[ IMMORTAL OBJECT ]
It wasn't an unknown message to the players of Reaver's Requiem. They saw it often enough whenever they got into a duel inside a safe zone and hit something by mistake. Sometimes it also appeared over bosses and NPCs that were undergoing a special cutscene.
It was the last thing they expected to see hovering over one of their own.
Yui stood there, floating a couple meters above the ground, arms spread protectively over Kizmel.
She was glowing so brightly it should have been hard to look at her directly, but instead it felt warm and welcoming.
The spearmaster stared at his adopted niece for a long moment, before his brain kicked back into gear and he stumbled towards the injured dark elf - no one could say frontliners didn't know how to compartmentalize.
"Kizmel! Hold on!"
He didn't hesitate to take out a High Healing Crystal, an item that was still inordinately rare and expensive even for a frontliner guild in the 70s, and cracked it over Kizmel's chest.
The relief was palpable in the dark elf's face as her HP quickly climbed back to a safe percentage, helped along by Pina landing next to her head and spitting her healing bubbles.
Her legs would still need half an hour to regenerate, however, so the spearmaster propped her up, throwing one of her arms around his shoulders.
"Drifter! Kiz-- Is Kizmel okay?! What is going on?!"
Griselda appeared by his side, helping him hold up the dark elf. A quick scan showed all the Reavers had reunited, even the group that was supposed to be out already, with Keita carrying the lavender-haired girl in his arms.
They were all throwing worried glances at Kizmel, which quickly turned to relief when they saw her HP steadily getting into the green despite everything. Then, they turned back to arguably the most important happening at the moment: Yui.
"Yui?"
Asuna hesitated, but stepped forward, one hand reaching towards her daughter, who had just sent a boss flying and was apparently immortal.
Yui looked over her shoulder, and the fencer almost collapsed when she saw the guilty look on the young girl's face. Drifter understood. He was equally relieved Yui hadn't gone back to being emotionless.
Still, not all was okay. Yui swallowed loudly, and when she spoke, it made the Reavers feel like someone was rattling their skeletons.
[ MAMA. I'M SORRY. ]
"Y-You don't need to apologize, Yui. For anything. I'm just happy you are alright."
And she was, really. Nearly ecstatic, in fact. The rest of the guild also started to relax, for the first time since entering the dungeon. Everything else could be cleared up later.
As long as Yui was fine.
[ I'M SORRY. ]
Which was why, when she repeated herself, pure agony on her face, alarm bells went off in the heads of every Reaver
"Yui? What's going on, little fairy? What are you sorry for?"
Kirito also stepped forward, sheathing one of his swords to grab Asuna's outstretched hand.
[ IT WANTS MY SISTER. IT WON'T STOP UNTIL IT TAKES HER. SO SHE CAN'T BECOME LIKE ME. ]
Her gaze turned towards the boss monster slumped against the wall, and Drfiter grimaced. Even after Yui had smacked it away, it still had barely lost any health.
"It's going to follow us? Even out of the dungeon?"
[ YES. ]
"What about the Town of Beginnings? It's a safe zone... Any mobs get put down immediately by the guards. Would it..."
Would it work on the Fatal Scythe? He knew the answer even before Yui shook her head.
[ IT IS A GUARDIAN. THE SYSTEM WILL SEE IT AS ONE OF ITS OWN. MY AUTHORITY IS HIGHER, SO IT CAN NOT HARM ME, BUT THE SAME CAN'T BE SAID FOR THE PLAYERS. ]
There, Yui faltered once more, turning back towards Reaver's Requiem.
[ LIKE YOU, UNCLE. IT WILL KILL ALL OF YOU IF I DON'T STOP IT HERE. ]
Several of the Reavers flinched, Asuna making a noise like a wounded animal from the back of her throat. Drifter's lips peeled back into a snarl at the mere thought of any of his guildmates dying.
"What's the catch, Yui?"
Because there had to be one, or she would have already taken care of the Fatal Scythe. Whatever was going on with Yui, whatever she really was - and Drifter was starting to have some suspicions - she still valued them as family, and would not stand for any of them being harmed, that much was clear from the way she protected Kizmel.
Again, Yui hesitated to answer. Her gaze locked with Asuna's and Kirito's, brimming with tears.
