Seven Kingdoms Online: Seido

by daniel.ong.37

Kayaba Akihiko created a virtual world unlike anything seen before. Over 5 million players logged into the game only to find it turn into something of the stuff of nightmares. There are 7 Kingdoms that must grow, expand and rise in power against the hordes of Hell, of the Sea and of the Heavens. This is the mix of SAO and ALO without magic, this is Seven Kingdoms Online.(OP Kirito)

6. Chapter 6 - Giants of the Forest

AUTHORS APOLOGY: Hey guys sorry for not updating in ages, I was doing a Discipleship Training School (DTS) with Youth With A Mission Perth (YWAM) and so I was away for 6 months. Anyway I will attempt to write more before I return to YWAM again in October. Sorry again :c

Chapter 6 - Giants of the Forest

"The various different [Sword Skills] have a cooldown period after their use. During this cooldown period the player will be paralysed, this is called the Cooldown Delay Effect. However there is a bug, or technique, where one can ignore such an effect by chaining another [Sword Skill] just before the current one finishes." - Seven Kingdoms Online: Sword Skills

The moment euphoria of taking on such a beast passed Kirito felt a sense of fear slamming into his mind. He flew upwards with all the strength his wings had to offer, barely escaping the passing head of the beast, however the sheer wind from its movement was more than enough to blast him away like a pesky fly. His eyes peered at the rushing darkness and immediately went to scan for the name of such an opponent as this. Yet he was forced to re-engage as he saw the flashing light of brown and green splashing against the dark snake like creature. It's enormous black body cloaked in dark fog that hugged its very curves like a second skin; he would not let Argo faced this by herself. He flung himself forward, both blades glowing as they imbedded into the skin of the monster, which caused him then to suddenly be flying at speeds impossible for players to get up to by themselves. He could hear nothing but the screaming of wind as it whipped around him. Thinking desperately Kirito raised one blade before stabbing it down with the use of a Sword Skill, the glowing light disappearing into the black fog. Already the strange black mist seemed to be curling around the black Seidonian and he could feel his [Health] being leached away. He ripped both his blades out and immediately he was flung back, spiralling head over heels whilst watching a very distorting world, before finally slamming into a tree hard enough that his [Health] dropped down dangerously low.

Swinging himself unto a tree branch he uncorked a vial of red liquid from within his satchel before downing it, watching out the corner of his eye as the red swirling bar that signified how much damage he could take refilled itself. A sudden fluttering of brown pixel lights across the back of the monster revealed that Argo was still attacking, he launched himself forward once more as he flew closer towards where Argo was. He looked on with eyes of absolute wonder. The supposedly shrewd ex-information dealer was hovering just outside of the buffeting winds, one hunting knife embedded in a tree whilst the chains attached to it wrapped around the trunk like a snake's coil. Her other hunting blade flashed various colors as she swung them with skill and precision through the chain, each slash actually making it through the rushing winds due to use of Sword Skills. It was only the nearly magical light the glowed forth from her weapon that allowed it to get past the winds, but even then he could see that the hunting knife barely even scraped deeper than the surface of its tough skin.

Kirito's eyes glanced over quickly to the giant swirling [Health Pool] on the monsters back; this truly was a monster amongst monsters, even in the realm of fantasy and games. The enormous red swirling pool, even with the slightest of green tinges, was still there. Nothing, even their most powerful attacks, was getting through this beast defence. They were probably inflicting something like a single point of damage.

"Kirito …" Argo breathed as he appeared next to her, his blade digging into the trunk of the large tree as well. He noticed the lack of his nickname and flinched a little, if even she was getting serious that means this was certainly bad.

However he did not reply, opting to instead grimly stare as the body finally passed by them; watching as the winds died down and the black mass disappearing into further darkness. But just as the winds died down, they began to pick up once more.

"Move Argo!" Kirito roared as he dove off the tree, flying straight up, just in time the large maw crushed the giant tree leaving nothing but splinters flying throughout the air. He let out a breath as a brown pixel trail appeared flying past, flashes of red indicated she was once again attacking. He took in a deep breath before dashing forward himself, as he neared the wind barrier he forced himself through by the use of Sword Skill, letting himself flow through the endless slashes, stabs and slices that he was throwing out. Eventually he stopped, letting the wind blow him away as the whipping air slowly chipped away at his health. Flipping open the satchel pouch around his waist he dug his hands in and grabbed another [Health Potion] before downing it, allowing his pulsing red health to slowly heal back.

Desperation began to settle into the two gamers, the swirling red pool never seeming to diminish at the relentless attacks of the two fighters. He opened his inventory with the slight manipulation of his fingers, flying across the empty air in front of him as he looked at it. Quickly he took note of his remaining [Health Potions] and grimaced, they would never be able to kill this beast. Kirito shook his head, glancing over to the fighting form of Argo as she whirled her two flying blades like an expert, he watched as the colors of green swung in a huge arc before descending like lightning and biting into the skin of the beast. He watched as he dashed forward, another arc of blue like rain as it fell from the sky. She was zipping all across the place, flinging out one blade to catch into a tree before swinging in that direction whilst cutting with the other. Argo zipped around like an expert acrobat, her blades flying everywhere as they carved a shallow path along the body of the beast.

He leapt forward again, it seemed like a futile circuit of dashing forward and slashing only to retreat before downing another potion. There was no real strategy or skill for this fight, simply stay alive and damage it as much as possible. There was no flashy maneuvers or flamboyant moves but instead quick executions with grim faces as the reality of what they were facing begin to stack up against their faces. Still Kirito allowed his beta-tester blade to glow red before carving three strikes into the hard skin of the beast before finally sinking in through the center. A single thought flurried through his mind and [Bane of Apophis] activated. Toxic green filling up those grooves, letting up small whiffs of light smoke like acid eating through metal. Kirito sliced across the shooting body of the beast, his other blade imbedded into its skin whilst he stood; one hand holding tight to his blade. He looked up, watching green tinges getting more and more transfused into the red and over taking it. Maybe just maybe, they could do it; after all if an entire [Health Pool] was turn into poison the body must start having Damage Over Time right?

"Argo!" he screamed, flying to where she was and shoving her out of the way, outstretched hands colliding into her side as he spun, barely dodging the rising body of the beast that would have no doubt killed both of them from the simply collision as well as impact force behind it. He turned around, twin swords ablaze as he dashed forward again; the Sword Skill already in motion by the time he reached the mob. His heart thudded in his chest, anger clouding his vision. Argo could've died, deceased, no more. She could have disappeared from his life and he would never again be able to talk to her, never be able to follow up on his promise to meet her in real life despite her protest; never be able to hear her tease him or feel the joy that fluttered within his heart whenever she messaged him. He shook away those feelings as he tried to focus on the fight in front of him, but he knew that around his heart there was still a chain clinging around him that made him fearful for her survival.

