A/N: Hey guys, sorry to keep you waiting! School is starting up again... Which means less writing time... What a happy day...
In any case, this chapter is once again being split in two, and I hope you enjoy it enough to leave a review or send me a PM! Also, I am going to be releasing a Q&A video on my YouTube channel here very soon, so if you have any questions about me or my work, please be sure to send them in!
Tears of the Soul, Part the First
Kirito opened his eyes within his dream. Not that it made much of a difference- most of the world around him seemed to be made of darkness. It somewhat reminded him of the time that he had fought against Sugou in the original Alfheim Online. So which dark king do I have to face down this time?
Asuna rubbed her husband's hand nervously, praying that he would be okay. His brow was bent downward as if in concentration, but he wasn't muttering in his sleep like Yui had been. "Please come back soon, Kirito," she murmured softly.
"Mommy?" Yui said as she sidled closer to her mother in the cart that they rode in. "Is Daddy going to be okay?"
"Yeah, you know Kirito," Asuna said with a forced smile. "He never backs down from a challenge if it means that he can save us."
"Mmm…" the little girl hummed as she looked at her father's face. "Daddy is pretty strong. I don't remember much of what was in that dream, but I do know it wasn't very nice… It kind of felt like… like Cardinal was watching me again, waiting for me to disobey."
"Well, the Cardinal's dead now," Asuna said firmly. "You don't need to worry about it anymore, honey."
"I know, but that's the feeling that the dream gave me," Yui said with a shudder. "I wonder what Daddy is feeling right now…"
"Hmm… Seems to be a kind of curse that feeds off your nightmares," Henry muttered as he stared at an old book in his hands. "Nasty magic… Heh. No wonder I never learned this spell- there's no blood involved in it!"
"Mommy…" Yui said as she hugged Asuna tighter. "I'm thankful to Mister Henry for saving me, but why does he have to ride with us…?"
"I'm the one responsible for trying to find a way to save your father, that's why," Henry said as he closed the book and reached for another. "He might beat off the curse by himself, but I need to have something else ready just in case."
"There's no 'might' about it," Asuna said firmly. "Kirito can beat this. He has to." Henry didn't look up from his book, nor did he say anything in response.
"We're in the clear," Say'ri said as she approached Chrom and Robin. "The turncoats only put up a show of trying prevent our escape."
"We may be out of their range, but we're not in the clear yet," Robin said with a heavy frown. "We've got to distance ourselves further away from Walhart- which means assaulting Yen'fay first. And we've got two of our tacticians out of play- one missing, and the other in coma. I don't like this."
"Hey, don't you always have an ace up your sleeve?" Chrom said with surprise. It was so unlike Robin to be so down in the dumps like this.
"I do, but I'd really rather avoid using it just yet," Robin admitted. "I will if I must, but I need to see what kind of terrain we'll be using to fight them, so I can see what kind of advantage I can give us."
"Say'ri, where is a place that we could fight Yen'fay's men where they would be at a disadvantage?" Chrom asked the princess.
"Well… There is the Demon's Ingle…" She pointed up at a mountain that belched smoke. "But only the foolhardy would dare trespass on the property of the wicked fire god that lies within it."
"I've been called foolhardy before," Robin said with a sudden grin. "But the only ones that ever called me that were the ones that my tactics demolished- they weren't calling me that for very long afterwards."
"Wait, so you mean to say…?"
"I do," Robin nodded. "Spread the word: we're heading to the Demon's Ingle to fight Yen'fay. Make sure that one of the warriors from Alfheim goes on a scouting trip."
Leafa was the one to be sent out on the scouting mission, as she was the fastest flier with Kazuto out of commission. Even if he were awake, it would be up for debate as to who was really the faster of the two of them. He was definitely faster with a blade, but her flight speed was hard to match.
When she returned, she immediately reported to Robin and Chrom. "There's plenty of room to fight right now, but we'll have a serious problem if we wait much longer," she said.
"What would the problem be?" Robin asked.
"I made sure to check the lava levels in the volcano itself, and I noticed that it's rising," the dark-haired sylph answered. "If it keeps going at this pace, we'll have an issue with being able to know where we can move through ahead of time. The lava will spill onto the side of the mountain itself, and we'll be confined. Pegasi and wyverns won't even be able to move above the rivers that'll be coming, because they could have bubbles inside them, waiting to bust."
"That does punch a few holes in the plan…" Robin muttered with a frown.
"Can we still pull it off, though?" Chroma asked hopefully.
"Yes, we can," Robin nodded. "We just need to be more careful."
"One more thing, sir," Leafa said. "Something you should know about the nature of our flight powers. Without any direct sun or moonlight to power our wings, we can't stay airborne for any more than ten minutes. I cut it kinda close when I was flying in the volcano, because all the smoke in the air was preventing my wings from absorbing the sunlight."
"Does this affect your abilities to cast spells, though?" Robin asked with concern.
"Not at all," Leafa said with a shake of her head. "I had to cast Elwind a few times so that I could clear the air enough to breathe, and I didn't have a problem."
"Very well," Robin nodded. "I'll probably just ask you to stay on the ground unless it becomes absolutely necessary, then. Is there anything else?"
"Yen'fay's forces are approaching, so if we're gonna go ahead with this half-baked scheme of yours, we'd better get a move on," Leafa said as she turned heel and went to go find the cart holding her brother.
