Part One: Rise of the Ancient Apostles

368 years ago, Centoria...

"Lady Stacia, may I ask a question?"

A woman with long, brown hair looks down to a boy of fourteen years of age, blonde hair partially covering his white face. "What is it, child?"

"Why did you create this world?"

She chuckles and pats him on the head. "That's a complicated answer that you may not understand yet."

"Then will you be here forever?"

"Well… If such a day comes that me and the others are not here, you'll be here, my child. The Underworld will one day be full of people, and naturally people will need a leader. Some may be good leaders, some may be bad, but...if that day comes, the people here will be fine. You know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you're here. The first of my children, the eldest of sixteen, it is the responsibility of the first born to take care of the other children. Many children will be born in the future, so you must ensure their future. Only you and your siblings can lead the Underworld to a bright future. Remember that, always, Primus. Will you promise me that?"

"...I will, Mother Stacia."

Jaymes, Obsidia Castle, Dark Territory, 1 year, 3 months after the War of Underworld...

The first rays of sunlight penetrate the windows of the imperial suite, stirring me awake. Opening my eyes, I mentally sigh while raising my right hand from underneath the red covers of this unnecessarily large bed. Another day of being a council member of the Dark Territory, the leader of the Council of Five (Six, whatever) as one of two representatives between the Dark Territory and Human Empire. Or at least that's what the Human Empire believes me to be, while in the Dark Territory… Well, I'm in the imperial suite for a reason.

But let me bring you up to date since Kirito, Asuna, and I got Alice in the hands of Mr. Kikuoka and decided to stay behind in the Underworld during the maximum acceleration phase.

A few days after the war over a year ago, I made my first visit to the Dark Territory with my friend Eydis Synthesis along with pugilist guild leader Iskahn and orc leader Lilpilin. We spent a few days seeing the other side of the Underworld, a place not even I ventured to 300 years prior. Honoring Knight Commander Bercouli's wish, I along with the new Human Empire and Dark Territory governments began laying the foundation for peace. It hasn't been easy, especially on the Dark Territory's side. As a matter of fact, it has taken much of the time to rebuild the Council of Five after bringing the mages, giants, and both goblin tribes to heel. I don't blame them, but I don't spare the sword when threatened.

Once the Dark Territory was "united", things have gone smoother, but there are still issues. The primary one being the sole reason the Dark Territory hates the Human Empire... Or, at least the demi-human sects. Obsidia, the capital, is the only place with fertile land, and it is a human city. That means the goblins, orges, and giants lucked out to human domination, and still continue to suffer.

I did try a solution, one I did before to an infertile area of the Human Empire. I owe that idea to Lady Orthinanos, but while I was unsuccessful in my attempts, trying out the art helped gain some appreciation of the demi-human tribes and gained me the sixth seat. In all but some opposing recognition, I am the second emperor of the Dark Territory, but I don't do much anyway except mediate the Council of Five and international relations.

Speaking of the Human Empire, Kirito and Asuna seem to be doing a good job managing that side of the world as Human Empire Delegate and Subdelegate, a similar positioning to my own here. Like the Dark Territory, the Human Empire didn't respond well to a new government, leading to a short-lived rebellion of the high nobility of the four empires. We wiped out the royalty, and the new government brought the rest of the high nobility to heel. Like Kirito, I am a Swordsman Delegate over there, but decided to continue my work here and left the Human Empire's works to him and Asuna for the most part. It does create a sense of loneliness, I haven't seen those two in six months, but it is a necessary evil. I didn't plan on being around Kirito and Asuna the entire 200 years, anyway.

It took me away from Medina and Eydis, who decided to keep with their duties as a councilor and a Integrity Knight in place of coming here with me. So lacking two pairs of my long-time friends has been hard the last half-year, but I found new friends to fill that void.

Speaking of Medina… There's trouble brewing in Wesdarath, and Medina decided to take care of it with her own task force. She even shot down Kirito and Asuna's assistance in place of my own. That's all I know for now, and I have to meet her in...about three hours.

