Chapter 1: Rebirth
"Kirito-kun!"
I turned around quickly to see Asuna standing at least 3 yards away. In 5 steps I was already holding her in my arms. I could feel her shake as her slender form was racked with sobs. She wrapped her arms wrapped around my neck, and I pulled her even tighter against me. I didn't want to let her go. I'd watched her die in front of me. I couldn't let go.
"I'm sorry... I died as well." I stated the obvious with a morbid smile.
"...Idiot." she muttered into my chest, her voice muffled slightly. I held her tightly, promising to never lose her again... For however long we had left. I looked into her eyes. Those beautiful amber eyes that had me wrapped around her finger. I leaned in closer and captured her lips into mine.
After a moment, we let go. There was so much on my mind, but I just let it dissipate. Instead, I turned to look at the sky.
"What is this place?" I asked. far away, I could see a floating castle made of many floors. I could even pick out forests... Rivers... Even what looked like cities.
"Aincrad." I answered my own question with a subtle click of my tongue. Asuna "Hmmd" in agreement as we stood in silence, looking out. As the castle began crumbling, I could feel the excitement. Polygons danced in the wind as the Floating Castle of Aincrad crumbled.
We both sat on the edge, feet dangling as we watched the end of our digital world. Asuna leaned heavily into my arms. I knew that we were both ready to accept our fates... But I wished we had more time. Death waited for us, and I didn't know what would be on the other side. I wasn't sure anyone knew. Yet through this... I felt no panic. No anxiety. I was just there in the moment.
"It's impressive, is it not?"
Both Asuna and I turned towards the voice. It was... The man I hated. Yet, I felt none of the hatred. I was just as calm as I'd been moments earlier. Kayaba Akihiko stood straight with his hands behind his back. His glasses glinted, almost in a good-natured mischievousness fashion, if that was possible.
"What's going on?"
"Call it... Metaphorical Rendering." he said, his voice radiating the peace that surrounded us. I nodded for him to continue.
"Currently, the SAO mainframe that's stationed in the fifth basement floor of Argas headquarters is in the midst of erasing all data from its memory banks. In another ten minutes, this world will be completely erased."
"And the people who lived there?" Asuna suddenly asked.
"You don't need to worry... 6,147 players are are no longer in the game." Kayaba answered.
"…What about those who died? Both of us are already dead, yet we continue to exist here. Doesn't that mean you can return the other four thousand dead to the original world as well?"
Kayaba's expression didn't change. He answered calmly, putting his hand into his pockets.
"Life can't be recovered so easily. Their consciousness will never return. The dead will disappear. This fact remains true in every world. I created this place only because I wanted to talk with you two one last time."
Only a single question remained.
"Where will we go?" I asked, my voice on the edge of hitching.
"You already died. Congratulations on clearing the game."
My heart beat once as he uttered that statement. I was already dead? I turned to Asuna, but... She wasn't there. I turned back towards Kayaba. His back was turned and his coat fluttered menacingly in the wind. He pushed his glasses up with his middle finger.
"I'll be going now."
"WAIT!"
Kayaba paused midstep and inclined his head to answer.
"You sacrificed yourself to save everyone. You are not the god of this place. You chose the route of a Hero. A sacrifice to the other players. I'll respect that decision."
"W-what about Asuna? What did you do with her?" I asked, dreading the answer.
"Didn't you hear me? You both died..." and then he was gone.
Below me, the world that Kayaba created, began its course of self-destruction. The floor below me disappeared, and I found myself falling. The air tore against my flesh, almost cutting into me. I could feel the darkness creeping into my skull. Enveloping it. Whispering sweet promises of rest... But Asuna...
No.
Not yet.
"GAHHHH!" I screamed, tearing at my chest in pain. Resisting the darkness that sought to envelope my consciousness became more painful than anything I'd ever felt. The peaceful whispers of rest became angered threats. But I continued to resist. I thought of Asuna. I promised to grow old with her. I thought of Yui. I promised to see her again. I promised to buy Klein a dinner. So many unfulfilled promises in real life. I wanted to live.
"I WANT TO LIVE!" I screamed it to the darkness. And... It responded.
«System Command Accepted. World Rebirth Activated»
W-wha? My thoughts seemed to seep into reality.
