Sword Art Online: A New Beginning

[Mega90]

Kaiyaga fell silent for a moment, thinking.

“Maybe…” He breathed slowly. On the battlefield, several players had taken charge and were beginning to form the remaining players into divisions. Orders were being barked back and forth, and players were beginning to move in on the creature with a plan.

Even as they grouped up to take it down, it didn’t seem like they were getting through to the creature. Their attacks seemed completely pointless.

One player, however, did not engage with the rest. He broke off the battle lines and began to navigate west across the field.

His path seemed strange. There was nothing over to the west, but a collection of boulders forming a sort of mini-cave. With swift, decisive movements, he reached this cavern and disappeared inside, vanishing from view.  

[Zarkon90]

Eve's eyes narrowed as she reached out, grabbing Kaiyaga's arm as she began to run toward the cave.

"Come one Idiot, I think I might have found our item!" She shouted over the sounds of the nearby battle.  

[Mega90]

Kaiyaga appeared a bit startled, but didn’t resist as Eve pulled him to his feet. As they ran, the sky above them began to get darker. The clouds were coalescing in on themselves, forming dark spirals in the air.

As the sparks of the battle rose high above the tattered fields, the torrent above appeared to be devouring them, and the clouds began to spin. As the phenomenon continued, the movement of the spirals became more erratic, almost as though there were living creatures darting to and fro.

It took only a few moments for them to cross the battlefield. The small cave stood in front of them, though it was impossible to see what was within. The player had long since disappeared inside, and though the sounds of the battlefield nearby were nearly deafening, Eve couldn’t make out any noise coming from the hollow.

“What are we doing here, Eve? This is probably the worst spot that we could be right now.” Kaiyaga’s voice was insistent, though he appeared to have trusted her enough to follow her over.

The phoenix was mowing down players by the dozens, now. It was launching powerful volleys of attacks, and though the frightened combatants did their best to get out of the way, many were still caught, tripping over one another in a desperate bid for escape.

It was a sickening realization, but the creature was gradually turning towards them.  

[Zarkon90]

Eve hesitated slightly before shaking her head.

"Well it is either in here or wait for that thing to notice us and end up like them." She said, pointing back toward the other players.

With that, she released Kaiyaga's wrist and, drawing her swords, ducked into the small cave's opening.  

[Mega90]

“Eve, wait!” Kaiyaga’s call came too late, as the young girl had already disappeared inside the small cave opening. He grit his teeth, and after casting one final glance back at the field of destruction behind him, dove in after her.

As soon as they had passed the entrance, they were thrown into a violent tumble down a slope of jagged rocks. As they final reached the first landing, they were both scraped and battered, but otherwise unharmed. An eerie green glow shone throughout the large cavern, and Kaiyaga slowly began to make his way over to the edge of the ledge that they were now resting on. As he gazed down, his eyes went wide, and he cursed underneath his breath.  

[Zarkon90]

Eve let out a soft curse as she slowly got to her feet, dusting herself off.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that.. What on earth are you looking at anyway?" She asked, discomfort and irritation evident in her tone.  

[Mega90]

Kaiyaga gestured to the pit below. Swirling in turbulent circles, thousands of ghostly forms moved in a haunting dance.

“Just our luck. What are the chances that we find a hidden entrance to the City of Loria?” It wasn’t’ the city itself, but one of the many pits that connected to the sunken city of rats. Far to the left, over countless jagged ledges, towers could be seen, composing the skyline of the lost city.

The souls suddenly scattered in innumerable directions as a massive serpent like creature swam through the dark water.  

[Zarkon90]

Eve quickly took a few steps back.

"What the heck is the lost City of Loria? Is it some quest or something?"

The young girl asked, her tone more unsure then curious.  

[Mega90]

Kaiyaga shook his head.

“The dev’s programed this this area in a couple years ago, but it’s never been used, at least not as far as I’ve known. Data miners found it a while back, and people have been thinking it’s going to be some kind of expansion area ever since.” He paused for a moment and looked around. His vision eventually fell back on the hole that they had fallen through. “The thing is, this area was supposed to be sealed off. They didn’t want players coming down here, so shortly after it was found, all entrances were sealed off, and they apparently even put really strong, immortal monsters in front of it to keep players from getting to close.”  

[Zarkon90]

The young girl frowned, slowly taking a few steps forward.

"Yet here we are so appraently they didn't do a very good job of sealing this thing off. Speaking of... where is the guy I saw run down here?"

She asked, glancing around nervously.  

[Mega90]

Just as Eve finished her question, Kaiyaga’s eyes went wide, his pupils dilating instantly. A dark chanting began to echo throughout the chamber. The words seemed to be in a language that Eve had never heard before. Kaiyaga glanced frantically around the chamber, muttering something under his breath. At last, his head snapped to the side, looking down on a small ledge on the opposite side of the cavern. There, the player they had been following stood. His arms were spread wide, his head tipped back. Strange words echoed from his mouth like the rushing water of the turbulent waves beneath them.

He spoke faster and faster, beginning to sway gently back and forth.

“He’s casting a spell!” Kaiyaga suddenly yelled. In one smooth motion, he pushed Eve aside and drew his bow, taking position on one knee. With a measured gaze, he fired a flaming arrow towards the stranger across the cavern. The flames cut effortlessly through the air, and in under a second it had reached its target. Kaiyaga let out a loud curse as the arrow exploded into a flash of sparks. Octagonal shapes of energy floated in front of the man, forming a half-dome around him. Without a moment’s hesitation, Kaiyaga fired three more arrows, and all of them were met with the same result. He was completely protected from assault.

