Now, before I begin, I'd like to thank everyone who read this story, followed and favorited it, and reviewed! You guys are absolutely loved! I would mention you but that will make things way too long. D:

Also, this chapter can be used as a reference for the POA. I think I'll also put this up on my profile, too. Only the things that will help explain POA more. :D

So, I know I said that I'll give an explanation and a summary of what happened, so I will. This whole story was based on emotions a lot of us tend to have. So, I'll just explain that here. This will be extensively long, so please…BEAR WITH ME.

"Prologue"

Kazuto had lived a life under the name of his own brother. He was told that his given name "Kirito" was a powerful name that Byakko had provided. Up until the attack, he was trained to fight as a warrior in their village. They have a tradition of changing the names once they become a Warrior. So, pretty much, Kazuto was already a warrior called "Kirito". Asuna was kidnapped from their village seven years ago. Heathcliff promised her that she would be free to do what she wishes as long as she kills Kazuto. As a result, she tried to make it look as real as possible, but she had no intention of actually murdering him. So, the Knights of the Blood Oath basically invaded the village just to decrease the population and get rid of the potential "Demon".

"Kirito"

That chapter was just to introduce Kirito. But, as mentioned in the beginning of the chapter, Asuna was feeling guilty for hurting Kazuto in the first place. To her, Kazuto was practically her world. Before she met him, she didn't have any memories of her parents or anything. So, Kazuto was the one who taught her to smile as mentioned in the chapter.

Lady Ellonie later explains to Asuna that she used her as a sacrifice to protect Kazuto seven years ago. Asuna figured that out long before she was told. The Knights of the Blood Oath was led by Heathcliff at the time and they were trying to get rid of Kirito's little brother. They decided to Kill Kazuto because he was considered a demon because his own brother was called a "demon". Of course, that wasn't true.

When the chapter turned to that little portion of Kirito (he was a small kid in this one), it was pretty much summing up his early childhood before he was taken in by Byakko. Byakko is a literal "Guardian". He protects the lands to the west and rules over the season Fall. He also teaches any "Restorer" how to use their powers. In other words, Kirito was trained under that abnormally large tiger.

Next, you see him grown up into a fine fifteen-year-old, running away from the people who want him dead, two weeks after his best friend, Ryoutarou, was murdered. Since his power as a Restorer scares people, he was labeled as a demon. Both of his parents were ridiculed, but they didn't blame him because they loved him. :D

It was said that demons have black blood, but obviously, Kirito bled red so his pursuers figured out that Kirito was just a normal, everyday kid. After falling off the cliff, Kirito ran into Heathcliff, who happened to be around the area. He was pretty much offered his death sentence and given time to think about how he dies: willingly go with Heathcliff to die and spare his friends from sharing the same fate, or don't join and give his friends their untimely death. So, of course, Kirito managed to give himself time to "think about it".

Bluntly stating, he was actually trying to find someway to avoid Heathcliff as long as possible.

"A Sweet Little Brother"

This chapter starts off with Yukio, the younger twin of Eugeo. He's the deathly quiet one who makes a majority of the furniture and other things. He's like a craft smith that comes with hunting. Since Eugeo (the twin that does all of the farming, housework, and a pharmacist) asked hi to do a favor, he ended up going out and finding a half-dead Kirito. As the chapter goes, he took him home and the brothers did their best to treat him.

I'll add in something here since I never mentioned it in the story: Two years before this scene, Eugeo and Yukio know Kirito because Kirito actually broke into their house for shelter for one night. They got off on the wrong foot, but eventually, the twins learned that Kirito was just a kid and he was the "Restorer".

Now, going back to the chapter, Kirito woke up after a week and explains that he was attacked during a restoring ceremony. To elaborate, the ceremony is just renewing the life around the area, or "reversing time". Restoring an area actually takes a portion of the Restorer's life to make up for time renewed.

Of course, Etra wouldn't let her restorers die an early death, so she would give them the life she creates. She is, after all, the Goddess of Life. XD

After a month of recovering under Yukio's watchful eye and Eugeo's herbal care, Kirito completed the ceremony and visited his parents because he wanted to see them after so long….and because Eugeo sent a letter to them about the recent events, so he didn't want them to worry too much. Although, once he got there, he found out that his dad is gone and his mother had another son. Once he met with his mother, he was forced to leave with Kazuto, leaving her behind.

Byakko knew about this because his mother asked for the tiger to take Kazuto away. Since I made it unclear of what happened to his mother, I'm not going to be gentle about it.

She died when the Authorities figured out she hide Kazuto away. Don't worry, I'll explain the government in a bit. DX

Now, on to when the chapter changes to Kazuto's side!

A week after Kazuto woke up, he has this urge to go to some place. He doesn't resist anymore and Asuna tags along. Long story, short, they met Heathcliff at the ruins.

