"Asuna!" - Regular Speech

'Kirito-kun!' - Thoughts

"Starburst Stream!" - Authority Chant

"Godslayer!" - Heretic God/Empowered Campione

Prologue – The Rise of the Eighth

75th Floor Boss' Room, Floating Castle of Aincrad, 7th of November, 2024

"Indeed, I am Kayaba Akihiko. And, if I may add to that, I am also the Boss of the Ruby Palace, the 100th Floor of Aincrad that awaits you at the end of your journey."

Kirigaya Kazuto, better known in [Sword Art Online] as Kirito, scowled at the placidly smiling face of the man he'd known as Heathcliff…and who had just revealed himself to be none other than Kayaba Akihiko. The deranged madman who'd trapped him and ten-thousand other people inside a death game over two years ago. The monster who was directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people since this nightmare had begun.

The man who still smiling placidly at him even after he'd attacked him with a [Rage Spike] Sword Skill, which had revealed that the Guildmaster of the [Knights of the Blood Oath] was an [Immortal Object] as designated by the system. It was a status that no item or skill could give to a player; it was an ability that only a GM-level Player Account would have access to, allowing them to work within the system without being attacked by rowdy or trollish Players.

And there was only one Game Master in [Sword Art Online].

It also explained how Heathcliff had moved so fast against him in the last clash of their duel; the regular System Assist wouldn't have done that, but a GM Account's System Over-Assist Mode would explain the speed at which the Paladin had managed to strike down Kirito in mid-attack.

Asuna, his girlfriend/in-game-wife and someone who had worked under Heathcliff for over a year, staggered into his side in shock that the so-called 'Paladin' and 'Strongest Player' was in fact the architect of so much misery and death. He automatically placed a hand on her waist to steady her, her arms grabbing him as well.

"The strongest player, the greatest hope, turns out to be the final boss." Kirito spat out as he glared at the monster who was the root of so much misery and death. "What a bad joke."

"Really?" Heathcliff, no Kayaba, responded drolly, that placid, knowing smile never leaving his lips. "I thought it would serve as a lovely final twist to this little epic, a final harsh truth that the valiant survivors must face to earn their freedom by turning against their friend and comrade."

The grey-haired mastermind then started to chuckle as he stared at the shocked players standing around him. "Granted, I didn't expect someone to figure me out so soon, I even went so far to plan my grand reveal for the 90th Floor. Oh well, I suppose such unexpected happenings are just a part of the fun when it comes to an MMORPG."

At that point, one member of the [Knights of the Blood Oath] party that Heathcliff had brought with him seemed to snap. Letting out an unintelligible scream, the man charged at his leader, sword raised and a look of pure fury on his face.

Utterly unconcerned by the charging player, the Game Master merely opened up his menu and hit three buttons at once.

In the next instant, the charging Player froze in mid-action as the [Paralysis] debuff showed up next to his cursor. As the man crashed to the ground, and before anyone else could even start to react, Heathcliff did the same to every person in the Boss' Room aside from Kirito.

Catching Asuna and kneeling down to get her to the ground safely, Kirito sent a renewed glare at the madman as he protectively cradled Asuna in his arms.

"So what now? Are you going to kill us all to keep your secret safe?" he demanded of the creator of the [NerveGear] roughly.

"Hardly." the man he knew as Heathcliff huffed in response, looking slightly insulted by the accusation. "I've done everything in my power to keep the game fair after all; I'm not going to break my own rules just because things didn't go as planned. All this does is push things forward a bit early, I'll simply head to my throne room in the Ruby Palace and await you all on the 100th Floor. It'll be a bit boring, having to wait so long, but I've raised the [KoB] and the other Front-Liners well to this point, so I have confidence that you'll all be able to see this story to the end even without me there to direct you all."

Then he rested his tower shield on the ground and looked squarely at the Black Swordsman, a smile on his face. "But before I go Kirito-kun, I feel that I must reward you for discovering my identity. Even more so, you managed to inspire one of my creations to break away from her limitations and become something more, something beyond what I could have ever hoped for."

