A bright energy ray, thin as a needle, formed at the tip of his fingers that pointed at his back from a little below.
Higa had the utmost authority in Underworld.
—"One shot, two birds... This ends our collaboration forever, young Kirigaya. Sayonara."
—"HHIIGGAAAAAA!"
Higa smiled cynically.
**ZAP!—SHRRRRK!—SCREAM!**
The ray simultaneously struck the virtual body lying beneath and the core of the bluish-green sphere, piercing them both.
—"¡GAAAAA-aaagh!— Splash— Glup"
Kirito's body on the platform let out a final scream, a sound of pure pain that broke halfway through the word.
**Tzack— Cruss— drid**
A scarlet stream burst from his mouth as a fist-sized hole opened in his chest. His eyes, once vibrant between reddish and blue, faded to white, glassy, as the glass platform beneath him turned crimson before releasing his body.
**Crash— Baam— plass**
His form fell lifeless to the ground, forming a dark, sticky puddle that continued to grow around the void of his torso.
**KABOOM!— CRAAACK!— TING-TING-TING**
The sphere exploded into pieces, flying all over the room.
**CRASH!— SNAP-SNAP-SNAP— TZZZT!**
The transfer net woven by the invisible spiders broke from the impact of the ray.
But not without activating its last defense.
**SHHHNK!—GLOW—BURST!**
The golem spiders lunged at Higa.
**Snap!— ZAAP!**
Higa took a step back and, with a snap of his fingers, caused a pulse.
**Tssss-Crunch**
—"Annoying..."
He growled, watching how the visible spiders fell defeated and in pieces around him.
—"Hssss..."
Then, observing Kirito's body, which was slowly ceasing to breathe, he said arrogantly:
—"In the end, it was worth it... You left me very useful information for my machines, young Kirigaya. You truly are worth a lot..."
**Tck-Tk-Tck-Tck-Tck**
**Fwoosh— Crunch— Puff**
Higa waved his hand, and the golem hands that were still trying to operate the terminal were reduced to digital dust.
—"Let's see what else you were doing..."
**Fwoooosh...**
He said as he floated towards the terminal.
**Tack-Tak-Tack**
**Ding-ding**
He spent several minutes gathering the information and sent it to his personal files.
He also understood Kirito's plan.
Upon reviewing the memories of the Fluctlight, he discovered that, although it was broken, it still contained data.
Data without life... but data nonetheless.
—"Je, je, je"
—**click**
—"Quite clever... Too bad I was one step ahead of you."
**Fshhhhh... pum...**
**Fshhhhh... pum...**
At that moment, he directed his gaze towards where the body would have been, which had almost disintegrated into bluish-green particles that floated and disappeared, leaving only a bloody floor.
—"You really would have deceived me if I hadn't taken precautions."
He raised his face to better observe the place his prisoner had created.
He felt pity for destroying it, but his desire to end everything was stronger, for some unknown reason.
**FAAAH... CRUUU**
Without hesitation, he raised both hands, made a gripping gesture, and said:
—"I better make sure everything of yours disappears with you... including those little spheres in the walls."
**GRRR... ZAA**
**CRRRAAACK— BOOOOM— ¡TZZZAP!**
The laboratory began to collapse: ceilings, walls, and floors breaking into pieces, destroying the bluish-green spheres embedded with runes.
**BZZZT— CRUNCH— SCAN**
Higa revisited the terminal amidst the demolition and destruction of the room.
The screen displayed:
[Fluctlight— Collapsed]
—"You wanted me to survive longer..."
Higa murmured with calculated disappointment.
—"You worked hard, young Kirigaya... but I think you will cause fewer problems if you are truly dead. At least I have my results."
**Fwoosh... click**
With the data now secure in his hands and completely satisfied with the outcome, he needed nothing more.
**CRUMB... BOOM...**
He remained a moment longer, watching how everything was completely demolished until engulfed in absolute darkness, and smiled with deep satisfaction.
**Vmmmp...**
Finally, Higa disappeared from the room in the same way he had arrived, leaving only darkness and debris in his wake.
... ...
**Fshhh... brirr**
In the midst of the wreckage and darkness, a particle floated from the ceiling.
