Creepy seemed to be an ongoing theme for the 70s floors.
The 70th had been somewhat bland in that regard. Animal and monster skeletons with black and red bones, and a floor boss that looked like if someone had asked a toddler to put together a lion's skeleton.
The 71st floor was when things started to get really weird. The floor was a swamp of black water and bone - literally - trees. Every now and then mobs would emerge from the bubbling puddles, and they were just... wrong. Handfuls of body parts held together by dark ooze.
Drifter took 3 baths a day while they were on the 71st floor. It was the only way to feel somewhat clean, especially when one of the gods damned slime monsters knocked him into the disgusting - and unnervingly dense - water.
So, when they stepped into the 72nd floor and saw it was another ghastly landscape, none of the Reavers were surprised. They just wanted to get through it quickly.
If only they had known then that the scariest experience they would go through wouldn't be anywhere near the top of Aincrad. They would have chosen the floor with ghosts and zombies then, it was much safer.
-------------------------
November 5th, 2025.
Drifter supposed it was fitting, in a way, that they cleared the 72nd floor just a day before their 3-years anniversary in Sword Art Online. It gave them an excuse to take the following day off before resuming the climb.
The knowledge that the 75th was just two floors away was hanging over the heads of every player in Aincrad like a guillotine, but none more than the frontliners.
A sure-death floor. Drifter had not coined that name lightly.
Frontliners were tough. They had to be, to do what they did. To wake up each day and choose to stare death in the face, to March into danger without missing a step.
But they weren't fearless. No, frontliners were even more scared of death than most players. Just not their own.
The bonds formed while fighting side by side for so long were such that many frontliners would rather give up their lives than watch someone they cared about die. That was a pain they were all too familiar with, and abhorred more than anything.
But it was something they would have to go through again, and each day that passed, each step closer to the 75th, they were reminded of it.
A sure-death floor was just that. People would die. Clearers, no matter how careful, because their's was a job that was as vital as it was dangerous.
And frontliners, when it finally came the day to challenge the floor boss.
The Assault Team was nothing if not realistic. They knew not all of them would make it out of that room alive.
3 years was enough to make them into calloused veterans. To say the prospect of death didn't faze them anymore would be absurd, but they faced it with aplomb. Certain things had to happen, and they wouldn't hide or run from it.
So they might as well enjoy what they could.
Drifter had no idea who first suggested a countdown and a celebration to commemorate their third year in Aincrad. To him, it rather felt like scratching another tally mark on the wall of his prison cell, while being in there for a life sentence.
But apparently most of the players disagreed, and that's how he and the rest of Reaver's Requiem, the Assault Team, and pretty much every remaining soul in Aincrad found themselves back in the Town of Beginnings, standing in the same plaza where Kayaba once announced their sentence.
Only, instead of fear, confusion, and despair like it was back then, tonight the atmosphere was joyful. It was a proper celebration, with food stalls, games, and a lot of alcohol.
"Damn, this feels like New Year's Eve!"
"Oh, is that a soup dumpling stall?! I haven't had one since SAO began!"
"Mama, look at all the games! I want to play!"
"Is that Ceba painting over there? C'mon, Sin, let's get a portrait!"
"Ah, I see Orlando and Gilgamesh. Are they arm wrestling? Heh, count me in."
Drifter shook his head, smiling fondly as his friends immediately broke off in pairs and trios, seamlessly merging with the crowd.
"What about you, songbird? Where do you wanna go first?"
Taking Yuna's delicate hand in his, he pulled it up so he could lay a soft kiss on the back of it. His wife blushed, but didn't hide the beaming smile on her face.
"Sasha mentioned there's a stage on the south corner. Apparently people are putting displays and others are voting. The winner gets to eat for free on any player-manned stall."
Drifter grinned at the eagerness in her eyes. His songbird was an artist through and through, and nothing attracted her more than a chance to perform for a large crowd.
"Well then, let's win us some dinner, shall we? Lead the way, love."
He allowed Yuna to pull him through the throngs of people, a laugh bubbling on his lips as a path was unconsciously opened for them. Even now, the prestige of a frontliner - of Broken Spear Drifter and Songstress Yuna - remained strong.
The moment Yuna took the stage, the previous performer giving way as soon as he caught sight of her, the entire plaza erupted. While there were a great deal of players who were apprehensive of or even outright feared Drifter, Yuna was universally loved.
