(Kirito's POV)

I had miraculously defeated Akihiko Kayaba by stabbing him before my avatar shattered and then I closed my eyes as my consciousness faded away with my avatar shattering as well as Heathcliff's, then everything went black.

Unknown Location

The sky was lit by the setting sun. I then realized I was in a very strange place. A thick crystal slab was under my feet. Beneath it, streams of crimson clouds flowed past. I looked past and saw an infinite evening sky.

I could hear a slight breeze. Aside from the clouds floating by, there was nothing in the air but the small circle of crystal I was standing on.

Where am I?

I remembered my body shattering into nothing. Was I still in SAO or had I actually gone to the afterlife? I looked down at my body. The leather coat and long gloves were the same as when I died, everything was translucent now. And it wasn't just my clothes.

Even my body was partially see-through and it was sparkling red with the sunset. I stretched out my hand and waved my fingers. The game window popped open with the sound same as ever. I was still in SAO. But there was no equipment mannequin or menu on the window.

It was just a box that read [executing final phase: currently 54%] in small letters. I thought that dying happened at the same time the nerve-gear fried the brain. What was going on here? I shrugged and closed the window, then jumped as someone called to me.

"Kirito."

A shock ran through me. Please let it be real; please don't be an illusion, I prayed and turned. There she was, set against the burning sky. Her long hair was rippling in the breeze, her smiling face was close enough that I could cup her cheek if I reached out, but I couldn't move. "If I take my eyes off her for an instant, she'll disappear." I thought.

Instead, I stared silently. Like me, her body seemed a delicate crystal. As it sparkled and gleamed because of the sunset behind it, the sight was more beautiful than anything in the world. I tried to hold back the tears and finally cracked a smile. When my voice finally came out, it was barely a whisper.

"Sorry, I guess I died."

"Dummy."

A large tear rolled down her cheek as she smiled. I opened my arms and called her name.

"Asuna."

She jumped to embrace me, tears spilling and I held her tightly. I'd never let go, no matter what happened, I would never release my grip. After a long, long kiss, we finally separated our faces and looked at each other. There were so many things to say about that final battle, so many things to apologize for. But words were no longer needed. Instead, I turned and looked at the sunset to ask, "So... where are we?"

Asuna silently looked down and pointed. I followed to look. Far, far away from our little floating platform was a place in the sky and there it floated. "Aincrad..." The setting of our painful two-year struggle, that now floated below us.

In my previous life, I'd seen pictures in promotional content for SAO. I'd never actually seen it in person until now. I was in awe. The floating castle of Aincrad... was collapsing.

Pieces were breaking off bit by bit, every floor was peeling apart, even where our little log cabin used to be. I slowly sat down on the edge of the crystal platform, still holding Asuna. I should have felt scared because I didn't know what was going on, but I was oddly calm. I did what I'd needed to do and here I sat with the girl I loved, watching the world end. I was fulfilled.

Then a voice spoke, "That's a fine sight." it took me by surprise. We looked to our right to see a man, now standing with us, Akihiko Kayaba.

He was wearing a white shirt and tie under a white lab coat. The contours of his face were fine and sharp, but his eyes and the way he placidly observed the castle disappear were the same as his previous incarnation, Heathcliff.

Less than an hour ago I was locked in mortal combat with this man, but I felt at peace now. It was as if I had forgot everything that happened. I looked away back to the castle and asked, "What's happening to Aincrad?"

"You might call it a visual metaphor." He silently said. "At this moment, the SAO mainframe at the Argus building, is deleting all data saved on it's server. In another ten minutes nothing will remain of this world."

Asuna then asked, "What happened to all the people that were trapped here?"

"Don't worry, just moments ago all surviving players were logged out and are now awake back in the real world."

I asked, "... and those who died? We're both here, so could you bring back the others?"

He responded, "Life is not to be treated so lightly. In every world, the dead must disappear. You two are a special exception, I wanted more time to speak with you."

I should have felt angry at that response, but instead I asked the big question. "So why did you do this?"

A pained smile crossed his face, he was silent for a while. "Why you ask? For a long time, even I had forgotten. Why did I do this? When I learned about the development of the full-dive system, in fact, long before that moment, I dreamed of creating that castle. Creating a world that surpassed all the rules and laws of reality and I even saw the laws of my own world eclipsed."

Aincrad was more than half gone by now, even Algade had crumbled away. Kayaba continued.

"When I was young, I had a dream of a castle of iron floating in the sky, even after growing older, it never left my mind. Actually, with every year the image got larger and more real. For years, my one desire was to leave and travel to that castle. A part of me still thinks that castle exists somewhere."

I said, "I hope it does."

"One last thing, congratulations on winning the game."

He then disappeared with the wind. Then everything was beginning to dissolve, we kissed what would probably be our last.

Asuna then asked, "Hey, tell me your real name."

I responded, "Kazuto Kirigaya."

Asuna then said, "I'm Asuna Yuuki."

I then started crying. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

She cried as well, "It's okay."

We said our goodbyes and embraced as everything dissolved including us, we scattered then disappeared.

Elsewhere.

Kirito awoke to howling winds and intense cold. He turned to find Asuna next to him, he nudged her awake.

"Kirito? How are we still here and where are we?"

Kirito replied to her question, "I honestly don't know, but everything looks so real all of a sudden. If we weren't in the game anymore, we would be dead or in the hospital wearing our Nerve-gear. How are we in some mountains, wearing our in-game equipment?"

Asuna then said, "I may not know what's going on either but we need to find some shelter to escape the cold."

WHAT THEY DID NOT KNOW WAS THAT THEY WERE IN A PLACE CALLED THE NEW WORLD, SPECIFICALLY IN THE NORTHERN TIP OF THE AZERLISIA MOUNTAINS. THEY HAD ESCAPED ONE WORLD ONLY TO BECOME TRAPPED IN ANOTHER, THEY NOW WALK TO AN UNCERTAIN FATE.