Kirito wakes up in a vast, fantastical forest filled with towering trees. While searching for clues about the truth of his surroundings, he meets a young boy who appears to recognize him. Although the boy should be a simple NPC, the depth of his emotions seems no different from a human's. As they look for the boy's parents, Kirito recalls a strange memory. It is a memory from his own childhood, featuring this boy and a girl with golden hair, bearing a name he should never have forgotten—Alice.