[SP-F6] <<Calming the Soul>> - Complete

[Miaki 0]

The humid climate of the 6th floor made Miaki sweat often. He changed his usual old western inspired attire for something more fitting to the climate and conditions of the sixth floor.

He wore a light brown fedora that kept his strawberry blonde hair out of his face, a thin khaki long-sleeve, sandy colored cargo, and thick brown leather boots. For a game that generally kept itself in a medieval style theme, Sword Art Online had a stunningly infinite variety in fashion. He was armed with a <> which he bought from a weapons vendor in the main city hub on this floor.

Unlike most of the information Miaki learned which was through hanging out in a tavern listening to and interacting with NPCs and players; the information for the quest he was about to start came from an information broker. The broker told him about a mysterious waterfall located deep in the jungles of the 6th floor. He didn't know much about it aside from when one would sit near it in a meditative state they would face their demons and inner most fears. This intrigued Miaki had long since left civilization behind him and broken off the main road and began working his way up a small dirtied footpath that led into the heart of the jungle.

[Miaki 0]

Miaki swung his blade cutting rough the undergrowth of the thick jungle. Swinging his blade about, Miaki was trying his hardest to clear the thick foliage blocking his path. After cutting through for the first couple of minutes, Miaki looked behind him to see how far he gone. When he did this he noticed that the foliage was slowly regenerating after a short period of time. This was the first complication Miaki came across. He brought up his map of the area but this still didn't help him all too much. Because the 6th floor wasn't as frequented as the first or second floor, the maps details were rather vague. All he could do was keep trugging forward and hope to find this mysterious waterfall.

[Miaki 0]

After what felt like half the day but was likely only a few hours, Miaki started to hear the sound of rushing water. With new vigor he cut through the jungle growth. A couple minutes later he saw a rushing river picking up speed further down river. Keeping to the shoreline, Miaki made his way down river and found himself at the top of a large waterfall dropping 50 feet or so down, he couldn't tell for sure.

"Now this is a view. If only I brought my camera." He joked.

He started working his way down. Hoping to learn more about this quest and the meditation skill.

[Miaki 0]

The climb down looked rather difficult from he found himself. After a brief attempt, Miaki decided to take a risk and dive down. He opened up his GUI, unequipped his sword and fedora. He tightened the bandana that was still tied around his head and switched his boots with thick, padded foot wrappings and looked down at the bottom of the falls. Miaki had always wanted to dive from such a height but the chance never came to him in the real word. Now that he had the shot he was nervous. A smart person wouldn't jump unless he knew the conditions of the landing, nor would swan dive. Instead they would jump feet first into the bottom. But Miaki wasn't in the real world. He like to as he put it, 'live on the edge, just try to not fall off'. With one final breath he dove.

[Miaki 0]

"GERONIMOOOOOOO!"

That was the last thing Miaki yelled as he dove from the cliff point. He gracefully brought hands over each other performing what he would like to say was a perfect dive. He felt the sheer freedom of the jump and the adrenaline racing as he plummeted towards the surface below. As he broke the water's surface some 50 feet below Miaki felt a brief moment of relief to learn that this game wasn't so cruel as to leave sharp rocks at the bottom that would mortally wound or be fatal to a player. If there was one thing that could be said with certainty about SAO, it was that the game was fair.

[Miaki 0]

Underneath the water, Miaki swam about for a moment. Everything underwater seemed out of focus for him, this was to be expected he thought but then he noticed a slight glint. 'OH CRAP! My glasses!' He frantically reached for the spectacles and managed to grab them. In SAO glasses were purely a cosmetic feature, Miaki was so used to wearing them his whole life that he couldn't imagine life without them. Plus he thought that they were rather stylish and were a distinctive part of him. He took a final quick glance around wondering if there were any hidden chests or containers under the water. Not surprising to him there was nothing. After all, this was the location of a quest and thus a place were many players could potentially gather. Satisfied he swam back up to the surface.

[Miaki 0]

Miaki reached the surface of the water and gasped briefly for air. He swam toward one of the stone circles that was close to the mist generated from the falls. He climbed himself onto the stone and regained some of his breath. After doing this he looked around and took in his surroundings. He stood on one of about eight circular stones each distanced fairly apart. The stones were probably three feet in diameter each and a few inches above the water's surface. "So how the heck do you start this thing?" he asked himself. "Maybe I just sit like those guys in the movies and clear my mind..." And so he did just that. Sitting down with his feet together Miaki rested his arms in his lap and started to relax his breathing.

[Miaki 0]

At first nothing happened. Miaki started to get impatient, something he always struggled with since he was little. He grew a little restless and almost a little stir crazy. He caught himself realizing that a skill called meditation would surely expect the player to relax into a meditative state. He took a deep breath and tried this thing called meditating again. This time he was successful. Keeping slow, relaxing breaths he noticed himself beginning to relax. Moments later the mist from the waterfall started to move closer to him and appear thicker. Becoming enveloped in fog, Miaki closed his eyes starting to enter a relative state.