Standing below the stage, Drifter couldn't help the beaming grin that took his face. His wife was never more beautiful than when she was doing what she loved.
When Yuna took out her instruments and started playing, the entire plaza quieted down. When she began singing, nothing but her angelic voice could be heard.
"I acknowledged my cowardly past ~
But without understanding, I was afraid ~
The me behind reflects reality into the present ~
I painted countless skies ~
Surely, here ~
My fleeting heart is disturbed ~
My body that jumped high in a dream ~
No matter what anxieties it wears, it shakes them off ~
A small slumbering feeling begins to expand ~
I realize my weakness, but if you're here ~
I can stay strong in this dark world ~
The heart that dreams for so long, yes, it's eternal ~"
Drifter closed his eyes and swayed to the music. It was a tune of hope, of determination, of life. Every time he heard it, he felt a fire burning in his chest.
"I wanna always be with you ~
I'll give you everything I have ~
I was searching for the guiding light ~
And when I touched it, I remembered everything ~
You give me this irreplaceable, precious moment ~
I closed my eyes and understood the world ~
Though it's always warm ~
It still hurts ~
The certain wish we share overlaps ~
And the hesitation I see has begun to move ~
To protect you, I bear these wounds ~
Drifting in a deep slumber ~
It was an unchanging promise ~
The bond we believed in, so vivid ~"
Drifter opened his eyes and met Yuna's gaze. The world faded around him, her figure reflected into his eyes.
"Until my voice reaches you, I'll keep calling your name ~
I want to feel this miracle of our meeting even more ~
My body that jumped high in a dream ~
No matter what anxieties it wears, it shakes them off ~
A small slumbering feeling begins to expand ~
I realize my weakness, but if you're here ~
I can stay strong in this dark world ~
The heart that dreams for so long, yes, it's eternal ~
I wanna always be with you ~
I wanna hold you tight right now ~
I swear I will wipe your tears ~
I'll give you everything I have ~"
When the song ended, there was no noise for three entire seconds. Then Aincrad shook as the players chanted Yuna name.
-----------------------
Incidentally, Yuna broke the world record for most spectators of a live concert by nearly double the previous holder. Several hundred million people had already been watching the festivities, and when Yuna took the stage, that number jumped to 3.2 billion listeners.
Her father felt a conflicting mixture of emotions even as he clapped to the point his palms stung in the empty house.
On one hand, his daughter, his everything, had just accomplished her dream of being a star. On the other, she wasn't even aware of it.
Still, the smile on her face as she started strumming another tune, this one much faster and more lively, made him think she wouldn't mind when she found out.
------------------------
It was only three songs later that Yuna stepped down - or rather leaped, right into Drifter's waiting arms - off the stage, much to the disappointment of the crowd.
At this moment, not even Drifter could intimidate the players into giving them space. A wave of people rushed forward, and Yuna shook hands, exchanged words, and laughed with all of them, the spearmaster only having to stop the most brazen ones who didn't understand boundaries.
Truly, it was a scene he never imagined he would see in SAO. Here they were, at the ready to take arms again and fight for their lives tomorrow, and yet right now partaking into a celebration of their third year of imprisonment - or survival, depending on how you looked at it.
5.000 players counted down as the clock neared midnight. 5.000 players shouted with all they had when the bells rang the start of a new day.
And if some of them cried, no one commented on it.
Drifter really hoped Kayaba was watching this. Seeing all these people he had hoped to break refuse to bend, each in their own ways, must feel like a giant middle finger directed at their captor.
Tugging on Yuna's hand, he pulled her flush against him, his arms going around her waist. His songstress leaned her back on his chest and tilted her head, smiling brightly. Drifter kissed her softly.
"This isn't bad."
Yuna nearly purred, Drifter feeling her laughter resonating through his chest.
"It will get better. The night is still young, dummy."
The smoldering look she sent him made Drifter weak at the knees. But before he could say anything, Yuna pulled away and winked at him.
"I think I saw Naut and Ran playing ring toss over there. C'mon, dummy!"
Shaking his head fondly, Drifter made to follow her. However, before he could, a hand grasped his arm.
The spearmaster turned around and was met by Kirito, the younger man's face filled with panic.
"It's Yui. She's gone."