Hey everyone. This story is going to see Kazuto/Kirito in a different sort of mindset post SAO, he's going to be a lot more driven and bitter, but that's just to help establish some relationships with the other characters. Hopefully you all enjoy. If not...well I guess you can't say I didn't try. Reviews either way are great.

And the disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online (even if I wish I did).

Ch. 1

Oblivion

The Skull Reaper let out one last screech before rising its head up and shattering to millions of pieces. The room grew quiet as the congratulations message popped up. There were no cheers, no victory cries. Instead, almost everyone slumped to the ground in exhaustion. Kirito and Asuna were no exception. They sat back to back, leaning on one another for support. Kirito was furious with himself. Here he had sworn he'd protect her yet during the previous battle the only reason he was able to block the scythe was because she had jumped in to protect him. He had failed her, like he always did when people depended on him. He didn't deserve her love.

Kirito clenched his fist and bit his lip. He could feel tears stinging at his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He couldn't show weakness, not in front of so many people who looked up to him as a leading frontline player.

"Stop." Asuna said without even turning back around to him.

Kirito was caught off guard. "Stop what?"

"Stop beating yourself up over this. The only reason we won is because we were able to stop the scythe."

Kirito turned his head in shame. "I didn't protect you." He mumbled, barely audible.

"You did, I could never have done that on my own. I would have been killed." She replied.

"I would've been killed if you hadn't of saved me though." Kirito's tears were threatening to spill over now.

Asuna gently turned to face him. She rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling herself into his neck. "We did it together. We're stronger together, Kirito. That's why where you go, I go. With you I'm not afraid to jump in and fight, I know you'll be there to protect me."

"Asuna…" Kirito wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. He didn't know what he did to deserve her, he certainly would never have been able to be with her in the real world. If they ever got back…no when they got back, he'd fix that. He'd be someone she deserved.

"How many did we lose?" Klein asked, bringing Kirito and Asuna back from their own world.

No one moved to respond, so Kirito brought up the menu and opened up the map. He counted the remaining dots. "Fourteen of us died."

"Fourteen? And there's still 25 more floors to go. How are we ever going to make it?" Agil asked in defeat.

"We'll make it." Asuna replied. Her voice was steady and full of resolve. She gripped Kirito's hand and he too felt reassured. "There are still almost 6000 players out there, we can still win this."

"But only a couple hundred of them are a high enough level to fight on the frontlines. And there's still so much more to go. The fights aren't going to get any easier from here." A member of the KOB stated.

"Then we'll train more players if we have to." Kirito responded. "We can't give up now! We've come too far and lost too many people fighting to be free again. I will not let their deaths be in vain."

"We'll keep fighting. We'll stand together and we will win this. We just have to keep believing that we can." Asuna finished.

There was a murmur of agreement and, if only by a little, Kirito thought he could sense everyone's spirits raise. He was never really big on giving speeches, but Asuna was second in command of the KOB, she was a public figure and leader. The two combined telling everyone that they could do it might actually have more weight to it than Kirito had expected. He looked over at Commander Heathcliff. The commander was standing tall among all the other players, seemingly unaffected by the long and grueling battle that had just taken place. Why didn't the commander take charge and speak up along with him and Asuna? Heathcliff almost always let others deal with situations, despite being the leader of the most powerful guild in the game. It was almost as if he was testing the other players, seeing how they could handle all that was thrown at them. Kirito glanced at Heathcliff's health bar and saw it was still in the green. Heathcliff must've felt eyes on him because he turned directly towards Kirito and they locked eyes.

It was only a moment before Heathcliff looked away, but it had been enough to send a chill down Kirito's spine, probably even in the real world. Those eyes hadn't been the look of a leader, those were the eyes of someone observing impassively, uncaring for the subjects in front of him. They were alight with amusement, despite the deaths of several comrades just moments earlier.

The seed of suspicion entered Kirito's mind. Heathcliff couldn't be…no, Kirito couldn't accept that. But even as he tried to convince himself it began clicking into place. Heathcliff ushered his guild along, but he left the majority of the planning and fighting up to the other members. His health had never dropped into the yellow. During their duel, Heathcliff had moved far faster than anyone should have ever been able to, faster than the system should have even allowed. And now, here he was, like a giddy child watching their own science experiment. In a couple of seconds, Kirito was sure of it.

He slowly got to one knee and pulled a sword out discretely and quietly. The only person that seemed to notice was Asuna.

"Kirito, what are you doing?" She asked, concern in her eyes.

Kirito was hesitant for a moment. What if he was wrong? He'd instantly be labeled a criminal player. He'd be shunned at best, more likely thrown in prison. He might be killed by all the players here. Whatever the case may be, he was ready to accept that because he was almost positive he was right. However, if he was wrong, would the others group Asuna in with him? Would she be punished for his actions as well? How would she react towards him, would she understand his logic? One look back at Heathcliff though and Kirito's hesitation was resolved. He was certain.

"Pray I'm right." Was all he said. Then he charged wordlessly.

"Kirito?!" Asuna shouted after him, alerting Heathcliff and the others but it was too late. Kirito entered the starting position for a single hit sword skill, rage spike. It wouldn't kill Heathcliff if Kirito was wrong, but it certainly would knock him into the yellow, and that's what Kirito needed to see.

