Chapter 2

Feeling the touch of delicate fingers brushing across his cheek, Arita Haruyuki slowly opened his eyes.

His blurred vision gradually improved as his eyes slowly refocused. He saw hands enclosed in pure white armour. Wrists draped in kimono sleeves of the same colour. A charming face mask with beautiful ardor eye-lenses.

Through his white-silver helmet, Haruyuki saw the figure of Ardor Maiden — the Level 7 Burst Linker and former member of Nega Nebulas’ ?Elements? — processing the purification ability, reach out while kneeling over him.

A shining droplet of water hung from Maiden’s delicate fingertip. She looked down with a look of worry. Haruyuki tilted his head, puzzled, and only then realised that the droplet had actually come from tears flowing down his cheeks.

‘Eh....ah....’

He cried out hoarsely as he attempted to wipe away the tears with his right hand, closing the half open face mask at the same time. The Duel Avatar ?Silver Crow? bowed his head under the silvery one-way mirror (TL Note: A mirror that is partially reflective and partially transparent. When one side of the mirror is brightly lit and the other is dark, it allows viewing from the darkened side but not vice versa) mask and anxiously attempted to explain.

‘Ah, sorry. I’m fine.... It’s just that when I was asleep, I felt like.... I had a really long dream....’

Here he paused and frowned.

He had a — dream.

In that long dream, Haruyuki was not Silver Crow. Though very similar, his Metal Colour was slightly different. But that was all he could remember. Where he went, what he did, what happened in the end, all these details had been seemingly covered by a layer of white and soft floss silk, completely preventing him from remembering.

The sense of having a hole opened up deep in his heart, however, was still fresh. This piercing pain in the void was.... a sense of loss?

........ I.. love you........

A seemingly unfamiliar voice flowed through his mind, and would have caused another outbreak of tears if not for him holding them back with all his might. ?He shook his head as he gulped down the freezing air to clear this intriguing sorrow, then he began to survey the surroundings.

The sky has already darkened without him noticing. Above them was a sea of stars, unattainable in real world Tokyo. The reason they were able to see the sky was because they were not inside a building but rather a place akin to a courtyard.

He sat with his legs stretched out, his back against a pillar roughly a meter in diameter. To his right was a set of walls rising to touch the heavens.

The terrain is unchanged from before he went to sleep, but a final inspection between his legs made him realise that the ground had changed from a layer of thick ice to white pebbles, which was quite puzzling. He turned around hastily. The pillar behind him was no longer one of pale-blue ice, now it was a wooden one painted vermillion.

‘Huh.... Had a ?Transition? occurred while I was asleep?’

He asked Ardor Maiden in front of him softly. The red-white dual coloured Avatar nodded her head. She replied softly as well, in a tender yet firm voice.

‘That seems to be the case. But I was also asleep next to Kuu-san (TL Note: Kuu-san is Ardor Maiden’s nickname for Silver Crow), so I didn’t notice.’

The so-called ?Transition? was the periodic field attribute shift phenomenon of this world — the ?Unlimited Neutral Field? created by the Brain Burst program. When Silver Crow and Ardor Maiden had fallen asleep here, it had been the fully-frozen ?Ice and Snow? Stage, but every trace of ice and snow had now vanished.

It was as if the seasons had suddenly run backwards. The red leaves hung from the tree branches, the pillars were also wooden and the walls were painted white. Purely Japanese in style, the field attribute that best fit that description was....

‘It appears to be the ?Heian? Stage.’

As she said so, Ardor Maiden spread out her crimson armour skirt in order to sit straight (TL Note: Ardor Maiden is sitting in the traditional seiza 正座 style. Any mention of Maiden’s seated position throughout the chapter refers to seiza.). She matched the surroundings so perfectly, it was as if the scene was a piece of art. He couldn’t help but gawk in wonder. The delicate maiden lowered her head in embarrassment, and his seeing this made him avert his gaze.

The one who controlled this lovable yet fiery Duel Avatar, was a girl four years the junior of Haruyuki — Haruyuki being a second year high school student — Shinomiya Utai. A fourth year in Umesato High’s sister school — Matsunogi Elementary School — she was well and truly a proper young lady (TL Note: Ojou-Sama嬢様, a phrase that usually describes young ladies of refined up-bring.) who probably never had the experience of being stared at intently by a boy who was much older. Upon realising this, he turned his gaze onto the surroundings.