Out of the corner of his eye, or rather the HUD that made up his view, twin arcs of blinding light slammed into the thick skin of the monster, chains leashed against the rushing body. Kirito looked up and finally saw the white name hovering above the beast head. [Zakvasha, The Shadow Snake]. He grimaced, the beta-testers had hardly any information on these monsters from [Hell Zones], they were simply too diverse and too powerful to accurately and consistently measure and check. No data could actually be gleaned from them because each version was different, they could look the same, move the same, feel the same but each had different strengths and weaknesses. Ignoring such depressing thoughts Kirito jumped up, leaping off the back of the beast and letting the wind carry him away; he swung his swords, catching them against two thick branches and halting his flight. Ripping them out he barrelled forwards once more, twirling in mid air as his blades flashed crimson red, trails of blood light following as he carved a path through the winds. They splashed against the black skin and mist, blowing away the darkness and replacing it for the eerie glow of crimson light bathing the area around its attacker.

Spinning in a full circle and using the spin to gather momentum and power, his blades changed from red to grass green; the light color contrasting the darkness like a sore thumb. Another flash of orange passed by him, slicing and dragging itself across the body of [Zakvasha]. The [Health Pool] had begun to decrease an incredibly small amount, like as though a drop had escaped the large gathering. Brown pixelated light slowly disappeared as Argo swung away, her twin hunting blades swirling and twirling, never once staying still as they whipped out, gouging out barks from the tree as well as scratching the mob. Suddenly a thunderous crash could be heard, the monsters body jerked and Kirito activated one last Sword Skill and cut across the skin before he jumped off, wings ablaze as they fought to keep him afloat.

"What was that Kii-bou?" Argo asked, her knives held within her hands, chains dangling in the air.

He had no answer to that, the enormous body of [Zakvasha] had crashed into the ground, black fog that had hugged its flesh gone and all that was left was the dark scales and skin that made up its outer armor. The dirt had accommodated to the sudden intrusion, a deep groove within the earth had allowed for more than a quarter of the mobs height to be sunken into the ground. Kirito turned his head to the right, staring down what looked like never ending darkness as the mobs body continued on far into what could not be seen. Turning to the left he paused, eyes wide in fear, and knowing Argo she probably looked the same.

What looked like a giant fist had descended from the sky and absolutely pulverized the the snake's head leaving nothing but pixels that swirled away, slowly fading. Already they could see the decomposing of the mobs body, it was starting to get lighter and glowed, flakes of pixels detaching themselves from the main body into the air before disappearing. The two watched, frozen in shock, as the hand slowly retracted itself from the ground, nothing was left but a crater, then a voice thundered through the air like the very sound of nature as it talked to them.

"What do we have here? Mortals?" a voice that seemed to be coming from every direction asked, "I have not seen mortals since the Immortals fell from the sky like bolts of lightning and into the Earth itself, cast out from the Heavenly Divine Realms for transcending the will of the Architect. How interesting." it tilted its head, the sound of a thousand tonnes of stone moving was like crackling thunder rolling across the small clearing.

Kirito readied his blades, holding them out whilst standing in front of Argo on the large branch they had found themselves perched upon. Argo had loosen her hold upon her knives, holding the chains and allowing the blades to swing gently forward and back. A giant head suddenly descended from the high dark nothingness that spanned above the two players, the ground shook and rolled making it look more like waves in the sea than solid ground. A mountain suddenly appeared in front of them, one that descended from the sky. Yet upon it were two pits filled with glowing luminescent orange crystals. From their position on the tree they were just on its eye level, obviously accommodated towards them by the monster itself. It's head was opened, high above them with the dim glow of pulsing orange crystals, smooth rock overlapping each other like thick tough scales. It was a colossal giant made from the very rock underneath the ground, a mob that no doubt could level entire armies with nothing more than sheer power. The Black Swordsman looked at the name that appeared above this monster [Helikon, Ourea of the Mountains]. He gulped, a reference to the Greek Primordials meant that this guy would be way out of their league; much too powerful to even attempt fighting.

"What are you doing here adventurers?" the voice was deep with a gravel like quality; whispers of power echoing as they were intertwined with its voice, "What are you doing trespassing my territory?" the question hung heavily in the air with a veiled threat barely visible below the surface, it did seem more like an inquiry than a demand.

"We stumbled across here on accident." Kirito spoke up, replying to the beings question. His grip tightening around his blade handles, wings tensed and ready to explode into action within a milisecond. If they died here they would die permanently; it was safe to assume the damage this monster dealt would far exceed the ability for them to survive through [Final Stand], "We did not mean to trespass upon your territory."his throat felt dry and parched, swallowing a glob of saliva, he winched a little as the sharp stabs of a dry throat pierced his nerves.

Bellowing laughter filled the clearing, the maw of the giant gaping wide with glowing orange light pulsing from within. Sharp teeth made of hardened stone and rock littering its mouth like the demented view of a demon.

"Adventurer you came into this forest and attacked [Zakvasha], a beast that if not contained by the forest and its ancient powers could level your entire city, because you stumbled here by accident?" A small chuckle washed over them, the being was simply amused at their foolishness and head hardiness, "Foolish mortals, why would you do such a thing?"

"It was not by choice, we did not realize where we had entered until it was too late." he replied back to the supposed Primordial. The giant simply shook its head letting the sound of loud cracks rip through the air before it replied to him, seemingly ignoring everything that had been said previously. The ground shook as its right hand was raised into the air, a single sharp large finger filled their vision and world before it spoke once more regard them.

"I shall give you both a gift, for the amusement you have brought to me." it chuckled, its perspective warped by the millennia of age as it saw everything like little children playing with their toys.

Kirito looked over to Argo with shock filling his eyes, a grin threatening to split his face at the thought of an Ancient Class weapon; he could see the same excitement reflecting in her eyes, this would be truly some information worth more than its weight in Col. This was something out of the norm, [Outer Hell Zone] areas should not be giving out Ancient Class weapons like this.

"For you boy I give you this,"

Kirito watched as an orange crystal, very much like the one seen across the body of Helikon, slowly speared its way forth from the fingertip of the giant; pushing past dirt and stone to slowly form a crystal that was the same length as from his wrist to the tip of his middle finger. Then wood grew forth from the tree trunk of the great tall tree's branches which they were standing upon.