Heathcliff turned towards Kirito and tried to raise his shield at the last second, but he was too late. Kirito's sword went over the shield and right before it met Heathcliff it met an invisible barrier and his sword skill discharged releasing the attack on to a small purple wall sending blue and purple sparks flying. Everyone was shocked at Kirito's actions, but it was quickly replaced by what Kirito's sword had smashed into.

Where the sword should have met Heathcliff's body was instead a purple barrier that read 'Immortal Object.' Kirito jumped back to put distance between himself and Heathcliff and Asuna was up beside him in a second.

"Immortal Object?" She asked, reading it aloud. "Commander Heathcliff…what is the meaning of this?"

Heathcliff only smiled and locked his eyes on to Kirito, as if daring Kirito to explain it all. Kirito decided to comply. "I think I can explain that." He started. "In the beginning, I wondered where he was, watching us all struggle in his world. Where would he be watching from? But I forgot one of the most basic things." Kirito paused and put his sword back in its sheath on his back. "No one wants to watch someone else play an RPG, so why would he sit out and watch the most intense one out there? The answer's simple. He didn't. He was among us the entire time." Kirito pointed directly at Heathcliff. "Isn't that right, Akihiko Kayaba?"

There were gasps of disbelief all across the room. Asuna took a step towards the commander but Kirito gently grabbed her and pulled her back to him. "Commander Heathcliff…is that true?" She asked, disbelief obvious in her voice. Kirito understood, this was her leader, a man who she had looked up to.

Instead of answering her, Heathcliff merely chuckled. "If you don't mind me asking, what gave me away, Kirito?"

"Our duel. There was a moment where I thought I had you, but you moved way too quick, quicker than should have been possible, even by the game's standards." Kirito responded.

"Ah yes, I was worried you'd noticed that. But then again, I didn't really have a choice but to activate the system's assist. I had underestimated you, you were too fast and I was going to lose. I couldn't allow that to happen, it was necessary for you to join the KOB for them to continue to advance through the game." Heathcliff closed his eyes as he sighed and chuckled again. Then to everyone he said, "Yes, I am Akihiko Kayaba, and now that the act is up I suppose it does no harm to tell you all that I am the final boss on the 100th floor."

"No…commander?" Asuna cried out. "How could you?"

Another member of the KOB stood up. "You bastard. We trusted you, looked up to you! You were supposed to lead us to victory, and it was all just a lie!" The player raised his sword and charged at Heathcliff. Without ever taking his eyes off Kirito, Heathcliff pulled up his menu and manipulated several buttons. The player charging him froze in place before falling to the ground.

"What-I can't-I can't move?" He said as he struggled. The paralysis sign was above his health bar. A few more clicks from Heathcliff and all around the room players were falling to the ground from paralysis. Next to Kirito, Asuna went rigid as well.

"Kirito!" She warned. Kirito barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground. He took a knee and propped her up as comfortably as he could against him. Only he and Heathcliff seemed unfazed by the paralysis.

Kirito glared at Heathcliff. "What now, you just going to kill us all to cover everything up?"

"Of course not, what would be the point of that? It wouldn't be very fair of me, now would it?" Heathcliff responded. "No, I think I'll just go on up to the 100th floor and wait for you all there. I was wanting to build up the KOB a little bit longer to make sure I'd have someone to fight at the end, but I think you all can manage now. After all, you've already surprised me by figuring out my identity so early. There's hope for you all yet."

Kirito could only grimace at Heathcliff's nonchalant response. He truly was a monster.

"I feel like you deserve a reward for figuring it all out though, Kirito. So, I'm going to give you a chance." Heathcliff stated.

"A chance? A chance for what?"

"To fight me, my dear boy. To fight me here and now. Beat me and you clear the game, and everyone goes free. No strings attached."

"Don't do it Kirito!" Asuna pleaded. Kirito looked down at her and saw the concern in her eyes. "It's a trap, if he was going to be the final boss then he was never meant to be fought one on one. Just let him leave. We'll regroup and continue to the top. We'll face him then, all of us. Please, Kirito…"

Kirito looked around the room. Tired faces, full of concern looked back at him. He closed his eyes and he could see everyone who had been hurt by the game, what it had done to them all. Diabel, the Moonlit Black Cats, just a few among thousands who are now dead because of the stupid game. Lisbeth and Silica both having suffered in this world and looking up to Kirito to uphold his promise and free them. Klien, who Kirito had abandoned on the very first day, yet he always there and never held a grudge for it. And what it had done to Asuna, how she had given up on living and returning home on the first floor when he first met her, how she had cried so many times at the thought of losing him, how devastated she was when they lost Yui to the same system that kept them prisoner, and now how the leader she looked up to had simply betrayed all of the trust she put into him. And then what had the game done to Kirito personally. He lost his friends in the Moonlit Black Cats. He had been hated by so many players when he declared himself a Beater just to protect other Beta Testers, and he had to live with that hatred and disgust towards him for so long. He had even become a murderer, having killed three other players, even if it was self-defense. This game had broken him just like everyone else. And he was sick of it.

"I'm sorry, Asuna." He said finally as a tear rolled down his face. "I have to try…"

Asuna tried shaking her head as much as she could given the paralysis she was suffering from. "No, no you don't. Kirito, please. You don't have to do this. We can regroup and keep going up together."

"And if we do then more will die along the way…" He responded. Another tear rolled down his cheek. "There's been enough death and suffering already. At least this way we have a shot, and if I fail, its only one death."

