General Art Sword Art Online: The Path of Kusanagi (an Alternate Ending to SAO)

[Woyogoyo]

Spoiler

(( I was re-watching the best show ever, AKA SAO, when an idea popped into my head: what if Kirito hadn't come back from the dead in the final battle? [ I just pretend that season 2 is a completely different show. To me, season 2 is the SAO version of the CDI games. I'll save this rant for later.] I've changed around some other bits of the plot, so the super hardcore SAO fans, please don't kill me. Basically, with Kirito and Asuna dead, and Heathcliffe revealed to be a traitor, everyone lost their motivation to beat SAO. They just continued with their lives in the game. Soon, a new generation was born. This generation were exactly like people, except they had no physical bodies. They only existed in the game. 15 years have passed since then.))

Phase 1

My first memories are of being in a log cabin on floor 22. I later learned that that place was the home of the Divine Couple, Kirito and Asuna. I wonder how they'd react if they knew that some players worship them as gods? I suppose that's a moot point, because they're dead. Me, I don't believe in any god. After all, if there were a God, the older generation wouldn't be in here. All that exists is Cardinal. But I digress. I remember feeling safe in that cabin. I'm told that I was found in the forest near the cabin. I must have wandered off. My name is Kusanagi. No last name, because I don't know who my parents were. Several years ago, someone theorized that I was Kirito and Asuna's child, but Cardinal told them that it didn't have any records of Kirito and Asuna having a kid. I'm 15 years old, and apparently, I was born a few days before The Battle. I'm tall, about 6 feet, and have an athletic build. Some girls have told me that I'm handsome, with my light brown hair and black eyes. I don't really believe them. After all, " Handsome", for my generation, would be " God-like" in the real world. That's something that I repeat to myself every day. This is just a game, and I'm just a bit of data in a computer. Some NGPs (New Generation Players) argue that we're better than the Players, but I don't think so, because they're not just data. They're real. We're numbers in a computer. When someone gets over the inferiority complex that all everyone has and beats the game, we will cease to exist. No one in the real world cares about us. What they do care about is the Players. The Players have families and real lives to get back to. We don't. That's why I'm doing everything I can to beat this game.

(( Sorry it's so short, but I'm kind of low on time. The next chapter will be longer. Please tell me what you think.))

 

[Woyogoyo]

Phase 2

I was walking around the Forest of Wandering when I saw them. I put my hand on the hilt of my sword, Portalieux, as I watched the Player who was my target. Most NGPs think that Players are creepy, because even though they look exactly like they did when they first logged in, they have this aura around them, and you just know that they're older than they look. I will admit that it's unbelievably creepy when you see a Player that was 8 when they logged in. Sometimes, a Player's family gives up on them and unplugs them. After a few minutes, the Player's avatar stiffens up and winks out of existence. It's like watching an old TV turn off. It always gives me the chills. The Player that I'm watching has done that, except he's not vanishing. Instead, his cursor is slowly turning red. Everyone knows what that means, but there's no body near him. It might have disintegrated already, but I don't think so. His cursor wouldn't be turning red slowly. It would already be red. The cursor's transformation is complete. The player looks at his hand and flexes his fingers experimentally. Suddenly, his head snaps in my direction and I see that his eyes have turned serpentine. He grins and draws a rapier. He runs in my direction and I just barely avoid his rapier. This guy is unbelievably fast. He must have maxed out his speed and agility. I draw Portalieux and slash at him. I miss. When I slash, I'm so shaken that I leave myself wide open, and he stabs me in my left arm, taking out a quarter of my health. About half of it regenerates, so I'm not very worried, but I know that this fight's going to be difficult to win, so I'd better start using some sword skills. " Snake Bite!" The sword skill activates and I manage to do some damage, but not nearly enough. Looks like it's time to retreat. " Serration Wave!" As the sword skill activates, I pull out a teleportation crystal and teleport to Lindas, a town on Floor 48.

(( These are too short to be chapters. Anyone have any advice on what to call them?))

 

[Kirito]

Dude this is killer

 

[Woyogoyo]

(( I haven't gotten any responses to my question yesterday, so I'll just keep calling them chapters. Thanks Kirito.))