Endless vermillion pillars ran parallel from south to north. A road paved with stones travelled further in. Countless orange bonfires flickered and swayed. To the north was the grand silhouette of a gigantic citadel.

This location couldn’t fit the ?Heian? Stage better.

Because here in the real world was Chiyoda Ward, Chiyoda Ichibancho (TL Note: Wards in Japan are further split into plots of land, bancho 番, referred to by a number. In this case, the first plot.), the Imperial Residence, which is in the center of the Accelerated World — within the impenetrable ?Imperial City?.

Today — 2047, June 18th, Tuesday, at 7:20at night — the members of Haruyuki’s Legion, ?Nega Nebulas?, began the largest mission they had ever attempted since the current team was assembled.

This ultra-difficult operation was to rescue Ardor Maiden, sealed at the altar of the Super Enemy that guarded the south gate of the Imperial City, ?Sacred Beast Suzaku?. However, the means to do so was extremely simple.

The vanguard, Kuroyukihime/Black Lotus, with her long distance attacks, would make herself the target of Suzaku, supported by Chiyuri/Lime Bell who possessed the Psuedo-Healing Ability. As Suzaku advanced across the bridge that extended from the south gate, Haruyuki/Silver Crow would fly over it at top speed with Fuuko/Sky Raker as a booster, and Takumu/Cyan Pile would give the signal to synch Utai/Ardor Maiden’s dive so that she could be retrieved the moment she appeared, before a one-eighty turn over the bridge to escape —.

The operation was on the verge of success.

But something beyond their initial expectations occurred at the very end. Although Haruyuki had done absolutely nothing, Suzaku changed its attack target from Black Lotus to Silver Crow and subsequently unleashed a torrent of super powerful flame breath behind him.

The intense flames were almost upon him when Haruyuki picked up Ardor Maiden. Unable to turn, he could only charge straight ahead. Desperately, he decided to kill himself in a collision with the south gate of the Imperial City — a gate that couldn’t be opened unless Suzaku was defeated — yet for some reason, a gap opened up at that exact moment in time. Left with no other option, Haruyuki and Utai could only charge straight through.

Falling as he heard the sound of the gate shutting behind him, starting to black out, holding Utai closely in his arms, he asked her one thing.

‘Um.... Are we, still alive....?’

The shock from hearing Utai’s response echoed in his head even now.

‘....We are still alive. Although...., ahhh, but........’

‘........ This.... this place is inside of the ?Imperial City?’

‘.... Even now, I still can’t believe it. That we are within that ?Imperial City?....’

Haruyuki moaned as he leaned against the round pillar. Utai, who was sitting in front of him, nodded as well.

‘Coming inside is surprising enough, but surviving for more than six hours is even more so.’

‘Eh.... I, I slept for that long? It’s this dark here not because of a field characteristic but because it’s already night....?’

He asked in panic. While it was possible to bring up the menu window in the Unlimited Neutral Field and find out your accumulated play time, there were relatively few ways to find the correct inner time — that was to say ?exactly what hour and what minute it was in this world?. Supposedly there was a great clock somewhere in this field that had started spinning with the birth of this world, but that thing would be rather creepy to behold. That thing would have recorded a thousand times seven years of time, meaning that more than seven thousand years of history should be shown on it.

Utai nodded her head slightly and pointed towards the night sky above with her small hand.

‘The stars can be seen in the ?Heian? Stage. From the positions of the constellations, it should be close to midnight.’

‘Ha,hahaha.... I see....’

Haruyuki murmured as he lifted his head to gaze upon the sky.

About six hours ago — in accelerated times of course — the two of them landed in a corner of the courtyard close to the south gate. They held tight to each other as they clenched their teeth to stifle their shock and feelings, yet were unable to remain like this for long. The reason being that the northward road from the south gate, the citadel sitting further in and the Enemy mobs moving slowly along the road were now all within their sight.

