Just a story I made out of boredom.

Disclaimer: I do not own SAO or GATE series. All work belongs to their respective owners.

November 9th, 2024 - 75th floor, Aincrad (Aincrad Perspective)

Confusion and disbelief.

These were the emotions that echoed across the boss room. Kirito, also known as the Beater had just attacked Heathcliff. Normally the act of harming one's comrade would have been enough to justify showing such emotions. However, it was the status that appeared next to Heathcliff that everyone was focused on. Immortal Object, in other words Heathcliff could not die.

Questions arose asking the once proud commander of the KoB— Knights of Blood— on what the meaning of all this is. Kirito had the answer. "Simply, he is Akihiko Kayaba."

The revelation that Heathcliff was Akihiko Kayaba sent shockwaves among the clearers; the amount of anger directed towards the knight in red armour was enormous. However, the man in question coolly brushed off the gazes towards him. Instead he opened his menu and activated a command to paralyze everyone in the room except him and Kirito.

"I have a proposal for you Kirito, defeat me in a one-on-one duel and I will release everyone from this game"

Asuna looking at her beloved begged him to stand down, to retreat. Kirito however would do no such thing, as the potential of more lives lost weighed heavily on his conscious. "I accept," Kirito said with a determined face. Thus the duel began.

Clashes of swords could be heard throughout the room. Kirito with his Elucidator and Dark Repulser swung with everything he had, first doing a simple Horizontal skill then changing it up with a Slant attack. Kayaba responded using his sword and shield the Liberator to block Kirito's oncoming attacks. The duel was fierce with both sides refusing to give up. "It's time to finish this," Kirito thought and with determination he uttered, "STARBURST STREAM!" A barrage of swings consisting of several sword skills were suddenly unleashed upon Kayaba. Moving back and blocking each with his kite shield Kayaba had an expression of complete confidence. Kirito however, not wanting to lose put all his energy on the final thrust of the combo. *clang* The sound of Dark Repulser breaking as it thrust directly onto Kayaba's shield and the face once brimming with confidence was now shattered. "It's game over Kirito," and with that Kayaba readied himself for the final slash. To the spectators it seemed like it was the end for the Black Swordsman, one of their top clearers, but fate had a different path for him. As the man in red armour was closing in for the kill an audible *thud* resonated. "H-huh…?" looking down to his right he found a rapier that stabbed him in his right rib, looking up he saw the culprit to his demise, Asuna the Lightning Flash.

Asuna was lying on the floor watching the fight, feeling helpless that Kirito could possibly die. "Kirito-kun, please win this" Asuna prayed as she saw her husband duke it out with her former commander. Attack after attack and block after block was all she could see between the two players. That was when Kirito unleashed his trump card "STARBURST STREAM!" The sounds of metal colliding with one another, the expressions both players had made, made Asuna want to help her husband out. Then it happened, Dark Repulser, the sword crafted by her dear friend Lisabeth broke. The face Kirito had, distraught, lingered in Asuna's eyes. "Am I going to see my dear husband die right in front of my very eyes?" Tears started swelling up in Asuna's eyes, no she thought, "I have to be there, I have to save Kirito-kun." With all her might she got up, the feeling of an enormous amount of pressure could be felt all over her body. She tried as much as possible to ignore this feeling and looked straight at Kayaba's figure. "I only have one shot" she thought while wincing from the paralysis effect. She aimed her rapier right at Kayaba and performed a Linear sword skill. "It's game over Kirito, *thud* H-huh…?" and thus Aincrad was cleared by both the Black Swordsman and Lightning Flash.

Kayaba could not believe his eyes the chestnut haired girl, his vice-commander Asuna stabbed him in his right torso. Bewilderment is all he could feel, how could she break through the paralysis he thought. Perhaps the power of love? Kayaba let out a slight chuckle at the thought of dying from such a cliche reason. "Well, I have no regrets now…" the man thought. The feeling of confusion was replaced with solace for he knew that these two would accomplish exactly what he wanted. The couple looked at Kayaba who was slowly fading out of existence. "Asuna, Kirito, congratulations..I...leave Aincrad...to you two..." and with that the man who created the floating castle shattered into pieces.