Phase 3

When I arrive in Lindas' teleport plaza, I immediately head towards my foster mother's smith shop. My foster mother, or, as she prefers me to call her, Liz, was one of the many people that raised me. When I was little, I lived with her, but when I was 12, I saved up enough money to buy my own house. I still occasionally visit the people who raised me. I'm very lucky, because apparently, they were friends of Kirito and Asuna. When I walk into the shop, Liz greets me with the sunny smile she shows all of her customers, then recognizes me. Is soon as this happens, she begins to scold. " Where have you been young man? You haven't contacted me in months! You'd think you would visit me once in a while! It's disgraceful! I thought I raised you better than that! Next time, if you take this long to visit, I'll-" I cut her off in the middle of her rant. " Hi Liz, I just stopped by here to tell you about something I saw in the Forest of Wandering. I'm going to stop at Uncle Agil's shop next." Seeing the look on my face, she sighs, and then nods decisively. " Right, but let me at least get you some tea." Over the tea, I tell her what I saw. Her face grows thoughtful. " This is troublesome. Well, you'd best be going to Agil's then." I nod and stand. " See you later." People in Aincrad never say goodbye, unless they plan on dying. I learned that pretty quickly as a kid, when whenever I said goodbye, I got horrified looks. I exit the shop, pull out a crystal, and teleport to Algade, the town which, to the nutjobs that think Kirito and Asuna are some sort of divine couple, is Mecca. It's also the home of Agil's shop. I exit the teleport plaza and walk over to Agil's shop. The shop's motto is "We buy cheap and sell cheap", but I don't think that the latter part is true. Agil was one of the people that helped Liz raise me, so I refer to him as "Uncle Agil". Apparently, he has a wife in the real world, so that's why he never got married here. He's one of the few people that hasn't entirely given up. As I enter the shop, Agil greets me. " Hello 'Nagi. What brings you here?" " Hi Uncle A. I've got some information that you might want to hear. I won't have time to find Uncle Klein and tell him, so could you please message him what I tell you." Agil nods. " Good. Now then, I was walking through the Forest of Wandering when..." After I tell him the story, Agil gets the same look on his face as Liz did. " I'll let Klein know. Go to Granzam and let Daizen know. The KoB might not be as strong as they used to, but they're still a good ally to have." I nod. After The Battle, Daizen was the only member of the top brass of the Knights of the Blood Oath still remaining. The KoB is now a shadow of its former self, but it still wields considerable power and influence. I exit Agil's shop and teleport to Granzam.

 

[Woyogoyo]

Phase 4

When I arrive in the Granzam teleport plaza, I immediately switch to my winter gear. Granzam is sometimes called "The Steel City" and has a remarkable lack of greenery. It also has very cold and harsh winds. I've heard some Players compare the winds to those of a city in the real world called "Chicago". As I begin the trek to the KoB headquarters, I try to think of a way to get in. Back when Heathcliff the Red was in charge, it was a genuinely good military organization. When they first hear this, most NGPs are surprised, because most of the KoB's top brass except for a few people, are just lazy bureaucrats. The soldiers are good people, but they don't get to do much, because Daizen was the Head of Finances before he became the leader, so he isn't very good at controlling people, and, even if he was, he's obsessed with making money. He's a good person though, so I'm sure that I can get him to help without bribing him. That would save me some money, since I will need to bribe a few other leaders. When I arrive just out of sight of the gate, I have a plan. It's a trick that I learned about a year ago. Basically, I put on a black wig and a Coat of Midnight, which was extremely hard to craft. Sadly, bosses don't regenerate, so I couldn't just kill Illfang to get the coat. no one ever wears it, because it's regarded as a sacred artifact by a lot of people. But when I put it and the wig on, since I have the same eye color as him, people think I'm Kirito. It's a trick that only works for about 30 seconds, but it's very effective for paralyzing people with shock. Once I'm done changing, I run up to the guards, and in a very commanding voice I say, " Open the gate!" The commanding voice, combined with my appearance, makes them automatically follow my orders. I quickly run through and change into my usual attire, a Coat of Midnight, except with the colors reversed, a white shirt and pants, and soft leather boots. I walk into the building where Daizen's office is, and begin climbing the stairs that lead to it. Once I get to his office, I knock. After a few seconds, I hear a reply. " Enter." I open the door and see a man in red armor with gray hair and black eyes sitting at the desk. " Greetings, Kusanagi. I've been expecting you. My name is Heathcliff."

