Sword Art Online: A New Beginning

[Mega90]

“That’s not a solution.” She replied curtly. Turning from the young man, she began to inspect the area around them. In particular, she was looking for any kind of rune or other magical symbol that appeared to be keeping the creatures back. To her dismay, she found nothing out of the ordinary, and gave up the search, returning to Hiroku’s side and peering down into the seemingly bottomless pit. “So now what?”  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku remained silent for a long moment, simply staring down into the inky black pool. When he spoke, his tone was thoughtful.

"What spells do you know?"  

[Mega90]

The young girl looked back up at Hiroku, her expression even and her voice level.

“Lots of them. Why, what do you have in mind?” It was clear that she was not entirely confident with whatever it was that the Reaper was planning, though she withheld any comments until she had more fully heard his idea.  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku frowned, remaining silent for a few minutes before speaking.

"We will need a way to breath down there as well as to either become heavier or lighter. Heavier brings with it more risk, though I am not familiar with a spell that makes you lighter in the water. Perhaps the undine possess such a spell but it isn't something I have."

The black dressed teen glanced over to the young girl.

"I don't suppose you have anything like that, do you?"  

[Mega90]

The young girl turned her gaze on Hiroku, her beautiful Ruby eyes staring at him for a moment before she replied.

“I could try to alter a Gravity spell to reduce the pressure and weight around us, but won’t that just make us more buoyant? I don’t see that that would help us much. It might actually make it harder to swim down.” Her eyes fell from him and traveled back to the water. “You’ve been in the water with them, do you think we could actually outswim them? Even if we did weigh less?”  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku closed his eyes, considering for a moment.

"No, not likely. We would need to imitate the freedom they have in the water to stand a chance."

The teen slowly rose to his feet, staring down at the water for a long moment before frowning thoughtfully.

"I wonder..." Hiroku mused to himself before turning and making his way back into the dark room.  

[Mega90]

The young girl followed after Hiroku, walking a few steps behind him at all times, watching with curiosity what he was doing.

“You wonder what?” She asked at length.  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku made his way to one of the many green crystals lying on the floor, leaning down to examine it.

"If you noticed, these crystals were a prominent part of that npc's story. That most likely means that they are or were supposed to be required for the quest."

Without another word the black dressed teen reached a fingerless gloved handout and picked up one of the smaller crystals from the floor.  

[Mega90]

The crystal seethed with energy, burning his fingers as though he had just touched a hot coal. Beyond this painful sensation, however, there appeared to be no adverse effects. The longer that he held it, the less intense the burning became, until at last it was little more than a slight tingling in his fingertips.

The young girl watched him with faint curiosity in her eyes.

“I suppose that makes sense, but how do you think they are supposed to help us? The NPC said they were a cursed crystal, right?” Her tone was reserved, showing little emotion.  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku slowly rose to his feet.

"I'm not entirely sure to be honest. I doubt this quest was ever fully designed. The cardinal system likely used it as a test quest and then discarded it."

The teen sighed softly before reaching down and picking up another crystal.
Without another word he walked stood and walked back toward the inky black water.  

[Mega90]

After watching him for a few moments more, the young girl bent down and picked up a few crystals of her own. She winced slightly at the burning sensation, but held on to them and walked up to the water.

“So, now what? Do we just throw them in?”  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku nodded, reaching out and dropping one of the two crystals he had into the water.

"Now we wait and see what happens. If nothing does we go in after it."
He said calmly, his eyes locked in the sinking shard.  

[Mega90]

The crystal fell through the water, bouncing off of a few ridges on its way down. Despite the inky blackness, it could still be seen as it descended due to its green blue glow. It sunk lower and lower until it was suddenly thrust back up in a massive current. It wasn’t clear exactly what had happened, but it appeared as though something massive had pushed itself back in the water, attempting to get away from the falling crystal.  

[Zarkon90]

A thin smile crossed Hirokus' lips.

"Perfect, he muttered softly."

The black dressed teen pulled out his remaining crystal, holding it firmly in his left hand. He stared down at the water for a long moment before turning to look at his companion.

"Come on and stay close."

With that he leapt forward into the water and began swimming through the darkness, using the faint green glow to light his way as he made his way toward the bottom. As he swam, he did his best to keep an eye on his surroundings, glancing back from time to time to ensure the young girl was following him.  

[Mega90]

The young girl seemed to want to protest for a moment, but said nothing and leaped into the water after Hiroku. It was surprisingly cold, and she immediately felt her muscles tighten.

They plunged in darkness for several moments without so much as a stray current hampering their progress. However, as they neared the end of the opening, coming closer to the large pillar like tunnel that wound straight downward, Hiroku noticed several pairs of massive eyes looking at them. There were over a dozen below the edge of the reef, and several above it, including those belonging to the creature that had chased him earlier. Burning like fire, the eyes just stared, not daring to go near the crystals.

Their oxygen level was limited, and they needed to move fast if they were going to make it out before they drowned. In fact, they had no idea how deep this tunnel went, or if they would even have enough air to make it.

These thoughts floated through their minds as they descended past the reef. The darkness below them was so absolute that it seemed to devour even the light that the crystals gave off. The water grew even colder, and the currents became stronger. They water continued to gain strength, until it was as though it had a will of its own, pulling them left and right, and seeming to shift with every change in direction that they made. There was no way to go with the current, as the current always seemed to be going against them.

Growing irritated with blindness caused by the inky black water, the young girl held up her hand, and a pale ball of light appeared. The darkness devoured it instantly, clinking onto it, and fighting to snuff it out.

The light flashed for a moment as she cast the spell, just long enough to illuminate a massive, scaled monster that floated just below them in the darkness. It was identical to the creature that had previously attacked Hiroku, except this one was roughly ten times as large. Had it been stretched out fully, and educated guess would have placed its length somewhere near a football field and a half. The serpent-like tail extended down into the darkness far longer than the dim light could illuminate, and its face was contorted into a deep and twisted smile. Razor sharp teeth lined its flat face, and its fiery eyes burned with an evil radiance.

Unlike the other creatures, this one appeared to be only slightly bothered by the crystals, and it dragged its massive clawed hand downward, creating a powerful current that pulled Hiroku and the young girl deeper into the pit. They were tugged through the turbulent water closer to the monster, and as they neared, it struck, clawing at them with its other free hand.