Introduction
This story is a fanfiction set in the world of Sword Art Online.
For readers unfamiliar with the world of S.A.O., this section will briefly explain the history and setting of the game.
The History of S.A.O.
In the year 2022, a revolutionary VRMMORPG known as Sword Art Online, or S.A.O., was officially released to the public.
The game was played using a device called the NerveGear, a helmet-like machine capable of directly interfacing with the human brain. Once connected, it stimulated all five senses, allowing players to experience the virtual world as if they were physically present inside it. Sight, sound, touch, even pain. Everything felt real.
On November 6, 2022, a total of ten thousand players logged into the world of S.A.O. for the very first time.
That day was supposed to mark the future of gaming.
Instead, it became the beginning of a nightmare.
Without warning, none of the players were able to log out.
Soon after, a mysterious man appeared before them in the form of a hologram. He introduced himself as Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of Sword Art Online.
His message was simple, yet terrifying.
To escape the virtual world, the players would have to defeat every floor boss across all one hundred levels of a massive steel tower known as Aincrad.
Kayaba then revealed the final rule.
Death inside the game meant death in the real world.
If a player died in S.A.O., the NerveGear they were wearing would emit a lethal electromagnetic pulse, destroying their brain instantly. There would be no second chances. No respawns.
Sword Art Online was no longer a game.
It was a prison.
And Aincrad was the only way out.