Part 4: The End of the World
Chapter 1: The end of Laughing Coffin
Alice's face twitched as she struggled to keep her rage from showing through. She had an intense desire to punch the stupid display in front of her. It was a diorama of Heathcliff, resplendent in his dark red cloak and white kite shield. He was defending against the golden statue that punched down at him.
…Whether a result of his highly enhanced shield, the unique skill Divine Sword, or another cheat that he applied to himself, Heathcliff's shield did not break in front of the unstoppable fists of the fiftieth-floor boss.
It was this impossible task that gave Heathcliff his moniker the Unbreakable Shield.
"So there was no answer?" Alice growled. "Did he really create these stupid milestone bosses to only be possible with his aid?"
"This does seem… suspicious." Yui agreed. "He did not do a very good job of hiding himself as a player."
"That is perfectly apparent." Glaring at the stupid boss one more time, Alice stalked off with Yui. It was time to finish this museum.
"Did you see this part?" Yui called after her.
Stopping, Alice turnd back to stare at the girl. "What? Something about how everyone loved and trusted Heathcliff after this fight?"
"Not quite," Yui giggled.
When she refused to elaborate Alice returned and read the part that Yui pointed at. "Oh, of course he did. Sure, Kirito essentially soloed the boss' final health bar. Couldn't let me have that one."
"Hehe," Yui giggled. "He had help though, you did not."
Alice sent the girl a withering look before turning and properly ascending to the next and final floor. There was no open space here with different paths and visibility to the next exhibits. The first one here was called Fighting Darkness.
Once more, they displayed large statues of the laughing coffin leaders. This time though they had plaques under each one and a list of things that they had done. Kills, notorious deeds… It was a macabre immortalization of SAOs most famous murderers.
Only skimming the entries for PoH and Red-eye Xaxa, Alice growled at the men. Her adrenaline was still pumping from the fight against the fiftieth-floor boss. It had raised as many questions as it had answered. Now, those emotions turned into fury at the killers.
PoH had killed thousands of her people. Xaxa had traumatized Kirito and Sinon. The third one was Johnny Black. That was the one that had sent Kirito into the underworld. Alice knew that he had almost killed Kirito, but in doing so he had saved her soul from the inevitable destruction that Emperor Vecta would have done to her world.
Shortly after they crossed the fiftieth floor, the strategy of Laughing coffin changed. They stopped doing random attacks on middle-line guilds. Instead, they began to focus on the up-and-coming guilds and players looking to break into the front lines. Partly because of this, the front-line numbers kept shrinking, going below two hundred players for the first time since the twenty-fifth floor.
Under growing pressure and mounting deaths, the front liners eventually committed themselves to exterminating Laughing Coffin and most importantly, its leaders PoH, Red-eyed Xaxa, and Johnny Black. The number of people who lost their lives at the hands of one of these three was easily over three hundred.
By the beginning of August 2024 there were more than twenty active 'Red' laughing coffin members, twenty more 'Green' associates, thirty to forty other red players in other guilds, and more than two hundred people who had purchased Laughing Coffin services.
"More than…" Alice was struck by that number. There were hundreds of players that had contacted Laughing coffin for something? They could not all have been murders. But still, it showed a corruption in the players that went far deeper than the distinction between red and green. There was a large gray zone in between, or yellow in this case. Shivering, Alice moved on through the exhibit.
The raid on laughing coffin
In the first week of August 2024, the frontliners finally got a tip of where the laughing coffin members' base was*. As an out-of-area cave, there was no system protection in place to stop either side from killing each other.
On the day of the raid where the front-line players were intending to imprison all the laughing coffin members, they themselves were ambushed inside the base. This is because Laughing coffin knew they were coming ahead of time**.
In the exchange of weapons, the stronger front-line players hesitated to take lives leading to more deaths than if they had not. Once again, the Black Swordsman proved crucial to this fight. Seeing people dying and the Lightning Flash in danger 'broke' him and he began slaughtering the laughing coffin members. In short order, as they watched their members get slaughtered even as they tried to surrender broke the moral of laughing coffin.
Throwing down their weapons, they tossed themselves upon the other player's mercy hoping to avoid the Black Swordsman's blade. In the aftermath, more than a dozen of the laughing coffin members had been cut down while the stronger front-line players still had five casualties and almost lost many more. Reports from players present claim that without the Black Swordsman's intervention, the raid would have collapsed with the front liners either dying frozen in fear or teleporting away.
Notably, Heathcliff talked himself out of the event. It became clear that he did not involve himself in the operations of the day-to-day progress and primarily acted as a main tank against bosses and a morale boost.
*This tip was reportedly provided by PoH, the laughing coffin leader.
**The exact timing of the raid was leaked by Kuradeel, a laughing coffin member hidden within the K.O.B.
Breathing out heavily, Alice took to a moment to compose herself from the wall of text. This was an event that she had heard about beforehand. It made her feel a kinship with Kirito. He, like she, had committed a sin to save those that he loved.
"They should have been harder."
Alice looked over at Yui who had whispered the words. "Who?"
"The front-line players. They should have gone in with the mindset to exterminate the laughing coffin players."
Alice was shocked by the declaration. Who was this? The once happy-go-lucky fairy that flitted around Kirito's head and sit in his hair. She had clearly changed more than Alice realized in the last decade. "What makes you say that?"
"Well…" Yui shifted uncomfortably. "It is the most logical route. They are essentially dangerous animals. Getting rid of them is by far the easiest route."
"Just because it is easy, does not mean it is right," Alice answered, quoting the proverb that she had heard many times. "They lost valuable people, keeping Red-eyed Xaxa alive killed another half a dozen people after the game ended. Not killing Johnny Black though, saved the entirety of the underworld in a weird way."
"I… am sorry. I just… I hate seeing what Papa had to do to save them. They kept their hands clean and pushed everything onto him… Just like the beginning of the game. He did everything for the game, and no one appreciated him!"
She was definitely not whispering by the end. Alice placed a comforting hand on Yui's shoulder. It was a cold, metallic touch, but Alice hoped that her emotions would still be conveyed. "That is why your father deserves the happy life that he has created with Asuna. He has sacrificed more and tried harder than anyone else."
