"What is power?" A beat of silence passed, before Kazuto decided to speak.
"Incredible beginning to what I can tell will become some incredible lecture," he stated, not a hint of sarcasm noticeable in his voice. "Are we gonna talk philosophy? Discuss social justice? Protest inequality?"
"We are going to go into a discussion about the episodes you just watched and their application to your lives," John sighed. "But if you want to do that, we can do that instead."
"I'm fine with discussing this," Asuna cut in, glaring at her boyfriend. "Any objections? No? Alright, then let's start from the left."
"Power is the ability one has to do something," Sinon stated, disinterested.
"Um..." Silica nervously started. "I agree with Sinon."
"Power is how much you can do compared to other people," Liz added.
"I would say that power is your ability to do something," Leafa stated.
"Knowledge is power," Asuna put forth.
"Power is defined as 'the strength or ability to do something', or 'the authority or right to command, control, or make decisions'," Yui supplied.
"Power is how much you can do without consequences," Kirito mentioned.
"Power is how much money you have," Klein sadly added, because he had none.
"I'm gonna agree with Kirito and Klein on this one," Agil continued.
"Power is your ability to handle the sacred arts," Alice stated. "That is what decides what you can do."
"I agree with Kirito-senpai!" Ronye exclaimed, and Tiese said the same thing, albeit slightly softer. They both had firsthand experience with people using and abusing their power, after all.
"All interesting sentiments," John noted. "Now, in the three episodes we watched, who would you say had the most power?"
"Kirito," everyone immediately stated.
"I disagree," the mentioned man added. "While the first showing may have me being nigh omnipotent, the other two showcase others more powerful than I. Suguha is clearly smarter and would likely be in a high position if she wasn't my sister in the second one, and the only thing I did in the third was use an item to fly. Eugeo would probably take the cake in that one because he was shown using magic to move massive amounts of dirt."
"Doesn't that disclude other variations upon how power can be explained?" John rebutted.
"How so?" Kazuto inquired, brows furrowed.
"First off, in the third episode, didn't you notice how everyone respected you, pledged themselves to you, complimented you, and did everything you said to do?" John stated. Kazuto opened his mouth to speak, before nodding. "And then before that, while Suguha may end up as the smarter of you two in that specific case, chances are you'd still end up in a better position if you applied yourselves. While she could easily be the best mathematician the world has to offer, your logical thinking, knowledge of the human psyche, leadership skills, and general mindfuckery has to be some of the most powerful characteristics a person can have in this world, ending up with cultish followers or something like that."
"Cultish followers?" Suguha questioned, not having heard much about that.
"I live in the United States of America, where shit sucks when it comes to politics," John sighed, dragging a hand along his face. "Not the point. Either way, you have more power than anyone else has shown."
"Even with magic?" Kirito frowned.
"My guy, you beat the damn god of games at a game," John explained. "I don't know what kind of drugs you took when you were a kid but I need them."
