Then the left sleeve slowly lifted upwards, too. Then with its two empty gloves spread out in front of ten thousand players, the faceless person opened his mouth-no, it felt like it did. Then a low, calm, male voice resonated from high in the air.

'Players, I welcome you all to my world.'

I couldn't understand it right away.

"My world"? If that red robe was a GM, it certainly had G.o.dlike powers in this world enabling him to change the world at will, but why was he pointing that out now?

Klein and I looked at each other, dumbfounded. The anonymous red robe lowered its arms and continued talking.

'My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world.'

"What...!?"

My avatar became rigid with shock, and a lump formed in its throat (and perhaps my throat back in the real world as well) for a second.

Kayaba-Akihiko!!

I knew that name. There was no way I didn't.

This person, both a game designer and genius in the field of quantum physics, was the one responsible for raising Argus (which was just one of many small companies a few years ago) into one of the leading companies in its field.

He was also the development director of SAO and, at the same time, the designer of the Nerve Gear.

As a hard core gamer, I respected Kayaba deeply. I bought all the mags that featured him and read his few interviews until I almost knew them all by heart. I could almost see him in the white overalls he always wore by just hearing his voice.

But he had always stayed behind the scenes, refusing media exposure. He had never even been a GM, so why was he doing something like this?

I forced my mind to start moving again, trying to make sense of the situation. But the words that came out of the empty hood almost seemed to mock my efforts to understand.

'I think that most of you have discovered the fact that the Log Out b.u.t.ton has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug; it is all part of "Sword Art Online"'s system.'

"Part of... the system?" Klein muttered brokenly.

The announcement continued in its low voice as if to cover the sound.

'Until you get to the top of this castle, you cannot log out of your own free will.'

This castle? I couldn't understand this phrase at first. There's no castle in the "Starting City".

Then the next thing that Kayaba said blew my confusion away.

'... also, the disruption or dismantling of the Nerve Gear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted...'

A moment of silence.

The silence of ten thousand people was overwhelming. The next words came slowly.

'The signal sensors in your Nerve Gear will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and stopping all of your basic functions.'

Klein and I stared at each other for seconds in shock.

It was as if my mind refused to believe what I had just heard. But Kayaba's short statement pierced through my body with a ferocity that was both hard and dense.

Destroy our brains.

In other words, kill us.

Any user that turned the Nerve Gear off or unlocked the clasp and took it off would be killed. That is what Kayaba had just stated.

People in the crowd started muttering, but there was no one shouting or panicking. It was either that everyone, like me, couldn't understand it yet, or refused to.

Klein raised his right hand slowly and tried to grasp the headgear that would be situated there in the real world. As he did, he let out a dry laugh and started talking.

"Haha... what's he saying? That man, has he gone nuts? He's not making any sense. The Nerve Gear... It's just a game. Destroy our brain... How is he going to do that? Right, Kirito?"

His voice broke at the last shout. Klein stared at me hard, but I couldn't nod in agreement.

The countless signal transceivers in the Nerve Gear's helmet emitted small electronic pulses to send virtual signals to the brain.

They might call this the newest ultra-technology, but the basic theory was the same as a certain household appliance that's been used for over 40 years in j.a.pan-the microwave.

If there was sufficient output, it was possible that the Nerve Gear would vibrate the water particles in our brains and cook it with the heat from the friction. But...

"... theoretically it's possible, but... he must be bluffing. Because if we pull the plug on the Nerve Gear, there's no way it can emit a strong pulse of that type. Unless there's some form of battery with a huge storage capability... inside...."

Klein already guessed the reason why I had stopped talking.

"There... is," he said, his words almost a scream with a hollow expression on his face. "Thirty percent of the gear's weight is in the battery. But... that's totally crazy! What if there was a sudden power outage or something!?"

Kayaba started explaining, as if he had heard what Klein had shouted.

'To be a little more specific, disconnection from an outside source of electricity for ten minutes, being cut off from the system for more than two hours, or any attempt to: unlock, dismantle, or destroy the Nerve Gear. If any of these conditions are met, the brain destruction sequence will start. These conditions have been made known to the government and the public through ma.s.s-media in the outside world. On that note, there have been several cases where the relatives or friends have ignored the warnings and tried to forcefully remove the Nerve Gear. The result...'

The metallic voice took a short breath here.

'... regretfully 213 players have already exited this game, and the real world, forever.'

A long, thin scream was heard. But most of the players couldn't or refused to believe what they had been told, and just stood there slack-jawed or with a wry smile on their faces.

My head tried to reject what Kayaba had just said. But my body betrayed it and my knees started shaking violently.

I stumbled back a few paces on my weak knees and managed to keep myself from falling. Klein fell on his backside, his expression lifeless.

213 players have already...

That phrase repeated over and over again in my head.

If what Kayaba said was true, over 200 people have already died?

Among them, there would have been beta testers like me. I might have even known some of their character names and avatars. These people had their brains burnt and... died, is that what Kayaba was saying?

"... don't believe it.... I don't believe it," Klein, still sitting on the ground, started saying in a strained voice. "He's just trying to scare us. How would he do such a thing? Stop kidding around and let us out. We don't have time to play along to your sick opening ceremony. Yeah... this is all just an event. An opening show, right?"

