You're not dreaming, people, we're really here! Welcome all of you to the sequel of my most epic and popular fic ever! Are you ready for some more One Punch-Gamer :D?!

First of all, I should probably apologize for the massive delay for this story. I never expected it to take so long, but between my other SAO fics (Which are going on a temporary Hiatus so that I can center on this one, don't worry), studies and now work time flew from my hands faster than I thought. Luckily, playing "Accel World vs. Sword Art Online: Millennium Twilight", the 4th SAO Gameverse game, recently helped me find the strength needed to finally retake this project, and even inspired some small twists and extras that I wasn't sure if I should add back when I finished the original OPG, I hope that you enjoy them OwO!

Also, obligatory, even if it should be obvious I will give this warning one final time: DON'T read ahead if you haven't read the SAO Light Novels, this story contain Spoilers for the whole Alicization Arc (Which is arguably SAO's best arc), and you will be ruining it for yourself if you're an anime-only that was stubborn enough to not heed my advice at the end of OPG and read the novels. There is also the fact that this story will gloss over a lot of the finest details of the arc because it assumes you know them already, even if the fundamental ones will still be explained for the sake of narrative. And, while not as bad, lots of references to One Punch-Man's characters that are exclusively from the manga, and a couple from the webcomic, will be made, so if you haven't gone and read the manga of the most awesome bald hero ever, you should probably at least go and do that now :D That said, I can't really stop anyone if they want to read it without that, but at least I warned one last time. What happens now it's up to you!

Oh, and many times to Pikanet128 for the amazing cover image of this fic, he's great! You can see bigger versions of it and some small variations through the link of my profile :3!

And with that said, I finally leave you all with the fic. Be ready to get your minds screwed, though, as the beginning part before the 'actual fic' starts is quite 'strange', but it's just to add to the 'mystery' :P Have fun!

Disclaimer: Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

Prologue I: Once Upon a Time, there were Three Friends…

Date: ? Location: ?…

The post-apocalyptic city was eerily silent under the darkened sky that covered it. Among the destroyed town, only a few strange creatures the size of small trucks roamed silently, seeming like a strange cross between beetles and lizards.

That's why the calm figure clad in golden armor stood out so much. Standing tall and proud, the robotic-looking being, clearly female and with the shape of some sort of futuristic warrior, like a samurai that had been adapted into a new millennium, was an absolute contrast to everything around, out of place in such a silent, hostile and desolated world.

With purpose, the golden warrior walked forward, her eyes, 2 white 'ovals' on its featureless and metallic mask, taking in everything around her as if it was something she saw every day.

Her golden armor gave her a majestic look…but also made it an extremely obvious and visible target. No one with enough common sense would have been surprised when, after walking into a wider street, two of the creatures suddenly snapped towards her, their mouths opening into enraged roars as they charged against the, compared to them, small being.

The instant they had started moving, though, her hand had already shot to her back, grasping onto the strange and vaguely rectangular-shaped 'device' that hung from there.

At her touch, a 'cannon' grew from the upper part, even as the lower one opened and something that seemed like a grip with a sharp line coming from the back emerged from the bottom one.

Then, the golden being moved, at a speed that was almost too fast for the human eye to follow, her body way agiler than anyone would think upon seeing its golden armor. Without taking even a second to aim, she shot from the strange weapon she now carried in her left arm, striking one of the creatures right on its left eye.

It barely reduced its HP, but it apparently made it feel quite a lot of pain if the strangled sound coming from it as it lost control during its pounce and crashed upon its companion was anything to go by. Not missing a beat, the golden 'robot' jumped upon its head and catapulted herself forward with mighty strength, just one second before the 2 creatures crashed onto the street.

Not letting the thunderous sound or the cloud of dust caused by her actions affect her, the strange being aimed towards a nearby building with her weapon, even as the shape of the cannon changed, as if reconfiguring itself, before a line of light tipped by what seemed like a futuristic metallic hook shot from it, anchoring itself on the side of the ruined structure.

Like a primate through the jungle, the golden figure swung herself through the air, releasing the hook on the apex of her 'fly' and shooting through the void, heading straight towards the biggest building in the area. Her destination.

A look of concentration shot through the golden-armored being, noticeable even if her 'face' didn't show it. Around her, the air seemed to 'hum' for an instant, even as she raised her weapon once again.

Reality was Willed to Change. Imagination was given Shape. A minuscule piece of the World was Overwritten.

A white light seemed to envelop the being's metallic feet, changing the shape of the armor-like boots until they became what seemed like ice-skates made of light. Then, quickly, she shot with her weapon once again, towards the building's top, the hook+line combo arriving to crash perhaps halfway up just as she slammed into the ruined structure skates-first.

Instead of her body crumpling apart under the pressure, it was the building's side what filled with cracks. Then, unceremoniously, she shot upwards, skiing up the wall as if gravity had no hold on her, the quickly reeling line of her weapon making her gain more speed until she finally shot past where it was hooked, releasing it and once again putting the device on her back as she kept ascending, slowly losing momentum.

She still had more than enough to shoot over the building's roof and, with a graceful flip in midair, land perfectly on it, her boots/feet returning to normal a second later.

Soft clapping suddenly filled the area, the golden armored figure standing up and looking directly at the sound's source.

Leaning against a twisted-looking pillar, a hooded figure sat half-slumped on the ground, clapping with rusted metallic hands towards the newcomer on its abode.

"So, Golden Requiem once again graces me with her presence." spoke the hooded one with a strange voice, neither male nor female, deep and old-sounding, though with amusement clearly noticeable within. "Impressive entrance, as always, Golden King."

"I'm no King." was the first thing the one now identified as 'Golden Requiem' said, her robotic eyes somehow narrowing as she walked towards the 'old man' leaning against the strange 'tower'. "I have told you many times not to call me that."

"Truth is what the world wants it to be, Requiem. If everyone else in this world, even those that follow you, call you King, then it becomes the truth because the majority believes so. It's just how things are." simply replied the hooded figure before releasing a hearty chuckle. "Besides, you more than deserve the title. Level aside, I could count on both my hands the number of people in this world that could pull off something similar at to what you just did to get here…and I would still have 2 fingers remaining."

"…then what about you, Storyteller? How did YOU get here?" shot back the golden warrior with an icy tone.

The mysterious 'Storyteller' did not answer.

Not that the girl had expected him to do so, of course. 'He' (Or 'it', or whatever) had never answered that question since the first time she found him (More like accidentally stumbled upon him), no matter how she tried to formulate it.

"Well then, let's not waste any more of your time." continued the hooded one while brushing off the previous conversation, as if it didn't matter anymore. "Are you here to hear more of that story? Are you truly so curious about it?"

"You are the one who said you could tell me all of it without problems. Don't try and make it seem as if I am the one doing something wrong." as she said those words, Golden Requiem turned away, looking towards the destroyed world around them and admiring the view from that height. "Besides…I have my own reasons to want to know all of it. I wouldn't want the story to be lost if anything happened to you."

"Oh yes, I can tell. Otherwise, you wouldn't keep wasting your time and Points into coming here so often." casually answered the Storyteller without missing a beat, making the robotic-looking girl tense at the words, her left hand seemingly inching towards the device on her back for an instant before relaxing again. "And don't worry, little one: Stories don't die. People, civilization, worlds, even universes may die…but not stories. Not as long as there are people like you…foolish enough to listen to them."

"…was that supposed to be an insult?"

"No, just a simple observation, that's all." dismissed the hooded one with a wave before putting a hand under his chin, humming as in deep thought. "Now then, where did we leave it at last time…?"

"The War of Ragnarok ended. The Heroes won." immediately replied Golden Requiem as if by memory, suddenly seeming a weird mix of tense and eager. "And…the One Punch-Gamer defeated Equinox, saving everyone and bringing peace to the world…"

For a moment, an almost imperceptible trembling shook the body of the mysterious being at the words, too fast to be seen by most people…but the golden warrior caught sight of it, mentally archiving that piece of information

"Ah, yes. That seems like a fitting ending, doesn't it? But, as it's often with life, it sadly wasn't, no. It was but the beginning of the true final and darkest part of this old 'story'…" whispered the Storyteller with a somber tone, before looking towards the clouded sky with the ghost of a smile under his good. "But before you can hear that…you need to hear another one."

"Wait, what?" questioned Golden Requiem with confusion, her eyes narrowing as she turned towards the hooded one. "Another one? Are you messing with me?"

"Oh, I assure you I'm not, Golden King, for this story, in a way, is a key piece of the one you have been hearing so far." revealed the Storyteller with an amused tone, the golden girl's anger at the word 'king' vanishing into cautious curiosity at the declaration. "Intriguing, right? A story within a story…not so strange a concept, yet very unexpected sometimes. Be that as it may, though, young one, this…is the story of 3 friends, bound by Destiny and Honest Bonds…"

On the distance, a soft rumbling seemed to shake the sky, like the announcement of an incoming storm that would never arrive.

"…and of how Fate destroyed their lives."

And so, the story began once again…

Seventh Month of the Human Empire Calendar, 372. Rulid Village's Outskirts…

There wasn't much to see in the middle of the calm and large forests covering most of the northernmost area of the Norlangarth North Empire. Besides the small village that sat there at the very Edge of the Human Empire and the fields surrounding it, nothing of interest stood out at all.

Unless, that is, one looked towards the south of the village and spotted the Black Tree.

Absurdly high, standing over 70 Mels. Impossible thick, with a diameter of around 4 Mels. Unrealistically tough, even the finest iron breaking easily against its jet-black bark. Terribly ancient, its roots extending into the earth as deep as the tree was tall.

This was the Gigas Cedar. The bane of all the over 300 inhabitants of Rulid. Taller than the tallest building in the village (The church's bell tower) by 4 times, it was already a quite intimidating and sinister visage, but what truly made it into a terrible problem were its terrifying abilities: It could drain the Goddesses of the Earth and the Sun's Blessings at a monstrous rate and in a massive range. With the light of Solus and the minerals of Terraria being consumed by its roots and its leaves respectively, it was impossible for the villagers to extend their wheat fields in its direction, which was, sadly enough, the only one in which they could really do so, given that Rulid was surrounded by a range of steep mountains from the north, east, and west.

That was the reason why, over 300 years ago, almost since the founders first settled and built the village, the people of Rulid had been trying to cut down the damned tree.

