Chapter 218 - My CO Stash #18 - One Thousand Steps: No Matter What... by Zaralann (SwordArtOnlineXCampione!) (1/2)

-Welp, this exists. Kayaba being a Heretic God and of course Kirito the Campione! Also remember Cardinal System? She's best girl now lol.

Sypnosis: Aincrad was a World of its own, with people living in it with its own Rules and it was wholly separated from the Mortal Realm. Kayaba Akihiko was the one who created it and controlled everything that happened there, did it make him a God of Aincrad? Kirito defeated Heathcliff in combat and killed him, does it mean that he managed to slay a God? And what future holds for someone who managed to accomplish such an act of defying the impossible?

Rated ???

Words: 120K

Posted on: forums.spacebattles.com/threads/one-thousand-steps-no-matter-what-sword-art-online-campione.614939/#post-44136773 (Zaralann)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Chapter 1

Not even Death… - 1.1​

He was dying, he knew that the moment that his Health Bar dropped to zero and his body started to disappear, this was what awaited anyone who lost in this Virtual World and he was no exception. The things that he had done and the ones that he had yet to do, her face flashing in front of his eyes as her body broke into motes of light and disappeared into data…

In that moment…

”Goodbye.”

In that moment…

Tears slid down her face as she closes her eyes with a peaceful smile on her face, happy that he was going to live…

That she was able to protect him by sacrificing her own life…

In that moment something snapped and all he saw was a blur, he felt as if he was no more than a passenger in his body as he moved forward. He felt numbness that took away everything that he felt as he picked up her sword, he wasn't even sure if what was happening was real or not as he just moved forward. And even in that state, he refused to die just like that…

To do so would make her death meaningless…

If someone would ask him how he managed to deliver that final blow, how he managed to do something that was impossible in the World that wasn't even Real but felt more Alive than he could remember the one which he was so desperate to return… He didn't know, all he was thinking as her blade sunk into the c_h_e_s_t of Kayaba Akihiko was that Asuna was dead and he couldn't… wouldn't let her last act go to waste. He watched as Heathcliff's Health Bar drained to zero and felt some small and dark sense of satisfaction as he knew what was to come.

'It worked...' Kirito through as he looked at the blade in his left hand, the same blade that belonged to Asuna and the same weapon that struck down the Final Boss of «Sword Art Online» A small smile of relief appeared on his face and he closed his eyes as he released a breath he didn't know he was holding, it was over and at least he now knew that everyone will be able to return…

”You surprised me once again, Kirito-kun.” The unmistakable voice of Kayaba made the teen's eyes snapped open as he looked at the body of Heathcliff in front of him. ”To managed to do the impossible, to literally break the Rules of the World around you to deliver this final blow. Truly, you're one of a kind, none before could boast such a feat as defying the Rules of Existence itself.” He was looking at Kirito with a small sardonic smile, amus_e_m_e_nt in his eyes was dim and he looked almost tired. ”You freed your friends, you saved the Maiden, you bested me in combat and you sacrificed your own life just for this one last charge. Admirable, your determination truly touched my heart.”

”...” Kirito tried to speak but no sound came out, was Heathcliff saying that Asuna was alive?

”This New Age, that little Witch's Quest and her loyal Protector's dedication, these six Bastards' Reign and their Mother's Curse...” His voice was wistful. ”Honestly, I wasn't interested and decided if there was something worth attention, worth acknowledgment and prize in these dull times then I would've seen it before. And the history repeated itself, I was struck down in a duel with the one in whom I put all my hopes into, but this time I feel no regret or bitterness at the fact that I lost.” He chuckled as his body started breaking down. ”Maybe I'm a Relic of a Bygone Era? Who knows? The Ideals of the past still linger in the World, at least now I can see that I was wrong.” Suddenly a grin spread across his face. ”You have defeated me Kirito, no, Kirigaya Kazuto! This Knight acknowledges defeat and grants you the right to claim the Spoils of your Victory! Take thee Authorities, let the Curse of the Witch engrave them into your very Soul and forget the taste of Defeat until we will meet again!” Something in Kayaba's eyes, that little glint that Kirito only now noticed, sent shivers down the Gamer's spine. ”May you live in interesting times, young Campione.”