"Brunhild, Iskahn, and Arthurio won't meet me for a while, but I guess I can't just lay in bed until then."

"But we got time, Master… Why get up?" The real reason I can't leave my bed is the weight of the human girl on me. She places herself above my covered chest, her purple orbs pleading playfully as they aim their sights on my brown eyes. Looking beyond her face, the sight itself is...making a strong argument to doing "nothing" for at least two of those three hours, if our respecitve loyalties didn't lie elsewhere. "It's not like the maids will come at this time."

Normally, I'd question why a barely clothed woman is in my bed (considering I know I was alone when I went to sleep) but this is not the first time this has happened. But this is the first time she's done it in just a nightgown that would make my teenage mind nearly shut down if I've never fell asleep with other beautiful girls for years. "Why are you here, Mia?"

"I just wanted to get an early start to our morning, Master. We're going to see Lady Medina, right?"

"Yeah. Now get dressed before someone walks in."

Mia smiles and lifts herself off me, taking a seated position on the bed, but not before the young woman gives me a partial view of her slightly tanned body. I sigh at the endless teasing of the Dark Knight apprentice, something she loves to do specifically at the most inappropriate times. She straightens her violet hair and looks at me with a smile. "Don't look like that. What would Lady Medina and Lady Eydis say about your deviant behavior while we have duties to attend to?"

I grumble and bite my tongue from saying something out of line. Why couldn't I have chosen a normal-acting girl as my student? Well, at the beginning, she was somewhat like that, but as time passed and we got closer, I think she became the second coming of Lisbeth...and somehow that comforts and scares me everyday. "I can assure you, if you say a word of this to Medina, I'll kill you and ruin any chances with the guy whose bed you should be invading."

Light armor on, Mia dons the black clothing she wears under her purple armor. She spins on her heel and fakes astonishment. "How can you disrupt the unrequited love life of your beloved apprentice like that?"

I shrug as I wave my hand, summoning my underclothes, tunic, and pants on my body. "Why do you think? You do all this, and that has its effects."

Mia chuckles as she grabs my arm as I stand up. "Aw, poor you. So what you're saying is that you feel you're owed some reprieve?"

I sigh and let her hold me as she pleases. Good thing she's not...too well-endowed. "...Let's eat some breakfast." I lead the way out the bedroom. In the living quarters, we're presented with a meal already left in place. Knowing this, I'm relieved to not have been spotted with Mia, that could have been embarrassing to hear on the other side. Snapping my fingers, I conjure a flame and heat up the covered plates for a minute, then uncover them and hand one to Mia.

"Thank you, Jaymes."

"Mhm."

"So did Lady Medina tell you anything more than that we're going to Wesdarath?"

"No, except that we need a lady skilled with the bow. That's why I'm bringing you to accompany us. As for what we're doing, I have no clue. I guess she would rather explain it in person once."

"Sounds like Lady Medina. I can't wait to meet her, finally! We better be on time, then."

Hours later, we enter the throne room, the rest of the group already present. Good, that makes our trip to Wesdarath easier. First is Iskahn, the Supreme Commander of the Dark Territory and also a father to a couple-months old infant. His wife Sheyta will have to forgive me for working him hard at this time...and if I fear her taking the sword again and slashing me to pieces, I'll make sure I return quickly. He survived the war, I believe he'll be fine with more politics in my absence.

With him are two young people of the Dark Mages and Dark Knights groupings. The mage Bru Ild Dah (but given name, Brunhild) is a pretty, dark-skinned woman with white hair and violet eyes. She's the younger sister of the current head of the mages, Kay Yu Vee, and possibly the stronger of the two. Her talent is suppressed by being in the dark realm, for if she had access to the sacred power of the empire, she might be an easy candidate for the new artificers' guild.

