The Survival Logs || Sword Art Online Fanfic

PK Pandemonia Arc: Chapter 80: Roofpost Chronicles Part 2

24 February 2024

South Roofpost, Katalysis, 43rd Floor

She leaned over slightly from the ledge to watch the barren land right below.

Her crimson hair dangled off the ledge and hung there precariously, but she didn't seem to bother.

The player by the name of Kira had her eyes on only one thing at that moment in time. And it wasn't only to focus on making sure no members of the Council were following her.

In fact, she was only expecting that pair of players to be on her tail. Them, whom she had chosen to trust.

And whom she had decided to use for her main objective at that point in time.

She heard footsteps of a pair of boots moving closer to the entrance of the Roofpost. It seemed like one of the pair was absent, an issue that she seemed to care about right away.

"I'm assuming you want to know where Raku is right now."

Xana's voice had always given Kira vibes that slightly unsettled her. She would rather have Raku talk to her instead, if she ever had a choice in the matter.

"Is she not always with you all the time?" Kira asked, refusing to turn around to face him.

"She's got other plans," Xana stepped off from the last step of the stairs. "Or did you think that we're always together?"

"Who else wouldn't?" Kira turned and leaned onto the ledge via her side. "It's almost like you're dating."

The hooded player gave a slight frown. "A fair point, but it seems to only be your assumption."

Kira gave him a little smirk at his statement, but chose not to pursue that trivial topic further.

She would rather see eye-to-eye with Raku then to Xana, the latter who she thought was still an empty book in her mind. It was clear that he was potentially more of a threat than Raku to watch out for.

The blade --or blades-- of Xana's spear was in particular one such reason of her wariness. The spear blade which was pointing downwards behind his right thigh had intrigued her for some time, but her intrigue was slowly turning into distrust. After all, she knew too little about this unique spear.

The hooded player touched the ledge, merely a few metres from Kira. She turned to him, which gave her a good look at his spear, strapped behind his hooded coat.

"Anything else that you want to know about the city?" Kira turned back, suppressing her curiosity about that weapon for now. "Now might be your last chance to ask away."

"How many questions do I have?" Xana asked as he leaned a little over the ledge to take in the view of the city.

Kira pondered about it, and took a look at her system menu for a brief while. ".....I guess I only have time for one, so choose your question carefully."

"I see, then I'll choose this one," Xana nodded without much of a reaction. "It's about Katalysis as a whole. I want to know if this city was built from scratch or not."

Kira's answer was instant due to her confidence. "What do you mean by 'if'? The Council built it, plain and simple."

"Then what did Katalysis look like before it became the city that it is today?" Xana continued to stare at the city view. "I mean, they could be 2 possibilities: a completely empty space, or maybe....."

"The ruins of a settlement which once existed before players came along....."

Kira continued to stare at the entirety of Katalysis intently. She hadn't thought of how the city was built, nor did she want to know. Her current objective of demolishing the city itself definitely didn't require her to know the possible origins of a city that didn't even exist in reality.