"Yes, he does…" Yui agreed slowly. "But what about you, Aunt. Are you honestly happy?"
Alice blinked, completely taken aback. The brutal raid and moment that the front-line players became murderers was blown from her mind. She did not want to lie. Yes, the years ahead of her were a daunting black cloud that she could not see into, but that did not mean her life was bad. "I am content. I only hope that things continue to go well."
"Hope?" Yui grumbled, turning her earnest black eyes onto Alice's blue ones. "How can you rely on hope? Why not claim that future that will make you happy?"
Alice could not admit to that. She could not tell Yui that she was weak inside and unable to move forward on her own. No, she could not. So, she smiled, and rubbed Yui's head. "Maybe when you figure it out, you will help me with it."
Then, before Yui could reply, Alice turned and walked deeper into the museum, hoping to find a happier exhibit.
Chapter 2: Monochromatic tension
Alice's hopes were immediately crushed upon seeing a full-sized display of Kirito and Asuna, blades locked as they fought against each other. What the hell is this? Sighing, Alice approached the distorted figures. While they were clearly Kirito and Asuna, as usual, their faces were not cast in perfect detail. It would not matter, but she supposed that they had been minors during the events of Sword Art Online.
The Clash's Climax
Throughout boss fights and strategy meetings in the second half of the game—primarily starting in 2024—The relationship between The Black Swordsman and Lighting Flash was exceptionally terse. This, according to multiple reports from front line players, dealt with all aspects of the raid groups duties. Perhaps due to his past relationship with her, The Black Swordsman was more willing to argue and disagree with the Lightning Flash's tactics and strategies than any other player.
Their most fervent arguments were always related to the exploitations of NPCs. With ruthless efficiency, The Lightning Flash had a knack at coming up with ways to utilize the efforts and lives of the NPCs in order to protect and strengthen the front-line players.
The Black swordsman, however, did everything in power to protect the NPCs. Many of the front-line players sneered at his behavior as much of it resulted in suboptimal levelling and increased his chance of death.
"Idiot man…" Alice said fondly. She reached out a hand and touched the richly engraved panel of fake marble. "Even in a world where they have no souls, you care."
Yui had tears in her eyes as she read. Like Alice, she seemed to be focusing on Kirito's… err, oddities, rather than Asuna's somewhat aggressive behavior that did have a brutal logic to it.
These contests came to a head on the fifty-sixth floor against a particularly nasty Field boss called the Geocrawler. The massive centipede like monster clogged a narrow valley where players could only attack its nearly impervious front armour.
Join the theater and watch the Black Swordsman and Lightning Flash duel to determine whose strategy is enacted for dealing with this troublesome boss.
"A duel?" Alice murmured; her interest piqued. This was an event that she had not heard about before. No teasing, no whispers, no mentions. Thinking on it though, she did remember Klein obliquely mentioning every now and then that Kirito and Asuna had not always been as lovey-dovey as they acted now.
Getting in line, Alice watched the faces of the excited people that were leaving and entering. Even though they had maintained a stoic quiet while going through most of the museum, that was being broken here. Alice could understand why. There were no lives on the line here, only a dramatic fight between two of the game's heroes.
So, it was with greatest impatience that Alice waited to view what may very well be the last virtual movie in the museum. After all, the game was coming to an end. They had mentioned the seventieth floor earlier with laughing coffin, a floor very near the premature end.
Due to her interest, she only noticed Yui's occasional shivering as they entered the theatre. "Is something wrong?" Alice whispered, trying not to distract the other people.
"I… I don't want to see them fight. They are always perfect, always on the same wavelength. How could they seriously fight?"
Alice considered Yui's words. The weird thing was that she was right. Kirito and Asuna were eerily on the wavelength. Kirito's jokes, pranks, and idiosyncrasies never got a rise from Asuna. It was as if she was expecting it. An audience member to a comedy show that had seen the script to beforehand.
Getting to that almost stagnant state from fighting a potentially fatal duel over ideology was a big step. A very big step. "We will have to just watch and see one side of the story. I imagine if you confront them about it later, you will get the other side."
"Yes, you are right," Yui agreed, back straight as she took the chair. "Do not believe everything I see, it is just like the internet, yes…"
Alice waited a moment for her to say more. Almost instantly though Alice realized that Yui had joined the movie. Not wanting to hold her up after, Alice engaged herself as well, forced to still speak the command out loud.
Alice had expected an arena. Instead, she found herself in a long stone room. It was some sort of dark sandstone, carved with primitive tools that left marks on the worn walls. The roof was slightly more than three meters high restricting the height one could attack from. As neither used greatswords or heavy lances though, it was unlikely to interfere. A long table pushed to one side bespoke the room's actual purpose of holding conferences.
A little light trickled in through one of the long walls of the rectangular room where almost a dozen people stood to one side, whispering in small groups. Based solely off their armour and sigils, Alice knew almost all of them. A group of three K.O.B. members were on the far side staring at Asuna who examined her rapier with a cold expression. In the middle were the DDA. Their four members were lounging around with eager expressions. On the side closest to Alice were two Furin Kazan members, one of which was Klein.
Talking to Klein in a low voice was Kirito. He had hunched shoulders and a downcast look to his eyes. He was not defeated or scared… he was sad. Alice was not sure if the museum had forgotten or given up on blurring his facial features, but Alice could clearly see those bottomless black eyes, the exact same ones that had enabled her to free herself from her shackles.
Between these groups were only a couple other people wearing colours that must belong to smaller guilds that still populated the frontlines along with the larger guilds. The four people belonging to these guilds looked shell-shocked. As if they were told something would happen that they clearly believed impossible.
At that moment the chirp of a clock rang out. Twelve precise notes indicating that the time of day was noon. When the chimes started, Kirito raised a hand to forestall Klein and strode into the middle of the room. Asuna matched the movements, striding up to Kirito to get in his face, the two only a single meter apart.
"This whole sequence was captured on a video crystal allowing us to recreate in exact detail, including audio. Please enjoy."
