WORLD: EARTH
BRANCHED WORLD: HONKAI IMPACT 3RD
LOCATION: SOUKAI CITY. FAR EAST
"It's over."
Bronya muttered, still wearing Another Fafnir's armor. She turned away, drifting toward the exit on steady levitation thrusters, when:
"W–wait up...! I—'m not..... done yet."
Slowly yet groggily, Kiana, who was knocked out by that shot, lay on the ground, helplessly supporting herself weakly with her hands.
Kiana's hands wobbled as she then slowly raised her head. Blood traced a thin red line down her temple, yet her eyes...
They held something. Yes. Something called, Determination.
"You."
Bronya stopped, blinking once, before glancing over her shoulders to look at Kiana. She could end it with a shot, but why?
For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to. Instead, she piloted [Another Fafnir] to face her.
"Why do you still get up despite knowing you can't win?"
Bronya's voice was cold. She stated facts, yet even as she did, Kiana slowly supported herself up, her hair cascading down as she stared forward.
Her knees trembled as she attempted a step forward. Regardless, she still did.
"Because,.... I ain't done yet! I can't.... Give up... I have to become.... A S-rank Valkyrie...."
She then coughed, red staining the ground below. Perhaps, this may have been too much.
But in the end, they are Valkyries.
Shicksal Valkyries who may one day meet their end at the battlefield. Hence, an injury of this level was and should be nothing.
Yet, everyone found themselves drawn to her determination. The entire stand.
"To do that....! I can't give up!"
She straightened fully, only for her legs to falter under the recoil still rattling through her battered body. Bronya stared at her silently.
'For that reason?'
Even till now, Bronya was still a person that followed logic, like now. What would she have done in Kiana's shoes?
Give up?
No, she wouldn't give up that easily, but in the face of overwhelming power, she will, yes, like that day.
But Kiana... Kiana was different.
Would she keep fighting until her body completely broke? If so... then she was nothing like Bronya at all.
"Fundamentally... we are the same, huh?"
Bronya's words came out low, her teeth clenched as her hands tightened around Another Fafnir's controls.
She hated it—how she could see herself in Kiana. She, too, had a goal. A path she refused to stray from. Another Fafnir was merely a milestone along it.
"Fine."
Light particles drifted upward as the massive frame of Another Fafnir began dissolving into nothingness, piece by glowing piece.
Her descent was silent. From the weightless ease of levitation, her boots touched the arena floor with a quiet thud.
"I'll fight you... fair and square."
Now without her colossal machine at her back, Bronya stood alone. She leveled her slender, rapier-like sword toward Kiana.
"Heheh... cough—now we're talking..."
WORLD: EARTH
BRANCHED WORLD: SWORD ART ONLINE: FAIL SAFE TIMELINE – VR WORLD. BRANCH OF POSSIBILITY OF EVERYTHING
LOCATION: TOWN OF BEGINNINGS
"Did you know things were going to turn out like this?"
Lux's voice was calm, but his eyes lingered on the horizon.
The two stood, leaning their backs against the colossal outer wall, facing the endless, wheat-like field that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Town of Beginning.
A structure that stretched for kilometers, vast enough to swallow an entire Tokyo district.
It was the main settlement on the 1st Floor of «Aincrad», the beginning point for all players in «Sword Art Online».
Sword Art Online had only just gone live; Kayaba had yet to make his infamous declaration.
Laughter, chatter, and the sound of boots on cobblestone echoed around the path that led to the gates of the city.
On the other hand, other players spread around the wheat-like field, each and every one of them facing off against a knee-high boar.
GIII!
"Attack it!"
"Surround it!"
Noises filled the air with excitement and anticipation, more so with wonder as they appreciated this world.
Away from that—
"Well, in the end, she's the protagonist— No... forgive me..... Being a protagonist doesn't have anything to do with this."
Laurel said, resting a sleek longsword with a copper handle into the ground, placing both hands on it.
Lux tilted his head slightly.
"Everyone is a protagonist of their own lives. Isn't that what people say? However, not all protagonists are equal."
The fallen prince closed his eyes, folding his arms, his chin tilting toward the virtual sky.
"What about us? Can you still call us protagonists?"
For a moment, Laurel simply blinked. Then, unexpectedly, he laughed. A short, sharp sound that carried an odd mix of irony and amusement.
"What?"
Lux pressed with one brow raised. It was not like he said anything funny or anything worth the laugh.
But, Laurel shook his head next.
"No, sorry, I find it ironic."
"Despite not being bound to fate, we still... alter it. We can twist the threads of others' lives until they're nothing like the paths they were meant to take."
His expression shifted, the amusement fading into solemnness.
"I am no protagonist," he said at last. "Not when I stand in front of that girl. I can't bring myself to claim that title."
Something in his tone told Lux it wasn't just admiration, it was respect. And it seemed rather deep.
However, behind that respect... there was something else. Something he couldn't yet name.
What was it...?
He couldn't place his hand on it, but that tone almost sounded like 'regret'? 'pity'? Or something that was approaching that word.
"You sound like a man who regrets the changes he's made." Lux said evenly.
Laurel gave a surprised side stare at him.
"I've gone past that phase, but am I that easy to read?"
"More than easy."
The answer was so quick, so certain, that Laurel's lips twitched in protest.
It wasn't irritation, more like the reluctant acknowledgment that Lux had a point.
Still, there was something about the phrasing... it was as if Lux had just called him an open book in a language that didn't need words.
In the end, Lux let out a slow exhale.
"Well, if it's about Mei, I don't think you need to worry. And on the other hand, I'm satisfied with how things currently are."
