"Aincrad, SAO, is the dominion of Kayaba Akihiko. It is full of wonder and dread, death and pain. But at least there's no blood. Its rivers still run clean. The beauty remains. That's something to be grateful for, I guess." - Kirito

One – End to Start

It has oft been said that put a man at the brink of an abyss, and, on the unlikely occasion he doesn't fall in, he will be driven mad from the experience. It is also known that want of power is the trait of countless villains, with many prepared to perform unspeakable acts to obtain that power. Some desire dominion over others. Some yearn for gold and riches. Others, the most dangerous of all, wish to preside themselves above all humanity, establish themselves as Gods, and rule until the end of time.

Sword Art Online was created as a 'virtual reality massively multiplayer role playing game' using state-of-the-art Nerve Gear, which was known to many as the precipice of modern gaming. The user mentally takes control of their own avatar, usually being able to establish name and appearance, and dives into the mythical world that awaits.

SAO, however, had a more sinister component. Its creator, Akihiko Kayaba, chose to withdraw the 'log out' option, which forced players to reside in-game on an indefinite basis. That coupled with the mental realism of the Nerve Gear led to one, stark, conclusion: enslavement within the user's very own mind. Over time, however, many viewed it as an opportunity, a period in which they could enjoy a life with rules or boundaries, without adult supervision (in many cases) and stern governance.

For some, it was hell. For others, paradise.

Yet, it was universal chaos.

Close to four thousand people lost their lives in a period of twenty three months, a shocking statistic for all concerned. The slaughter ended only when 'Kirito', hero of the game, freed the populace by defeating its architect in single combat. Kirito was spurred by rage, rage granted through the death of his beloved, Asuna. He himself died during the battle, but was ultimately victorious.

His sacrifice... would never be forgotten.

"And yet, here we are," Kayaba said. He certainly did not seem to be dead, and nor did Kirito himself, who had only just saved Asuna, also alive, from a sadistic megalomaniac. This was not SAO, but a similar game in ALfheim Online.

"Your words are very pretty," Kazuto scorned. "But I do owe you my life. And Asuna's. I thank you for that, at least."

"Kirito-kun... do you know how you survived?" Kayaba asked rather suddenly, ignoring his gratitude.

Kazuto thought for a moment, truly unsure of the answer. He had never given it much heed, but had always been grateful. He loved living, for what that was worth. Then again, so did many who had died. And those lives had been ended by the man before him; indirectly, perhaps, but it made no difference, not if you had survived the Death Game.

"I don't," Kazuto said, shaking his head. "Perhaps you should enlighten me. I was led to believe all those who died in-game were really killed."

"They did," Kayaba said, showing no emotion. "All of them... except for you, Asuna... and myself. I killed you with my own hand, Kirito-kun, yet here we stand. I watched Asuna-kun die before killing you immediately afterwards. So, was my blade cursed that day, or was another force at work, perhaps?"

"I asked you to enlighten me. I have no answer to either of those questions," Kazuto said, feeling annoyed.

"I didn't think so. Perhaps no one does," Kayaba said. Then he smiled. It was not a pleasant smile, but a malicious leer, full of evil intent and negative thought. Full of malcontent. "I feel like there is one possible explanation, Kirito-kun."

"What is it?" Kazuto asked with hesitation. He disliked that smile more than almost anything.

"I was the God of that world... its creator. Its architect. And I want our little game to continue. You still have twenty five floors to clear, each growing exponentially more difficult than its predecessor. They are still there... yearning to be cleared."

Kazuto froze. "What are you saying?" he demanded.

"Oh, who knows? Perhaps on a mental level I never wanted you to die. You were always my most worthy opponent, the one I was supposed to face at the end of the 100th floor. With Asuna-kun at your side, of course," he quickly added with idle mockery.

That statement drew a glare from Kazuto. "SAO was destroyed, Kayaba. Even if we did want to go back, it would be impossible."

"Funny, that," Kazuto said lowly, staring at the palm of his hand. "'Impossible'. An interesting word. Only three years ago it was deemed impossible to be trapped inside a video game, and look how that turned out. Inside the human mind the absurd becomes very possible indeed, Kirito-kun. And we are technically inside our own minds here, which means the creator has full dominion over what might occur. Correct?"

"You're not making any sense," Kazuto said, shaking his head. "Can I go now? I've beaten both of these games, and want to spend time with my girlfriend in the real world."