These Enemies were around three meters in height at most, relatively small compared to the ?Sacred Beasts?, they all wore Sengoku period warrior-esque heavy armour, carried great long tachi. Their form exerted a force that made Haruyuki shiver. Moreover, they all moved in groups of at least three.

Along the outdoor corridor inside the south gate citadel wall, more figures of these Warrior Enemies could be seen. The clattering of their armour heralded their gradual approach and called for immediate action. That said, to clash with them was much too reckless a move. Suzaku’s flames had already roasted Haruyuki down to half his HP, Utai too did not lack injury.

That’s why the two of them had left the road and corridor for now and hid in the middle of the maze-like courtyard area, where they found a place of rest under the shades of a seemingly safe round pillar. As the sun set, despite being concerned about how worried Kuroyukihime and the others might be on the other side of the gate, the mental strain caused him to lean back against the pillar and just doze off — which led to the current ?situation.

When they had found this safe haven, the twilight had dyed the cloudy sky of the ?Snow and Ice? Stage purple. Now even the purple had disappeared, leaving only the radiance of the cluster of stars upon the pitch black dome.

As Utai had said, these stars perfectly re-enacted the constellation arrangements he had seen during full dive lessons. Leaning against the pillar, he looked to the east where an especially bright and purely white star caught his eyes. That one, should be....

‘Lyra’s.... Vega? (TL Note: Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus. It’s also one of the vertices of the Summer Triangle)’

Utai heard him speaking to himself and nodded as she continued to gaze upon the sky while sitting.

‘That’s correct. In Japan it’s also called Orihime.’

Knowledge learnt from school that was once considered utterly useless became unexpectedly useful here, Haruyuki couldn’t help but feel pleased as he pointed at the starry sky and continued on.

‘That means, to the lower right that should be Aquila’s A.... Altair (TL Note: Altair is the brightest star in the constellation Aquila and the twelfth brightest star in the night sky and is one of the vertices of the Summer Triangle. In Japan it’s also called Hikoboshi) ....and to the lower left should be Cygnus’ Deneb (TL Note: Deneb is the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus and one of the vertices of the Summer Triangle.). Uh.... where is Hikoboshi....’

Utai laughed slightly and pointed up with her shrine maiden formed arm.

‘That would be Altair. These three form the Summer Triangle (TL Note: The Summer Triangle is an astronomical asterism involving an imaginary triangle drawn on the northern hemisphere’s celestial sphere, with its defining vertices at Altair, Deneb, and Vega, the brightest stars in the three constellations of Aquila, Cygnus, and Lyra, respectively.) . Because it’s only June, their positions are somewhat lower.’

‘I see. That means the constellations are modelled off the seasons in the real world.’

Haruyuki kept looking up at the sky completely awestruck, forgetting the fact that he was still in the midst of a perilous situation.

To have used the social camera network to reconstruct the terrain may perhaps be meaningful for tactical and strategic elements in the game. The night sky however, couldn’t be anything other than just background decoration. No player would complain even if it was just a still print with randomly generated points of light on top.

Nevertheless, the stellar arrangements had replicated the really world so perfectly, even the seasonal adjustments were recreated. There must be a goal behind all this. Perhaps to emphasize that — this is not just the game, nor just a virtual world....

‘The earliest group of Burst Linkers.... those who were once called ?BB Players?, they too....’

Utai suddenly placed her hands on her knees and began to recount softly.

‘The night sky in the Accelerated World is a perfect match to the real world’s.... no, the artificial lighting in real world Tokyo outshines the starry sky. They must have felt that when they saw these beautiful stars so clearly. That is why the main Legions all have names associated with the universe.’

‘Eh.. are there really so many names associated with the universe....?’

The young maiden revealed a wry smile on her affectionate face mask as she watched Haruyuki tilt his head in puzzlement.

‘All of the Seven Kings’ Legions are named so. Our ?Nega Nebulas?, Ankoku Seiun (TL Note: 暗黒星雲 in Kanji).... strictly it should be Dark Nebulas in English, was named because of that. The Red Legion’s ?Prominence? represents solar flares. The Blue Legion’s ?Leonids? are the meteor showers from Leo.’

‘Oh....oh....indeed....’

—?Chiyu and Taku must have known from the start and just kept quiet. It’s so good that I learnt this before I got asked by a?‘You didn’t know that!?’.

