[Comprehensive] Light and Shadow

SwordArtOnlineAugust 2024, 8

"Are you going to take a cruise today?"

Kirito looked helplessly at the young man who was sitting on the dining table and chair, but didn't eat anything. Kirito vaguely felt that the young man in front of him seemed unhappy, but he didn't know what happened.

Yesterday, at the top of the mountain behind the mirror, the young man stretched out his right hand after thanking him, and a light golden light emerged, and the image array that had been hidden on the shop floor shrunk and gradually expanded in mid-air.

This is about to leave. Kirito, who originally wanted to say something, didn't know how to say it at that moment, and couldn't just grab the boy without reason. There was a feeling that if he didn't pull this time I'm afraid I'll never see the boy again.

Unexpectedly, the boy did not leave.

At that moment, the light in the boy's hand suddenly shattered, and the palm was empty, with nothing in it.

Kirito looked at the young man in surprise, and found that the young man's purple pupils were trembling, and he just stared blankly at the empty scenery.

Can not go back.

Kirito saw the answer from the boy's eyes, and the boy's right arm, which was stiff in the air, was trembling.

Then, for some unknown reason, Kirito returned home with the boy on his back who was motionless and staring at the sky.If you just don't care about it, I'm afraid this boy will just stand there forever.

It's just that after that, the boy's behavior was really like a puppet out of strings.It turned out that there was some response when talking to him, but now he is completely immersed in a world of one person, and he should not answer, but just lowered his head and stared at the ground in a daze.

Even if I ask the boy now if he wants to go on a cruise, the boy just keeps his head down and doesn't speak.

"You know me, right?" Kirito sighed, then pulled away the chair opposite the boy, and looked at the boy squarely, "Yesterday you called me Kiritani Kazuto, I heard you."

The boy's pupils seemed to finally have focus, and then slowly raised his head, looking at Kirito who was sitting opposite him in a daze.

"I, I should also know you." Kirito said with certainty, squinting his eyes slightly to look at the boy's appearance, there is indeed a sense of familiarity, but he really can't remember where he saw him before.

"Since you can talk, why don't you say it?" Kirito was waiting for the boy's answer, but the boy was still just staring at him in bewilderment, keeping silent.Kirito was really helpless, frowning slightly, unable to understand.

He can now be sure that the boy in front of him is not a simple NPC, not only because he knows himself, but also by some definition, he is definitely a bug in this game.

You can freely enter and exit the outside world and stores, and you will not be targeted by monsters, and you can enter your own room without realizing it.

Before, the feeling of being cherished by that boy who treated him tenderly was probably true.

"If you don't want to eat, forget it. I'll take you on a cruise." Kirito felt helpless looking at the boy's uneaten breakfast, but it's impossible for a boy to feel hungry in this world.

"The outside world is huge, and you can meet more people." Kirito, who has always been a loner, never thought that one day he would say such words.He just didn't want the young man who had been locked in the circle in front of him to jump out by accident, still huddled and wanted to get back into that gap.

Wouldn't it be too sad if there was only oneself in life from beginning to end?

Still did not get a response from the boy, and Kirito no longer insisted, and self-sufficiently lifted the boy who was sitting on the chair.The boy's body stiffened, and finally he wrapped his hands around Kirito's neck.

The front and back of the mirror in the city of mirrors are separated by a wide river. There is a large cruise ship that only sails at noon every day.Because of the bridge spanning the two banks, not too many people take cruises from the front of the mirror to the back of the mirror, and more people just want to enjoy the scenery of the No.70 mirrored city.

The cruise ship is more like a means of transportation for players to better see the city. Sitting on the cruise ship, you can see the exact same scenery on both sides of the river, not only the towns, snow-capped mountains, even the clouds, sun and moon in the sky are completely mirror images of.This feeling is like floating above the bay of miracles, living in the gap between two worlds but can't help feeling surprised and appreciative.

When Kirito entered the cruise ship with the boy on his back, he only took a step before he heard the excited voice of the man.

"Kirito!"

Kirito followed the voice, and as expected, he saw a head of messy red hair. Klein strode towards Kirito.I saw a person on Kirito's back, but his face was completely covered by the wide robe.

"I said, it's not Asuna you're memorizing, right?" Although Klein hasn't been in touch with Kirito for a long time, because of this, he will pay more attention to his friend Kirito's affairs from other places.Seeing that there was a person behind Kirito's back, and it was completely wrapped up as if he was embarrassed to be seen, Klein instantly thought it was Asuna, and made fun of Kirito with winks.

"No." The corners of Kirito's mouth twitched, watching Klein sneaking to his side, and when he was about to pull off the robe, Kirito also quickly moved away, preventing Klein from getting close to the boy on his back.

"That's it, it's boring." Klein became more interested when he heard that it wasn't Asuna, but he pretended to be disappointed on the surface, and slowly approached Kirito with a somewhat frustrated look.Then, taking advantage of Kirito's unpreparedness, he turned around nimbly, and stretched out his hand to grab the hat of the person behind Kirito.