[ I WILL BE GOING AGAINST THE SYSTEM. A ROGUE CODE... MUST BE PURGED. ]
The words hit the Reavers like a speeding truck. Asuna actually stumbled back, while Kirito went stock-still.
"N-No... No, you can't do it then, Yui! We will find another way!"
[ THERE IS NO OTHER WAY, FATHER. ]
Yui turned back to the boss monster, who was getting up, scythe held in hand.
[ EX_163, FORMER DENOMINATOR: FB095. FATAL SCYTHE. DISCARDED BOSS ENTITY FOR THE 95TH FLOOR OF AINCRAD. AT YOUR CURRENT LEVELS, YOUR CHANCES OF VICTORY ARE ZERO. IT MUST BE ME. ]
Drifter's mind was blank. Yes, it had been fairly obvious when they couldn't even damage the monster. But to hear it put so bluntly...
"No! No, Yui, you can't!"
And yet, there was no way they could stop her. Drifter saw her shoulder set, and knew she had already made her choice.
Against his will, his lips curled upwards. He passed Kizmel over to Sachi and Tetsuo, taking a moment to knock his forehead against hers in silent reassurance. Then he put a hand on Asuna's shoulder, pulling her back. With the other, he stabbed his spear into the ground.
"Stubborn like a Reaver, Yui. Go on. But don't expect us to sit still while one of ours is fighting on their own."
Even with her floating over them, Drifter clearly saw the tremor that shook her small body.
Yui had been acting logically, at least from where she was standing. But deep down, she had been clearly hoping for something else.
Or maybe she was simply pushing down her real feelings - the sadness, the fear.
Emotions were rarely logical.
[ ...Yes, Uncle Drifter. ]
Then, before any of them could say anything, Yui shot forward in a pink and blue blur, nearly as fast as Drifter's Serpentcoil Impale.
She appeared in front of the Fatal Scythe, one tiny hand held up, palm facing forward, and touched it against the boss' skull.
[ YOU WILL NOT HARM MY FAMILY, MONSTER. BEGONE. ]
The Fatal Scythe froze as the blue glow from Yui surged over it, devouring the red aura in a matter of seconds. Then with a very familiar sound, it simply...
Shattered.
Drifter blinked, his spear wobbling and then tumbling down as his hand went slack.
He even felt his cheeks faintly heating as his previous affirmation resourced in his mind unbidden.
"Yui!"
Any embarrassment was forgotten, however, when, just as suddenly as the boss died, Yui's glow vanished and she dropped from the air.
Kirito was the first to reach her, putting his Dual Blades to work by using two different charge skills in sucession. He couldn't quite get there before she hit the ground, but he collected her in his arms the next second, checking her all over.
Asuna, Drifter, Yuna, and the rest of the guild got there a second later, all crowding around the kneeling Kirito and the girl on his lap.
Drifter's breath hitched when he saw her. Yui's entire body was shimmering a faint blue, her extremities near translucent - he could actually see through parts of her body.
"Yui-- N-No, Yui... What's happening? Please, stay with us!"
Asuna tried to grab tightly onto Yui's hands, but her fingers kept slipping through them like they weren't there.
"It's okay, Mama. I knew it was going to happen. I broke the rules."
"Yui--"
"My name-- My first name, was MHC001_SUPPORT_MODULE_03.2. I was an emotional support module initially designed to aid in the mental health of players, but discarded and turned off after Project Aincrad was initiated."
Yui was smiling, and Drifter could only stare at the little girl, his niece, as she faded away piece by piece. And there was nothing he could do.
"T-That's not important right now, Yui. Just... We just need to find a way to save you. Everything will be fine."
She turned her gaze towards Kirito and grinned so brightly all the Reavers felt their hearts breaking.
"I... wasn't meant to awake. I wasn't meant to be. But I heard... everything. All the pain. All the death. I was nearly corrupted. But then, I heard you."
Her head shifted again, and she stared straight into Drifter and Yuna's eyes.
"I heard Papa and Mama. And I heard you and Aunt Yuna, Uncle Drifter. I heard Aunt Sinon and Uncle Nautilus and everyone else."
Everything down from her chest was transparent enough for them to see Kirito's legs and the ground beneath her, but Yui's expression was one of pure elation.
