[SP-F1] Feeding the enemy

[Alkor 0]

He wandered aimlessly through the empty field and every so often, he saw something like stone jutting up out from the soil. Once, he thought he could read strange script on the surface, but when he went to check, dust whisked away by the wind left no trace of anything legible. Spirits howling to be heard from the great beyond were stifled here, and though they were just beyond his reach, he could not connect with them.

The saddest notion was that he could conceive of them. It was the question of existence beyond life given tangible form. In this place, Alkor was certain that there was something, but it gave him the sensation that it was not some utopia. Those people longed for something lost, or they would not attempt to reach out at all. He felt warmth at the edges of his eyes, tears threatening to well up and stream down his face.

He was quietly glad that he had decided to undertake this alone.

Edited September 5, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

"You've experienced death before, haven't you?"

"Sure, everyone's had someone close to them die at some point. Whether it hits them right away, or later, or not at all, its still something they have to come to terms with." He knelt close to the rock, and from a very specific angle, he thought it looked like a headstone. He immediately thought better of it. "I guess I've always been encouraged not to think about it," he admitted. "A lot of the culture growing up placed negative stigmas on the topic, so we never really learned healthy coping mechanisms."

"Do you think that's wrong?"

"I think it's shortsighted," he clarified. "Trying to spare someone from suffering in the short term only causes more grief in the long term. Especially if they never learn to deal with those feelings. Its kind of like if you get abused as a kid and your mind tries to block out those memories. It does that to protect your mental health, but it becomes harder to unlearn that behavior and doesn't help you process any of it."

"You've put a lot of thought into that, huh?"

"Sometimes I wondered, honestly. How bad did I really have it? If it wasn't for grandma, where would I be?"

"You're really afraid that when its all over..."

"I might not get the chance to see her again."

Edited September 6, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

There came a pregnant pause after his admission, and the voice seemed to hesitate. "There are many kinds of fear," it came as a whisper, "some good, some bad. Others are beyond control, but they are reasonable. With the situation surrounding that matter, it is fair that you would harbor such concerns. There may come a time when you face that reality. There will come a time when she is gone."

"I'm not sure I'm prepared for either of those things," he answered truthfully. 

"Who ever is?"

Alkor stood upright once more and looked around for a moment. Beyond the orange, a reddish haze spread out and intermingled with the darkness that seemed to encroach upon the world. He took a step in that direction and felt a strong resistance inside himself. "That is the way you need to go," the voice advised, "but neither you nor I is certain that you are ready for what is to come."

"I may never be ready," he closed his eyes and took a breath. "Should that stop me?"

Edited September 6, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

Now fully facing the sunset, Alkor felt the unseen relax. He hadn't fully come to terms with what may happen, but he had accepted that he would have to when the inevitable came. That too was a kind of growth. The Gypsy had mentioned something curious about the familiar being an extension of the self. He had heard various martial artists and samurai, knights, people of martial skill draw such comparisons to swords.

What kind of creature could it be, he wondered. He'd only seen birds and heard them since he arrived, and then there was the voice. Now, he was faced with a picture of the world ending, and all the loneliness that entailed. Was something here, waiting? Or was it another message altogether?

There was a certain futility in his thoughts as he approached what appeared to be a ruined dias. His fingers traced the makings with his fingertips. He realized he could discern their meaning. 

"He who would wake the sleeper, awaken first yourself."

The breeze stopped. He heard a faint sound, almost surreal in how it passed by. The Dias began to turn, tunneling downward into the floor beneath it. Alkor watched in mute amazement as it burrowed until only its face remained exposed, then ceased to move at all. He tilted his head and took a step forward, placing his foot on the stony surface.

Edited September 6, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

While he watched the dias bury itself, Alkor felt the ground around him churning. He looked up toward the small peaks that lined the outer edge of the floor on his left, then skimmed the flat edge where if he stepped too far, he would fall to oblivion. When he looked back toward the mountains, he saw it. Where before only stone and some trees were visible now he saw an opening, like the mouth of a cave. No doubt he had triggered an event within the quest, and this was the way forward. 

He quickly moved to cross the threshold, excited far more than afraid. He had spent more than half of the quest already uncertain of how to move forward. When he stepped through the mouth of the cavern, he felt his skin crawl, and the cold settle into his bones. "Warm and inviting," he commented sarcastically. "This must be the place."

Edited September 7, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

Like most large, lesser dungeons in Aincrad, there were candles. Either the programmers thought it was a nice touch or they wanted the Player to feel like this was in no way a coincidence, Alkor got the sense that this place existed for a reason and that he'd come here by design.