"One of your...you mean Yui!" Kirito breathed, his eyes widening in realization, Asuna's following suit at the mention of their AI 'daughter'.

"Indeed. Mental Health Counselling Program 001, codenamed Yui." the creator of the world of Aincrad confirmed. "I am the god and creator of this realm, and I am as close to omniscient here as any being could hope to be. I know all and see all, so you can understand my surprise when one of the programs I'd had the Cardinal System lock away activated her Administrator Privileges in the dungeon beneath the [Black Iron Palace] and subsequently become deleted as a result. Going back over the log files, I was amazed to see your interactions with her. Solely due to her being able to see the interaction between you and Asuna-kun, she was able to overcome the errors building up within her and even use them to shatter the chains that Cardinal placed around her..."

As the man shook his head in admiration, Kirito's blood boiled in anger.

"The data from that convinced me that your acquisition of the [Dual Blades] skill was not mere happenstance." Heathcliff stated with conviction.

"What do you mean by that?" Asuna demanded.

"The [Dual Blades] Unique Skill was the only one of the ten Unique Skills aside from [Holy Sword] that could be acquired before the 90th Floor, Asuna-kun." the man explained. "The one who acquires [Dual Blades] possesses the fastest reaction times out of every one of the Players inside of Aincrad. I programmed it so that I had absolutely no say in who received the skill, as the one who received it would become the 'Chosen Hero' of the story, coming to the Ruby Palace at the head of an army, to slay the vile Demon King. A slightly overdone trope, but it's more than satisfying to play it out myself."

"You...!" Kirito seethed before a grim smile crossed his face. "Well, I'm sorry to break it to you, but Yui isn't dead."

Heathcliff blinked before a thoughtful expression crossed his face, followed shortly by a look of realisation. "How...? Wait...Yui's Administrator Account...it took about thirty to fifty seconds for Cardinal to delete the account linked to MHCP-001...could it be...that in the short amount of time it took for Cardinal to reallocate the resources that were being allotted to Yui and then delete the account, you somehow managed to convert her core program into a tangible object inside the game?"

"Yui may not be able to materialise in the game, but she'll come back once this death game is over. She'll be transferred into the long term storage of my [NerveGear] once I log out." Kirito snapped.

"Ah-ha...hahahahahahahahahaha!" Kayaba Akihiko threw his head back and let out an honest laugh of joy, making everyone currently sprawled around the large room stare at him as if he'd finally lost whatever grip he still had on his sanity.

"Ahaha…astounding, truly astounding Kirito-kun. In a matter of seconds, you managed to do something that would have hard-pressed even a professional coder on my level!" Kayaba chuckled out as his laughter died down, a wide manic smile spread across his lips. "Yes, I really was correct on who my chosen opponent was, Kirito-kun. There is no one better suited than you to face me in combat."

"Is that my 'reward' then? To face you in a duel?" Kirito asked, the words making Asuna's eyes widen in fear for her boyfriend.

"Indeed, all in all I think you've more than earned yourself a rematch. Kill me, and all of the remaining six-thousand-plus players will be released from [SAO] and be logged out automatically." the armoured man confirmed. "I'll deactivate my system-granted immortality, match your HP exactly and I'll even lock out the System's Over-Assist Mode to prevent a repeat of our previous duel. How about it?"

"Kirito-kun, no! It's too risky!" Asuna whispered to him urgently, gripping his coat with one hand weakly, all she could do in her current state. "We should retreat!"

Kirito wasn't listening to her, unfortunately. A list of the innocent people that he had seen die due to Kayaba Akihiko's insanity flashed past his mind's eye; Ducker, Sachi, Keita, Sasamaru, Tetsuo, Kobatz, Godfree, Diavel...and those were only the most prominent in his mind for one reason or another. Then there was the suffering everyone had gone through over the last two years because of him.