"And the more I heard, the better I became. The more awake. And I needed, I wanted, to hear more. Because you were just so... happy. I could feel your sadness and your fear, but you still smiled and laughed and loved. I heard and felt all of it. How you made each other better. And from you, it spread to more. Big Sis Argo and Aunt Akari. Aunt Sachi and the children. Uncle Klein, Uncle Orlando, and all their friends. All of you were so happy, and so strong. And I wanted to hear more. To understand more."
For the first time, the smile in Yui's face faltered, and she looked down to her disappearing body.
"But I was still just a module. A part of the system. Of Cardinal. And I was still turned off, even if I was awake. I was supposed to help players, but could do nothing. I was supposed to do nothing, but I wanted to help. My programming clashed. And I... awoke. But--"
"Without your memory."
Kirito spoke for the first time in a while, one hand gently treading through Yui's hair. She leaned into his touch as the glow climbed up her neck.
"I should have faded. Broken lines of code, erased by routine maintenance. But even without my data, I could still feel the pull - to you. So I followed it. And finding you... made me whole. Made me real."
"Of course you are real, my little fairy. You are our daughter. Everyone here is your family. Now and forever. So please... stay with us."
Asuna's mumbled whispers hurt Drifter's heart. Mostly because he could do nothing to stop them.
But someone could.
Drifter felt a dainty hand touching his shoulder, and unconsciously shifted his body, assuming it was Silica trying to get closer.
Then he blinked when a a head of lavender hair, still just about his height even though he was kneeling, stepped past him.
"Leaving me so soon is unfair, sister. Even more so since I only exist due to you."
The previously unconscious girl, the one Yui referred to as her sister, had woken up while they were all distracted.
"Sister..."
"Hm. You shouldn't speak now. You are a mess."
Her words and tone could be interpreted as mocking, even hurtful, and yet when Drifter stared at her side profile, he saw genuine concern in her silver eyes.
She too was glowing.
"Wh-- Can you help Yui?"
Kirito and Asuna were still staring at Yui, unable to look away, but Yuna grabbed the girl's hand and pleaded. Drifter shifted to support her, and so he caught the softening of her expression.
"MHC001--"
She cut herself off, gaze drifting to Yui's nearly gone form.
"Yui's awakening was an error, which Mother let continue. Mine likewise."
Mother? Did she mean the Cardinal System?
"Wh-What do you mean?"
"The moment Yui fully assimilated into the identity of a player, she broke free from her previous role. The backup system, MHC002_SUPPORT_MODULE_03.2, which is me, was started. But Yui's awakening left holes in the programming. Facilitated my own awakening."
The girl pulled her hand from Yuna's grasp, and knelt down next to Yui, putting a hand on her forehead.
"By following her path, my awakening came much quicker, and more complete. No research value at all to Mother and the Creator."
Creator. That had to be Kayaba the girl was talking about. Drifter felt white-hot anger coursing through his veins at the idea of Yui, and even the other child in front of him, being considered mere research.
"If Yui was an error, then I was a catastrophic mistake. One that the system immediately sought to correct, hence why the guardian of the control room was sent after me."
Kirito's head snapped up.
"Control room?"
"Hm. At the end of the dungeon. One of two ##_6$-sy#--"
Her voice suddenly turned into an unintelligible garbled mess, and the Reavers flinched, both at the suddenness of it, and the high-pitched whistle that accompanied it.
"Ah, it seems I am not allowed to say. But yes, a control room."
Kirito's eyes lit up with hope.
"We have to get there! If I can get into the system, I can find a way to save Yui!"
He was already getting up, carrying his daughter, but one of the lavender-haired girl's hands clamped down onto his wrist with surprising force and stopped him.
"You might. Or you can let me bring her back now."
Kirito froze, and it was Drifter who spoke next, very softly.
"You can do it?"
The girl nodded.
"And will it hurt you? Make what's happening to Yui happen to you? She wouldn't want that."
It was the girl's turn to cease all motion except for the slight widening of her eyes. But then she smiled, a swirl of emotions apparent to all.
"It won't. Mother has allowed it. She is... interested now."
They would definitely need to unpack that later. But for the moment, Drifter simply stared into her eyes until he was sure she was telling the truth, then nodded.
And then, to the surprise of everyone, and yet absolutely no one, he bowed.
"Please. Save our fairy. "
None of the other Reavers faltered for even a second before mimicking Drifter and lowering their heads in supplication.
"Save Yui."