Well, this took less time than I thought. Mainly because I thought I would only have two sword fights this chapter. But even that didn't satisfy my usual word count. Anyway, enjoy. See you at the bottom.

Chapter 4

Start of a Journey

I had to admit, I was a little worried about this match.

My opponent was a rather muscular guy called Levi. On his back was a greatsword that was at least three times the length of my blade. To be honest, I now envied Kimiko, who had a much easier match compared to mine.

"You ready pipsqueak?" Levi unsheathed his sword and rested it on his shoulder. I just shrugged and drew my blade.

With that, the match started.

Levi lifted his blade over his head with both hands. His blade suddenly began to glow red, pulsing with energy. I frowned. This was not a technique that I was familiar with, even with my strange knowledge of swordplay. I knew that a vertical strike could be blocked using a horizontal parry, but with the power behind the strike, it might not work.

Well then. Dodging.

The bell sounded and I ran forwards. Levi brought his sword down in a perfect vertical slash, leaving a red trail that made it difficult to see the back edge of the blade. As I got into range of the strike, I dived towards his side, out of reach of his skill and positioning myself in his blind spot. I rolled to my feet and went to strike Levi's side. To my surprise, he turned in time to block my strike.

"You've got a lot of speed for a two-handed sword user." I muttered, just loud enough for him to hear.

"My blade is made from a lightweight metal." He grinned. "I'm surprised someone would be so crazy to charge straight into a Sacred Art."

Due to my experience with the two swords I've had, I knew that the Object Authority directly translated to the weight of the sword, which meant this person's sword was very low. But being able to swing a sword that large so quickly…it was going to prove troublesome. And this Sacred Art he had performed. I had no idea they existed.

I swallowed a lump in my throat before breaking the connection our swords had and swung again. Levi swung in the opposite direction, and the two blades slammed against each other and the edges slid against each other. Sparks began flying, ending as the tip of my blade fell off his. I ducked under the remainder of his blade and had a clean shot at his leg. A shadow fell over my head, seeing his sword coming down on my head.

"Sh-" I dived away from him and the sword. My opponent was accounting for everything I could throw at him. I frowned, glancing at his confident stance. I could tell he knew my doubts.

I can't afford to lose here. I don't care how strong you are.

I saw him lifting up his sword again. This time, I let my body do a motion. I went low, right leg bent behind my left leg which was outstretched before me. I grasped the handle of my sword with both hands, the edge parallel to the ground and the tip pointing at my foe. The sword began to glow golden.

Once again, I had no clue where I knew this technique came from, but I knew it was something I had performed hundreds of times beforehand. Every second that went by, power seemed to build up in the sword. I sucked in air before unleashing.

The sword left a golden trail behind it as I shot forwards. Levi's eyes widened in shock as I shot at him at tremendous speed. I could feel the wind pushing against me, trying to slow me down, but I refused to. As I got within a couple of inches, I stopped, my blade freezing just short of Levi's stomach.

The crowd erupted in cheers. I removed the sword, it returning to a silver metal. I sheathed it on my side and stood up straight. Levi was still in a state of shock as I patted him on the shoulder. "Good fight."

"What the hell was that?" Levi's confidence was gone.

I shook my head, a sad smile on my lips. "I don't know."

Later

I looked at my sword's Stacia window and frowned. Its durability was low. Extremely low. I sighed, knowing I wouldn't be able to use it in the final fight. Luckily, I had access to the training sword still. I had no idea how effective it would be against Kimiko, who I knew would win her match. I still hadn't seen her fight yet.

I sheathed my sword on my waist and headed towards the crowd in time to see Kimiko win. Her blade had a green tint to it, the tip touching her opponent's breastplate. She removed it, sheathing it before bowing and retreating. The captain moved into the arena, muttering to Kimiko who just shook her head and whispered back. Nodding, the captain held up two pieces of paper. "Well then, here we are. The final battle between two competitors." I began to push my way carefully through the crowd and made my way to the centre. Kimiko hadn't bothered sheathing her sword.

Normally, anyone would want to take a break after a fight, not matter how easy it was. How confident is she in her ability? I made my way to the opposite side, drawing my practise sword ready.