But, he'd gone from hearing lots of nature to hearing nothing at all. There was an unease to traversing a cavern at the end of the world, truth to tell. It felt like somewhere you went to die, not a place where you'd meet man's best friend.

Somehow, Alkor knew he wasn't coming all this way to find a puppy or kitten. Unlike most people's pets, whatever he found was bound to be different. 

As long as it brought him strength, he'd resolved not to care. Just gotta keep my eyes open, he told himself. Caves bring on a very real prospect of danger. Traps. Gotta stay on my toes.

Edited September 9, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

He kept one hand on the pommel of his blade as the walkway stretched on. Minutes turned to hours, time became more relative than anything; and Alkor wondered if the further he went in, the less likely it was that he would get to leave. There was a sensation creeping under his skin that told him to turn back and leave,  almost like the darkness that offered him no evidence that there were any spoils for his efforts had finally won out.

Alkor shook it off. "I made it this far," he said. "If I turn back now, not only do I not get a familiar, all that wasted effort does nothing to make me a better person or a stronger Player. I have to see things through to the end."

"So now when faced with fear, you can even dig deep and see reason? My, you've grown so much in such little time."

"I honestly thought you had left me for good," Alkor asked. This time, even the voice did not surprise him. "Are you almost ready to show yourself, or do I have to keep on going?"

"Oh, you're almost ready for that," the voice crooned. "You don't want to rush this. Indulge the search just a bit longer, you'll leave much more at ease if you do."

Edited September 9, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

"I had my suspicions," Alkor said as he stopped walking,  bowing his head. "But it sounds like I was dead on. You are the familiar, or at least, some program affiliated with the familiar that is intended to test my compatability and pair me with something adequate."

"You're not entirely wrong, but some of the things you're saying are not logical to me and I can't understand them." Immediately, Alkor understood. The algorithms that went into this program didn't register or consciously recognize themselves as inorganic. What that meant was that this familiar was effectively "semi-sentient" within Aincrad, able to reason and problem solve to some degree, but it was unique in that it lacked all the capabilities of a proper AI or Player outright. Maybe they were all so intelligent? Maybe they were not. "I am the spirit of the creature that will be bound to you, should you persevere through all the trials that I decide to task you with. To that end, I am watching, I am waiting, and soon enough when faced with me, you will be tested. 

But for now, you need only hear my voice and accept what I offer. Guidance, nothing more. Direction, nothing more."

Edited September 9, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

Nothing more.

Nothing more.

The words were a drumbeat synching to his heart rate. As it palpated in his ears, the swordsman felt the world around him swelling up, writhing, and twisting. It almost felt like he'd drank too much, though he had not touched a drop. Aincrad was invading his senses, drugging him with sounds, thoughts, sensations that he could not hope to shut out.

It was a deterrent intended to make him turn back, to give up on this maddening quest for nothing of value. He had made it alone this far. Did he need to endure more pain for something that might not even give him a real edge in battle? More doubts, more confusion, and more anger.

Alkor grit his teeth and his eyes screwed shut. 

"Get out of my head," he hissed. Absently rubbing at his temple, Alkor started to whisper quietly to himself. The game might have heard what he was saying, but it had decided not to respond, because the words kept coming and he kept focusing on them.

"I'm still moving forward," he announced after a minute.

Edited September 10, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

"Looks like you made it," the voice creaked as it faded from existence. Alkor opened his eyes as clarity returned and stood upright. He looked around, the dark hallway seemingly at its end. There was a single doorframe ahead of him, leading through to another hallway much darker than the one he already stood in. 

alkor glanced higher toward the top of the door frame. A small black bird perched there, staring down at him with its head tilted in curiosity. It flicked its wings quickly and gave a shrill  "caw!" as if it were acknowledging his efforts. "Not gonna keep having deep conversations with me now that you look like a bird?" he asked.

The creature blinked slowly, once, but did not seem to understand the question. If it had, Alkor would never know any better. "Alright, fine," he said. "Now I just have to feed you, is that right?"

 

 

ID# 167409 

 Loot: 18 <Success>

Edited September 10, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

Alkor made the gesture to open his inventory, but the crow cawed out loudly in protest. He was taken aback as it flew directly toward him, throwing both arms out to protect his face. If it intended to carve him up, he would at least make sure the creature had a hard time of it.

But it never landed. Instead, it soared overhead and gave a mocking cackle, circling back and over once more before angling through the archway and flapping headfirst down the newly appeared hallway.

Crap, I've got to keep up!