It grew into a strand that slowly twirled itself around the crystal, this was repeated over and over again until soon all that was there was a handle made complete out of soft dark brown wood. It was long enough for a single handed grip and when it was levitated into his hands it was warm to touch, he could feel the pulsing of the crystal underneath him. Suddenly lines of orange appeared, following the grooves and creases in the handle before completing a huge circuit around the entire hilt. Kirito nearly dropped the sword when orange crystals started to poke out of the wooden hilt, both him and Argo watched in awe as the crystals kept growing over one another until they formed a perfect leaf shaped blade created entirely out of orange crystals that had fitted together perfectly. As if that was not enough what followed shocked them even more as the crystals then began to glow bright orange, lightning up the tree branch which they stood upon. It got to the point where it seemed like the blade was actually made out of complete orange wisp that had the soft licks of fog and light dancing around the blade. His eyes glanced over to the notification that popped up even as the giant began to speak once more.

"The [Blade of Gaia] a powerful blade, enhanced by the properties of the [Essence Crystal] which I have placed within from myself. It shall serve you well adventurer; this is my thanks to you for the amusement you have brought. No other blade like this has ever been made from my Essence, treasure it mortal." The finger shifted to Argo, but before he listened in Kirito's eyes quickly flashed across the writing on the pop up notification.

[Taldariq, Blade of the Earth]

[A blade made from the Essence Crystal of Helikon. It is incredibly durable and has various unique passives and actives that are only capable of being used when this sword is given as a gift by Helikon. Note also that due to the lack of any crossguard this blade requires great skill to use and even greater skill to master. It does have one advantage though, that being that Sword Skills no longer have their tell tale signifying colors shown, all moves will be orange.]

STATS:

Sharpness: 5000 (including Sharpened Blade)

Hardness: Unbreakable

Balance: 100/100

Durability: Unbreakable

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Sharpened Blade: Infused with the Essence of a Primordial this blade is capable of cutting through pretty much any material in this world. This gives the weapon +1000% sharpness and is unbreakable.]

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Psionic Manifestation: There is a direct link to the blades power, speed, sharpness and durability, from the wielders emotions and will. This means that if rage over takes the wielder both power and speed will most likely be increased whilst in comparison if peace is in mind then all aspects of the blade are buffed.]

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Primordials Protection: Due to the use of Primordial Essence this gives the blade the property to block, reflect, cut or even absorb any elemental or otherwise seemingly magical attacks.]

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Storage: Every attack, blade absorbed, element touched, reflected or otherwise absorbed, is stored within the blade. Meaning if someone attacked with a three strike Sword Skill, Taldariq would store up the power of three strikes.]

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Soul Eater (V): Allows the blade to absorb the essence of any enemy slain. After every 100 enemies killed in combat the wielder is allowed to add +10 points to any of the weapons attributes. However when a boss of any kind is slain with this weapon it gives the wielder immediately +30 points to add to any weapon attribute as well as 20 souls to the count. Elite monsters will give the blade 10 souls to the count.]

[UNIQUE ACTIVE: Gaia's Embrace: As the Earth swallows and absorbs all, likewise this blade can absorb any other weapon, their unique abilities and passives and add it to the blade. To counterfeit this ability the weapon starts with very low stats. Unable to be used alongside Sword Skills. These absorbed stats are taken in by a specific percentage based off level. No cooldown to this ability, but can only be used on a weapon in possession of character.]

[UNIQUE ACTIVE:Double Blade: (Toggle) When flicked in the right direction as well as with the right thought commands, a secondary blade will appear from the other end of Taldariqs hilt. This also has a secondary use that when one blade is activated it will cause each swing to have an additional invisible attack that follows up after the blade in one second. Creates whole new Sword Skill selection to choose from.]

[UNIQUE ACTIVE: Release: (Toggle) This enables the user to release everything that the blade had absorbed in its UNIQUE PASSIVE: Storage. The wielder can control what comes out and how much comes out. Usable alongside Sword Skills.]

His eyes went wide, this blade was definitely over powered, however if this was only meant to be found later on in the game then these Unique Passives and Unique Actives would not be that strong due to the fact that slowly people would have gear that nullifies negative statuses or strange weapons of their own. Eventually what use to be once rare would become common and what was once exotic would start to become more seen and less rare. But at his level this blade would almost make him a god. It would be able to absorb both blades that he had gained so far adding their own quirks and stats to this blade; Kirito smiled, maybe with this, just maybe, they could return to the real world. He looked over just as the giant began talking once more.

"To you girl I give you this. Twin gauntlet blades crafted straight from [Helikon Essence Crystal]." They were made from the same tree wood, however instead of creating a hilt these were what looked like an arm guard made from dark brown wood. It fitted perfectly along her forearms whilst the orange [Helikon Essence Crystal] sat snugly in the middle, wooden vines twining themselves over the smooth crystal edge. She watched in awe as orange shards of crystals slowly pieced themselves together forth from the wooden edge. They slowly linked together, like the movement of someone who had lived thousands of years and knows not what mere minutes mean. When they completed, twin short blades shaped like elongated ovals, extended forth from her forearm guards before blazing neon orange. It shone and soon what looked like a solid shaped swirling orange color light stood in its place. Wisp flickering off it like the dancing of flames, it looked the exact same like Kirito's blade. He observed as Argo's eyes widened and subsequently mouth dropping like a little 'o' when she read the pop-up notification.

"These are my gifts to you, now disappear mortals. Those of these forest do not take kindly to such weak morsels in their midst." The voice grumbled like a mountain moving across the land, the very earth shaking as it began to get up and move away. Despite the very hard ground underneath them rolling like the sea as craters were punched into it over and over again, Kirito and Argo stayed on that one tree brunch. Shock and complete awe freezing them in their spot. Both watched as the pulsing orange slowly disappeared back into the endless black of the deep forest; how lucky they had been to stumble across a neutral mob, which saved them nonetheless, from a monstrosity. The [Shadow Snake] they had been fighting would have had killed them eventually, the winds whipping around it chipping away their health like crazy. It seems like luck was on their side this time but next time he doubted they would be this lucky. However with the items they gained from both the Primordial, loot from the boss's death, last hit bonuses and experienced gained, they just might be strong enough to begin taking on pretty much any monster being thrown at them outside of world bosses and these [Hell Zones].

Kirito swiped down with his finger, opening the character menu in the middle of the air in front of him. His eyes widened again at the sight of his new level and items gained from the raid boss. A small chuckle escaped his lips, with this there was no doubt that Kirito and Argo were the most powerful players in the world at the moment, probably for a long time too. With this they were far ahead in terms of level and equipment and could essentially be gods to the normal players.