"WOOOO!" the whole room erupted in a loud cheer. Members from all guids from KoB to the Divine Dragons Alliance were celebrating over the defeat of Kayaba. "Dammit Kirito, Asuna you guys actually did it" Klein said with a huge grin on face. Behind him were the rest of Fuurinkazan along with Agil who was enthusiastic at the prospect of finally seeing his wife again. However, Kirito was lost in thought, "what did he mean by 'leave Aincrad to us'." As far as Kirito was concerned they were to be logged out so what was there to look after. The Black Swordsman simply brushed it off perhaps he misheard? As the announcement of the game being cleared played in the background Kirito tightly embraced Asuna with the woman returning hug of her. "Hey Asuna, thank you, without you I would have surely been, I owe my life to you Asuna" The chestnut haired girl shook her head, "You don't need to thank me I'm your wife, your problems are my problems" she said as she smiled lovingly. The two came in closer for a kiss. While kissing, the two thought of the many things that happened during the past two years in Aincrad. The many friends they made and the lost, the happy times and sad moments. When they finished they then continued hugging, cherishing this moment. "Kirito-kun, may I ask you your real name? We have to find each other in the real world," Asuna said content in her beloved's arms. "It's Kazuto, Kazuto Kirigaya" Kirito answered, "Kazuto Kirigaya, hehe now I know where 'Kirito' came from," Asuna responded. There was a slight shade of pink on the swordsman's face. "My name is Asuna Yuuki make sure to remember it, Kazuto." Kirito was mildly shocked that Asuna used her real name as her username though he figured that it was very Asuna-like to do so. As they and everyone else waited for the inevitable forced log out the announcement that was playing in the background stopped. It then said the following, "WARNING: TRANSFER IN PROGRESS." On November 9th, 2024 all 6,147 players died.

November 10th, 2024 - 1st floor, Aincrad (Aincrad Perspective)

"Papa, Mama," a voice belonging to a little girl could be heard. Kirito who was lying on the stone paved road of the Town of Beginnings was knocked out. "Am I hearing things?" He wondered as he slowly opened his eyes, the sun's rays blinding his vision. When his eyes adjusted to the surroundings he was greeted with a familiar face. "Y-Yui?" Yes, what he saw was not his imagination but the real deal. Yui, Kirito and Asuna's adoptive daughter was here, alive. "Papa you finally woken up" Yui said as she pounced on her father hugging him while rubbing her cheeks with his. He could not believe his eyes, how was Yui here of all things. He checked his surroundings, players from various skill levels and backgrounds were lying on the road like he did. From what he could gather, they were transported to the central plaza, the once lifeless NPCs that filled the streets were also gathered inquiring the players if they needed any assistance. What is even more alarming was the lack of a hud and menu screen. Looking around he could not see his name or his health on the top left of his field of vision. Others around him were desperately trying to open to see if anyone can log out. Kirito also realized something strange, these senses, they feel real almost like he is alive. The sunlight shining on his skin, the cool breeze felt upon his face they were all too very real. "No..no way...it can't be," Kirito muttered in disbelief. He put his hand on his chest to confirm his suspicions, a heartbeat.

"Gugg...K-Kirito-kun..?" to his left he saw Asuna finally coming through. "Mama!" Like that Yui decided to switch targets and hugged her adoptive Mother. "Yui? What are you doing? In fact where are we?" Asuna said in astonishment. For someone who was promised to be returned to the real world one cannot be surprised by her sudden outburst. "We're in the Town of Beginnings, Central Plaza" Kirito replied who in the back of his mind he wondered why Asuna didn't use his real name 'Kazuto.' "What's the point of exchanging real names if we aren't going to use them," he thought, though in his case he's been calling her by her first name since the beginning.

"Kirito what the hell is going on here didn't you guys beat the game?" Klein friend of Kirito asked. As did everybody else who woke up. The thought of hearing that the game was cleared and finally reunite with their loved ones was shattered by their current predicament. So, Kirito and the rest of the clearers answered any questions the other players had. From their fight with the Skull Reaper to the fact that Heathcliff was actually Akihiko Kayaba, everything. The Army— otherwise known as the Aincrad Liberation Force— led by Thinker suggested to set up a provisional camp in the Central Plaza for those who didn't have a place to stay. Thankfully the NPCs agreed to help everyone in these troubled times stating "Of course sir as Aincradians we must follow your command," followed by hearty laughs. 'Aincradians' is that what we are referred to? That was the general thought the players had. It seemed that all civilized beings in Aincrad were referred to as 'Aincradian.' Though others feared what would become of them some liked the idea of being an Aincradian. Obviously these were the same people who had given up returning to the real world and wanted to live out the rest of their lives in Aincrad.

