Yes, what you see is indeed an update! I actually had this sitting for a while on my laptop. Just so that I could update Dual Blade first (Which I did!). And Oh my gosh! Thank you guys so much! I'm so happy you guys like this story! So, thank you!

Anyway, Thank you to Wolfhunter107, pmc1261, Wildgirl404, DemonFoxBK201, SpringStars, haystack51, SnowConeAdict, AW27, Impstar, Fundindar, DragonBaka2406, Not a pineapple, Sn0wk1tty, unoo, AikenArrow (From chappy 1), anomonist, and AquaThunderKnight17 for reviewing last chapter!

Warning: A portion of this chapter contains a...Well, you get the picture. I'm seriously considering whether or not I should change the rating to M because of the gore in here. Meh, maybe it's not that bad...yet.

Chapter 6: A Father's Reason and A Goddess's Given Nightmare

Kazune had a wrenching feeling in his gut as he purposely climbed up the stairs to his son's room. Usually, he never bothered to come to Kazuto's room ever since he turned twelve, but something about tonight just bothered him to no end. He hesitated when he reached the door.

What if he was just worrying for no reason? He shrugged and opened the door. He peeked through the dark room and spotted the bed. He stayed silent for a full five seconds before he frowned.

"I thought so." He said out loud. He closed the door and began walking back down the steps, pretending that he didn't see anything with an unhappy smile.

When he reached the bottom of the steps, his wife, Midori, who was waiting for him, crossed her thin arms and raised an eyebrow.

"What's with that smile on your face?" she asked suspiciously. Kazune widened his empty smile.

"Hm? What smile?" he asked back. Midori shook her head and began walking down the hall to their shared chambers.

"Sometimes, I question your sanity..."

._._._._._.

Kazuto heaved a sigh as he felt an oncoming headache. He was sitting in the back of the castle library with his head resting on his crossed arms as he waited for his father to give him his early morning class about politics and things he could care less about. The sunlight in the room seemed brighter than usual, and strangely, he tripped twice on his way to the library. After the eventful night he had, Agil made him sit and listen to him scold him about having fights outside his bar (not good for business, according to him…). It wasn't odd for Agil to scold him. It was, strangely, a habit for "Kirito" to break a rule or two each time he came down to town.

Surely, he could be just really tired for today…

"Kazuto!"

The tired Prince practically straightened up at the sound of his father's stern voice, now fully awake. The King stood in front of his desk with a slight frown as his son smiled sheepishly at him.

"Good morning, Father! How are you this fine morning?" Kazuto greeted with a small wave. The King blinked.

"...You're awfully chipper this morning considering what you did last night." he said as he placed his hands behind his back.

"Eh...?" Kazuto stared tiredly at his father in confusion. What was his father talking about? He didn't do anything last night…if his father meant in the castle, that is. "Father, what do you mean?"

The King smiled knowingly, quickly ringing a bell in Kazuto's head. He sat up straighter and slowly began to wake a little. Whenever he saw his father wear that smile, anyone could immediately know that he just found out the most valuable information in the world. And to Kazuto, that never ended well for him. Never.

"Well, you see, Kazuto, I'm afraid we'll have to postpone your normal political lesson for a later date. For you see...I have something more important to discuss with you. Something you might find interesting this time." said the King with that smile still stuck on his face. But, Kazuto could plainly see that his father was not happy. He forced a look of curiosity and folded his hand underneath his desk.

"Interesting, Father?" he asked. The King nodded. He placed a single hand on top of Kazuto's desk and asked him a simple question. Well, as simple as he could at the moment.

"Yes, now...Where were you last night?" came his father's awfully blunt question. Kazuto completely lost his composure, stumped on how blunt his father can be and struggled to come up with a good, plausible, excusable excuse.

"I-ah, I was just-!" he began, but his father cut him off with a look.

"Don't think I haven't known, Kazuto!" the King snapped. Kazuto stared at him in surprise, not fully understanding the meaning in his father's words. The King took a step back and turned on his heel as he began to pace back and forth. "I had known for two years and I done nothing to stop you, but this has gone to far! You were almost murdered twice in one day! Twice, Kazuto! You should've been smarter to at least stay inside for a couple days, but you just had to go didn't you?"

Kazuto gaped. His father knew? He knew that he was the Black Swordsman? Kirito?! How?! How? Just...how?!

"Father, you knew...? This whole time, you knew what I've done and you never interfered? " he asked his father. The King stopped in his pacing and ran both of his hands through his hair.

"Yes, I knew, and I let you. I let you become Kirito, because there was no other way. Do you want to know why? Because Etra willed it!" The King suddenly clamped a hand over his mouth when he realized he slipped more than he should've. Kazuto was clutching his hands into fists in restrained anger. His eyes held disbelief for his father.