The narrators voice faded leaving the room in silence. After nearly ten seconds of the two staring at each other from close range, Asuna spoke, her crystal-clear voice colder than Alice had ever heard. "You will not back down?"
"I will not."
"Fine. I, Asuna the Lightning Flash, Vice-commander of the Knights of the Blood, commander of the clearing efforts of Sword Art Online, do declare and make binding the following: The winner of the half-finish duel between I and Kirito guildless shall gain strategical command of the battle to defeat the Geocrawler, field boss of the fiftieth-sixth floor for the next five days. If the winner if unable to defeat the boss in that period, command will switch to the loser to attempt their strategy.
"These terms are acceptable for you, I hope?" Asuna ended it, her tone somehow getting colder.
Kirito tilted his head, as if thinking about something before he replied, saying exactly what Alice was thinking. "Did you like… memorize that beforehand?"
Asuna blushed as snickers came from Klein and some of the others. "Do you agree, beater!?"
The tasteless title hardened Kirito's face. "Yes, I agree."
"Good." With no more preamble, Asuna opened her menu and created a duel with precise, mechanical motions. The whole thing had a very practiced feel to it. Asuna did everything, but there was none of the anger—present in her voice—in her motions. No dramatic flourishes, none of Asuna's typical mannerisms with which Alice had grown very familiar.
Alice could think of half a dozen reasons for the discrepancy but was unable to convince herself of one over the others. She could only watch and hope that Asuna's behavior made more sense by the time that the movie finished.
Once the challenge was issued, Kirito only flicked his eyes at it once before clicking the accept button. Once that was done Asuna turned around and stalked four steps away. It was a solid mid-distance from where her rapier skills would do incredible damage. Kirito took one more step back, still not drawing his sword. Instead, he put his hands in his pockets and stared at Asuna.
Fifteen seconds passed like this, then twenty. At that point, Asuna's hand that was holding her rapier began to shake. It was slight, but definitely noticeable. Perhaps even accentuated for the audience. "Damn you…"
The words were low but audible. Asuna's eyes that had been cold before warped into entire blizzards. A cold wrath that had the power to destroy the middle part of Sword Art Online. Kirito, the solo player, the highest level in the game, did not flinch.
Drawing his blade, he closed the distance. Asuna looked stunned, her eyes going to the corner of her vision where the countdown would be displayed. Alice had one as well saying there were fifteen more seconds until the fight proper started.
Asuna seemed to have the same question as she glanced between Kirito, now only a few steps away, and the timer. "D-Do you surrender."
"No."
"W-Wha…." Asuna panicked backwards a few steps. Kirito followed.
"S-Stop this!"
"No." As Kirito spoke, the buzzer went, and Kirito swung. It was perhaps an underhanded tactic, but Alice appreciated how clever it was. Kirito had made a silent declaration that he did not care about honour. He cared about what he believed in and would do everything he needed to win the duel.
Asuna had a few choices to deal with Kirito's attack. In Alice's estimation the best would be retreat taking damage from the swing but preparing a sword skill against a nearly defenseless target. Asuna, however, opted to do something Alice did not think was possible. She swung her thin rapier like a longsword and engaged Kirito in a bind.
That first response from Asuna should have lost her the duel. Fighting a stronger opponent, one with martial arts like this was suicide. Kirito could grapple her and simply choke her until half of her health was gone. There were no saving options at this point.
Contrary to Alice's previous thoughts though, Kirito did not abuse her choice. He simply raised his eyebrows, waiting for the explanation.
"Why? Why can you not see the simple truth!?" Asuna growled. The voice was definitely a whisper that had been enhanced for Alice's ears. Had they lip read Asuna to get these words?
"What truth?" Kirito replied mockingly. "That you are a callous monster?"
"Me!?" Asuna barked a forced laugh. "You are the one willing to risk the lives of real living people instead of mindless, soulless NPCs that will respawn anyway!"
Kirito seemed to freeze at that. His arm that had been shaking from the force between the swords went eerily still, the tense muscle of his forearm that stuck out from beneath the coat in sheer relief. "You don't believe that. You can't actually believe that."
"Of course, I do!" Asuna bit back too quickly. "Deny it!"
"…I thought maybe you had moved on faster than I did, but that's not it, is it?" Kirito sounded horrified. "You still reject it. Kizmel was our friend Asuna. She was a wonderful person… and she died. Kizmel is gone."
"So? She was not real to begin with. She had no choices to make. It was all a complicated algorithm. If someone found her code, they could bring her back. She's a fake, admit it!"
"I will never admit that." Kirito's voice was rapidly dropping in temperature. He had been serious but fair before. He was quickly approaching that terrifying point that Alice had never faced in a duel. The one that radiated with power, determination, and a righteous anger.
"Then you agree that you are lying to yourself?"
"No. You are." Kirito insisted, spitting the words. "The Elf War quest reset after we cleared it you know. It is back to its proper parameters and settings. Those two knights that fight at the first quest… one is Kizmel again."
Asuna flinched.
"Join a party and start it again. Kill the forest elf and save her. Look her in the eyes and tell her that she is the same person that you spent months becoming friends with. TELL HER!" Kirito roared, his emotion breaking through like a blast of fire. "Tell her, the elf you treated like a sister, that she is the same one. That she can simply respawn unlike us!"
"T-That is not…"
"That is the point!" Kirito continued to yell. "These villagers can become our friends. They acquire memories, they acquire experiences. You want to terrorize the ones that survive and reset the ones that will die for your stupid plan."
"…Yes." Asuna whispered, her strength returning. "They are not human, they have no rights, they have no lives. If you honestly believed that they do, you would join laughing coffin and stop us."
This time, Kirito was the one of the backfoot. He stepped out of the lock, pointing his sword at Asuna. "What are you talking about?"
"It is obvious, isn't it." Her cold eyes latching unto Kirito's. "More than me, more than the commander, You, Kirito the beater, fight for the end of Aincrad. No one has sacrificed more, no one can. You would free us today if you could, even if you would die doing it. But in doing so, this world will end, the NPCs will end. You are a hypocrite."
There was a pause after Asuna's declaration. Kirito's sword lowered and his neck bent. That mop of unruly black hair covered his delicate facial features and haunted eyes. When his head came up though, there was no indecision.