"Dearest Older Brother"

This starts off with Kirito chasing his little brother after a bath by the river. XD I loved writing that part because it seemed like fun! Anyway, that portion of the chapter was meant to show the peaceful life Kirito managed to live for four years without running into Heathcliff. In other words…it's like he ran away from him. And…I kinda used it as an excuse to to write something kinda funny. XD

Anyway! Going back to the story when Kazuto is at the ruins with Asuna….

There, the group found Heathcliff. Now, I know this is where things get complicated so please bear with me.

The Heathcliff they met was the "real" one. This Heathcliff was the kind-hearted man before he was possessed by a demon. Heck, Heathcliff and Kirito were acquaintances on good terms before Heathcliff was possessed. When he just became the leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath, he was deeply in love with a woman. She suddenly murdered the night of their engagement. Because of that reason, Heathcliff developed a strong determination to hunt down whoever murdered her as revenge. That's when the demon took him over and twisted that revenge into something greater, eventually leading it to Kirito's hunt to back up the fact that Kirito was the "demon".

The demon itself has no name, but if I were to really give him one, it would be "Desire". Why? Simply because it only wants one thing. It wants to get rid of all of the Restorers. Without them, the world dies gradually. It manipulates the emotions of humans and enjoys the "fun" that happens after.

Now that I've explained that…Back to the story….

When Kazuto confronts Heathcliff, he kept telling him that Heathcliff was already forgiven. In truth, Kirito had been finding a way to free Heathcliff from the demon, but he couldn't…after all, he was only thirteen-years-old when he swore to free Heathcliff.

Kazuto's memories of his brother was actually sealed up by Byakko, so that's why he was actually thanking Heathcliff for ordering Asuna to stab him. :D

After Kazuto left the scene, Heathcliff actually faded away. His physical body was actually destroyed since the demon was done with him. Asuna and Kazuto really just met with the last remaining thoughts Heathcliff felt. Those thoughts were so strong that it became a real person for a short while. So, in other words, they met a spirit that was stuck in between. The urge Kazuto felt was Etra telling him to go and free Heathcliff so he can fully "pass on".

The last paragraph: "A gentle breeze blew by, ruffling the red grass and the lily. The flower danced in the wind, twisting and turning, lonely in the empty space." was just a discreet way of saying Heathcliff was gone. Or bluntly put, dead.

Then, as you all know, Asuna and Kazuto were attacked by the damned demon. Kazuto managed to obtain Dark Repulser and Elucidator. He actually remembered the spells that Kirito chanted to get the blades to appear in his hands. So, because he shared the the same blood with Kirito, Kazuto was able to use the swords.

After the demon leaves them, Kazuto knew that his memories had to be "repressed". But, he actually faked it, because he wanted to make the demon believe that he really did forget. Of course, he had to make the act look convincing, so that's what led to his strange behavior toward the end of the chapter.

Now, it's time to explain…the Curse. Let's see what the demon said before he "killed" Kirito:

"Your time will never move again! Your time will be frozen! Not a second more, not a second less! To the child you hold dear will pay the price of your mere existence in the worlds! For the rest of eternity, you will suffer the chains of the Cardinal!"

Ahahaha….Well obviously, the first few sentences means that Kirito's time is on hold forever. He, as stated in POA, "can't age or die". It's just…stopped. Even the organs in his body stopped working, meaning he doesn't get hungry or thirsty. As mentioned in POA, Kirito literally tried to kill himself several hundred times, but he was never successful. Suicide is not an option for him.

The line, "To the child you hold dear will pay the price of your mere existence" is pertaining to Kirito's little brother, Kazuto. Kirito loved Kazuto dearly and would do anything to protect him. The demon was well aware of that, so it decided to use Kazuto as a way to hurt Kirito more. But, as you can see, Kirito actually smiled and said, "And this curse will be the end of you, Demon."

That meant that he had the confidence that the curse will somehow break the chain of Restorers dying by the Demon. He also believed that Kazuto would do something to truly prevent the Demon from winning. Even if it took years.

Next, "For the rest of eternity, you will suffer the chains of the Cardinal!" This is where the curse becomes pretty damn complicated. Cardinal resides in a place called the Realm of Dreams that is mentioned in POA. It's like a separate world parallel to Reality. Cardinal is considered as the foundation of the Worlds (Dreams and Reality) and it's clock tower sees all. Which means, all history is stored there. All dying spirits pass through there, leaving their memories behind as they go somewhere else. The Clock Tower is also Kirito's Prison. The Cardinal is the small girl mentioned at the end of the chapter. She had been around ever since the Worlds were founded. She asks Kirito to forgive her, because she carried the burden of seeing everything for far too long, and she finally had someone to share a bit of her burden with. All of her "chains" were actually transferred to Kirito the moment he arrived in the Clock Tower. I won't tell much because Kirito himself will explain more in POA. :D

And Finally, the last chapter!