The world around them suddenly burst into light as Kirito felt his awareness slipping away. He was surprised that he managed to stay awake for this long anyway, even the impossible had limits and the fact that he didn't fade was something that even he couldn't comprehend. The last thing that he heard, the last thing that he managed to understand as the darkness slowly took over his vision, were the words…

|...the Game has been Cleared.|

-=(0-0)=-​

He was floating, his whole body felt light as he…

”The Black Art that Epimetheus and I left behind. The sacred birth of an Illegitimate Child, shrouded in darkness, born of a Fool and a Witch.” A soft female voice rang through the darkness, but Kirito ignored it as he tried to force his eyes to open. ”A Secret Rite of Usurpation, only possible through the sacrifice of a God.” He knew he was close as he could feel his fingers started to respond to his will.

He had no time for this as he…

-=(0-0)=-​

{19.01.2025}

Kirito opened his eyes.

'That dream again...' He lay in his bed and stared at the ceiling of his room in wonder. Those final words that Kayaba had spoken spoke meant something, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what that little feeling was that nagged at the back of his mind and kept telling him that he was forgetting something important. Each night he could perceive a little bit more of the second part, for two months he kept seeing an image that just refused to leave his mind and that voice…

He could almost make out details of the image, that soft and loving voice that sounded both childish and m_a_t_u_r_e at the same time… Tiny pieces, details that were slowly coming into focus weren't helping much with what he knew and what was happening around him at the moment. The strange facts, the almost impossible things that were now and then happening to him and making him question if he was really outside of the Aincrad, or if it was just an elaborate trap laid down by Heathcliff to torment him. No, the last part wouldn't happen, no matter how much it pained him to admit it and how strange it was to acknowledge it, he understood Kayaba a little just in that last moments before his Avatar crumbled and the Death Game ended.

He was dead, there simply wasn't even an ounce of doubt in Kirigaya Kazuto's heart as he remembered the fact about the Commander of the strongest Guild in «Sword Art Online». There was something there that spoke far louder than words, those words were his Last Will and Testament.

He glanced at his clock, it was only six in the morning and he didn't feel tired at all, one more thing that he could add to the list of strange and unexplainable ones that he was currently living through. Upon waking up from the nightmare that was Aincrad he instantly left his hospital bed, all but tearing away the Nerve Gear from his head and going out to find Asuna. His heart was beating like crazy and he knew that he had never run faster in his life than two months ago. At that moment he didn't even notice, his mind was too preoccupied with the thought of his wife to actually have the facilities to think about anything else, but it would've been a borderline miracle that his body didn't fail him right then for neglecting them for more than two years. And yet he managed to make a mad dash towards the receptionist's desk, no aches or protests from muscles that should've been wrecked and weakened from lack of use and no fatigue from the stress that he put his body through with that little stunt.

He never was a very filled out kind of a person, his complexion was more skinny than anything else and after two years of being borderline comatose, it should've been more pathetic than even operable. When he finally calmed down after being informed about Asuna's condition and also bursting into her room to check on her, he was rather forcefully escorted back to his own room by a very concerned doctor who all but stated that Kirito shouldn't be moving at all after the whole ordeal. Mirror, on the other hand, told him a different tale as he looked himself over in his room and finally fully realized the implications of what he had done.

Muscles that he had never had before, a f_u_c_k_i_n_g six-pack that came out of nowhere and a lean build of a professional swimmer were the results of his close examination of what has happened to him. He would've accepted the fact that he could've been a walking corpse by this point with the total lack of an actual exercise and the dystrophia that he should've been suffering from. His totally healthy, invigorated and enhanced appearance and condition made him draw a blank of how this happened. Doctors were walking on eggshells around him, he couldn't blame them as they were mostly trying to give him at least something with them literally having nothing to give and all they could do was to observe and to make him take test after test.