Arthurio is a tall, blue-haired, unimposing Dark Knight. As a matter of fact, his whole look and demeanor reminds me of Diavel, and he's a joy to be around when the more serious members of the order become mundane. His sword skills are nothing to scoff at. Had he been a knight prior to the war, he may have gained glory as a Dark Knight if death didn't call him. But he is dedicated to the peace between the empires and has worked tirelessly to my call. One day, when the current general retires, I hope Arthurio rises to that position.

"What's up, Jaymes and Mia! Eventful night?"

I take back the 'he's a joy to be around' part. As I roll my eyes at him, Mia sees opportunity by holding me close like a lover. "Just doing what no lady wants to do with you, string bean."

"I don't know, you can ask the Commerce Guild girls how things have been lately. Maybe a few mages too. What do they say about me, Brunhild?"

Powerful as she is in combat, Brunhild is not adept in social settings. She blushes and looks away. "I… I don't think this is appropriate for right now."

"She's right," I say as I take the mage's side. "Deviants, we have a task to do, remember? All we can tell you for now is that there's something going on in the western kingdom of the Human Empire. There's something the Council is investigating, but we've been asked to assist by Medina, who leads the task force. That's all I can tell you except that you, Mia, and your archery skills were a requirement for this mission."

"I'll do my best for you, Master."

"Counting on it." I turn to Iskahn, or should I say, Supreme Commander Iskahn. The Council of Five governs the Dark Territory, but the Law of Power gives ultimate authority to one person. While a certain Lord of Knights might have won that power as the killer of the previous leader of the land, Iskahn originally won the traditional rite. So while I'm the de facto leader of the Dark Territory, I let Iskahn exercise his right with the Council, only interfering when needed or if it is on the subject of the Human Empire. It's the only reason things have gone somewhat smooth in the last six months. "Iskahn, we may be there for a few days. Arthurio, Brunhild, you have your roles. Anything goes wrong beyond your control, have Brunhild contact me." I toss Brunhild a bracelet, an improved version of the one I gave Ronie and Tiese during the war. Back then, it allowed for tap-communication, like Morse code or whatever, but now the possessors can speak to one another if need be.

Arthurio nods. "Yes sir. We'll do our best. But are you sure you don't need our assistance?"

I nod. "Without really knowing what we're dealing with, I'll trust Medina's judgement, plus we'll have the wayfarers and Medina's page who's a Integrity Knight trainee. Medina and I are equal to two Integrity Knights in power, anyway. But if something does happen, I'll come for you two."

Mia giggles, "Oh, we won't. Master Jaymes and I can handle it!"

"Right," Brunhild says unconvinced. "Good luck, Mia, Lord Jaymes."

I nod as I conjure a swirling gale around me and Mia. I use Incarnation to choose our location, the ruined fort in the Milrelda Peaks region of Wesdarath. That's a day and a half or so travel from Centoria...and I feel a longing to change direction for a moment, to suddenly appear in Central Cathedral and say hello to Kirito and Asuna. After six months of not seeing either of them, it's been weird and lonely, and not to add that this is the first time since Aincrad began that I've been without Kirito, Asuna, and Koharu, the latter not even in this world all the same.

However, I pull myself together. There's a chance I may meet them when the mission is over. I look over at my apprentice and lock in our location. "Same to you three. Mia."

"Bye bye!"

Centoria, Human Empire, Kirito

"Listen to me, Kiri, my boy. The heat element canisters' life might be capable of theoretically withstanding the heat that is generated, but only if there is an ample supply of frost elements! I know you're not skilled at frost arts, so let me be clear that if the generation of elements stops for even a moment, the whole canister could blow at once!"

Kirito sighs and clutches his gloved hands behind his head. He didn't need to be reminded of his lack of skill with the frost arts, or the potential danger if the element is inadequately generated, but worst, the "Kiri, my boy" thing is giving him bad Argo-like vibes. But unlike the info broker, Sadore is a fifty-something year old man. Well, not just any man, Sadore is the man who forged the Night-Sky Sword from the branch of the Gigas Tree almost two years prior, and now functions as the arsenal master of the Central Cathedral underneath the new government.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that so many times, I feel like I've got pester bugs in my ears. Also, sir, can you stop with the 'Kiri, my boy,' thing already?"