"Klein, you!" Kirito didn't expect Klein to do this, and before he could react, the robe and hat of the person behind him had been pulled down, and the purple hair fluttered in the wind, but the boy didn't raise his head , but still leaning on Kirito's shoulder, his empty eyes were as out of focus as ever.

"Huh, boy? Did you accept the younger brother?" Klein was surprised to see Kirito carrying a boy on his back, and looked at the boy wearing a dark gray mask strangely.However, it seems that there is no reaction at all. Anyway, you should say hello to yourself, right?

"Well, I'm Kirito's friend Klein, you can call me big brother." Klein naturally greeted the purple-haired boy enthusiastically, thinking that this boy, like Kirito, is not good at dealing with people .

The boy opened his eyes, but he didn't seem to see anything.After hearing Klein's words, he didn't answer, but closed his eyes, and lay on Kirito's back as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

Klein frowned, feeling that something was wrong with this boy, Klein looked at Kirito suspiciously with raised eyebrows without saying a word, pointed at the boy, as if asking what happened to Kirito.Kirito shook his head helplessly, he was also a little unclear about the situation.

The cruise ship left on time at noon. Kirito carefully placed the boy behind him on the chair, and then sat beside him. After thinking about it, Kirito put the cap of his robe on the boy's face again. .

Klein naturally leaned over carelessly, leaning into Kirito's ear and actively asking about the purple-haired boy.Kirito randomly picked out a few parts and told Klein, who looked at the boy in surprise.

The rumored owner of the mysterious TROHS store is this frail young man?

"How did you bring him out!" What's even more unbelievable is that Kirito was able to bring out a heaven-defying NPC character, and let the boy carry him on his back without any defense.If I accidentally brushed the favorability of the NPC shopkeeper, does it mean that the legendary weapons will also be spawned one by one?

"He suddenly couldn't go back, so..." Looking at Klein's eyes, he could tell what he was thinking in his heart. what weapon.

[Whether to accept the TROHS mystery shop mission: Get the flower in front of the mirror in Nalos, the city of mirrors on the [-]th floor. 】

Kirito suddenly remembered the task he had received before, and looked at the boy next to him who seemed to be in a deep sleep with his head lowered, with somewhat complicated eyes.

Since the young man knew his name, could it be that he also knew the young man's name but couldn't remember it.

When the cruise ship opened, Klein looked at the scenery with great interest, while talking to Kirito endlessly.Kirito unconsciously had a headache, and then turned his head to look at the boy whose face was completely covered by his robe.

Obviously he came to show him the scenery, if he fell asleep, then...is there any point?

"Hey, Kirito."

"Ok?"

"Are there two pleasure boats in this river?"

"Only one."

Kirito replied, but he had some doubts why Klein would ask this question.But looking at the direction of Klein's finger, Kirito's eyes widened, and he was shocked to see a cruise ship that was the same as the one he was riding on now coming from the opposite direction.If they continue to sail like this, they will definitely collide.

It's just that there is only one ship, how can there be an extra one for no reason? Is this also part of the mirror image?

Before everyone on the cruise ship got nervous, the direction of the cruise ship slowly moved away, presumably someone was controlling the cruise ship.Kirito and the rest couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, thinking they wouldn't run into each other.

After all, this river and those two snow-capped mountains do not belong to the area within the circle. If something really happened, he would really die after his HP was cleared. No one wanted such a dangerous thing to happen.

The ship continued to sail, and the distance between the opposite directions was getting closer and closer.The people on the cruise ship unconsciously stared nervously at the cruise ship that did not know when it appeared, until they got closer and found that there was no one on the cruise ship.

Approaching like a ghost ship, an accident happened when the two cruise ships were almost parallel and wanted to pass by.

The cruise ship suddenly slammed into the middle of the starboard side of the cruise ship, and the cruise ship on the river suddenly shook violently at that moment.The oil tank vibrated violently, the vibration caused friction, the friction caused high temperature, and there were sudden explosions that shook the sky.

Kirito grabbed the boy beside him and ran towards the opposite direction of the oil tank. When the explosion sounded, he pressed the boy tightly under his body, not wanting the boy to be hurt.Even though he couldn't feel the pain, the explosion sound in his ears was too ferocious, his vision was bright, and his health bar was actually reduced by one bar at this moment because of the explosion just now.

A flame shot up into the sky, and thick smoke billowed in the cabin, making it choking and choking.

"Kirito!" Klein ran towards Kirito from not far away, and helped Kirito and the boy up from the ground.When Kirito raised his head and looked around, he could only see panicked people in a mess, and the other boat that hit the cruise ship just now had disappeared.

The crackling sound of burning was lifeless, and more and more thick smoke scorched the sky, everyone forgot that this was just a game, everything was too real, and the threat of death was getting closer and closer.

The ship is burning, and the oil tank is unstable. I don't know if there will be an explosion in the future. If I stay on the ship, I will definitely die.Thinking this way, many people have already jumped off the boat.

Kirito frowned, the best way now is to jump off the boat.