[Miaki 0]

With his eyes closed Miaki felt his heart rate slow down and his mind felt clear. This kept on for a few minutes until he heard something that sounded like it was far off in the distance. The sound grew closer and closer and sounded like someone scared and in trouble. Was that a player in danger Miaki thought and opened his eyes, jumping up. The relaxing grey mist from the waterfall was now a blackened color. Miaki stood on the stone around him and turned around constantly. Searching for he source of the troubling sound. "Is somebody there?" He called out into the darkness. Hearing only the echo of his voice shoot back. He could no longer hear the waterfall. Only the voice in distress. What was going on?!

[Miaki 0]

Miaki didn't understand why or how but he was struck with intense fear. The darkening most grew a little close and Miaki could still hear the voice crying out in terror. He knew he voice too. It was his own voice as a child. Crying out for help from his parents. He sounded lost. Hurt. Scared. All at once. As if he had just woken up from a nightmare and woke up not in his bed, but somewhere else. Miaki started to see the outline of a person. Himself as a little kid. The being was crying with two toys which were recognized as two toys he slept with when he was little. The boy which was him, Michael, as a little kid was looking right at Miaki.

"Where is mom?" The boy asked.

"I don't know?"

"Dad?"

"I don't know."

"Where are they?"

"I don't know!"

Miaki faced his younger self who was clinging to the two toys as if they were the only things to protect him.

[Miaki 0]

Miaki looked at the two toys Michael clutched onto in his arms. He had nearly forgotten about them. One was 'Buddy', a worn rag doll that was the first toy he ever had. The second was a small stuffed turtle he called 'Peekaboo'. These two toys brought great comfort to him when he was little. They helped him feel safe. But seeing them right now wasn't helping the fear hanging over him. Michael started crying again and calling out for his parents.

For the first time since this game started he was truly afraid. It was crushing him. Miaki grabbed his head and joined his younger self in screaming for his parents. He fell to his knees and cried out for them.

"MOM! DAD! HELP ME! PLEAASEEE!!! I NEED YOU!" He felt like he was in a nightmare and couldn't get out.

[Miaki 0]

Miaki was crying now. Just like the little kid before him he was crying feeling all alone. Why did he have to find out about this game? Why was he one of the 10,000 people that had a copy of this game? Why would that monster Kayaba create this blasted game!? He cried more than he could ever remember crying before. He felt alone and cried to be released from this torment. He slowly felt the fear start to lessen on him. The spectral image of his childhood vanished and although he didn't notice, the mist around him was changing from black to another color. Red./

[Miaki 0]

Fear. That is what he felt before. But as he started questioning the whys, he started feeling anger to those who wronged him. Those he used to call friend and turned their backs on him. The ones who called him hurtful names. People who wronged him........... Kayaba. The red mist surrounded him entirely and as it did anger arose inside him. A burning, uncontrollable rage. He looked up and around him for something to lash out at but saw nothing but red. The water even had a redish hue to it.

[Miaki 0]

Miaki spun around, trying to get his bearings. The mist was closer than it was before and still a thick red fog hiding everything beyond. The water around him was crimson red. Like blood. He looked around for something. Anything to direct the anger to. The was nothing there. Then he started to see something in the fog. Just beyond the veil. Multiple outlines of people he thought he knew. People he felt angry towards.

[Miaki 0]

The rage inside Miaki boiled to a hateful rage. The red mist was in arms reach and so were the voices of those mocking and nagging voices and figures. He didn't know how but next thing he knew his sword was in his hands. He swung violently at the fog surrounding him. Screaming at the top of his lungs, he lashed out at the mist. Twirling about his blade kept cutting through the silhouettes. In his blinded hate, Miaki took a misstep and fell into the red-blackening water.

[Miaki 0]

Miaki felt a sensation of being suspended in mid air or floating. Not the normal feeling one would have when underwater. He also could see fine and in no need of air. Breath? Underwater? He couldn't understand how but it he wasn't actually taking breaths in, he could feel that he was underwater but didn't have need for air. He looked around and the atmosphere was all black with reddish hues and no visible light around him indicating the surface. He couldn't tell which way was up or down.

[Miaki 0]

Miaki tried to regain some kind of understanding of up and down and was starting to panic. What if he couldn't find his way out? Drowning was one of the worse ways to go out he thought. Slowly losing ones life in a pit of suffering, trapped within. He didn't want to go out like that.

[Miaki 0]

Disparity was starting to sink it. The suffering feeling of reaching the bottom. Why did he get this damn game? Why was he out the in the middle of no where on this floor after some useless skill. He wanted it all to be over. Not necessarily his life just all of he things happening. The pain and agony of it all coursed through him.

[Miaki 0]

Just when he had thought of giving up, Miaki remembered something. A sense of belonging. He remembered the friends he had made since getting trapped here. How could he forget the fact that he was living out the adventures he always dreamed of having as a boy. He looked around frantically for the faintest source of light. He found it and started swimming towards it. Renewed determination flushing out all traces of fear, anger, hate, and suffering. He pushed himself to the top and broke the surface.

[Miaki 0]

Everything was fine again. The area around him looked like the peaceful setting it was before he nightmarish quest began. The clear mist generated from the waterfall. The water was crystal clear again. Everything looked to be the way it was when he first got here. He threaded water and looked around at everything confirming that it had returned to its normal state, then swam back to the stone which he first stood on.