Haruyuki secretly sighed in relief and asked again.

‘In other words, the White Legion.... Uh, so ?Oscillatory Universe? doesn’t have anything to do with the Legion Master named Shiratori (TL Note: Oscillatory, pronounced in Japanese as?Oshiratori?御白鳥, contains?Shiratori?白鳥, a common Japanese surname), it’s also a name associated with the universe?’

His question made Utai put on that slightly stunned smile again, though she quickly regained her composure. She then lowered her head and answered in a strained voice.

‘Yes, ?Oscillatory Universe? means.... trembling universe. But I haven’t learnt this much in school yet. I’m not too sure about the correct meaning.’

‘Trem....bling, universe....’

—?The universe shouldn’t sway and tremble, right?

Haruyuki tilted his head from side to side while in thought. He was a second year high school student and yet he also had no recollection of hearing this word in science class, so it was very likely that this word was beyond the compulsory education level. He made a mental note to search it up later if he could still remember it and raised his head towards the sky once more.

Above the Summer Triangle, close to the pinnacle hovered a group of stars radiating weakly. Those should be the ones that made up Hercules. To the left was Draco, the likeness of the hundred headed dragon Ladon, which had been slain by the hero Hercules, soaring into the sky (TL Note: Kawahara Reki got the dragon and the hydra mixed up. Though both were slain by Hercules, it was the hydra that was supposed to have a hundred heads.).

Lined up even further to the left was a group of stars comparable to the Triangle in radiance.

It was Ursa Major, with the tail portion especially bright. He was taught during lessons that that was why in ancient China those especially bright stars were treated as a separate constellation.

The shape of a ladle with a long handle.

The Big Dipper.

— Dokun, his heart unexpectedly skipped a beat. He felt as if a spark was continuously flaring up deep in his head. His eyes were oddly attracted to the star closest to the center out of the three stars of the handle. Only that nameless star seemed to continue to pulsate at the same frequency as the spark in his head.

Every flare caused a wave of pain in the core of his brain that passed along the central nervous system, down through his neck and shoulders to the center of his back, between the left and right scapula — Stab. Pain. Stab. Stab. His body was in pain, yet it also felt like a foreign object being buried in his body....

‘.... -san, Kuu-san!’

Haruyuki suddenly lifted his head when he felt someone shaking his right hand.

Beside him, Ardor Maiden’s crimson eye-lenses revealed her worry. He shook his head in a panic and answered hesitantly.

‘So....sorry, must have dazed off....’

‘Is.... that so. Then.... It must have been my mistake. Sorry, but Kuu-san’s body.... for a moment, it seemed as if it was engulfed by shadows....’

‘........’

It seemed as if he had heard those exact words somewhere before. And not so long ago, during the ?Hermes Cord Traversing Race? a week ago, when the shuttle was in the warp zone.... Sky Raker had pointed out the same thing....

‘.... It, it must’ve been your mistake. I, I didn’t do anything’

He basically gave the same response as last time. Haruyuki deliberately shook off that overflowing feeling of worry and continued on.

‘Rather than that.... we should consider our next step. Remaining in this safe area is not an option.’

‘.... Yes, that.... is true’

Utai too, as if to shake off her doubts, nodded her head firmly and looked to the surroundings.

The two of them were hidden at a place fifty meters north-east of the Imperial City south gate inner courtyard right now. Directly across the rows of vermillion pillars to the west, was the stone road that connected north and south. To the east was a sizable maze that carried Japanese style garden vibes. The round corridor that ran alongside the wall was to the south.

Uber-menacing Warrior Enemies constantly patrolled the wide road and the corridor. To sneak past them was no easy feat. Loud splashes and the sound of heavy objects moving came from garden to the east from time to time. The possibility of entering it could basically be ruled out.

The only viable route would be the narrow strip of space between the rows of pillars and the garden maze, hiding in the shade of the round pillars while following the one way course northward. There was no exit to the north, only the palace that was the main body of the Imperial City. Going by the logic of the ?Heian? Stage that made the area seem like a gigantic shrine, that place should be called the inner shrine. It was very likely that there were Enemies more fearsome than these Warrior Enemies wandering inside. Their target was not to clear the Imperial City but to find a Portal and survive with Utai — Ardor Maiden. Approaching the palace carelessly only to fall into the ?Infinite EK? state must be avoided.