"Kirito, no!" She begged. "What am I supposed to do if you die? I need you with me…please. I love you…"

Kirito gently leaned down and kissed her. It was short and brief, but he tried putting every ounce of love and emotion he could into it. When he broke the kiss he gently pulled at her necklace where Yui's heart was. He took off his wedding band and gently hooked it onto her necklace before letting it rest around her neck again. "If I lose then keep on fighting. For me, for Yui, for everyone. Make it home for me. Please?"

Tears began rolling down Asuna's cheeks. "It's not fair Kirito! Please, don't do this!" But Kirito was already gently laying her down. All around him Kirito heard people shouting for him to stop, to let Heathcliff go, but he wasn't going to listen.

"A touching moment, truly. I always saw myself in you, Kirito, but now I have to say I was mistaken. You care too much." Heathcliff looked around the room and surveyed everyone still lying there. "Before we begin I would like to warn you. While I always pictured you being one of the players to fight me at the end, dual wielding is only one of ten unique skills in the game. It was meant to go to the player with the highest reaction speeds. And while your speed has surprised me time and time again, I do wish for you to realize that you are only one of ten that I was expected to fight in the end. Do you still wish to fight me now?" Heathcliff's tone was almost mocking, daring Kirito.

"Don't do it, Kirito!" Agil's voice rang out.

"It's suicide, man!" Klein added.

Kirito turned back to them both. "Agil, I know you try to act like you're all about the money, but I know you spent every extra coin you had on getting equipment to the lower level players to try and help them level up. You saved a lot of lives and helped boost the frontlines. Thank you for that." Kirito then turned to Klien. "I never understood how you were able to forgive me for leaving you that first day Klien. All I was thinking about was myself, and no matter how rude or short I was with you, you were always so kind and loyal back. Even now. You're a great friend, one I never deserved. I wish I could do it all over again, things could've turned out differently."

"Don't you go apologizing like that now, you hear me! Beat him and then you can buy me a pizza on the other side, then I'll forgive you!" Klien responded, but the tears in his eyes made it evident he was scared and worried for Kirito's sake.

"You got it." Kirito gave him a nod. "Oh, and Klien…"

"Yeah?"

"If I don't make it…look after Asuna for me. Please."

Klien could only nod in response. Kirito turned towards Asuna. She had struggled into a position where she was on her side so she could look at him. Her eyes were pleading with him, but Kirito couldn't turn back now. He had promised her he'd get her out of the game. There was no way he wasn't going to try now.

"Kirito, please…" She tried one last time.

"I love you, Asuna." Was all he could say. She closed her eyes as tears rolled freely down her face. Kirito turned away from her even as tears began to roll down his own cheeks.

In front of him, Heathcliff was smirking. "What a touching goodbye speech, Kirito. I must say it almost brought a tear to my own eye."

Kirito scoffed at him before drawing his swords. Heathcliff's smirk turned into a smile as he too drew his sword. Heathcliff also opened up his menu and with a few clicks a status alert popped up signaling that Heathcliff was now a mortal object. But before Kirito's eyes, Heathcliff's health also filled all the way back up and two more health bars appeared below his normal one. Kirito's eyes went wide.

"I told you, I was the final boss at the end of the game Kirito. I also warned you that there were supposed to be at least nine other players with you when we fought. You wanted to fight me, now you will, but I will not be holding anything back." Heathcliff said.

Kirito just grit his teeth and thought to himself. He knew Heathcliff was Kayaba, which meant he had designed the game. That meant that Kirito wasn't going to be able to use any long combo sword skills, Kayaba would know them and know exactly how to counter them and the cool down would be too long and leave Kirito vulnerable. That meant Kirito was going to have to win on his own skill, with almost no help from the system at all. Kirito adjusted his grip on his swords. Heathcliff had said that Kirito had the fastest reaction time of all the other players, he was going to put that claim to the test.

With a battle cry, Kirito charged. Heathcliff brought his shield up into a guarding position, and Kirito maneuvered to where the shield was blocking Heathcliff's view of him and charged with every ounce of speed he had. As he had expected, Heathcliff was quick to maneuver himself to be able to see Kirito coming, but Kirito had already covered so much ground that Heathcliff had no time to stop Kirito's attack. He swung his Elucidator down catching Heathcliff in the arm before spinning and slashing up Heathcliff's leg and chest with his Dark Repulsor. Heathcliff tried to bash Kirito with his shield as he had in their duel, but Kirito was ready for it. He used the shield as a spring board to jump away from Heathcliff and get out of harm's way.

A few players cheered at Kirito's first successful hit. But Heathcliff seemed unfazed. "Smart move, Kirito, no sword skills. Guess I can expect you not to be foolish enough to try them on me, huh?" Heathcliff chuckled. "Still, it's going to be quite hard for you to drain all of my health without them, now isn't it?"

Kirito looked at Heathcliff's health and saw that despite his two direct hits, Heathcliff's first health bar had only dropped about three percent. Meanwhile, Kirito's own health was already in the yellow just from the boss fight earlier. He was at an extreme disadvantage.

Kirito did a quick glance over his shoulder towards Asuna. He found her eyes and in them he saw fear and panic, but he also saw something else, faith. She believed in him. And that was all he needed.