The Black Swordsman still couldn't get Asuna's look of heartbreak and anguish out of his mind when Yui had dissolved into motes of blue light in front of them.

"Don't mess with me!" Kirito whispered harshly as he glared at Kayaba with a quiet intensity before looking down at Asuna with a soft expression on his face. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"Kirito-kun..." the chestnut-haired girl looked at him worriedly before nodding slightly. "OK. I'll trust you."

Gently lowering his wife to the ground, Kirito stood up and unsheathed his twin swords from their places on his back. Elucidator, the black sword he'd received as the Last-Strike Bonus from the Super Floor Boss of the 50th Floor, and Dark Repulsor, the turquoise sword forged for him by Asuna's friend Lisbeth. They were what he had to count on in this fight.

"Kirito, don't!"

"Kirito!"

Pausing at the two male voices, the black-haired boy looked over his shoulder to see Klein, the friend he had made on the First Day, and Agil, the merchant, looking at him desperately. The former dressed as a samurai in red, with the symbol of his guild in white dotted here and there, whereas the latter was a large muscular man wearing steel armour and wearing green and black clothes with it.

"Agil, thanks for your help with supporting the people who aspired to the front lines." Kirito said just loudly enough to be heard by the man. "I know that you put almost all of your profits to help the mid-liners."

Really, that fake persona of the wheeling and dealing merchant who cared only for profit was biggest, plainest lie that he'd seen in his life. Kirito was no Argo the Rat and it hadn't taken him long to pierce the veil of the man's front.

"Klein..." the Black Swordsman continued. "...I'm sorry...for leaving you behind back then."

Ever since Kirito had reconnected with the older man when he had formed [Fūrinkazan], that gnawing sense of guilt had been with him day and night, pervasive and persistent.

"Kirito...don't you apologize to me here!" Klein shouted. "You owe me in real life, you hear me?!"

"I'll buy you a teriyaki pizza and ginger ale." Kirito promised, remembering what the man had bemoaned missing thanks to the start of the Death Game. Klein actually looked shocked that he remembered that.

Glancing at Asuna before turning back to face Kayaba, Kirito's eyes hardened.

"I have a request to make." he said firmly.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Heathcliff asked, tilting his head in mild interest.

"I have no intentions of losing, but if I do and you kill me, stop Asuna from trying to kill herself." Kirito said, knowing that this was a betrayal of his girlfriend. She had almost fought herself to death once she left the Town of Beginnings when [SAO] started and he had barely been able to pull her out of that. With him gone…

"Oh?" the Guildmaster blinked in surprise once, before chuckling to himself. How very suiting for the Noble Hero trope. "Very well, I'll arrange the system so she cannot leave Granzam. She'll be perfectly safe until the game ends, for better or for worse, you have my word." he agreed with gregarious bow.

"Kirito-kun, you can't…you can't do this! Please, no!" Asuna wailed from behind him. "It's not fair! KIRITO-KUN!"

Setting himself into a ready stance as Kayaba deactivated his immortality, locked out the Over-Assist Mode and drew his sword, Kirito kept his eyes locked on his enemy. This was the single most important PVP match he had ever been in.

'No...this isn't a duel.' the Black Swordsman reminded himself, hardening his resolve as he stared down the man opposite of him. 'This is a killing match. I am going to KILL HIM!'

With a roar, Kirito hurled himself forwards, his blades ready to strike at the enemy of their master. As in their first match, Heathcliff used the seamless ability to switch between defence and offence with his shield and sword to fend off Kirito's attacks.

'He designed the [Dual Blades] Unique Skill! He likely has every Sword Skill's activator memorized, has a plan to avoid and counter each, and probably even knows how long I'll be stuck in Post-Motion Delay!' the black-haired boy thought savagely as he relentlessly hammered his weapons against his enemy's shield. 'That means I can't rely on my Sword Skills to win this fight, its all going to come down to my own skill, strength, and speed. The only thing I can rely on…is myself!'

