Revelations

An hour of being followed by a demon player that she had just met made Esther nervous, not because she worried the game would think they were together, but because something about him made her feel like she could tell him things she had been keeping to herself ever since the 666 execution. She tried everything to escape his pursuit of her, but even when she flew at her top speed, he somehow kept up and after that decided to land.

The map was quickly turning to night when her feet hit the soft digital grass and little light bugs that she had disturbed flew up around her. Kouichirou lost his breath as she turned to him, her golden eyes and wings glimmer from the little bugs floating up around her. Before landing the last bit of sunlight made it possible for him to see the area she had chosen to finally let him hear her voice again; A plush forest with fields and orchards of every variety.

As soon as he lands he walks to her. "Where are we?" He asks while looking around the at the large healthy trees full of fruit. When his eyes land on her she is facing away from him, the moonlight makes her wings and hair almost look like they are glowing. A small owl is perched on her shoulder, and a small doe has already walked over to her to be pet. Her voice is calm as she turns with a slight smile. "Welcome to Eden."

"Esther, why did you run away from me?" He follows her through the woods, knowing that she isn't running from him but walking to something.

"Because…" She stopped and he nearly ran into her back, he had to use his wings to keep himself from the collision. She sighs and closes her eyes before continuing. "Because I shouldn't want to talk to you." She turns to him with a glare. "But here you are, chasing me through the air for over an hour. Why?"

He smiles, "I wasn't ready to stop looking at you…" blood rushes to both of their cheeks. He shook his head before continuing. "Kirito was a beta tester for SAO, and��� my sister is one of the survivors. I thought maybe you would know something that could hel—" He stopped himself, afraid even the word could harm her. "be interesting." He finishes with a grin.

The blushes fade and she turns back around and continues to walk while talking in a dismissive tone. "I don't see how—"

"How about you just tell me your story, don't worry about it being— interesting— just tell me everything you know, then the system won't be able to know what I did or didn't find— interesting—. Why did you start playing Armageddon?" Just as he finished his question his mouth fell open at the sight of a house, that seemed to have organically grown with the enormous tree in front of them. "What is this place?"

Esther opens the front door and turns back to Kouichirou, "It's my home. Please come in." She smiles, but there's something sad about her eyes.

The house inside feels warm and comfortable, the smell of cinnamon and apple fill the air. A simple kitchen, small dining room table set for two, and a large living room with a fireplace can all be viewed as soon as you enter. Between the dining room and living room is an archway that leads into a dark bedroom. As he looked around he noticed how established the home felt. "How long do you spend in game Esther?"

Her eyebrow raised at his question. "How about you take a seat in the living room and I answer your other questions first." She walked to the chair at the far end and he sat on the cushion of the couch closest to her. She took a deep breath and clasped her hand on her knees. Her finger's dug into the spaces between her knuckles as she spoke. "I started playing because of my husband. He used my information to increase his odds at getting picked from a lottery to be one of the one thousand beta testers." She smiles and sighs. "We were both picked, and so, despite my absolute lack of video game experience I decided to play with him. We thought it would be fun to create a vlog about our gaming experience as a married could and thought it would be a good idea for one of us to play as an angel and one of us to play as a demon…" Her eyes close, she presses her fingers harder between her knuckles and her brows twitch and pull together.

He pieced it together pretty quickly. "I'm sorry for your loss Esther." He reached out and gingerly grabbed her hands.

When her eyes opened they were full of tears. "Jay was a really big fan of VR, because it gave him a chance to feel— normal I guess… He was born with a severe deformity in his lower spine, he had been wheel chair bound his entire life." As the first tears fell she moved his hand from hers. "That's how I know so much about Kirito and Asuna… just listening to him talk about them, how they inspired him... I wish I had listened a little harder while he was still alive."

"Esther—" A knot had formed in his throat. He had lost most of his friends from SAO, he feared for his sister's life for more than two years, but losing a spouse that you clearly loved…

She wipes away the rest of her tears and sniffles before speaking with determination. "My sister in law is a nurse, and she helped me get set up with an IV, a catheter, everything necessary to keep my body alive in the real world. She checks on me every day before and after work and uses the app that was developed by Kirito to track my vitals while she's away."