"You're right." Kirito admitted. "I would save a player before an NPC. However, I will not play will their lives. Maybe their pain is meaningless, maybe they are not truly sentient, but I will never forget Kizmel. Her warmth, her smile, her tears, the memories we shared. She lives in me as real as any other person.
"Condone me as scum in the newspapers if you want Lightning Flash, but on your oath, I will not allow you to sacrifice the villagers to defeat this floor boss."
What… is happening!? Alice was completely stun locked. Jaw open, she watched as the two combatants assumed proper ready stances this time, blades beginning to glow with the light of sword skills.
"Raaah!" With matching screams, they exploded forward. Linear versus Rage spike. Asuna's blazing rapier struck first by a tenth of a second digging deeply into Kirito's stomach. Kirito's sword cut down through Asuna's left shoulder blowing her backwards.
The resultant health was about equal. Asuna had hit first slowing down Kirito's skill. Kirito's blade naturally did more damage per hit. Both combatants looked fine to continue throwing out single hit skills, but Alice noticed something odd. Kirito's health had gone back up—he was healing over time.
Asuna noticed and tsked. "What a monster…" Changing tactics, she darted in with alternating movements, searching for an opening.
Kirito did not bother trying to match Asuna's agility. He stood still and swung his sword in a horizontal arc in front of him, forcing Asuna back. He looked almost bored as he fended her off. The reason was obvious, every six seconds as Alice counted it, Kirito's health went up. After the third tick, Kirito was almost back at full while Asuna was still missing ten percent.
Getting frustrated, Asuna leaped back and assumed a more powerful stance. Alice immediately recognized it as the stance for Flashing Penetrator. One of the ultimate sword skills in the rapier category. A critical hit likely had the power to end the duel straight out. Furthermore, it could cross incredible distances. Kirito did not answer with his own sword skill. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, holding his sword in front of him in a two-handed posture.
This would likely decide the duel. If Kirito managed to dodge or block the blade well enough to respond, then Asuna would be doomed in the long post-motion freeze. Asuna, however, did not need to win the duel with this hit. Any sort of clean damage would knock Kirito away enough that he would be unable to respond. Maybe even stunning him ensuring Asuna's victory.
The decisive moment came in the blink of an eye. Asuna's body turned into a streak of light as the she suddenly appeared in front of Kirito.
Cling!
The sound of metal ringing against metal as Asuna blew past Kirito, rapier extended. Kirito had turned with her, blade out as well from a slash. Again, the result seemed to be a tie. Kirito had been pushed too far to the side, taking minor damage after deflecting the lunge, while Asuna had taken minor damage from the reply.
However, all ties favored Kirito. He had his battle healing that had opened up a nearly fifteen percent health difference between them.
Asuna's eyes had a faint note of panic in them as she turned to face Kirito. She glanced down at her rapier as if she did not really believe what she had felt from it. "How? How can you fight so strongly for a future you don't even believe in? I don't understand…"
"Future?" Kirito scoffed. "I'm not thinking about the future. I merely do what I think is right today."
"Today, but…" Asuna growled and threw herself forward with another sword skill. Quadruple pain. Kirito however simply jumped backwards, taking no damage. He did not close in for more damage, circling instead.
Is he… playing with her?
This had taken a shocking turn. After their angry tirade, Alice would have expected Kirito to finish it as fast as he absolutely could. Now he was either taunting Asuna or simply felt no reason to go on the offensive.
Asuna seemed to agree with Alice's assessment lunging forward with thrust after thrust. She was avoiding sword skills now, attempting to win a battle of pure skill. While she had an advantageous weapon for landing blows, the difference in potential damage was incredible. Asuna was forced to retreat every time Kirito swung at her rendering her assault ineffective.
"This is world is our prison… Look at how happy you are to be here. I hate you! I hate this place! I hate losing my life one day at a time!"
Kirito did not reply, but he acted. He tossed his sword slightly, holding it in a different grip. To Alice it did not seem usable. The cross guard was held between his thumb and first two fingers with the blade towards the palm. It was similar to a backhanded knife grip, but it was not possible to swing or use a sword skill in this position.
Asuna saw it and lunged forward to take advantage only to freeze after one step. Her face scrunched up with concentration as she hesitated.
Kirito took advantage of her respect and lifted the blade somewhat, the sword beginning to glow with the light of a sword skill. It looked somewhat familiar to Alice. The sword was too long, and it looked heavy and strange but… "Throwing picks."
As soon as Alice said it, Kirito's hand snapped forward throwing the blade toward Asuna. Despite the close distance and shock, she still managed a clumsy dodge, the blade catching her shoulder as she fell to the ground. The battle would continue however and Kirito no longer had a weapon.
Once again, for some reason, Alice underestimated Kirito. He opened his menu as he charged at Asuna. With only a few button touches, he summoned a new blade. It did not remove his old sheath, nor did it despawn the glistened black blade that lay beside Asuna. This sword appeared crossed over the other sheath forming an X.
Drawing that blade with his left hand, Kirito shot forward.
Asuna gaped, trying to stumble backwards. She was too slow, however, and Kirito rammed into her, bringing her to the ground once more, his sword held to her neck. They froze there, Kirito's blade hovering on Asuna's skin but not cutting into her.
"Do it." She growled. Her rapier laying just out of reach. "End the fight."
"Surrender." Kirito replied.
"No."
"Then I'll continue to lay on you."
"W-Why you. You childish asshole."
"Why am I the childish one for not wanting to hurt people? Aren't you the child? Throwing a tantrum, only thinking about yourself?"
"I… I yield!" Asuna shouted the final two words in a distinctive manner that made the duel screen hovering in the air flash and release a bit of confetti. It now read Winner: Kirito.
Nodding in satisfaction, Kirito stood up, grimaced at the blade in his left hand and then sheathed it. Picking up the fallen elucidator, he plunged it back into his sheath creatinging that distinct silhouette that Alice remembered saving her multiple times during her greatest trials.
"How?" Asuna asked as Kirito began to walk away. "How did you throw your blade?"