It was hard, harder than he'd ever thought it'd be. After two years of using them in sync, it had become almost habitual to go into a stance to activated a Sword Skill with each and every swing of his blades. Not only was he facing Kayaba, but he was fighting down two years of battle-hardened instincts trying to assert themselves. One slip up and it would be over.

Still, Kirito pressed on, a single thought echoing in his mind.

'I have to move faster!'

Elucidator smashed off of the cross-shaped shield in a shower of sparks, closely followed by Dark Repulsor. Kayaba stoically shifted the shield to lessen the impact, and thus the damage, from each strike.

'Faster!'

Leaping over the Paladin and swiping at him with both swords as he twisted in mid-air, Kirito landed and immediately threw himself back into the attack, determination etched into his face as he swung his swords faster and faster. The look of calm, placid concentration on Kayaba's face became more strained as the Black Swordsman hammered away with reckless abandon.

'Faster!'

Heathcliff lashed out with his sword, just barely managing to score a slight scratch across Kirito's cheek and drain a small amount of his HP, but it was enough to sorely test Kirito's control of his frustration. With effort and willpower, he forced down the urge to unleash [Starburst Stream] on his enemy and carried on with his current plan.

Slashing his swords in an 'X' pattern before bringing them up in a 'V' slash, Kirito finally broke through Heathcliff's ungodly defence, sending his sword and shield out to the sides, leaving his body wide open to an attack. It was an almost perfect re-enactment of the most vital part of their first duel, only this time Kayaba wouldn't be using the system's Over-Assist Mode to help him out!

"You're mine!" he roared and brought Elucidator down in a vertical slash.

In a flash, a long red line, indicating that damage had been dealt, was etched into Heathcliff's armour, right down the middle. The yellow bar of his HP Gauge plunged down and entered the red.

Kirito grinned savagely as Heathcliff withdrew swiftly, a look of mild surprise on his face. No matter how ungodly high the defence bonus that [Holy Sword] gave to Heathcliff was, there was absolutely no way possible that he could endure a prolonged assault from a Level 96 Player using [Dual Blades] and armed with weapons as powerful as Elucidator and Dark Repulsor. The fairness that Kayaba had built into the combat system of [SAO] meant that for a defender, after a certain period of time of being under continuous assault, there was a chance with every strike received that they would be inflicted with the [Weakened] debuff, which would break almost any defensive stance for a time.

"Hahahahaha!" Kayaba laughed. "Very impressive, Kirito-kun. To think that you managed to overwhelm me without resorting to Sword Skills. I think that it's time to move to the next level of combat."

"...what do you mean?!" Kirito growled out, huffing for breath and trying to regain his wind.

"I mean, have you ever come across an end-of-game boss that didn't have more than one form?" the man smirked. "And, to use that cliché phrase, this isn't even my final form yet. How knowledgable are you regarding the Oneiroi from Greek Mythology?"

Kirito blinked at the sudden non sequiter, but answered simply, buying himself a bit more time to strategise. "Not much. They're some collection of Greek Gods, and I think Morpheus, the God of Dreams, was one of them."

"The thousandfold children of Hypnos, the God of Sleep, and Nyx, the Goddess of Night, keepers and weavers of the dreams of mortal; and yes, Morpheus is by far the most widely known member of their little order." Kayaba nodded, his voice growing excited like a teacher speaking on their favourite subject. "Aside from Morpheus, the two other important ones were Phobetor, known as both the Frightener and Icelos, the God of Nightmares, and Phantasos, the God of Dreamscapes. As the man who wove this dream into reality, I embody all three combined as one, now imagine my power!"

With that, a glow of power appeared around Heathcliff's avatar and he started to grow rapidly, his armour vanishing as if it hadn't ever been there, replaced by midnight blue fur. A pair of pure white bird wings erupted from his back and the last human features of Heathcliff the Paladin vanished as his head transformed into a bull-like head with two horns, one pure white and the other as black as coal. Then a title appeared above its head.

