Disclaimer: Except for original ideas, everything else belongs to their original owners.

Prologue – Curse of a New World

"I wonder how this game would have on me?"

At a particular house in Tokyo, a teenage boy with medium-length black hair and dark blue eyes. Fifteen years old at best, has just returned from waiting in line at the store to buy a particular game that caught his interest.

It was Nov 6th, 2022 when a revolutionary breakthrough in gaming history has occurred. It was on that date when the first known Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Game (VRMMOG) was finally launched, starting in Japan. Despite only 25,000 copies of the game was produced, it was quickly sold out in seconds. The boy himself was very lucky for he obtained the last copy of game and one of the few NerveGears that were left at the store.

The boys name was Takeru Kato and the game in particular was called Sword Art Online.

"It is probably not as intensive as those games I played on the computer. A pity the series was discontinued many years ago. "Then again, I would be stressed if I had to fight such enemies face-to-face..." The boy muttered as he entered his room.

As he put down his copy of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear on his desk, Takeru glanced at his computer monitor. Beside it was a trio of worn-out boxes and the pictures on it was of questionable quality. While many would question on why he kept such old items, they would understand when they learned it was one of the few copies of a once well-known online game series. The Soul series…

Despite the development of more advanced technologies, Takeru's family still retain some computers and consoles that they still use today despite being deemed obsolete. He even has a PS3 in his room and near it was a game which was no longer in stock and was deemed the start of the whole series.

Takeru recalled the time when his older brother decided to give him the games for his thirteen birthday. His brother spoke of the time when the games still had online support and how saddens he was by the lack of interest of the series.

The last of the series was released on 2016, which was soon the online experience was plagued with a number of hackers. The anti-cheat system that was implemented had some effect, but it also has nasty side-effect of banning non-hackers from online play. The simplest of texture mods is deemed by the system as hacking and there were reports of even players were banned without notice.

With the introduction of newer technologies and games, people began to lose interest in the Soul series. Since many played for the online experience, they drifted to newer games when the servers were shut down in 2019; despite the fact the series was still playable without online support.

The increasingly popularity of MMOGs had began to Soul series and the finally nail in the coffin was when Sword Art Online was announced to the world. Off all the people he talked to about the Soul Series, his brother was the only one to give him a clear answer. Everyone else either said they never heard of it or no longer remember the details of the series.

Regardless, he read the instructions on the proper usage of the NerveGear and then put the device on his head. As much as he like playing the Soul series, he wanted to try what it is like to play in virtual reality.

Takeru recalled how happy his brother was when he told how fun the Soul Series was. Despite its difficulty and the frustrations, it brings, he enjoyed time-to-time putting himself to the limit. Takeru have no clue how his brother would react for trying something as radical as virtual reality. After all, his brother was more into the old-style of gaming.

"I hope my brother doesn't get mad at me for doing this…"

It was then Takeru's life was changed forever when he inserted the game disk as laid on his bed.

"Link up."

After speaking those fateful words, the NerveGear began to scan his entire body; from his head to his feet. After doing the character creation process, altering his appearance slightly, he was blinded by a bright light as the game began to load.

-Floor 1, Starting City-

When he regained his sight, he found himself in a vast city filled with hundreds if not thousands of people.

"Incredible…" He whispered out.

Despite knowing it was virtual reality, Takeru couldn't help but to be amazed of how real everything around him was. It was like he was taken from Earth itself and sent to a whole new world.

While the usage of an touchscreen menu and interfaces was confusing at first, Takeru felt he will get use to it in time. After all, it was a big step from the controller and keyboard that he was more familiar with.

After taking a look at himself and his starting equipment; basic clothing and a basic curved blade attached to his hip, he began to explore the city and take a look at the stores. While the conversions with the NPCs usually involve the usage of the menu, they still act like how a normal human being should act.

Soon, Takeru decided to it was time to increase his skills and get some levels. Even though he grinded to gain experience in RPGs prior to SAO, he knew it was going to be tough for he had to fight enemies head-on and with his own strength.

It was then he went to the field east of the Starting City to fight some enemies that roam the area. As of now, Takeru started to engage the boars one-by-one in order to get the hang of the combat system.

'I am glad to ask my cousin to teach me how to use a sword…' Takeru thought as he side-steps to the right when the boar charged passed him and he delivered a blow to its head. The boar shattered into thousands of pixels, which disappeared in a few seconds.

When he was young, Takeru visited the home of one of his cousins and was fascinated when he displayed several sword techniques he learned during the years. After some considerations, he was given permission to be taught of using a katana. Since he only uses such techniques to exercise, it was the first time he ever used them in combat.