And that was the reason why, right in that moment, the sound of an axe striking against harder-than-iron-wood could be heard, two small forms visible at the Cedar's base, seeming diminutive in comparison.

They were 2 kids, around 11 years old. One of them, the one with flax-brown wavy hair and green eyes, was chopping away against the massive tree with an axe as white as bone, a concentrated look on his face, wearing light-blue cotton clothes. The other, of black hair and eyes, however, had a challenging smile on his own, even as he was face down on the ground…doing push-ups.

"…99…100!" proclaimed the boy as he finally stood up, dusting his black tunic and white trousers before giving a thumbs-up to the other one. "All that's left today is to run 10000 Mels!"

"Ugh…okay, Kirito, but please, do it after we're done for the day." groaned the green-eyed boy as he lowered the axe and offered it to his smiling friend. "It's your turn, by the way."

"Okay, Eugeo!" quickly replied Kirito before grabbing the axe and getting into a striking position. "Let's go, Dragon Bone Axe! Today we continue our fight against this evil tree!"

"…honestly, I don't know where you get all that energy from." commented Eugeo with a wry smile as he saw his friend start chopping away at the tree, even as he grabbed a small gourd of water and drank copiously from it. "How in Stacia's name do you manage to complete your share of the work and also do that crazy 'training' of yours every day?"

"Hey, don't raise the name of the Creation's Goddess in vain, Eugeo!" shouted the black-haired boy without stopping his crazy tree-chopping, with all the skill of a blind man that had never used such a weapon in his life. "Besides, it's all for the sake of our futures! When I finish my training I will be so strong I will take this tree down with just one punch!"

"Sure you will…" chuckled the green-eyed boy with a chuckle, looking with happy resignation towards his childhood friend.

Kirito was a bit…strange, so to speak. Eugeo had known the orphan boy almost since he had memory, and there had always been an energy and excitement within him that left him, and most adults, baffled. He was the one that enjoyed the stories that old man Garitta, the previous woodcutter before them, the most, and that spent most of their childhood fantasizing about how they would one day go traveling through the land, protecting the Human World from the evil that threatened it and helping the innocents that needed it!

The green-eyed boy didn't see the point, though. Not only it sounded extremely dangerous, but weren't the Axiom Church and the Integrity Knights already there to do all of that? Why would anyone need 'Heroes' when they had something much more reliable looking out for them? Any 'evil' would be coming from beyond the Mountain Range at the Edge, from the Dark Territory where the demons and the dark ones lived, and the Knights always made sure none could pass into their land.

It wasn't as if anyone within the Human Empire would ever do something bad, right? After all, that was why the Taboo Index, the absolute law of the Church, existed over all of them, even the Emperors themselves…

But then, reality had ensued, and they had become 10 and been assigned the Sacred Task of 'cutting down the Gigas Cedar'. To say that the black-haired boy was not amused would be an understatement, and Eugeo had been sure he would throw a tantrum or something…but, surprisingly, he hadn't. Instead, the day they had started cutting down the tree, Kirito had told him his great 'plan.

He would train harder than anyone else in the Human Empire, using a secret training method he had seen in a dream, and become so strong he would take down the Gigas Cedar with one punch, finishing their Sacred Task early and as such letting them choose the next one as whatever they wanted, as per tradition!

Of course, the green-eyed boy wasn't as…'enthusiastic' about his friend's possibilities of actually doing so. In the last 3 hundred years, 6th generations of woodcutters had barely managed to cut through a third of the tree's body, using an axe especially brought from the capital, made of dragon bones, the strongest natural material in the Human Empire. They, the 7th, realistically wouldn't do anything more than a small and insignificant part, as it would most likely take another 600 years before the cedar was cut.

Unless the Goddess Lunaria, ruler of the Moon and Dreams, herself had sent said dream to Kirito, then it was nothing more than a delusion from the black-haired kid being unwilling to give up his dream for spending the rest of his life chopping away at a monstrous tree with an axe, even if it was with his best friend.

It had been a bit more than a year since then, and the one thing Eugeo could concede about his friend was that his determination was as unbreakable as his stamina seemed endless: He hadn't skipped even a single day of doing his 'secret training' (100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats and running 10000 Mels) aside from doing his share of the woodcutting! Seriously, they were days when the more realistic of the kids was scared Kirito's arms or legs were just going to fall off from overworking himself or something…

"C'mon Eugeo, don't use that tone with me! I'm serious!" complained the black-haired boy as he continued doing his sloppy work with the axe, clearly not having improved with it at all since the first day. "Give me a couple more years and you will see! I will become so strong that this tree will be no match at…OUCH!"

"Sigh, seriously? Are you still going on about that? If you have breath to waste talking about your crazy dream then use it to make sure you get better with the axe, dummy!"

The singing voice rang through Eugeo's ears almost like music, despite the annoyed tone it had. Feeling a little smile appearing on his face, the green-eyed boy turned to look at the young girl, the same eyes as them, which had just appeared on the clearing, or more likely had come while they were distracting with their conversation, and bopped the black-haired boy on the head.

Long hair of a golden like the bright sun, tied to both sides of her head, and a braid running down from the back of her head, a cute bow attached at the end of the braid. Eyes the color of the sky, sparkling like sapphires even as she had her arms on jars while pouting with annoyance at Kirito. A white lace around her forehead, with an 'apron' of the same color over a blue dress, finished the picture of the girl, undeniably cute and with an air that just seemed to brighten the atmosphere around her.

"Alice, you didn't have to be so mean!" groaned the hero-wannabe boy while scowling at the girl. "Also, it's not a crazy dream, is my future!"

"Sure it is, and I will become your wife…"

"Eugh! That was a low blow! Besides, we don't need any girls to be Heroes, right, Eugeo?!"

"U-uhm, yeah…?"

This was Alice Zuberg, the last of the inseparable trio that everyone in Rulid affectional called 'The Three Friends'. She was also their self-proclaimed leader as, in her own words, Kirito had muscle and dreams for brains and Eugeo was way too meticulous and worried all the time to take serious decisions.

"What was that, Eugeo?" demanded the blonde girl while walking until she was all but in her friend's face, making him take a nervous step back while blushing. "Are you siding with him in that nonsense?"

"A-ah, ye-yes, uhm, I mean no, eh, I mean…!"

"Hey, why are you stammering nonsense all of a sudden? Speak more like a boy or you will never…!"

"Stop it already, you idiots." cut them off Kirito while appearing between both and putting his open hands on their faces, making them squeak and jump back while they glared/stared in shock at their friend. "See? Better, now nobody is screaming…also, Alice, did you perhaps bring us lunch in that basket? I'm starving!"

Five minutes later, the curious trio was sitting under the Gigas Cedar's shadow, eating the homemade lunch Alice had brought for the boys.

"Man, you really know how to make good food, Alice!" complimented Kirito while munching on the meat sandwich on his hands.

"Well, it's to be expected, mom has been teaching me how to cook for quite some time, you know?" answered the blonde girl with a bright smile.

"Yeah…the only bad thing is that we have to eat it so fast or it will vanish…" lamented Eugeo as he gulped down some water to finish his own sandwich.

"It's the middle of the summer, Eugeo. Fresh food doesn't have that much Life to begin with, but with this heat, bringing it down all the way from the village…" sighing, Alice waved a hand in front of her face while pouting towards the sky. "Well, it goes down to 0 very fast…"

"I just wish this stupid tree's Life would go down the same way…" commented the black-haired boy before, not giving his friends time to even stop him, drawing an 'S' and a 'C'-like symbols in the air with one fingers, then touching the massive form of the black tree and making a strange floating 'window' to appear before it. "I mean, look! It's still over 235500! We have barely reduced it at all in one year! That's why I got to get stronger to take it down with one punch…"

"Kirito, please, stop looking at its Stacia Window every day, you're making me depressed every time you do so…" muttered the green-eyed one of the group while lowering the wrapping of his now eaten sandwich. "And weren't we talking about how our food vanished too fast…?"

"Eh, if we had some ice to keep it cool then it would last much longer…" mused Kirito while looking down at his closed fist with a frown. "Damn problems I can't fix just by punching them…"

"Yeah, well, good luck finding some ice in the middle of summer." joked Eugeo with a wry smile while shaking his head. "Unless you're planning in, like going to the North Cave to get some, there is no way…"

"That's it!" shouted Alice while standing up, a sudden gleam shining in her eyes. "Eugeo, you're a genius!"

"A-am I…?" asked the boy with a small flush, before his eyes quickly widened in realization. "N-no, you can't mean…!"

"Yes! Tomorrow is our free day, right?! Then we will pack lunch and go search for some big chunk of ice at the North Cave! Is perfect!" grinned the blonde girl while putting her hands on her hips, a shining grin on her face. "That way we will have a fresh lunch to enjoy for several days until it all melts, and there is a spot behind my home where the sun never hits, so…"

"Sound like an adventure! Count me in!" proudly proclaimed Kirito while standing up and raising his fist towards the girl. "I will punch all of our obstacles away!"

"Bu-but we can't go there! That cave goes into the Dark Territory, remember?!" as he looked around, as if to make sure no one was hearing them, it was clear that Eugeo was quite scared at the mere idea of it. "We can't go there! Not only is terribly dangerous, the Taboo Index forbids it!"

"The Taboo Index only forbids 'touching the land of the Dark Territory', right? It doesn't say anything about not going near it!" challenged Alice with a determined look, making the green-eyed boy bite his lips. "All we will do is going inside the cave deep enough to find some ice, get it and come back! We won't even get close to the Dark Territory!"

"Bu-but…"

"C'mon Eugeo, where is your sense of adventure?" asked the black-haired boy while putting a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Besides, if anything happens, we will be there to protect Alice, right?"

"…ri-right!"

"Hey! Need I to remind you two who is the most promising Sacred Arts' user the village has seen in years?"

It was among this friendly bickering that the three friends could be seen later heading back to the village, Rulid's gentle and calm atmosphere looking beautifully relaxing under the setting sun.

However, what none of them was expecting was for a small figure to suddenly rush out of the village towards them, seemingly as soon as she spotted them. Blinking, the trio stopped and regarded the girl with tea-colored eyes and hair with confusion as she rushed down the small hill where their village was located.