Tiny, almost invisible, in a deep turquoise color.
**Ploft...**
The particle slowly descended, landing on one of the tiny golem spiders that had survived Higa's attack.
Its eyes emitted a faint red light.
**Zumb...**
A nearly imperceptible whisper was heard, despite the deathly silence:
—"My name... is Kirigaya... Kirigaya Kazuto."
**Fiuuu... criskkss**
And then, the spider's light also went out, like a star dissolving into particles, freezing in the process like a statue.
... ...
Its tiny body remained as just one more decoration in that place, now plunged into complete darkness, alongside its sisters.
★★★★★
**WHIRRR—TICK**
The night was deep.
In a silent room, barely illuminated by the dim light of the moon, Asuna Yuuki slept in her bed, wrapped in white sheets.
**TCHHHK—GASP!**
Suddenly, she bolted upright, gasping.
Her breathing was frantic, as if she had just escaped a nightmare.
—"Kirito!... Haaah... Haaah..."
She shouted with a trembling voice, placing her hand on her chest, her face marked by concern.
**Pum-pum... Pum-pum...**
Her heart beat strongly.
She looked around, disoriented.
...
Everything was calm.
But inside her, something was not.
**BEEP—TAP—DIALING...**
She took her phone from the bedside table and dialed Kirito's number.
**Diiiiid—Diiiiid—Diiiiid...**
She waited.
The tone kept ringing.
**Diiiiid—Clack.**
And then, a voice responded:
{—"Hello... Is this Asuna?"}
—"Kirito-kun..."
{—"Yes, it's me. Are you okay? You sound a bit... agitated..."}
The voice was the same.
The tone, familiar.
But something in her... did not calm down.
—"...Yes, a little. I had a horrible nightmare... I felt like I lost you. That you were drifting away from me... and that I would never see you again..."
**Sniff... Drid-drid**
Tears rolled down her cheek.
—"It felt so real... I don't know why, but it hurt so much..."
**Gggrr**
Her voice trembled as she held the phone tightly.
{—"..."}
The voice on the other end was silent for a moment.
Then it responded gently:
{—"Don't worry, Asuna. I would never do that... you know me. It was just a nightmare. We've spent so much time in Underworld... It's normal for the body and mind to react this way. But I'm here. Everything is fine."}
—"Yes... you're right, Kirito-kun... Haaah."
Asuna sighed, trying to calm herself.
—"I'm sorry for calling you so late... but I wanted to hear your voice before..."
{"—No problem, Asuna. Whenever you want, I will always be here for you. Rest, okay? Tomorrow will be a better day."}
—"Thank you for understanding... Kirito-kun... Good night."
{—Good night, Asuna...}
**CLICK—Deeeed-Deeeed**
Asuna set the phone aside on her bed.
**Suffhh**
She slowly lay back down.
**Psss**
But before closing her eyes, she placed her hand on her chest.
**Pum-pum... Pum-pum...**
—"Something is wrong..."
She whispered.
—"I don't know what... but something is wrong..."
... ...
The room fell back into calm.
But Asuna's whisper lingered in the air, like a warning that no one else heard.
And just before closing her eyes, with a silent tear rolling down her cheek,
she murmured:
—"Why do I feel like I lost Kirito forever...?"
**TAP—SWIss**
And unable to sleep.
Asuna took the phone once more.
She opened a special application designed to monitor Kirito's heart rate.
A feature that always brought a smile to her face.
**Pum-pum... Pum-pum... Pum-pum**
The screen displayed a stable pulse of someone who was sleeping.
(—"...")
But this time, she did not smile.
**Squeeek... russs**
She tightly embraced the plush toy of a black cat that rested next to her pillow.
It was the same one Kirito had given her a year ago, during a date she still cherished in her heart.
**Hmm... sigh...**
And then, in a low voice, with her eyes fixed on the screen, she formulated the question she could not ignore:
—"Why do I feel... all of this?... I must... I must be overthinking like Kirito-kun said..."
Asuna closed her eyes.
—"Shhh... Kirito-kun... Zzz... Zzz"
**Drid-drid**
After a great effort to forget that nightmare, she finally fell asleep, with a few tears still sliding down her cheeks.