บท 1617: -1598- You've grown
This is a very ordinary world.
A truly, completely ordinary world.
Here, there are no monsters threatening humanity's survival, nor are there mages or wizards protecting humankind. What exists are just bustling, ordinary cities.
Cities filled with lively crowds.
Streets bustling with cars coming and going.
People living their ordinary lives.
People growing in an ordinary way.
People experiencing the usual ups and downs of life.
A world with no mysteries, no magic—only the reality of a modern era.
This is the entirety of the world.
But if you were to say it is not entirely ordinary, that would also be true.
Because, just two years ago, an astonishing event occurred.
A fully immersive virtual reality gaming console— NerveGear.
A virtual reality MMORPG—Sword Art Online (SAO)
These two creations imprisoned 10,000 players inside a virtual world and forced them to play a game where their lives were at stake.
Kayaba Akihiko, the brilliant quantum physicist and game designer behind this technology, fell from grace, becoming the most notorious criminal in history. His actions shocked the nation and captured the attention of the entire world.
Even after two years, the incident is still a frequent topic of discussion, regularly appearing in news reports.
Just like now...
"After two years, the MMORPG known as SAO has finally been cleared, and the victims lying in hospitals, kept alive by life support, have begun to wake up safely."
"According to reports, of the 10,000 players who originally logged into the game, 7,354 survived, while the remaining 2,646 lost their lives within the game and suffered brain damage from the NerveGear, passing away in the real world."
"This incident marks the largest mass killing since our nation was founded."
"As for the perpetrator, Kayaba Akihiko, authorities are still conducting a nationwide search to apprehend him."
"Thus, the case remains unresolved."
The television broadcasted these reports from a screen embedded on the front of a skyscraper along a bustling street.
Passersby took little notice of the broadcast, as though they had grown used to hearing the same news repeatedly. They continued their hurried steps through the cold winter streets.
Among the crowd, however, one person stopped in place.
It was a girl.
A girl with shoulder-length hair, so black it gleamed, and eyes large and spirited with a hint of competitiveness. She wore a school uniform and had a strikingly well-proportioned figure.
The girl gazed at the broadcast on the large screen, lowering her eyes after a moment.
For she was one of the people most qualified to comment on this news.
"The case is still unresolved..."
Isn't that obvious?
Not only had Kayaba Akihiko, the mastermind, not been caught, but not all of the victims had been rescued either.
"7,354 survivors?"
That was a lie.
Indeed, the death game known as SAO was cleared two months ago.
The trapped players awoke one by one, bringing life back to hospitals previously filled with unconscious victims. Families reunited with tears of joy, and government officials visited the hospitals to offer their support.
Even the girl's own family member had awakened two months ago and finally returned home after two long years.
However, the incident's impact persisted.
This was because, after the game was cleared, only 7,053 players had woken up.
Additionally, 300 players still had not regained consciousness for unknown reasons, and one player was mysteriously missing. No trace of them had been found.
Police and even top government officials had visited the missing person's hospital room, searching for clues.
But in the end, they found nothing—no evidence of whether the person had woken up or been taken. The disappearance remained a complete mystery.
That missing person was the girl's family member.
"Aoka-nii-san..."
The girl softly whispered her brother's name.
That person was Kirigaya Aoka.
And the girl was Kirigaya Suguha—Rozen's sister in this world.
Two years had passed. Of the two brothers trapped in the game, one had returned, but the other remained missing.
Thinking back on everything that had happened, Suguha had held back tears countless times.
Outsiders might have believed that the relationship between Suguha and her brothers had grown distant compared to their childhood days. But any distance that had once existed had faded after two years of constant fear of never seeing each other again.
Now, Suguha had only one wish:
She wanted her other brother to come back and reunite with their family.
But...
"Where are you, Aoka-nii-san?"
Suguha murmured in confusion. Tightening her grip on the strap of the bamboo sword case slung over her shoulder, she took another step forward.
Just then, her phone rang.
Suguha blinked, pulling out her phone and answering it.
The next moment, a familiar voice came through.
It was her mother, Kirigaya Midori, speaking with overwhelming excitement.
"Suguha! Come to the hospital right now!"
"Aoka is back! He's back!"
Her words rang clear in Suguha's ears.
Thud!
The phone slipped from Suguha's trembling hand and fell to the ground.
...
"Huff... Huff... Huff..."
Suguha ran down the hospital corridor, panting heavily but refusing to slow down. She dashed toward the room she knew all too well.
All around her, paramedics and police officers hurriedly moved about, their voices carrying through the halls.
"The missing boy has returned!"
"He really came back!"
"Hurry! Notify the higher-ups!"
Amid the commotion, Suguha finally reached her destination—a room she had visited countless times, where she had only ever seen her brother lying unconscious on the bed.
The door was open.
Leaning against the doorframe, Suguha gasped for breath, struggling to steady herself.
Yet, even as she caught her breath, she kept her eyes glued to the scene inside.
Inside, her mother, Kirigaya Midori, clung tightly to a young boy, crying and laughing all at once.
Beside her, Kirito wore a similar expression, holding the boy's shoulders in a tight embrace.
Doctors and police officers stood nearby, silently observing the emotional reunion.
The boy, however, wore a calm and mature expression, though there was a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
After a moment, the boy turned toward the door and locked eyes with Suguha's tearful gaze.
He blinked, then smiled.
It was a familiar smile—one that felt as if they had never been apart.
"You've grown, Suguha," the boy said with a warm grin.
It was as if no time had passed at all.
"Aoka-nii-san...!"
Suguha burst into tears, throwing herself into her brother's arms.
And thus, Rozen returned once more to this world.
A world that seemed so ordinary yet held unforgettable memories.
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