"This is no katana, but it will have to do."

As he glanced at his curved sword, a wolf was approaching him behind. Takeru was alerted when it made a growl and began to charge at him.

Turning around to face it, he quickly swings the blade once more and delivered a swift slash to it, shattering it into pixels.

"Ugh… It isn't the same without a katana. The feeling of this blade is different."

"Impressive. You are quite skilled using a blade."

A female voice catches Takeru's ear and turned to the left. In his sight was a girl of the same age, wearing a basic outfit that was somewhat similar to his own and had a rapier strapped to her waist. Her long chestnut hair and hazel eyes helps her stand out in a crowd.

"I may be new to this game, but I was honed myself in kenjutsu when I was… Behind you!"

Takeru shouted out to the girl for he noticed a wolf began to approach her from behind. She quickly turned as the wolf moved into towards her. Much to his surprise, the girl drew her rapier and defeated it with a quick thrust.

"With that display, I assume you were trained in using such a weapon." He spoke with an impressed tone as he watches the wolf become pixels.

"I afraid not. I am new to this game as well, but it looks like you could handle yourself."

Takeru made a small smile as he responds to her words. "Well, maybe we could form a party and learn the mechanics together."

The girl had a thoughtful look on her face before she made a smile similar to his.

"That is not bad idea. My name is Asuna. What is yours?"

"The name is Takeru. Nice to meet your Asuna."

The two players soon formed a party and spend the time fighting against many enemies while getting use to the many functions of the game. They also talk a bit about themselves despite only meeting each other moments ago.

In a matter of hours, Takeru and Asuna became quick friends; the latter was quite happy of befriending the former. He could tell that she was enjoying the time they were spending with each other.

However, all good times have to end and the two went their separate ways, but not before they add each other to their respective friend list. Takeru himself continue to grind against low level enemies; a slow but safe way to gain exp and Cor, the game's currency.

When he found the time was now 6:00 PM, he saw it was time to return back for dinner and back to reality.

'Reaching level 6 in a matter of hours… I have to say that is quite an achievement for my first day.'

He thought as he opens his main menu and went to log-off from the game. However, he found that the menu was missing a key option.

"Is this a bug or what?"

The menu was somehow missing the logout button. He looked into his logs for possible announcements but found nothing regarding a system error.

As Takeru was keeping his composure in check, seeing since it was a new game, there were possibly a number of glitches that needed to be patched. However, the fact that there was no log-out option means that his mind was effectively trapped in this world.

Suddenly, he was surrounded by a bright light and when he came to, Takeru found himself back to the town square with Starting City. Around him were fellow players and many more began to teleport in.

"What is going on here?"

Suddenly, a female player teleported behind him and he turned to see who it was. When they saw each other, they were relieved upon seeing their faces.

"Asuna!"

"Takeru!"

Just as they were about ask each other on their perspective of what's going on, they witness the sky turn red as was being covered with red warning messages. It was then a large hooded figure manifested above the center of the square.

"What the… Who is that?" Takeru muttered out as he looked at the figure in the sky. He also moves beside Asuna and put his right hand on her shoulder to reassure her that everything would be alright.

The gesture helped calm her down, but it didn't stop the anxiety that was building inside of her.

Everyone was looking at the hooded figure were muttering what is happening, but they were interrupted when the figure began to speak.

"Attention all players. I welcome you to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko, the very creator of the world of Aincrad."

"It can't be…" Takeru whispered in shock as he recalled what learned about Akihiko. Despite not being in his thirties, the man was the brilliant developer of both the NerveGear and Sword Art Online; which revolutionized online gaming.

"As you have all noticed, the logout button is no longer available in the main menu. However, this was intentional. No one will be able to log out of the game and no one in the real world will not be able to take of your NerveGears."

Everyone were listening in silence to Akihiko words, despite how disturbing they were. Takeru and Asuna were starting to feel uneased of the situation, but the former was holding in the feeling better.

"If any attempt to remove the NerveGear or disrupt its operations, the transmitter in the NerveGear will release a powerful microwave wave into your head, frying your brain the process. In other words, instant death…"

Akihiko's last statement have left a bitter aura among the players. There were those who stood in complete silence while others thought it was a joke.

'Death…?' Takeru thought as he felt a bead of sweat run down his forehead. He then felt a tug on his right arm and knew it was from Asuna. He turned to see her face with a concerned expression.

"He can't be serious right?"

"I really hope he is, but I have a feeling that he is not bluffing…"

As much he wanted to be optimistic of what is going on, he had a feeling that the Akihiko was telling the truth. Takeru wanted to make Asuna at ease, but at this time, he had to be honest of what he felt.

