Erin, among all the others in the mass crowd, were astonished when the figure appeared in the air, naming himself "Kayaba Akihiko". The creator of the game, he announced that all the players were trapped... As he spoke, Erin couldn't help but laugh inside at the attempts to make the game seem so serious. However, this notion faded when everyone seemed to be taking him seriously. She glanced at Mason, who studied the figure with intense focus. "Why is everyone so serious about this?"

Instead of responding Mason, brought up his menu and examined it closely. He shook his head and his face darkened. "...Because there's no logout option." He stated. "He's... He's telling the truth." Erin brought up her own menu frantically, maybe Mason was just glitching- She shuttered when she saw that there was, indeed, no logout option. Erin's eyes widened, and her mouth fell agape. 

Akihiko announced that he'd sent everyone a gift, and everyone needed to open their inventories. Indeed everyone had received something, an item labeled "Mirror." Erin opened the item, and a small mirror appeared in her hand. When she glanced into the glass, she saw the reflection of her avatar. Suddenly she was enveloped in a bright blue glow. When the glow faded, Erin glanced at the mirror again, and saw that she was no longer inspecting her avatar's face, but her real-life features. Her breath caught, and tears formed in her eyes. She raised the collar of her tunic and looked at her left shoulder; a brown bruise prominently rested where it did on her body in the real world, a bruise that she'd attained from her late abusive father. 

It dawned on Erin: this man was telling the truth... they were trapped here until the game was conquered... Mason looked equally dumbfounded.... they were going to die.