"Etra? Because a Goddess willed it? Why must it always be with the Goddess and such? If you allowed me go and sneak out on my own, then why didn't you let me out before? Why didn't you train me to wield a sword? Why did you keep me hidden?!" Kazuto asked as he stood up and gave his father a daring look, begging his father to tell him. To give the answers he had so desperately wanted. None of this made sense anymore to him.

"Kazuto,-!" the King cut himself off with a frustrated sigh. "Now is not the time, but from now on, you are forbidden to leave this castle! You are not allowed in the gardens, the stables, or even the courtyards! You must remain within these walls or you will never be able to leave your very own room for the rest of my reign!"

"But Father-!" Kazuto called out as he reached for his father.

Smack!

The Prince stumbled back in shock and held his now stinging and probably bruised hand to his chest. Tear stung at the back of his eyes as he stared at his father, slowly shaking his head in refusal. The King had slapped his hand away and did nothing but stare at Kazuto with a hard, stern look.

"No...no, no, nonono! You can't do that! You can't lock me in here forever, Father! You can't-!" Kazuto tried again in vain to convince his father, but the King ignored his plea. He ignored his son. As much as it pained him to do so, he had to. For the will of the Goddess Etra, and the promise to his wife. If there was another way, he would've done it, but there was none. There was no other way, but to hurt his only son.

"You are the Prince of Aincrad, Kazuto. Last night will be the last time Kirito will ever be seen. Do I make myself clear, Kazuto?" the King asked harshly. The Prince shook his head vehemently and glared at his father.

"Pretty Goddess-damn clear." Kazuto cursed. Without another word, he turned on his heel and left. He didn't bother to weave his way through the arrangement of six long tables in his way. Instead, leapt into the air and did a front flip, pushing off with both hands on the first table and landing gracefully on the third as he skipped past the second. He jumped off the third table and sprinted off the fifth. Once he reached the end, he turned to look at his father one last time before doing a back flip.

The King only watched in hidden amazement as his son landed gracefully on his feet and dash out of the library with barely any sounds from his leather boots. He frowned and shook his head, finally understanding exactly why he was called the Black Swordsman. His son definitely didn't just earn his name, he wore it well.

"The will of the Goddess must be done, Kazuto. Even if I have to crush you, it must be done...to save you from the wretched future I had seen that day." The King whispered under his breath. He turned to look at Kazuto's abandoned desk as an image of a beautiful Faerie woman with long rose-colored hair sat there holding a small bundle of white cloth. In it was a baby, a boy. A gentle smile graced her features as she looked up to see the King. Her midnight blue eyes shined with life and happiness as she raise gently rocked the boy in her loving arms.

The King smiled sadly at the image and looked at the baby boy. His eyes matched his mother's but his black hair came from his father. He was so tiny, but the King could see that he would grow to be a fine Prince.

._._._._._.

The sky above had patches of fluffy clouds. A gentle breeze swept through making Kazuto blink awake. He stared up in slight surprise. Slowly and unsurely, he sat up and took a good look around him. He was sitting in the middle of an open green field with tiny patches of bluebell flowers dotted here and there.

Kazuto lifted up a hand to block the blinding sunlight from his eyes. As he sat there, he noticed something odd. All he could hear was the sounds of the rustling grass and his own even breathing. There were no other sounds of life around him. He looked out as far as he could, but only saw an endless field of nothing. Well, that was until-

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock-

The Prince shot up to his feet and spun around, instinctively reaching for his swords on his back. His hands met nothing but air as he froze at the magnificent sight before him. A giant clock tower loomed before him. The hour hand was directly pointing at XII (roman numeral for twelve). The minute hand was slowly dragging itself through the last few feet to the peak. And lastly, the second hand ticked loudly as it approached IX (Roman numeral for nine). He could see rows of stained glass windows covering its side. Kazuto focused on one of them and gaped.

The fragments were all shaped into one familiar marking on his back, each shape its respectful color. Oddly, Kazuto couldn't help but feel a tinge of fear as both the second and minute hand edged closer. Everytime he heard a tick, he subconsciously took a step back. A strong gust of wind suddenly pushed his back forward. Strands of grass and petals of flowers smacked by him. He struggled to find a way to fight back.

But as the clock struck twelve, he couldn't keep his footing and was thrown into the air. He gasped as the wind carried him toward the clock tower. He turned and saw two enormous double doors snap open. The chimes rang loudly and his head spun as he was thrown like a rag doll into the tower.

Ding…! Dong…! Ding…! Dong…!