It was then Akihiko vindicated Takeru's assumption that he was serious with his threats.

"I have revealed these conditions to the government and mass media back in the real world. Sadly, there were a few families that didn't take my warning seriously and removed the NerveGears. As of now, about 1374 players have perished due to this."

Around him was a number of windows which displayed the news that was spreading across the real world. Takeru gritted his teeth as he witnessed people crying on the windows; likely to be the relatives of the players who had their NerveGears taken off.

"To those who still have bodies in the Real World, you have nothing to fear. As of now, media has reported of the situation and within two hours, you all will be transferred to hospital with your NerveGears still on."

Not one of the players spoke a word as Akihiko continue to speak. It was then he dropped the bombshell which pierce everyone present.

"As of this moment, I have revised the revival system of the game. If your HP drops to zero, you will revive as usual, but at the cost of 50% of your maximum HP. Once in that state, if your HP drops to zero once more, your avatar will be delated and the NerveGear will destroy your brain."

A sense of dread has spread among the players after hearing Akihiko statement. There were both panic and complaints among everyone in the square. Takeru however was silent as his mind began to process what he heard.

While he was no doubt as shocked as Asuna beside him, he felt there was something usually on the revised revival system.

'The way he described the new revival process… It is awfully similar to…'

His line of thought was broken however as Akihiko continues on talking.

"There is a condition however for you all to be free, which is the completion of this game. At the moment, all of you are at the first floor of Aincrad. By defeating a floor boss, you will be able to enter the next floor. Once you are on the 100th floor and defeat the final boss, the game will be considered completed and you will be all released."

Everyone were tensed when they head the condition for their release. Those in the game that participated in beta also felt tense despite their prior experience. The majority of the players knew that only a few floors were cleared during the beta, so the odds for completing 100 floors are likely against them.

Takeru began to lose his calm composure as he shallowed his saliva. Asuna beside him however, was at the verge of freaking out, so he tightened his grip on her shoulder to assure that he was here.

"Lastly, I have left two presents for you all. The first one is in all your inventories. Please take a look."

Takeru quickly opened his main menu and touched the inventory icon. What he found was an item called "Hand Mirror". Materializing it, he saw it was an ordinary mirror with a rectangular frame.

As he was staring as his own reflection, Takeru was suddenly surrounded by a bright light. The same applied to every player in the whole square.

Just as the light died out, Takeru regained his senses and saw a shocking sight. Around him were people of various appearances, ages and figures. He couldn't help but twitch his right eye as he saw men wearing girl clothing and vice versa.

"Are you alright Takeru…?"

"I think so Asuna…"

He turned to Asuna and saw that her appearance was slightly off the last time they saw each other. However, the colour of both her hair and eyes remain the same. Takeru quickly look back at his mirror and much to his surprise, it was his true appearance back in the reality. Asuna also looked into her mirror and had come to the same realization.

"How is this possible?" Asuna spoke as she saw that her avatar was exactly the same as her body back in the real world.

"I recall that the NerveGear scanned my face and requested that I touch my body for calibration purposes. I have to guess that's how our avatar obtained our real-life appearance." Takeru replied as he put the mirror back into his inventory.

"As for my second present, you will find it to the far east from the Starting City. There, you will find a nexus; linked to worlds that were deemed long-forgotten. In those worlds, you will wander into hostile environments and face enemies that are merciless and endless in number. The dangers there will push even the best of players to their breaking point, but those with courage and determination will find rich rewards that cannot be found any floor in Aincrad."

"What kind of present is that?"

Takeru muttered out on the supposed benefit of such a present. What rewards is worth risking their lives getting if the enemies those worlds Akihiko spoke off were as powerful as he claims.

However, he felt a strange feeling that was something off when Akihiko spoke of a nexus. It felt familiar to him, but he couldn't put his hand on it.

"You all wonder why I am doing this? My purpose was to create Sword Art Online for my own enjoyment and that purpose have been realized. With that, I conclude the tutorial for Sword Art Online. Good luck and remember to fight bravely."

As soon Akihiko finished talking, he vanished and there was nothing but silence from the players below as the sky returned back to its sunset setting. In a few moments, pandemonium suddenly erupted from the town square.

"You get to be kidding me!"

"Log us out already!"

"I got something important coming up!"

"Somebody! Help us!"

Around him, Takeru could only see the other players panicking about their predicament. In the chaos, he quickly pulled Asuna's hand and moved out of the square to a quiet location.

"What are you doing Takeru?"

"Asuna, if we are to survive in this world, we need to get stronger. I have marked down several locations that I visited that are plentiful with low-level enemies. Conveniently, there is a small village in the area that we could go to rest."

