The morning sun bathed the landscape in a golden hue as Shino quietly made her way to the 22nd floor. She had received Kirito's cryptic message the night before, and now, she was alone, determined to confront him and rescue Klein. The calmness of the morning contrasted sharply with the turmoil within her. As she ascended the stairs to her house, her mind raced with possibilities of what she might face.
Stepping through the door, Shino expected a hostile standoff, but instead, she found something far more unsettling. Klein was sitting on the sofa, his brow furrowed in thought, while Kirito, of all things, was calmly brewing coffee in the kitchen.
"What... is going on here?" Shino asked, her voice tinged with confusion.
Klein glanced up, a weary smile crossing his face. "I'm fine, Shino. We've… settled things."
Shino's eyes flickered between the two of them, still on guard. "Settled? What do you mean? I came here expecting a fight, not… this." Her voice rose slightly as her frustration bled through.
Klein handed her a photograph without a word, his expression now somber. Shino hesitated before looking down at the image in her hand. Her breath caught in her throat. The photograph showed a girl lying in a hospital bed, pale and frail—her own body, barely clinging to life.
"What… what is this?" Shino's voice trembled, her mind struggling to process the shocking image. "This… this can't be real."
"It is," Klein said quietly. "That's you. That's how we are… in the real world."
Before she could fully react, Kirito approached, carrying two cups of coffee. "Here," he said softly, handing one to Klein and offering the other to Shino. "I thought you might need this."
Shino ignored the coffee, her mind still reeling. "How… how long have you known about this?"
Kirito sat down across from her, his gaze steady. "The hackers gave me the photographs of people suffering in the hospital—players like you, me, Klein… everyone stuck in this game."
Shino's face hardened. "I don't need your pity. Heathcliff has already promised that we'll survive. He said that Asuna, Klein, and I are safe for keeping his secret."
Kirito's expression darkened. "How long do you think that'll last?" His voice was quiet but carried a weight of undeniable truth. "Even if we finish the game, look at how long it's already taken us. The monsters are getting stronger. The players on the front lines are getting fewer. And even if we beat the 100th floor, there's no guarantee our bodies will survive."
Shino looked away, her thoughts spinning. "What do you want from us, Kirito? You think we should just give up?"
"I want you to join me," Kirito said, leaning forward, his gaze intense. "Help me end this. Heathcliff is using you. You think you're safe, but you're not. None of us are." He paused, letting his words sink in. "This isn't about winning anymore. It's about surviving."
Klein and Shino exchanged glances, the weight of Kirito's words sinking in. Silence filled the room, broken only by the quiet clinking of the coffee cups.
Finally, Shino spoke, her voice low and measured. "I knew… deep down, I knew this was coming. But what can we do? Heathcliff is immortal. How are we supposed to defeat someone who can't be killed?"
Kirito shook his head. "Heathcliff is human, like all of us. Immortal or not, we all die eventually. There's no such thing as true immortality in this game—or in the real world."
Shino's eyes widened at the calmness in Kirito's voice. "You're… different," she said slowly, staring at him. "You're so calm, even after everything we've done to you. I expected you to be angry, to seek revenge."
Kirito leaned back in his chair, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. "Anger won't solve anything. We live in a world where loyalty and commitment are nothing more than jokes. Relationships, trust—those things are fading, becoming relics of the past. I've accepted that. The only way to survive is to adapt, to move forward without clinging to the way things used to be."
His words hung in the air, leaving both Klein and Shino speechless. For the first time, they truly saw the man Kirito had become—someone shaped by the harsh reality of their world, yet still holding on to the hope of escape.
After a long pause, Kirito stood up and handed Shino a thick folder. "Take this." Shino opened it and gasped. Inside were the health reports of the members of the Knights of the Blood. Klein peered over her shoulder, his face growing pale as he scanned the documents.
"What… what is this?" Shino whispered.
"It's a reminder of what's at stake," Kirito said, his tone quiet but firm. "They need to know what's happening to their bodies in the real world. Give this to them. They deserve to understand what they're really facing."
Without another word, Kirito walked out, leaving Shino and Klein alone, their minds racing as they stared at the file in their hands.
Back at the Knights of the Blood guild hall, Asuna sat at her desk, deep in thought. Klein and Shino had asked for a secret meeting, and now the three of them sat in a dimly lit room, the weight of the situation hanging heavily between them.
Shino handed the folder to Asuna, who opened it cautiously. Her eyes widened as she flipped through the pages, her face growing paler with each passing second. Klein filled her in on their meeting with Kirito, explaining everything they had learned about their real-world bodies.
"Asuna, we've been lied to," Klein said grimly. "Look at your own health card. The stress this game is putting on us… it's killing us."
Asuna's hands shook as she found her own report. Her heart sank when she saw the list of health problems—the damage that had been done to her body while she fought in the virtual world. But what truly shattered her composure was the hospital bills attached to her file, a number so astronomical it felt like a death sentence of its own.
"I… I had no idea," Asuna whispered, her voice barely audible. She looked up, her eyes filled with sadness and fear. "My family… they're paying all of this just to keep me alive?"
All three of them sat in silence, the enormity of their situation crashing down on them. Asuna bit her lip, her mind racing with thoughts of her family, her future—everything she had taken for granted in the real world.
After what felt like an eternity, Asuna finally spoke, her voice thick with emotion. "We… we can't tell anyone else about this. Not yet." She closed the file and looked at Klein and Shino with a determined expression. "I need time to think."
The next day, as Asuna sat alone in her office, a soldier rushed in, panting heavily. "Lady Asuna, you need to see this!" he exclaimed, handing her a poster. Asuna's brow furrowed as she took the paper and scanned the contents. Her eyes widened in shock.
A bold message was scrawled across the top: "I, Shadow, from the Shadow Garden, publicly challenge the leader of the Knights of the Blood, Heathcliff, to a duel to the death."
Asuna's heart raced as she reread the words. "What… what are they planning now?"