Call of the Forest
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“I’m sorry, but I have to go.” The words were out before she could stop them. She had been so sure that this was what he wanted too—that they both needed a change from their lives and each other’s company for now.
But as soon as it came into her mind, she knew how wrong she’d been; his face fell in disappointment when he saw the look on hers. “But you know where we can find one another if—” He shook his head at whatever she might say next, then turned away without waiting for an answer or even looking back again.
She watched him walk off down the street until he disappeared around a corner. Then she stood there alone with tears streaming silently down her cheeks while all sorts of thoughts ran through her mind: What did I do? Why didn’t he want me anymore?
Wasn’t love supposed to be about wanting someone more than anything else in your life? How could anyone not feel something like that after everything they’ve gone through together? And why couldn’t she just let things stay exactly the way they are right now instead of making such a mess of it by asking him to leave town forever…or worse yet, telling him no!
The last thought made her heart sink deep inside her chest. It wasn’t fair to ask him either thing because neither option would make any sense. They loved each other enough already; surely nothing more was necessary between them. So why should she try to take that away from them?
If only she hadn’t said those awful words, none of this would ever have happened. Now she felt terrible for having hurt him so badly. Maybe she shouldn’t see him again anyway. That seemed best somehow. Better to pretend that nothing had changed since yesterday morning.
As much as she hated herself for being weak-willed and selfish, though, she found that she still longed to talk to him once more. Her eyes wandered over the crowd passing by outside the window, searching for him among them, but she never spotted him anywhere near.
When she finally gave up hope of finding him here, she went downstairs to wait for him in the kitchen. As she sat at the table sipping tea, trying hard to keep calm despite the turmoil roiling within her, she heard footsteps coming toward her door.
A moment later, he opened it quietly and slipped inside, closing it behind him softly before turning to face her. His expression looked troubled, although whether it was due to the events of earlier or some new problem entirely, she couldn’t tell.
He took a seat across from her, staring straight ahead without saying a word. After several minutes passed, she realized that he must be thinking about what she’d asked him to do today, which meant that he probably wouldn’t agree to abandon his job altogether.
She tried to think of ways to convince him otherwise, but every time she started to speak, she stopped short. All she really wanted to do was apologize, but she feared doing so would only make matters worse. Instead, she decided to remain silent and give him space to come to terms with his own feelings first.
When he spoke, however, it wasn’t to explain himself or offer further explanation. In fact, he barely acknowledged her presence at all. “You’re going to need to start packing,” he told her flatly, then left the room without another word.
After watching him disappear down the hall, she sank slowly back onto the chair beside her teacup. This is bad, she thought miserably, wondering what she should do next. Should she follow him upstairs to help pack? Or maybe she ought to call him back down to sit with her awhile longer?
No matter how she considered the situation, though, she kept arriving at the same conclusion: There was absolutely nothing she could possibly say to fix things.
So she remained seated at the table, feeling helpless and miserable, while the clock ticked steadily onward. Eventually, she grew tired of sitting motionless and began pacing restlessly around the kitchen. At length, she noticed that the light filtering through the windows had grown dimmer, signaling that nightfall was approaching.
With a sigh, she returned to her seat at the table and picked up her cup, taking a sip of hot tea to chase away the chill creeping along her spine.
Then, suddenly, she remembered something important. Before leaving home this morning, she had promised to meet her friend Mina for dinner tonight. The two women were always meeting on Fridays when their husbands weren’t working late shifts, so she knew that if she failed to show up, she might lose touch with her old college roommate completely.
But even more importantly, she also worried that Mina’s husband, who worked nights too, would wonder where she was. He often called out to her during his shift, hoping to hear her voice, and she suspected that he would worry terribly if she didn’t answer one day soon.
If only she hadn’t been so stupid! she berated herself angrily. Of course, she should have known better than to go running off into the woods like that. Even if she hadn’t seen anyone following her, she should have stayed put until she reached the house.
Once she got there, she could have locked herself safely indoors and waited for him to return.