"The Two Swordsmasters"

Now….this chapter…well, it's more of an epilogue four years after the "Dearest Older Brother". But anyway, Yukio and Eugeo came back from something and they found Kirito hunting with his friends. Kazuto is a bit of an air head here because he was pretty much living his life as the next leader in their village, seeing how he was the adoptive son of Ellonie.

Yukio and Eugeo had a conversation with Ellonie when they arrived at the town…they were talking about their duty obviously. Yukio and Eugeo are Wardens (there's a description of what a Warden is further down). The rules are, when a Warden dies, then any available Warden is wicked away to immediately take over. They don't even get the chance to even say good bye or anything. So, the twins disappearing made Ellonie fear that they were dead. They trusted that Ellonie would take in Kazuto, so they left with little worry.

They were also well aware of Kirito being "dead", but they weren't aware of anything else. Ellonie told them that Kazuto was taken in by Byakko to seal up the memories and the events of Kazuto getting hurt to getting attacked by the Demon…and the curse placed on both brothers. Since they couldn't do anything, they did what they could to make sure Kazuto lived happily.

Three months later, Kazuto was almost nineteen, he returned Elucidator and Dark Repulser, and kind of asked Asuna out. On that cliff, Kazuto was saying his good byes. He also mentioned that in the future, he will be there again. If anything, that actually meant he had something planned.

The letter that Kirito wrote was just something that he felt when he knew he was going to die. As a restorer, he would know when he would die, considering his job. He also mentioned about a world where it was peaceful. You know, practically a lot of people's wishes. He had the hope for it and the focus on seeing another day. He believes in the Promise of Tomorrows.

The Promise of Tomorrows is just that. It's just my way of saying that there will definitely be another day that a person can look forward to. :D

And the very last portion….The Thousand Years later portion was….well, you should've already figured that out. I mean, I dropped too many hints already!

I've noticed I should've explained the roles of the characters more. So, I'll explain the thing I should've mentioned in the story or even wrote a paragraph or two about.

-The Country-

The whole story is based on a country called "Xeress" that was formed long before Aincrad. The whole land is actually ruled by not a king or queen. There is no military force.

Authority – A group of people whose word is law. The Authority believes that they are the chosen people the Goddess Etra chose to rule. Of course, most were delusional and it wasn't true. They come up with what's right and what's wrong. Their laws are generally correct, just, sometimes it seems unreasonable.

Guilds – Groups of people who gave themselves something to do. Many of them were created to be the security of Xeress. In a way, about half of the guilds at the time were helping the Authority to place in new rules and such. Most of the time, the Guilds are used to reassure the people from the dangers around them. Of course, there are good and bad Guilds. The very first Guild was the Knights of the Blood Oath. It is also the oldest. Heathcliff in the story was the eighty-ninth leader of the guild.

-The Goddess-

Etra – The Goddess of Life/Light. She is known to care for human lives, especially those she chooses to inherit her Gifts and Duties. Contrary to belief, Etra never chose anyone to rule since it's not a duty she made. She has the habit of helping the humans and Faeries alike and is very kind. But, though she is kind, the things she does always has a price. Mostly, it's painful.

Amire – The Goddess of Death/Darkness. She is (obviously) known to play with lives as if they are toys. She sends her demons to do their part and prefers to sit back and watch. She absolutely hates Etra even though they are twins. She would do anything to wreck Etra's plans and cause conflicts for the Children of Etra. Her favorite demon is "Desire".

-The Children of Etra-

They are the people (no matter the age) that Etra chooses to handle the Duties that she assigns them to. They can never complete their Duty because it is constant. There isn't an end. Kirito, Kazuto, Eugeo, and Yukio are one of the few Children. They normally are chosen the moment they are born. With each Duty, it comes with a certain ability, or better known as, The Gifts of Etra.

-The Duties and The Gifts of Etra-

There are several that were never mentioned, but I'll put in some to put a bit of sense in it. Also, take note that all (except Sustainers) know how to fight and not all have to be a Human or a Faerie.

