Disclaimer: SAO and its fanfiction by PlainStoryTeller. Not mine.
The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places
- Ernest Hemingway
0015 Hours – April 3, 2024 – Aincrad 58th Floor – Valley of Snow
In the complete darkness of the fifty eighth floor, the howling winds of a blizzard bit through a hooded woman's cloak and armor. As she hopped and dashed across the fields, she was ever mindful of the slippery surfaces, dashing between the trees, and catching breaks from the harsh zephyrs on her skin.
Cutting through the wind, the sounds of dying beasts echoed out. The woman cursed under her breathe as she hurried her pace, the noises becoming louder and louder as she drew near.
With every step she made, the sounds crashed and pounded in her ears before they suddenly stopped. The woman's eyes widened with shock as she arrived at the scene. There were large foot prints of some large animal or animals surrounding a small indent of snow in the ground. Creeping closer, she withdrew a small dagger sword from her waist, cautiously looking around in case of any other ambushes. She eventually stopped at the indent as she saw another armored figured laying in the snow, its body face first. Right beside the figure was a zweihander, its length just a foot and a half smaller than she was. With shaky hands, the woman bent down and gently cupped her hands underneath the armored knight and flipped her over.
The knight's body armor was Air Force Blue, stretching down to its chest, stomach and groin. The breastplate was riveted but looked absolutely normal. The shoulders were spiked up at an angle, but generally followed the natural curve of the shoulders. Its greaves were ordinate, covered with white wispy runes.
Whatever had appeared with this knight was unknown to the woman as she took notice of her helmet. It was a compact metal skull cap, and a visor obscuring the knight's upper face. The visor itself was the same color as her armor with a thin slit where the eyes were.
The mysterious woman felt her heart speed as she tried holding her breathe to slow it. Taking a few moments, she mustered her courage and flipped the visor open. A light gasp escaped her mouth when she looked at the face of the knight.
It was a young twenty some year old woman with raven black hair. Her skin was pale and ultimately featureless besides her mouth in a permanent stoic expression. When rubbing her eyes to make sure that it wasn't an illusion, she gasped again.
"I finally found you." She breathed, placing her hands on her armored chest. "The woman only talked about in the shadows of Guilds not wanting to get their hands dirty… The Cobalt Mercenary."