"Wait, isn't that…?" started Eugeo before the 7-years-old all but crashed against Alice's chest, tears running down her eyes as she hugged the life out of the older girl.

"Waaaaah! Onee-chan! You're okay!" cried the little girl while the blonde tried to balance herself under the worried gaze of her 2 friends. "Thank the Goddesses, you're okaaaaay, waaaah!"

"Se-Selka, calm down!" nervously said the aforementioned female while patting the tea-haired one in the head. "What's wrong, little sis?"

The little girl, Selka Zuberg, Alice's little sister, raised her scared eyes as she let go of her sister, her eyes quickly shooting towards Eugeo and Kirito too before they softened with relief.

"You're all okay…thanks Stacia…"

"Why wouldn't we be okay, Selka-chan?" questioned Kirito while ruffling the little girl's hair, making her blush and look down. "We were just at the cedar, like always, and…"

"…I had another of those dreams." whispered Selka while still looking down.

Immediately, the atmosphere radically shifted among the friends.

Alice paled and quickly knelt beside her sister, forcing her to look at her eyes as she brought her close.

Eugeo's eyes widened and he quickly looked around, almost letting go of the Dragon Bone Axe as he made sure no other villager was close, walking until he stood behind the girl and blocked her view from the village's entrance.

Kirito's mouth clenched shut as he stood closer to the girls and looked back towards the road, making sure no one that has been working in the fields till late was coming.

"Selka…are you sure it was one of those dreams?" asked the blonde girl with a very serious tone, getting a nod from her little sister in answer. "…was it something scary? You have never reacted like this before…"

"I-it was scary! It's…longer and more defined than any other before…" muttered Selka while twiddling with the helm of her dress, her gaze suddenly seeming distant. "You three were under the Gigas Cedar, like always, talking and laughing, but then…the sky turned dark, neither Solus' nor Lunaria's light illuminating the world anymore. The earth split apart, as if someone was murdering Terraria herself, and…a golden light came and took you away, Onee-chan. E-Eugeo tried to grab you, bu-but…bones grew from the scars on the earth and dragged him under! And when I realize it, Kirito was just…gone, as if he had never been there in the first place. But…the most terrifying thing was…the chains."

"Chains…?"

"Bigger than the mountains, bigger than the sky itself, so many of them…all of them were coming down and wrapping around the world…" as she said those words, the tea-haired girl shook slightly, her grip on her sister's hand tightening. "All of them were coming for…him. The man that wasn't a man…the one with the white cape and the bottomless eyes, his face a carpet of darkness, and then…nothing."

"Nothing…? As in, you woke up right there?" asked Eugeo while suddenly feeling his throat very dry.

"No, nothing as in…nothing remained after that. Only…silence."

As if her word were a Prophecy waiting to be fulfilled, the sun finished setting in that moment, sending a strange shiver running down everyone's back, before Alice quickly smiled reassuringly and pulled her little sister into a hug.

"Hey, it's okay Selka. We're fine, see? Nothing bad is going to happen to us." reassured the blonde girl before giving out a big smile towards the tea-haired one. "Now why don't we hurry back home before it gets too late? I think we're having meat pies for dinner!"

"Me-meat pies? Really?! Yay!" quickly cheered up Selka before turning around and running back towards the village. "C'mon, Onee-chan, or there won't be any left for us! You know how much daddy loves those!"

"I'm right behind you!" shouted Alice with a smile that slowly melted off her face as her sister vanished from their sight. "…dammit…"

"Alice…this time it seems very serious." started Eugeo with a tone that was half-scared and half-worried, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Maybe we should tell your parents alrea…"

"No!" denied the blonde girl while turning to grip her friend's arm, a look of fear and determination on her eyes. "You promised, Eugeo! We can't tell anyone!"

"She's right, partner." muttered Kirito while biting his lips, the boy's eyes fixed on the entrance to Rulid. "If anyone realized the truth, then…"

"But you have to understand…we're just kids! And since we started our Sacred Tasks it has become more and more difficult to keep an eye on her! At this rate, either your parents or someone else will notice even if we don't say anything…" tried to reason the green-eyed kid while looking down. "I myself wanted to deny it at first, but I think at this point none of us can…your sister can see things that are going to happen before they happen, Alice."

It has started almost 2 years ago. They were 9 by then, and Selka only 5, a bundle of joy her sister was always watching out for and that her 2 best friends didn't mind helping with too, especially after a scare one day when the 2 sisters were alone playing along the nearby river and Selka almost drowned after slipping inside.

Then, one day, the little tea-haired girl said that she had seen 'something' on the water while they were getting some from the aforementioned river. The friends had dismissed it as an odd fish or something similar that had vanished from sight quite fast. Then, the same happened when Selka was staring at a window that evening, but that time she said she had clearly seen a group of birds flying over the village, in her words.

When, 3 days later, an unusually large group of birds flew over Rulid, no one gave it too much attention, not even the trio of friends. They were kids, after all, and, even for the small part of them that remembered the 'warning', it had to have been a coincidence, right?

But then…it kept happening. From time to time, at seemingly random intervals, the little girl would see something, always on reflecting surfaces (Be it water, crystals or mirrors) and not long after that, something eerily similar would happen for real: A very strong wind shaking the village, unusual heat in a cold day, a caravan arriving later than expected…

After almost a year of it happening, the trio was forced to admit that something was indeed happening with Alice's little sister, even the somewhat reticent about strange things person that was Eugeo. Luckily, it wasn't too difficult for them to convince her of only telling them about said things, and they even recommended her to try and avoid staring at reflective surfaces for too long, as a mean to prevent the strange 'visions' from happening. And for a while, it seemed to work: For almost 2 months of careful vigilance and extra-pampering to distract her, Selka didn't have any more of her visions.

And then the dreams started.

It was as if the visions had come back with a vengeance after being denied, in a way that none of them could prevent them. Even more worrying, bit by bit, the things the tea-haired girl saw in her dreams slowly became more complex and more difficult for her to understand or explain. The latest one was probably one of the most obvious examples, and a more than obvious reason for Eugeo to suggest they finally brought the problem to the adults…but…

"Eugeo, you need to look at the big picture." softly replied Kirito while looking away, towards the skies at the south, beyond the Gigas Cedar. "It may be true that this is starting to be something we can't fully control, but…think about all of those rumors…"

"The-they're just rumors, though…"

"So many and so often?" challenged Alice when she saw the doubt appear once again on her friend's face. "Please, Eugeo, understand…I don't want to risk anything happening to my sister because of this…"

Biting his lips, the green-eyed boy looked from the girl to his other friend, thinking over what they had just brought up, the strange reason why they insisted to keep Selka's 'condition' a secret.

That is, the strange rumors that had started circulating everywhere for over a year now, just a little after he and Kirito started their Sacred Task.

A merchant had arrived one day and, during the usual trade with the villagers, had commented about a strange story of a large creature wearing a crown having been seen in the big lake far away on the south, near an abandoned villa. All the adults had chalked it up to the overly active imagination of someone…until a month later the same merchant came again saying that people from the nearby town of Zakkaria had seen an Integrity Knight heading that way on their dragon, which became the talk of the village for a couple weeks.

From then on, similar and strange stories would come and go for the few people that came to the village or that went to Zakkaria to get something they needed, each weirder than the last.

A man with a strange moustache and a sword that extended dozens of Mels seen somewhere in the Eastabarieth Empire.

A great shadow that no one could catch moving through the forests at the edge between the Wesdarath and Southacroith Empires.

A giant 'dog with a human face' stalking into the night atop the Immortal Walls at the east from Zakkaria.

A young with a strange spear that impaled through rocks as if they were sand running around near Centorea, the capital.

Strange 'subterranean' humanoid creatures emerging during the night, grabbing rocks and branches without disturbing any animal before going underground once again.

And, the only thing that all of them had in common and that made people even consider them more than crazy talk, every time an Integrity Knight or more would be seen in the area soon after, before all talks and reports of the 'incidents' stopped altogether, as if the ones involved just…'vanished'.

"All around, people or creature with these…'blessings', or 'curses' or whatever they are, suddenly disappear soon after they're spotted…and I think it's pretty obvious that Selka's 'visions' are one of these things too, it's just that no one realizes it because they think she's just a little girl talking nonsense…but that will change sooner or later as she grows up." whispered Kirito before clenching his fists, looking at his friends with determination. "That's why, when I become strong enough to take down the Cedar with one punch and choose our next Sacred Task, I'm going to bring her with us! Like that, we will always be able to keep her safe!"

The boy's outrageous declaration was met by an awkward but grateful smile from Alice and a resigned but happy look from Eugeo, both of them sharing the admiration towards their strange friend's drive, even if not truly believing in his crazy claim/objective/dream.

"Heh…thanks, Kirito. Guess I will have to entrust my little sister to you in the future, eh?"

"What are you saying, Alice?! You're coming with us, of course!"

"Ehm, Kirito, even if you really take down the tree, Alice's Sacred Task wouldn't end like ours…and on that matter, how are you even planning on taking Selka with us wherever we go?"

"That's easy! Our new Sacred Task will be 'Heroes of the Land'! And everyone knows Heroes need brave companions!"

"That…that Sacred Task doesn't exist…"

"That's the great thing; we will be the first ones in doing it! And part of its requirements will be that we need 2 helpers, a brave and talented Sacred Arts user that can continue her Sacred Task while traveling with us and her ever-helpful little sister!"

"…that's…the craziest idea I have ever heard…thanks, Kirito, you always know how to brighten even the heaviest day!"

"No problem, Alice! Now c'mon, let's get moving, we need to get everything ready for tomorrow!"

"Wh-what?! We're still going to the cave even after hearing that vision of Selka?!"

"It will be fine! Don't you remember? Selka's visions take anywhere from 3 days to over a week before happening! All we have to do is make sure you're not close to any bones or me to a golden light for a couple weeks and nothing will happen!"

"And we DO need that ice, though, so that our lunches can be enjoyed more and as such we have more energy to take down that tree…"

Even as he heard his two closest friends continue talking about why they needed the ice from the cave, Eugeo of Rulid couldn't help but sigh and look down at the Dragon Bone Axe in his hands, idly reminding he had yet to put it back in its proper place until the next day.

