Sword Art Online Maiden of Black Water

Prologue – Lurking in the deep!

It had been two years since the incident that had caused uproar in Japan, with ten thousand people trapped inside the virtual reality world of Sword Art Online. It had meant to have come to an end, with the black swordsman defeating the very creator of the game. Alas that had not happened, during the fight something had felt off. The world itself seemed to have glitched, Heathcliff had slowed down and Kirito lunged for him seemly stabbing him and winning the match. However, the brave fighters on the assault team soon realised this wasn't the case. The game was still continuing with many players having to adept to the newer floors, due to the loss of anything below floor seventy-six.

The assault team continued their quest to clear all one hundred floors, but things weren't going smoothly, as the team had reached floor ninety several locations had been spotted there. Though the place that had caught many people's interest was that of a mountain in the far end of the floor. It wasn't for its high drop rate or even for the quests around it, instead it had been a place where most players feared to tread.

In the vicinity of the mountain known as Mt. Hikami, it was known that people had been mysteriously disappearing without a trace.
One such girl is Shino Asada, known in this world as Sinon. It had been unclear when she had gone missing, or even how she ended up on the mountain but little did she know it would set off even bigger events.

Sinon awoke to sound of rippling water, her body was awfully cold and it took her only a short time to realise that she must be floating on said water. Though this water seemed different from standard water, the gentle ripples looked like long rivers of raven hair. Her eyes slowly opened as she stared up an old wooden roof, she couldn't contemplate where she was. The last thing she remembered she ran up to the mountain, worrying about a friend she had met after being brought into the game. In fact, after what he almost did, she was worried what he may have done next. The boy had been a friend of hers from childhood, but he didn't seem in his right mind when she had met him again. Though now wasn't the time to worry about that now, as she regained her senses and slowly raised herself up from the black water.

It was deeper than expected, as she stood up the water still lapped around her thighs, but at least she could touch the bottom with her feet. The room was nothing special, mostly old wooden walls, as well as old sliding doors usually seen within old shrines found in Japanese villages for people to pray at.

Sinon held herself close, she was freezing due to the chilling water. She was relieved no one was around however, as she knew full well that if her clothes were this damp, chances are they were see through. Shuddering at the very thought of being so exposed, she had remembered a time when she had been training with Kirito and after an incident where the later had sneezed. Both of them had ended up in a river, causing them to both get wet and Kirito had caught a glimpse of her underwear. It was times like this she was simply glad he wasn't around, or any other guy for that matter. The last thing she wanted was some horny teenager ogling her like she was a prize to be won.

"Where am I?" She spoke out loud, looking around. As she did though several figures emerged from the water, they looked human though something was off. Every single one of them were women, with long black hair all of which covered their eyes. Not only that they all seem to be wearing ceremonial robes like the ones wore by shrine maidens. The women's faces were all pale but that wasn't the only thing that was odd, all of them looked translucent. Every single one of them could be seen through, like looking at a glass door. No, it wasn't possible, it was beyond silly but they all appeared to be ghosts.

Sinon felt a chill in the air, with a small but unmistakeable pressure. These 'ghosts' were clearly not friendly, it seemed stupid ghosts weren't real. Then again, she was not in the normal world and things weren't what they seemed in Aincrad. All she could think of was getting out of here, the sooner the better. At the time she could see three of these ghost maidens in front of her, she turned slightly to see another door which was open.

A small tinge of relief hit her body, there was a way out and she had to move. Her feet were heavy due to the water, but she forced her legs to work. Her legs hurt but she didn't care, as she trudged through the water, doing her best to avoid the women who all seemed to be taking an interest in her. She could see the door get closer and closer, freedom was close, but as she was about to reach the door a fourth women appear right in front of her.

The shrine maiden violently lunged at her, grabbing her arm with vigour. Sinon could see the expression on her face, or at least what she could make of it. Her hair was messy and disorganised, mouth wide open as she moaned at her prey shaking her violently. Sinon struggled hard against her, not wanting to see what would happen if she didn't. The woman's scream was horrifying, it was hollow and lifeless almost like she would be sucked into a void if her mouth could swallow her whole. But the sooner it had begun, the sooner it ended as Sinon was let go and she fell backwards.

Hitting the water hard, Sinon could feel the pressure getting worse. More ghost maidens appeared, she wondered if the more she got wet the more ghost women would appear. Not wanting to find out the answer to that question, she got to her feet doing her best to sidestep the ghosts. She had no way to fight back against them, so at this point all she could do was dodge them. She ducked and weaved her way around several of them, all of them wailing away. It was hard work but she pushed forward, the door was only a few feet away now. Almost there she thought as one of her legs went over the threshold, but another maiden had got close behind her trying her best to embrace the girl. Not wanting to get caught, Sinon threw herself over the doorway nearly bumping into the opposite wall as the door slammed shut behind her. She had made it! Or at least she had got out of that room.