Kirito pulled himself into a sitting position and looked around his room, his gaze instantly locked onto the Nerve Gear that laying on the table near his computer. The emblem on it was partially erased, and different scratches and marks littered the plastic carcass of the thing that kept him apart from his family for so long. He didn't have the will to throw it away, something about it just felt wrong as he even thought about it, this was a reminder of these two years that he spent in Aincrad and they won't disappear no matter what.

Turning and letting his b_a_r_e feet hit the floor Kazuto stretched to work out the kinks of his body and stood up, walking towards the mirror he looked at his own reflection and felt a strange sense of both familiarity and wonder as he looked at his reflection. The increase in height that he gained after waking up wasn't all that surprising, two years that he spent in «Sword Art Online» were still two years of growth and developing spent by his body in the real world. What really made him frown were the little things that made it impossible for him to actually say that nothing abnormal happened as he looked more closely, those little negative traits of his own that suddenly vanished and left him a much more developed figure and general appearance than he could actually rationalize.

There was no fat, his features were sharper and his muscles were hard and developed but still keeping his figure lean and sleek. His hair that grew over time now hang down over his back, he decided to cut it and when his mother asked him if he wanted them back in their former length. He wasn't handsome by the definition of the word before Aincrad, sure he admitted that he had that slightly gentle appearance and made it look somewhat tolerable, but now he could honestly say that his body and general appearance was far from what he could call average.

”What happened to me, Asuna?” He muttered as looked at himself, the pain in his c_h_e_s_t from even saying her name not dimming in the slightest after all this time. ”What is happening still?”

Kirito wiped away the tears that appeared in his eyes, it still wasn't over as they still weren't together and therefore he had to be strong for her. He promised her that they will be together, he would never break his word to her, they will see each other again.

-=(0-0)=-​

”Sei!” Kirito sat on the veranda and watched as his little sister swung her bamboo blade, the determination in her eyes made him stop himself from greeting her and interrupting her training session.

Two months and he still was getting used to the World that wasn't Aincrad, his mother and sister were helping and he was slowly but surely recovering but it was more in terms of him remembering how things were before. Suguha, he sure was not the best brother to her in any way or form and after the whole mess and gaining an unique experience of looking back from the furthest perspective he could, Kirito knew that his own shortcomings hurt her more than anything else. He was going to make it up to her, he was making it up to her in any way or form he could and that was at least something he could do besides what amounted for sulking and trying to dig everything he could about the reasons for Asuna's condition.

He met his friends, the ones he made in «Sword Art Online» and it was a very strange experience to see them all together, to see them all wearing casual clothes and being so comfortable with each other. They were spending time, chatting and sharing the experience they had between them in Aincrad and finally introducing themselves to each other for real and without any need for hiding behind an Avatar. There were jokes and light-hearted chattering, the atmosphere in the Dicey Café owned by Agil, Andrew Gilbert Mills as he introduced himself in the real life, was warm and welcoming as everyone just spent their time together.

And even then Kirito felt that there was something missing, there just wasn't a place for him there without that little piece that made thing click together and… Asuna, she, and another two hundred and ninety-nine players that didn't wake up was still missing and he couldn't relax just yet as his guts told him that it wasn't over just yet.

Silica, Ayano Keiko in reality, was the first who spotted him and instantly hugged him with a bright smile on her face. The little girl was still frail and looked even smaller than she did in the game due to her thin and fragile appearance. Her upbeat attitude and the bright blush that flared on her face as soon as she realized what she did and that everyone was looked at her in amus_e_m_e_nt was soothing in its own way as it just let him feel a little bit better. He knew that his mood wasn't the best and that he couldn't forget about what happened, but he also didn't let himself fall and just roll over because this wouldn't be him.

Lisbeth was also there, she introduced herself as Shinozaki Rika, and the first thing she did was also giving him a hug. Kirito honestly didn't know if it was something that he did or just they all agreed on it, but heartfelt 'Thank you.' that she said to him made him freeze and then return the hug. Maybe it was Aincrad, or maybe he was mostly over his previously loner persona and didn't notice it, but something in him was reaching out and telling him that the situation where he was surrounded by them was right and all was as it should be. Kirito didn't know what it was, but he always trusted his guts and therefore decided to do so now too and relax, even if only a little.