He rolled onto the smoothly tiled floor with a harsh thud, his side taking most of the impact. The wind ceased and the doors slammed shut with a loud, ringing echo. Kazuto laid there, completely dazed at the sudden event. He could hear the door distinctly locking itself from the outside and see the large turning gears of the clock tower.

Something tugged at his consciousness, telling him that this wasn't right. Whatever was happening with him, shouldn't be happening. Everything around him was wrong. His eyes widened in horror as saw someone falling toward him.

As the person descended closer, he was able to see her long rose colored hair whipping around her. Kazuto gasped when she turned around to face him, staring directly at him. Her eyes were to same shade of his own midnight blue eyes, but in them was not horror. She held no fear, only sadness and knowing. Her white dress fluttered harshly at her ankles, and the sea-green ribbons danced twistedly. She slowly spread her pure white, translucent wings along with her pale, slender arms.

Time slowed drastically as Kazuto pushed himself of the ground and stretched his arms upward to catch the faerie. But as soon as she reached his fingertips, he shoved forward. He face planted the floor with small thud, accompanied with a loud sickening smack.

He gasped in shock. His body was frozen in place and he couldn't bring himself to move. Two seconds of empty, dead ticks from the clock, an echoing slicing sound shook Kazuto at his very core. He recognized that sound in an instant.

Kazuto slowly pushed himself up to his knees and turned his head to look over his shoulder. His eyes widened in utter horror and gasped harshly. All the blood drained from his face in a split second. His body began to shake uncontrollably as he broke into cold sweat. The stench of blood was growing thick in the air, choking him, suffocating him.

The faerie woman was sprawled onto the floor face down. Her head was turned to the side and blood dripped steadily down the edge of her lip. Midnight blue eyes dulled with death and stared into nothingness. Her arms and legs were all bent in a disfiguring way. Her dress greedily soaked in the red, thick liquid that poured out of her.

Kazuto's breath hitched when his eyes caught the glint of light of a beautiful sword made of gold and jade impaled into the faerie's back, right in between her wings. He turned away from the scene As he clamped his deathly paled hands over his trembling lips as he desperately held back a terrified scream. Above him, he heard a voice that sounded eerily familiar, crying out with all the anguish and despair within them. It echoed through the never ending ticking of the clock.

"TITANIAAA!"

The world suddenly seemed to darken and fade as Kazuto's eyes began to drop. An overwhelming sense of sadness, horror, fear, and pain washed over him, forcing him under stress. He could feel his heart strain to beat, and his throat struggle to breathe. His stomach churned and twisted as he clutched his chest.

He could no longer think, or move as a throbbing pain hammered his head. All he could do was close his eyes and beg for it all to end.

And it did.

He finally woke up.

._._._._._.

Kazuto snapped his eyes open and shot up from his bed in shock. Sweat covered every inch of his body and his shirt clung to him stubbornly. His head whipped back and forth as he hugged himself in attempt to calm down. But there was nothing to worry about. His room was partially dark and the curtains in his room swayed gently in the wind.

He swallowed hesitantly and tried to even out his breathing. It took him a while, but soon he could no longer feel his heart straining to beat, and his lungs could take in a decent amount of air without hurting. Slowly, Kazuto fell back onto his soft bed and sighed in relief.

"It was just a nightmare. It was just a nightmare." He constantly kept repeating those words over and over.

The nightmare that had plagued him many nights before, had returned again. He couldn't remember what actually happened in them, but the after effects always stayed with him. Groaning in frustration, he tried to remember what in the world just happened before his horrid nightmare...or rather daymare since the sun was still up. He vaguely remembered running away from the library, running away from his father and slammed the door to his room shut. Somehow, during that time, he somehow managed to fall asleep.

'Must be the stress...' Kazuto thought to himself with a frown. He fliched when he suddenly remembered his father's words.

"Because Etra willed it!"

He reached up to the ceiling with a tired hand and a sad look. Absolutely nothing made sense to him anymore. At this rate, he might as well give up. With a heavily sigh and a strained look, he imagined the heavens above as a single question formed in his head.

"If Etra, the Goddess of Life, Giver of Futures, and The Never-Ending Grace, willed it, then why does she make me watch the death of a faerie over and over and over again?"

And done! So, tell me what you guys thought of this chapter! I'll let you guys know right now, that I gave two biiiiiig hints (or was it three? Or four...?) for the next upcoming chapters and the backstory of the King! Well, since I feel like it, here's another preview for the next chapter!

"I may not be your wife, Kazune, but he is my son, and she is your daughter. We're those not your words sixteen year ago?"

"...It's seems that my own words are starting to backfire on me."

Hmm...odd, I usually have more to say...meh, oh, well.

Later!

-CloudyLightning