Sword Art Online: Phantom Reaper || SAO OC

50 - Hunting A Reaper

January 7th 2026 - 4:00pm

Kirito opened his eyes to find that everything around him was white, and he was standing in an empty void. Until just a moment ago he was running through the floor 24 labyrinth with his friends to get to the boss room, but now he found himself standing alone in pure silence.

Puzzled by this sudden change in scenery, Kirito looked around for a bit before a mirage of pixels gathered in front of him coming together to create a visual of Akihiko Kayaba dressed in his white lab coat and regular dress pants and shirts. "We meet again, Kirito."

Kirito was taken aback by his sudden appearance and couldn't help but stare at him wide-eyed. "Heathcliff?"

"As much as I'd love to catch up, I'm afraid this isn't a social call." Kayaba spoke with his usual cool tone. "This is about your friend, Nyx."

"What do you mean?"

"I believe you remember our encounter on floor 75 long ago, and what I said about him obtaining his special weapon?"

Kirito stood silent for several seconds as he replayed the events of that fateful day in his mind. When it struck him, Kirito looked at Kayaba and saw the same cold expression he had back then. "You didn't want anyone to get the Phantom Blade."

"Exactly. The danger it posed to a player's mental wellbeing was too great for me to allow into the game, but I learned about those risks too late and attempted to hide that weapon instead. Even still, Nyx found it and made frequent use of its abilities, putting himself at great risk each time."

"What kind of risk?"

"Try to imagine what would happen if a highly impulsive person became mentally unstable. That's the current state he's in right now." Kayaba spoke nonchalantly making it difficult for Kirito to process the urgency in his words.

Before Kirito could muster a response, Kayaba turned away from him as if he was about to leave. "You might not believe me when I say this, but I did not want to hurt anyone with my creations. That sword is a creation of mine as well, and so I have a request for you."

"What request?"

"There is no way to fully remove that sword from his being, it's a part of him for as long as he uses that avatar. But if you wouldn't mind, could you keep him in check?"

"Keep him in check? What do you mean?"

"Whenever he used the sword previously, it took an incredible amount of mental strength for him to remain in control, even if he wasn't aware of it. In this world he doesn't have that ability because he has no control over his emotions for as long as he's here."

Kirito remained silent, trying to take in what he was saying and soon enough he understood what he meant. He didn't want to consider the possibility that this would still affect Nyx, but the thought had been playing on his mind for a while. "Sugou's experiments... That's the cause?"

"Precisely. I've kept you long enough so I won't say much else and I won't force you to do anything either. I just hope that you'll help him before he does more harm to himself or anyone else."

With that Kayaba's after-image faded away. Kirito stood silently for a few moments, processing everything he'd just heard.

Soon he felt a hand shaking him lightly and seconds later he heard Asuna's voice calling out to him. Then Yui's. Then Leafa's. He blinked a few times and the white area faded away being replaced by the slate gray corridor and dark maze-like structure of the labyrinth.

He looked around and noticed everyone looking at him with concerned expressions on their faces. Asuna was the first to ask if he was okay and her tone laced in worry.