The two men watched her go before Chrom asked, "So, Robin? What's the plan?"
"We get out of the frying pan," Robin smirked.
"And get into the fire," Chrom finished with a chuckle. "I should have known."
Kirito looked down at himself and was interested to see that he was dressed in his clothing from the old Aincrad. His swords were even on his back, much to his relief. The only thing that continued to frustrate him was that he couldn't see anything.
"They called you the Black Swordsman," a mocking voice rang out from behind him. "I should have thought that you enjoyed the solitude of darkness." Kirito whirled around, but he could not see who had spoken.
"Darkness had its place in my life," Kirito replied firmly. "I don't need it anymore- I have better things to surround myself with."
"And yet you still take pride in the pet name they gave you," the voice shot back. "It would seem that darkness still holds a place in your heart."
"Everybody has a dark corner somewhere inside them," Kirito replied, his voice still even. "I just don't bother to acknowledge mine anymore."
"Don't you?" the voice chuckled, an ominous sound. In front of Kirito, a light began to shine, so he focused on it, hoping that it might be a way out.
What he saw next made him wish that he hadn't looked at all. There was a group of teenagers all entering into a room with a single chest in front of him. Most of them were armed with long-handled weapons, but a young boy in the back had only a one-handed sword on him. The Moonlit Black Cats, he thought as he reached out to them on instinct.
An alarm went off, and the children reacted with shock as the treasure chest disappeared before their eyes. Each one of them drew their weapons and tried to defend themselves. Kirito tried to run to them, but no matter how fast he ran, they got no closer and no further from him. There was nothing that he could do.
The mace-wielder was the first to fall. Tetsuo. Next was the thief. Ducker. Following his demise was the staff-user. Sasamaru. And the last one of them to fall was the only girl. A beautiful young woman in the making, her back was struck by golem-like creature. She made eye contact with the boy one last time, saying something that he could not hear.
But the man that had replaced the boy knew what it was that she had said now. "Thank you," she had said. "Goodbye." A shattering sound, followed by a burst of blue-and-green shards. And the boy was alone. Sachi.
Kirito watched the image fade away, his stomach clenching violently. What good were his swords, skills, and power if he couldn't protect those that mattered to him the most?
"So you do still acknowledge the darkness," the voice returned, even more mocking than before. "Not only are you a failure, but a liar as well. Typical childish behavior." Kirito said nothing in response.
The voice chuckled and said, "My, your daughter lasted much longer than you did. How did such a boy like yourself ever get ahold of such an adorable little girl? Not to mention that lovely wife of yours…" Kirito stiffened.
"Ah…" the voice laughed again. "I see I've touched a nerve. Well, once I'm done with draining your life energy, maybe I'll pass on to her as well. Then I can finish off that irritating pest that carries the so-called divine magic of Naga."
"If you touch my wife or daughter, you bastard…" Kirito growled, drawing his swords. "You can be sure that I'll kill you, even if it's from beyond my grave."
The voice howled with laughter, the sound echoing throughout Kirito's dreams. "You can't defeat me, little boy," the voice giggled. "You can't even touch me! But I can touch you all I please, and I don't even have to lift a finger- I'll let your memories do all the fighting for me!"
Another light appeared before Kirito, though this time it was not a full memory. Instead, a single person was charging at him, armed with a thin sword, dressed in black with a skull mask. His red eyes gleamed brightly as he moved in to attack Kirito, who set his jaw and charged at him in return. Xaxa.
They exchanged a flurry of vicious blows, but Kirito couldn't seem to land a single hit on the Laughing Coffin Member. I beat him before, both as Xaxa and as Death Gun, Kirito thought as he deflected a stab from the murderer's sword. Why can't I even hit him now?
"You lack the resolve to completely banish me from your memories," Xaxa said, as though he could hear Kirito's thoughts. "In here, I can't be killed unless you can forget me forever. But we both know that'll never happen. You're just not that kind of guy, are you?"
"But the curse will let you kill me, is that it?" Kirito growled as he shoved his enemy back hard enough to give himself time for a breather. "Seems pretty cliché to me. Whoever designed this spell really has no imagination."
"That's the point, Swordsman," Xaxa replied. "The spell doesn't require imagination, because the person it gets cast on is providing all the imagination it needs to kill them."
"So my own memories end up being my downfall, huh?" Kirito muttered sourly. "This is gonna be even harder than I thought."
"It's going to kill you, one way or another," Xaxa said, his sword coming up again. "Even if you could somehow remember a way to defeat me, another memory will just take my place. And the nightmare won't end until you do."
"Remember a way to defeat you?" Kirito repeated. "What does that mean?"
"Nothing you'll live long enough to figure out!" Xaxa shouted, his eyes blazing red as he charged again. "Time to die, Swordsman!"
Mataras: Jeez, you'd think that after more than a week of shooting Thoron bolts at me, Robin would have learned to stop!
Robin: I'm not stopping until I hit you!
Mataras: Ever heard of a tactical retreat?!
Robin: This is not a war! I don't have to risk other's lives if I decide to keep going!
Lissa: That's enough! Both of you!
Robin: OW! Why with the staff...? On the head...?
Mataras: Urgh... And you wonder why people call you a tomboy...
Lissa: It'll be where the sun doesn't shine next time if you make another comment like that!
Mataras: First Robin, and now Lissa? Can't I ever catch a break?!