Maybe Kirito and Alice were right and he was just being paranoid. After all, even if this one sounded a bit weird, lately Selka's dream-visions were kind of like that and nothing too bad happened, like how she said that 'a giant fish was going to try and eat the sun' and it had only been an unfortunate one that had been swimming unusually fast and jumped head first out of the river and into a small campfire some of the villagers had made that night to relax.

There was no way anything bad would happen to them in the cave tomorrow…right?

For some reason, as the green-eyed boy walked back into the village and towards his home, a certain part of the little girl's strange words echoed into his head.

A strange caped man clad in black and white…

"Brrr…it's really cold in here…"

"See? I knew this was a bad idea! We should probably go back and forget about…"

"Sigh, here Alice, we brought these coats for a reason. And Eugeo, really, if you were so hesitant about coming, why did you bother bringing that axe?"

"I-I already told you, I thought we may run into ice too big to cut without something like this, nothing more!"

Such were the words that could be heard deep inside the Northern Cave, the northernmost edge of the Human Empire, as the 3 kids walked through its cold caverns, the freezing cold river that they always saw near their village flowing beside them, its source probably somewhere in the cold depths, only the light of Alice's summoned Luminous Element letting them move through the darkness.

It was already a bit past midday and the trio of friends had already eaten their 'dinner' just outside the cave, some meat pies from Alice's house and a couple sandwiches Eugeo's mother had prepared for her son and her friend's 'little excursion' (Excuse the boy had given when asked where they were going).

What had surprised the other two, though, was seeing the green-eyed boy carrying the Dragon Bone Axe when they met up that morning. Despite the flimsy excuse he insisted on repeating, both of them had accepted it with small grins, as it was probably the most forward and 'aggressive' action they had ever seen the meek boy done.

After all, while there was no 'rule' forbidding him from taking the axe from its shed during their free day, it was mainly because it was common sense it wouldn't be used said day than for it being available for anyone. Such 'loophole' on rules was something more proper of the blonde girl than of him, without a doubt.

"D-do you think it's much farther before we find ice?" asked the green-eyed boy while his gaze kept shooting from side to side, as if fearing something would attack from the unseen shadows.

"With how cold it is, I doubt it. Also, what are you scared of, Eugeo? This cave has been empty for centuries…unless you fear we're going to run into the dragon protecting it?" joked Alice with a mischievous look, causing her friend to blush.

"Tha-that's just a legend about Rulid's founder, nothing more!" protested Eugeo while 'subtly' tightening his grip on the Dragon Bone Axe, "There is no way a dragon lives inside this cave!"

"Oh yeah, 'Bercouli and the Dragon', right? It was the first story Garitta-san ever told us…" commented Kirito while walking at the front of the group, giving back a feral smile while raising his fist. "But don't worry, Eugeo! Even if we find the dragon, I will punch it into unconsciousness while you hack his wings off with your axe!"

"That doesn't reassure me at all!" shouted the green-eyed boy with a small hint of hysteria in his voice, even as the darkness around them seemed to recede a little and the cave to open a bit more. "Besides, I already told you, there is no way that there is a…!"

"Dragon." came out of Alice's mouth as she suddenly came to an abrupt stop, making the boys freeze and quickly turn to look in the same direction, one pale and shaking and the other serious and ready.

What they saw…wasn't what they had feared/expected, yet it was still incredible.

There, in the center of a massive cavern, atop a frozen lake which covered most of it, the dragon of the legend rested…or, more exactly, its remains, as there was just a skeleton clearly belonging to the massive winged reptile of legend, lying there in a clearly fallen position, the cold bones seeming like a monument to some unknown and tragic defeat.

"It…can't be…" whispered Eugeo as the 3of them walked closer, staring at the bones with awe and a small hint of fear, the boy easily noticing how the skull of the thing was big enough to have swallowed them whole. "It's actually real…?"

"It was, you mean." corrected Kirito with a frown while walking closer to it and, without showing any of the hesitation the other 2 kids were, touching the cold bones several times. "I don't get it, though…how did it die? In the legend, Bercouli had to run away from it because it was too powerful…"

"Maybe it died of old age?" proposed Alice as she walked closer, the black-haired boy's actions having erased her lingering fears of the skeleton. "Even dragons must one day experience losing all their Life because of the passing of time, I guess…"

"That's…the most logical answer, but…"

Whatever Eugeo wanted to say died in his throat as he stopped just a few steps away from the dragon's skeleton, the voices of his friends as they kept theorizing what happened to it being lost as he felt IT.

In his hands, the Dragon Bone Axe was…vibrating. In a subtle, imperceptible way, one that no one who wasn't holding it and had spent over a year of their lives swinging it would notice.

As if it was resonating with something…and…what was that…noise coming through…the dragon's bones…?

'Why did we die? We did nothing wrong…yet he came to destroy us…'

A sudden flash exploded through the green-eyed boy's mind. A raging beast. A fearless man. A blade that could cut through [Time] itself…

"Eugeo? Is something wrong?"

Alice's voice managed to drag the blinking boy out of his 'trance', making him realize he had at some point walked close enough to the dragon's skeleton to have his axe just over its skull.

"Wa-waaah!" squeaked Eugeo while letting go of the axe, his gaze darting back towards his confused friends. "So-sorry, I just got lost in thought and…!"

With a dull sound, the Dragon Bone Axe's edge cut into the cold skeleton.

The whole cave shook, making all three kids scream in surprise, eyes shooting towards the twisting 'energy' warping where bone-weapon met dragon's bones.

For a moment, a twisted and elongated shadow was visible amidst the distortion…before the phenomenon ended and the Dragon Bone Axe fell down, unmoving and looking the same as ever, as if nothing had happened.

…except that the massive dragon skeleton had vanished without a trace, revealing what had been hiding under it.

A beautiful-looking bluish-white sword with a rose-like motif on its guard, the hilt looking pristine in an unnatural way while the blade's steel seemed like it was made of the purest ice.

"…wha…what just happened?" asked Kirito with utter confusion in his voice.

"It's…it's the dragon's sword! The one that Bercouli tried to steal without success!" shouted Alice with clear excitement, rushing towards the ancient weapon.

"Sorry, didn't you just see the dragon's skeleton vanishing without a trace, Alice?!" questioned/screamed Eugeo with bewilderment, rushing after his friend and only stopping to pick up his axe, barely acknowledging how cold it suddenly felt. "I think that's a pretty good reason to panic and…! Woah, that sword is…really beautiful…"

"Hmm…" muttered Kirito while walking up to the weapon and quickly opened its Stacia Window, ignoring the startled look of his companions as he stared at the words. "Blue Rose Sword, eh? «Divine Object»? That sounds cool! And…'Priority Class 45'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know, but maybe I can discreetly ask sister Azariya if she does…" answered Alice while thinking about the woman in charge of the church and her Sacred Arts' teacher while she leaned down to pick up the blade. "In any case, we should better get going and…ugh…wh-why is this thing so heavy?!"

"Wait, really?" asked the green-eyed boy while leaning down to help his struggling friends. "It doesn't look like…argh…da-damn…it's really heavy…!"

"Do not worry guys, I'm coming to help!"

5 minutes later, the trio was forced to quit after they had only managed to drag the half-raised sword until near the tunnel they had entered the cavern from (Mostly thanks to Kirito's effort, whose strength had surprised his friends), all of them looking down at the sword with disbelieving eyes.

"How can a blade be so heavy? One wouldn't be even able to use it like this!" complained the blonde girl while kicking the weapon's hilt.

"Well, it's still a treasure, so we can come back later for it…why do you say we get that ice and try to drag it a bit more next time? With time, I'm sure we will be able to take it all the way to Rulid!" cheerfully proclaimed the black-haired boy.

"Kirito…sometimes I don't know if your optimism is admirable or frustrating." confessed Eugeo with a sigh as they once again headed into the tunnels, Alice once again calling forth a source of light with a Sacred Art. "Also, don't you think we should go back already? Things have gotten too strange here…"

"Yeah, it's easy for you to say that, you got to kill a dragon's skeleton with your axe!" huffed the blonde girl while giving him a pout. "Well, I'm not getting out of here without my ice after bothering to come all the way!"

"I-I didn't kill those bones, i-it was an accident! Also, can bones even be ki…?"

"Found the ice!" interrupted Kirito's voice with a victorious tone, making the two 'arguing' friends to turn towards the last one, in time to see him punching against what seemed like half a wall of ice filling the tunnel's side. "I will…get us a good chunk…in no time…!"

"Kirito, don't do stupid things, that's what Eugeo brought the axe…" the blonde girl's explanation was suddenly moot when she saw the boy's fist slam deep into the ice, cracking the entire wall and letting several big-sized chunks fall off around him. "…for…okay, how in Stacia's name did you do that?"

"I have been training to get stronger, remember?" was all that he offered for explanation while grabbing a respectable-sized piece of ice. "Brrr, cold…Alice, open your basket, I'm sure this one will do nicely!"

"…one day, Kirito, I swear it, one day your craziness will stop surprising me." grumbled Alice while walking forward and letting her friend put the frozen liquid into her basket. "Huh…it's not as heavy as I expected…"

"I can still carry it back, if you want to…"

"Okay, yeah, that's good and all, but can we start heading back already?" hurriedly asked Eugeo while stepping between them, his eyes darting everywhere but at his friends while his grip on the Dragon Bone Axe shifted continuously. "We don't even know how long we have been in here…"

"Sigh, yes, worrywart, we're heading back…" muttered the blonde girl before turning around, only for her eyes to move in confusion through the tunnel they have come from. "Uhm…this way, let's go!"

"We're right behind you, Alice!"

"Ye-yeah, let's just move…"

However, five minutes later, it was more than obvious to the three friends that something was 'wrong', pointed by the fact that they hadn't stumbled upon the cavern previously housing the dragon's skeleton and the ancient sword. And, as expected, it was the green-eyed boy who decided to voice out the fear they shared.

"…w-we're lost, aren't we?"

"O-of course we aren't lost; we must have just taken the wrong turn somewhere!" quickly answered Alice, though there was no hiding the evident fear and nervousness in her voice. "I-I'm sure that…oh, look, I see light! See? We must have just taken another path that still led us to the…!"

The word 'exit' never came from the blonde girl's mouth, for all three kids froze the moment they turned the next corner, frozen as their eyes widened upon the sight.