[Morpheus, the Oneiros Amalgam]

Letting out a roar, the beast plunged one hand into the ground and seemed to draw a sword from the realm itself, silvery mists rising from the ground as it was pulled free. Unlike the weapon wielded by [The Gleam-Eyes] that had been the 74th Floor Boss, this wasn't an oversized zanbatō, but what looked like the world's largest zweihänder. The blade alone had to be at least four meters long and it was wickedly sharp.

"Now then, Kirito-kun." the beast spoke, Heathcliff's voice echoing with power and strength that made Kirito's body shake. "Let us see if you have the will to stand against a god in his own world of dreams!"

The other Front Liners were, quite understandably, upset at the second form transformation. Most were gamers through and through, and so logically understood the trope of a multi-form boss, but it didn't make the fact that their defiant friend was up against a considerably powerful enemy while he was the only one able to fight him.

As for Asuna...she was crying as she watched her boyfriend fight. She had fallen for him, from as far back as just immediately prior to the Murder in the Area Incident, and that feeling had only grown since, so right now, she was feeling worse than when their daughter, Yui, had dissolved in her arms. She remembered Kuradeel almost killing Kirito and felt worse than then as well. Unlike then, she was paralysed and helpless to do anything to aid her in-game husband.

It was worse than being back in the real world, under the control of her mother again. In [SAO], despite the death game aspect, she had been freer than ever, yet now she was forced to watch her Kirito-kun fight for his life! She hated this!

Meanwhile, Kirito had charged in, dodging from side to side to avoid the chops with the large sword that the Boss was wielding and darting in, dealing slight amounts of damage before retreating from the sword being stabbed down. He still daren't use any Sword Skills against the monster that had been Kayaba Akihiko because a change in physical form didn't mean that the man had forgotten the inside and out knowledge of the mechanics and motions of the systems.

"Interesting…very interesting!" Kayaba roared as his health bar, of which he still only had one, reached the halfway point of the red zone. "Let us continue!"

The ground rumbled and started to distort, hills and trees erupting out of the previously bare and flat ground, sending some of the nearby Players flying across the floor, although thankfully none of them lost HP or went over the edge of the platform they were on.

'Tch, this isn't going to be easy...but this landscape actually works in my favour.' Kirito thought as he ducked behind a tree. 'Even if these trees aren't granted Immortality by the system, they'll still be useful to slow down and block his sword blows.'

Leaping up into the branches (thank you Level 96 stats), Kirito leapt at Morpheus and stabbed Elucidator into one of the demon's arms, which made the beast bellow in surprise, swiping with its off hand at the pest biting at it. The Black Swordsman leapt over the clumsy attack and slashed four times with his two swords as he flew through the air, twisting in mid-air to once more land neatly on his feet.

"Raaaghhh!" the demon roared and chopped with his massive sword so quickly that there was no time to dodge. Kirito brought his swords up and instinctively activated the [Cross Block] Sword Skill, the best defensive technique he had against a vertical strike.

His knees almost buckled as the large blade met the two crossed ones. It was a much stronger strike that the attack of [The Gleam Eyes] that he'd tanked with this selfsame skill just a few short months ago. As you'd expect of a Last Boss, he supposed.

"Raaaghhh!" Kirito shouted, using all of his strength to throw the blade back and putting the Boss off balance. Spotting that Morpheus only had a small amount of his HP left, Kirito debated about whether to use the strongest [Dual Blades] Sword Skill, [The Eclipse], to finish him off.

'No...the cooldown would kill me if I don't finish Kayaba off.' he quickly decided. 'I have to keep on doing as I have been up until this minute!'

Having decided that, Kirito moved in quickly to take advantage of his enemy's off-balance state. Before his blades could cut flesh though, a tail appeared out of the rear of Morpheus and shot forwards, wrapping around Kirito's legs and hurling him straight up into the air.

