-II-
[Third Person POV]
November 6, 2022 – 18:15
Kayaba Akihiko's Hideaway, Unknown Location – Japan
Disconnect Sequence: Complete.
Instance SAO-00001 terminated.
The screams of ten thousand newly trapped souls faded, replaced by the humming of a remodeled FullDive machine. Allowing his body a moment to readjust, Kayaba slowly rose from his sleep. Metallic eyes scanned the white and brushed chrome of his inner sanctum. Once up, he tapped a small button from one of the controllers, bringing the global news to life on the central monitor.
『...The launch of Sword Art Online took a terrible turn! Reports of players losing their lives due to the NerveGear have been confirmed by the authorities. The Prime Minister himself has declared State of Emergency, and even the JSDF is helping with the retrieval of trapped players...and the deceased!』
News blazed with titles like "SAO Tragedy, " "Virtual Hostages," and "A Horror Movie In-Real-Life." Social media feeds became a maelstrom of fear, grief, and outrage; raw human emotions reduced to flickering text and video snippets.
Kayaba Akihiko absorbed the information dispassionately. The unfolding drama registered as nothing more than system variables.
Predictable.
『...in the path to free the 'players', the government has tasked the Ministry of Science and Technology to handle the situation. Other countries, including USA and the EU, have already offered their expertise to resolve this incident!』
One thing people didn't quite understand about the Cardinal System was its true scope. People still think its bounds were attached only to the players and the world of SAO: And true to that, the AI indeed governed the existence of that plane, managing every law, every monster spawn, every quest flag within Aincrad.
However, the full truth was way more complex.
Cardinal was the product of years of research, an effort to bring the A.I. of the 22nd century to the present. A true sentient program, capable of adapting and improve by itself. And the whole package included the mandate to protect the world he had created from any tainting; be it hacking from the outside or cheating from within. The external chaos wouldn't breach the sanctity of his masterpiece.
Once more, predictable.
Though, when Kayaba carried out the announcement to his "dear players"...a discordant sound echoed through the symphony of panic. Before the full weight of their new reality had crushed them, one man remained defiant.
Eyes that held no terror locked onto Kayaba's avatar across the plaza. Its purpose? Deliver a message through a gesture: A crude, universally understood single digit, aimed squarely at the God of the new world. The meaning: Contempt...defiance...rejection. A primitive expression of rebellion, yet, in the context of utter despair, it possessed a startling power.
Most unexpected, indeed. Such a reaction shouldn't happen that early in the game. Nonetheless, that unforeseen input was a fascinating deviation. Proof that even a meticulously crafted stage, made to break the spirit of most humans, could produce novelty. A flare of will and strength against all odds.
Kayaba felt a flicker of something akin to amusement. A perfectly predictable environment would be a monument, not a reality. A graveyard, not a living place.
Let the variables introduce unforeseen pathways; witnessing genuine struggle, genuine choice, genuine life emerging within these parameters. Those were the objectives.
After all, the world needed its heroes, its villains...and even its rebels.
Let the game truly begin.