On hindsight, the rather 'low' intensity of the light should have tipped them off that something was wrong even before they got closer, but after so long in the dark with only a small source of illumination, it was only natural their eyes hadn't realized the difference.

Otherwise, they probably wouldn't be staring at the expansive and dead-looking land before their eyes, the cave's ground ending just a few Mels from where they had stopped, a few dead trees around being the closest sign of life in a world where the sky seemed darker for no reason, as if Solus' light wasn't truly welcome there…

"Th-the Dark Territory…" squeaked Eugeo with a dread-filled voice, instinctively taking a step back. "O-oh Goddesses…how did we end here?!"

"We mu-must have taken the wrong turn somewhere in the darkness without realizing it…" gulped Alice while trying to not show how scared she actually was too, failing utterly because of the slight trembling in her legs. "Le-let's hurry back, we don't…!"

"Wait…what is that…?" spoke Kirito with an unusually serious voice, squinting his eyes upwards into the strangely dark sky, both his friends following cue by instinct, just as the sounds of battle finally became apparent for them.

High above, just at the edge of their vision range, an unreal fight raged on in the skies.

Two dragons, one jet black and the other of silver-gray scales, clashed fiercely in a flurry of fangs and claws, with viciousness beyond anything the three kids had ever seen.

But it was the riders who truly stole their breath away in a very ugly way.

Riding the black dragon was a mountain of a 'man', almost as big as his ride, whose form and shape seemed 'wrong' to the children's eyes from the distance, his hands seeming too big and shaped in a way that made no sense, his head also seeming unnatural, as if he was wearing a strange reddish armor over his upper body…

The other one, though, was unmistakably an Integrity Knight, one of the protectors of the Human World, wearing silver-white full body armor, which immediately identified his opponent as a Dark Knight, the elite warriors of the dark humans that lived in the Dark Territory…

The weapon he was using, though, wasn't the usual blade you would expect from one of the 'Knights', though. In fact, he was wielding two long 'objects', one in each hand, whose length and vaguely cylindrical shape on the 'blades' (Plus the lack of any edge) indicated they weren't swords at all…and then, there was the strange, crackling energy surrounding them, like a living yellowish web that shot in and out of the weapons.

All the way down, the smell of burnt ozone reached the trio's noses, and a vague realization's of the energy's true nature hit them, also explaining why the Dark Knight wasn't willing to let them clash with his massive…pincers?

Finally, though, the 'freezing spell' under which the kids had been put since their gazes settled over the fight was broken as the energy around the Integrity Knight's weapons intensified, his enemy apparently realizing the imminent danger and trying to back away…

Too late.

"MAX VOLTAGE!"

The scream somehow reached all the way to the trio's ears, though the loud rumbling of thunder coming from both weapons clashing together quickly overcame it.

Cutting through the air, a massive lightning bolt exploded towards the Dark Knight, engulfing him and his dragon in a torrent of electric power, their screams being silenced by the roaring thunderbolt.

Then, after 3 seconds that seemed to last an eternity, the attack ended, the smoking forms of rider and beast falling down at brutal speeds, even as, after a tired glance their way, the Integrity Knight flew away, his dragon roaring in victory as their enemies brutally slammed against the ground.

Staring with wide eyes, once again unable to move from the shock, Alice, Eugeo, and Kirito were left with the visage of the broken body of the black dragon and its knight…and finally realized what had been 'wrong' with him.

While everything from his waist down was human (The black armor he wore here having mostly broken to show parts of horribly charred skin), his upper body was like some sort of bizarre humanoid crustacean, of red-orange color and with massive pincers instead of arms, his eyes protruding out of his head with 2 antennae-like appendages…or at least, had been, given that one of them had smashed brutally against the ground and turned into little more than paste, and the other was charred to the point it clearly couldn't see anymore, the smell coming out of his whole charred body being enticing to the children's nostrils in a very sickening way.

The creature didn't fit the description of any of the beings inhabiting the Dark Territory the three friends had known about, which combined with the fact that it had apparently been a Dark Knight made even less sense (As the 'evil order' of dragon riders were supposed to be only composed of humans).

For the second time in the last minutes, an unexpected sound startled the trio out of their frozen state: A barely audible pained groan, coming from the clearly dying humanoid creature…

"W-we should get out of here." quickly declared Eugeo, finally noticing that he had been gripping his axe so hard his hands were hurting, his eyes quickly shooting towards his closest friend as he took a step back. "Kirito, let's…eh?"

The reason for the green-eyed boy's sudden surprise was more than evident and, all things considered, a little scary.

Kirito stood there, STARING at the agonizing Dark Knight with unfocused eyes, his gaze seemingly fixed on the being and at the same time lost in a distant place.

A word seemed to be trying to escape his lips, in a way so forced that Eugeo was unable to properly understand it.

"Crab…lan…te…?"

"Crab-what? Kirito…?"

Yet another pained moan coming from the dying Dark Knight interrupted the green-eyed boy, making him cringe and take another step back.

Alice gasping out of her own stunned shock and taking a step forward wasn't something he was expecting, though.

"A-ah, hang in there!" half-shouted the blonde girl while taking several steps forward, her eyes never leaving the gruesome visage of the humanoid creature. "I-I know Sacred Arts…I can help you!"

"Alice, are you insane?!" shouted Eugeo with horrified eyes, though his own fear stopped him from taking a step after his friend. "He's a Dark Knight, an enemy of the Human Empire! You can't help him!"

"But…but…Sister Azariya taught me to help anyone who needed it!" protested the blonde girl while stopping and turning around, biting her lips while she stared at her childhood friends with uncertain eyes. "If there is a chance to save his life, I can't just…!"

It happened all of a sudden, without warning.

Somehow, without realizing it, Alice had continued walking backward as she talked, with unsteady steps and, finally, reached the end of the cave's rocky ground, the little girl's eye widening as she realized her mistake just as she fell backward, towards the dark ground.

Both boys' very souls snapped in that instant, a fear filling them as Kirito's eyes shot open, out of whatever enchantment he had been in, just as Eugeo screamed the blonde's name, the pair moving forward faster than they had ever before.

The black-haired boy reached her first, extending himself forward to catch one of her flailing arms. The green-eyed one arrived an instant later, gripping one of her legs.

None of them could stop the event that would define their, and the entire world's, future, though, and so Alice Zuberg's hand slammed painfully on the blackened dirt outside the cave, into the Dark Territory, while the rest of her body and her two friends simply fell on the rocky ground.

Three pairs of eyes shot towards the hand touching the land of Darkness, as if it was both the most incredible and at the same time the most horrifying thing they had ever seen. Then, less than a second later, Alice had removed it, staring at her dirt-stained palm with scared eyes. Before any of them could even open their mouths to say anything, though…IT happened.

Barely a couple Mels beside the trio, the world screamed, distorting and letting 'something' appear, a warped violet 'circle', similar yet different to a Stacia Window, manifested itself, and from within came…a human face.

It was hard to tell if it was male or female, young or old, from its plain features. Its skin was pale, its head didn't have a single strand of hair and both of its eyes, which opened in a perfect circle, were also void of emotions.

Then, its mouth opened and a voice that didn't sound human emerged from it, strange words that seemingly made no sense being spoken.

Vaguely, the children realized it was speaking in Sacred Tongue, though without any words they had ever heard on it…

-singular &%##…unit ()%%…detected ?¿/ …ID 138982…tracing $*/…-

There was an eternal pause, which didn't really last more than a couple seconds, but that the sudden flash coming from the glass-like eyes of the face made the trio felt infinitely longer.

-coordinate 7656/889…fixed ?L=L?…Report #!#…Complete.-

Finally, the words stopped and the 'window' vanished without a trace, leaving only eerie silence behind.

Eugeo didn't know when he had stood up again, nor when he had raised his axe in the direction the head had been in, towering protectively over his friends, but he was more than startled when he realized he had done so. A quick glance back let him see the grimly-looking Kirito half-crouching over the still shocked Alice, giving him a curt nod of acknowledgment, as if thanking for his position.

The green-eyed boy couldn't even muster the will of telling him he had done so without realizing when the last, pained breath escaped the lonely Dark Knight outside the cave, making their eyes turn towards his body as it finally slumped in eternal rest.

Not saying a word, Kirito stood up and, without giving her time to protest, carried Alice bridal style, turning around and sprinting into the cave.

"Quick, Eugeo!" shouted the black-haired boy without looking back, an unusually mature seriousness filing his voice. "We gotta go back!"

For an instant, the green-eyed boy turned to look at the dead body of the Dark Knight.

Then, he followed after his friends, his grip on the strangely cold axe tightening once again.

This time, as they ran into the darkness, he didn't look anywhere but forward even once.

Eugeo had problems sleeping that night.

He wasn't even sure how they managed to get back to Rulid without anything happening. After the events in the cave and beyond, he was sure that something would suddenly appear to drag them into the darkness, that the Integrity Knight would show up with his lighting-creating weapons to punish them, that the ghost of the Dark Knight would come to haunt them…

And yet, nothing happened. With a surreal and almost dream-like quality after everything they went through, they arrived back to the village in record time, Kirito let go of the strangely submissive and silent Alice (Who promised them a great lunch the next day with a shaky smile before running off to her home with their 'Summer Ice') and they went back their separate ways (With him making small detour to leave the Dragon Bone Axe back on its shed). He got home, was greeted by his mother, annoyed by his siblings and told to take a bath by his father. He ate dinner with his family and then went to bed.

All that normality after the horrifying and strange things they had witnessed…it felt bizarre to the green-eyed boy, like it was a bad joke Life was trying to force on him.

He had always been a devoted believer in the righteousness of the Axiom Church and the authority of the Integrity Knights. They were the protectors of orders, those who maintained all of humanity safe, and those who defended it from the threats of darkness while enforcing the Taboo Index for everyone's sake.

But, what he had seen back at the cave…that strange 'vision' of the dragon being killed by what could have only been a Knight, that gruesome 'battle' over the heavens, the pitiful form of the dying Dark Knight's body…all of it had shaken the little boy down to his very soul.

The form of that brutalized creature, dying on the ground, hadn't seemed like the evil monsters he had always been told about after being vanquished by the defenders of the world, at all,…just like a dying man desperately wishing to not suffer anymore.

