—Where the hell is Silver?
Asuna’s irritated voice echoed through the inn’s common room, bouncing off the stone walls.
Silver, one of the front line’s pillars and the embodiment of everyone’s confidence when facing floor bosses, had vanished without a trace. The last solid report they had placed him in Xing’er, when he left to map Floor 39 with his partner.
—Maybe something happened to him —Kirito suggested from the back of the room.
—I checked the trace of Life twice. He’s still alive.
—And his partner?
Asuna went quiet for a few seconds.
—I don’t know. But we’ve all lost partners. That’s not an excuse to abandon his duty on the front line. We have a responsibility to everyone trapped here. And in the last raid, we lost two people.
Kirito frowned.
—Are you saying those deaths are his fault?
—No —she said, shaking her head slightly.— But if he’d been there… maybe they wouldn’t have died.
The Black Swordsman opened his mouth to answer, but never got the chance.
—SILENCE, BEATER! —roared a man with an aggressive stare, standing beside Asuna.— You don’t get to question the vice commander!
Asuna let out a tired sigh and rubbed her temples.
—Enough, Kuradeel —she ordered, calm but iron firm.
He clenched his teeth, visibly annoyed, but obeyed.
—Let’s get back to planning the next assault.
* * * * *
November 4, 2023. 3:28 p.m. — Hill Ruins, Floor 1
Silver walked among the hill ruins the way he did every day since Yuiha disappeared.
In the middle of his grief, he’d remembered a conversation that had seemed trivial at the time: the morning after the first night they spent together.
She’d told him, smiling and almost breathless, that he had died—that his body had vanished… and then returned.
That idea had hooked into his mind like a thorn.
He’d opened the system log in desperation, reading line by line until one message yanked a blurred memory into focus.
—That’s it! —Silver shouted, with an energy he hadn’t felt in weeks.— If I came back, she can too. I just have to find a way to restart the event.
In his mind, the conclusion was absolute.
From that day on, he abandoned the front line. He returned to the ruins again and again, combing them top to bottom, trying to trigger the start of the Warden’s Covenant quest.
But the skeleton he’d fought that day never appeared again.
The hidden rooms were gone—replaced by old, cracked walls that led nowhere.
For several nights in a row, he came back and tried everything. One night he tried to catch moonlight on the Aegis the way he had before, but the shield didn’t respond the same way anymore; it had lost its original reflectiveness.
Another day he searched for Bloodfang’s chamber. All he found was the same solid wall that had stood there before the fight. He grabbed an axe and hacked at the stone for hours, breaking five tools in the process. He convinced himself that if he kept going long enough, maybe he’d unlock some hidden skill—Break Wall, Open Secret Door, anything.
The only answer was always the same:
Silver dropped to the ground.
He looked at the rainbow crystal ring still on his finger.
—Don’t worry —he murmured.— I’m not giving up. You know I’m not just persistent… I’m stubborn.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
He smiled at the ring, like that small piece of light still kept him connected to Yuiha.
* * * * *
November 15, 2023. 7:17 a.m. — Hill Ruins, Floor 1
Silver had spent the last few nights in the ruins, sleeping right there.
His defense was high enough that Floor 1 monsters might as well not exist, and the Queen’s Warden passive regeneration made him practically immortal in that place.
He woke to a familiar annoyance, watching his HP tick down point by point as three bats bit at him… only for it to refill seconds later.
He sat up slowly, stretching to bring feeling back into his body after sleeping uncomfortably against a stone wall. He drew his sword and killed the bats with automatic motions, like swatting gnats.
He’d already tried everything he could think of.
Nothing worked.
Even forcing himself not to give up, every day made that conviction harder to hold.
—I’m going to find a way to bring you back —he told the ring on his hand.
Then he headed back into corridors he knew by heart.
* * * * *
December 1, 2023. 5:53 p.m. — Stonecross, Floor 20
After nearly two months in the ruins, Silver hit the limit of his patience.
There was nothing left to try there.
The day before, he’d traveled to Rodglan. He thought maybe the old man Masao Horiyima could tell him something. Masao had been directly tied to the Warden’s Covenant. If anyone knew anything, it had to be him.
He arrived determined. But when he tried to open the door, it didn’t budge.
He pushed harder. Nothing.
He slammed his shoulder into it. Then kicked the wood, frustration rising, until the system message appeared, merciless.
He didn’t scream.
He didn’t curse the system.
He didn’t even look up.
He simply turned around and walked away.
Back in Everwoods, for the first time in a long while, he visited the half-built house. He stood in front of the unfinished frame, the exposed beams, the improvised roof.
They’d promised to finish it together.
He’d planned to wait for her to come back.
Now he decided to bet everything on the least reliable person in the game.
Forkaf.
He found her in her new “office”: a polished stone bench in Stonecross’s central plaza.
—Mon amour! —she greeted him with an exaggerated smile.— What kind of information are you hunting for today?
—Anything about resurrection events.
Forkaf stared at him, and for the first time since the game began, her expression cracked.
—What? A resurrection event? —she asked, without her usual French accent.
—Yes. Any event that lets you bring a player back.
She studied him carefully. She knew Silver had vanished from the front line. If she could figure out where he’d been, that alone was valuable.
—Where have you been? You abandoned me —she said, slipping back into her flirtatious tone.
—I’ve been busy —he replied.— Do you have information or not?
Forkaf smiled. This wouldn’t be easy.
Silver pulled out a heavy bag of col and tossed it to her. She caught it, startled.
—About resurrection events… I have nothing —she said, all mystery again.
—But you have something.
—Très bien! —she grinned.— I’ve heard rumors. About a Christmas event.
Silver didn’t speak. He just waited.
—They say that at midnight on December 25, a powerful event boss will appear.
He kept waiting.
—And that the boss’s drop… is an item that can revive a player.
Silver’s eyes widened.
—Are you sure?
—No —she shrugged.— It’s just a rumor.
Still, it was more than he’d had until now.
He spoke to other informants. Even the least trustworthy ones. The stories differed; mountains, the Floor 1 boss room, absurd rituals, decorated trees.
Finally, he went to Argo.
—Well, look who decided to show up —the info broker smiled.— What do you want, Sil-boi?
—Information about a Christmas event. And a resurrection item.
Argo didn’t look surprised.
—I’ve heard things —she admitted.— But they’re NPC rumors. I can’t confirm it’s a real event.
Silver transferred the money without a word.
—They say that night, a boss will appear that can drag someone back from the claws of death.
—Location?
—Under a tree.
—What tree?
—That’s all the rumors say.
Silver went silent.
—Fair warning, Sil-boi —Argo added.— Last year there were rumors too. Nothing showed up.
He smiled bitterly.
—We found it.
—No way. You’re making that up.
—It was called Blitzen the Fallen.
Argo put on an exaggerated look of shock.
—Where?
—In the Forest of mist on Floor 1.
—And the drop?
—Boxes with event accessories.
Only then did Silver notice Argo’s bright smile, filing every word away.
He turned to leave.
—Sil-boi.
He didn’t stop.
—A lot of people are interested in that rumor. It could get dangerous.
He paused.
—And I think someone believes they know where that tree is.
This time he turned around.
—Who?
But Argo was already gone.
Silver dragged a hand down his face, frustrated.