Kimiko was wearing little armour, having a plain outfit. She had a red long sleeved shirt with a black vest, light brown trousers and long black boots. All of it said she was a light fighter, having little to weight her down. I knew nothing of her fighting style, only that she really wanted to fight me for some reason. She was holding a stance similar to mine. Her sword was also a practise blade, although I could see her normal sword on her waist. She looked…worried. I got into my stance and shook away any questions I had. I needed to focus on this battle.

I sucked in one final breath before the bell sounded once again. "Time to end this."

I jumped forwards, bringing my sword over my head before swinging it down at Kimiko. She rolled her eyes before bringing her sword up to block. The dull sound of wood clacking against itself came from our blades, and not a single spark flew. I dragged my sword across hers. Due to her positioning, her sword went upwards. I brought mine around to strike her side.

She perfectly copied my motion, bringing her sword around in a perfect half circle to meet mine. I was glad that I was a step away, otherwise her sword would be in my leg. Obviously realising this, she stepped forwards, but I took two steps left and got some distance. We were back to square one.

She flashed a smirk at me before charging forwards, swinging three times, each was met with a block from my sword. We locked on a fourth strike, swords forming a cross.

"You seem to know quite a bit of my style." Kimiko muttered, just loud enough for the words to be mine alone to hear. "You may have everyone else fooled, but not me. It took me years to master this style."

"Maybe you'd be interested in telling me more about it." I moved my right foot back and threw it forwards, letting go of my sword as I flipped myself over backwards. Kimiko moved forwards slightly, my foot connecting with her wrist. Her sword was knocked up and backwards, spinning away from her. I grabbed my sword and swung ready for victory.

Another blade cut straight through mine.

I rolled away from the sudden danger to see Kimiko holding her normal sword. Her eyes were narrow but a sly smile was visible on her face. I took a deep breath before drawing my metal blade too, storing the wooden sword in my belt. You better not die on me.

I jumped forwards and swung in an upwards arc from right to left, before bringing my sword downwards in a perfect vertical slice. Kimiko backed away from both, sending her to the edge of the crowd. I immediately saw what she was doing. If she grasped her second sword, that would be another layer of defence she had.

As she rolled forwards, I leaned back, stretching my left leg forwards, blade grasped in both hands and parallel to the ground. I shot forwards, gold surrounding my sword as I brought my sword downwards. Kimiko picked up her sword and lifted her head, only to feel cold steel on her neck.

I let out a sigh of relief, suddenly beginning to pant. All of the fatigue caught up at once. I removed my sword as the blade snapped in half.

I stared at the metal that now lay on the ground. I looked between it and the handle that rested in my hand. Despite the cheers, I could feel a sense of dread growing inside me. My first gift from a friend, and it lay broken on the ground. I picked it up attempting to fit it back together, but the blade wasn't having it. With no other choice, I slipped both into the sheath. I just hoped Myne didn't see it.

"You know, I've never seen that Sacred Art before."

I looked at Kimiko. She was must be referring to the golden glow. I shrugged, as it was the most honest thing I could respond with. I walked away from her, still sat on the floor. I looked at the crowd and saw Killian giving me a nod. I couldn't see Myne though.

The captain approached me and patted me on the shoulder. "Good job lad. Come to the main gate at sundown and we'll talk."

"We're not going to be fighting here?" I frowned, confused.

"No. If everyone witnessed our battle, then I wouldn't be able to keep a few tricks up my sleeve." The captain chuckled. Made sense. If he's old, it wouldn't make sense that he could win in a head on battle.

Later that day

That evening, I walked down the main street. I still had half an hour to spare, but I wanted to get away from the crowds. It's not that I regret winning, I just don't like crowds of people surrounding me. I still haven't been able to talk to Myne since this morning when she gave me the sword that still lay broken.

I passed the blacksmith where Kimiko was stood outside, moving a pile of wood outside to a storage shed. She saw me and sighed. "Oi, you, inside."

"I'm kind of in a hurry."

"Yeah, and the quicker you get inside, the sooner you can be on your way." I hesitated, but obviously patience wasn't one of Kimiko's strong suits, pinching my sleeve and dragging me inside the blacksmith.

The workshop wasn't too big, but it made use of the space. A burning forge sat in the corner, glowing embers lighting up the room. Next to the forge was a bucket of water and an anvil, a hammer resting on top of the latter. On the other side of the forge was a rack full of various weapons, from standard one-handed swords to axes and spears. A desk with a bunch of blueprints and small pieces of metal on top of it sat in an adjacent corner to the forge.