 

[Woyogoyo]

Phase 5

I would like to say that I drew my sword and demanded what he was doing here and where Daizen was, but I didn't. I gaped in shock for a few seconds, then said, "Okay." Smart response, right? He chuckles. " I assume that you're wondering what I'm doing here. I'll get to that in a moment." He points to Portalieux. "Draw your sword." His voice was so commanding, I automatically did it. Then, I realized who was giving me the order and began to put it back in the scabbard. He stopped me with a simple "No." This is not how I imagined my first meeting with Heathcliff the Red would be. In my imagination, I would boldly draw my sword and ask him why he did it. Why did he trap the Players in here? After he gave a long speech that contained a sufficiently evil reason, I would laugh and command him to fight me. After a long and epic battle, I would hold my sword to his neck while he begged for mercy on his knees. Then, I would demand that he release all of the Players and he would comply. Being able to honestly tell that story would be a great way to pick up girls. I did not however, picture meeting him in an office, where I followed all of his orders while gaping in shock. This is kind of embarrassing. "Release level 1 restraints." Heathcliff says. My sword glows white, and a message informs me that I have some new sword skills: Howling Octave, Lightning Fall, and Light Slash. I've heard of the first two, but not the third. I wonder what it does.Heathcliff steeples his fingers. " If I'm found here, it'll be annoying to get out, so I'll get to the point. I have chosen you to be the next Kirito. I thought Kirito had what it took, but the connection between him and Asuna was too strong. I still haven't figured out how she broke the paralysis. So from this point on, you are not allowed contact with any players or NGPs. When you entered this room, I made your avatar invisible, unhearable, and intangible to Players and NGPs. You can still be attacked by monsters. However, I do not want you going insane from loneliness, so I shall grant you a companion." He snaps his fingers, and a little girl in a white dress with black hair and black eyes appears in front of me. " 'Nagi, this is Yui. Yui, this is 'Nagi." Yui looks up at me. " Hello Big Brother!" I gape at her. She is quite possibly the cutest little girl that I have ever seen. " Hello Yui. I'm 'Nagi." I hold out my hand to shake, but instead of shaking it, she hugs me. " You remind me of Daddy." She says, and her face grows sad for a moment, but then it brightens again. " Can I keep calling you Big Brother?" She asks anxiously. I smile at her. " Sure. I've never had a little sister before." I look over at Heathcliff, but he's gone. " Right Yui, let's get going. Hold on to my hand." She does, and I pull out a crystal and teleport us to Collinia, the town on floor 75.

 

[Woyogoyo]

Phase 6

When we arrived in the Collinia teleport plaza, I stopped for a second and looked around. Collinia used to be a very place, but since The Battle, the population has shrunk to barely any people. This place is now the outskirts of civilization. There are plenty of people who come to see the place where Kirito and Heathcliff's first duel took place, but they all leave after a couple of days. It's like people are afraid to go any higher than this. In the 15 years since The Battle, the 76th floor has yet to be explored. Heathcliff told me that he wanted me to be Kirito's successor. I assume that means that he wants me to beat the game. I'm only level 50, but the early bird gets the worm, right? But first, I want to see if what he said about not being able to contact other people. I walk up to an NGP that just appeared "Hello." She doesn't react. I wave my hands in front of her face. No reaction. It appears that what Heathcliff told me was true. " What are you doing, Big Brother?" Yui asks me. " Nothing. Just testing a theory, that's all." I reply. " Shall we go?" I ask her. " Yeah! Let's go!" She responds as she begins to drag me towards the dungeon. I quickly catch up, matching my stride with hers. Several minutes later, we enter the dungeon. Right when we enter, a lizardman lord and a demonic servant attack us. I manage to block the attacks, but just barely. Let's see... me, a level 50, against 2 monsters that first appear on the 74th floor. This one's a no brainier. I pick up Yui and run further into the dungeon, hopefully escaping them.As far as I know, they have no long ranged attacks, but the demonic servant can use sword skills. I look behind me, and they're chasing me. I speed up. A medium sized dragon enemy joins in the chase as well. I look at it, and apparently, it's called a hothead. I think that it's time to go. I pull out a teleport crystal and teleport to Selmburg, the town on the 61st floor.