They wouldn't need to grind, or rather they couldn't grind because the [Experience] that normal mobs around [Seido] would give them was worthless. It would do nothing now. The exponential increase for [Experience] was incredibly steep with certain levels almost doubling the previous. For example when players crossed the Level 100 boundary before crossing into Level 101 there is a need for almost multiplying the amount of [Experienced] needed in Level 99 by ten times. Meaning that if, theoretically, the amount needed for Level 99 to Level 100 was 596,785 [Experience Points] then from getting from Level 100 to Level 101 there would be a 5,967,850 [Experience Points] limit. But that was for much later, looking at his own level Kirito quickly shook his head to check it again.

He was Level 331 and on the cusp of leveling up to Level 332. This was purely from defeating [Zakvasha, The Shadow Snake], a mere mob of the [Hell Zone], not even a boss that had to be carefully beaten over the span of days with strategies thought up with fail safes within fail safes, not one that required ingenuity of the highest degree. It wouldn't be any push over, but it would be easy pickings for teams that were above Level 400; furthermore this was the [Outer Hell Zone] area too, meaning that they were a lot weaker than anything from the center and core. Argo would probably be around the same level meaning that as of current they were about 306 levels ahead of everyone; that is a lot of points between them. But aside from those points that they had gained they were also now very very rich in the amount of Col given to them. It was ridiculous how much money they had. Kirito could probably buy the entire [Seido Court] over a few times, enough to throw his weight around for the higher influencing people of their nation. Shaking his head Kirito thanked whatever higher being there was for the luck he and Argo had today.

Swiping downwards towards his inventory Kirito took stock of the items gained from killing the mob; and once more he thanked the [Random Number Generator] for his luck. The [Shadow Snake] that they had fought was not a boss by any means, it was simply a mob; and yet it had dropped items that came only second to other [Hell Zone] items dropped by bosses. The drops given to him essentially caused an entire wardrobe change when it came down to items for equipment; and as if to put the cherry on top of the cake all of them were affiliated to darkness and were colored black and were part of the same set. It was as if the creator of this game, the one who put them into this hell hole, was giving him an early Christmas present to make up for the fact that he would be missing one with his family. Or perhaps it was a reward for them managing to do it so early; who knows. Even more amazing is that they were all Ancient Class level.

[Terror Mask of the Teldazikim]

[The face mask of those who followed the ways of the shadow. These were the sights of many last saw, the sight that was imagined whenever one mentioned death and the sight that many parents used to bring their children into line; it is a sight that many do not see until battle arrives or assassination was required.]

STATS:

Defense: 50,00

Type: Medium - Kalinian Metal

Hardness: Unbreakable (Cosmetic)

Durability: Unbreakable (Cosmetic)

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Terror from the Darkness: The mere sight of this mask is enough to cause large area of effect debuffs that will cripple most enemies. However the limit is that those debuffs must be selected before entering battle, meaning that the wearer must choose what sort of debuff they are about to inflict upon their prey. This can be done to many people, or it can be specifically aimed at few which will increase the potency of the debuff.]

[UNIQUE PASSIVES: Immunity of the Mind: Illusions will not work against the wearer, neither will any sort of mind trick or debuffs of horror or fear. Also darkness will hold no secret to the wearer, giving them perfect vision in the darkness. However this even goes further than just the mind and even protects the user from poisons of all kind.]

[UNIQUE ACTIVE: Reader of Minds: Allows user to rip through an opponent's mind, resulting in lower mental defence which first allows greater effects of mental debuffs. Then proceeds to allow the user to see into the mind of target and thus reading their every move before they make it; this reads both conscious and unconscious thoughts meaning that muscle memory is also read. This can only be done to one target at a time and quickly drains mental energy thus resulting in fatigue quicker.]

A pure pitch black mask descended over Kirito's face, it had two thin eye sockets that revealed dark green flame like flickering as they licked outside of the eye holes. However it completed covered his face, leaving no opening for his mouth and even none for his nose. It made him look like the stuff of nightmares, a being created from darkness and shadows with such unnatural elegance to its face that it would cause all who stared at it to freeze in fear. The [Terror Mask of Teldazikim] was perfect for the fighting style that Kirito had, it also empowered him far beyond anything else; already he could feel himself thinking sharper and quicker with enhanced vision. He could see the swirling pattern of the tree trunk across from them and it was a good twenty-five meters away. Ridiculous sort of power up this gave him.

[Unhittable Armor of the Teldazikim]

[An armor created long ago by a sect of warriors known as the 'Followers of Shadows'. It has been enhanced by runic magic power long forgotten and is the last of its kind.]

STATS:

Defence: 500,000

Type: Medium - Kalinian Metal

Hardness: 85/100

Durability: 50,000/50,000

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Illusion of Mirages: Created in the forges of an ancient civilization this armor makes the wearer blurry. No matter how hard one concentrates or stares at the user they will remain a blurry image that is hard to hit and hard to predict the movements of. It affects everyone unless stated otherwise.]

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Protection of Many: Having the multiple arcane runes written into it allows any debuff that attempts to attach itself to the wearer have a 50% chance to simply be negated with 5% being lost for every 10 level difference upwards. Furthermore any debuff or negative status effect that lands on the wearer is cut down in its potency by 50%, meaning that duration, damage and seriousness of effect are all cut down.]

[UNIQUE ACTIVE: Walk of the Shadows: Enables wearer to suddenly disappear in an explosion of darkness only to appear somewhere else. However the location has to be in sight and is a combat ability, meaning it only activates when it notices the wearer entering battle or actively moving to fight. This has a cooldown of one second and ten charges before needing a thirty minute recharging rate. Each charge recharges at three minutes.]

The armor that appeared fitted perfectly across Kirito's body. It was made out of black metal that complete covered his chest, torso, back as well as shoulders. Made from two pieces the cosmetics of this armor was by far the most amazing thing Kirito had ever seen; one piece form the inner layer of the armor, hugging his body, whilst the other piece formed the outer layer which sat from his shoulders down to about the end of his ribs. Various circles could be seen drawn upon the armor, each in parallel with another on the opposite side and within each were runes that had been carved into each circle. Words of the ancient civilizations these runes suddenly blazed to life, glowing solid Void green as some sort of substance filled in the grooves. He could hardly feel the weight of this armor, and already he felt more powerful than anything else in the world.

[Runic Belt of the Teldazikim]

[The belt that was essential for every battle that its user had. It was created and purposed by the Followers of Shadows long ago from a different time and civilization as an ultimate form of protection towards their own body without the need of losing an arm to holding up a shield.]

