AN: Sorry, but Persona 3 Reload is really good, and Honkai Star Rail just updated, and I've been looking forward to this Granblue Fantasy game for what feels like a decade... oh and a new Yakuza game... maybe I should try reading F/SN since it just got an English localization announcement...
WEDNESDAY - May 28, 2025
Afternoon
Yokohama General Hospital: the world's leading establishment for the treatment of the comatose. The government decided to consolidate all the almost 300 remaining survivors into one location, to better monitor for any unintentional side effects of Sugou's experiments. So once again you are wandering back into this hospital— even if the rest of the world has moved on from the SAO incident.
It's been a week since you've stopped Sugou, a week since all but one victim of SAO had their nightmare brought to an end. Perhaps at one point, there would've tearful reunions and cheers of celebration, but one week out there's nothing left but unanswered questions. Any initial jubilation has been replaced with simple anxiety.
You followed Agil around the bottom floors, helping him pass out flowers, advertise his SAO support group... trying your best to 'see the good that you did'.
It wasn't the experience you expected. No one knew who you were, and you were not about to start bragging. Who you met instead were just... people. Scared, wondering where they'd be after 2 years away from the world. A ton of anger, at RECT, at Sugou, at the world that seemed to move on without them. Grown men practically begging Agil to help them find a job, housing, schooling... challenges that couldn't be overcome by grinding up numbers. It was overwhelming, and you wondered how many people were missing the life they had inside of SAO.
You talked to a man who spent his entire SAO existence in the starter town, with not a level nor drop to his name. He laughed and said he spent the last two years staring at walls and participating in roleplaying games— an ironically popular pass time in the «Town of Beginnings». You heard a lot of stories like that, of players who eschewed the grinding of SAO to just... live. A man who got married in-game eager to reconnect with a wife on the other side of Japan. A girl who insisted on completely mapping the 29th floor, and only the 29th floor, just to have something to pass the time.
Agil says this is all just an adjustment period for them. Many of the survivors were even given Amuspheres, to ease them into the inconveniences of a real body. For every optimistic story, there was a nihilistic one. For every smile and bow, a curt dismissal. Not everybody was happy about leaving a healthy and strong avatar only to inhabit an invalid body.
Which brings you here, to the palatial suite at Yokohama General's highest level. Though still visibly a hospital, the sheer lack of noise and bustle makes it seem almost abandoned. Behind it lies maybe the one SAO survivor who conceivably knows the full extent of your involvement. Agil recommended you come talk to her. That there was too much left unsaid, that despite everything, she was thankful for all you did.
Asuna.
All you really expect is a cold shoulder if not outright hostility.
My money's on her begging you to spirit her away back to SAO.
But you came here to talk to the SAO survivors. And Asuna... well, she was certainly a survivor. It couldn't hurt to at least say hi.
So you raise your hand, reaching for the handle, already starting to feel nervous. Some instinct is telling you this was a bad idea, while another is screaming that you need to get this over with.
...
<No need for that, Lux.>
Who—
<Up here.>
You look up, and see the unblinking black lens of the security camera, staring you down. A firm voice comes from the speaker next to it, one that takes you only a second to place.
"Cayna?"
<In the flesh, sort of. Here to see Yuuki? Unfortunately, she's a bit tied up today with some calibrations to her dive machine.>
"Actually, no, I'm here to visit the SAO survivors. Figured I'd get the difficult one out of the way first..."
There's a pause as the camera whirrs before a loud sigh emits from the speakers.
<Lux, I told you it's probably not a good idea to talk to her... Asuna's on a warpath and throwing fuel onto that fire will just make things more complicated.>
You expected as much, but... you don't think there's ever going to be a 'right' time for you and Asuna.
"Can you ask her if she would be willing to have a conversation? Just— ask her how she's doing..."