Kirito looked back at Heathcliff who was staring him down. Kirito charged again, jumping back to where the shield hid him from view. Heathcliff was ready this time though and quickly moved his shield while slashing at the same time. Kirito narrowly missed Heathcliff's blade as he dove into a baseball slide under the sword. As he slid by, He managed a quick swipe with both blades at Heathcliff's legs. Figuring that Heathcliff would think it likely for Kirito to retreat again like he did the first time, Kirito instead went straight back on the attack before Heathcliff could fully turn around. He used a quick three hit combo sword skill with his Elucidator and managed to block Heathcliff's wild thrust with his Dark Repulsor. Heathcliff thrust forward with his shield, but Kirito activated the martial arts skill crescent moon and kicked hard off the shield, throwing Heathcliff away from him as well as pushing Kirito away from harm.

"I must say, Kirito, your array of skills are far greater than I would have originally thought. But how many times do you think you can surprise me? I am the god of this world. I created everything in it." Heathcliff gave Kirito an evil grin. "And I haven't even begun to show you what all I'm capable of." With that Heathcliff's sword started to glow. Kirito crouched down ready to spring into action figuring it must be a dashing sword skill like sonic leap or flashing penetrator, but instead Heathcliff thrust his sword out and didn't move. The light effect of the sword came shooting out at Kirito like a serpent. Kirito's eyes grew wide as he barely had time to jump away. The light effect hit where he was just a split second beforehand and an explosion ripped through the air. Kirito was still relatively close and took damage from the attack. He saw his health decrease. It was only by a small amount but it was enough to send Kirito's heart plummeting. He had taken damage and Heathcliff hadn't even moved to inflict it. Could Kirito honestly beat him at such a disadvantage.

"Aghh!" Several other players cried as the explosion sent their paralyzed bodies through the air. Kirito looked back at them in alarm. Many of them had lost a decent portion of health from being near the blast and being unable to brace or get away from it. Klien and Agil were among them.

Kirito furiously turned back towards Heathcliff. "This battle is supposed to between us! Leave the other players out of it!"

Heathcliff chuckled, "I'm sorry, the attack was meant for you, but you jumped away. I can't help where my attack hits if my target decides to move."

Kirito gripped his swords harder. "Heathcliff-no Kayaba, you're a monster."

Heathcliff again laughed. "The final monster in fact."

Kirito felt rage boil inside him. He took up the position to unleash the dual wielding skill, starburst stream, but as he did he heard Asuan shout, "Don't do it, Kirito! He wants you to use the long skills!"

Kirito caught himself just in time, right before the system recognized the starting position of the sword skill. If he were to engage a long combo sword skill, Heathcliff would be able to anticipate all its moves and counter it. Then Kirito would be a sitting duck, and one good sword skill would be enough to finish Kirito off. He gave a quick glance back at Asuna, hoping to convey his thanks to her in that single look. She nodded her head slightly given that she was still under the paralysis effect. But the simple gesture and her eyes told him so much more. I'm still here for you. Please be careful. I believe in you, Kirito.

"Tsk, tsk." Heathcliff shook his head. "That was uncalled for Asuna. I don't appreciate you butting into our duel like this."

Kirito saw Heathcliff's antics as a good opportunity to strike, so he charged. Heathcliff wasn't nearly as distracted as he had let on though and was quick to assume a defensive position. He had his shield out in front of him blocking the majority of Kirito's view of him, but Kirito could just barely see the light effect of a sword skill being activated behind the shield. Knowing that Heathcliff was ready to strike at him the moment he got close, Kirito instead slowed down and crossed his swords ready to block the attack.

Heathcliff's sword skill hit its maximum time allotted and the older man swung out from behind his shield only to meet Kirito ready for the attack. Kirito caught Heathcliff's blade between his own and directed it towards the ground. The light effect off the sword flashed as it crashed into the floor and Heathcliff was left exposed by the post motion effect of the sword skill. Kirito wasted no time in taking full advantage of the moment.

"Meteor Fall!" He shouted, throwing his Elucidator into the air and his hand began glowing a bright red as the first hit of the combined martial art/one handed skill activated. Kirito unleashed a savage blow to Heathcliff's jaw, causing the man to stagger back a few steps. Before Heathcliff could recover though, Kirito's Elucidator was back in his hand already glowing for the second hit of the sword skill, a downward slash that caught Heathcliff in the side. Knowing he only had a moment and that he had to time it just right, Kirito let the motion of his second hit take his body with it, adjusting slightly so that his Dark Repulsor was in the starting position for the vorpal strike sword skill. Heathcliff had recovered slightly and moved to block the sword, but the skill was too powerful and smashed the shield away dealing a direct hit to the man. Again, Kirito let momentum carry his body and both his hands into position for the dual wielding skill double arc and both blades began to glow as Kirito did a full 360 slashing Heathcliff with both swords. Knowing that he was pushing his luck, Kirito initiated one last skill to his chained combo. Since he was already spinning he activated the water moon martial arts skill and his right foot lashed out in a powerful round house kick, catching Heathcliff in the stomach and sending him sliding backwards away from Kirito.

Finally, Kirito came to a stop and the post motion effect took hold. Luckily for him though, Heathcliff was too busy recovering to take advantage of the opening. By the time the man had himself gathered and ready, Kirito was already able to move again. It was at that moment that cheers were heard around the room.

"Alright!"

"Show him who's boss!"

"You can do it, Kirito!"