With a quiet sigh, Laurel pushed himself away from the sword he'd been leaning on, hand drifting up to rake through his hair.
The gesture was tiring, almost resigned.
"I know. At the very least..." He let the sentence trail, unfinished.
"Well, that's good."
Lux's voice was lighter this time, though the smile he wore didn't quite touch his eyes.
"So the real question is... why are we here?"
Laurel studied him for a moment.
The Lux he knew had always been polite, easygoing, a man whose words rarely carried a hidden barb.
And yet, the Lux beside him now wore a smile that looked like his, but didn't feel like it.
"Now, now, don't be angry at me. We came here for another reason."
Laurel said that, prompting Lux to wince. He could almost tell what was coming.
"I have completely taken over Kayaba's system!"
"Hahaha. Of course."
Lux just laughed, throwing his head back wryly. Casually destroying a system or order was what Laurel was good at.
He wasn't surprised. It was just another situation of 'He's gone and done it again', and for completely no reason Lux felt embarrassed by this.
What's more was that, he'd been completely dragged into this without even doing anything.
Rather, he didn't need lift a finger.
In the end....
"What did you do this time?"
The Knight said in exasperation.
"Don't worry, I haven't done anything yet."
Laurel's eyes twitched. What did they take him for? Seriously, especially Laurel and Luminous.
"Then why does it appear that this world has been conquered?"
"What?"
At Lux's statement, Laurel frowned, looking over, and sure enough, it was displayed on his Administrator Panel.
[Allied Worlds]
[Branched Universe]:
- [Sword Art Online/Failed Safe Timeline] (Updated!)
[Status]:
- [Conquered]
[Fail Safe Timeline]:
- [A branched timeline created when the Fourth Calamity hijacked Kayaba's system before the Death Game could claim its first life.
In this altered version, player death no longer ends in reality — instead, it triggers the Fail Safe Protocol: the victim's body remains alive but enters an indefinite deep sleep until the game is cleared.
While no one can die, the stakes remain severe. Trapped players risk being locked in the virtual world for months or years; their consciousness remains in an inactive state, and as such, they can even lose their identities due to this.
This safeguard blurs the line between mercy and cruelty, survival is guaranteed, but freedom is not. In this world, clearing the game isn't just a challenge; it's the only key to waking up.]
For some reason, it did kind of make sense that this was the case.
Him taking over the SAO wasn't just taking over this virtual world. He probably now had control over 'The Seed'.
And after SAO's clearing,
The Seed was the program Kayaba released into the world after SAO's end.
It had been the root from which countless other VRMMOs sprouted, and it took over the world completely by the time UNITAL made its debut.
What's more, there is speculation that this branched world is connected to another branched world, which is speculated to be a future world.
It'd make sense if that were the case.
"But then, what about the other people..."
Lux asked, though he already knew Laurel must have considered it. The man's solutions always teetered between safety and disaster.
Well, it wasn't like he hadn't thought about it.
Laurel had also been thinking about it too. SAO had an impact on the world with the people's lives it claimed.
Of course, he could decide to leave things as is. However, he thought about it. Among that number were people who didn't deserve this.
If he left things like that, then perhaps he wouldn't be any better than Kayaba, as this.
At the very least, this way, the influence and trauma SAO has will still remain.
Thinking that, he exhaled and said one word.
"Coma."
That was his answer.
Lux tilted his head. "By that, you mean...?"
"Until SAO is cleared, anyone whose avatar dies stays in a deep sleep instead of dying outright."
Lux stared at Laurel for a moment, before then, unexpectedly, bursting out in laughter.
Offended, Laurel turned to him with a flat expression silently as though to ask what was so funny?
"Sorry, I couldn't help it."
Lux stifled his laugh as he finally replied, and by then, Laurel had already pieced together where this was going.
"Spare me. I'm not the saint you think I am."
The Knight shook his head slowly, almost helpless. "A certain someone keeps forgetting their status as a Calamity."
"Please. I'm a good Calamity."
"Define 'good Calamity.'"
"Someone who chooses to do good or bad without moral influence, purely for their own satisfaction."
"But Laurel," Lux countered, "isn't that 'morality' still affecting you right now?"
Laurel corked his head upwards, feigning thought.
"Should I say I want to leave those people there? ...Some people wouldn't be happy with that decision."
"So you noticed?"
"If you guys do want to become a Saint, I don't mind helping you become one...."
Lux shook his head.
"You being a 'good calamity' also isn't too bad."
WORLD: EARTH
BRANCHED WORLD: HONKAI IMPACT 3RD
LOCATION: SOUKAI CITY. FAR EAST
Bronya pouted. Her expression, though flat, Mei could see she was frustrated. In the end, Kiana passed out.
However, undoubtedly, Kiana won. They squared off for a few minutes, and throughout, Bronya was at a disadvantage.
That left a bad taste in her mouth.
"..."
Mei, on the other hand, smiled. She knew things would be interesting between these two, but right now...
This much was more than enough for now. Both would motivate each other to grow stronger.
At the very least, Mei wishes to support Kiana's growth.
She couldn't help but like Kiana, purely because of her determination.
"It's okay Bronya, no need to be so frustrated. Laurel was already pleased by how it turned out. He was also impressed."
Noticing the clenched fist by Bronya's side which, if she pressed further might soon begin to draw blood.
Mei said that to lift her spirits.
Truly, Laurel wasn't concerned. He was more impressed by how she used [Another Blood] despite not intending for such a function to be usable.
Bronya raised her head looking at Mei, her fingers now unconsciously slipping from her fist.
"Bronya wasn't frustrated."
Bronya spoke, now dismissing the impression she had, a few seconds ago.
Mei didn't answer, she simply laughed and let it go.