Argo was there too, Hosaka Tomo made it a point to grill Kirito about everything that happened in the end, not being a Front Liner left her only with bits and pieces of information and she couldn't stand it. There were very tense several moments when she was told about Asuna, the normally easygoing and lax Information Broker had an unreadable expression on her face as she digested the information and then apologized for being ins_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e. Tomo may have been called 'The Rat' by many and looked down by some, but she was a friend and knew what Asuna meant for the black-haired swordsman.

Kirito knew that his identity was unquestionable, but even then he felt the strange and uncomfortable sensation of being spied on for the whole day as he finally arrived home. For whatever reason, probably the same as the one he was in an inexplicably good condition, his instincts were sharper and senses better than ever before. He knew that someone was following him, he could feel the eyes on him and after he called his stalker out the presence vanished almost instantly. Whoever this was, he or she were gone and he just continued on his way home after that.

'And I thought this couldn't get any weirder than it already was...' Kirito thought as he watched Suguha going through her routine, with each swing he could see the wooden blade cutting through the air. She was fast, determined and her technique was almost flawless as far as he could tell, even if he forgot more about Kendo than remembered, he still could recognize skillful performance and the credit went where the credit was due. She finally finished her exercise and then turned towards the house, finally noticing his presence.

”Good morning, Sugu.” He smiled as she stopped and blinked at him.

”Wah?!” She stammered, waving her sword around as if not knowing where to put it. ”Go… Good morning…?”

”Here.” He tossed her the bottle with water that he brought with him.

Her hands flailing widely Sugu finally managed to catch the bottle while holding her sword under her right arm. While it was a bit mean, Kirito found it really relaxing as her presence and their far more close relationship now were part of his life. Something he appreciated now more than ever before, and he honestly had no idea how could he be such an idiot before to push this away.

”You could've at least told me that you were going to watch...” Grumbled with a small pout his sister as she walked to him and sat on his left. ”When did you even come here?”

”Right after you started, you were so into the whole thing that I decided not to interrupt you.” His smile never left his face. ”You're still training, after all this time?”

”More of a habit actually, helps with clearing my head and just not think about things.” She took a big gulp from her bottle. ”Eighth Place between Middle-Schools of Japan earned and held.”

”I see.” Kirito took the bamboo blade that she put between them, the training sword felt light and alien in his hand as he inspected it. ”Light, too light...” He mumbled mostly to himself.

”Actually, it's made out of...” Sugu started to respond.

Even if his body was fully recovered he still should've felt at least something, this was mostly his own suspicious but by this point, Kirito was at the end of his rope about what the hell happened to him. He couldn't just dismiss the whole ordeal as it would be a pretty stupid thing to do but in the same time he honestly had no idea where to even begin his own investigation. All the logical explanations were thrown away in the first several days after his awakening, doctors were also very interested in his abnormally fast recovery and did some tests. As far as they could tell he was absolutely healthy and in a prime condition to run a marathon, no abnormalities were found and even the tests of his blood came up clean and borderline unrealistically good. Was he experimented on? Was it Magic? Was it a sudden Mutation?

”Ah, you said something?” He asked as he noticed Sugu looking at him with a strange expression on her face. ”Sorry, I was just thinking about… things.”

His lame response made him feel as if he stepped onto some kind of a proverbial landmine as something flickered in his sister's eyes and a small downturn of her lips spoke volumes about the situation. He really needed to pay more attention, spacing out wasn't something he really could afford at the moment when everyone still fretted over him and his recovery after Aincrad.

”Mou, Onii-chan, you really need to stop these episodes of yours.” The girl sighed as she crossed her arms over her c_h_e_s_t. ”You say that it's nothing but I'm still worried no matter what...”

Kirito placed his free left hand on her shoulder with a small smile.

”Don't worry about, just having the last two months being abnormally stale and calm made me think a lot about what happened to me before…” His mind flashed back to his battle with Kayaba, whatever happened at the end made him feel as if he was forgetting something but the fleeting image escaped his grasp no matter what. ”It's not anyone's fault that I'm like that, just need some more time to adjust to not needing to fight for my life.”