He showed her his map and the locations he was flagged on the screen. After taking a closer look, she noticed that the locations were to the east of the floor; which as where the so-called nexus was located.

"Please don't me we are going to that nexus. You know what we been told." Asuna spoke to her friend with a worried tone. However, Takeru only made a small smile.

"I know your concerns, but I would like to have glance of this nexus. If there are enemies nearby its vicinity, then we will just avoid it until we get stronger."

The two looked at each other before Asuna nodded in acceptance. They know that by watching each other backs, they have a higher chance of survival.

Together, they made their way to the village to the east; fighting any enemy that are in their path. Much to Takeru's surprise, Asuna was a level 5; which mean she must have grinded the same way he did.

It was a relief for them to finally arrive at the village. While it was small at best, it nevertheless has place to rest, resupply and repair their equipment. Since was nighttime, they decided it was best to rest up before venturing on.

On the next day, after buying a number of essential items, Takeru and Asuna have began their trek to where the nexus was possibly located. While the two players took down a number of enemies on the way, they noticed that the number of enemies were decreasing until the path they walked was devoid of hostiles.

'Strange… Why is there no enemy around here?" Takeru thought as he scanned his surroundings. Asuna noticed this as well as look behind here in case any enemy was tailing them.

When they reach the edge of the 1st floor, they soon noticed a small ruined building that was close to edge of the cliff. Venturing inside, they found nothing but a stairway downwards.

"Asuna… I don't know what is down there, but if the enemies there proved to be too powerful, then we will use the teleportation crystals to escape."

"Understood."

With the two agreeing to the matter, they walk down the stairs while keeping a close eye for any enemy they may encounter. They soon found that the way down inloving going through an enclosed spiral stairway; the only lighting underground were a few dim torches that were attached to the walls.

Takeru and Asuna felt an unpleasant feeling as they moved down the stairway and gripped the handles of their weapons as a precaution. They however finally reach the end of the stairs and the only before them now was a small room that was dimly lighted by a torch in the ceiling. At the end of the room was a circular pool of what appears to be water and had a number of unknown symbols glowing within it.

"Is that the nexus?" Asuna spoke in confusion as she glanced at the pool.

"One way to find out." Takeru replied to his friend's question as he walked it. Much to his shock, the water appears to be solid despite seeing the ripples form upon touching the pool. As he stood back up, he and Asuna suddenly found themselves surrounded by a deep fog.

"What is happening Takeru!?"

"I have no idea! Hold on to your crystal just in case!"

In matter of seconds, the fog vanished and they found themselves inside what appears to be an underground temple. They looked down on their feet and saw they were standing on a pool that was similar to the one they found initially. The walls and pillars were covered with ornate designs and were brighten up by glowing symbols that were like the ones found in the pool.

There were stairs that surround the pool they stand on now, which appears to lead to the upper floors of the temple. On the second level that around the pool were 4 stones that each had a different figure on the front; something like a curving of a king.

Asuna was in shock of the architecture of what was no doubt was the nexus that they were told of yesterday. However, her shock paled in comparison to Takeru's. He was wide-eyed of what he saw and was breathing hard.

Seeing his face, Asuna was concerned of what is going on with him. "Takeru, are you alright?"

Just as she said that, Takeru began to rush towards the stairs and up towards the second level. Asuna gave chase as her friend began to closely inspect the stones; especially the name beneath the carving.

One by one, Takeru inspected each stone closely; his breathing intensifying every time he moved to a next stone. Upon checking the last stone, he was shaking as he clutched his chest and sweat run down his forehead.

Asuna then grabbed his shoulder and turned him around, facing each other as she was worried of why her friend was in a sorry state.

"Takeru, what is wrong? Why are you acting like this?"

"Kayaba Akihiko… How did he…"

Asuna's face became one of shock as Takeru finish his statement.

"How did he bring Boletaria, Lordran, Drangleic and Lothric here…? To Sword Arts Online…?"

Author Note:

I ended up having this idea after replaying Demon Souls and the Dark Souls series and re-watching Sword Art Online. I saw there are a few crossovers between the two series, so I decided to try my hand on it. As you can see, I decided to do a different approach in making the Souls series with Sword Art Online, which will have a significant impact on how the plot plays out.

While there isn't much action this chapter, there will be plenty of action on the next chapter in the future.

Understand that the story is an alternative universe and it has a number of differences not found in the light novel. If that bothers you, then there is no need for you to continue reading.

Also have a pairing set-up for the OC (Takeru), but I will leave up to you all to guess if its going to be a single pairing or a harem.