Through the newly sentinel citizens of Aincrad the former players learned of what was referred to as The Transferring. Where Aincrad was to be transported to another world and live out its own destiny. Many players thought this to be crazy. Imagine, them being transferred to another world? Earth's technology was nowhere near capable to travel between different worlds, heck the sheer idea of it seemed pure fantasy. However, when scouting groups — mainly comprised of the army— checked the outermost regions of the first floor they were met with something unimaginable. Aincrad was no longer floating, rather it was imbedded onto an open hill. When news got around there was a slight panic. Fear of the unknown, what if there are even tougher monsters outside, what if there were civilizations they don't know about that were hostile to humans. Some fearful of the outside suggested to barricade the entrances to Aincrad, others wanted to explore the outside for a bit to know what they are dealing with. A certain individual and his subordinates had a different plan and decided to sneak passed the riled up crowd and head straight to the great unknown all while muttering "it's showtime."

When asking the former NPCs if they were governed by a higher authority they had a confused look on their faces and stated the following as if it was clear as day, "Yes, you guys the council along with King Kirito and Queen Asuna." What followed was the stereotypical "EHHHH!?" emitted by the people in question. Them? Acting as politicians? A lot of them were still teenagers but were expected to lead a country? Obviously some fainted after hearing those words as a heavy burden has just been placed onto them. After everyone calmed down Agil was the first to speak up. "So it seems that the citizens of Aincrad acknowledges the people present at the 75th floor's boss clear as some sort of government with Kirito and Asuna as their monarch," he stated further adding, "but why? Why us?" Kirito had the answer "Kayaba." Just the name alone left a sour mood among themselves. It was the only answer they had though the one who put them in that ridiculous death game has once again placed them in an impossible situation. "Damn you Kayaba" Kirito reluctantly scowled, he now understood what he meant by "leave Aincrad to you two." He—Akihiko Kayaba— had this planned since the very beginning the only question was how and why? There was no time to dwell on such a topic at the moment what needed to be was to secure enough resources for every who has lost their possessions due to The Transferring. Though for now the town should be sufficient in supporting everyone here, in the near future that most would certainly not the case. They needed to use this time to find ways to find and cultivate their own food supply.

It was then decided that a few people should set out and recon the outside of Aincrad for anything suspicious. While another group monitors activities on the first floor. The first objective seems self explanatory, however, the second objective was not only to see if monster activities have changed since The Transferring but also to check if there were any clues as to why the are here in the first place. After much deliberation it was decided that the task of surveying the outside of Aincrad was to be undertaken by Klein's guild, the Fuurinkazan along with Agil and Argo. The reason for this formation was to keep their presence as discreet as possible and reasoned that an eight person formation accomplishes just that. As for why them in particular? It was because having synergy between your guildmates is a very valuable resource in stressful situations where it could mean life and death and the Fuurinkazan that fit their requirements. Agil on the other hand is a very shrewd merchant and everyone else knew it, he knew when he sees a good deal and that type of mentality is something they need should they run into a settlement. Finally there is Argo the information broker or most commonly known by her nickname the Rat. She was a quick bugger and her listening skills were one of the highest in the game. If they were to be ambushed she would be the first to know, and if things were getting dicey she can easily make it back to Aincrad and alert the others of such an event. With that that the eight of them headed out aimlessly in search for someone they can communicate with.

Now for monitoring the first floor. It was no surprise to anyone that DDA— Divine Dragons Alliance— volunteered to fill that as they had the numbers to sufficiently guard the newly created entrances to Aincrad as well the experience their guild members possess. Asuna on the other hand as well as Kirito had their doubts. Judging from past experiences with said guild it was no secret that some of the most profitable spawn points were monopolized by the DDA during the death game and it seems they are intent on repeating such actions. "Jeez not even one day has passed and these guys are as monopolistic as ever," sighed Asuna. She recalled her Father the CEO of RECT Progress Inc. dealing with such petty things. "I now understand what Father must go through on a daily basis," and tried to calm the heated argument between the DDA and their opposers. A deal had been reached as to what would become of the first floor. Firstly, the settlements in the first floor shall be guarded by the Army and shall provide any assistance to players if needed. This was met with skepticism due to the Army's famous tax scheme, however, Thinker and Yulier assured residents that such a mistake will not happen again. Secondly, the fields outside said settlements as well as the entrances into Aincrad were to be jointly monitored by both the DDA and KoB the justification was that since they were the top two guilds of all of Aincrad they should be the one the guard the inhabitants of Aincrad. Lastly, any player who had any useful skills such as crafting, smithing, and the like were to report to KIrito and Asuna. With that everyone got to work. Their very survival depended on it.