"Hmph, I'll never stop. Ever since you brought me that hideously tough branch tree years ago and made me ruin six valuable blackbrick grindstones to hone that blade, I swore to myself that I'd call you 'boy' for the rest of eternity."

"Sheesh… If I didn't have that sword, the world would be in a terrible state right now…" Kirito tells himself that, but it isn't factually true. Between the Clamp Crisis and War of Underworld, he was...absent for most of it, and there's a good chance (actually higher, but he's trying not to admit it) that even if he didn't wake up, the world would have been saved nonetheless. But he's not going to admit that, especially to the face of the other Real Worlder male present in Underworld.

Turning away to Sadore, Kirito looks behind him, spotting a brown-haired girl with bright blue eyes. She wears light gray armor, a longsword strapped to her waist. Behind her stands a pale yellow dragon, somewhat around Kirito's height, and to her side stands his beloved Asuna, the chestnut-haired girl wearing a white dress as usual, her trademark weapon strapped to her waist. He breaks out into a huge smile and Ronie quickly bows. "Good morning, Kirito."

"Heya, Ronie! How ya doin', Tsukigake?" The dragon, happy to see its master's master, greets Kirito by jumping on him and licking. No one helps him as Ronie greets Sadore, then turns her attention to the work Kirito and Sadore were agruing about.

"Um… what was that...heat canister thing you were talking about?"

"Just what it sounds like. Look at the rump of Dragoncraft Prototype Unit One up there."

"Dragon...craft?" Ronie glances at the metallic, dragon-shaped aircraft prototype. Of course, Kirito expects confusion from the Underworlders on calling the contraption a 'dragon' in a world where there are real dragons. but that's what it looks like on purpose. To him (and Asuna) it looks more like a starfighter one would see in a sci-fi movie, and Kirito hopes to make it function like one.

"There are two containers crafted from western adamantium in there, and each one has ten whole heat elements trapped inside of it."

"Wh-What? B-But, I know adamantium is supposed to be highly heat resistant, but wouldn't being exposed to ten whole heat elements at once cause it to eventually melt and explode?"

"That's where the trick comes in. On the exterior of the container, we run pipes made of Jorund-giant centipede shells, which is highly frost resistant. Those pipes are hooked to frost canisters that supply a steady strea, of cold that is designed to prevent the heat canisters from melting down, see."

"Uh...huh… And is that...going to work?"

Sadore shrugs. "I don't know."

"What?"

"I'm not the one riding in it-the boy is."

"Whaaaaaat?" Ronie inspects the dragoncraft again, this time noticing the cockpit at the 'head' of the dragoncraft. "D-do you mean...someone's going to sit in there...and release the heat elements...to cause flames to shoot out of the rump canisters...to…"

"To fly, yes," Kirito finishes, in which Ronie grabs on to his clothes and shouts at him.

"Y...y-y-you can't do this! If twenty heat elements all go out of control at the same time, it'll rupture the whole thing! Y-you should use wind elements, like the levitating disc in the cathedral."

"Actually, that whole shaft is airtight, which is how there's enough pressure from the wind elements alone to make it work. If you want to fly out in the open air, you need the sheer propulsive power of a heat element's explosion." Kirito then looks to the crowd of Centorian citizens, present to watch the demonstration of the dragoncraft along with a small festival. "Plus, look how many people are here to watch. If we try to call it off now, we'll have a second rebellion on our hands."

"Y-you're the one who invited them all to watch!" Ronie does have cause for concern, but taking risks like this is up at Kirito's alley. With peace between both sides of the Underworld, Kirito's keeps the world on its toes with his actions. Not too long ago, he revived the northern cave's dragon, which is an amazing feat in itself, but had it gone wrong… Well, good thing the other powerful swordsman in the world was there to quickly take down the Northern Dragon to prevent a perpetual winter.