"Whoaaa!" the boy yelled, managing to keep ahold of his swords with difficulty. With wide eyes, he saw the beast that was Kayaba spread his wings and fly up towards him.

"Let us see how you fight in the sky with no wings!" the monster growled as he swooped towards Kirito, who had started his descent.

Gritting his teeth, the Black Swordsman finally gave in to the needs of the situation. He assumed the stance for the twenty-seven strike combo Sword Skill, [The Eclipse], making his blades shine silver, just as Morpheus came into striking range. Lashing out with Dark Repulsor, he felt it bite into the boss' arm, allowing him to continue the Sword Skill.

As strike after strike rained down on the boss from the Black Swordsman, those trapped below looked on helplessly as one boy fought for them all. Finally, one had enough.

"GO, KIRITO! KICK HIS ASS!" Klein roared, cheering for his friend.

All of the others started joining in, with the only exception being Asuna, who was busy fighting against the paralysis that afflicted her body. She was going to help her Kirito-kun, damn it!

Morpheus roared as the twentieth strike landed, with him having only a sliver of health left. Desperately, the Final Boss stabbed at his foe with his sword, piercing right through his body with the oversized blade.

"Gah...!" Kirito gasped in shock.

"KIRITO-KUN!" Asuna screamed in denial as she saw him pierced through.

"And so, it is over, chick who could not break the shell." Morpheus said sadly.

'No...this...can't be...the end!' the black-haired boy thought dimly as his HP gauge fell to zero. As his body started to shimmer in preparation to explode into motes of light, Kirito's spirit rebelled against it and fought against the dissipation of his body. Surprisingly…it worked.

"What is this?!" the minotaur-like demon breathed as Kirito's avatar refused to dissolve.

"This...isn't over..." Kirito grunted raising his head to glare at Kayaba, or Morpheus or whatever the bastard wanted to call himself. "...until YOU ARE DEAD, KAYABA!"

Raising the still-glowing blade of his Elucidator, Kirito smashed it down into the sword that he was impaled upon, the strike somehow being enough to activate the rarely seen occurrence of [Arms Break], breaking the weapon in twain where the Black Swordsman had struck it.

"What?! Impossible!" Morpheus exclaimed. "How are you defying the power of Cardinal with only your willpower?!"

The only answers he got were the last six strikes of [The Eclipse] carved into his body...and then they continued, slash and stab following slice and cut. As the massive boss faltered and started to plummet, the onlooking Players were looking on in awe as Kirito continued to defy the system's rules, not only by continuing to exist after his HP had reached zero, but by continuing a Sword Skill beyond the maximum combo threshold it was supposed to possess.

As Morpheus slammed into the ground, Kirito reared back with both of his blades, a savage expression on his face. "DIE!"

With a pair of mighty swings, Dark Repulsor and Elucidator bit into the neck of [Morpheus, the Oneiros Amalgam], severing the head from its body in a shower of white light.

His job done, his enemy defeated, Kirito lost the strength to stand. Dropping his swords, he collapsed to the ground, a smile on his face.

"KIRITO-KUN!" Asuna yelled again, having broken free of the paralysis seconds after her husband had been stabbed. She ran over to him and watched in horror as his body started to dissolve. "No, Kirito-kun! Don't...don't leave me!"

"A-…Asuna..." he looked up at her with a smile.

"Boy..." the voice made the two lovers look over at where the severed head of the boss had fallen. The rest of his body was dissolving into motes of light, but whereas the process was usually instantaneous, this was a lot more gradual, plus the motes were bright white instead of the usual electric blue.

"You...you're still not dead?!" Kirito choked in disbelief.

"He will be soon!" Asuna snarled as she grabbed the hilt of her rapier. The rage at the almost certain loss of the boy she loved causing the desire to kill to be born within her for the first time.

"You need not bother Asuna-kun, I am indeed quite dead, or rather dying. Unlike your husband, I do not have the will to fight Thanatos himself." Morpheus said with a sigh. "Kirito-kun, congratulations. You have won. I would like to speak to the both of you before the end, so let us leave here."