February 11th, 2025 Tokyo, Japan (Earth's Perspective)

It had been three months since the tragedy of Sword Art Online— SAO— where all 6,147 people trapped in the game had suddenly died. Of course the fact that the madman Akihiko Kayaba had the guts to trap all 10,000 players on launch was tragic enough but 6,147 people dead in the blink of an eye? Something must have went terribly wrong people only assumed. A week after their deaths the government held a mass memorial for those who had lost their lives in that pointless game. Among the attendees was a black foreigner in a black dress sobbing at the death of her husband. A rich looking family whose Father was incharge of the takeover of SAO's servers wept fervently at the loss of his daughter; his son cursed himself for not being the one trapped in the game; his wife trying to stand tall but inevitably couldn't keep her composure and fell into her husband's arms weeping. A mind broken teenager in denial that her dear brother was gone. "It can't be...no...ONII-CHAN! *hick* *sob*" Suguha remembered it all to well. "I know Onii-chan is alive I just know it," the girl with a bob haircut kept telling herself. After the death game took her dear brother away from her she was astonished and angered that the man who created this game the man her brother looked up to simply trapped him along with 9,999 other individuals. During those days she would often come over to her brother's room where all she saw was Kazuto lying on the bed with tubes connected to his forearm. What a sorry sight it was, Suguha just couldn't stand seeing her brother like this. What was going inside that man's head Suguha wondered, why did her precious brother have to be in this stupid game. Better yet what was so special about VR in the first place. Question after question kept circling in the young sister's brain. "I need to see it, I need to see why my Onii-chan liked that place so much." She was determined to experience first hand why her brother loved VRMMOs.

Luckily, she knew of a classmate by the name of Shinichi Nagata who was really into VR games and asked him what kind of game she should start with. He then suggested ALfheim Online, the VRMMO that was developed by RECT Progress Inc. the company that bought out Argus, which filed for bankruptcy mainly due to all the legal backlash it received. Along with the Amusphere which RECT Progress Inc. also developed form Argus's technology Suguha could finally experience what her brother adored. Picking the Sylph race which were among the nine fairy races to choose from she typed in the username Leafa and set out in the world of Alfheim together with her mentor and class Shinichi known in game as Recon she discovered the joys of questing, dungeon battles, raids and all other stuff. She finally knew why her brother loved this so much. However, today, no in fact for the entire three months since her brother's death she opted to lie on her bed after kendo practice doing nothing but scroll through the news feed on her phone.

*sigh* Suguha let out a depressed voice. As she was scrolling through the feed something caught her attention. It was a news article that reads "Mysterious gate appeared in the Ginza district." That's weird, she thought as she decided to refresh the news feed however article after article were suddenly published all talking about this strange phenomenon. "Is this the end of the world?" "Proof that aliens do exist?" headlines more clickbaity as the next started flooding the internet. "What is all the commotion" Suguha wondered. She decided to click on one of the links. There was a picture in what appeared to be in the Ginza district. Suguha didn't think until she saw it, an enormous gate right in the middle. It had beautiful concrete pillar akin to the ones you see in Rome, or Greece. Suguha was not interested in the concrete structure however, what she was focused on were the people standing in front of the gate. "It can't be!" Suguha said in shock. She quickly changed her clothes and dashed out. Grabbing her bicycle she pedalled as fast as she could towards the direction of the gate.

November 17th, 2024 Sadera, Empire (Empire's Perspective)

The streets were bustling with people from all of Falmart, merchants looking to make a profit, mercenaries looking to bag a contract and prostitutes lined up and ready for the next customer. Yes such colourful individuals existed in the Empire's capital of Sadera. Constantly filled with idle gossip and sensitive information the current hot topic was the appearance of a giant steel castle on top of Alnus Hill. It first made rounds when a merchant from Italica with long brownish hair reaching all the way to his shoulders and wearing what seemed to be a cloth hat passed by and spurted out his encounter with the giant castle and its residents. He was staying at a village near Alnus Hill when he saw it a big white flash blinding him shone from where Alnus Hill was. It lasted for several minutes, and when he opened his eyes him and the residents of the village were met with a castle that almost looked like it always belonged there. The reactions were mixed. The elders of the village had an epiphany claiming that this was the divine work of one of the gods they so deeply worshiped, others were curious as to what a structure was doing there in the first place and wanted to check it out. The merchant was part of the latter and thus him and a couple of adventurous villagers set out to make contact with the castle and its inhabitants. On the way they met a group of interesting individuals to say the least.