He released a weak chuckle that only made Sugu's slightly upset expression morph into a frown as she looked at him with a very intense state that made him want to calm her down somehow. Kirito knew that she was worried but he really didn't have a clue how to ease her tension himself, his bouts of trance came only when he thought about that vague memory of someone talking to him in white space…

His vision swam as he suddenly felt something all but bursting from his c_h_e_s_t, shinai clattered onto the ground as he clutched his shirt and heaved. He heard Sugu's voice but it was dull and barely recognizable as everything was suddenly filled with the sensation of purpose to…

Surpass.

”Kazuto!” Sugu's voice came through the haze but only barely.

Something was churning and bursting inside of him, he could vaguely tell that it wasn't even remotely close to an organ but the strange feeling only intensified as he felt two hands placed on his shoulders. It was almost as if something was reaching out from inside of him towards…

Sugu.

As if something finally snapped inside of him and the dam holding back whatever it was broke, the feeling of raw Power flooded his being and suddenly everything around him was bathed in crimson light. He heard his sister's scream of a surprise but couldn't even tell where it came from as his head had several proverbial bells ringing inside of it. He felt the surge dying down as turning from a turbulent geyser into a churning sea of something that constantly flowed through his whole being. He felt his body being suddenly flooded with a new and untamed ocean of raw Might as if he could do anything he d_e_s_i_r_ed if only he wanted to. And in the center of the maelstrom he could feel and see a sword that felt so right and all he had to do was reach out and grasp…

As much of a cliche it was he was saved by the bell, the sudden doorbell made the strange haze shatter like glass and he suddenly found himself staring at the blue sky. Kirito felt two arms wrapped around his torso, the muffled voice of his sister coming from her position on his c_h_e_s_t and she held him down. He was still unsure how exactly he ended up on the ground or why Sugu was holding him so tightly but it didn't really matter as the image still floated in his mind and becoming sharper with each moment.

”I'm alright.” He said with a dry heave as she felt his heart hammering in his c_h_e_s_t. ”I'm alright.”

”No, you're definitely not!” Sugu looked up from he position with her chin placed on his solar plexus and a stern expression on her face. ”You just had a seizure, your right arm was convulsing and I couldn't get you to snap out of it!”

The doorbell rang once more.

'This wasn't a seizure.' Kirito really wanted to say it, he really wanted to calm her down but for some reason, the image of that sword that was now stuck in his head was too distracting. It was way too real, he could almost feel the damn thing in his grasp and it was getting clearer and clearer with each moment as if forcing its way out from wherever it was. Pushing himself up and using his left arm to secure Sugu on his way he climbed to his feet, his sister appeared to be really light and he easily managed to stand up with her still clutching his c_h_e_s_t.

”Let's at least see who that is.” He chuckled as he saw the worried look Suguha was sending him. ”I'm not going to fall apart at any moment, and it will be rude to make them wait just because of me almost fainting.”

There was a grumble coming from the girl as a frown on her face turned into a scowl.

”You're going straight to bed.” It wasn't a suggestion. ”And you're staying there until mom will get home and we'll get you to a doctor.”

”Ah, alright.” He raised his free hand and scratched the back of his neck. ”But I'm sure it's nothing, the last check-up I had diagnosed me being fit to run a marathon.”

With a rather ominous harumph, the smaller girl let him go and took a step back, making sure that he won't fall over and wasn't wobbling she gave him a last suspicious glare before walking towards the door. Kirito wasn't really sure if he should pity whoever was ringing it, it obviously wasn't anyone from the household as they had keys and none of his friends were up to a meeting. There were many things that were currently swirling inside of his head as he made his way towards the front door, at least he would take a look before going to his room.

The strange feeling still didn't leave and was only getting more intense as he walked step by step towards the main door. He could already hear it being opened by his sister, it was mostly the sound of her voice asking who it was and why they were there. Suguha wasn't in the best of moods right now and he felt a pang of pity towards the person who decided to visit their home in such an unlucky moment.