 

[Woyogoyo]

Phase 7
Two months later...

The party made up of a group of NGP's and Players progresses rapidly through the dungeon on the 46th floor. A group of land anemones attack them, but they kill the monsters. Suddenly, a group of other Players attack them. At first, they're confused, but then, they see the red cursors. " PKers!" The leader warns the rest. " Be on your guard!" The PKers all have huge maces and are swinging them around wildly, not using any sword skills. " That's kind of obvious, Boss!" Shouts one of the party members. Suddenly, one of the PKers falls to the ground and disintegrates, revealing behind it... nothing. To the party, at least. I'm using cheap tactics, I know, but I've found a way to distinguish between ordinary PKers and the weird kind. I call them PoKers, short for Possessed PKers. Regular PKers can't see me, but PoKers just take a bit of encouraging to notice me. I still haven't figured out what in the world PoKers are, but I've figured out how to kill them. The party is confused, but attacks the remaining PoKers anyway. In the two months that have passed, I've leveled up to level 74. I was in this dungeon to get the last bit of experience I needed to get to level 75 when I noticed the PoKers. With their attention divided between me and the party, the PoKers are quickly defeated. For some reason, PoKers give you experience, just like regular monster. After the PoKers are killed, a message appears in front of me. It says: Congratulations! You have reached level 75! In smaller text, it says: Congratulations Kusanagi. You have now reached level 75. Level 2 restrictions on your sword have been lifted. After the message disappears, another one pops up, informing me that I now have a sword skill known as Light Cross-Slash. Yet another skill that I've never heard of. Oh well. I perk up when I hear the party talking about me. " I noticed that a lot of them died without any of us touching them. What do you suppose caused that?" A female party member asks. The laser frowns. " I don't know." I sigh. Looks like the contact barrier is still in effect. I occasionally test it to see if it's been lifted yet, but it never is. I walk back to where Yui is. " Big Brother, you know Heathcliff will never lift the barrier. Don't worry though. You have me to talk to." I smile at her. " I certainly do, Yui. I'm level 75 now. How about we try the 75th floor dungeon again?" Yui giggles. " The last time you tried was funny. Let's go!" I pull out a crystal and teleport us to Collinia.

 

[Woyogoyo]

Phase 8

When we enter the dungeon, the demonic servant and lizard man lord from last time attack us. This time however, I'm not at as much of a disadvantage. " Lightning Fall!" Lightning fall takes out half of the demonic servant's health and a quarter of the lizardman lord's. I target the demonic servant. " Light Cross-Slash!" I slash twice in the air to form an X of light, then stab the center, sending it toward the demonic servant. This takes out the rest of its health. " Big Brother, look out!" Yui calls to me. I turn around just in time to see the lizardman lord leaping toward me, scimitar raised to strike. It hits me on the shoulder, taking out a little over a quarter of my health. Thankfully, my health regeneration ability takes care of that quickly. I decide to try something new. " Light Slash! Light Cross-Slash!" An X with a vertical line running through the center is formed. My sword glows white. " Level 3 restrictions released." Heathcliff's voice says. I look around, but he's not here. A message pops up, informing me that I have a new sword skill: Light Double-Cross. This is kind of a bad time, so I stab and send the attack toward the lizardman lord. Most of it's health is taken out, so I follow with a simple thrust, and it dies. Thank goodness. " Shall we continue?" I ask Yui. She grins and nods eagerly. " Yeah, let's go!" We continue further into the dungeon. We come across the hothead from before. Thankfully, I dispatch it relatively easily. Eventually, we reach the boss chamber. I stroll in, and Yui follows. I wasn't expecting to see what was inside. In the center of the room, there is a white violin floating in an aura of light. I walk over to it and put it in my inventory. I open my inventory, scroll down to the violin, and check the item description. Apparently, it's called the Lumiluce. The item description is empty. I shrug and look at Yui. " Shall we continue?" She grins and nods, so we continue to the next floor.