"Why?" He asks with furrowed brows.

"To look for the right opportunity to be— interesting— to the demon players." She swipes left to right and pulls out a shield from her inventory and places it on the coffee table. "Don't pick it up. Just read the title engraved on the front.

His eyes read the shield, and as his eyes scan it again his mouth slightly drops open as he reads it again, saying it only in his head. "Faith." He hadn't seen the video of the execution, Asuna and Kirito only relayed that 666 players were executed in game and IRL, but even if he had he wouldn't have put it together until now, being told by an angel to not pick it up because it would kill her. He abruptly stands up. "The game is rigged! It's fucking rigged!" He starts pacing. "How… why would… wait…" He stops and turns back to her. "Esther… you said that you were waiting to be interesting for the demons…"

She slowly nods her head and that sad smile spreads across her face again. "Sounds like you figured it out all on your own."

As he sat back down, trying to absorb what he'd just learned, Yui started to stir in his pocket and when he pulled it open she flew out. "Uncle! Oh, hello Esther!"

He sits up to greet his niece. "Hello Yui. Did you find anything?"

"Yes, there's a few crowns listed in the christian bibles used as source and inspiration for this world. Would you like me to list them now?" She sits down on a stack of books on the coffee table and crosses her legs.

He looks to Esther who looks composed again, her hands even relaxing a bit. "Maybe you will hear something— interesting— too?" He asks while grabbing his knees. She nods in agreement. "Yes, please share what you found with us Yui."

She begins listing references to crowns from the Bible, most of them just symbolic and innocuous until she reaches the five crowns of salvation: The Incorruptable; The Crown of Rejoicing; The Crown of Life; The Crown of Righteousness; and the Crown of Glory.

"Maybe we are suppose to collect all five…" Kouichirou wonders allowed.

"Uncle, there's one more worth mentioning…" Yui stands up. "The Crown of Thorns. According to the Bible story the savior wore a crown of thorn when being crucified."

Esther's face goes blank. "This game is really fucking rigged…"

"I know, but why are you saying it?" Kouichirou's eyebrows are lowered as he asks.

"You should check out some of the vlogs from angel players when they first started— I think you will find it very interesting."

Back at the hospital Kirito was sitting on the couch in Asuna's room, his knee wouldn't stop shaking as he waited for Asuna to get dressed and he removed the sensors, placing them in a cup on the side table. When she finally sat down next to him it took all of his will power to not grab her shoulders and make her tell him what was going on.

Her eyes were on her knees where her hands rested and her voice was low as she spoke. "Remember the other day when Hanna took my blood?"

"Yeah, you never told me the results so I assumed they didn't show anything wrong… Is something wrong?" He was trying to not panic, but that was never easy for him when it came to Asuna's safety.

She takes a deep breath. "Nothing is wrong…" her eyes are still glued to her hands, hoping that she says everything right. "I just didn't want you to be distracted from the game, because we really need to win."

"I know we need to win. There are a lot of lives at stake, including yours…" He understands she is trying to focus on her words right now, but there is nothing he wants more than to see her bright golden eyes.

"Yes, there are a lot of lives at stake Kirito, and according to the blood work, and the other tests Hanna put me through during my breaks, there is one more life at risk now…" She slowly moves just her eyes up from her hands when she heard the quiet gasp to see his eyes widening and a tiny lift in the corners of his open mouth.

"Are you-- you're saying--" He blinks a couple times and clears his throat. Noticing that she still isn't fully looking at him his entire expression softens, his eyes close a little as he moves closer to her, gently pulling her face to look at him, he speaks in a soft and lowered tone. "Asuna, are you pregnant?"

Tears start to fill the corners of her eyes as she nods with half lidded golden eyes. There are no more words inside of that room. He just pulls her into a tight embrace as they both try to figure out how to feel: overjoyed to become parents and terrified they won't make it that long.