Kayaba smirked down at him. "Sorry, Kirito-kun, but I can't allow that. For I'm in control here. You haven't 'beaten' Sword Art Online yet, and until you do, you won't be going anywhere. See you on the other side."

"Wait!" Kazuto shouted.

But it was too late. The darkness around him began to compress, until it felt like a steamroller was attempting to crush him with its bulk alone. A suffocating cloud enveloped Kazuto, masking his senses and prying at his mind with relentless ease. He choked and spluttered in unison, until the oxygen returned to his lungs. And then he began to scream in pain, whilst roaring with fury.

Quite suddenly, the sensation stopped.

Kazuto lay on what felt like hard earth, curled in the foetal position, with his eyes shut. After a few moments, the pain subsided.

"Kirito!"

His eyes shot open, and he gasped as he saw Asuna gazing down at him, worry etched on her face in contrivance with anger and pain. He also saw that she had returned to her SAO avatar, and a quick inspection of his ears revealed much the same in his own case. That meant...

No way. Time travel is impossible...

But, that word.

"Asuna!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Kazuto embraced her, holding her tight. He buried his head on her shoulder, and felt the pain leave entirely as she overruled it with comfort. This was what he had yearned for, all the time they had been apart, courtesy of that bastard Sugō. Kazuto had fought through hordes of deadly enemies to free the one he loved, and had been prepared to give his life for her freedom.

"Where are we?" Asuna asked. "It looks like SAO, but..."

Kazuto slowly opened his eyes, little more than a crack. When he saw the wild boar nearby, and Klein standing a few metres away, looking embarrassed, he gasped. This was the first floor, close to the Town of Beginnings. That meant Kayaba had done something.

"Time travel..." Kazuto whispered. "But in our heads, or is it real?"

Asuna's eyes widened. "What?" she whispered. "Kayaba did this, didn't he?"

Kazuto nodded. "I thought he was joking. I should have known better. Kayaba said he wanted 'to continue our little game', so this must be what he meant. We're back, Asuna. Back at the very beginning. Only... we look like ourselves. Our real selves, I mean."

"Klein looks different," Asuna noted, and Kazuto could see that she was right. He still had his in-game avatar, the artificial one that disappeared after the first few hours.

"Oi, Kirito! Are you alright?" Klein asked, walking over. He stretched out a hand, and only then did Kazuto realise he had been kneeling on the grass. He accepted it gratefully, and Klein pulled both of them to their feet, grinning. "Sorry. I thought you were poisoned by that boar or something. You fell down and started convulsing, but then she came out of nowhere," he said, nodding towards Asuna. "The two of you know each other, am I right?"

"Klein," Kazuto said, ignoring his question, "what can you remember?"

"Oh?" Klein exclaimed, his grin fading away. "We've been hunting for over three hours, Kirito-san. This is my first time here, if you remember that. I was about to log out and eat the pizza I ordered. Did it hit you with an amnesiac?"

Kazuto checked the game clock, finding that it was twenty minutes past five in the afternoon. He couldn't remember exactly when everything had happened the first time, as it had been over three years ago by this point. Would that damage his mind? He was trapped in a younger body, aware of all that had happened already, as was Asuna. This could be dangerous, especially if his mental state was already weak after going through one period of real-life malnourishment. Deterioration could lead to instability, with potential side-effects being stress, among others.

"Klein, can you log out?" Kazuto asked carefully. He couldn't tell anyone what had happened, or they would all think he was nuts. No one would believe their story. He would have to play this game as if from the beginning again, except when he was with Asuna, of course.

"Hmm, do you want rid of me that badly?" Klein asked, grinning. "I can give the two of you some privacy, if you want."

Asuna blushed. She was being rather quiet, trying to absorb all that had happened. Kazuto, who had already undergone some remarkable occurrences in recent months, was less surprised by the situation. It still required a lot of thought to process, and he was sure Kayaba would give him the necessary time with glee. He scoffed at that. Would every reaction have a counter-action, or would things play out in a similar fashion to before? Surely Kayaba wouldn't attempt to become Heathcliff again, not when Kazuto knew it was his alias. He would either create a new character entirely, or perhaps sit on the sidelines and force him to reach the hundredth floor this time around.

In either case, that was a problem. Each floor was exponentially more difficult than its predecessor, and only seventy five had been cleared in just less than two years Before. Without Heathcliff, things could really go to hell, and that two years could extend to several more. If they ever reached the three-quarter mark, no one had any idea what to prepare for. Doing the depressing math, Kazuto quickly found that it could take a decade or more to clear this entire game safely.