‘....Perhaps....’

Utai returned her attention from the surroundings back onto Haruyuki. She maintained her seated position and continued talking as she pondered.

‘Lotus and Raker should have already returned back to the real world via the Portal at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters. If separated from companions in the Unlimited Neutral Field during battle, standard practice is to not take the risk of staying still and logout if possible.’

‘Yeah.... that is, true.’

Haruyuki nodded, the young girl kept going with her tender yet clear tone.

‘If a ?Safety?(TL Note: Written as ‘Emergency Route Breaker’ 緊急回線切断, read as ‘Safety’セーフティ) has already been set, those who had left earlier can activate it so everyone can return back to the real world long enough to clarify the situation. So if we just wait for the disconnection, we will return back to Haruyuki-san’s apartment.... I think....’

A ?safety? was when the Neuro Linker would make a global connection using a wired home server or a mobile server instead of a wireless connection. By doing so, even if one was unable to reach a Portal in the Unlimited Neutral Field, companions who were able to leave in advance can activate the device acting as the circuit breaker, allowing a temporary logout.

Right now, Haruyuki and Utai, as well as Kuroyukihime, Fuuko, Takumu and Chiyuri, are assembled in Haruyuki’s living room, connected to each other’s Neuro Linker in a daisy chain (TL Note: In electrical and electronic engineering a daisy chain is a wiring scheme in which multiple devices are wired together in sequence or in a ring.). Kuroyukihime and the others, who have returned via the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters Portal close to the Imperial City south bridge, would only need to pull out the XSB line connecting Haruyuki’s Neuro Linker and the Haruyuki family’s home server. The next moment Haruyuki and Utai would automatically Burst Out.

But Utai kept speaking while still in thought.

‘.... Although the current situation is rather special, Lotus and the others are most likely to hesitate. In any case, Kuu-san and I broke through Suzaku’s guard, due to that miraculous one-in-ten-thousand chance. This is our only chance to explore the insides of the Imperial City. We most likely won’t have another one.’

‘We won’t have.... another one? If we use the same tactics to charge through the door, perhaps we can do it again....’

He was purely discussing the feasibility, there was no way Haruyuki would want to try that again. Utai raised her left hand to point towards the south-west, past Haruyuki’s shoulders.

‘Kuu-san, please take a look there. The back of the south gate’

‘O, oh’

He turned and sneaked a peek at the large citadel gate standing fifty meters away from the shades of the round pillar that was behind him.

The gate, comprised of two large panels, completely divided the inside and the outside of the Imperial City with its unbelievable mass and density. It was hard to believe that six hours ago, a gap several dozen centimeters wide had appeared, allowing their passage.

Utai was pointing at the dead center of the gate. He concentrated hard at it, using the bonfires on the ground as illumination. There was indeed something large on there.

It was a relief (TL Note: A piece of sculpture that use the method of moulding, carving, or stamping in which the design stands out from the surface, to a greater or lesser extent.). A metallic square plaque three meters on each side tightly held the two gate panels together. Intricate carvings had been made across the surface, but the thickness of the object made it clear that it was intended for a purpose other than pure decoration.

‘........ Ah....’

He stared at it intently for a while and the image on the relief suddenly emerged in his head.

An enormous bird with wings spread out on each side, a long neck and a sharp beak opened wide. It was in the form of ?Sacred Beast Suzaku?.

‘The gate’s.... seal....?’

Haruyuki felt Utai nod her head after he involuntarily blurted that out.

‘I too think that is the case. .... Kuu-san, I’m not sure if you noticed it.... That seal had been destroyed by someone before we charged through the gate.’

‘Eh.... Ehhhhh!?’

He covered his own mouth after that accidental exclamation. He lowered his voice and asked again quickly.

‘De, destroyed....!? It wasn’t originally able to open like that.... it was damaged?’

‘That’s how I see it. It wasn’t split apart vertically straight down the middle. Rather, it was cut twice by a massive blade, forming a crooked cross.’