"Skill mod." Kirito stopped at the entrance and looked back at Asuna. Pausing there for a moment, he looked lost for words. He settled on a soft smile and a wave before leaving, Klein running after him.
Asuna only tracked Kirito's progress with her eyes, a hand to her throat. Yet that expression had changed. Her eyes no longer were filled with disdain but envy, or maybe simple desire. She mouthed more words that did not have audio to them.
Alice thought it was I need to know, but she was not sure.
That had been it. The change in their relationship. The event that finally allowed them to confront each other about their beliefs around AI and their place within virtual worlds. Their history with Kizmel the dark elf. From here on, Asuna would only grow closer to Kirito and eventually secure her future as his wife.
Fittingly for Alice, the vision faded to black as it ended.
Alice found Yui as she had expected. The girl was trying her hardest to not lash out in anger. A storm existed in those eyes. One of indignation and betrayal. With the increased noise in this part of the museum, Alice did not think it would be contained for long.
"What is wrong with her? I understand the logic, I truly do, but how cruel can you be?"
"How about we read about the conclusion first?" Alice offered, stopping Yui's protests. It was unlikely that they would be anything new anyway. Besides, Asuna had changed. That was something humans could-and often did-do.
Yui clamped her mouth shut, the anger only suppressed, not gone. Yes, this would be a frosty reunion. Her parents had not always been the heroes that she adored. They were people as well who had gone through numerous trials to get where they are.
More failure.
As commander of strategy, the Black Swordsman in conjunction with Klein came up with the idea of baiting the boss up the canyon wall so it could be defeated from the sides and back.
To bait the floor boss, they used high-quality raw meat products and tried to run in front of it.
While the plan may be feasible it ended up failing. The failure was ascribed to three shortcomings. First, the aggro priority of the floor boss is nonstandard. It will always target people that pass beyond a certain point in the canyon. This ended up in the boss losing interest in the bait too early.
The second and most important factor is simply how sheer the cliff faces are. This feature was underestimated during scouting and led to Kirito and Klein almost being eaten by the floor boss chasing the food while making their way up it. Their troubles in leading it away caused the raid group to attack too early leading back to the first problem.
The final problem is that the boss has an extremely low bait factor. The Geocrawler is only mildly interested in food and will return to its position if the food gets too far away and will switch targets at the first instance of damage against it.
As such, the plan ended up failing and the raid group slunk back to the town in defeat.
So, Kirito had failed. Alice wondered what would happen at this point. While Kirito was completely against the idea of bringing the boss into the village, they clearly needed a different arena to fight the boss in. What they had described so far felt less like a skill test and more like a puzzle. There was an answer here. It could be leading it into the village but… surely there was another one.
Museums, like published articles, don't often create much tension. That was why the next panel read, Black Swordsman and Lightning Flash find musical solution
After the failed raid on March 6th 2024, the black swordsman and lightning flash met up at one of the small towns food vendors. It was mostly quiet as the other front-line players had gone to bed or bars, depressed to have failed again.
During this meeting, the Black Swordsman pled Lightning Flash give him more time to come up with a different answer. It is reported that the lightning flash seemed less eager to bring the boss inside the village now.
While they were talking, they noticed that there was an NPC girl named Ruru watching them. After the Black Swordsman got a promise from The Lightning Flash that she would not execute her plan the next morning, he bid her goodnight and left.
Alone, The lightning Flash approached the girl who asked her if she could not sleep. The girl sung a lullaby* for the lightning flash that included the clue for defeating the floor boss.
The next day, the boss raid against the floor boss was successful due to using the musical instrument skill to put the floor boss to sleep and beat it to death from the side.
"Asuna found it," Alice muttered to herself fixing the title. Although maybe it did have some truth. Without Kirito's influence, Asuna probably wouldn't have walked around looking for another solution.
At the bottom marked by an asterisk was the lullaby that the NPC had sung. As the text had described, the short song had a line about putting an iron-covered serpent to sleep. So, this was the other answer.
"I am… conflicted." Yui finally said.
Alice stayed silent, lending her ear to the AI girl and her issues.
"Mom was so… angry. So determined to reject the world. Yet here she changed her mind. She listened to the girl closely and figured out what needed to be done."
"Asuna is an amazing person." Alice said simply.
"Yeah," Yui finally smiled. "She had a hard past and came to grips with it. I think… I think I can see that now."
Unable to help it, Alice rubbed the girl's head as she often did to Selka. They weren't all that similar, but there was something in this moment that gave Alice the motivation to do so. Yui, of course, pouted and pulled away with an embarrassed expression. If she had the capability, Alice was sure her face would be scarlet.
As they were leaving the Alice caught two words, "thank you."
Chapter 3: The end of Aincrad
Progress through the castle continued in spurts. With the Lightning Flash being more lenient on the clearing pace, there would often be three-to-four-day breaks where front liners could either rest or focus on getting a specific piece of gear improved.
Like the Geocrawler, there were occasionally bosses where the front line stopped and had to find the answer for them. Despite these obstacles, the clearing group continued to eat away at the second half of the game. Analytics data put the estimated clear date around the Summer of 2025.
However, on October 18th, a miracle seems to happen where the boss of the seventy-fourth floor was randomly defeated. Interestingly, this boss is the weakest proportionally of all 100 bosses programmed into Sword Art Online. This was because it was the first boss where no crystals could be used in the boss room.
In this fight, the Black Swordsman revealed his dual wielding ability which dealt enormous damage to the floor boss. From this occurrence, the ability became knowledge in Aincrad as the second unique skill.
After reigniting their relationship, the Black Swordsman and Lightning Flash sought a leave for the Lightning Flash from her guild. As a result, the now infamous duel between the Black Swordsman and Heathcliff was born.
It was the information gleaned during this duel that resulted in the game being cleared early. Watch the duel, can you spot the moment that clued in the Black Swordsman as to Heathcliff's true identity?
"Ah, this duel…" Alice had obviously heard about it. In fact, people were spending less time here. It seemed that most of the museumgoers knew most of what they were reading. It was these days after all that were covered in depth in the single public report that was released. The so-called SAO incidence report.
