Tokorozawa Medical Institution.

In a hospital room on the top floor, a young girl is lying quietly on a hospital bed.

“…… Please understand, Madame, that we are only acting on orders, and that we are only wishing to ask your daughter for some information......"

“…… Yes, yes, I know what she needs right now is rest, but we'll just make sure of a few basic things that won't make you feel bad......"

“…… Madam, you have to understand that most of the victims have serious mental trauma and psychological problems, and they are unable to communicate, and your daughter is one of the few ...... who are not very affected."

The door of the ward opened slightly, and a muffled voice came from outside the door.

It seems that the two people sent by the "Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications SAO Incident Countermeasures Headquarters" were discussing and talking with the girl's mother, and when they heard the news, they rushed to the ward to find out what was going on.

Then he was angrily driven out by the girl's willowy mother.

The girl rolled over on the bed and covered her head with the quilt, not wanting to listen to the sounds outside. She curled up, trying not to recall the horrible memories that she didn't even want to recall subconsciously.

She didn't know if she was crazy or what, but she was determined to keep everything she knew in her heart and keep silent.

The girl had forgotten what she had seen in that world, but it must have been something terrible and terrifying...... The occasional flashing image in her consciousness would make her feel cold and creepy in just a moment.

Immediately afterwards, the brain's subconscious subconscious force her to forget and stop thinking about it out of some protective mechanism.

But what should be said?

Somewhere the location could not be determined, perhaps from the void, there always seemed to be a voice that was not a sound. It was a chaotic feeling that was tormenting her mind and spirit.

…… Like all the horrific process of peeking into the truth, when she accidentally brought back a glimmer of memory, that horrific glimpse suddenly appeared in front of her.

The girl trembled with fear, and she instinctively knew that although she had escaped the death game, she had stepped into an even more terrifying nightmare world. She sincerely hopes that no one will ever put the pieces together again.

But she also knew that as long as she was alive, that nightmare would never be far away.

The space around her was obviously empty and empty, but the girl felt that there were countless intangible things crowded there, with endless things of all kinds of nature, but they were more or less inextricably linked to her.

It was something unheard of and unspeakable, vague and chaotic, but more horrifying and abominable than death.

Again, it was the source of her fear, and she couldn't tell if it was a delusion of her own confusion or if there was something really outside there...... Ordinary people can't notice it at all, only she-

Because I had the privilege of seeing awesome and strange things that were considered taboo, or I was simply suffering from psychological problems due to the tremendous stress of that death game, which created a pathological imagination.

Anyway, she has been connected with the taboo that only exists in her mind, and has even become an extension of the scale of the taboo's existence......

True, the girl didn't escape the nightmare at all, and even if she was less affected, it wasn't a good thing. She seems to have kept her sanity, but in fact, she has fallen deeper into that dark abyss than those who have gone crazy directly.

After all, seeing the same things, hearing the same babbles, and receiving the same information, why is everyone's mind affected to a different degree?

We are all human beings, and there is no significant difference in the physical structure of the brain, so the problem can only arise in the mental structure.

— that is, the issue of compatibility.

The wavelength of the soul can match the wavelength of the unspeakable, so this small number of gifted people will not be said to be like most others, who are forced to write a large amount of information in an inappropriate format, resulting in mental damage.

They are better able to receive the information, as if the oracle had received the "revelation", but unfortunately the object of the coming is not a normal god, but an indescribable thing.

The end result is the same, if they do not want to fall into madness before this revelation, they must take the initiative to embrace the dark abyss of peace and tranquility.

The girl doesn't know now, but she'll soon know.

She just couldn't bear the torture now, and always felt that the space around her was crowded with intangibles, vague and chaotic, that were surrounding her.

The unbearable fear was tormenting her consciousness, and she was only bent on getting rid of this unbearable sense of confusion, whether she could be cured or pass out unconscious.

Maybe it's a good outcome to die, so you don't have to endure this torture anymore.

I have to say that her mind has become a little confused because of that indescribable fear, as long as she can escape that fear, then she can accept it desperately.

It is difficult to determine exactly when the transformation will occur, but as she gets used to it, she will fully understand the true meaning of the "revelation".

……

……

Although the daughter of the Yuuki family refuses to reveal anything about the situation, she has no interest in discussing the inside story of the death game, which seems to have left her with great psychological trauma.

However, she was not the only one whose mind remained largely normal, and she was not the only one who was not highly damaged, so after spending some more time, the SAO Incident Countermeasures Headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications was able to gather some information.

It's just that the things those people say are intermittent, and the information revealed in the words is completely unbelievable, as if they are listening to a chilling horror and strange story.

In addition, those people act normally at other times, but as soon as they talk about related topics, they will immediately become in a trance, and their words will be artificial, as if they are pretending to be distant, which makes people distant.

Therefore, not many people believe what they say either.

The external argument is that although the players who are victims have completed the logout, the vast majority of people have different mental and mental problems to a greater or lesser extent, whether minor or severe, and need to be treated.