It was all the other players. Then Kirito finally managed to notice why everyone seemed so excited. Heathcliff's first health bar was depleted and already a quarter of his second was gone. Kirito allowed himself to smile just a bit.

"I must say, Kirito, you never cease to amaze me. Chaining together short combo sword skills to keep me from predicting your next move, but also using some of the strongest skills available to inflict maximum damage." Heathcliff brushed his hair from his face casually. "At least you're making it an interesting fight."

Heathcliff's lax tone took all the confidence right out of Kirito. How much longer could he keep this up. There were only so many more options that he could exhaust without having to repeat himself, and Heathcliff was not the type of man who didn't learn from the first time. Kirito wouldn't be able to use the same skills twice. He was running out of ideas.

"Remember how you killed the rabbit!" He heard Asuna call out from behind him.

The rabbit…his throwing picks. He still had three of them located on his back. It was at least something Heathcliff wouldn't expect, but the only skill Kirito knew was single shot, which wasn't going to take a great deal of health from Heathcliff. However, if Kirito played the cards right then maybe it could leave an opening for another chain combo of skills.

His drive renewed, Kirito charged Heathcliff again. The older man's eyes were searching for even the slightest hint of a sword skill's tell-tale sign, but Kirito didn't try to activate one. Heathcliff instead moved to meet Kirito. Just before they met Kirito jumped flipping over Heathcliff's outstretched sword. While in air, Kirito tried to strike out at Heathcliff, but the older man was quick to maneuver his shield and he was able to deflect Kirito's blows. Kirito landed on his feet and instantly turned back to face Heathcliff. The older man was already in the middle of a stab and Kirito was barely able to knock it away. They began exchanging rapid series of blows, but Kirito was never able to land a single hit. Heathcliff's shield blocked the majority of the strikes and Kirito had to be careful where he moved because outside of the shield was Hathcliff's sword ready to strike.

Kirito managed to deflect another attack and follow up with his own, but again Heathcliff's shield was quick to catch the attacks. Knowing he had to do something to present himself another opening, Kirito thought back to the throwing picks Asuna had reminded him of. They wouldn't take much health away from Heathcliff, but maybe…

Kirito jumped back to briefly put space between himself and Heathcliff and simultaneously threw his Elucidator up into the air again, freeing up his right hand. He reached back for his throwing picks, but like he had hoped, Heathcliff mistook the attack as a repeat of the meteor fall skill he used earlier and moved his shield so that it would catch Kirito's fist if he punched. Instead Kirito activated the single shot skill and threw a pick right over the shield straight into Heathcliff's exposed eye. The man gasped at the unexpected move, but more importantly to Kirito, the blind effect appeared next to Heathcliff's health.

Heathcliff was fast to remove the pick from his eye, but in the time it took to do that, Kirito's Elucidator was back in his hand and he attacked as fast as he could with both weapons and no sword skills. The onslaught and stun from the throwing pick was enough to catch Heathcliff off guard and Kirito landed hit after hit on the older man. Heathcliff was able to block a few hit with the shield, but as Kirito wasn't using any sword skills Heathcliff couldn't accurately predict where the next attack was coming from. And Kirito was simply too fast for Heathcliff to keep up with like this.

It seemed like it went on forever, but in reality it was probably less than 15 seconds,, when Heathcliff growled and shouted, "Enough!" His shield took on a yellow glow and he raised it up slightly. Kirito recognized the skill as a shockwave attack that would stun him and he managed to jump into the air a split second before Heathcliff's shield hit the ground. With a brief moment of the older man being caught in the post motion delay, Kirito used the sonic leap skill to close the gap and struck Heathcliff with his Dark Repulsor. The blow caught the man from his left shoulder down to his right hip, but Kirito didn't stop as he initiated the uppercut sword skill with his Elucidator, slashing up Heathcliff on the opposite side and pushing the man away.

The post motion delay was short as both skills were relatively short and weak, so Kirito was able to put distance between himself and Heathcliff quickly before the older man could take advantage of him.

Heathcliff's second health bar was nearly gone now, and the cheers in the room were growing noticeably. Kirito himself was exhausted and he felt like his mind was running on overdrive, but even still he managed a small smile when he saw the disgusted face Heathcliff was making.

"I'm getting tired of this, its lost its amusement now." Heathcliff said from across the room. He raised his sword up and it began to glow with a white light. Kirito readied himself to counter the strike.

"Kirito, look away!" Asuna cried out, but it was too late. Heathcliff didn't move an inch to attack but instead his sword emitted a blinding flash of light and Kirito was blinded by it. Now only seeing white, except for his own health bar, Kirito was left exposed and unable to defend himself. He heard footsteps approaching, heard his name being shouted from several different voices, but he was still unable to do anything as he felt the blade slash through his avatar before getting bashed with the shield as well. Kirito watched as his health dropped from yellow to a dangerously low point in the red. Still under the blinded status effect, Kirito thought he was done for. He could feel Heathcliff's presence, but he couldn't determine the direction of the attack.

"From the left!" He heard Asuna's voice above all the other shouts. For a moment it was like he felt her guiding his hands to cross his swords, and sure enough a moment later he felt Heathcliff's attack smash into his crossed defense, pushing Kirito back and away from the older man.

