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While Initial D and Sword Art Online were sparking a massive firestorm in the manga and light novel industries, the ratings for the 7 Years From Now anime had begun to stabilize.
Over the last two weeks, the viewership had settled comfortably at around 4.5%.
In terms of raw performance, it had not reached the god tier heights of Madoka Magica, but it remained the undisputed Overlord of the spring season. Of course, such high ratings were partially a byproduct of Haruto's current fame; the show's inherent quality and the massive traffic Haruto brought to the table worked in perfect synergy.
However, this was likely the ceiling for the series. To reach the level of a national phenomenon like Madoka, the story simply lacked that final spark of transcendent quality. Still, Haruto was perfectly satisfied with the results.
May drifted away, and June arrived with a sweltering heat. The streets were filled with girls in breezy sundresses, and the athletic fields were alive with handsome young men radiating youthful energy.
At this point, Haru-Yuki Animation had begun its major promotional blitz for the studio's next project: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. The series had been scheduled for a summer premiere back in late May, but at the time, Haruto's entire fanbase had been too preoccupied with the emotional trauma caused by the Initial D and Sword Art Online plots to pay much attention. Consequently, the news had not spread very far.
But as June began, the fans finally regained their senses. They noticed the upcoming premiere for Edgerunners and began to mobilize, promoting the work across social media.
A day later, the release date for the latest issue of Kiyozawa finally arrived.
Hinata had not been able to sleep since dawn. While some people could read a novel casually and move on without a second thought, Hinata was different. She invested her entire heart into the stories she loved. From the very first chapter of Sword Art Online, she had been completely obsessed. Until last week's chapter, the novel had been a vital pillar of her daily life. Last week's events, however, had left her devastated.
With a heart full of trepidation, she made her way to the bookstore near her home. Despite the early hour, a massive queue had already formed. Before she even reached the entrance, she could hear a group of boys nearby engaged in a heated debate.
"I've run the numbers a thousand times and I still cannot see how Kirito wins this. How do you beat the literal god of the game?"
"Who knows. Haruto said in his interview that this chapter would have a surprise. We will know what he meant in thirty minutes when the doors open."
"There are only two ways this goes. Either he beats Kayaba and the SAO story ends right here, or the protagonist dies and we get a new one. Some authors love that Legacy trope where the sidekick takes over as the hero."
"Stop guessing. We are just going to give ourselves a headache. Let's just see what the Sadist wrote."
The Mercedes Scandal in Initial D had left the Sword Art Online fanbase feeling like startled birds. If Haruto was willing to let a protagonist get cheated on, then killing off a heroine did not seem so far-fetched anymore. The atmosphere outside the shop was heavy and somber.
Finally, the doors opened.
Hinata pushed through the crowd and secured her copy of Kiyozawa. The cover was once again dedicated solely to Sword Art Online.
It featured a top-down view of the massive floating castle, Aincrad, which appeared to be crumbling and falling apart. In the center of the frame, Kirito and Asuna were pressed together, forehead to forehead.
It looked like a lovers' suicide pact.
The End of the World...
Looking at the cover, Hinata finally understood the meaning of the previous chapter's title. The World was not a person; it was Aincrad itself.
She frantically flipped to the first page. The chapter title read,
The End of the World (Part 2).
The story picked up the very instant the previous week's cliffhanger left off. After his health reached zero, Kirito saw the system warning that every player feared most, the one that only appeared once.
[YOU ARE DEAD]
But in the moment his body began to dissolve into digital shards, a fierce, overwhelming refusal to let go surged within his soul. His fading avatar suddenly began to re-solidify.
What?
Hinata had only read the first few hundred words and she was already lost. What kind of logic was this? A game is made of data. Life and death are the results of cold, hard calculations. How could human will override a computer's algorithm?
Her mind raced back to earlier chapters, and she began flipping through her back issues of Sword Art Online. In the original version of the story, the concept of the Incarnation System, where humans will transcend system limits, was poorly established during the Aincrad arc. It felt like a cheat when the protagonist used it.
Haruto had recognized this flaw. When writing this version, he had carefully planted seeds for this concept early on.
He had various major characters drop cryptic lines about the power of the human heart being able to surpass destiny and the system. Since Akihiko Kayaba's primary goal in creating SAO was to see if human will could indeed overcome his rigid digital laws, it made sense that the game would leave room for such anomalies. Seeing these established hooks in the earlier text allowed Hinata to relax slightly.
Inside the story, Kirito used the power of his will to force his body back into existence for a split second, driving his blade into Kayaba's chest with lightning speed. The narrative hinted that Kayaba had allowed this to happen. Having finally found a force that could transcend his system, he was satisfied. He chose to let Kirito strike him, finally granting freedom to the survivors.
"I see..." Hinata nodded.
Knowing that the hero was not just dead made her feel a thousand times better. Even if the Willpower Skill was a bit far-fetched, she was willing to accept it. Following Kayaba's defeat, Kirito was suddenly transported to a space outside the world, the sky high above the castle of Aincrad. Beneath a brilliant orange sunset, the boy stood alone, his expression one of loss.
"Kirito..." a girl's voice called out from behind him.
He turned, eyes wide with disbelief.
Asuna was there.
The two embraced each other desperately.
It was a stunning full-page illustration.
A moment later, the silhouette of the ultimate boss, Akihiko Kayaba, appeared one last time.
Hinata felt the dark clouds in her heart vanish. 'He really did it!'
Life and death in fiction truly depend on the author's whim. It was clear that Asuna and Kirito had survived because Kayaba, as the administrator, had spared them. Otherwise, Asuna would have been erased the moment her HP hit zero.
But wait... Aincrad was literally disintegrating in the background! Was this the final chapter of the book?
The text continued, providing a final monologue from Kayaba about why he created the world and why he was ending it now. He spoke of childhood dreams and the crushing boredom of reality. For those simple reasons, thousands had been trapped in a game of death.
Hinata read with an intensity that bordered on frantic, her eyes flying across the pages. Finally, as the world fell away into nothingness, Kirito and Asuna shared a final vow to stay together forever. After receiving a mysterious parting gift from Kayaba, their vision went black.
The disintegration of Aincrad signaled the end of the Death Game.
The story then shifted to a hospital room, where a young man opened his eyes.
"As... Asuna!" Kirito's first waking thought was to find her.
Sword Art Online: Aincrad Arc - END.
ALO Arc - BEGIN.
The final words of the chapter sent an announcement to the readers that made Hinata's skin crawl with excitement.
She understood the End of SAO part. But ALO?
What was that? SAO was over, but there was another arc?
In an instant, she felt an electric shock run down her spin.
The sense of anticipation was overwhelming. The game is over, but the story is just beginning!