Still, it would be novel to actually watch. Once again, it must have been recorded by numerous people, some of which would have kept them through to the ALO transfer.
As the movie loaded, Alice found herself standing on a sandy floor. Squinting against the bright sunlight, Alice looked around the large building. The lower rows were packed. At least 2000 of SAOs remaining players were here. Honestly, besides red players and people trying to take advantage of empty hunting grounds, everyone else was likely here.
With her better view, Alice could get a place only a few meters away from where Kirito and Heathcliff stood in their heavily contrasting uniforms. It truly did look like the wise leader against the crazy solo player. Order versus chaos, good against evil. Except that last one was far harder to define. These two players were probably the strongest two in the game, and everyone knew that.
Alice was excited for a different reason. For all the talk of Kirito dual-wielding, and even seeing him do so, Alice had not seen the actual skill in use. The unique sword skills and mods had not been transferred from SAO to ALO or the underworld.
Once, Alice had asked exactly how strong the skill was. Kirito had given a vague answer. Asuna, however, had declared that there would be no point holding duel championships if Kirito had it. They would not be close.
The clock ticked down to one and Kirito exploded forward, both swords cloaked in a dark maroon light. His left blade struck solidly against Heathcliff's shield and then his right slashed against it, pushing Heathcliff back.
The Divine shield user responded instantly with one of his unique skills, sword and shield striking out in a two-part response that Kirito struggled to block. He looked shocked at the skill. That was odd. Did Heathcliff not use these skills in boss fights?
Either way, Kirito attacked again. And again. And again. The number of swings was ridiculous. Each one wielded with a heavy longsword that had a crazy high base damage. It was an outburst of DPS that was simply unmatchable.
With expert movements however, Heathcliff responded. His shield parrying every strike with clinical precision. Even with the abundance of skill however, the guarding was not perfect. They were both losing health. The unbreakable shield, the man who led the front liners against the strongest boss was being chipped away at by a savage berserker.
The barrage of normal attacks abated suddenly as the fight shifted to sword skills. Kirito began using eight, nine, ten-hit combos that exploded with speed and power. To each of these Heathcliff had an answering Divine sword ability. Despite that, there were no clean hits, no decisive attacks.
It was odd when comparing to the last movie that Alice had seen of his duel against Asuna. The skill of the players involved was extremely similar, but this fight was clearly another level. The potential damage being negated here was an order of magnitude higher.
To Alice's eyes, it shifted from being an offensive berserker against a tank to two people dual wielding. Kirito attacked more because he had to stop Heathcliff from striking with skills that Kirito could not block. It was a test of reaction speed that continued to get more and more ridiculous.
Alice was one of, if not the best swordsman alive. Although that title may be outdated by now as she rarely fought. Even she at this point was starting to get lost. The blades were blurring and the margins to respond were rapidly reaching superhuman levels. It was no longer something that could be called sword fighting, it was an exchange of broken abilities accelerated beyond the system's limit.
And then Kirito accelerated again.
Alice lost the swords. She thought Heathcliff did as well. The commander of the K.O.B. had wide eyes as he stumbled backwards. His shield was blasted to the side. It had not been broken, but it was overcome. Kirito's blade would ram into his chest and…
Blinking, Alice stared in confusion as Kirito stumbled past Heathcliff, his attack having been deflected by the shield. Then, with a single stab, Heathcliff brought the contest to an end.
"What… just happened?" Kirito had won, hadn't he? Or had Heathcliff just baited him in? That had to be the moment that made Kirito suspicious. It annoyed Alice that she had not been able to tell what it was exactly that Kirito had felt in the moment.
He must have been certain to call out Heathcliff… right? There was no way that Kirito called out a prominent front-line player as a sadistic mass murderer without being completely certain… right? RIGHT!?
Alice would need to confront him about this.
Either way, the movie came to an end. Heathcliff whirled his cape and walked away without a single motion of victory or cheer. He left Kirito behind, laying on the dusty floor looking utterly defeated. It was a crushing moment no doubt, having failed to secure Asuna her break, however, it had saved likely hundreds of lives in the long run.
"Whoa…" Yui breathed when they were reunited again. "Did you see how fast they were moving? I would have lost in moments."
"It was definitely a unique fight," Alice agreed. Seeing Yui's exasperated look, Alice sighed. "Asuna was too nice about dual wielding. It would not just let Kirito easily win all duels; it would break the game."
"It is not just the skill though," Yui said. "I am sure it would look very underwhelming in my hands."
Alice agreed with a grunt. Yui did have a point. She had secretly tried it a few times and found it impossible. The blade always pulled her where she did not want to be. She had heard Kirito describe his brain disconnect trick that he used for skill connection but had no illusions of ever using it. These were Kirito-isms. Odd abilities unique to him created through his insane reflexes, attention, and frankly insanity.
The next section contained a model of a massive bone-white monster. No, it was not just the colour, it was bone. Except for two odd forearms that looked like scythe blades and glistened with a steely colour. It had the body of a centipede contrasted by an oddly human skull. Its eyes glowed with an evil red light. The front two arms with the scythes attached were being swung down upon three people.
Heathcliff and Kirito side-by-side with Asuna behind Kirito's shoulder.
The Penultimate Boss It was titled. The people who had created the display had done a good job. Even in the diorama, Alice could feel the anger and power emanating from this creature.
The seventy-fifth boss continued the tradition of the seventy-fourth in being an anti-crystal zone. However, it added a new feature that had not been seen, an unopenable front door. Unlike previous gimmicks, the door was locked until the outcome of the fight was determined. This feature led to the death of the entire twelve-man scout group.
Similar to the twenty-fifth and Fiftieth floor bosses, the seventy-fifth floor boss, The Skull Reaper, used a number of unique skills. The deadliest part of this boss however was due to its hidden trait called Reaping. Any hit the boss lands against a person that is not blocked by a weapon or shield deals incredible critical damage. This led to multiple kills against front line players even at full health.
Alice whistled. That was ridiculous. If it was known, they could prepare for it and be careful. In Sword Art Online however, the players would not have known about this, and it would be easy to confuse the boss' ability to slaughter people with incredible power.