"Shield, duck!" Kirito dropped low and could feel the attack miss his head by mere inches. "Back!" Kirito threw himself backwards and heard Heatcliff's sword smash the ground right in front of him. "In front of you!" Again, it felt like she was guiding his hands. His right hand slashed up with Elucidator catching Heathcliff's blade. But this time Kirito gambled and initiated the vertical arc sword skill, hoping he would miss Heathcliff's shield. At the last moment Kirito felt an urge to shift the attack slightly. He felt it skim over the shield before landing two consecutive hits on Heathcliff, pushing the man away.

Seconds later, the blind status effect disappeared from next to his health bar and Kirito's vision returned. Heathcliff's face no longer seemed furious and disgusted but it held a look something akin to admiration. Heathcliff, turned his head to look at Asuna, and Kirito followed his example. Somehow Asuna had managed to push herself to where she was on a knee and bracing herself up with her arms, despite her paralysis status effect. Heathcliff chuckled and turned back to Kirito.

"The bond you two share is incredible. Asuna barely spoke enough to let you know I was attacking let alone how to block and attack me back without seeing. It's as if you were able to communicate without needing words. I must say I am impressed." Heathcliff smiled, a genuine smile that didn't hold any hostility. "I'll have to explore your player logs when we're done with this fight. I feel like I might learn something out of this yet." Heathcliff took a breath. "When you're ready, Kirito. I think it's high time to end this."

Kirito still hadn't taken his eyes off Asuna's. There was so much being said between the two of them in that simple look.

You're still saving me.

I told you, we're stronger together.

Together then?

Together, always and forever.

Kirito nodded in response. The conversation taking place in mere seconds with no words exchanged, yet he knew in his heart that it had happened.

As he turned back towards Heathcliff he took stock of his situation again. Heathcliff was down to his final health bar. Kirito felt his heart flutter. Maybe he could do this…no maybe they could do it. Beat him, so all the other players could go free.

Kirito took up his swords in a fighting position. Heathcliff gave him another smile, but this one was back to its original sneering feel. Without warning, Heathcliff thrust his sword out and it glowed white before the room was filled with the blinding flash again. Kirito was just quick enough to close his eyes to keep from suffering the effect again. As soon as he opened them though, Heathcliff was in front of him already in the motion of a stabbing sword skill. Kirito was barely able to deflect the blow away from him. He tried to take advantage of the post motion delay the sword skill should have caused, but Heathcliff moved without hesitation and caught all five blows Kirito swung at him on his shield. Then Heathcliff's shield glowed yellow, and Kirito knew the stun attack was coming. Again, thanks to his quick reactions, Kirito was able to jump into the air and avoid the shockwave. Again, he tried to take advantage of the post motion delay, but Heathcliff moved without hesitation again, blocking every blow Kirito threw at him. Confused, Kirito jumped back several times to get some distance between him and Heathcliff.

"How-" Kirito began.

"His final health bar! He's a boss, he's chaining patterns!" Asuna called out.

"What!? Changing patterns is one thing, but no delay on sword skills is just cheating!" Klein yelled.

"Hardly." Heathcliff offered back. "I was supposed to fight a great majority of you, now how would I possibly hope to succeed if I was left open after using my sword skills?"

Kirito felt a cold shudder run down his spine. Heathcliff's new ability didn't only keep him protected from suffering from any motion delay, but that also meant that Heathcliff just unleashed sword skill after sword skill with no fear of being left exposed.

Confirming his suspicions, Heathcliff's sword began to glow. From this distance Kirito knew it was a ranged skill, and it wasn't glowing white which meant it was the exploding serpent like strike. Kirito was fast to move away even before the skill had left the sword. He was able to escape the blast radius this time, but several of the other players took damage off of it, including Asuna. But as soon as Kirito's feet hit the ground Heathcliff was already releasing another serpent strike. Kirito again, leaped out of the way, but the resulting blast caught the other players helplessly paralyzed again. Kirito realized if he kept this up he would get nowhere and the others would die. He also knew he couldn't keep dodging forever, he'd eventually make a mistake, no matter how fast he may be able to react. No, Kirito knew he had to close in the distance and fight Heathcliff up close to have a chance at protecting everyone.

As Kirito landed again and another serpent strike shot out at him Kirito charged forward and slid beneath it. The strike barely missed his head and exploded behind him where he had been moments before. But Kirito didn't miss a beat and without stopping was back on his feet and coming even closer to Heathcliff. The older man just grinned as Kirito let out a battle cry and began attacking viciously. Heathcliff blocked strike after strike, but Kirito never stopped pressing him. Kirito jumped around charging and sliding anyway he could to try and get an attack in. Every once in a while, Kirito would manage to leave a scratch on Heathcliff. He knew if he could just keep it up eventually he could beat Heathcliff, but the older man was far from helpless. He would lash out at Kirito every chance he got, and Kirito was barely able to avoid the attacks. But even still, Kirito never backed off, he knew he couldn't give Heathcliff even a small chance.

Finally on one strike in particular, Heathcliff's shield glowed purple. Kirito had never seen a shield sword skill other than those used to draw agro from the monsters, but he knew that this was far more dangerous than that. Already in the motion though, Kirito swung both Elucidator and Dark Repulsor down on the shield. The moment the swords smashed into the glowing shield, Kirito felt the strike run all the way up his arms. He heard the sickening sound of metal shattering and the shock wave sent him flying backwards.