Or more. No, Kayaba would try to drag this out as long as possible. He loved the thrill of the game, the constant adrenaline rush derived from control and manipulation. He would never give up that power, not unless the game was cleared. And even then...

"Huh, there's no log out button," Klein said, frowning. He scrolled through the visual interface a second time, but came up short again. "Is this some type of bug?"

"Something like that," Asuna said with bitterness. Kazuto hadn't even realised what he was doing until Asuna spoke. Klein didn't hear her.

"I'm trying to contact a GM, but it's not working," Klein said, showing them the 'dialling' option.

Kazuto was unimpressed. This was happening in a near-identical manner to the first time, only now he was annoyed, not confused. He swore to himself that Kayaba Akihiko would pay for this, with his life if it was required.

Then he froze.

"Sugō," he whispered. He was still alive, with all of his power intact. That meant he would be coming after Asuna again, even if it did take him another two years to plan his course of action.

Asuna, who heard, looked round at him with wide eyes. She was clearly scared, and with good reason. Her ordeal had been horrifying for any person to endure, even for someone as strong as she was. Kazuto hugged her then, trying to comfort her.

"I'll figure something out," he whispered into her ear. "I promise."

"No," Asuna said, shaking her head. "We will."

Kazuto allowed the ghost of a smile to tug at his lips.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Klein said, sounding completely un-sorry, "but what's going on? I'm going to miss my pizza and ginger ale delivery at this rate!"

Kazuto rolled his eyes. "Can't you be serious for five minutes, Klein?" he asked, before scolding himself. He didn't know Klein well enough in this instance to make a joke like that.

"Huh?" Klein asked, screwing his face up.

"Nothing, I was kidding," Kazuto said.

Before Klein could respond, the ill-fated bell nearby began to ring, sending a shiver up Kazuto's spine. He knew what it meant. Just before anyone could speak, he found himself enclosed by an aura of blue light, and his surroundings melted away. Quite suddenly, he reappeared in the centre of ToB, Klein at one side and Asuna at the other. Things seemed to speed-by after that. The red warning message for a system announcement began to flash once more, before moulding and forming into the Game Master, Kayaba Akihiko, hooded and cloaked. He spoke at length, imposing himself over all in sight with his great size, explaining the rules of the game as Before.

Last time, Kazuto had been too embroiled in his own shock to truly uncover the reactions of other players, but now he paid close attention to anyone within eyeshot. Several of the younger gamers began to cry when the real-life deaths were announced, and many were struck dumb by the knowledge that all one hundred floors had to be cleared for escape to be possible. The most experienced gamers knew that MMORPGs were notoriously difficult to clear entirely, and one in which you couldn't lose a single life would be damn-near impossible. Trial and error was not only common in any role-playing game, but a necessity! It was how one grew into the game, learned to adapt and strengthened their resolve. To have that feature removed... unthinkable.

Almost as unthinkable as being trapped in the blasted thing.

The sequence with the mirrors happened again, only this time Kazuto and Asuna didn't bother using the item themselves. Their avatars already matched real-world appearances, so there was literally no point. However, the most curious thing happened then. During the general chaos and shock of close to ten thousand avatars morphing before their eyes, the pair each received a near identical message.

With a mutual look of confusion, both began to read.

"It is done. Sugō is dead. Consider this my first and only gift to the both of you. I don't want you distracted. Kirito-kun, Asuna-kun... good luck to you both. I'll be waiting in the Ruby Palace. Kayaba."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but good riddance," Asuna said, her words perfectly clear to Kazuto, even among the generalised outcry sweeping them like a torrent of raging typhoons.

Kazuto didn't give his opinion, but he was secretly glad. "At least it gives us a helping hand. We don't have to worry about anything in the real world now... well, except for our bodies growing systematically weaker overtime."

"Comatose patients can be kept alive for years," Asuna reminded him, grabbing his hand. "There's no reason we have to die."

Kazuto stared at her hand for a moment, enjoying the feeling of her smooth skin. He really did love her. He flashed her a quick smile, which she returned. The mood was cut short, however, by the continued speech of Kayaba Akihiko, who explained his reasoning for interference. Kazuto wondered if the police had ever found his body, unless he too had awoken, none the worse for wear. Even so, how did he remain hidden from the general public? Surely they had ways to track down the server right to its source, not that it would make a difference. External shut-down was not an option, even if it was possible. They would be killing close to ten thousand people at once, even if by accident.