Heathcliff used his unbreakable shield to deal with one of the two scythes. The other, however was dealt by the now married couple of the Black Swordsman and the Lightning Flash. As there were no health crystals, both of them had to be switched out multiple times during the more than fifty-minute fight.
It was during these periods that most of the twenty-seven deaths occurred. This made this fight only slightly less deadly than the twenty-fifth and fiftieth floor fights. When the scout group is included in the casualties, it becomes the deadliest.
Alice shivered thinking about that. This fight had killed that many people with both Kirito dual-wielding and Heathcliff fully using Divine Sword. Unlike the fights on the early levels, every person in that room was an expert. Not worthy of being called a true master like Heathcliff, Kirito, or Asuna, but still incredibly skilled. Struggling this much at this point indicated that the difficulty at the end of the game would be incredible.
Alice's experience clearing the end of Aincrad in Alfheim confirmed that. The final gauntlet in particular from the ninety-fifth up was merciless. An undine with revive magic was considered essential. In SAO, they had so few options in comparison. Only the sword in their hand and their wits. It did have a certain elegance to it. Alice felt a slight longing to experience it.
"Aunt, look."
Alice turned at Yui's insistence. She did not have to ask why she had a slightly disbelieving note in her voice. Moving through a doorway, Alice could now see what had previously been obstructed. Mounted on a platform were the same three from the seventy-fifth floor fight. This time though, it was Kirito stumbling backwards, his empty left hand stretched outwards, the pieces of the sword that should have been there spread on the floor beneath him.
Descending toward him was the sword of Heathcliff, a sardonic smile touching his lips. And between them was Asuna. Alice saw it for only a moment before a different scene flashed before her eyes. A silver goddess who ruled the world with an iron fist. Dead comrades on the floor and a stunned Kirito. Alice had pushed through her immense injuries in an attempt to save Kirito.
She should have been cut down in the same way that Asuna was. But Kirito had saved Alice.
Her memories were hazed with pain, but Alice did recall that Kirito should not have been able to stop that attack. It was likely an outpouring of incarnation in the moment. …Because of this very memory?
Alice wished she could watch what was being portrayed above play out. She wanted to be able to see for herself how exactly Kirito had struck down the murderer. But there were no video booths. Nothing would happen that she could see and… it moved.
Alice gasped and stepped forward as Heathcliff's sword descended and cut through Asuna. She collapsed into Kirito's arms who had completely forgotten about Heathcliff standing above him. They shared a tender moment and then Asuna died.
"What?" Alice gasped out loud. She was not the only one. Everyone knew that Asuna was still alive. Was this a lie? Surely, she had lived with one health. Was this a dramatization? The SAO report had mentioned that line about when The Black Swordsman draws his second blde, nothing and no one could stand before him. One was clearly a lie.
There was no sound being created from the moving models which Alice guessed were probably AR models, not 3D statues. That was how it managed to recreate that devastated expression on Kirito's face. His eyes were saucers as he chased after the polygons from Asuna's shattered model.
The only thing left behind was Asuna's rapier that Kirito grabbed in his left hand. With his head to the ground, he stood up and swung his right blade at Heathcliff. It had none of his usual skill. It was slow, weak, and would have dealt no damage even if it had hit.
Heathcliff sneered and knocked the blade from Kirito's hand with ease. Then, with a sad shake of his head, he plunged his sword into Kirito.
Alice watched Kirito's health, waiting for the heroics. He'd probably have to break Heathcliff's sword with a martial art and then attack with Asuna's rapier. That's what would happen… Right?
His Health lowered, lowered… and ran out. Then, he slammed Asuna's rapier into Healthcliff. But it was too late. For some reason though, Kirito stood there. His model fuzzing, but it should have vanished at least a second ago… and then Heathcliff died.
Together, they exploded into nothingness. "What…?" Alice had read about their duel, but what was that? The SAO incident had made things up or this museum had. Still, if they wanted their own ending, they should have gone with one that was more believable.
"Err, do you know what that was?" Yui asked with a strangled voice. "My parents just died…"
"Yes," Alice agreed. "They did. No, I have no idea what happened."
She wasn't sure why, but Alice believed this scene. It had an eerie beauty to it with no sound. More importantly, it called back to her own experience fighting Administrator. She got the distinctive feeling that she owed her life to Asuna for this sacrifice. Giving the two heroes a brief knight's salute, Alice followed Yui into reading the signs.
Chapter 4: The Aftermath
"So that's the end of Aincrad…" Alice commented casually, not really feeling it. It was the final picture at the end of the exhibit. Dominating the view was a falling roughly conical castle of steel. With the first floor being ten kilometers across and the height of each floor being one hundred meters, the height and width of Aincrad are almost identical.
That was gone in this stylized picture. Large chunks were collapsing into a void at the bottom leaving a castle collapsing from the bottom up. Oddly though, Alice's eyes were drawn to a corner. It was small, but there was the silhouette of two people holding hands watching the destruction.
I wonder what they talked about… If they thought they were dead…
Alice had no doubt that it was Kirito and Asuna. She did not know how the artist knew about this scene that Alice had never heard about, but that was becoming all too familiar at this point. Just like the collapsing Aincrad, the day was winding down and Alice and Yui needed to be done here, they had a get together to go to.
Alice began to move on, but Yui had a wistful expression as she stared at the picture. "Ready?"
"Yeah…" Yui replied but did not move. "Do you think… Do you think we all should have stayed there? The three of us?"
"I… don't know what you mean." Alice said.
"Yes, I think you do." Yui replied with a sad smile. "If I could have grown up in Aincrad as their child. And you could have grown up with Rulid with Eugeo and…."
"They can't both be true." Alice said sadly, placing a hand on Yui's shoulder. "Come on, let's—""
"They can be now." Yui spoke softly.
Alice felt like the temperature in the room fell ten degrees. "No. Those possibilities are gone Yui."
"…But… Okay." Nodding her head, Yui's face scrunched up on the verge of tears.
"What?" Alice asked.