STATS:

Defense: 100,000

Type: Medium - Kalinian Metal

Hardness: Unbreakable (Cosmetic)

Durability: Unbreakable (Cosmetic)

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Shield of the Kahala: There is an invisible force field that holds itself about two inches away from the players in a oval dome around them. This will stop all melee weapons, projectiles and even elemental attacks as well as any character attempting to touch the player. It can be worn down and depleted but will be restored after a short while from being used. This shield takes damage as though that blade would have struck the user calculating the normal way, it also stops any Sword Skill in use and causes a rebound shock that does 100% of the damage that would have been dealt to the shield if there had been no defence.]

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Agility of Shadows: Passively increases wearer's agility by 500%.]

[UNIQUE ACTIVE: Marking of Home: This allows the wearer to mark one specific spot with the same rune as written upon it that will allow the user to teleport themselves back to said specific location upon will, or when wearer's [Health] is depleted into nothing and Final Stand activates. This cannot be used within [Boss Rooms] nor in any [Hell Zone]. It also cannot be used in any battle ground, only being able to mark one safe zone. This has a one day cooldown.]

A thick belt that had three runes carved into it, the biggest in the center of the belt. It looked like a 'Y' with an upside down 'v' stuck in between the two pronged forks of the 'Y'. It was a thick belt that sat snugly upon his waist, fitting in easily with the armor that was already in place and covered more than half of the inner layer armor around his stomach. Suddenly Kirito felt the air around him buzz before an explosion of blue hexagons appeared around him, shimmering powerfully as they blazed against the world. Slowly they faded, but in his HUD Kirito suddenly saw a new pool. Light blue in color the name popped up as he looked at it [Shield Pool]. A grin split across his face before his fingers flew across the screen to equip the next item.

[Dark Pants of the Teldazikim]

[Special pants made out of a specific material that allows for absolute movement and freedom of agility but at the same time protects the user from the cold and retains both cool and heat perfectly. A part of the uniform of the Teldazikim. However despite its flexibility it is also strong enough and hard enough to turn away blows.]

STATS:

Defense: 200,000

Type: Medium - Kalinian Metal

Hardness: 80/100

Durability: 50,000/50,000

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Empowering of the Teldazikim: Strengthen user's legs resulting in increase of speed and agility as well as empowering any attacks thus also increasing power and consequently damage; if the blow connects.]

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Conservation of Energy: Allows the user to retain their energy resulting in less being used up for all activities and even refunding some of the energy thus keeping fatigue at bay for a longer period of time.]

[UNIQUE ACTIVE: Wraith of the Shadows: This allows the wearer to turn intangible, all weapons swung at it will pass through as if it was air, yet a downside to this is that the user will also be intangible. However this ability also heals the wearer from all wounds, debuffs and fatigue. It does this by transferring all negative effects from the wearer to the closest person to the user. This skill has a twenty minute cooldown.]

Black long pants that hugged the very curves of his legs allowing maximum freedom of movement whilst at the same time, as according to the stats of this item, being a powerful defensive item. He could feel his agility just increasing, already there was a searing energy inside of his legs to move, to merge with the shadows and to fly with nothing more than leaps that would carry him a long distance. These were absolutely empowering.

[Void Boots of the Teldazikim]

[Boots created from sturdy material only found within the Realm of Nothingness that is beyond this world. Crafted in the heat of the mouth of a volcano these boots are tougher than most materials known to the world.]

STATS:

Defense: 100,000

Type: Medium - Kalinian Metal

Hardness: 75/100

Durability: 50,000/50,000

[UNIQUE PASSIVES: Agility of Nothing: This passive allows the user to walk with absolute silence, meaning that nothing can be heard whilst wearing these boots; unless the sound is so loud that nothing can cloak it. This is mainly for walking across things such as dry leaves or twigs, or snow. However whilst this allows the user to walk without being heard it does not mean that evidence of the wielders presence is hid. It does not hide footprints nor tracks created by the user.]

[UNIQUE PASSIVES: Jump of Nothing: A passive that allows the user to jump extremely powerfully and quickly as long as one feet is touching solid ground. This essentially means they can become a living pinball if they so choose, dashing from ground to wall to ceiling before arriving back. They can do this indefinitely with the only drawback being high mental fatigue.]

[UNIQUE ACTIVE: Speed of Nothing: Wielder is given the choice of selecting multiple opponents before moving towards each of them in sequence with such speeds that the user seems to turn invisible until they reappear after moving. This can also be done towards one person but has the limit of seven targets. If chosen towards one target it allows the user to select various positions around that one target. This ability has a twenty minute cooldown.]

Pitch jet black armor boots that were made out of metal formed around his legs. They were made from three distinct layers, the first and most inner layer was made out of a soft material that allowed his feet to be cushioned. The second and middle layer was made from what looked like a sheen of metal that hugged his feet and lower calf to protect them from any harm. The last and outermost layer was formed from thick sheets of metal folded over one another constantly creating grooves and swirls along the boots in a very specific swirling pattern. However despite this being made of metal there was almost no weight to the armor itself, Kirito felt as light as a feather.

[Reavers Arm Guard of the Teldazikim]

[Created by the Teldazikim as a way of blocking an attack even if their shields go down without having to sacrifice the need to hold a shield, this piece of equipment is something that no one else can replicate.]

STATS:

Defense: 300,000

Type: Medium - Kalinian Metal

Hardness: 80/100

Durability: 50,000/50,000

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Child of the Shadows: Grants wielder the ability to control shadows as though they were an extension of their bodies. These can work in tandem with Sword Skills but are referenced as Shadow Arts; they cost as much mental fatigue as Sword Skills and have separate cooldowns; however once user becomes [Master of the Shadow Arts] they are no longer limited by cooldowns or Shadow Arts but instead create their own use for shadows. This cannot be used in tandem with Void Arts.]

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Child of the Void: Grants wielder the ability to control the Void, or Nothingness, as though it is an extension of their own selves. These can work in tandem with Sword Skills and are referenced as Void Arts. When the wielder becomes a [Master of the Void Arts] there will no longer be a need to use those arts but instead they can create their own and are not limited by cooldowns or arts but are limited by imagination. This cannot be used in tandem with Shadow Arts.]

[UNIQUE ACTIVE: Chains of the Shadows: Chains created out of shadows will wrap around the intended victim, these chains are unbreakable unless target holds strength at the same level of a Divine Immortal. These chains will slowly drain the target's health and give it to the caster, they will also slowly corrode through physical defence and immobilize them to a spot; unless stated otherwise this skill is undodgeable and unblockable. These chains can be cut down prematurely to deal x10 damage to prisoner. The chains last for five minutes. Cooldown ten minutes.]