Kirito hadn't seen him since, and doesn't expect to see him today at all. He has his own business to attend to in the western lands with the other sub-delegate. Kirito was just happy to test the prototype, but he is also concerned about what Jaymes and Medina will encounter. However, if anything goes wrong, Asuna is here to yell at him later.

"There's no point to arguing, Ronie, When he gets this way, you just have to let him go through with it."

"B-but...you can't… Well, I suppose you're right." Kirito nods and heads to the dragoncraft. Ronie's fears are sound, Kirito is aware the elements within the craft are not stable, and they might have a violent reaction, but...at this point in his life, Kirito welcomes a little danger of the unknown.

At the bottom of the ladder, Kirito turns around in the direction of Ronie and Asuna. "Let's get started, then! Asuna, give me a countdown!"

"Wh-why does it have to be me?!"

"You always did one before we busted into the boss chambers, remember? Plus neither Koharu or Jaymes are here."

Asuna shakes her head and raises her hand. "You didn't invite him... System Call." Crystal and wind elements. The crystals form a glass funnel and Asuna faces it, saying out loud, "Thank you for your patience and interest, everyone! The Central Cathedral arsenal is about to conduct a flight test of Dragoncraft Prototype One!"

On cue if Asuna's magnified voice, Kirito climbs into the dragoncraft and straps himself down. He places a leather aviator's helmet around his head and, once fitted, gives a thumbs-up to Sadore. The countdown continues out, and Kirito takes a slight glance towards the western horizon. This was a project started by the both of them, but Jaymes left before the first stages of creating the dragoncraft. Kirito's sure that he would be here if he knew the first of two prototypes were to be shown off, but he has a date with Medina to the west, and that issue is more pressing than a demonstration.

Still, it hurts that Jaymes is absent.

As he heard the countdown and thinks of his old friend, Kirito takes control of the heat elements in the rump of the craft. He can feel the dragoncraft shudder as his power of Incarnation flows through the elements, and then the countdown finishes. "Discharge!" All twenty elements burst at once in a tremendous blast, and once enough power is built up, the silver aircraft takes its maiden voyage.

Kirito wouldn't say creating a aircraft in the real world is easy, but the difficulty may be greater in the Underworld. The power of the heat element would normally melt the steel containers, but the pipes have frost elements constantly being pumped into the canisters, and the heat escapes solely through the open tubes on the end of the dragon.

As historic as it was in the early twentieth century, a person was flying on someone other than a dragon. There's more science to the matter, such as making sure the frost elements aren't sapping resources in one spot, but continously during flight. After all, the goal of the dragoncraft is similar to the goal of the airplane: aerial travel, but specifically for the Underworld, to scale the obstacle no man could cross, and the one piece of earth that Falchion'aas power of manipulation cannot manipulate: the Wall at the End of the World.

Then something happened. For some reason, the frost elements failed production, which lead the heat elements to take over and—bowumm! "Oh no!" Kirito loses control of the aircraft, and it begins to dip down towards the ninety-fifth floor of the cathedral. Just as Kirito was wondering how to avoid crashing into the cathedral (and the almightly lecturing that'd follow from the Integrity Knights) the upper five floors of the cathedral shift to the west. A moment later, the prototype explodes around Kirito, the swordsman safe within a self-made barrier of Incarnation.

"Well, we tried." Kirito says as he uses Incarnation to form wings and descends from the cloud of black smoke back to the ground. He hears the round of applause, possibly due to his safety, his ability to fly, or what was, for a short while, a magnificient showing with the dragoncraft. He pauses mid-flight and looks to the west again. Sadness flows in his heart again, a symptom of, for the first time since they parted ways on the ninth floor of Aincrad, he's separated from his best friend. Waving and smiling to the audience, he looks down at Asuna as he comes back to the ground, and in her eyes he reads the same thing behind his face.

After all, neither Jaymes or Asuna would ever let the other know it, but he's sure Asuna misses him too. But there's a chance they may reunite once the mission in the west is over. For now...Kirito suspects he's in trouble with the knights/