When he finally managed to fall asleep, the young woodcutter dreamed of draconic bones roaring for revenge and twisting themselves all around him…

"Eugeo…are you sure you're okay? You have looked like crap all morning." worriedly commented Kirito while stopping his daily sit-ups to stare at his friend, the weak smile he wore not fitting with the dark bags under his eyes.

"Yeah…just a bad night of sleep, nothing to worry about. Honestly, I'm happy to be here cutting this damn tree again." confessed the green-eyed boy while swinging the white axe once again, idly aware of how nice and cool it felt under Solus' summer heat. "After everything we saw yesterday, I needed some normalcy to remember that the world hasn't gone mad…"

"Well, I guess that's understandable…don't worry, though! Today, we're gonna be able to enjoy some cold milk and fresh pie today!" cheered him the black-haired boy while also looking quite pleased with the thought.

Eugeo was unable to contain his own smile at his friend's words, stopping his swinging for a moment to look at the sky as he took a sip of Siral Water.

Yes, what had happened yesterday had been traumatizing and world-shaking for him, but now things were alright once again, and soon Alice would come with that usual radiant smile of hers that always made him feel happier inside, and they would all enjoy…

A big shadow flew over them, hiding what little of Solus' midday light arrived directly to them through the Gigas Cedar's branches. It passed by in just a few seconds, but it was more than enough for them to hear the flapping of powerful wings and a familiar silver-gray form.

Both kid's heart stopped as they saw the dragon rider fly towards Rulid, vanishing from their view in a couple seconds, their eyes shooting towards each other as unspoken realization crossed between them.

The Integrity Knight. The same one for yesterday. Never in their 11+ years of life had they ever seen an Integrity Knight. After all, there was never any reason for them to act around Rulid, or anywhere within the Human Empire. All 4 Empires that formed it followed the Axiom Church's doctrine, after all, and there were no rebellions or criminals that would…that would…

"No…no way…"

There was no way that…for such a simple thing…for an accident she had no control over…

Kirito spoke aloud the terrifying realization at which Eugeo had arrived.

"Is coming for Alice."

The black-haired boy didn't even wait for an acknowledgment of his words before he shot to his feet and rushed towards the village in a mad sprint, kicking dirt every time his feet hit the ground. An instant later, his green-eyed friend ran after him, his heart hammering in his chest and his grip on the Dragon Bone Axe tightening again, ignoring how colder and heavier it suddenly felt as he tried to keep up with his friend.

Under any other circumstances, he would have been slightly shocked or awed at how fast Kirito was running, easily leaving him behind, probably faster than even the fittest men in the whole village. It would have probably made the green-eyed boy wonder if his training was more than just over-enthusiastic craziness. However, his mind was too focused on the fact that an Integrity Knight was coming for Alice because of an accident that he was unable to think or care for that.

That was probably also why he didn't realize he, despite not going as fast, was still being quick enough to keep a reasonable distance close to his strange friend, as if something he was holding was dragging his tired and small body forward.

They barely even noticed the farmer that gaped their way when they shot past him, straight for the village, the elderly man just staring in flabbergasted shock at the 2 kids that he saw almost every day head for the tree moving so fast he almost thought they were some wild animals rushing past.

Eugeo wasn't sure when they arrived at the village's main square, but by the time he had finished recovering his breath, Kirito was already staring with hard eyes towards the other side, where the imposing form of the armored dragon covered an entire section of the plaza, the even more imposing rider standing taller than any villager, like an otherworldly figure higher than mortal men. On his back, which made the green-eyed boy's heart skip a beat, 2 familiar tube-like weapons rested, seeming harmless and non-threatening, betraying the terrifying power he knew they held.

His eyes, however, immediately shot towards a head of golden hair standing paralyzed amongst the crowd of villagers, who had gathered to see the unexpected and breathtaking arrival of the Integrity Knight, holding her small basket tightly to her side.

Once again, the black-haired boy was one step before the green-eyed one, arriving at their childhood friend's side, grabbing her shoulder and forcing her to look at him.

"Ki-Kirito…? Eugeo?" asked the stunned blonde while looking at her friends, the latter having just arrived panting after the first one grabbed her. "What..?"

"Shh! Alice, don't say anything!" quickly silenced her Kirito while slowly taking steps backward, as inconspicuously as possible, even as Eugeo's eyes shot towards all the adults surrounding them, as if fearing they were about to attack them or something. "We need to get you out of here!"

"Wa-wait, why would you…? Ah…father."

At her unexpected declaration, both boys' eyes shot back towards the center of the square, where a man of slightly dark hair and trimmed beard, his firm body dressed with a simple best over his normal clothes, his piercing gaze seeming unusually diminished as he walked towards the towering figure of the armored knight.

With one glance, one would be hard-pressed to say Gasupht Zuberg was Alice and Selka's father, even if the latter had inherited her hair color from him (Though slightly softer in the girl's case), but that was because both looked much more like their mother, Sadina, who probably was still in the house making sure the young girl didn't girl involved in the commotion.

"You honor us with your presence, esteemed knight." greeted the older man while bowing in greeting towards the silent figure clad in silvery armor. "I'm Gasupht Zuberg, village chief of Rulid."

"…overseer of the Norlangarth North Castle, Integrity Knight Deusolbert Synthesis Seven." finally spoke the knight with a voice that sent chills down the children's spike, many of the villagers visibly shuddering at it too.

It reverberated in a completely heterogeneous way, with a steely hint to it, making it sound almost inhuman, his words somehow echoing into every corner of the square.

Eugeo felt his grip on the axe tightening, and for a second he almost swore he could feel an angry heartbeat coming from it…

'Integrityyy… Knightssss…!'

The green-eyed boy was unable to do more than gasp at the sudden hateful words that echoed inside his head before he felt Kirito's hand closing around his empty one, the black-haired boy still dragging his half-frozen friends out of the crowd as subtly as he could, his worried but determined eyes never leaving the armored form of the now named Deusolbert.

"Our most sincere apologies, Sir Integrity Knight. If we had known a keeper of order and balance from the world like yourself was coming, we would have prepared a worthy welcome for…"

"Such things aren't needed, nor can I accept them in the middle of my official duty." declared Deusolbert while finally turning to look at the village chief, the darkness beyond the cross-shaped visor of his helmet seeming deep and bottomless for the suddenly intimidated man. "Due to the violation of the Taboo Index by Gasupht Zuberg's daughter, Alice Zuberg, I have come to arrest her for interrogation, followed by her execution."

The world seemed to suddenly lose all reason when those words registered in Eugeo's mind. He didn't care or even properly notice the people around them gasping in shock, he just let his body move on instinct and positioned himself before the now trembling Alice, Kirito having done the same just a second before, now actively trying to help his friend to move the girl away from there.

Small whispers coming from his right eye telling him that he shouldn't be doing so went ignored and drowned by the angry ones coming from, now he was sure, the Dragon Bone Axe.

"…Sir Knight…what sin has my daughter committed…?" spoke Gasupht with a mix of fear and disbelief in his voice, as if he didn't want to believe the knight's words but at the same time felt compelled to acknowledge them as the truth.

"The Taboo Index's first chapter, third passage, eleventh paragraph: Trespassing into the Dark Territory."

This time, the villagers' reactions weren't subdued at all. The commotion exploding among them was loud and visible even as every adult murmured the church's sacred phrase while slicing the 'curse protection symbol' over their faces.

The three friends froze, Kirito's eyes moving from side to side in panic, noticing how there would be no way they could keep retreating without anyone noticing now. At his side, Eugeo bit his lips while being keenly aware of Alice shaking form behind him, trying to drown out the whispers inside his mind to come up with a way of getting the girl out of…

"The-then…I will call my daughter here. We should hear the reason from the mouth of the person herse…"

"There is no need for that." ominously declared Deusolbert while raising an armored finger…pointing straight towards where the trio of children was standing amongst the crowd. "Because Alice Zuberg is right there."

As one, the villagers parted away, scared/accusing eyes now focused on the three friends.

"Ah…"

The blonde girl whimpered. The green-eyed boy felt his grip on the axe tightening once again, his head filled with scared/furious whispers.

The black-haired boy simply stared right at the Integrity Knight, his fists closing and opening repeatedly.

"You and you." muttered the armored man while completely ignoring the kid, signaling towards two of the closest villagers to them. "Bring the chief's daughter here."

Barely a second of hesitation was everything the men showed before moving to obey, to take a sweet little girl they had seen grow up, that had greeted them every time she saw them when going around in the morning for years, to the one demanding her execution.

Like sheep following the shepherd's will.

The moment they came close, though, and while it should have been obvious it was going to happen…everyone reacted with utter shock when Kirito jumped aggressively before the first one, pushing the surprising man off his feet before turning around, fist raised and soaring straight towards the second one's gut.

"Eugeo, take Alice and run!" screamed the black-haired boy as his punch drove all the air out of the wide-eyed man's lungs.

Shock and panic ran through all the presents except for the Integrity Knight, who only moved his darkness-covered gaze slightly towards the child.

For his part, Eugeo's body started to move, his usual hesitation forgotten thanks to the chaos and madness everything had become…until a sharp pain, stronger than anything he had ever felt, assaulted his brain, coming like a thousand needles straight from his right eye.

"What are you doing? The Taboo Index it's absolute. The very first clause, first passage, first paragraph, defined as the greatest sin…is that no one can betray the Axiom Church…"

Gasping, Eugeo fell to his knees, the thoughts in his head feeling strangely alien despite how right he knew they were. In that moment, 5 more villagers jumped Kirito, shouts for him to stop being crazy and about how strong the kid was filling the area as he was brought down, face-first on the ground.

Alice was looking on with fear at her two friends before gulping and rushing forward herself, the green-eyed boy's gaze following her as she did so.

"No…"

Midway, the basket she was carrying fell from her hands, spilling its contents into the ground.

"Alice, wait…"

Milk and pie rolled and broke over the hot stone of the village's square, the carefully covered pieces of ice between them melting almost instantly at the sudden heat.

"Don't go…"

And despite all of those thoughts, Eugeo couldn't find the strength to voice any of it out loud, the throbbing pain of his right eye stopping him from doing so, despite how Kirito was shouting endlessly for them to let him go and for Alice to come back.

Deusolbert looked down at the trembling blonde girl before him, who stared back while biting her lips, as if curious about the reason why her gaze didn't cower before his like that of every other person around except for the shouting boy.