Twin black cylinders that molded themselves to his forearms, ending at his elbow. He rapped one with his knuckles and found that they were indeed solid, probably sturdy enough to block a strike from a sword; although he wasn't sure if his arm would survive the sheer force behind such a strike. The protection of these arm guards did not end there however, covering the back of his palm was a snugly fitting piece of armor that was held there in place by a thin sheet of what looked like chainmail. Kirito twirled his wrist impressed by the flexibility of a metal armor that allowed him to move his arms. Hiding his hands were cosmetic gloves that had come with the arm guards, they were black in color and covered both his hands, protecting everything down to even the fingertips. Within both his palms there was a black material that felt spongy to touch, somehow he knew through information given to him via the game system that these would assist in grip of his weapon by swallowing the weapon hilt, meaning that the moment the blade hilt touched his palm it could not be removed unless he wanted it to be.

[Shadow Cloak of the Teldazikim]

[Created from the very fabric of the Realm of Nothingness it is a powerful artifact and part of the full Teldazikim equipment that makes them such dangerous enemies and warriors to face on the battle face. With such an equipment it makes one wonder, how did that civilization fall?]

STATS:

Defense: 800,000

Type: Heavy - Essence of Nothing

Hardness: Unbreakable

Durability: Unbreakable

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Unending Darkness: (Toggle) This cloak that is weaved out of the Essence of Nothing can block any strike thrown at it and is impenetrable, yet it is so light that one can almost forget that it is there. However this cloak simply stops attacks, it does not stop the force behind the attack. Furthermore this cloak will continue to darken the area that it is around very slowly, but eventually it becomes noticeable and can leave an entire fighting area encased in darkness. However this only works indoors.]

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Cloak of Darkness: (Toggle) The wearer of this cloak is rended invisible to everything on this planet at the cost of a constant strain on their minds. Only the most keen observers can see past this invisibility meaning that it is essentially impossible to be seen through by anything less than a Divine Immortal being. However this does not block out sound or smell; meaning that other senses can be made to capture the wearer.]

[UNIQUE ACTIVE: Blessing of the Elder Void Gods: When activated this skill grants the wearer complete immunity to any form of damage whilst similarly bolstering all stats by x2. Last for five minutes. Cooldown one hour.]

A thick black cloak that descended around his back reaching down far enough that it just barely scraped the floor, a hood covering his face leaving nothing but a black mask with twin glowing green eyes staring coldly back from the darkness of his cowl. It wrapped around to the front of his chest, held in place by a singular chain of black metal that outlined the outer rim of his cloak. Already he could feel the darkness surrounding him, holding him in a tight embrace like a mother would hold their babe. Kirito let loose a grin beneath his mask, pure ecstasy flooding through his veins at such a ridiculous find. Suddenly a pop up appeared before him, he looked at it and let loose a laugh as he looked at the [Set Bonus] that had appeared before him.

[Set Bonus]

[Due to having the complete set of the Teldazikim armor you gained the following:

x10 [Experience Point] Bonus

1 [Teldazikim Void Essence Blade] (Unmergeable)

x3 Defensive Stats

x3 Stats overall

Assimilation ability granted to armor set (Including [Teldazikim Void Essence Blade])

Increasing max [Health] by 200%

Empowering mental capabilities

Empowered mental defence by 500%

Reducing mental fatigue

Reducing all cooldowns by 20%

Void Arts empowered by 30%

Shadow Arts empowered by 30%

Speed increased by 100%

Strength increased by 100%

PASSIVE: Unlimited Flight of the Darkened

ACTIVE: Empowered Body]

[PASSIVE: Unlimited Flight of the Darkened: Wings that were crafted from wisp of shadows joined together. This grants the user the ability to fly unlimitedly with no time limit nor strength limit. However these wings are for flight and flight alone, they have no combat purposes; however they can be used anywhere.]

[ACTIVE: Empowered Body: This grants the player the ability to make themselves faster, stronger or more resilient to damage. However it takes the player to have high mental capabilities to first draw from willpower and then to project it into their bodies. The cost has high mental fatigue and only the masters can use it like an extension of their bodies without tiring.]

Kirito laughed and shook his head. He watched, after dismissing the pop-up notification, that in front of him a new hilt was being made from the very same tree as the strips of bark surrounded a glowing green crystal; and just like before it eventually settled into his left palm. He activated it and his eyes widened as green crystals emerged forth from the wooden hilt, flowing piece and piece together till eventually creating a stretched out oval shaped blade; a leaf shaped blade. Then it began to glow, and just like his gifted blade, it eventually turned into a solid Void green color with wisp slowly flickering around it like tongues of fire. Swirls swimming around it as a soft hum of power filled the air; just like his other blade and just like what Argo got. He looked at the name and found a new screen appear to answer his question.

[Void Blade from the Essence Crystal of Nothing]

[A blade crafted from the very Realm of Nothing with powers capable of sundering any foe that crosses blade with this unique sword.]

STATS:

Sharpness: 1,500,000 (included Crafted Blade of the Void)

Hardness: Unbreakable

Balance: 100/100

Durability: Unbreakable

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Crafted Blade of the Void: Infused with the Essence of Nothingness this blade is capable of cutting through pretty much any material in this world. This gives the weapon +1000% sharpness and is unbreakable.]

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Essence Reaver: Allows the wielder to absorb the strength of every foe killed adding it on to his own stats personally or to his equipment stats. With every 500 foes killed the user will gain 5 points to add into their personal stats or into their equipment stats.]

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Blessing of Nothing: All equipped items alongside this item will have their equipment levels maxed out to the fullest and stats of all equipment doubled.]

[UNIQUE PASSIVE: Wounds of Voids Touch: Every fifth attack causes x5 amount of damage that will go through all defences as True Damage. This can be done within a single Sword Skill Combo or over the length of a few different Sword Skills. Furthermore upon the fifth strike the wielder of this blade will be teleported to any target with four other rings on them.]

[UNIQUE ACTIVE: Mark of the Void: Targets a single enemy and inflicts them with Mark of the Void. This results in the target having x5 amplified damage given to the target for the next three minutes. This skill has a cooldown of thirty minutes.]

[UNIQUE ACTIVE: Sword Skill: Silence of the Void: A function that allows the next NPC, mob or player struck to be unable to use any skills, flight or otherwise game assisted functions until either the afflicted character is slain or the wielder of this weapon is slain. This can be applied to multiple targets. Has a cooldown of five minutes.]