She felt dizzy and sick, and what made matters worse was she could hear laughter behind the door. If they really were ghosts, they wouldn't stay behind that door for long, all of this seemed so surreal but right now only one thought came to mind.

"I have to get out of here!"

With her heart still racing, Sinon stepped forward and walked down the hall. As she did, she noticed to her right a lattice, but what caught her attention was what was on the other side of it. Several stone statues were on the outside, but what was more puzzling was the fact that there was a cave wall there too. This only made the dimly lit hallway even darker than usual, as well as the fact that Sinon knew she had to be underground.

"Oh great! Now, how do I get out of here?" She mumbled quietly to herself, slowly taking a deep breath Sinon had to remain calm. After all what would getting worked up do for her? She turned and walked down the hallway, coming up to a left turn she took it and a quick right one after that. Small dimly lit lanterns were her only guide, as she continued to walk, all she could hear was the dull sound of her footsteps on the wooden floor. As she turned right, she saw a light at the end of a long corridor, two stone doors were open leading to this light. Though her vision was usually great, the dim lighting didn't help her see what was beyond the door. Still at this point, it was better than staying here.

"Ooooh!" A wailing sound came to the right of her, accompanied by the sound of wicked laughter. Sinon could see out of the corner of her eye, black hair and pale white robes. It was what she had feared, the ghosts from the previous room were following her. It was now or never, she had to get out and without hesitating she burst into a run.

The sound of her running footsteps drowned out the ghosts, something that was actually reassuring. The door was getting closer and closer, Sinon could almost taste the freedom as she continued to run. Just what was this place, and why was she brought here? She knew these questions probably wouldn't be answered, but anything to drown out the horror behind her was fine. She was only now a few feet away from the door, her arm extended to reach out for it. She was going to make it, or so she thought!

Suddenly the doors slammed shut, with a large deafening bang! Sinon's heart sank as the realisation had hit her, she was probably stuck down here now with those ghosts. She wanted to lash out, ready to punch out at the door for closing on her. It was then the strangest thing happened, as she had reached for it a sharp vision entered her head.

It was like watching an old black and white film, though the main difference was everything still seemed real. At first, she saw the angered face of a shrine maiden, her teeth gritted and her face sunken, reaching out to grab whoever was in front of her. Then the image changed to see several cloaked individuals, all brandishing weapons laughing as they tore into several people on the ground. The victims screaming and wailing, as their arms were up begging for their assailants to stop. As she was observing Sinon couldn't help but notice something, on the attacker's arms were coffin shaped tattoos.

She had heard of these people from Kirito and the others, they were known as Laughing Coffin. A notorious player killer guild, that despite this very game meaning that death was permeant. The players in this guild simply didn't care, and were willing to kill just for the 'fun' of it. The very thought sickened Sinon, how could they do this? Not only that but now she was looking directly at one of these crimes, it only made her stomach knot up more in disgust.

The next image was a much simpler one, it was of five female players all standing with their arms linked together. They appeared to be in a body of water, and she couldn't help but wonder if these were some of those ghosts she had seen before. The next two scenes were almost quick flashes, but she remembered just as quickly. The first had been another cloaked figure, running down a forest path with a knife in one his left hand. Whilst holding up a burning torch in the right, by the looks of things they were chasing after something or someone, but it was too hard to tell.
The other split image was of various hands flailing out of a wall, they were marble white and were desperately grabbing the air. The thing was the wall looked very similar to the lattice; she had just been passed.

As she contemplated what she had seen, the next image burst through her mind, showing a woman face half submerged in black water. Her mouth gaping open with what appeared to be blood running out of the left side, her right eye had been gouged out, leaving a stream of blood coming down her cheek. As for the left eye, it was intact but completely devoid of life. A combo of water and blood ran over her face.

The final image was of a stone box, bursting open revealing a stream of black water flowing out of the box and lapping down the mountainside where the box had been sitting. As the image stopped Sinon gave out a small gasp, she had no idea what that was all about but she also didn't want to find out. Coming back to reality she heard the howling behind her, and that brought her back to her current predicament. The ghosts were on the opposite end of the hallway, and though they weren't coming down quickly. Sinon knew they would eventually box her in if she wasn't careful, she observed her surroundings and noticed another pathway in the corridor. It was a little further forward and to the left, at this point it was her best bet so she quickly ran up and turned into the left path.