“Bathe in the depths of hatred and misery.” The man chanted. His voice was growing louder now, filling the chamber, and drowning out all other sounds. “Children of the Abyss, shake off your bonds and bow to your king. The king of all that is life, and all that is death. Lay bare your powers before me, and serve my will. This contract must be executed in the land of temptation and greed. See it then….so executed.” As he spoke, he withdrew a crystalline blue shard from an inside pocket of his garments and held it up into the air. It appeared to be glowing with the light of the cosmos, as constellations and stars could be seen within its reflective surface. With a sudden burst of energy, his voice changed from one of devout chanting to a shriek of crazed mania. “MAKE ME KING!”

The room exploded with a thunderous sound as his hands crushed the crystal between them, dropping the glowing shards into the vortex below. Light touched every corner of the space, dulling all senses for but a moment. Then, there was a rushing sound of such intensity, and a wind of such strength, that it felt like standing inside a tornado.

The ceiling above their heads cracked and began to collapse, raining down rocks and earth from above.

Kaiyaga grabbed Eve’s arm and began to pull her back in the direction of the hole they had come from.

“C’mon, kiddo, we’ve gotta get out of here.”  

[Zarkon90]

Eve nodded as she ran with Kaiyaga, not bothering to pull her arm away.

"What the hell is that thing? Is it part of the event?" She yelled, as she glanced back toward the pit.  

[Mega90]

Kaiyaga shook his head.

“I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say no.” The ceiling above their heads cracked, and a large pile of rocks tumbled down at them. He dodged out of the way and pushed on towards the back end of the cliff where they had first entered the chamber. He looked with a gaze of longing at the hole which had increased in size as the ceiling had begun to fall. His eyes traveled back to the young girl behind him.

A sad smile touched his features. “Eve,” he began, placing a hand on her shoulder, his back to the ledge. “I’m going to need you to trust me. Once you get up there, head for the Town of Beginnings. Something isn’t right here, and I need you to figure out what it is. I’ll meet up with you in a bit, alright?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. In one smooth motion, he dropped to one knee, drawing his bow and aiming it up at Eve’s chest. His fingers drew the bow back and released with such speed that there was barely time to think. A powerful arrow struck Eve with deadening force. It instantly exploded with a pulse that sent her flying upwards, and out of the hole through which they had fallen.

Light began to fade as the impact shook the very walls of the cave. More and more stones began to fall, but Kaiyaga didn’t seem to notice. He just stared up at where he had last seen the young girl who had fast become his unlikely friend. “It’s been a long time since I’ve died in this game.” The words formed in his mind, and to his surprise, he heard them escape through his mouth. He gave a small laugh, and the ceiling collapsed.  

[Zarkon90]

Eve's eyes went wide as Kaiyaga place a hand on her shoulder. The girl opened her mouth to ask what he meant but the words were cut off as the attack struck her dead in the chest.

Before she was even aware of what was happening, Eve was hurled upwards, toward the collapsing ceiling and then beyond. Much to her dismay, she didn't stay airborne long before she crashed back down to the hard ground with an audible thud.

As she landed, it didn't escape her notice that a forth of her health was gone from his single attack.

Eve let out a soft moan, sitting up and glancing back toward the cavern entrance, fully expecting Kaiyaga to be standing beside her.

"You rotten,, good for nothing, piece of.."

Eve's voice trailed off as glanced toward the large hole and empty air. The young girls stomach dropped as she instantly realized what had happened.

"KAIYAGA!!!!"

She screamed as a large plume of dirt and dust shot into the sky.

Eve wasted no time as she raced back to where the entrance had been moments before. As she reached it though, only hard stone, jagged and rough greeted her.

Frantically she began to dig, large, wet tears swelled up and rolled down her face as she tried in vain to move the massive boulders.

"Kaiyaga... Kaiyaga... KAIyaga.. KAIYAGA!"

Eve repeated the name time and again, each time more frantic and desperate then the last as she tried to uncover the entrance once more. After a few minutes, though to her it felt like hours, it struck her that the endeavor was pointless.

All energy drained from the young girl as her arms, now scratched and bleeding from the damage she had taken from the sharp stones hung loosely at her side.

She stared at the ground, unmoving as the sounds of the battle still rang not far off. After about five minutes, she let out a deafening scream, as the truth of what had happened fully hit her.

The lone child screamed for what seemed like ages before falling forward, the sharp stone digging into her body, though she didn't seem to notice.

"Kaiyaga.." She muttered softly, closing her eyes tight as hot tears rolled down her cheeks.  

[Mega90]

As the young girl lay on the ground, the world around her burned. It seemed that players were somehow finally starting to make progress on the creature’s health, though this reality seemed to anger the monster greatly. Its attacks were more dangerous and damaging than ever. As the sky was illuminated in fire, a dark shadow closed in over Eve.

Strong hands reached down and lifted her up, cradling her like a child. The arms felt warm and safe, and for a moment, all the sounds of the world drained away as a deep, rich voice pierced the air.

“Are you alright, Eve?” Shiro stood tall and strong, holding Eve close to himself. His gaze was not upon her, but drifting out over the battlefield.