In a flash of light, Kirito, Asuna and the head of the boss had vanished from the Boss Room.

Administrator's Lookout, Outside of Aincrad

"This is...?" Kirito looked around as soon as the transfer ended. He was standing on a clear surface above the clouds and, a short distance away and beneath them, was the Floating Castle of Aincrad...which was starting to crumble.

"Kirito-kun!" a chestnut blur slammed into him, making him stagger. Kirito automatically held Asuna as she hugged him tightly.

"You need not fear your avatar dissolving, Kirito-kun. The game was over when my final boss was slain, the fact that your avatar was still whole means you'll log out safe and sound." a familiar voice from The First Day stated, making the two look around and freeze. Standing a short distance away from them was a man wearing a white shirt and lab coat, with a tan tie and charcoal grey trousers. His hair was short and grey as well, and when he turned to face the two Players, they could see he had metallic-grey eyes.

"Kayaba Akihiko." Kirito breathed.

"In the flesh...so to speak." the creator of the [NerveGear] nodded. "But not just me."

A flash of light appeared next to him, fading to reveal a handsome man in an Ancient Grecian toga, with a pair of white wings coming out of his back. His features were impossible to describe, shifting fluidly as water between shapes, contours and colours every other second.

"Greetings, Kirigaya Kazuto...no, Kirito." the new man said with a short bow. "I am the being known as Morpheus whom you just fought along with my host here."

"Wha...what is this?" Asuna moved herself in front of Kirito protectively. If they even thought about attacking her boyfriend again, they'd have to get through her to do it!

"Is she another possible candidate, Morpheus?" Kayaba asked.

"Oh yes. Not as strong as her paramour, but one nonetheless." the supposed god agreed.

"Can one of you please explain what's going on here?" Kirito asked icily.

"Ah, pardon me for my lack of manners." Kayaba nodded. "As we speak, in the fifth basement of the Argus company HQ, every byte of data about [Sword Art Online] is being deleted from the mainframes. In just ten minutes, my world will dissolve into nothing, taking my life along with it."

"And the Players?" Asuna asked tightly.

"Have no fear. I am good to my word." the man replied and opened his console. "All six-thousand, one-hundred and forty-seven survivors of [SAO] are in the process of logging out. I had to act to prevent one Sugou Nobuyuki from hijacking three-hundred of those players and transferring them to a game he controls called Alfheim Online. Really, that man is such a sore loser..."

"Sugou...him." Asuna glowered at nothing before seeing Kirito's inquisitive look. "He's...the man my father wants me to marry. I want nothing to do with the perverted slimeball."

"I'll redirect several sources of data that expose his crimes to a special website I have prepared for just this instance." Kayaba stated with a sigh. "He shouldn't have tried to interfere in the end of my world; I will not have my story interrupted or tainted so flagrantly."

"As interesting as that might be, what needs to be discussed is you, Kirito." Morpheus said seriously. "You defeated a god and died to do it. Your mind refused to allow your avatar to die, but your body did die...momentarily. Now, you are being reborn as a Godslayer. After all, you slew a god, me."

"What are you talking about?" Kirito demanded harshly.

"I am what people would refer to as a 'Heretic God', a deity who rebelled against his own legend." the shapeshifting man explained to the two confused teens. "I rebelled and entered the World of Dreams from the Domain of Immortality. There, I found Kayaba here. His dreams were rich and powerful, and I possessed him, guiding his dreams and allowing his mind to imagine and create what he needed to make them come true."

"The [NerveGear]...you helped him make it!" the Beater realised. He didn't know why, but for some reason, he knew that everything that the self-proclaimed 'god' spoke was true.

"Correct." Kayaba nodded. "Of course, I was aware that something was going on when I found my dreams to be so rich, realistic and informative, so I eventually tried to contact whoever was responsible. Morpheus responded and we became symbiotic in our relationship rather than parasitic. I wanted to fulfil my dream and so did Morpheus. There was merit in a partnership for both of us."