All of this was becoming a bit too much for Sinon, what exactly was all this about? First, she had been trapped in the death game, and now she seemed to be trapped in an underground shrine where ghosts seemed to be real. Her mind was spinning and she slowed her pace, trying to come to terms with all the weird things that had been happening to her recently. Then she heard it!

The sound of running water, she looked further down the hall and saw the reason for the sound. Water was flowing down the hall, getting closer and closer by the second. Though it wasn't deep, what was more shocking was the strands of black that came with the water. They were like thick black hair, flowing down with the water turning it from clear to complete black. The water was as dense as tar, and as it hit Sinon's legs she couldn't help but let out a small yelp. Only for things to simply get worse!

A woman dressed in black appeared, she was walking on top of the black thick water yet no sound was coming with her footsteps. Her clothing was similar to that of the other shrine maiden ghosts, but this one was taller and had her hood up. Said hood had two noticeable purple hibiscus flowers on the left-hand side, and Sinon could see black hair under the hood. The woman had dried white skin, and cracked purple lips with strands of black coming up her neck.

The air had become awfully dense, and Sinon found it hard to breath. This woman in black was clearly not someone she wanted to be around, but her feet were rooted to the spot out of pure fear. She suddenly blinked, and as she did the woman in black disappeared. Instinctively Sinon turned around, but alas nothing was there. Her eyes scanned around the hallway, she heard nothing and saw nothing. Which was odd! The other ghosts that had been following her didn't make any sound, it didn't make any sense. If these spirits were after her, why would they suddenly appear, chase her and then simply disappear? It didn't take her long to find out the answer!

Sinon's blood turned cold, she could feel something touch her body from behind. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a petal of purple, in her vision. The woman in black had snuck up behind her, and grabbed a hold of her. The woman's grip was strong as she spun the girl around to face her, Sinon simply couldn't break free as she stared back at the face of her captor. She gasped in shock as for the first time she saw the eyes of the maiden. They were an odd shade of orange, filling everything minus the iris which were brown. The look and appearance really gave off another worldly feel, and along with her cracked purple lips curling up to smile at her prey, Sinon couldn't help but shiver.

"Shall we fall together?" The woman in black said, her voice slow and echoed. Sinon was shaking fully now, she couldn't speak her breath was caught in her throat, and all that was going through her head was what was this woman planning to do with her. The maiden smiled before speaking once again.
"Shall we fall together…My little murderer!?"

A loud squeak left Sinon's lips. "W-What!?" Not quite able to believe what she had heard; how did the black maiden know about that? Did she know about it? The one thing that had traumatised her since she was eleven, the one singular event that had changed everything in her life.

"Don't try to deny what you did!" The black maiden screeched making the black water produce waves where they stood. Those orange eyes gazed heavily in the eyes of her victim, noticing the obvious fear plastered over the teenage girl. The maiden grinned in pleasure before she spoke again.
"Poor girl…" She gentled caressed Sinon's cheek with her hand. "Trying to run away from the past, wishing to be strong to move on, and yet so scared. Tell me dear girl, will anyone miss you?"

This was getting to be too much for Sinon, it was like this woman could read her thoughts and heart. Staring right into her very being, she wanted to run away but she couldn't. The words of the maiden had struck her core, and now she simply couldn't move. "I…I…" She simply stumbled over her words, knowing no matter what she said nothing would escape the maiden's eyes.

"You secretly wish to be stronger, to escape your own weakness. Yet at the same time, you wish for someone to save you." The woman in black said her face twisting in extreme pleasure. "How very sad…No one will be coming for you!"

Tears ran down Sinon's eyes, what the maiden was saying was true. Ever since that day, five years ago she wanted someone to save her. She couldn't tell if what she had done was right, it had burned into her heart ever since. It was there she began to recall her time back then, all of the kids calling her murderer. The blood she kept seeing on her hands, no one wanted to help. Reach out their hand to her, prove to her that she wasn't wrong for taking another's life.

"Don't worry it won't be painful." The maiden soothed. "In fact, before you know it all the pain you felt will be gone. Lost with your very life, so I will ask you once again." She let her grip on Sinon go. "Will you fall with me?"

Though fear was gripping her heart, Sinon forced her legs to move. There was no way to get past the black maiden, so her only hope was to run back and find another exit. She turned and ran back down the hallway; it may be hopeless but there was still the door on the right junction. It seemed to be the only way out at this point, so she turned to the right and to her surprise the door was now open. Not even considering the options as the other ghosts were also pursuing her, she leapt through the open stone doors and they slammed behind her.