The second of curiosity passed, however, and he simply brought out some odd tool from the back of his armor.

A thick iron chain with three leather belts attached to it in parallel, with a big loop at the tip of the chain…

"…village chief, bind the criminal." ordered the knight with his emotionless voice while handing the tool towards the man beside him.

For an instant, Gasupht almost seemed to hesitate.

Then, with a resigned and trembling face, he turned around and kneeled over his daughter, who bit her lips with shaky eyes as the thick chains and belts were fastened around her.

"Knight-sama, this is a mistake!" screamed Kirito while still trying to free himself. "Alice didn't step willingly into the dark territory; she tripped and just touched it with her hand! It was an accident!"

Slowly, Deusolbert's helmet moved towards the black-haired boy's direction and…

"Is there any need of further acts?"

…were the words that came from within the darkness.

Kirito's eyes widened, disbelief, horror and then anger shooting through the child's face.

"Gasupht-ojiisan, are you really going to just hand her over?! She's your daughter! Why aren't you saying anything?! And you all; are you really just going to accept this?! It's Alice! You have known her for years! You know she's harmless!" snarled the black-haired boy while thrashing against his captors. "Let me go! ALICE!"

Every single adult, though, was just looking at Kirito as if he was mad, as if everything that came from his mouth was nonsense…

"It is…even thinking of defying the Axiom Church, the Taboo Index, is madness, that's why he…why they all…"

Once again, Eugeo found himself fighting against the thought that, despite being right, felt WRONG to him, his head throbbing in pain like never before, his right eye exercising a brutal pressure over him, as if his very soul was fighting a battle it could not win.

Even when the knight secured the end of the chain to the back of his dragon's saddle, he was still unable to even open his mouth.

Even when Alice gave him and his struggled best friend a resigned, if fearful, smile, while the knight calmly boarded his dragon, he was still unable to move.

No matter how much it hurt him, no matter how much he wanted to do something, whatever the hell was stabbing his soul from his right eye wouldn't let him, and his axe felt heavier than ever befo…

"I said…LET ME GO!" roared Kirito into the heavens while his eyes snapped open, a hint of wrathful golden shining within them.

In a single instant, something happened. In a single second, the world went wrong.

Power that didn't belong in this Reality was forced into existence by an anger-consumed Will, furious Imagination quickly Overwriting the World.

Like ragdolls blown away by a hurricane, the 5 adults that were pining the black-haired boy down were flung away, crashing painfully into other people or against the closest buildings, the sounds of bones snapping being quickly drowned by terrified screams.

Where Kirito had been standing, Something rose; something so tall it was clearly no child, clad in ever-distorting black and white, its eyes two never-ending voids and its face a carpet of absolute darkness that made the one in the Integrity Knight's helmet seem pathetic in comparison.

Finally exhibiting absolute shock, Deusolbert's head snapped towards the Anomaly as it MOVED forward, turning into a blur just as the knight swung his arm in its direction, forcing his own Will into the World as he did so, his Imagination shaping it into an invisible blade so powerful even the strongest steel would have been cut like butter under its power.

It broke apart like wet paper once it crashed against the black-white blur, which then took a single step that cracked the rock of the whole square and took it just behind the dragon in the same instant.

The Integrity Knight didn't even have time to gasp before the thing gripped his dragon's tail with brutal strength, making the flying beast scream in shock and agony as it felt its limb being crushed…

…and then the World reasserted itself, denying the phenomenon and enforcing Reality to return to what it should be.

All that was left after that was a gasping and disoriented Kirito of Rulid holding the way-too-big-for-him tail of an angry dragon, a shocked Integrity Knight staring at him.

Then, the beast roared and whipped his hurt limb to the side, slamming it against a wall and making the black-haired boy scream as blood escaped from his mouth, though his arms refused to let go of the tail.

That seemed to finally snap Eugeo out of his terror-filled shock, pushing aside the paralyzing awe that was still filling every single villager around and standing up.

He froze mid-action, though, the throbbing in his right eye coming back with a vengeance and forcing him to grit his teeth.

"I have to help him…Kirito…Alice…!"

-No, I shouldn't. The Taboo Index is absolute. The Axiom Church can't be defied-

"U-ugh…even…if that's true…my friends…my most important people…I can't…!"

'INTEEEEGRITYYY KNIIIIGHTSSSS!'

The roaring wrath coming from the depths of the Dragon Bone Axe returned once again, but this time the boy didn't ignore it: He gripped himself tightly to it with desperation, remembering how it had drowned 'the other voice' (Which wasn't so much a voice as something sealing his psyche) in his head before.

It was twisting and seemingly endless animal rage, the fury of an Apex Predator that had been denied, of a life that had been extinguished for seemingly no reason, and that only wished to take revenge for the wrong it had been afflicted with, causing a resentment so strong it had lingered on its remains countless years after its death…

The Dragon of the North Cave hungered for the Integrity Knights' death, all of them, until it found the one that had killed him. And while Eugeo of Rulid couldn't fully understand all of this, he knew one simple thing: He, a weak child, didn't have the power to overcome whatever it was freezing him in place. The ancient beast, however, had more than enough.

At that moment, consequences didn't matter anymore. Rational thought didn't need to be taken into account.

His two closest friends were in danger, probably going to die. The green-eyed boy couldn't allow himself to hesitate anymore.

The next moment, he was standing up, an inhuman roar exploding from the axe as it answered to his feelings and brutally dragged the child forward, the angry red flash now covering half his vision being ignored even as he felt as if his head was being ripped apart, the angry words written in Sacred Tongue engulfing half of his vision almost seeming to be screaming into his head.

'SYSTEM ALERT'

'CODE 871 '

Eugeo didn't know what that meant, but it didn't matter at the next second because he had taken 5 hurried steps dragged by his axe when his right eye burst into an explosion of blood and the sound of glass breaking.

It hurt.

It hurt more than all the things that had hurt the boy before in all of his life combined.

But it also made him feel lighter than he had ever before. As if an invisible weight he didn't know he was holding had suddenly been lifted from his mind and soul. Through the pain, almost in slow motion, he could see the villagers' eyes widening as they finally noticed what he was doing, he heard someone (One of his parents, maybe?) start screaming his name, he saw Deusolbert's head slowly moving away from Kirito's body (Who had just been slammed against the wall…had time moved so fast in his mind?) to start turning his way, saw his friend's eyes widening in surprise and pride towards him, saw Alice shocked look…

And then the Dragon Bone Axe came to life, a minuscule part of the power it now slept inside it emerging thanks to its own Will mixed with Eugeo's suddenly freed one, causing the handle to grow…and several fangs, larger and thicker than a closed adult fist, to grow from the weapon's head.

The sudden weight should have made the green-eyed boy lose balance. Instead, not only didn't the axe feel any heavier, but he almost felt faster, as if the 'pull' it had over him had grown in strength.

Deusolbert had just finished turning his head towards him, still in shock from whatever in Stacia's name Kirito had done. The dragon was still with his reptilian eyes fixed on the black-haired boy that had somehow almost crushed its tail, not even noticing what had happened with the other child.

There was literally no time for them to do anything to stop Eugeo from plunging his axe on the flying beast's side, the fangs sinking through the armor, powerful scales and steel-like muscle as if it was butter, the strength of the hit cracking the bones on the child's arm. The effect was instantaneous.

With a pain-filled roar, the wide-eyed dragon shot into a frenzy and catapulted itself to the sky at alarming speed before its rider could do anything to stop it, dragging 2 more passengers than it should have with it and leaving behind a crowd of terrified/shocked villagers.

Eugeo screamed his lungs out as the wind whipped against him from the sudden ascension, only the months of endlessly swinging his axe against the Gigas Cedar having stopped him from dropping the axe the moment his whole weight was hanging from it. Idly, his eyes noticed smaller bones growing from the handle and painfully enclosing his hands, unwilling to let him fall no matter what, even as the dragon thrashed through the air and tried to dislodge him from its side, Deusolbert's shout for the beast to calm down falling on deaf ears.

Then, his gaze caught Kirito's, who was gritting his teeth and, slowly but surely, 'climbing' up the thrashing tail of the flying reptile, trying to get closer to its rider, giving him a nod and a tired grin before continuing. Turning his gaze to the other side, he saw Alice's wide-eyed expression as she hung from the leather belt and chains, looking at him as if she couldn't believe it.

"I…I can save her…I have to…save her…!"

Giving out a grin that he hoped rivaled the ones he saw almost every day on his black-haired boy's face, Eugeo screamed and pushed himself upwards, the Dragon Bone Axe reacting to his 'useless' gesture and growing what seemed like massive ribs from the sides of its head, catapulting its user up and towards the Integrity Knight, his wish to save Alice overlapping with its own to kill the armored rider.

Axe raised over his head and still screaming like he had never before, blood covering his face from his missing right eye, the green-eyed boy swung down…

…and found a sword piercing through his heart and one of his lungs, exiting from his back as the shocked Deusolbert froze in place, clearly having acted on instinct as his whole body reflected clear shock.

Kirito stopped his climbing, staring wide-eyed at the scene.

A wordless scream escaped Alice's mouth.

Eugeo looked down, as if not understanding what was happening, even as blood ran down from his chest and mouth, taking a shaky step back off the shaking dragon, staring into the blackness that was the knight's helmet…

"Ah…I don't…"

Deusolbert let go of his blade, still lodged through the kid's body.

"…I don't…"

Taking another step back…the green-eyed boy fell off the dragon, staring emptily at the sky even as the blonde girl tried and failed to catch him, a futile endeavor in the first place given her bound hands.

"I don't want to die…"

On the back of Eugeo of Rulid's mind, something cracked with painful force, just as his Life reached its last ten digits.

Then, his flailing body, never letting go of the Dragon Bone Axe, crashed into the river flowing beside the now slightly away Rulid village and sank under its waters, leaving behind only a bloody stain in the quickly moving river, vanishing from view.

"EUGEOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Alice as tears ran down his eyes.

"BASTAAAARRDDD!" roared Kirito while his eyes flashed a furious golden.

Once again, the World 'glitched' as Reality was forcibly Overwritten by something that did not belong there, the Anomaly's void-like eyes seeming to suck all light from the surroundings as his grip on the dragon's tail tightened and broke it effortlessly.