Kimiko grabbed a black apron from a hook by the door and put it on, slipping her hands into some thick gloves. "Pass me your sword."

"Huh?"

"Are you deaf as well as forgetful?"

I grabbed the sheath from my belt before sliding out the broken handle and blade. Kimiko proceeded to put the blade and some extra metal inside a crucible and put it in the forge. "What exactly are you doing?" I frowned.

"What does it look like? I'm repairing your sword." Kimiko grabbed her hammer and pounded at the pieces of metal still inside the hilt. "After all, I'm the reason it broke…and I wouldn't want you to lose this coming battle, otherwise ours would've been worthless."

I smiled. "You can be nice then."

"I'm always nice to people who are worth being nice to." The final bit of lingering metal shattered as the crucible began to glow red. Kimiko grabbed a mould and placed it upright. She lifted the crucible and poured the liquid metal into the mould. She took a moment to breathe and placed her hand on it. "System call: Generate Cryogenic Element. Form Element, Liquid Shape." A white light appeared by her finger, which she pressed against the mould. The entire thing froze solid.

"Is that magic?" I had to blink several times to make sure I hadn't missed anything.

Kimiko laughed. "No, it's a Sacred Art. Like that sword technique you were using. Only these are more supportive in nature." She picked up the mould and placed it on the anvil. She opened the mould and within it sat a perfect blade.

It didn't take long to slot into the hilt and the blade was returned to me. I smiled, a warmth filling my heart. "Thank you Kimiko."

"You can thank me by teaching me that Sacred Art you used back in our fight." She took off her gloves and threw them into the corner. "But once we get to the Swordscraft Academy. I'm too tired right now."

I nodded. "Sure thing."

A few minutes later

I arrived at the gate to find the captain standing there. He turned to greet me with a gentle smile, I placed my hand on my sword ready.

"Don't draw your blade Light." He put up his hand. I could see in his eyes he was tired. He approached me with the purple blade in hand. He stopped a few feet away from me. "Hold out your hand."

I did so, positioning it palm facing up.

"Imagine a flower. It has thin petals, barely budding. The entire thing is encased in a deep purple glass, stem and all. Every around this flower is an inferno, but the flower remains untouched."

I frowned, confused, but I did as he asked, closing my eyes to give me the most amount of focus possible. A flower made from purple glass, engulfed by a flame that couldn't kill the delicate flower, no matter how intense the flame. It sat where the palm of my hand was.

"Now tell me. What is this flower?"

At first, I thought he was joking. All I could do is imagine this flower, not actually name it.

Then I realised. As the petals split away from each other and the flower bloomed, a sharp edge began growing from the core of the flower. The stem began to take shape as a hilt. I took a deep breath before speaking. "A sword."

I opened my eyes. The purple blade was in the ground, and the captain was gone. I looked around, confused. I could only see as a majestic display of light spiralling up towards the heavens, leaving this world behind.

I approached the sword and lifted it out of the ground. The blade was certainly the heaviest I had gripped so far, feeling like a proper sword with weight behind the swings. The dark purple glass flower became this blade, which had found its way to the captain, and then to me.

System Call. Connect Armament…

"So, it finally chose you."

I turned to see Killian standing by the gate, a sad smile on his face. "I thought we were supposed to fight for the sword?"

"No. He does this with everyone. It's his way of knowing that he can leave behind the sword to someone who can use it. I did it once, and I couldn't even lift the sword." Killian sighed. "It's good that he was able to pass it on. He's been slowly dying over the last few weeks."

I looked back up at the night sky, the light had completely disappeared. I lifted up the purple glass to the moon, casting a shadow onto the grass.

I think I'll called it the Night Shadow Blade.

I loved designing the Night Shadow Blade. No, it isn't the Night Shadow Sword. After all, that'll be confusing with the Night Sky Sword. The flower that I decided would be the Core Memory was an Obsidian Nightshade. I can't wait to show off its Memory Release.

We'll be heading towards the Swordscraft Academy next chapter. There, I'll be introducing new characters, as well as mentioning some events that will be relating to the main Alicization story. After all, Kirito's journey will be starting soon. Just having Light in the world doesn't change that Kirito and Eugeo will meet, save Selka and use the Blue Rose Sword to cut down Gigas Cedar.

As always, thank you for reading. Criticism is always appreciated. Until next time, stay cool.