And the conspiracy of Akihiko Kayaba, who has never woken up and doesn't know if his consciousness is still hidden in SAO, continues, which causes a great riot in the world.

In addition to Akihiko Kayaba, there are about 300 players who still haven't woken up, and at first everyone thought it was a LAG phenomenon on the server.

Now it seems that this unexpected accident may be due to the fact that the seemingly fully initialized server is still running, and the vanished ghost is still manipulating with its own will, binding the consciousness of those unlucky people inside?

This is the most reasonable explanation, and because of this, the government is determined to use Akihiko Kayaba's technology against himself-

It's the thing called the STEM system, and they're going to experiment with it to see how it works, and if it works, they're going to use this advanced technology to improve NERvGear.

At that time, even if Akihiko Kayaba hid in the server and didn't want to come out, the ghost still couldn't escape.

Moreover, they also wanted to see what kind of value was still hidden in the consciousness of that genius criminal, and whether they could completely squeeze him out.

……

……

The other side.

I don't know where it is, and I don't know when it is.

Countless broken swords and other weapons were inserted in the ground, like tombstones, layer upon layer, and had long been integrated with the barren land in the eternal years. The gray earth was undulating, and at the end of the distant sky was a dim black sun, leaving only an ominous ring of red red light in the outer circle.

A straight pillar of red light descended from the dim sun, and it seemed to penetrate the space.

It's like a land where time stands still, facing the dim black sun, it looks barren.

"Before the Age of Chaos, the world was not divided, but one day the first fire was ignited......"

Through the transmission of the power of the fire, without anyone noticing, the figure that entered the initial furnace looked at the desolate and silent scenery in front of him, and muttered to himself.

"And thus all the differences are born, cold and hot, life and death, light and darkness......"

This is the special space where the Initial Furnace, the first flame of the Black Soul World, is located.

As Mo Chen said, in the ancient times of this world, everything was not yet divided, and there were gray rocks, towering trees and immortal ancient dragons everywhere, and everything was shrouded in gray mist.

I don't know how long later, the first fire was lit in the deepest part of a large tree hole, and the appearance of the first fire made a difference, so that the world had light and darkness, cold and heat, life and death...... Wait a minute.

Then, the humanoid species born in the darkness were lured by the Initial Fire to approach the flames, and four of them found the King's Soul next to the fire.

After gaining the power of the King's Soul, they began to challenge the pre-Chaos Age rulers, and the White Dragon Hiss, who was ostracized by his kind, betrayed the ancient dragon and told them about the weakness of the dragon scales.

Thus, the Age of Chaos ended, and the oldest Supreme Ruler was wiped out.

The age of fire has come, and the gods rule the world.

However, the flame will eventually be extinguished, and as time passes, the initial flame fades away, and there are fewer and fewer powerful souls that can supply the flame to burn. The inheritance of generations of salary kings interprets the alternation of eras, and the wheel of history rumbles under the guidance of a wisp of residual fire......

Until now, the whole world has only survived under the first fire that is about to be extinguished.

The first fire created the prosperity and glory of this world, and the same is because of the gradual weakening of the former era of fire has become a candle in the wind. Throughout the ages, I don't know how many great heroes burned themselves to keep the initial fire from extinguishing.

"The incarnation of the Salary King?"

Mo Chen stopped and looked into the distance ahead, where a tall and majestic humanoid creature strode forward, clad in armor that had almost been burned to charcoal, and carried a flaming spiral sword in his hand.

There was still a considerable distance away, and he clearly felt the huge pressure and unimaginable "heat".

This is the caretaker of the Initial Fire, and because of the obsession of the Fire Burn King to protect the First Flame through the ages, he incarnated as the Salary King to protect the First Fire forever. As soon as someone steps into this space, he wields his sword at them, and only those who defeat him can touch the first fire.

"This kind of pressure is really the embodiment of the gods...... And there's more than one. Mo Chen tugged at the corners of his mouth.

But this is also normal, he is just a manifestation, not the body is here, and the other party is the epitome of countless heroes in this world, the embodiment of the obsession of all the salary kings, even if he can't beat it, it's normal.

Anyway, it's just the first time to explore the way, and now is not a good time to get into the first fire.

Moving his gaze from the body of the incarnation of the Salary King who strode over to the dim black sun in the sky, Mo Chen exhaled softly.

In order to continue the first fire, for thousands of years, I don't know how many salary kings have become firewood, and I don't know how many great heroes' souls have gathered in this initial furnace.

This is the beginning of everything and the end of everything.

If he uses his god-killer nature and gets his hands on the first fire, then all that power, knowledge, and wisdom will become his thing. It even includes the nature of the original king's soul, the authority of those beings who are called gods in this world-

Gwen, the primordial god, is in charge of light, creation, nothingness, and thunder...... The original Tomb King of the Dead, Nit, was in charge of the underworld of death and immortality......

The witch of Chaos Izaris, who rules life, demons, and chaos...... and a dwarf that no one has ever seen, symbolizing infinite darkness......

And so on and so forth.

The only question is - the nature of the first fire is very deadly, can it withstand the burning of the fire?

。 m.