The darkness receded and the world around me seemed to rewind itself. I floated amidst the chaos. I watched as the world reformed. The flying stronghold of Aincard formed from nothing. Streams began to flow again. Houses rebuilt themselves. Forests grew from just the command that was uttered. But... How did it happen? Did Kayaba really expect this? Or... Was there something else?
I realized that I wasn't just witnessing the creation of my own torment, but many other's as well. Nonetheless, I didn't feel guilty about it. I didn't know if it would even be real. I wasn't sure if it would be exactly the same. But I was sure I would find her there. I couldn't live without her.
This time it wasn't darkness that enveloped me. It was light.
Welcome to Sword Art Online! I was hit with a literal wall of nostalgia as I was attacked by a wall of cerulean blue. The cerulean blue swirls pulled me in like a whirlpool of visible data streams. I'd experienced this before. If I had any doubta about what was happening before, they were gone now.
The swirls of blue gave way to the polygons that marked SAO from reality. I stood in the same position I stood 2 years ago. In the very center of the 1st floor. The very same castle that I'd watched fall apart.
It wasn't long before I found myself stumbling through the crowded streets in a daze. The assorted players dashed around in awe of the Virtual World around us, stopping and going with the ebb and flow of traffic. Excited players dashed from one stall to the next, looking at wares and counting how much money was needed to buy the object of their lusts.
For some reason... I expected something to happen...
"Hey, Kid!" I stutter stepped and hesitantly turned around. A man, standing at least 15 centimeters taller than me, wearing a bandanna around his effeminately long red hair stood in front of me, pointing an accusing finger at me... I turned around to check before realizing he was pointing at me. I cleared my throat and answered.
"Yeah?"
"You were in the beta, right?" he asked. I cocked my head to the side in confusion... This was vaguely familiar. Wait... Klein! I barely held my tongue and nodded my head thoughtfully.
"Yeah." his eyes lit up with what I assumed was glee. "How'd you know?" I asked. He rubbed his scruffy goatee before grinning.
"Well...You move like you knew the area." he said scratching his head sheepishly. I was struck, again, with the sense of oddity... Something was strange. Different about this conversation. But... I smiled and nodded.
"Well hey! Today is my first day..." in an almost begging manner, Klein put his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes... And I realized... That this was the same height I'd had when I'd left SAO... Not the fully grown height of my Avatar. I really resisted the urge to slam my face in the wall for not realizing sooner.
"You ok? If you don't want to help me out, it's fine..." he said as he dramatically kicked the dirt. Before I could even open my mouth, I found my arms waving in protest. I smiled as warm as I could... Which was pretty hard, given the circumstances... I did owe him dinner, after all...
"N-no, it's fine!"
"Alright!" he said, before holding up a single finger. "My name is Klein! Nice to meet you!"
I shuffled my feet anxiously. If I decided to help him here... I might end up wasting time better well spent finding Asuna... But... Would I recognize her among the disguised players? We had about 5 hours until Kayaba Akihiko's announcement... I could wait until then.
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts before replying.
"I'm Kirito."
"Gah!" Klein rocketed back with enough force to take out a charging rhinoceros. The redhead curled into a ball and fondled his package carefully... I rolled my eyes as he let out a small mutter of protest. I kicked a rock at him with a small grin.
"You don't feel pain..." I whispered. He immediately stood back up and laughed sheepishly as the boar wondered off, deeming him unworthy of attention. With a heavy sigh, I massaged my temples in slight annoyance. I was pretty sure he needed the explanation again...
"Look," I said, picking up a rock... I tossed it up and down a few times, testing the weight and size, before pulling my arm back and holding it loosely to my side. "You have to..." I clicked my tongue as I looked for words that would be easier to understand... "You have to perform the motion, but let the system do the work." The rock slowly began to glow red, and as soon as it reached the its full power, I followed through with the motion. The rock shot off like a missile and hit the Boar on the backside, leaving a glaring red mark that slowly faded away. "As long as you do the Motion Input correctly... You'll hit the target."
Klein slowly nodded his head to an invisible rhythm as he murmured "Motion input... Motion Input..."