”... He's not feeling well and won't be available until much later.” Came Sugu's voice. ”I must insist that you leave right now.”

Someone was here to visit him? He really hoped that it wasn't Kikuoka once again as the man's sheer presence and question irritated Kirito to no end, he couldn't tell what was wrong with the supposed 'Government Employee' but his guts never failed him before. It was the strange vibe that he got from the man that somehow reminded him of Heathcliff was what put him on edge, the man wanted something from his and was purposely beating around the bush for it.

”I'm sure that Kirigaya-sama would be more than interested in the meeting.” Came a polite voice with a slight accent, it was unfamiliar and Kirito was actually curious why it called him that. ”I'm sure that even after five minutes of our talk some of the misunderstandings would be cleared, it took us some time to properly distinguish his identity and it was of a great relief that nothing bad has happened.”

”And what do you mean by that?” He heard an edge in his sister's voice. ”If you're here about SAO and all that other things then get out, we already had enough of that from that creep that stalked Onii-chan for days before bugging off!”

”Ah, a misunderstanding then.” The man replied as Kirito neared the corner. ”While I'm technically here about a rather unusual event that occurred during his participation in «Sword Art Online» the main reason are the consequences of it.”

”And what would they be?” Kirito asked as he rounded the corner and take a look at their visitor. ”I'm pretty sure that I was released with a clean bill of health.”

The man that stood in their doorway was thin and tall, with long black hair tied into a ponytail and a pair of glasses with wired half-frames. He wore a white dress shirt with a dark-green tie and a green suit and had a rather polite but cautious expression on his face as he immediately switched his attention towards the teen.

”Ah, Your Majesty, it's wonderful to finally being able to talk with you.” The man straightened and put his right hand over his c_h_e_s_t and continued with a respectful bow. ”I'm Amakasu Tōma of the History Compilation Committee, it's an honor to meet the newly emerged Seventh Campione.”

”... What?” Kirito blinked as the man straightened with an actual genuine smile. ”I'm sorry but I have no clue what you're talking about.”

”This is understandable, Kirigaya-sama.” The man nodded. ”I'm well aware of your mundane background and lack of knowledge of the specifics of what occurred during your participation in «Sword Art Online». I'm not trying to sound ins_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e about the ordeal you went through but I was asked to meet with you to discuss the possible consequences of your actions that you took to free other prisoners.”

Kirito felt a strong urge to ask whatever the man was one of these weird equivalents to ambulance-chasers that were warded off by the doctors and police for the first several days after everyone woke up. While the questioning of many of the survivors weren't very eager to answer their questions some agreed and the information was leaked to the press and people were still discussing it on forums. It wasn't as annoying after the official statement was made but he really felt like it only made things worse, at least there weren't any more interviews that he had to go through.

”If you're here to ask questions about how everything ended then you can leave right now.” Kirito said with a sigh. ”I already answered all the questions and if you want information you should ask the government about the whole thing.”

”Oh, I'm not here for that.” The man waved his hand with a sheepish look. ”I apologize if I worded it poorly, but I'm here to discuss with your things of a far different matter altogether. While there is a connection to your time in entrapment I'm not interested in it as others, my objective is to determine the results of your actions there.”

”That still sounds like you want to hound Onii-chan for some spice bits of information.” Sugu said as she positioned herself between Amakasu and Kirito with a frown. ”He's not feeling well right now and if you're hungry for some juicy stories then go and read forums.”

The man looked rather panicked as he looked between his sister and Kirito as if things weren't going the way he expected them to, obviously he was unaware how much they had to go through in the first several days. With Asuna still not waking up and everyone too scared to try and dig into the proper reasons with this bringing the risk of triggering the mechanism that would fry her brain to the consistency of meatloaf.

”And?” Kirito asked with a small frown. ”If you think that something is important enough to find our house then tell us.”

”Ah.” The man straightened and nervously adjusted his tie. ”I'm sure that this will sound rather cliche but do you believe in Magic?”

Kirito blinked.

Suguha blinked.