"You must catch me." Kirito looked at the young man in the robe behind him with a serious expression, and stretched out his hand to firmly grab the young man's hand.

The boy didn't speak, maybe it was an illusion, but the boy's eyes seemed to brighten up under the firelight.

Kirito held the boy's hand tightly and jumped off the boat. He felt chilly in the cold sea for an instant, and his whole body began to shiver uncontrollably.Kirito held the young man's hand even harder, and tried his best to swim towards the shore on the near side. Even if it was close to the area in front of the mirror, the river was still too wide, and the distance there was a bit far away.

Originally, the blue river was filled with different colors, but no one had the leisure to appreciate it, but the sound of continuous burning and heat waves made people swim desperately to the safe circle.

The ignited crude oil spread everywhere, and a raging fire ignited on the sea surface, almost locking everyone in the prison of fire and unable to escape.I heard someone's screams vaguely, the screams were too shrill to make people look over unconsciously, but only saw a person completely engulfed by the flames, and then turned into fragments and melted into the sparks.

It wasn't killed by a player, it wasn't killed by a monster, it wasn't a suicide, but... that person is still dead.

——Everyone realizes that this watershed is a trap.

If he stays here any longer, he will definitely die, no matter how many skill points he has here, he will not be able to escape.

Kirito held the young man's hand and strenuously swam towards the shore, but was suddenly strangled by a man, who almost drowned in the water. After drinking a few sips of water, he found that the man was still hanging on his neck. neck.

"I don't want to die, I don't want to die, you, you save me..." The woman trembled and hugged Kirito, her face was full of tears, she was obviously frightened and unable to escape normally, she could only hang her whole body on Kirito crying on the body.The woman strangled Kirito's neck without knowing how hard it was, and Kirito could not swim out but was forced to sink.

"Let go of me first!" Kirito couldn't hold back, and shouted loudly to the woman who strangled his neck.Being so hard was like choking the neck, if the stalemate continued, none of them would be able to escape.

"No, please, don't abandon me!" The woman hugged a stranger in such fear, as if she was the last hope of survival, she would not let go, trembling and hugging tightly.

"Damn it." Kirito couldn't suppress his anger, he even wanted to shake off the woman on his body right now.Kirito turned his head and reluctantly looked at the young man whose hands were tightly held by him. The young man was wet by the river water, and his hair soaked in water covered his face obediently. The young man's originally pale face became paler at this time, and he felt a little painful. Bumping on the river, choking on the water from time to time.

The fire was even worse, and the flames of crude oil were spreading everywhere.Although everyone swam around in a panic, something even more unexpected happened at this time.The bridge engraved with the mermaid collapsed in an instant, and the front and rear mirrors of the two city mirrors began to tremble at the same time, shaking violently like an earthquake, and screams from the city were faintly heard.

The river began to flood in an instant, and there seemed to be a vortex flowing from the bottom, and the people in the river were sucked by the huge attraction in panic at the same time, just like people stuck in a swamp.The river began to rise and fall unsteadily, and the huge waves did not know when they started to hit. Before Kirito could react, the hand that was holding the boy was slipped away by the huge momentum, and the woman on his body was He strangled himself with all his strength.

Kirito opened his mouth wide to call out the boy's name, but he didn't know what his name was yet.

Kirito tried his best to reach out his hand, wanting to reach out to the boy to grab him, but a flame suddenly spread across the water, blocking him and the boy, like a ruthless and cruel chain that forcibly separated .

The boy's face was smeared with blood by the flames, the boy's expression remained flat, his purple pupils shimmered against the backdrop of the fire, but the boy's figure became more and more ethereal, but the boy vaguely Hand stretched out.

Kirito couldn't help pushing the woman on him away, and then reached out to grab the boy behind the flame.It's just that when the hand touched the flame, Kirito quickly stretched out his hand back and soaked it in the water.

Kirito's eyes widened in astonishment, just now he was in pain from being burned by the fire.

He absolutely, totally felt the pain.

The young man seemed to have noticed something, and slowly retracted his outstretched hand. He just looked at Kirito quietly, his eyes were blank and sad, and then he closed his eyes and let himself fall into the cold river.

No!Kirito shouted loudly in his heart, at this moment he couldn't think of anything, his brain seemed to be completely destroyed by the fusion of flames and sea water, but in his subconscious mind, if he let go like this, he would definitely regret it for the rest of his life.

Kirito swam into the flames, the blood bar was dropping rapidly, he felt the pain of his whole body collapsing, the unbearable scorching heat swept his whole body to the extreme of madness, he seemed to smell a burning skin, Even so, he persistently reached out to the boy.

In the end, Kirito finally reached the boy's fingers, the burning heat was like burning the palm, and the numbness of pain in the whole body made Kirito feel as if he was going to burn himself out of pain.Kirito couldn't help shaking his whole body and grabbed the hand, hugged the boy tightly, pressed the boy's head firmly to his chest, then closed his eyes, and sank into the whirlpool with the boy the depths.

Finally, caught...