A group of eight consisting of six men in armour that he has never seen, a tall black skinned man that was the one in the group that initiated the conversation, and finally a petite girl with paint smudges all over her face in what appears to mimic some whiskers. Though the tall man started the conversation it was practically useless for both parties as they both didn't understand one another. "Just what kind of language is this? Certainly isn't anywhere from Falmart I can tell," the merchant from Italica denoted. To communicate both parties had to do a sort of charades to get their point across. Though obviously many things were lost in translation the best they could do was offer some sort of trade. Several coins consisting of copper, silver, and gold was what the strange group gave the merchant. They had several engravings on it with a tree depicted on one side of the coin and a sort of coat of arms on the other. Accepting their bizarre currency he then pondered what he should give in return. Before deciding to trade currencies the tall black man interjected and instead pointed at what the merchant had tied on his waist. It was a small bag and sticking out was something that looked like a scale of a creature. "Oh? Does he want this dragon's scale?" The trader questioned. Skeptical as to whether to give it to them or not he decided to give in. The coins he received definitely made up more than enough to just one dragon scale. He reasoned that he could just melt them for their raw materials once he returned to Italica. "Hehe...That dragon scale though very valuable indeed are worth 10 suwani while I got 10 of these gold coins and some others." Thought the man while he put on a seemingly nice face. Unknown to him, the aura he was generating didn't go unnoticed. He then tried to ask if he could take them to their castle with gestures he could think of and surprisingly they agreed! The trek took only took a day and when they arrived he was mesmerized. The huge steel castle, no fortress, stook on top of what was Alnus Hill. The inhabitants were no different than he was, comprising entirely of humans. He entered the walls that protected such a strange civilization and saw various animals he had never seen before. He gulped, after travelling from village to village inside of Aincrad and getting a feel of these peoples cultures and mannerisms he finally made it to what he guessed was the capital. There he was met with what seemed to be the rulers of this place. A boy with a strikingly foreign looking face and short jet black hair that no more than 16 years old, next to the boy was his wife a beauty no doubt with her chestnut coloured hair and regal aura that radiated out of her. The two King and Queen from what he could gather shook his hand and tried to make out a conversation. Though failed the two seemed kind and the merchant thought that this place has massive potential. He judged it from the architecture which closely resembled empirical designs seemed far more sturdier than back in the capital. Also the fact that people looked as if their lost that they had no purpose anymore. Faces upon faces of dejection but nevertheless they tried to hide it and worked building what seemed to be fortifications and doing other labour intensive tasks. "When people are at their all time that's the best time to abuse them" he thought cynically. After he stayed at the inn he then woke up feeling all refreshed. With a new goal in mind he said his goodbyes and headed straight to the capital to prepare for these "new customers." Ryudo the merchant from Italica planned to strike it big.

Rumors of Ryudo's exploits spread across Sadera. At first it was exactly what Ryudo had described initially where he traded, stayed at their inn and left. The standard stuff, however, like chain mails back on Earth the stories started to change. There were rumors that he was actually kidnapped by these barbarians and that he narrowly escaped. Others said that there must be billions of gold and other precious metals hidden inside those steel walls. Rumors spread like wildfire until they finally reached the empirical throne.

Emperor Molt Sol Augustus the reigning ruler of the Empire. A man that can be described as cunning, cold, and calculative. When he heard that such a civilization has entered Imperial borders he summoned the guards and ordered them to bring the man who was at the root of all this. Ryudo, fearful for his life entered the throne. He then pleaded with the Emperor to not chop off his head. "Why would I do that?" the Emperor said with a cold demeanor. "I simply want information. Do that and you are free to go." Ryudo do as what he was told in fear of his life. He told the authoritative figure about the strange language they speak, their culture, and military strength. "Oh?" Emperor Molt's eyebrows went up. "Tell me more about their military." Indeed from Ryudo's experiences they seemed no different from humans here in Falmart physique wise. Their armours and weapons they donned seemed very powerful but were only equipped by a couple of hundred or so. If he would had guessed the Empire could easily win due to a numbers game. Molt's face was still, thinking, calculating what the next course of action would be. "Your dismissed," he said as he gave the merchant a shooing gesture.

He called his minister in the throne room. "What can I do your Majesty?" the old looking man in robes said. "It seems we have a problem Minister. I got word that an unknown kingdom has just popped up in Imperial lands. I want you to raise an army and send them to Alnus Hill and demand tribute. If they refuse, kill them all." he paused for a bit in contemplation. "In fact I would like you to call our vassal into this." The minister was taken aback. "All due respect you Majesty but according to the rumors these...these barbarians would still be no match for imperial troops. Isn't this a bit overkill?" Emperor Molt just sat them unfazed by the remark. "Very well your Majesty I beg my leave," with that the Minister departed. "If they all those rumors were true then all their forces would be no match against our combined forces," he got up and walked to the window looking at the view. "But, if they somehow beat us…" he grinned, "Killing two birds with one stone." He departed his throne room in a maniacal laugh.

Author's Notes: So what do you think? Please let me know in the reviews, I want to improve my writing skills and any criticism is gladly accepted.