Alkor broke into a run and the moment he stepped through, he caught himself staggering at the edge of a platform suspended over magma. The heat went from comfortable to nigh intolerable in the blink of an eye. 

What the hell??

Many platforms littered the floor around him, some too far to span with a quick jump, others smaller but not so difficult. The fastest route forward was a small pathway out to the right that looped around and seemed to connect to another corridor he couldn't see into. That must have been where the crow went. 

 

ID# 167410 

 Craft: 4 <fail>

Edited September 11, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

Alkor hopped to the first platform and immediately regretted not testing its stability beforehand. The relatively small stepstone teetered madly beneath his weight, and he shuffled wildly to maintain balance. There were an abundance of these between him and the safety of a proper, level platform, and he could feel the sweat under his collar thickening.

The swordsman did what any rational man on a mission would do in his situation. He flung himself forward and decided to eschew balance for quickness, remaining as light on his toes as he could with each hop and step. It did little to abate his stress, which spiked every time he touched a new foothold.

This is absolutely mad. He'd never really experienced a jump quest in Aincrad- because that was what this was, a test to see how good the Player was at landing in just the right spot and balancing themselves on the way to a specific point.

He'd played games before where this type of quest was used to slow people from advancing too quickly. In SAO, it was a veritable death sentence.

ID# 167411

 Craft: 2 <fail>

Edited September 11, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

He almost didn't make the last jump.

In his hurry to put the room behind him, Alkor failed to put enough power into his takeoff, and he felt himself dragging downward toward the lake of fire. In a panic, he stretched out his body and his feet started moving, walking on air as he practically turned his entire underbody a hundred and eighty degrees midair. His toes pointed and he pushed his hips toward the ledge.

Those same toes bought purchase on the final platform, and Alkor failed wildly as he madly worked to get his weight under him. Finally, with both hands and feet on the ground, Alkor slumped forward and narrowly evaded being boiled alive by molten earth. He patted the dusty surface that had saved his life.

Alkor took a deep breath, then several shallow ones. In reality, he didn't have the luxury of sitting around and waiting. After he'd caught his breath, he rocketed through the next doorway 

 

ID# 167412 results:

Craft: 6 <Fail>

Edited September 11, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

He caught sight of the crow, seemingly mocking him as it circled overhead. It almost felt like it was waiting for him, jeering his attempts to follow and laughing at the very thought he might tame it. The world beyond the second door was gilded, like the grand hall of some King's palace. Decadent, immaculate, emptied out to the point where its extreme beauty and the lengths that went into making it so seemed wasteful. What good was a home meant to induce greed and jealousy with no one to indulge?

Alkor kept his gaze on the bird. He had followed this far, and he was not interested in being drawn away from his prize. As he rushed further into the labyrinthine palace, he noticed the walls were carved of reflective glass. At the far end of a straight corridor, the crow disappeared into another hallway, but as he stepped before the first of the mirrors, Alkor found himself choking on air.

It was not his own reflection that smiled back at him.

ID# 167413

 Craft: 7 <fail>

Edited September 11, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

He reached out, but stopped himself. His fingers were millimeters from the glass, so close he could feel the coolness radiating off its surface. Somehow, he knew, he should not touch it; but he longed for what he saw there. "...grandma?" he asked weakly. "I know you're not really there, but... there you are..."

It took all of his willpower to remain standing. Alkor wanted to slump to the floor and simply exist, quietly, in that place for as long as that feeling lasted. He had gone so long without a single opportunity to see her face, hear her voice, or even hold her hand that he had almost forgotten what she looked like.

Ratner, he thought he might forget. He was certain nown, he could never forget her face, her voice, or how she treated him. She was his mother by every right, in how she defended him, raised him up, gave him his opportunities... Alkor pushed these things from his thoughts. 

"Grandma, are you still waiting?" he murmured.

Edited September 11, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

Her face was the same as he remembered it.

The smile was ever present, wrinkles that denoted experience and wisdom prevalent in her enhanced age. She had not always been that way, but recent years had ravaged her more mentally and emotionally.  In the wake of his grandfather's death, she had to learn to fend for herself. Under immense pressure from family and society, her mental state had crumbled.

Unfortunately,  years as the family matron had taught her all about hiding that stress from everyone. How long she had been compromised was a secret no one would ever accurately know an answer to. When did the lines fray, and when had her sanity been destroyed? Part of Thom always lamented that she hadn't told him. If there was a chance he could have stayed it off, helped her to retain some fraction of her youth and her mind with it, maybe she wouldn't have devolved into the horrific state she was in.