But she hadn’t done any of that. Instead, she’d run blindly forward, trusting in her instincts rather than common sense—and look where it had gotten her! Now she was stuck here, unable to move an inch farther. And worst of all, she was afraid that she wouldn’t get to see Mina after all.
What kind of person did such a foolish thing?! she raged inwardly. How many times does someone have to learn the lesson before they understand it?
She set her teacup aside and stood up abruptly, determined to find him and beg his forgiveness. Then perhaps he’ll forgive me too, she hoped hopefully. I know we’ve both behaved very poorly lately…but now that everything has gone wrong, can you please just let us start over? Please don’t leave me alone again. Not ever.
“Please…” she whispered, reaching out to grasp hold of his sleeve. But no sooner had she touched him than she felt a sharp sting against her palm. Startled, she pulled her hand back quickly, looking down to discover blood welling between her fingers.
It seemed that she had managed to cut her finger somehow, but why? Hadn’t she already made sure not to hurt herself earlier today…?
Her mind raced frantically as panic threatened to overwhelm her. Was this some sort of punishment? Did he intend to punish her by making her bleed? If so, she couldn’t bear to endure it; she needed to escape immediately. Yet despite her desperate desire to flee, she found herself rooted firmly to the spot. Her legs refused to budge, and her heart pounded painfully within her chest.
What am I supposed to do? she wondered desperately. Why won’t my feet work? Is this because I’m being punished? Does he want me to suffer? She tried to think about anything else instead, trying to distract herself from the pain throbbing inside her body.
After several moments, she finally realized that she must be imagining things. Surely, if she really wanted to walk away, she could simply force them to obey her will. So she closed her eyes tightly and concentrated hard, willing her legs to stand up straight and take steps toward the door.
At first, nothing happened. Frustrated, she opened her eyes once more and stared intently ahead. Still, her legs remained unmoving. As she continued staring at the floor, however, she gradually became aware of another sensation beneath her skin.
A strange tingle ran up her leg, spreading outward across her entire torso. Gradually, her muscles started moving without her command. Soon enough, she was standing upright, free to move wherever she pleased.
It took her a moment to realize that she wasn’t actually walking anywhere. Rather, she was floating upward, rising gently above the ground. When she looked down, she saw that her feet were still planted firmly upon the wooden planks below, yet she was slowly drifting higher and higher into the air.
In fact, she was rapidly ascending faster and faster, until she eventually rose high enough to peer over the edge of the forest canopy far overhead.
As she gazed downward, she gasped in surprise. For the trees were disappearing behind her, replaced by open sky. Below her, she spotted a small town nestled among rolling hills, its lights twinkling brightly in the darkness.
From what she could tell, it appeared to be quite large, though she couldn’t make out much detail due to the distance separating her from the settlement. The sight gave her hope, reminding her that she might soon be able to reach safety.
Then suddenly, something caught her eye directly underneath her. At first glance, she thought it was merely a patch of misty fog hovering near the treetops, but then she noticed that the cloud was growing larger with every passing second.
Before long, she recognized the shape of a man’s head bobbing through the haze. He was wearing a dark cloak, which obscured most of his features, save for one striking feature: His hair was jet black, shining bright even under these poor lighting conditions.
The figure kept on coming closer, heading right toward her. Instinctively, she began to turn around to face him, but when she glanced down, she discovered that she didn’t seem capable of doing so anymore. No matter how hard she strained, she couldn’t manage to lift her arms or legs off the ground.
Nor could she feel any resistance whatsoever, suggesting that there was nothing holding her in place. All she knew for certain was that she was powerless to stop whatever fate awaited her next.
A chill crept along her spine as she watched the stranger approach. What is going on here?! she asked silently. How did he get past all those guards? And where are they now? They should have been guarding the entrance! This isn’t possible—it must be an illusion. Or maybe I’m dreaming after all…
But before she could consider such possibilities further, the cloaked figure drew nearer and reached out to grab hold of her arm. “You’re awake,” he said quietly, gazing deep into her eyes. Then, almost casually, he lifted her effortlessly into the air.