"Why is this happening?" Sinon gasped to herself, could the door even hold out those spirits? Weirdly no sound was coming from the other side, had they simply stopped pursing her? Or was there more to it then that? Monitoring the new room, she was in, there was defiantly something off about this one in comparison to the previous rooms.

For starters this room looked more like an old shrine, that would have been right at home in an old Japanese town. There were two stone marble archways in the room, one was right above where she was standing. Whilst the other was on the end of the room, both of them were accompanied by pale white stairs. Also, of note were several other pillars keeping the main roof of the room aloft. They had various images on them, several of them portraying shrine maidens in what looked like a ritual. These rituals looked like they were performed under the pale light of the moon, which Sinon couldn't help but notice was coming from a gap in the roof.

It looked like the women had to be sealed in giant boxes, devoid of devotion or wanting. According to some of the text seen too, this made them 'pillars' to prevent the return of the black water. Sinon couldn't help but snort at that, as she noticed the whole room was covered once again in said water. It seemed that whoever wrote about these rituals believed that, the water was connected to the underworld. If it overflowed or the ritual was a failure, the boarder between the real world and the world of the dead would break. It was a crazy thought, but this was a game so insane stories like this made sense.

"So that's it huh?" Sinon mumbled to herself, this was one weird scenario to be in but right now she had to figure a way out. There didn't appear to be another way out, as she looked over the room. All that was left was the giant black box in the middle, it was lit up due to the moonlight shining from the roof. She didn't like the thought of going near it, but it may have some clues on how to get out. So, against her better judgement, she took a step closer to the box.

That proved to be a mistake, as she approached the box the lid slowly creaked open. Weirdly air bubbles arose from it, almost like it would if the whole room had been underwater. Black and grey streams flooded out of the box, overflowing it and dribbling into the water into the water. All of a sudden, the head of a human arrived with the rest of the body, summoned forth with the streams. Sinon had expected it to be a woman emerging from the box, yet it wasn't it was a man.

No, it wasn't just a man. It was a man she recognised, those small and diluted eyes. That wavy unkempt hair, his dry cracked lips, that crooked grin, and there was a bullet hole in his forehead oozing black blood, which ran down his face. It was him!

Sinon tried to back away, but her feet wouldn't let her. She looked down, noticing the streams that were flooding from the box had entered the water and attacked her legs. Wrapping around her thighs, preventing her from moving she felt them moving further up her body. She let out a small whimper, as she looked back the man fully starting to emerge from the box. The streams had reached her neck, now feeling heavier like black tendrils squeezing at her body, as they edged up her face. It was hard to breath; her vision was going black but still he came toward her. The man who Sinon shot dead five years ago, he had come back to haunt her. He laughed viciously and lunged at the defenceless girl, his eyes streaming black liquid, reaching out with his clammy hands. Sinon felt him touch her with his deathly touch, she let out a scream before her vision went completely black.

No one had heard that scream, on that day Sinon disappeared. She had been sealed away in that shrine on top of the mountain. At that time, all she could remember were the words of the black maiden.

"How very sad…no one will be coming for you!"

A/N: Phew that was a doozy to write. I know this is a bit different to my usual style, but I really wanted to try a bit of a horror style theme this time. Don't worry this won't be all horror themed, after all this is still a SAO story too. Though I'm sure most of you will be wondering why I chose these two series, well for one I love both of these series. Project Zero (Fatal Frame) has always been a very overlooked horror series, and the fifth game I feel gets a lot of hate. Whilst SAO well it isn't perfect granted, but again it gets a stupid amount of hate. So, I felt I would show some love for both series. I also want to clear up a few things that are bound to be questioned otherwise. Number one, this takes place in the gameverse. Hence why Sinon is in SAO, I was originally planning for this to take place in the cannon universe, but the only way I felt that would work is if I set it in the real world, which kind of defeats the purpose of SAO. Secondly yes there is going to be an OC and Sinon pairing, I always hated in SAO that Kirito got the attention of all the girls, not to mention some being pointless in general. So, I think it is fair to balance it out with a male OC. He will appear in chapter 1, and will be the main focus alongside Sinon.
Thirdly Kirito and his crew are still going to be here, as I have a use for all the girls. I even hinted about it here. However, he is more of a side character but will get a small side story within this story. Just don't expect every character to be shown off equally because that probably won't happen.

Okay I rambled enough; I hope you enjoyed this prologue. If you enjoyed the story please review, fav the story or follow me, it gives me the motivation to continue and feedback is always good. I can take criticism as long as you're not being a jerk about it, but I am always happy to learn. Oh, one last thing, I may be looking for some new characters to be introduced. Not many but if you have ideas for spirits, players or even new Laughing Coffin members I will be happy to take them into account. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!