The image he saw now challenged that. He was looking at her as the woman who had raised him, not the sad echo she had become. He could see recognition in her eyes. Fondness, love, and as he strayed dangerously close to placing his hand against hers, she pulled back and shook her head.

It felt like a dagger thrust into his chest.

Edited September 11, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

He knew his grandmother, and he knew what she would say. Perhaps that was why the image, though sad recoiled from the prospect of touch. She smiled sadly and shook her head, but the boy didn't want to leave. Since coming to Aincrad and learning he couldn't leave, the most prominent thing on his mind was getting back and seeing her alive. Even if this wasn't real, even if he couldn't actually touch her, even if he was trapped there forever in that place just yearning, Alkor felt the overwhelming need to remain. He was functionally worthless in that moment, enraptured by the spell of a mirror that showed him everything he wanted...

...and nothing he could ever have. His grandmother's image pointed down the hallway,  but the tears in his eyes refused to be denied. Alkor let out a choked sound as he tried to touch the mirror, but she closed her eyes. She shook her head more vehemently. Tears came. Everything she would have wanted, in truth, was to see her grandson again. To watch him thrive and go through life happy, and to ensure he did not struggle or suffer unnecessarily. That was the path which she had made for herself. Perhaps, in part, it was that path that damned her.

That was why this version of her, as much as he wished it could be, was not real. In reality, the woman before him had withered into a husk. She could not recall his name or his face, or even who he was. When he fed her or spoke to her, he did so as a stranger. He did all of that with full memory of her being his mother for more than half of his life.

It had broken his heart. It had shattered his will. It had done all that, yet...

Here he was.

Edited September 11, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

"I'm sorry," he said at last.

"I'm sorry I didn't spend more time with you. That I wouldn't just let you talk when you felt lonely." Alkor slumped down and sat himself down on the floor. He knew he needed to move on, and yet, there were things he needed to say. There were things he needed to let go of, here and now. He'd leave them behind while he had the courage and capacity to do so.

"I'm sorry that when everything came crashing down, all I could think to do was run away. I know you taught me better than that. I remember you telling me to face these things, but still, I also remember you telling me that when things hurt too much, it's okay to turn your head away. At least, for a little while, I didn't recognize that there comes a time when you can't do that anymore."

He closed his eyes and bowed his head. "I tried so hard, I really did. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to give up. I can't tell you how close I've come. Locked up in a cooler, or locked in my room, all I knew how to do was become reclusive and hold my breath, hoping my problems would go away. But when you just... stopped being you, I couldn't process that."

Alkor stared at the floor now.

"I don't want to be that little boy anymore. I appreciate how you protected me, and I appreciate all the love you gave me, but its time I... its time for me to let go. And with any hope, I'll see you after all this is over. But grandmom...

It's time for me to do this on my own."

Edited September 12, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

He had lost track of the crow, but Alkor couldn't find it in himself to worry about that. Eventually, he would find its trail again and inevitably the creature would turn up. For now, he was letting his emotions dial back. The sight of his grandmother had been overwhelming, and giving voice to his emotions left him in a state where even the voice that had spoken to him earlier was far too much company. The swordsman wanted to be alone for just long enough to compose himself.

If he broke down again, regardless of who it was in front of, he would be angrier with himself than he already was. Time had not been kind to Alkor, because he had lived so long in his ignorance. Now that he fully understood that he had been sheltered, and that it was not the kindness that everyone thought it was, he felt a hole in himself.

Time would go by before he got the chance to fill it, and something told him that it would not be easy. Regardless, as he picked himself up off that floor and wiped the snot and salty tears from his face, the boy had become a man. He knew he had a duty, and now there was nothing getting in his way.

Edited September 12, 2020 by Alkor

[Alkor 0]

His footsteps gained speed as he moved toward the end of the hallway, not once looking at any reflective surface to either side of him. One memory was enough. No matter how tempted he might be to delve into his past, he had been waylaid for far long enough. His grandmother couldn't have possibly reached out to him, but his memories of her, the person who she was and who she would have wanted him to remember her for, had spoken out.

She supported him completely. In his decision to grow up, in his decision to move on, and in everything else he would ever do. It was the end of one chapter and the beginning of another, and now Aincrad was only the staging ground for a transformation. Alkor would forge himself into a new man through the crucible he'd chosen for himself, and when the time came for them to leave Sword Art Online behind them, he was certain his parents and family wouldn't recognize the man he'd become.

For now, he was content to focus on finding that damn bird again and making it join him on his quest.

Edited September 12, 2020 by Alkor