She struggled to resist, but she could barely muster the strength to raise her hands. Even worse, she sensed that he possessed incredible power, like none she’d ever encountered before. With each passing instant, she grew weaker and less conscious, losing control over her own body.
Suddenly, she heard someone calling her name.
“Kirito?” she murmured dazedly.
He turned to look at her and smiled softly, saying only two words. “I’ll protect you.”
***
When Kirito had told Asuna that he would always keep watch over her, she hadn’t imagined that he meant literally. But now that she considered it, she understood exactly why he felt compelled to do so. It was precise because she was unable to defend herself against the danger that she needed protection.
That was the very reason he’d chosen to become a swordsman in the first place, back during their days together at Swordcraft Academy.
And yet, just as she was beginning to accept this truth about him, she remembered the last time they’d spoken. She recalled the way he’d acted strangely as if trying to hide some kind of secret.
Hadn’t he also mentioned being attacked by a mysterious assailant who seemed to possess superhuman abilities? Was it really impossible to believe that he himself might not be entirely human…?
No, no, she quickly dismissed the idea. If anything, he was probably hiding something else. Something important.
With renewed determination, she tried to focus her thoughts. Her mind raced frantically, searching for clues, while her heart pounded wildly inside her chest. There has to be something I can use to escape!
Her gaze fell upon the sword hanging from her waist. A single stroke of that blade ought to be more than sufficient to cut through any physical barrier. However, the moment she attempted to draw it forth, she realized that she couldn’t move her hand. Not even a finger.
What’s happening to me?! she wondered desperately. Why am I paralyzed? Is this another trap set up by my attacker? Am I trapped somewhere underground again?
It wasn’t until she looked down once more that she finally made sense of everything. In fact, she found that she already knew what was wrong.
There was a thin layer of ice covering her entire body, including both feet and the lower half of her torso. Despite having spent countless hours training in the frigid waters of Lake Biwa, she never had trouble moving her limbs underwater. Yet somehow, she couldn’t budge them now. Worse still, she couldn’t see her toes beneath the surface. The water was too murky; she simply couldn’t tell whether they were submerged or not.
Panic rose within her. Just as she started to hyperventilate, however, she spotted a glimmering light far below her. It appeared to come from a small opening in the floor, perhaps the same one that led outside.
If she could reach it, surely she could break free of her icy prison. Unfortunately, though, she lacked the ability to swim. Would she drown if she plunged into the depths without knowing how to breathe properly?
Asuna closed her eyes tightly and took several deep breaths. When she opened them again, she saw that the source of the light was growing larger with every second. Soon enough, she could make out its shape: a round hole surrounded by six pillars.
Atop these stood four statues resembling humans, each wearing a different type of armor. Judging by the size of the openings between the columns, the gap was large enough for her to fit through.
That means I need to jump down there, she thought.
The problem was that she didn’t know which pillar held the lowest point. Without a rope to help guide her descent, she wouldn’t survive long. All she could do was try jumping blindly, trusting that luck would take care of the rest.
Before she could decide whether to attempt the leap, the ground shook violently around her. Immediately afterward, a loud voice echoed throughout the chamber.
“…YOU’RE NOT GOING TO ESCAPE ME THAT EASILY!”
Startled, Asuna glanced toward the source of the sound. To her surprise, she noticed an enormous figure standing on top of the central altar. He wore black plate mail and wielded a massive broadsword. His face was hidden behind a helmet decorated with golden wings—the symbol of his guild, the Black Wing Knights.
A knight…from the real world?
This realization sent a chill running down her spine. After all, the knights of the Kingdom of Rovia were famous across the continent. They served as the kingdom’s military force, protecting the royal family and defending the borders from foreign invaders. Their reputation for valor was unrivaled among other nations. Even the most powerful armies feared facing off against them head-on.
But despite such fearsome reputations, this man before her did not seem like much of a threat. For starters, he was unarmed. And although he was clearly taller than average, he was nowhere near the level of a full-grown adult male. Perhaps that was due to his age; judging by the lack of wrinkles on his skin, he must have been quite young.
The End