### Prologue – Welcome to the Second Server ![](http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g385/fatboykyle/sword-art-online-akihiko-kayaba_zpsc72ab87d.png~original) _It’s been a few hours since players have been able_ _To log-in but as of yet no one has been able to log-out_ _Bells chime all over the first floor, drawing players to_ _The Town of Beginnings where they are about to hear_ _A very shocking announcement…_ --- Shoulders knocked by each other repeatedly as players scrambled and milled around the town square. Hawke grumbled and shoved aside any that would not move for him. He felt clustered and the warm of so many bodies made him feel clammy and uncomfortable, even in this virtual world. “Stay close to me!” he barked loudly, his voice straining to beat the chaotic chorus of chatter around them. His friends followed his every step, both a little surprised by how aggressively he was pushing through the sea of people. It may have been a game, but to Aang and Maric this already felt very real and they did their best not to bump into others. Rather than head to the centre of the square (which was actually a circle), Hawke tried to lead the trio out of the mosh pit and towards the Black Iron Palace. It wasn’t for any particular reason, he just wanted to leave the crowd and the Palace was the first landmark he spotted. The trio just managed to pierce out of the circle when their eyes were drawn to the skies above. “What the fu-?” Aang’s draw dropped in synchrony with his friends. Large red warning signs emerged from above the palace and quickly spread to cover the sky in massive dome over the city. Most signs read ‘Warning’ and ‘System Announcement’, but some flickered and lagged and seemed to bare unintelligible writing. That was strange, but what really freaked people out and made them shit their pants was when the signs began to ooze thick red blood. Some people began to scream but the majority of people merely watched in shocked silence. As the various drops of blood seeped downwards they began to draw close to each other and slowly formed into a mysterious giant figure wearing a red hooded robe and who bore no face. “Is that a GM or something?” Maric asked without taking his eyes of the flying being. Hawke didn’t answer though, he was too focused on the announcement. **“Welcome to Second Server. My name is Kayaba Akihiko. This world you currently inhabit is but a forgery of my creation, a copy you have all brought out of greed and desperation. I do not hold it against you… but I do pity you.”** The booming voice of Kayaba seemed to have a hint of regret to it. **“You may have already noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu. But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat... This is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of Sword Art Online. You cannot log out of SAO yourselves. And no one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life.” ** With the revelation people begun screaming and trying to run away. Some reached the edge of the square and found themselves bouncing off an invisible barrier, which only added to their frantic behaviour. Hawke caught someone doing so in his peripheral vision and realised he must have only been a couple of feet from the barrier himself. **“Unfortunately, several players’ friends and families have ignored this warning and have attempted to remove the NerveGear. As a result, many players from both servers are gone forever, from both Aincrad and the real world. As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting all of this, including the deaths. I hope that many of you have at least been honest about your purchasing of a pirate copy, or else the chances of someone removing your NerveGear are much higher.”** As Kayaba said this he summoned a series of large screens that showed media broadcasts from around the world, all reporting the crisis. **“I had only intended for 10,000 people to live in my castle; neither too little nor too many. I realise now that I see how many of you there are that I was being selfish. That is why I shall let you stay on Second Server. I shall be fair and let you play SAO like those on the official server. As with them, I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game. But I want you to remember this: There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost. And simultaneously, the NerveGear will destroy your brain.”** For many this additional shock sent them over the edge, and there was suddenly a revival in the amount of the amount of people screaming and wailing in despair. **“There is only one means of escape. The complete the game. You are currently on floor 1. If you make your way through the dungeons and defeat the Floor Boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on Floor 99 and you will clear the game. Had you been on the official server you would have faced me on the 100th floor, but in that respect you have been granted a false mercy. The Cardinal System that controls the game will compensate for this, and for the larger number of players, and therefore you will find this game much harder than intended.”** Kayaba’s avatar seemed to look up towards one of the glitching warnings before continuing, **“And unfortunately I fear that this version may have many bugs. It is too late to fix the bugs caused by the piracy, but I sincerely hope that there are no technical barriers that make this game unfair. Now, please look in your inventories for I have left you all a present. Please see for yourselves.”** Whether it through obedience, fear or interest, every player managed to eventually calm down enough to look into their inventories and find a mirror. At first nothing seemed to happen when people looked at themselves, but all of a sudden blinding blue lights exploded around the square only to reveal the true appearance of the players underneath. **“Shit Hawke! You look like you! You too Aang!”** Maric jumped back in surprised and only a second later realised the same must have been true of him. **“That concludes this tutorial. I wish you all luck.”** Kayaba’s last words trailed off as his avatar seemed to evaporate into thin air. Simultaneously the warning skies that lit the sky faded away, with the glitching ones lingering for a few seconds longer. Without thinking Hawke lunged ahead with his hand stretched out and found that the barrier had gone. “Holy crap! I can’t believe this is happening! What the hell do we do?” pleaded Aang, echoing the voice of many players. Hawke couldn’t think of a response but with a small wave he signaled for his friends to follow as he stormed away from that place; he wanted to get as far away from it as possible. Maric cleared his throat and decided to be the voice of guidance, “Hawke, we need to meet your friend as we planned…”