 

[Woyogoyo]

Phase 9

When we arrive on the 76th floor, I was surprised. I was expecting dramatic scenery, maybe a barren land of rock with rivers of lava running through it and a volcano in the center, but what I got was... a regular old forest. Am I the only one that's feeling cheated? I turn to Yui. " This is a bit melodramatic. Let's move on and find this floor's town. Maybe there'll be some NPCs." Thankfully, I can still be seen by NPCs. I discovered this about a week after I met Yui. I was walking around in Selmburg, and I decided to test it. I talked to a NPC and she noticed me. Who knew such valuable information didn't require a grand revelation to figure out? After a few minutes of walking, we arrive in the town, which is apparently called Scoperta. Once we purchase more supplies and get a room at the inn, I decide to experiment with Lumiluce. I pull it out of my inventory and start playing. Doing anything in SAO is easy, and playing the violin is no exception. As soon as I start playing, beautiful music comes out of the violin. A few minutes later, I put it away. That was more fun than I thought it would be. A message pops up in front of me. Congratulations Kusanagi. I see you've reached the 76th floor. Lumiluce allows you to be seen by other people as long as you play it. Seen, but not heard or felt, so don't think that this is a get out of jail free card. If you don't believe me, try it for yourself. Sincerely, Heathcliff. I decide to do just that. Why does Heathcliff have to use the system to send me messages anyway? Why can't he just do it like a normal person? Oh well, no use thinking on it now. After purchasing some crystals that will teleport me back here, I teleport to Algade. Before pulling the violin out, I head to the town square, where the most people are gathered. I stand In the center, pull out Lumiluce, and begin to play. Instantly, the square goes quiet. I check my reflection in a fountain, and I think I look quite good. I'm slightly transparent with a faint aura of light about me. Heathcliff is very good at special effects. During the time we've been together, Yui has taught me many things. One of these things is how to use the old fashioned text chat. Since they can see me, they can see my text. I think of my message, and in big, bold letters, it appears above my head. TIME IS RUNNING OUT. I stop playing, then I teleport back to Scoperta.

 

[Sheik]

If you're still wondering about the chapter thing, "phases" might be a good option.
Oh, and nice story. I've never seen a SAO fanfic before

 

[Woyogoyo]

(( Good idea. I think I'll use that.))

Phase 10

When I get back to our inn at Scoperta, I am cracking up. " You should have seen their faces!" I exclaim to Yui. After about a minute, I calm down. " Let's explore the floor. It shouldn't be too hard to find the dungeon. Also, as soon as we find the dungeon, I have a plan." The plan occurred to me as I was walking back to the inn. Lumiluce has unlocked so many opportunities for me. This is going to be fun. I know that it may seem that I'm overreacting. After all, it's just a bit of human contact. I have Yui. But you try only talking to one person for a few months and see how you feel. " I'm also considering buying a house here to use as a base of operations." Yui thinks for a second. " That would be cool!" I nod. " I know. Shall we go?" I ask Yui. She grins. " Yeah!" We exit the inn, walking through Scoperta, which looks like a pleasant medieval city that you would see in an anime, with a combination of a castle and thatched houses with a traditional Japanese palace and blooming cherry trees. I'm pretty sure that the castle is for sale, and it would make an interesting base. Also, this place is perfect for my plans. Growing up, when we were too young to explore dungeons and do quests, one of the more popular forms of entertainment was listening to those who had maxxed out their musical skill tell stories and sing songs. Some stories were about Players and their achievements in the game. Most of those were about Kirito and Asuna. My favorite stories weren't those. My favorites were the ones that people told that were the stories from their favorite anime and manga. A few of them were kind of weird, with a lot of something called fan service, and I didn't particularly care for those. But most of them, like Code Geass, Cowboy Bebop, Fist of the North Star, Dragon Ball Z, Death Note, and Hajime no Ippo, were awesome. It was very interesting to hear stories from the real world, even if they weren't true. That's why I maxxed out my music skill as soon as possible. It certainly came in handy. After several hours of searching, we find the dungeon, and I decide that we should stop for a meal. I pull some omelet soba sandwiches out of my inventory and hand one to Yui. " Dinnertime." She grins, grabs one of the sandwiches, and immediately begins to devour it. I take my time with mine, savoring the flavor. Liz used to get me these for lunch all the time. I loved them then, and I still do now. " Now that we've eaten, it's time to start my plan. It'll take a while, but it'll be worth it." I whisper my plan to her, and she grins. " This'll be fun, Big Brother."