He landed on his back and hurried to get to his feet, but quickly realized something was wrong. The sword in his right hand felt far too light. He looked down and saw his Elucidator was shattered just below half way down the blade. He looked in fear at Dark Repulsor and saw that it too was cracked. The sword Liz had made for him had somehow held up, but Kirito knew it couldn't take another blow. Kirito felt an overwhelming sense of dread. He looked up at Heathcliff and saw the yellow glow on the shield but he was too slow. The shockwave attack hit him and although it took almost no health away, Kirito was inflicted with the stun effect, helpless to defend himself. Heathcliff stood over him, his sword glowing a blood red.

"Game over, Kirito." Was all he said as he brought the sword down.

Everything that happened in the next few moments seemed to go by in slow motion. All Kirito could see was the sword coming down towards him, then the light being blocked out by someone else. Kirito felt his heart stop as he instantly recognized it as Asuna. Pain was barely registered on a physical level in the game, but the moment the blade caught Asuna, Kirito felt as if he really had been stabbed. Every part of his body cried out in shock and Kirito could only watch as the attack went clean through his Asuna. She was only up on her feet for a second before she began to fall backwards. Kirito, now free from the stun effect, was able to catch her before he hit the ground.

"Asuan!?" He cried out, looking helplessly at her. He watched her health bar drop until there was nothing left. Then a faint beep and it disappeared completely.

"I'm sorry…Kirito." She whispered.

"No…Asuna. Why?"

"I'm glad…we met…we fell in love…I was finally happy."

Tears streamed freely down Kirito's face. "I can't go on without you!"

Asuna just smiles back at him. Her body began to glow. She raised one of hands to his cheek. "Promise me you'll beat him. For everyone."

"I don't care about winning if you're not-"

"Everyone still needs you." Asuna's body glowed brighter. "Be the hero I know you are." Asuna's body shattered into shards that spread and disappear. "I love you, Kirito." Came her voice from all around the room, but it was distant and fleeting. Her Lambent Light dropped to the ground, the only remainder of Asuna the Lightning Flash. Kirito stared at his now empty arms. A pain far greater than he had ever known had washed completely over his body and yet at the same time he felt empty.

"Well, that was quite a surprise." Heathcliff said, breaking the silence. "I'm not quite sure how she broke through the paralysis. I was certain I made sure there was no way a player could override my paralysis." He chuckled. "Oh well, I suppose it happened. All the more reason to look at both of your player logs after we finish this up. So what do you say, Kirito? Are you ready to finish this and join your beloved in oblivion?"

Kirito felt something inside of him snap. The emptiness inside of him was replaced by rage. "You monster…" He whispered. "I'll kill you…" He picked up Asuna's Lambent Light in his right hand, replacing his broken Elucidator. He looked up at Heathcliff and for the first time since their fight began Heathcliff's face showed signs of fear when they met Kirito's eyes. Without further warning, Kirito launched himself at Heathcliff with so much force it made a cracking noise as if creating a sonic boom. Heathcliff raised his shield to defend himself as Kirito swung with all his might with the Dark Repulsor. The sword glowed blood red as the vorpal strike sword skill was initiated. It slammed into Heathcliff's shield and the sound of metal shattering again filled the room. This time however, both Kirito's sword and Heathcliff's shield shattered.

Heathcliff tried to lash out with a sword skill, but Kirito blocked it with Asuna's rapier before hauling off and punching Heathcliff with his now swodless left hand. The older man tried to jump back and put some distance between them, but Kirito followed him in an instant. He lashed out with a violent stab with Lambent Light, but Heathcliff managed to knock it away. Kirito followed up by initiating the embracer martial arts sword skill and stabbed his empty left hand through Heathcliff's chest.

Heathcliff tried to get away again, but Kirito continued to press him. They exchanged a small series of blows, but without his shield, Heathcliff was losing the fight and slowly his health was being chipped away.

In a desperate attempt to get end the fight Heathcliff used the serpent strike sword skill from earlier directly at the ground between him and Kirito. The resulting blast knocked both men back. Kirito's health dropped to below three percent, but Heathcliff's was also in the red now. Time seemed to slow down. Kirito watched as Heathcliff raised his sword and it began to glow again preparing another exploding serpent strike. Kirito knew he wasn't going to survive the fight, he couldn't take another hit. The blast would kill him.

I believe in you.

Her voice sounded so clear in his head. He gripped her sword tightly in his hand. He had no skills when it came to the rapier, but he refused to let it stop him. Defying the system, Kirito took the position of Asuna's favorite skill, the Flashing Penetrator. The rapier glowed green and Kirito lunged forward. The sonic boom from the skill sounded all throughout the room and Kirito plunged the rapier through Heathcliff.

"Game over." Was all Kirito said to the surprised Heathcliff before the serpent strike skill fired off directly into Kirito standing directly in front of Heathcliff. Then the blast enveloped both of them and everything went white.

Lisbeth was working in her shop on a weapon for a young girl named Silica she had just met when she heard the chiming of the bells. She was curious, why would it be signaling at such an odd hour? She and Silica shared a look before rushing outside to see several other players looking up into the sky. They followed their eyes to see a message that said system alert flashing above them. Then the voice came from everywhere.

"On November 7th at 2:55 P.M. the game has been cleared." Lisbeth and Silica both look at each other in shock. "I repeat the game has been cleared."

"How? We were only on the 75th floor." Someone close by said.

Lisbeth was about to question it herself when Silica spoke up. "Kirito did it, didn't he?" She asked to no one in particular. Her dragon Pina seemed to agree though.