The flying beast's pained howl and dive at the sudden loss of its limb were almost enough to throw Deusolbert off its back, but he barely managed to hold on…just in time for a blur of black and white to seemingly teleport at his side, pinning him against his ride's back by the neck with such power that his helmet broke apart, the otherworldly visage it gave him vanishing and revealing the face of a man of about forty years old, his short hair and eyebrows of an ashen-red color, similar to rusted iron.

And as he stared up at the thing's darkness-made face, its distorted white fist coming down towards his head, Deusolbert Synthesis Seven knew he was going to die. He could see Death itself staring back at him from the depths of that punch…

…which stopped with the sound of shattering glass, just an inch from his face, leaving him now staring at the shocked and gasping face of the child from before, whose eyes were fixed in his trembling and non-advancing fist.

Because he could see the Chains, countless of tiny chains made not of metal but of something Beyond, surrounding his fist and creeping up his entire arm before stretching into the Infinity, out of his view, out of Reality itself, stopping him dead in his tracks, having nullified whatever he had been about to do, his mind foggy and unable to recall it once again.

No one else could see the phenomenon, though, and in Alice's eyes the boy had simply returned to normal all of a sudden and froze in place, just as…

"KIRITO, WATCH OUT!"

Almost in slow motion, Kirito's eyes moved away from his fist and the impossible chain holding it in place, already knowing what he would see from the sound of crackling electricity, the still back-down Integrity Knight having reached over his back and taken a hold of his inhuman weapons, which crackled with the fury of lightning in his hands.

Seeing them now, up close, the boy's eyes grew glassed again, like back in the cave, even as words he himself didn't understand came unbidden from his mouth.

"A-Class Hero, Rank 17, Lightning Genj…"

And then Deusolbert brought down the two Stun Rods (Name his mind supplied from 'somewhere') and enough electricity to kill several horses shot through Kirito's body.

Frozen, Alice was assaulted by the explosive sound of meat being charred before the smoking body of her last remaining childhood friend flew away.

She wasn't even able to muster the strength to scream again as tears streamed down her face, her eyes never losing sight of Kirito as, on the back of her mind, something cracked with painful power.

"Goddesses above…Her Excellency was right…it's going out of control and affecting even children now…" muttered the Integrity Knight while trying to regain his bearings, gasping for air after having evaded a sudden and improbable death somehow. "No…those weren't children anymore…they were demons of…"

A sharp scream was all the warning he had before he was once again trying to calm down his pained and thrashing dragon, as the little girl they were carrying suddenly became a blur of speed inside her own chains, twisting and spinning in painful ways and faster than any human should be able to for a couple seconds before stopping, unconscious.

Down below, Kirito was vaguely aware of this as his body felt, his mind numb and the pain so great he almost couldn't feel it, the world spinning as he uselessly tried to reach for Alice, but Fate seemed to be really unkind that day as he spun until he was facing down, his gaze fixed on the incoming ground as he broke through the trees and headed head-first towards the dirt and…

…and Kirigaya Kazuto woke up in his bed, barely able to suppress a scream from escaping his mouth as he gasped for breath, his body drenched in sweat that had made his pajamas stick to him in an uncomfortable way.

Instinctively, his arm sought comfort in a body that wasn't at his side, and he was quickly reminded that Sugu was sleeping in her room, as that had been one of the rare days their mother was home early (They had dinner together and everything) and so she hadn't been able to come sleep in his room as she always did. Not that they did anything more than sleeping, cuddling and maybe kissing…at least in the real world.

That thought brought a small blush to his face even as he reached towards his desk and grabbed his phone, illuminating the screen and staring towards it with tired eyes.

It was 3:35 in the morning of May 26th, 2026. And this was the second time in 2 days that he woke up from a nightmare he couldn't remember.

Maybe it was the recurring dream he used to have after the fight with Equinox again? He hadn't mentioned it to the rest, not even to Asuna or Suguha, but after the insane events in 'Utopia' he had dreamed about the battle where he had defied the limits of common sense and human perception several times, more often than not ending with him waking up and feeling as if he was about to punch something. It never really ended with him feeling as terrified as he had the last 2 times, but that could very well be because it had been almost 2 months since he last had those dreams.

He was SO blaming Kikuoka's stupid part-time job for that. Three days straight of testing that strange and nearly sci-fi machine had probably messed with his head, never mind the fact that he couldn't remember anything of his time in FullDive for 'security purposes'.

After all the madness he had gone through, one would think that he wouldn't even think of accepting something so sketchy, especially when the last job he made for the man included hunting a mentally unstable killer with the ability to harm people in real life from inside a virtual world, who casually happened to have been enhanced with the powers of a super alien…but the pay for the seemingly simple work was just THAT good.

Kazuto may not be greedy, but he was still human, and given his situation, it wasn't very easy for him to get a part-time job.

His secret life as a vigilante with his adoptive sister aside, not many people offering jobs looked with good eyes at someone from the SAO Survivors School.

And also…he wanted to get the girls some gifts, maybe to the guys too if he still had money left after the former. His doubts about the long-term continuation of their bizarre but enjoyable relationship aside, these last months they had made him the happiest boy alive, and he felt that getting them some tokens of appreciation would only be right as their boyfriend, even if they would probably say it wasn't needed.

With a sigh, he decided those thoughts would be better left for later and let his head fall on his pillow again, missing Sugu's warm at his side even as he uselessly tried to recall what his nightmare had been about once again.

Strangely, though, a single thing came to his mind, which made him frown slightly as his eyes closed.

"…why can I only remember chains…?"

In that moment, as Kirigaya Kazuto drifted to sleep, many events across the land took place, seemingly unrelated but all of them connected.

Near a private psychiatric 'hospital', a scruffy man watched over the building silently from the shadows with some cheap-looking spy-glasses, munching on some, muttering curses under his breath even as he caressed the needleless syringe in his pocket with almost obsessive care, as if it and its deadly contents were like a good luck charm.

Inside the aforementioned building, guards and doctors felt a strangely oppressive atmosphere looming over them, not knowing why they felt so uneasy, ignorant of how, in one of the most secluded rooms of the facility, a red-eyed thing decided he had been pretending to be human long enough and creepily stood up, endlessly whispered the name of his hated foe.

"KI…RI…TO…"

In a dark room filled with screens and notes, a sinister-looking man grinned calmly while humming an old American song, doodling away on a piece of paper while he waited for a call from his old 'friend' confirmed the release of their other companion, the creepy drawing of a smiling and waving coffin almost being finished.

On the depths of what could arguably be called the most secret facility in all of Japan, two bespectacled men stared with serious faces at several massive monitors, the one standing nodding and commenting about how the 'Final Load Test' would be a success before walking away, even as the one sitting before the main screen took off his glasses and looked down with a hint of guilt in his eyes.

Visible on the screens, a massive city with immense walls that divided it into 4 parts could be seen, a 'tower' (Though the name didn't do the thing justice) that grew into the heavens standing on its exact center…and with strange, humanoid creatures standing atop all the outer walls, their several reddish eyes keeping watch over the outside, even as an armored figure with 4 crow-like wings flew over the area, heading for the tower, and another person in strange garments casually walked up a wall to shout orders to the creatures near his area, who immediately obeyed without any complaint…

Observing all of this and more with only an infinitesimal part of his absolute awareness, [FATE] sat on Its Throne Above Everything, the oldest Absolute One adopting something that, if It had a shape that could be understood by human minds, would have probably be called a 'pondering' stance.

All the while, 'Chains' kept pouring from behind Its 'Throne', endless weaved Concepts of Reality flowing without pause into the Omniverse, towards a very specific Universe, isolating it from the rest of the Network, turning the Future it was supposed to have darker and darker as the time for its End continued approaching…

'Down' on the very edge of Reality, a figure of infinite colors with a vaguely humanoid shape and eyes that reflected the Multiverse it was currently in stared at the advancing chains with something akin to sadness, if a being of his Level could truly feel something like that.

Even so, what couldn't be denied was that [DESTINY] wished for nothing more than for the macabre spectacle before him to stop, yet could do nothing to directly prevent it. The youngest Absolute One had no authority to defy a decision reached in tandem by all of his siblings, even if it was clear that none would be able/want to oppose [FATE] from the beginning.

Looking 'down', the One Who Ruled over Destiny waved one of his hands, letting 'something' that could vaguely be called a chess board (If those were in 6 Dimensions and with several layers of Reality put in the middle) appear before it.

Near the center, a King-like piece of black and white with a cape kept blinking in and out of existence, unmoving as chains kept being wrapped around it, threatening to erase it forever. The several pieces that usually stood by him (Among which stood up a Queen-like one with wheels and a katana, one with two blades and a robotic look, one with a rifle and a light-sword, and one with a golden blade and burning aura) were far away, on another level of the 'board', the Fate of their world having already decreed that they would fight their own battle away from him in the upcoming conflict meant to end them all…and they most likely wouldn't be able to reach him for help, as they should have, in time.

Meanwhile, the 'pieces' meant to stand by the King in black and white were being pushed away, the knight-like one being engulfed by icy roses and angry bones as its flesh under it seemed to rot, while the golden-silver queen, whose edges vibrated endlessly as if it was moving absurdly fast, was being surrounded by a lot of 'enemy' pieces, way more than they should have, caging her mind into oblivion…

No matter how one looked at it, it was a hopeless situation. Everything would go according to [FATE]'s designs, as it always did…

Or, at least, that's what [DESTINY] thought until his 'eyes' settled over the edge of that board's level, over the 'extra pieces', those that everyone has deemed as 'unimportant', whose own Destinies were barely intertwined with that of the chained Hero, with almost no relevance in the upcoming conflict…and that had also been 'changed' because of his oldest siblings designs.

With worse Destinies, yes…but also with more 'power to change it' than they should ever have had.

Slowly, casually, like someone would do when they pretend not to care, [DESTINY]'s hand passed over the small pawn-like piece whose top seemed like a crystal ball and, 'accidentally', knocked it over, letting it roll away until it stopped and stood up again almost beside the Chained King.

The effect was instantaneous, the pawn turning a strange black while the roots of an equally black tree engulfed her. Immediately, the Knight if Ice and Bones that had been drifting away turned around, pulled once again back to his partner's side.

One by one, ever so slowly, the other 'extra pieces' followed. No one seemed to notice the 