"Kirito-kun... we should talk," Asuna said. "How do we achieve our goals this time? We know what's expected of us, but if Heathcliff isn't here the Knights of the Blood will never be created. And what about Yui-chan?"

Kazuto blinked. In his shock he had forgotten their daughter momentarily. She was right at the back of his mind, and he would have remembered after a few more minutes, for sure, but still... there it was. He felt ashamed.

"We can build our own clan," he said, having to raise his voice as Kayaba vanished, leading to cries of outrage all around. "And we can't do anything for Yui just yet. She has to find us, and then we can keep her safe from the primary server. I won't let them take her again."

Asuna nodded. "You're right. I hope we see her soon... and I agree about the party. It'll be different this time. We should invite Klein, Agil and-"

Kazuto – no, Kirito – held up a hand and smiled. He had to accept that much, at least. He was Kirito once more, and that might never change. He was a Beater, but this time, he would protect at least those who were close to his heart.

"We will. I promise. But, Asuna... we still have to go. Like Before, this town will have its quests used up in no time at all. We can't develop enough around here. We need to leave if we want to grow strong enough to survive."

Asuna made to speak, but she was almost shoved to one side by a massive player, probably a brute formerly of The Army. He growled at everyone in sight.

"All of you stay out of my way!" he shouted. "If we can die in here, it's kill or be killed! And you'd better be damned sure whose life is more important to me!"

"Oi! Don't be so selfish!" Kirito said, glaring. "These people are all afraid, and you're only making it worse!"

"Oh, and what's it to you, little man?" the player replied with menace. "You think you can stop me?"

Kirito scoffed. "I think I have too much decency to bother trying," he said with deadpan, taking Asuna's hand. It was much for the oaf's protection, as she appeared ready to deck him for pushing her. Together, they turned and stalked off, followed by Klein.

"Kirito! I spoke with my friends back there. We're gonna party up and help each other. Are you game? And of course, I wouldn't say no to a lovely lady like yourself," he said to Asuna, displaying his trademark grin.

As always, Kirito was amazed at how little seemed to affect Klein, although he knew much of that was deceptive. His friend simply chose not to show it on the surface, but deep down he was surely hurting... not to mention afraid. Heck, even Kirito himself was afraid, and he had done this once before! Maybe that made it worse.

"Of course," Kirito said this time, nodding. "Grab your friends and bring them here. We know a few others we want to bring along too, so give us some time, then we can leave."

"Leave?" Klein asked, confused.

Kirito explained the situation. "I betaed this game. I can lead us all safely to the next village. We need the time and space to grow."

"Kirito, you'd really leave everyone behind?" Klein asked, his voice dropped low. "All these people..."

"Klein, you saw that jerk back there," Kirito said with equal quietness. "More are going to be pressing their advantage home, and asserting dominance based on brute strength. Over half of these people will distrust us, and the other half has no reason to accept us. I can't speak for ten thousand people, but maybe ten. And since one in ten players is a beta themselves, that means I'm doing my fair share. Remember that," he said, not unkindly.

Klein thought for a moment, before nodding. "Fair enough. I already owe you a lot, so I have no reason to complain. How long do you need?"

"I think... an hour might do the trick," Asuna said after some deliberation. "In any case, we can't wait for longer, and that's pushing it."

"Okay, give us an hour," Kirito said, nodding in agreement. "Meet us on the eastern edge of town. It's about a half mile in that direction." He stuck his thumb over his shoulder. "Don't be late."

"I could say the same to you," his friend said, chuckling. He left.

Kirito palmed his oldest sword with a mixture of exultation and dread. He was afraid of losing everyone again, but at least he had Asuna at his side from the off now. And the thought of actually clearing Aincrad was enticing, he had to admit. One thing was for sure, if his ideas about the clan and predictions for the second game as a whole were to come true...

It was going to be a hell of a ride.

:Author's Notes:

And here I go again, with another sword-fest of a story. I really have a love for anything that even remotely resembles fantasy, and SAO certainly does at that. As with all my stories, I'll end this first chapter with a warning. My updates may be slow on occasion. I am, both sadly and happily together, a busy man. Please don't hate me if updating takes a while. Once per month will be my mandate when I restart university in September, but for now... I'll be brave and say three chapters a month. Maybe more if my muse wants to cooperate.

Grr... cooperate, damn you!

(It's struggling, but I think I can wear it down. Wish me luck!)