Lisbeth was even more shocked at the mentioning of Kirito. She had no idea that Silica even knew him, but she found herself nodding her head in agreement. "He's the only one who could pull something this crazy off." She said, a tear rolling down her face.

She and Silica both look at each other again and smile.

"All players will now be logged out. Standby." The voice said again.

Liz and all the other players began to glow. Somehow Liz was sure of it, Kirito had beaten the game. "You did it, didn't you?" She asked, knowing the answer. She smiled once again as the world around her disappeared.

Kirito opened his eyes and saw clouds and an orange sky all around him. It was as if there was no floor below him, just some invisible platform.

Am I dead? He thought to himself.

He swiped his fingers in the motion to bring up the game menu and sure enough, the menu pulled up. But instead of the normal window, now the only thing there was something that said final phase and had a percentage climbing up towards 100. He had no idea what it could possibly mean. He was supposed to be dead.

"Kirito?" He heard from behind him.

For a moment he froze. But slowly he turned around. Standing a few meters away from him was Asuna. He wasn't able to say anything at first, only able to drink in the sight of her. Finally he asked to make sure. "Asuna?"

Instead of answering, Asuna sprinted towards him and nearly tackled him in a hug. He was quick to hug her back, nuzzling her head into his neck and wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"I thought I'd never see you again." He said.

"But how…I died, Kirito. Why are you here too?"

Kirito pulled away and looked at her, a small sad smile on his face.

"You died too?" She asked. "You dummy." She added, but she didn't actually have any malice behind it. Instead she just pulled herself closer to him again.

"We did it though." He whispered softly to her.

"What?" She asked.

"The game. We beat it. We beat him."

"But…if you're here then how-"

"Call it a draw I guess."

Asuna laughed softly. "You're the hero then. I knew you were."

"No, we did it. Together." He pulled away slightly to look into Asuna's eyes. They were shining with love and admiration. He leaned down and kissed her gently. She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and deepening the kiss. When they finally pulled away it was only enough to rest their foreheads against each other, their noses still touching.

After several moments like that, Kirito took hold of Asuna's hand and began looking around again.

"So where are we?" He asked.

Asuna looked around too and pointed off into the distance, "Look."

Kirito looked in the direction she indicated and saw Aincrad floating in the distance. It seemed to be breaking apart from the bottom.

"It's really over then, isn't it?" Asuna asked.

"Indeed it is." Came a voice from off to the side of them. They both turned and were shocked to see Kayaba standing there in a white lab coat.

"Kayaba?" Kirito asked, still in disbelief.

Kayaba looked over at them. "I was beaten. I up held my end of our deal."

"Then the other players?" Asuna asked.

"They were logged out before I initiated the final phase. The remaining 6,145 players should be waking up in the hospital any moment now."

"And those that died?" Kirito asked, though he knew the answer.

"Dead. Gone from both this world and the real world."

"Why?" Asuna asked.

"I asked myself that many times. In the end I think it was to see something surpass the system I had created. Originally I just wanted to build my floating castle I had dreamed of for so long. Then I wanted to rule over it and control every aspect. But as time went on I was drawn to the people, the individual players. I watched them adjust to my world. I watched them as they somehow made my own system turn against itself-"

"Yui." Kirito said in realization.

"And I watched as the players rose above my every expectation. You two both showed me that there is power beyond the system. Kirito, you should never have been able to beat me, even during our fight the system was on my side, but you overcame it and even forced it to work for you. And Asuna, it should have been impossible for you to move under the paralysis, yet you were still able to stand between me and Kirito." Kayaba turned his gaze back into the distance. "People were always a mystery to me. Codes, systems, computers, science, those came easy to me and made sense. People, emotions, love, those were things I was always confused with. But now…" Kayaba looked back at them. "Now I think I might finally understand. Thank you."

Kirito and Asuna both just nodded, not knowing what else to do.

"So now what?" Kirito asked.

"Now…now I think it's time for me to leave." Kayaba started to walk away but paused. Without looking back over his shoulder he said, "Congratulations on clearing the game, Kirito, Asuna." And then he faded away.

Kirito looked around again and saw Aincrad was over halfway destroyed. He sighed. "It'll be over soon, won't it?" He asked Asuna.

She squeezed his hand but instead of answering she asked, "What's your real name?"

Kirito was taken by surprise. "My real name?"

Asuna just smiled at him. "Your real name. I want to know the name of the man I fell in love with."

Kirito smiled at her. "It's Kazuto. Kazuto Kirigaya. I turned 16 last month."

Asuna smiled. "Kazuto, huh. And you are younger than me." She laughed light heartedly and Kirito decided if this was the end for him then he was okay with it so long as he'd be with her till then. "My real name is Asuna Yukki. I'm 17."

Kirito and Asuna both hear a loud rumble and turn to see the top of Aincrad crumble away and disappear. The world around them began to glow.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to save you." Kirito said and hung his head in shame.

Asuna just shook her head. "Don't be, I'd rather be here with you, till the very end. This way, even after its over we'll disappear together."

Kirito reached out and pulled her close to him. "Forever and always, then?"

They both begin to shine brightly and Kirito knows there are only seconds left. Asuna reaches up and kisses him one more time.

"Forever and always." The world around them ceases to exist as everything fades to white. "I love you, Kazuto." He heard one last time before it all faded away to black.