New Apocryphal Novel ‘.hack’
Written by
Masayuki Yano
Art by
Itsuki Hoshi
A pop-up appeared, indicating that an e-mail had arrived, so I wondered what it was, and saw that it was from Elk.
It read as follows:
Subject: Come with me
From: Elk
Message:
I got an email from Aura.
A new life is about to be nurtured.
I’d like to go there with you, Kite.
It may be selfish of me to ask for such a thing,
but please come with me to
Ω Server Hidden Moonlight Sanctuary.
I looked at the text displayed on the monitor for a while. Then I let go of the mouse, picked up the teacup I had left on the desk, and drank some tea.
When I started up The World’s desktop for the first time in a long time, this felt like the actions of someone else.
That feeling confused me just a little. It was the first time I felt that way when looking at a game screen.
Aloof may be the wrong word to describe it.
Discomfort? Misgivings? Perhaps frustration? A fault in my memory? Or something else…
Many months have passed since the final battle for The World.
Yasuhiko, also known as Orca (or Orca, also known as Yasuhiko) recovered safely and was discharged from the hospital, and we were now in our third year of junior high school. Third-year junior high school students are, in short, what the public calls entrance-exam-takers. I still interacted with the friends – Blackrose, Balmung, and Wiseman – who I met and fought alongside on my adventures, but the frequency with which I logged into The World had decreased. While taking a relaxing break from studying for exams and surfing the Internet, I started up The World and noticed an e-mail.
I took another sip of tea, trying to ascertain within myself the strange feeling that had suddenly arisen.
At that moment, my sister came into the room, put a manga back on the bookshelf, and pulled out the next volume.
“You’re playing games again,” she said as she passed behind me. “You finished studying already?”
“So annoying. Go away,” I said sternly.
My sister left the room and I turned back to the monitor. However, by that time, the discomfort I had felt earlier had already gone.
Well, whatever.
I gave up on pursuing it further and tapped my keyboard to send an e-mail back to Elk. Soon a reply came. I drank the rest of my tea and put the teacup away, put on my FMD, and logged in to The World.
After that, I forgot about the strange feeling from earlier.
However, if I had thoroughly investigated and analyzed its true identity, and had verbalized it clearly, it would probably have been something like this.
“Huh? This story… isn’t it already over?”
Elk was waiting for me in town. Judging by the speed with which he responded to my e-mail, I wonder if he’s been waiting to hear from me for a long time. I did something bad.
“Thank you for coming,” Elk said while blinking his eyes as if looking at something bright. “I received an email from Aura. She said that a new life is about to be born. What this new life could be… I don’t know.”
Elk lowered his eyes.
“But I think we have to go. So…”
“Yeah, let’s go,” I said immediately. I wanted to help Elk.
However, on the other hand, I was starting to feel like things were not quite right.
Isn’t it strange? I thought to myself, inwardly nodding my head.
I feel like I’ve had this exchange with Elk before.
At that time, Elk told me the same story, and I remember responding in the same way.
The PC standing behind Elk opened his mouth.
“A dungeon, eh? When are you leaving? I’ll come along too.”
I looked at this person. I looked at Elk and then back at the other person again.
Who could this person be?
He had a large, stocky body typical of a Heavy Axeman, wore green armor, and had a small boyish face with bobbed hair.
He was always standing nearby when I would interact with Elk.
But since he is someone I didn’t know, I thought he was just a passerby who happened to be nearby, so I tried my best to not be concerned about him.
I poked Elk’s elbow and spoke under my breath.
“Do you know him?” I asked.
“What are you talking about? This is Piros,” Elk said. “I wanted to ask for help. I called Piros here too.”
His tone was as though that was enough of an explanation.
Piros, I thought, repeating the name in my head, emphasizing the ‘P’ sound.
It didn’t ring a bell.
Who is he? What is he?
“What is the matter, He of Fair Eyes? There is no need to worry!”
The PC named Piroshi was leaning forward, so I instinctively took a half step back.
“Isn’t it easier to create things than worry about them? Now, let’s-a-go!”
As always, I am a weak person when forced to make an appearance.
Elk, Piros and I arrived at the field denoted by the area-words and we started exploring.