<She's suspicious of me too, so I wouldn't expect a positive response. I have been monitoring her condition, more for Yuuki's sake than anything else, and she's taken to rehab like a fish to water. Apparently, if Asuna manages to go through a whole rehab session without tipping over they'll finally have that duel. Last I checked I think Yuuki's been trying to convince her to try out Shangri-La Frontier together.>
It seems Cayna has been busy keeping tabs on all the SAO survivors in the hospital. It's comforting to know she's still looking after them... though you wonder when she managed to get hooked up to the security system...
Suspicious, suspicious...
"Cayna, are you spying on the SAO Survivors?"
<Spying? That's a loaded statement. But yes, I am watching them— it's my job now.>
"Your... job?"
<Surprised? I've actually given it a lot of thought. After ALO and everything we did I kept thinking to myself— have I really been doing everything I can these last few years? I helped with the Sleeping Knights and managed my little corner of Serene Garden... but for the most part, I've just been twiddling my thumbs, waiting for the days to pass me by. Until you came along.>
"When I pretty much threw you all into the deep end."
<Heh, that you did. When the SAO Survivors started waking up, me and Yuuki volunteered to help. «Serene Garden» is perfect for giving folks a break from rehab, and helping them re-adjust to living again. I've got so much free time that I can provide companionship to those who need it... an ear to listen to or a proverbial shoulder to cry on. I thought, if they're going to be stuck in this hospital, I might as well make their stay a little more comfortable.>
You and Cayna catch up for a bit, both about what she's done to help the SAO survivors, as well as her recent escapades in other MMOs. She's keeping herself busy, doing what she can to help others.
She thanks you for giving her the push. For... inspiring her.
It's a reminder that you made a difference. That for every new problem that's cropped up in the past few days, at least you've managed to affect change in a small way. Which reminds you of the one extra thing you promised yourself you'd do.
Your erstwhile ally of convenience, Dorz'l the Chaos Drake. Sitting in a file extracted from your NerveGear's memory, a stick of data that represents the totality of the monster's existence. Something unreal, yet loved by its master.
You rescued Dorz'l and Thyrm from the ashes of ALO's world, even when you left behind the no doubt thousands of NPCs and monsters that you... deleted. It's a better word, you think, than
killed.
Perhaps Dorz'l was special, that as an SAO floor boss, he had a degree of sentience the other NPCs lacked... or perhaps he was simply good at playing a part. Just a scripted program designed to fool the players into believing it had intelligence it truly lacked.
Perhaps, in the end, it was all memories and incarnation. NPCs growing in complexity and... humanity, the more they interacted with humans, nothing more than a collective hallucination.
Perhaps... you deleted a thousand souls without ever knowing the full breadth of their existence.
In the end, does it matter?
Because while you don't know the answer to the question of Dorz'l's existence...
The girl named Silica has already come to her answer.
And Dorz'l? It never really cared for your opinion.
It's a bright and sunny day outside. The sounds of nature mix with the laughter of children. Even as the sun beats down on your face all you feel is a comfortable warmth.
The day is nothing less than perfect.
Because nothing else will be accepted in «Serene Garden».
You trail behind Cayna's avatar, a prim and proper facsimile of her real self. No ventilator, no feeding tube, just a determined young woman taking confident strides across the cobblestone path to the schoolhouse.
"Do you think she remembers us?" you ask, clutching a single silver-blue feather in your hand.
Cayna snorts and waves you forward, "After you kissed her and then killed her? I'm sure it didn't stick in her memory."
Technically it wasn't you but your Persona, though considering the Persona was a part of you maybe that means— no, no, best not continue that train of thought.
After a bit more walking, the two of you reach the entrance of the schoolhouse, a simple and small building nestled at the edge of the meadow. Cayna informs you that many SAO survivors initially feel a feeling of disconnection and lack of self after spending so long as an avatar. It reminds you of your own recovery— doctors and staff shuffling you from one station to the other, in an unmistakable rush to push you out of the hospital as soon as possible.
Serene Garden was to be different. A place where people can still be their virtual selves, where the soul can recover while the body is subjected to grueling rehabilitation protocols.
"Silica-chan?" you ask, opening the door. The classroom is empty save for one girl.