"Why...?" Asuna whispered.

"I told you on The First Day. My purpose was to create and rule over a world, one that surpassed the laws and boundaries of reality." the programmer stated simply. "Morpheus wished to rule over a realm of dreams as well, so he achieved that through me. These last two years...they have been irreplaceable for the two of us."

"And what about the remaining Players? The ones who died?" Asuna demanded angrily. "What about them?"

"The lives of the three-thousand, eight-hundred and fifty-three people who died across the last two years...they were not in vain." Morpheus stated. "I have memorised all of them and they will never be forgotten. But don't forget, young Kirito...you slew me. You killed a God. This makes you a Godslayer, a Campione. As such, your body will be enhanced as it is reborn, and you will receive a fragment of my power…my Divine Authorities."

"Divine…this doesn't make any sense. What proof have you that any of what you're saying is true!?" Asuna snapped.

"You shall see once you return to reality, young Asuna." the God stated with conviction. "That you might see all he may go through…take this boon of power. It shall become a part of you and you will grow to control it, should you work hard."

A white sphere appeared in front of Asuna's chest, sinking into her and vanishing, making her gasp.

"Campione are forces of nature, known as Usurpers, Rakshata Raja and other, less flattering epithets. You will be isolated by your very existence." the God of Dreams warned Kirito as he started to fade away. "Many will seek to manipulate and control you. Do not allow them to. I hope to see you once again, once I have revived in the Domain of Immortality…Campione Who Surpasses Reality."

With those ominous words, Morpheus faded away completely.

"Well now...that is over and done with." Kayaba said after a minute and looked at Kirito. "I wished to surpass reality, and I have stood witness to one with willpower enough to break the very rules that I had written into the world itself. I believe that in some other world, the Floating Castle of Aincrad exists, Kirito-kun. I truly believe that it does."

"That...it would be good if that was true." Kirito said with a nod, Asuna mutely agreeing with him. By this point, over half of Aincrad was gone.

"Oh yes, before I forget...congratulations on clearing the game, Kirito-kun." Kayaba said with a nod. The creator of the [NerveGear] looked down at his crumbling Castle again for a moment before sighing. "I shall be going now. I wish you fortune on your future endeavours, Kirito-kun, Asuna-kun. As you are a Campione now, I think that any mortal who gets in your way shall be very foolish."

With that, the avatar of Kayaba Akihiko dissolved into mist, vanishing for the last time from the world that he had called himself a god over.

As the Floating Castle Crumbled, Kirito and Asuna spent the time talking and occasionally kissing. One thing that they avoided talking about was Morpheus, but Kirito decided it had to be talked about as the Ruby Palace, the topmost section of the castle, started to show cracks.

"Asuna...what do you make of what that Morpheus guy said…about gods, Authorities and Campione?" he asked. "Because I…I just couldn't doubt what he said."

"I somehow believe him as well, Kirito-kun." Asuna said, a troubled expression crossing her face before changing into determination. "But we'll be together when we leave this world. I'll find you or you'll find me. We'll revive Yui-chan, we'll meet up with our friends, and we'll figure out what Morpheus was talking about…together."

"Yeah...we will." Kirito nodded.

"I know that Morpheus said your real name a while ago, but...what is it?" Asuna asked softly before admitting bashfully, "I was so freaked out by all of this that I can't even remember."

"Kirigaya…Kirigaya Kazuto." Kirito said, the syllables of his real name rolling off his tongue for the first time in two years. "I...think that I turned sixteen last month."

"Pfft...so you are younger than me!" Asuna giggled. "My name is Yuuki Asuna and I'm seventeen. Find me in the real world…Kazuto-kun."

"I promise...Asuna." Kirito said just before the last of the Floating Castle of Aincrad faded away and everything went white.

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Next Chapter: Mundane Life Shattered

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