I quietly looked at Piros’s face, thinking back to my days of adventure and the friends who had accompanied me each day.
I don’t remember him at all. This must be my first encounter with this PC. I don’t think I’d ever forget such an impressive person.
Maybe I pushed too many things out of my mind and lost my memory of him? No, hold on. Haven’t I heard that name mentioned in a party somewhere? No, it’s no use. I still don’t know…
We entered the dungeon and the monsters that appeared suddenly became stronger. They were so ferocious that they would launch an instant death attack upon encountering them.
As I battled repeatedly, the strange feeling I had when I looked at The World’s desktop screen came back to haunt me.
I suddenly realized that I knew this dungeon. It was no longer a strange feeling, but a conviction that felt almost like an epiphany. Like déjà vu.
No doubt about it. I remembered being tormented by monsters of unreasonable levels and almost reaching game-over… or perhaps… I did reach game-over? In any case, I clearly remembered that I was having a hard time trying to figure out how difficult this dungeon was.
I was suddenly surprised and came to a stop.
Could something like this happen? How could I forget my first adventure?
At that moment, we were halfway through the dungeon, but Elk and Piros suddenly stopped walking and looked back at me with disgusted expressions on their faces.
“What’s wrong?” said Elk as though worried. “Do you need your HP restored?”
“No, that’s not it…” I said, but I couldn’t continue from there. I didn’t know how to explain the infeasible and incomprehensible feeling I felt.
“Hmm, you look a little tired,” Piros said. “But don’t worry. It’s just the right time. It looks like they’ve caught up with us now… I thought something like this could happen! I’ve called for helpers!”
Piros made an exaggerated gesture towards the three figures in front of him.
Helpers, he said?
“Thank you for calling. I will try my best,” the female Heavy Axeman PC said in a polite tone.
“Yeah. I’m here to help. Be grateful,” the Blademaster PC wearing armor like an antihero from an American comic turned away and said.
“Woooooaaaaah! A telephone pole!” The Long Arm PC suddenly shouted something unintelligible and sent me a wink. “Now that I’m here, there’s bound to be a lot of excitement!! Look forward to it, Kite!”
I looked at each of their faces. I tried to say something, but I didn’t know what to say so I ended up saying nothing.
Oh dear, I groaned inwardly. Still. I still don’t know who they are…
From there, things were difficult in a different way.
It seems that Piros had made the call in advance, and more and more of his friends began to join the fight as helpers.
Some faces I knew, and others I was seeing for the first time. In both cases, everyone greeted me in a friendly manner.
BlackRose, Balmung, Orca, and Wiseman were also there. However, when I saw them peacefully conversing with PCs I didn’t know, it seemed like they were literally living in a different world from the one I knew.
I thought I had had quite a few extraordinary experiences during my past adventures in The World.
However, the situation currently underway is completely different. Somehow, it’s a different genre.
What kind of phenomenon is this? What is happening to me? It’s like I’m lingering through a vast, endless nightmare, like I’ve been transferred to a parallel world that’s the same but different.
However, thanks to these friends joining me in battle, conquering the dungeon became much easier.
Despite being bothered by the weird feeling you get when your clothes don’t fit properly, I finally reached the deepest part of the dungeon with my friends.
There was nothing there. There were no boss monsters, no treasure chests, nothing. There seemed to be nothing at all.
“Look. That’s…” Elk said, pointing to the ceiling.
Something like a huge nut was hanging there.
Or perhaps I should say something like an insect cocoon.
It was about the size of a PC and covered in green light.
I knew its true identity from the beginning. I wondered what I should do here.
When Elk stepped back, he pointed his right hand at the “nut” above his head and released a Data Drain.
The bundle of data sequences blew away the light that enveloped the “nut”.
I could feel Elk gasp.
A human figure was floating there in a crouching position.
“Mia!” Elk shouted.
Mia, the cat PC, Elk’s irreplaceable friend Mia, just landed softly on the ground and stumbled a little.
Elk ran over and supported Mia.
“Who…” Mia muttered. She sounded like she had been asleep for a long time and had just woken up. “Who… are you?”
“Huh? I’m… Elk…” Elk said in a sad voice. “Don’t you remember, Mia?”
Mia seemed confused.