Ayano Keiko stares back at you from the edge of the desk, glancing up from her school textbook. Though Cayna has told you her real-life name, she reminds you the girl in front of you likely even struggles to identify herself by it.
"Oh! Hello Cayna! And... you are...?"
Silica looks the same as she did in ALO. Short pigtails and amber-colored eyes, coupled with a childish appearance, which is all the more accentuated when she notices your arrival by breaking out into a huge blush.
If she doesn't remember you explicitly, her subconscious certainly does.
"I'm... Lux. Do you remember me, Silica-chan?" you say slowly. "It's alright even if you don't. I'm here to return something to you."
"L-lux!?" Silica's eyes widen, and she jumps out of her chair, standing ramrod straight at attention before transitioning to the lowest bow you've ever seen a human being achieve. "C-Cayna told me about you! You, uh... saved me, right? I... can't remember everything about that day, but...!"
You quickly reassure her that she owes you no thanks, and after some further protest, she eventually relents and returns to her seat. She seems nervous, unsure how to react to a savior she doesn't even fully remember. Her gratitude is informed more by what Cayna has told her than what she felt in truth, any thanks she offers a wooden and confused social obligation on her part. Which makes what you need to do next all the more awkward.
Taking a breath, you pull the feather from your pocket.
"This— oh my god!"
Silica's hands gently enclose around the feather— Pina's feather— and she runs her fingers along the quill. Tears, of joy or sadness you can't be certain, fall down her face as she hugs the object against her chest.
"Pina... Pina...!"
You quietly watch as Silica wraps herself around the white feather, embracing it like a missing piece of her that's been returned. You hoped for a more tangible reunion, but the fires of Ragnarok burned completely and utterly. Though you rescued the data of Thrym and Dorz'l their deaths in the end of the world were irrevocable...
All that remained was a corpse, one you've now returned for Silica's sake.
"...You protected me. Pina, you're my hero..." Silica sobs, in a quiet but clear voice.
Cayna steps back, gesturing at you to speak to Silica. She's not here to dictate what happens next, just guide you here.
It's this connection that has chained Silica to the virtual world harder than even the foulest perversions of OBERON.
You know what ETTEILLA would tell you to do. Rip the feather to shreds, remind Ayana Keiko that she had a life waiting for her outside— responsibilities, family, friends. Real people that matter. You'd be cruel for a second, but she would grow past this moment. She would learn to not pine over the existence of something as replaceable as an NPC pet. But this time you don't think it's your place to choose.
"Silica-chan..." you say, softly. "Pina... is home."
Silica stares up at you with wet eyes, unable to comprehend your words.
Words and memories are power. You won't tell her Pina is dead. You won't tell her about Dorz'l and its planned role in Kayaba Akihiko's grand design. You won't tell her about how you burned the world and all its denizens. All you tell her is...
"Pina misses you. Welcome her back."
Realization clicks in Silica's head, and she blinks back tears. She gives you a smile and a nod. It's a short, clipped response, but it's genuine. She's thanking you, not in the way she was earlier. Gratitude, deep from her soul for bringing her family back.
And then she has no more attention left to spare for you. Silica's hand's cup forward around Pina's feather, as if in prayer. A light emerges from within Silica, and you see it form in a haze at her feet, a single untainted plant breaking through the wooden floorboards. It's a flower, with seven petals— the symbol of the bond between master and beast.
That not even death can sever.
Cayna smiles and opens the door. Your presence, your... disbelief in Pina, your suspicion of a creation Kayaba Akihiko, even your fear of that fell dragon— they would just sabotage this moment. Your thoughts would only serve to corrupt the pure wish of a girl who just wanted to see her family again. This wasn't about what you felt about the creature, this wasn't even about whether or not you think Pina even exists.
Because the girl named Silica has already come to her answer.
And Dorz'l? It never really cared for your opinion.
>Silica has incarnated «Dorz'l the Chaos Drake» back into existence.
>«Dorz'l the Chaos Drake»'s opinion of you has changed to 'Eat Last'.
Shop list has been updated.
To clarify, yes, Paladin requires you to buy his custom gun.