As if to re-enact the scene, Ardor Maiden straightened her fingers and made a cross in the air with her right hand (TL Note: Kawahara Reki was being playful here, instead of using ‘Cross’ in either Japanese or katakana, he decided to use ‘Batten’, a word that best translates to ‘demerit cross’. What’s worse was the fact that he used the katakana version バッテンinstead of the kanji version 罰点.). ?She kept on speaking in an even lower voice after she lowered her hand.

‘However, a few seconds after we came in here and the gate closed, the seal completely regenerated to form what you see here. — In this world, keys and seals are all systematic metaphors. As long as that seal is still present, the gate will never open unless ?Suzaku? is defeated. That is to say.... something, or someone sliced apart the seal from the inside, allowing the gate to open for that instance when we approached it.... That’s what I believe.... ‘

‘Bu....but, wait a minute, that.... means....’

Haruyuki stared at the faraway metallic relief, watching it reflect the radiant light of the bonfires. He opened and closed his mouth over and over under the silver mask. He uttered a question after he finally organised his thoughts.

‘That means there was a Burst Linker who had managed to infiltrate the ?Imperial City? before us.... and to facilitate anyone who may come afterwards, they destroyed the seal, is that right....?’

‘.... Yes, that’s right.’

‘Bu....but Sacred Beast Suzaku is still active. Then how did this Burst Linker manage to come in? Mai-san (TL Note: Haruyuki’s nickname for Utai’s Avatar form. Pronounced like ‘may’.), if what you saw about the seal recovering after the gate closed was real, the seal can’t have been destroyed like that since the start of the Accelerated World either.... There shouldn’t have been a way for that person to enter unless they defeated Suzaku.... right....?’

Utai placed her hands upon her knees again and slightly shook her head.

‘I’m not sure either. — To find out more, I fear.... we may have to enter the Imperial City’s inner shrine....’

Her words faded to a whisper at the end, Haruyuki turned his gaze to the north — to the inner shrine’s black silhouette blocking the starry skies.

— Enter there, the center of the Accelerated World.... the center of the center....

Impossible. A task this big is completely impossible. More importantly, there are bound to be Enemies more fearsome than those scary Armored Warriors guarding the front entrance of the inner shrine. How in the world am I going to be able to break through........

He scrunched his shoulders as his thoughts continued to drift off pessimistically — and right at that moment.

It was as if there was a screen deep in his mind and an unbelievable scene unfolded upon it.

His own Avatar should be seated on the pebbles, yet he saw another?him?stand up and proceed north cautiously.?He?hid in the shadows of the round pillars to avoid the gaze of the Warrior Enemies as they patrolled the road. With a vigilant but nevertheless steady pace,?he?approached the inner shrine.?His?destination was not the heavily guarded front entrance, but a window on the white wall a few dozen meters to the east....

‘— The issue with the seal can wait, I think we have to move now’

Utai’s voice reached Haruyuki’s ears and broke him out of his vivid vision. He opened his eyes wide in shock and then blinked several times. Utai did not seem to have noticed Haruyuki’s abnormality. She continued to speak while looking at the distant inner shrine.

‘Sooner or later, Lotus is going to forcibly Burst Out Kuu-san and I if we just wait like this. But even if we do go back to the real world, the next time we use the ?Unlimited Burst? command, we are still going to appear in this Imperial City inner garden. There is no big difference between that and the ?Infinite EK? state....’

‘Ah.... Yea, yeah, that’s true.....’

Haruyuki responded after he reorganised his thoughts.

‘Unless Shinomi.... no, Mei-san and I return properly via a Portal, this mission can’t be considered complete. Other than exiting after reopening that gate, dodging Suzaku’s attacks and heading for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters on the other side of the bridge.... Our only other option is to find a new Portal within the Imperial City....’

‘Yes, that’s.... all there is to it’

Ardor Maiden nodded. Haruyuki stared into her crimson eyes and took a big breath as he slowly spoke.

‘Mai-san. Even though this is a baseless and uncertain suggestion.... I, want to try the Imperial City inner shrine. I don’t know why.... but I feel like we can make it.’

He stared at the young maiden as she tilted her head. Hi-->>

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