“I don’t know. I don’t remember anything…”
Her eyes were blinking, but when she noticed me, she approached me with a look that said “Hey!”.
“Huh? You?” said Mia. “You’re wearing a rare bracelet.”
Mia was staring at my right hand.
Elk and I looked at each other.
“…You can see it?” I asked.
“Of course. Can’t you see your beautiful bracelet?”
The cat PC raised her head and looked at my face.
“Even if you can’t see it, if you know it’s there, it’s the same as seeing it, right?”
“…Right.”
Mia has lost her memory. She has forgotten about Elk and the exchange of bracelets with me. However…
“Elk, it’s okay,” I called out to Elk, who was speechless and had his head down.
“Huh?”
“Because you’re here, right?”
Elk was taken aback by my words, but then he nodded.
“Me? I see… yeah!”
Elk placed his hand on Mia’s shoulder.
“I will always be with you, Mia. I’ll remind you of many things. I’m Elk!”
“Elk…”
Mia, unable to comprehend the situation, tilted her head.
“You are Mia!”
“Mia…”
“We are Elk and Mia…”
Elk and Mia held hands, teleported, and disappeared.
After seeing them off, I let out a sigh and turned around… and I was surprised.
My friends looked at me expectantly.
They seemed to feel that there must be something deep within this dungeon.
Stop looking at me like that, I thought. I don’t know anything.
Elk and Mia were reunited in a very nice way, and the goal was achieved. Isn’t that enough?
But they keep waiting silently for something.
At that moment, something akin to intuition struck me.
That’s right, it’s Piros.
After Piros joined the group, the story suddenly took a strange turn.
Maybe he knows something.
I pushed through the crowd towards him.
Piros grinned when he saw me rushing forward, and nodded confidently, as if he knew everything he wanted to say.
Maybe it’s just his kind of role.
“He of Fair Eyes!”
However, Piros shouted in a loud and cheerful voice.
“What is the cause of this strange, bizarre, and ambiguous phenomenon? Is that what you want to ask?”
“Do you know something?” I asked enthusiastically.
“Hmph! I don’t know anything!” Piros said powerfully. “But as for a hypothesis, there’s nothing I can’t show off! To sum it up… from our point of view from the 1990s to 2011, when a worldwide network was established with the explosive spread of the Internet, this year can be said to be approximately the 20th anniversary!”
“Huh?”
“In my opinion, the story surrounding The World depicts both the real world and the online world. In other words, it continues to be unstable at the boundary. For 20 years, it was a precarious balancing act, repeated over and over again. Do you understand? 20 years means each year for 20 years! Due to this tremendous accumulation, the walls that separate the stories have become worn out and become infinitely thin, causing a kind of ‘crosstalk’ situation like this one! That’s the only way to think about it!” Piros said, repeatedly emphasizing the words ’20 years.’
Amazing, I thought. I have no idea what he’s talking about. Amazing.
“Umm… I don’t really understand…” I said honestly. “Well, it’s like a parody… you mean?”
“Doubtful!” Piros said sharply.
“It doesn’t exist in this world. Everything is equally the main story! But there’s something interesting about that phrase. Parodies are also advertising stories. If you think of this story itself as a kind of advertisement… it fits perfectly! That’s right! It makes perfect sense! So what kind of advertisement is this story? And what is being advertised? Unfortunately, I have no way of answering these two questions. This is because it is something that can be imagined but not observed. Yet we saw it! We have witnessed a new life being born here. It’s not about Mia. That’s not it… Here we understand it as a concept itself… ‘New!’ ‘Birth!’ And the fact that we all witnessed it and saw it off is itself full of metaphors. Isn’t that the true proposition that was desperately needed in this story? What was born is gone! What lies ahead? What kind of trouble is lurking? No one knows. Not yet. There’s nothing we can do, but let’s at least pray for their safety and success. That is why we have gathered here today. Therefore I’ve always said this and will continue to say it…”
He said all this in front of me who stood there stunned and dumbfounded. In front of our friends.
Heroically. Proudly. For 20 years now, he has always had the same confident voice.
It’s the first time I’ve heard him say it, but it’s a nostalgic phrase.
“How delightful! Even to the end of your journey! May the stars shine above your head!”
THE END
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