[UNIQUE ACTIVE: Poison of Apophis: (Toggle) Coats the blade in poison straight from the Chaos Serpent himself and results in a Damage Over Time effect. This effect will cause the target to take 0.1% of their maximum health as poison damage every second for twenty seconds. Furthermore it will begin to slowly replace the [Health Pool] of any struck enemy with this poison meaning that there is the potential to inject 100% of a target's maximum health as poison damage.]

[UNIQUE ACTIVE: Sword Skill: Sword of Nothing: (Toggle) Working in tandem with Gaia's Embrace this is a skill that allows the user to attack medium distance ranged targets using the Essence of the Primordial. This is further empowered by the number of weapons that Gaia's Embraced has absorbed. Usable alongside Sword Skills.]

He quickly pulled out [Bane of Apophis] as well as his beta-tester sword and assimilated one into his [Void Blade] whilst the other drained into the gift from Helikon. He deactivated both weapons, watching as the crystals faded back into the weapon, shaking his head he attached both to the holders in his hilt before turning to look at Argo; and what he saw shook him. She was beautiful.

Dressed in what looked like complete wooden armor Argo was no longer recognizable as Argo but more as a wood denizen with powers far beyond this world. Above her name sat the title [Blessed of Artemis]. This hovered above her head which had been completely covered by a wooden helm with two eye holes that glowed with solid purple, runes and patterns cutting from her eye to either cheek. Two horns curved around her head each with the grooves of ancient times, runes that no one would have understood. A single amulet hung around her forehead, pulsing softly as it responded to the energies of its wearer. A grey cloak fluttered out behind her in the soft small wind, blowing around her like the embrace of a lover.

Her body was entirely covered by the same wooden looking textured armor, swirls of purple cutting through the material as they glowed. Runes of ancient times that pulsed with the raw energy gifted to them by sheer RNG and luck. A belt, much like his own, hugged her waist; however hers was slim with a single purple rune engraved into the center, it pulsed more brighter than anything else on her body whilst two knives sat right behind her waist. Each hilt crafted from leather and wood with blades no doubt much like the ones they had been already gifted; blades made from crystal that glowed like stars. A long skirt that reached her ankles hung from her waist, however from the expert eye of a gamer Kirito knew that this would not hinder her movement but was more for cosmetics than anything. Yet on her back he could see the fletching of arrows that were placed into a quiver each end no doubtfully would glow when placed into her fingers. In her right hand Argo held a pure neon purple bow that was glowing just like their weapons. Once again from simple look he knew that if that bow were to be drawn and fired, that those arrows could punch through a tree like a hot knife cutting through an entire block of butter; what more would it do to any enemy they encounter.

"Wow Kii-bou, you look very very scary." Argo says, her voice unmuffled despite the fact that her helmet, which covered her entire head, had no mouthpiece. She walked up to him, a sudden unnatural grace to each step like a hunter stalking her prey, "I like it."

Kirito grinned, not that Argo could see of course, "How much would I have to pay for the information of all your gear?"

"A few billion Col." she stated flippantly, he definitely knew she was grinning underneath her mask right now.

"Right." he deadpanned answered, shaking his head he allowed his wings to morph out; only to stare in shock of what he saw now.

Instead of the translucent bug like wings that normally appeared out of his back it had been replaced by what looked like wings created out of shadows, the wisp of darkness. These were not insect wings, these were the wings of an angel crafted from the shadows, wings from high above; much higher than mortal minds can comprehend. He took one flap of his wings and disappeared, moving so fast that it seemed he was nothing more than a black bullet, a holler of ecstasy at the ability to fly endlessly pierced the darkening forest.

Argo shook her head, a smile forming once more underneath that mask as she unfurled her own wings and took off after Kirito. Unlike the young man, her wings were seemed to be made from intertwined strands of glowing purple that had wrapped themselves together and formed the shape of wings like birds. She was a hunter now, the bird of prey that would swoop down and devour any insect that got in their way. She was not some helpless little empress, she was a stalker of the sky that never loses their prey. She was to be feared for what she aims for she will gain; that includes the little speck of black that was flying around crazily.

For Kirito the world around him was nothing more than a blur as he dashed forward, spinning and twirling, dancing around the tree trunks like an expert gymnast. He took one look backwards and saw the purple dashing light of Argo chasing after him; the thought of payback flooding through his mind as he remembered what she had done earlier. As they reached the ravine that formed the boundary between this [Hell Zone] and the [Outer Forest of Seido] with water rushing down as though in an attempt to fill up the ripped up earth; he forced himself to turn invisible. The utility this set of armor gave him was absolutely and utterly incredible.

Quickly he fluttered down and pressed himself against the rock face, watching as a purple light dashed forward, bursting out of the eerie death zone behind them and hovered. No doubt Argo's eyes were scanning every possible shadow to find Kirito, but the said boy was hiding against the rock face as the evening sun setted in the distance. The sky was a mix of purple and orange, casted from the virtual star that blazed to give them sight. It was beautiful and peaceful, almost capable of making the trapped players forget that this was a death game and more of a holiday resort. Quickly he shot up and nudged her on the way up, calling away his disillusioned invisibility and watching as she shot up right after him, her fingers just missing his shoes. He flew upwards, watching as the slowly revealing stars played out across the sky like the work of a master artist. They twinkled from their position in the heavens, smiling down upon the world with soft joyful laughters. On the left he could see them more clearly, the echo of a creator's hand, whilst when his eyes traveled more towards the right they got harder to see as the tip of the setting sun slowly descended in the distant horizon. A master creator hands splayed the beauty of his art across their world; Kirito closed his eyes for a few seconds allowing the feeling of the wind whipping around him as well as the pure sight around him that had been ingrained into his mind play out inside his head. It was beautiful and in just that moment, he could almost believe that he was not playing a death game, but flying freely.

He slowed down as he reached the cloud lines, feeling the cold wind whipping around him and causing his cloak to flutter behind him; his eyes opening once more to watch as darkness slowly engulfed light. Argo slowed as she noticed him stopping, her body turning to face the sunset as he stared on. His mask pulled back from his face, choosing to show his face to the world, however both of them knew that what had happened was simply his choice for the mask to pull back at the sight of a friendly ally. His black hair suddenly pushed back by the wind that was wrapping itself around them. Her mask pulled back too as she floated up to stand beside him. Both of them simply hovering high above what was capable of most players, their wings softly beating without a single sound created from them. Both of them simply staring out at the beautiful sight that was appearing before them. Both lost in their own minds as thoughts swirled like a powerful hurricane.

"I'm cold Kii-bou." Argo said softly. The sky above her purple whilst the air before them still had the slight cooper golden orange hue to it as the sky was painted through the setting sun.