Restorer – Renews contracts, replenishes the life in the earth. Bluntly said, their gift is, well, restoring things. It returns material things to the prime of its time. They may seem like they can revive the dead, but they can't. They can't revive dead animals or people, Faerie and Humans alike. Although, they can revive areas with plants, it depends entirely on their physical strength, energy, and stability. Kirito was able to restore about two and a half miles in five minutes. So, if he wanted to restore ten miles, then it would take him twenty minutes. But, of course, each and every Restorer is different. For example, the previous Restorer before Kirito was stronger than him. On a normal scale of one to ten (one being the weakest, and ten being like…Sephiroth-Strong) in power and physical strength, Kirito was an eight, above average, but his energy was a six…

Guardians – Obviously the protectors of the land. They are above Authority and no one can tell them what to do. They do what they wish as long as it is within Etra's will. There is a Guardian for each of the four main directions: North, South, East, and West. As mentioned in the story, Byakko is a Guardian. I originally took him from the Chinese/Japanese Myth and made him a guardian (It's pretty close to the original, but I made it my own by changing several things). Their gift was the overwhelming strength they had and the smarts to avoid large conflicts verbally. The Guardians had a set of rules that they follow, But Byakko broke a few and Etra just excused him for it. Taking in Kirito and Kazuto was against the rules (which will be explained a bit later). On the scale of power, energy and physical strength, Byakko is a nine (he's a big, pretty tiger! :D). Many more will be mentioned later in the Prince of Aincrad.

Sustainers – Keeps the flow of life running. They can't fight because it'll wreck the flow. That is their hugest weakness. They depend heavily on the Restorers to renew the life in the earth. Their gift was seeing the stream of life and knowing where every bit went. Of course, they stay hidden from sight to avoid conflict. It's not easy. They are generally around a ten or nine on the scale in both power and energy. Even though they are that strong, they are the weakest with their physical strength with a score of one to three.

Wardens – Protects the Seal that is placed over the Realm of Dreams. The Seal is there to prevent souls to enter the Realm. Normally, there is only one Warden at the location, but unless that one dies, any available Warden is literally ripped out of the Real World to the Entrance. Yukio and Eugeo were twins so they ended up going together. On the scale of power and physical strength, the twins were eight and a half. Their energy was a seven.

Knights – Directly in contact with the Goddess and delivers the will of Etra to the other Children of Etra. Also doubles as guardians. They're mostly found on an errand for Etra. On the scale, they are generally seven in power, energy, and strength.

Priest/Priestess – Preforms ceremonies to the Goddess for the people. They mostly ask help from Etra and thank her for practically anything. Their power is a five; it doesn't have much power because Etra chooses which to do, but it does get noticed. Their physical strength depends if they want to learn or not. Some don't, some do. Their energy is an eight.

Okay, now that I've told you about that, I think now is a good time to give a bit of information about the village that Kazuto and Kirito (kinda) grew up in. I never gave the village a name because I got lazy, but I guess you could call it "Gailes". (hint, hint).

Now, the Elder of the village is usually the leader. Lady Ellonie was fifty-something when she took in Kirito, and she was already an elder. She didn't want to be called Grandma, so she made everyone just call her "Mother" or "Lady Ellonie". The Elder can do whatever she wants but must stick to the traditions of the Village.

(That whole portion is like a dictionary to comeback to if something in POA made no sense)

The Main Reason I Wrote The Story

It was mostly just to show how forgiveness in times like these are important. And, that even if there was some much bad things happening to you, you can still go on. If Kirito can survive falling off a cliff with heavy injuries, smile at the face of a crazy demon, love those who hate him greatly, then, you can too.

Lady Ellonie actually represented "Attachment." She couldn't let go of the one thing she loved dearly. As a result, it only brought her more pain.

Asuna was "Guilt". She felt completely guilty for hurting Kazuto and being unable to leave Heathcliff for the longest time.

Yukio was "Regret". He was told to watch over Kazuto as he grew, but he didn't take the opportunity to get back because he placed his duty before himself. He actually lied about being unable to leave. Eugeo just played along.

Heathcliff was "Revenge". The demon pretty much turned his love into revenge on the wrong target. Because sometimes, people need someone to blame. In this case, the demon placed the blame on Kirito and caused Heathcliff to extract revenge.

Eugeo was "Optimistic". He looks at things positively. He's like that one friend that just seems to ease the most serious situations with a simple word. He's more like a comforter in a way.

Kazuto was "Forgiveness". He forgave everything bad that happened. He didn't want to hold any grudges since he knew it would weigh heavily. Sure, it's hard to let it go (NOT THE GODDESS-DAMN SONG, THANK YOU) when you have so much hatred or anger. Throwing the blame around doesn't help either. Kazuto forgave Heathcliff because he knew that he couldn't really blame him. And plus, it would only cause him to get upset. Trust me, it's better to forgive and forget. D:

Kirito was "Hope". He looked forward to each day even though it seemed pointless. He didn't loose his will to live, even to the end. He mostly lived on because of his belief of seeing the next day. Maybe you should try it. If things seem to get bad, it wouldn't hurt to live another day, nee? :D

Okay….that's all. I'm DONE. So, now that I've explained everything (hope), what do you guys think? Does it all make more sense now?!