The Survival Logs || Sword Art Online Fanfic

Clashing Guilds Arc: Chapter 50 - The Reaped Truth

31 October 2023

Amneslia Weald, 39th Floor

"Rival.....eh?"

I mumbled, while fighting the urge to smile.

Those last words that I told Hallow before he died had apparently stuck with him even after death.

Maybe I had watched too many movies and shows, but I had naturally expected Hallow, or rather his digital ghost, to have memories of when he was alive. Except for a light blue aura covering his body, he looked exactly like the time I had fought with him in the 40th Floor Labyrinth.

It was unbelievable to even think that creating a digital ghost of a player who died in SAO, complete with their memories and personalities, was possible. A rumour that those of us of Horizon's Edge had doubt of had suddenly debunked itself right in front of us, even though we had hoped that it would come true at the time.

Because if it didn't, we would obviously be in so much trouble than we would ever imagine.

My conversation with Fangras about getting to see Hallow again was also based on the premise that SAO could temporarily bring back a dead player as a digital ghost. It was a gamble that I had no time to worry about, but now that it came true, I wouldn't have to fear being attacked by Fangras, for the time being.

And it was all thanks to the Cardinal System, which runs SAO, managing everything in the game from the 1st Floor to the last.

Quests, weapons, field dungeons, Labyrinths, bosses and many more.........These were all managed by the Cardinal System. In fact, it was safe to say that everything in Aincrad, no matter how trivial or significant it would be, were constantly monitored by the Cardinal System.

Even us players. The Cardinal System was definitely monitoring and recording the flow of events that each and every one of us had gone through throughout our time in SAO. Hallow's digital ghost was a great example of that, being a recreation of the player Hallow when he was still alive.

It was almost like looking at his clone, complete with everything that made Hallow.....Hallow.

Fangras rushed past me, his footsteps being the only sound in the entire forest. The players who had fought the Terror Joker stared at him, as silent as they were when Hallow's digital ghost had appeared before their disbelieving faces.

"Is it really you....Hallow?" He asked, his tone shaking uncontrollably. He now lacked the aura of intimidation that had brought me and Misuko to our knees.

"Well, I do know that I am dead.......but I somehow can't understand why I'm here..." Digital ghost Hallow shrugged his shoulders casually, apparently puzzled. "Do you know why, Rival?"

He looked straight at me, expecting some explanation.

"I kinda summoned you here...from the dead." I replied, feeling a bit weird with my own answer. Pointing to myself, I continued, "And by the way, your rival here has a name. Zenalyth."

The shimmering hologram stared at me for a while, as he pondered a bit while stroking his chin. He was incredibly composed in a situation where around 30 players were watching him, who had either disbelief or fascination on their faces.

"Oh yeah..." Hallow smirked. "I never knew your name."

"You never asked." I crossed my arms, staring him back matter-of-factly.

It still felt awkward talking to someone who's already dead. Should be dead, as stated by the absolute rules of the death game itself. Who knew that the system could recreate a player's appearance and personalities just by monitoring their experiences when they were alive?