 

[Woyogoyo]

Phase 11

At sunset the next day, I pulled the same stunt. Every day for the next two weeks, Yui and I explored a bit of the dungeon, then, at sunset, I would appear in Algade and play the violin. Eventually, rumors began to spread. People wondered who I was, if I was some sort of event or if I was a ghost. So far, my plan was working perfectly. In the 76th floor's dungeon, I found some special boots. They were called the Mercury's Boots, and they doubled my speed and allowed me to levitate. My maximum height was one foot off the ground, but it helped with my spirit image. Eventually, I picked out my pieces and prepared for my high stakes game of chess against Heathcliff. I had to be careful, because if I made one mistake, one wrong choice, a lot of people would die, and even more would be stuck in this game. I found my Queen rather quickly. She was a NGP named Haruna. She looked to be around my age, and she was the most determined person I'd seen in a while. She was tall, around 5'8, with black hair, green eyes, and a permanent scowl. She was also a solo player, which was a good thing. People would ask questions if someone left a guild suddenly. Shortly after, I found my two Bishops. One was a Player named Silica, who looked to be around 12, and the other was an NGP named Coral. Coral was average height, around 5'5, with blond hair and blue eyes, and wasn't known for his weapons skill, he was known as a healer. That would definitely come in handy. Around the same time, I found my knights and rooks. My two Knights were twin swordsmen named Ichigo and Lucian. They both were tall, around 6 feet, with red hair and black eyes. My Rooks were a couple named Kirigaya and Yuki. Kirigaya was massive. He was about 6'7, and as buff as a pro wrestler, with silver hair and grey eyes. He wielded a mace. His wife, Yuki, was short, around 5'3, with brown hair and brown eyes. She used a katana. Everything was ready. I just had to make contact with my pieces.

 

[Woyogoyo]

Phase 12


My Queen piece, Haruna, was wandering around Mishe, the town on the 35th floor, when I made contact with her. She walked into an alley, and I chose that moment to appear. She looked startled at first, but quickly relaxed. " So you're the Doom Ghost I've heard so much about. I thought you only appeared in Algade. Is this an event?" I smiled slightly. She can't be startled easily. That's good. I pull up text chat. I haven't heard myself called the Doom Ghost. Interesting. No, I'm not an event. I'm just an NGP with a lot of restrictions. I've decided that you're going to help me. " Help you with what? If you're not an NPC, what's your name?" Help me clear the game of course. As for my name, I think I'll call myself Zero. Data can't be sued for copyright violation. If you're interested, come to Scoperta. I'll be in the castle. I toss a teleport crystal to her, then I stop playing the violin and teleport to Floria, where both Silica and Coral live. Floria is a nice town. It's covered with flowers, and is a prime destination for couples, no matter their age. I decide to make contact with Silica, then Coral. Silica, is a rather famous Beast Tamer, so it'll be hard to contact her. I arrive at a perfect time however, because it's her meal time, and she's usually alone. I walk right in front of her and begin playing Lumiluce. She jumps back, and her jaw drops. " Wh-who are you?! If you're another guy here to propose to me, forget it! I plan on remaining a bachelorette for life! I swear, you people are always interrupting-" Then she actually looks at me, and her jaw drops further. " The Doom Ghost!" She squeaks. Why haven't I heard myself called that before? It seems to be a rather common name. Anyways, I'm not here to propose to you, rather, I'm here to ask for your help clearing The game. My name's Zero, by the way. If you're interested, come to Scoperta. I'll be in the castle. I toss her a teleport crystal and stop playing. Next is Coral. I appear in front of him as he is eating his dinner. " Nice to meet you, Doom Ghost." He says calmly. I raise my eyebrows in surprise. He's a cool one. The name's Zero. Would you like to help me beat the game? If so, come to Scoperta. I'll be in the castle. I toss him a teleport crystal and vanish.

 

[Woyogoyo]

(( Greetings, hopefully loyal readers. I'm probably not going to be able to post until monday.))