The boar turned it's red eyes on me and gave an enraged huff before charging with the obvious intent to seriously maim or even kill. I spun on my heel to avoid the boar's lunge, dodging the tusk by a centimeter. Its intimidatingly sizable tusks left a streak of blue, as I was reminded just how dangerous a mob was. Without thinking, I used its muzzle as a spring board and kicked off, before drawing my blade from its sheath on my back. Using the distance gained, I activated a quick «Horizontal Slash» and watched as it shattered into a million polygons with barely a squeal of protest.
"Oi! How am I going to learn if you kill everything for me?" Klein asked with a hint of awe. Most of the awe was smothered by his annoyance. I offered a quiet apology as I sat down in the grass...
Am I taking this too seriously? It was instinct. Kill the mob before it could kill a party member. It had been engraved into my head for 2 years. But now at the lowest leveled floor, it wasn't that big of a deal... I pushed away the thoughts and fell backwards into the grass. He had to learn somehow...
My longsword, the starter weapon I'd been given, sat beside me, glinting in the artificial light... Or was it really artificial? Was it reality? I didn't know anymore. I wondered if Asuna was ok. Was she hurt? I couldn't answer that question. I was worried... I sat quietly, thinking of Asuna... And listening to the cries of Klein just in case he needed assistance.
We sat quietly on a large piece of architecture that sprouted out of the side of a cliff, that seemed reminiscent to a steel girder in a construction site. Far below us, the players fought and did quests for exp. All in hopes of leveling quickly. I just sat and watched the sunset. The golden hues reminded me of Asuna's hair. It calmed my nerves. And made me want her even more.
"So Kirito... How far did you get in the Beta?" Klein asked, interrupting my thoughts. I gave him a brief look before turning back to the sunset... Klein sat facing the other direction, watching the moon rise on the other side. I couldn't bear turning around. It felt like I was betraying Asuna.
"75..." I answered quietly. I didn't correct myself. Klein sat in silence for a few moments, before asking something else.
"Do you plan on joining any guilds? Me and some friends from real life were probably going to start one here. You're free to join if you want." he said. My eyes widened slightly. I wasn't sure. Did I really want to join? The last time I'd joined a guild... I couldn't. The wound felt fresh. I didn't want that. It wouldn't happen this time. No... If anything... I'd create a guild before joining one.
"No." I said. I was sure the venom from my answer made Klein regret asking. To my surprise, I could hear him chuckling.
"Hey, it's no problem. I'm sure we'll meet up eventually." he said. His stomach growled and he let out an embarrassed chuckle. "Oh... Yeah. It's almost 5:30. I ordered a Pizza ahead of time."
"Thought ahead, huh? Probably a good idea." I said. I could hear the swishing of clothing as Klein stood up and dusted himself off. Perhaps it was out of habit, as clothing didn't get dirty. Dirt didn't exist in this reality.
"Well, I'll be seeing you Kirito." he said, as I turned around. I nodded and watched as he pressed the log out button. I knew where this would go. I just needed to wait.
"Wha...?" he mumbled. With a swipe of his hand, he closed the menu and opened it again. Still nothing. He shook his head in confusion.
"Can you log out?" he asked. Feigning confusion, I opened my own menu and gazed at the options. I only just realized that this was the first time I'd opened the menu... Seeing my skills once again at their starting positions disheartened me a to a slight degree... But it was expected. I shook my head.
"Well... Since it's the first day out of Beta, so it's to be expected... Right?" he asked.
"I'm sure the GMs are trying to fix it as we speak."
"Yeah... You're probably right..." he said. Before closing the menu with a flick of my wrist, I glanced at the time. 5:25. The announcement happened at 5:30. 5 minutes from now. I ignored Klein as he began a series of voice commands in hoped that one would initiate the log out process.
My fingers found their way to my chin as I sighed in thought. Asuna would be at the announcement. I needed to find Asuna. Most likely, the best way to do so would be to wait until after the mirrors were distributed, as I doubt I would recognize her avatar. My companion continued to log himself out through ridiculous hand motions and verbal commands. This attempt included, but wasn't limited to balancing on one foot, making a peace sign, and singing a song consisting of, "Please let me log out, oh god of this world."
At this, I couldn't help but letting out a small chuckle. Klein shot me a small glare. I shrugged.
"It won't do anything." I said, looking back at the setting sun. I was well aware that in a few moments we would both be forcibly summoned to the center of the city... And as the sun passed behind a far off cliff, we vanished in a flash of dancing cerulean particles.