"They're going to die." Yui whispered. "It will be just the two of us. Everyone is going to—"
Alice smacked Yui's head cutting off the depressing words. She would be lying if she said that she had not had the same worries. That was a problem for deep in the future, however. Alice could hold onto the warmth in her heart. It would keep her going. It had to.
Eventually, Alice managed to drag Yui into the final exhibit of the museum. Neither of them were incredibly interested in this. They had come to learn about Kirito and Asuna's origin, not for what came after. Yui, at least, had been around for all of this.
Alice saw, as she had expected, one side focused on the troubles in ALO. Three hundred people had been trapped by Asuna's fiancé and had their minds experimented with. They made their way through it, but neither of them were eager to remember or even learn about this period. Yui scowled at the displays and said nothing.
After that came the image of a school. Making up for lost time.
Many of the surviving 6,000 players had been in high school at the time the game had started. The SAO survivor's school was founded as a place they could return to without being celebrities or bothered in their old schools.
Furthermore, it has been discovered that the creation of the school was founded to catch mental illnesses and issues that developed through their imprisonment in Sword Art Online. Surprising to many people, however, is that many of the survivors in general did not seem to regret their time trapped in Sword Art Online. While many bad things happened there, the general sentiment was that they felt more alive in that world and described coming back to the real world as almost going back to sleep.
Since then, the government has issued private apologies to the students that attended the school for the strict monitoring and suspicions cast upon them. Conversely, there was a vocal minority of people protesting under the motto of 'Separate the murderers' who demanded stricter regulations on the SAO survivors including a demand for a public database of the survivors.
"The language changed," Alice noted idlily to Yui. "They were referred to as players before. Here, they are survivors."
"It makes sense, doesn't it?" Yui shrugged. "At the time period described, they are no longer in the game."
"Yes, I merely noted it."
"I see…"
Aiice could not help but chuckle at the exasperated glance that Yui shot her. The conversation had been a tad dull. But only a little. It was interesting that bit in the middle about the survivors not hating Aincrad. Although it did feel like someone had shoved it in the middle of the the section and hoped it would be overlooked… Cancelling the line of thought, Alice turned to Yui. "Is there anything else you want to look at?"
"Hmm, what about that section?" Yui pointed at the back. It looked to be the last exhibit in the museum. It had a bunch of pictures coating a wall with stories beneath them.
Sauntering over, Alice read the title: SAO Survivors changing the world
There were at least twenty pictures with stories of what the person was doing. Alice picked an unfamiliar person and began to read.
HIstuhiro Tatsuya
Age: 36
Mr. Tatsuya was a college student when Sword Art Online started. Always having a fascination of games and puzzles, he got a copy of Sword Art Online after hearing about the complex puzzles and quests that it contained.
During the deadly game, Mr. Tatsuya used his skills to become a respected 'Quest Solver'. Many people hired him to figure out what to do in some of the most obscure quest lines. This role was especially important as many quests would only occur once due to the quest generation system.
Returning to the real world, Mr. Tatsuya was convinced to make a difference and finished his math degree, taking it and applying to forensics. He has created new and innovative ways to catch cyber-crimes and unwanted interference in virtual worlds.
He widely advertises his history as a Sword Art Online survivor and often claims that it was his experiences there that made him the man that he is today.
"I strongly believe that within Sword Art Online I saw the absolute best and the absolute worst of humanity. There were players that gave up on basic human decency and fulfilled their base urges because they could. It is those players that the public likes to focus on.
"When I think of my time in Sword Art Online however, I remember the heroes. Those that stood at the front of the game and proudly lifted their swords against the dangers that lurked on every floor. I truly believe that within those players you will find all the best traits of humanity. Yes, I am sure there is some weakness, some desire for power, but behind and above those, many of those players shouldered the fate of thousands and continued to push on.
"To be dubbed with the same title as them, 'SAO survivor', I knew that I could not wallow in mediocrity. I have dedicated myself to be like them and never call it enough. There is always another floor to reach, another staircase to climb. For if I have learned anything during those two years, it is this: You have not lost until you give up."
-Hitsuhiro Tatsuya
Alice found herself giving the knight's salute. It was not something she had been required to give for over a decade, but every now and then, it felt natural to do so.
"Aunt?" Yui asked.
Alice did not have a reply for a long time. She was not really sure exactly what it was herself that had moved her about the story and personal quote. It was a small thing, but Alice felt like it had brightened the whole room.
"I am glad we came." She said to Yui. "Come on, finish reading and let's get moving, we have a party to get to."
"Yes!"
Alice turned to the exit and found the final object in the museum. It many regards it was the most important item. Above it were inscribed two words: We remember. For in the middle of the path out of the museum was a solid block of black marble almost two meters tall. Inscribed upon it were ten thousand names. One for every character created in Sword Art Online. Of those ten thousand, almost forty percent were crossed out. Diaval the hero of the first floor, Sachi, Kirito's companion, Liten and her partner. So many.
"We remember…" Alice murmured.
"We remember," Yui agreed, her voice reverant.
Standing still for a minute of silence with heads bowed, Alice found that she could not think about anything. This massive object that they had gone through the effort of physically recreating had a weight about it.
It was not until Alice stepped outside that she felt like she was living again. Time had stopped in the face of the monument. Oddly, she was not sad despite the number of weeping people that had been crowded around the monument. Even more than a decade later, the family members had gotten emotional seeing the names of their loves ones entrenched forever into history with a cruel horizontal line marking their fate.
Instead, only excitement lurked within Alice now. She had secretly been dreading the upcoming get together, seeing everyone again. They would all be there again and the latent emotions would probably resurface but… They were important to Alice. And unlike those in the museum, her friedns were still alive. Alice would enjoy that for as long as she could.
She may not know where the staircase to move on was at the moment, but she would find it. Just as Kirito had done on every floor of Aincrad, Alice would continue walking and continue climbing.
Golden hair flashing in the evening light, Alice was smiling as she left the museum.
THE END
Post notes:
Not horrible, I hope.
Enjoy launch day :)
There are a few inconsistencies in here with canon that I am aware of. Regardless, I hope it was at least slightly enjoyable if you read all the through.
If people want the epilogue party, I may write it, but the epilogue I envision would likely be a little divisive. Anyway, see ya!