"You could say we are classmates." Eris replied to Hitoru's question, "But, we are here for a very hard to explain reason, so... why don't you begin by telling us what has truly happened with Erika Mitsuki and why has a an apparition inside of Deep Ground took her form and questioned us if we wanted to be 'heroes'?"
"What I'd like to know, however, is how she managed to force herself into DGO and cause an entire dungeon to glitch and crash." Fletcher crossed his arms, waiting patiently for a response.
“Umm, sorry. I know of her, saw Erika around the place, but I haven’t had the pleasure... this place is, like everyone else here, because of a lovely ghost resembling Erika letting us know.” Hearing Aaron’s question about how Erika got into DGO well, a leap of logic made sense to Alex. Quietly speaking up he voiced his thoughts
“Well, if her DGO chip is still active, then maybe she can subconsciously log-in? Since she’s not fully aware of herself then it doesn’t function completely? I know I’ve always had a secret worry of accidentally logging in while asleep...” looking around Alex blushed a bit before approaching the ‘hero’ topic.
“A hero isn’t really something to aspire for... a hero is just the villain that won the final battle and everyone believed in...”
"well, isn't that obvious? There's always been speculation that the links aren't truly safe, but there's never been a documented case-most people think it's paranoid nonsense, but I imagine if something happened to a link, then that could be deadly to the user-perhaps-she is linking in without realizing it, or at the prodding of others." Cassandra didn't say what else she thought, that perhaps someone had deliberately done this, harming Erika to get...what? Answers if some sort, but why?
Hitoru's eyes creased as his eyes flicked back and forth between all those present, trying to make sense of everything they were tryint to say to him. Something about heroes... Something about dungeons glitching... He stood up from where he sat on the armchair and took a small hop off of the armchair to floor level, his hands in his pockets as he looked at everyone present.
"Look, kids, I don't know what you're all smoking but you're... haha... really making me wish I was high right now." He'd taken his cap off as he spoke and gently ruffled his hair. In the unflattering hospital light, the dark circles under his eyes were most prominant. A sort of pallid, tired and yet stressed look was awash over his facial features where clearly a usual sort of mischeivious spark would be. His hand froze and his eyes slowly widened as he began to process more of what they were saying. Slowly, his red eyes rose to look at them, a sort of shock creasing his forehead.
"Wait... Are you saying... you saw Erika? You saw my sister?" He took a step forward, arms open wide and lips parted to get a little closer to them. After two half steps he hesitated, and then faltered. His arms were down by his side in a sort of slumped posture, his eyes falling to the shiny linoleum floor. He turned toward his sister, scowling as he considered everything they were saying.
A glitch...
His breath shuddered and he moved his body away, hands gripping onto the end railing at the end of Erika's hospital bed tight enough to make his knuckles white.
"I don't... know anything about that hero shit... I don't know anything about ... what exactly you all are trying to say... but I think you ... just confirmed a theory of mine." Hitoru's voice was strained, his gaze barely visible over his blocking arms which shimmered in tension.
"When I checked on my little sister a week ago when she was in her room, she was in the position she always lays in when she's going onto Deep Ground. I let her be but... she never woke up. . .
"I... I think... if her friend Yuuki is right... that she got into a fight. On Deep Ground, I mean." Hito paused to run his fingers through his hair and back up against the wall behind him, taking a deep breath.
"Just going around... minding her own business. She was checking her online messages alot... and-and with all this crap with the Corpse Collector and the Black King going on... I think someone targeted her. I went through her messages... Someone planted a worm on one of them. One that, when she opened it, caused her to ... "Hitoru faltered, looking at his sister in a moment of silence.
"...Made her go comatose when she died from a fight in Deep Ground."Hitoru slowly turned his head to the group of students before him, his eyes wide.
"And I think... that worm... that virus... I think it's applied to everyone in Deep Ground Online. When you die in the game..."Hitoru looked back at his little sister.
"You turn into nothing but lines of code... and become a fucking vegetable in the real world."Hitoru was still for a moment before he turned and slammed his tightened fist into the wall behind him hard enough for his knuckles' skin to be scraped off and blood to immediately start dripping down onto the otherwise pristine white floor. His tone was dark... angry... and he glared into empty space yet saw exactly the person he was thinking of in his own minds eye. The Red King.
"I'm going to kill the son of a bitch that did this. To all of us..."He held his bleeding hand in his free one, that determined, angry look turned onto the kids that had come.
"And I'm going to kill the Corpse Collector first to do it."