She had turned so that now she faced Kirito, her brown eyes staring intently into his black as he turned to face her. She slowly fluttered over to him, closing that last half meter between them as she nestled into his arms, her face and hands pressed up against his chest. She felt his arms wrap themselves around her, his mouth pressed up against her hair, and felt the tightening of his arms as his mind undoubtedly played over the events that had just occurred. How close both of them had been to death, how many times Kirito had taken the ire of the beast so that Argo could continue her ranged assault. She was no fool, she had noticed how many [Health Potions] he had burned through to keep her safe. During this early into the game there was no way any player could create those, neither was the option available for NPC crafters; meaning that the only way he had gotten them was from quest rewards. He had used something that he worked hard for, just to protect her; she would be damned if she allowed her shyness in this area get to her. True that she teased him endlessly in the beta, yes she often made many lewd jokes and comments; however the truth was that she had never had a relationship before, never once even kissed someone or even hugged someone of the opposite gender outside her family. But after what had happened, she refused to wait any longer.

"Kiss me." she whispered, turning her head upwards to look at him, feeling his head lifting of hers. She stared into his eyes as he leaned back, the distant sun evermore being engulfed by darkness as the once purple sky began to turn into a dark navy blue and black; unfiltered stars exploding into life across the night sky. But his beauty was lost as the two players hovered in mid air, content for the time being; both their hearts hammering so loudly that they would have sworn someone could hear it from a mile away. "Kiss me Kii-bou. Kiss -"

She was interrupted as warm lips met her own. Her eyes closed as she moved her hands up from his chest to wrap them around his neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss whilst at the same time she felt the arms around her shoulders dropping around her waist and pulling her in tighter. She arched her back, flushing her chest into his as she leaned even more into the kiss. They eventually broke contact, their breaths ragged from the sudden lip locking.

"Argo -" Kirito breathed out, his eyes staring intently into hers.

"Shut up Kii-bou." Argo whispered back, interrupting whatever he was going to say before meeting his lips with hers once more. Her mind shut down as they began to kiss heavily again, she could feel his hands pressing against her waist in a nice pleasurable manner, her own fingers gripping his hair as she pulled his head down to meet hers. If this had been on the ground there would have been no doubt that she would have had to tiptoe, but even so in the air her feet were pointed straight down as if she was tiptoeing on something invisible. Her toes curling as the pleasure of kissing her first ever real friend coursed through her like lightning, "I'm not letting you go."

They eventually got back to the palace where Argo stayed as the Empress, fluttering by the window which had been left open in their hasty escape of the confining building. Argo stood within the building, having ducked into the large window as silk curtains fluttered lightly from the wind.

"Well … cya?" Kirito asked, one hand behind his head as he scratched his head; mask still retracted. Awkwardly unsure of what to do now, they had kept on kissing for quite awhile and only left when they finally accepted to hearing the annoying pinging sound of physical touch lasting too long amongst the two of them as a notification had popped up. They had flown back to the castle, hand in hand with their wings beating silent against the air. He began to turn around, wings gathering power to suddenly shoot forward at a quick speed to disappear and allow his thoughts to gather within his mind; when her voice stopped him.

"Kirito, where are you staying tonight?" she asked, the soft teasing voice that had made sexual innuendos in the past now held none of the usual temptress sound but rather sounded fearful, nervous, anxious and shy. He turned around to look at her, hands clasped behind her back and biting her bottom lip anxiously.

"Probably just going to grab a room from an inn that I can find outside of the city." Kirito shrugged his shoulders as if this was no big deal for him; knowing the solo player it probably wasn't. He looked up towards the endless starry night, maybe he would stay under the canopy of the sky, he certainly wouldn't mind sleeping underneath such a sight.

"Come in Kii-bou." Argo spoke up shyly, a faint blush coloring her cheeks as she looked at him. She took a few steps backwards into the shadows of her room, staying away from the small circle of illuminated moonlight that entered through the open window.

"Argo -" he had begun only to be suddenly cut off.

"Kii-bou. Get in." the female information dealer demanded, her voice of authority causing him to sigh and slowly hover in. The moment his armored feet touched the floor his wings deactivated. He looked at her as she sat on her bed, her eyes looking solely at the floor as though something of great interest was there, "Sleep with me tonight." she asked softly, yet within the silent room it might as well have been a gong that had gone off.

"Erm … Argo I …" the black haired boy stumbled over his words, fumbling hands striking through his dark hair, fingers scratching the scalp underneath.

"Not like that Kii-bou! Get your head out of the gutter." she furiously, and embarrassingly, fumbled, "I just want to sleep in the same bed as you." she muttered, her eyebrows scrunched up as she frowned at floor as if it had just insulted her grandmother. He sighed, obviously distressed and confused and entirely baffled by what a turn this night had taken.

"Okay." he answered softly, whipped. The bed dipped down as he sat down next to her, armor disequipped and already in his night sleeping gear. A simple white cotton shirt that loosely hung around his body whilst brown pants covered his legs, a little tie of string hanging in the front of his waist. He refused to look at her, instead he slowly rolled to the opposite side of the bed and laid down awkwardly and stiffly, looking only at the ceiling above them and the intricate designs that were grafted into the wooden ceiling. They were definitely breathtaking to look at, but even they paled at the sight of the night sky. He felt the bed dip down once again as Argo undoubtedly took her position next to him, a blanket being drawn up to the middle of his chest. Suddenly he felt a warm hand snaking itself across his chest and he turned on his side to look at the beautiful little minx of a girl that always use to tease him, the girl that he had first befriended during the beta testing and a girl that had been one of the few people who truly became his friend; and thus he saw a sight that beat the sight of the night starry sky.

Argo was wearing nothing more than a silky nightgown that hung loosely from her shoulders, underneath that was just a little undergarment that hid the necessities but displayed everything else for him to see. He snaked one shaking arm around her shoulder, pulling her in after seeing the glare in her eyes and promise of pain if he did not react to her move. He held her close to him, her hands fisted and placed gently against his chest as she curled into his hug. He felt a vibration spread across his chest, a mouth mumbling something which he couldn't quite hear.

"What was that?" he asked her, looking into her eyes as she turned to look at him. The faint blush tainting her cheeks before she closed the gap between them and captured his lips with her own, letting out a soft moan as he responded to the kiss.

"Nothing Kii-bou." she whispered when they parted, her words warm against his own lips; which were lightly brushing against his, "Night Kii-bou." she said quietly before snuggling back into his chest, the blanket wrapped around them keeping them warm.

"Goodnight Argo." he whispered back to her before letting his eyes close and letting a smile break across his face as he tightened his grip around her shoulders and felt her respond by melting into his embrace even more. Darkness soon overtook the two of them.