The rest of the guild members present didn’t bat an eye as the scene unfolded before them – now eerily familiar with the feeling that came with watching a player die. In the end, most of them felt the same way about all of it; it wasn’t their fault that things turned out like this. There were three people to blame for how much they were changing.

Kayaba Akihiko, the Masked Man and Rose.

As soon as one of those three crossed the minds of any of the guild members, their expressions would stiffen as though they were remembering something terrible that happened not too long ago. Of course, Nero was going to become the exact same in that regard – his girlfriend and initial best friend now no longer a part of this world, due to Rose’s actions. The only person he had left was Jet, whom was luckily a little too preoccupied with grinding on the floor beneath to witness what had just transpired on the newly opened floor. 

Once Nero asked whether Alice would join him for the night, she found herself smiling gently at him – the smile itself almost too dazzling for words, as she always seemed to look her very best once she’d smile after crying. It was the accenting redness under her eyes that made it look as though she was blushing that completed the look, probably.
“No, you’re coming with us tonight. It won’t do you any good just to talk to me all night – you should speak with everyone here and the others of the Guild about what has happened. I guarantee that you’re not alone in this world.” With that said, she offered him her hand – guiding him away once he’d taken it and the group of players with red icons above their heads slowly disappeared via teleportation; back to a lower floor, where they could buy a few rooms in an Inn together.

The majority of the night was spent in each member explaining what had happened to them during their time in Aincrad. Both the ups and downs; whether they lose a sibling, find a friend, kill to defend themselves or fall in love. Each person had a fairly unique story to tell, but the only person who didn’t participate was Alice. She seemed very much occupied simply listening, offering people consoling words that probably didn’t seem like her, to Nero. But that was the gift she had been born with; to make people smile and feel motivated to move on in life. If only those same words could affect her in the same way.

Days soon turned into weeks. The people that joined the Guild after having lost something due to Rose’s actions were beginning to increase in volume with every passing fortnight. But as time passed, so did the duo’s strength. By now, the player base was almost entirely split in two; those who favoured Rose’s absolute power and her continuous victories and those whom had been burned by the path she was forging. The side in favour had taken up the act of always wearing a red bandana around their arm in show – of course, these red bandanas had actually been given out by the Masked Man to be distributed; what was their importance? It seemed that those that wore them found new comrades all the easier, with their admiration of Rose being a common point to meet on. However, Jet hadn’t told anybody of the unease he felt every time he saw one of those bandanas. 

With Alice’s prowess in motivational speeches and Nero’s intellect which he could use once he’d calmed down some, the Guild’s renown grew – people flooding in faster than ever once players began disappearing randomly. Apparently, Rose knew something about these disappearances, but didn’t say anything more than that they were necessary sacrifices one would have to make for the greater good. Of course, these words came from her mouth but were thought up by the man behind her; the one with the mask.

Two months had passed since Yuna’s death, when the Masked Man called all of Rose’s followers out to the new floor’s opening. The 40th floor’s boss had been defeated promptly, without any help once again – the red-head’s level shooting up exponentially high in a short period of time. It was almost as though something was giving her speed and strength from beyond the game itself. Everyone adorned their red bandanas as they gathered in the new town’s main court, where things seemed eerily quiet considering. No NPCs were around and the store fronts looked deserted. Alice and company had attended the event, hiding away just a few hundred meters to avoid detection and find out what was happening here; something was going to go wrong, she could feel it.