Inside my head, I was screaming the same thing.

But as if to dispel our hopes, Kayaba's businesslike voice resumed its explanation.

'Players, there is no need to worry about the bodies you left on the other side. As of this moment, all TV, radio, and Internet media are repeatedly reporting this situation; including the fact that there have been numerous deaths. The danger of having your Nerve Gear taken off has already all but disappeared. In a moment, using the two hours I have provided, all of you will be transported to hospitals or similar inst.i.tutes and be given the best treatment. So you can relax... and concentrate on beating the game.'

"What...?"

Then, at last, violent shouts left my mouth.

"What are you saying!? Beat the game!? You want us to play around in a situation like this!?"

I kept shouting, glaring at the red robe that had oozed out of the bottom of the upper floor.

"This isn't a game anymore!!"

Then Kayaba Akihiko started announcing quietly with his monotonous voice.

'But I ask of you all to understand that "Sword Art Online" is no longer a simple game. It is a second reality.... From now on, any form of revival in the game will no longer work. The moment your HP reaches 0, your avatar will be gone forever. And at the same time...'

I could guess what he was going to say all too clearly.

'... your brain will be destroyed by the Nerve Gear.'

Suddenly, an urge to laugh out loud bubbled up from the pit of my stomach. I forced it down.

A long, horizontal line shone at the top-left corner of my vision. As I focused on it, the numbers 342/342 overlaid it.

Hit points. My life-force.

The moment it reaches zero, I will die-the electromagnetic waves will fry my brain, killing me instantaneously. This is what Kayaba had said.

This is without a doubt a game, a game with your life at stake. In other words, a death game.

I must have died at least 100 times during the two months of beta testing. I had re-sp.a.w.ned with a slightly embarra.s.sed smile on my face in the palace north of the main plaza, the "Black Iron Palace", and ran off into the hunting grounds again.

That was what an RPG was: a sort of game where you keep dying and learning and leveling up. But now you can't? Once you die, you'll lose your life? And in addition... you can't even stop playing?

"... no freaking way," I muttered softly.

Who in their right mind would go out onto the field with those conditions? Of course everyone would just stay inside the city where it was safe.

Then, as if reading my (and maybe every other player's) mind, came the next message.

'Players, there is only one way to be freed from this game. As I have said before, you must get to the top of Aincrad, the one hundredth floor, and defeat the final boss that resides there. All players still alive at that time will be immediately logged out of the game. I give you all my word.'

Ten thousand players stood in silence.

It was then that I realized what Kayaba meant when he said, "get to the top of this castle".

"This castle" meant the huge monstrosity that imprisoned all of the players on the first floor, with ninety-nine more floors stacked on top of it, towering into the sky in which it floated. He was talking about Aincrad itself.

"Clear... all 100 floors!?" Klein suddenly shouted. He got up quickly and raised a fist up to the sky.

"And how do you want us to do that? I heard that getting up was crazy hard even during the beta testing!"

This was true. During the two months of beta testing, the one thousand players that had taken part only managed to get to the sixth floor. Even if ten thousand people had dived right now, how long would it take to get through all 100 floors?

Most players who had been forced here would be asking themselves this rhetorical question.

The strained silence eventually gave way to low murmuring. But there was no sign of fear or despair.

Most people here would still be confused about whether this was a "real danger" or a "seriously warped opening event". Everything Kayaba had said was so horrifying that it felt unreal.

I craned my head back to look at the empty robe and tried to force my mind to accept this situation.

I can no longer log out, ever. I can't go back to my room, my life. The only way that I would get them back was when somebody defeated the boss on the highest floor of this floating castle. If my HP reached zero even once during that time-I would die. I would die a real death and I would be gone forever.

But...

However much I tried to accept these as facts, it was impossible. Just five or six hours ago, I had eaten the dinner that my mom made, shared a short conversation with my sister, then walked up the stairs of my house.

Now I can't go back to all that? And this is now the real reality?

Then, the red robe that had always been one step ahead of us swept its right glove and started speaking with a voice void of all emotion.

'Then I will show you evidence that this is the only reality. In your inventories, there will be a gift from me. Please confirm this.'

As soon as I heard this, I pressed my finger and thumb together and pulled downwards. All the players did likewise and the plaza was filled with the ringing sound of bells.

I pressed the Item b.u.t.ton on the menu that appeared and the item was there, at the top of my belongings list.

The name of the item-"hand mirror"

Why did he give this to us? Even as I wondered, I tapped on the name and pressed the "Make Into Object" b.u.t.ton. Immediately, there was a tinkling sound effect and a small, rectangular mirror appeared.

I grabbed it hesitantly but nothing happened. All that it showed was the face of the avatar that I had gone through a lot of trouble to create.

I c.o.c.ked my head and looked at Klein. The samurai was also looking at the mirror in his hand with a blank expression.

... Then.

Suddenly Klein and the avatars around us were engulfed in white light. As soon as I took this in, I was surrounded too and all I could see was white.

Almost 2, 3 seconds later, the surroundings reappeared just as they had been...