Alkor

He steeled himself for the caress that came next. Alkor had always shied away from touch from anyone but his grandmother, because she was the only one who had never raised her hand toward him. Years of distrust culminated in the form of a youth who wanted no closeness with others, and yet, not everything was about Thom. Sometimes, other people needed other things and they weren't always within comfort. Her hand touched him, and he let out a ragged sounding breath.

"I had a lot of time to think about it," he said at last. "It was dark, dreary, and lonely, but it left a lot of free time. I thought about who I was, and what I wanted; and I thought about whether or not I had been going about it the right way."

He put a hand over here. "Alkor exists for a reason. I have fundamentally grown as a person because I took on this role. I've accepted responsibilities, and I've set goals. More importantly, I've learned what it means to be a friend, and to care about others. All that time I spent running headlong into danger without a thought for my own safety, I was endangering the hearts and minds of those people who had surrounded me. For that, I can't begin to apologize."

He held her hand there for a few moments longer, then released it to swipe open his menu. He went to the Friends tab, and input her name- prompting the request to appear before her. "You have my word," he told her. "No more reckless endangerment."

@Mari

"Even if they had, I'm in no hurry to risk rushing headlong into another coma." Alkor spoke with a hint of chagrin in his words as he kept pace with the more heavily armored woman. "I've got work to do before I'm any sort of use on the Frontlines. It's not like before. The stakes are higher."

The swordsman glanced off toward the town far below. "I suppose I'll get back to whatever grind I can find," he told her. "I've been out of it for long enough that I'm rusty about some things. I put down a few mobs to benchmark myself, and I haven't gotten any weaker, but I have a long way to go before I can call myself strong."

The woman gave him a wide berth. It made sense. She seemed to want more distance between them, like if he was the real thing, he might harm her. Or worse- she didn't believe he was, and he had no way of convincing her.

"I've got confidence in my ability to survive, but that's about it."

@Lessa

He pulled away to give her a very serious look. "I can't fault you, nor would I, for falling into despair. It's a deep, sinister pit with high, slick walls. You can't climb out of it alone. No one can."

I couldn't. I tried.

"But you're faced with a decision now. You can move forward, or you can stay hollow." He hadn't immediately responded to her confession of love. It wasn't anything she hadn't told him before, but it was an icy and bitter sentiment the way she offered it. Not warm, not inviting- it sounded like she meant to wound him with her emotions. Perhaps she did.

Alkor could forgive that after all the pain he had caused her. Instead, a slow and thoughtful response came to him after he chastised her for the lingering darkness. It was hopeless enough in Aincrad without adding fuel to the fire yourself.

"You're not alone," he said at last. "Not anymore. I don't disregard you when I say every life in this world matters. You're precious, even with all the things you've given up or had stolen from you. You're the only one who's forgotten that."

He exhaled sharply, uncertain of how to say what he felt. "This..." his voice trailed, and he stared up at the stars. "This isn't a good world for what I want for you,'' he said at last. "I want to see you thrive, and I want to see you live. We can't do either while Aincrad holds us hostage."

The words were chillier than he wanted them to be, but no less honest. He had always been honest, even when it hurt. "I care for you deeply," he said, "but I can't risk throwing you into that place. I don't know if I can bring you fully out of it now, let alone if I could pull you out again."

He pointed to the cursor over her head. "You need to find focus again. You've let yourself stay imprisoned for too long. Get rid of that, firstly," he spoke of her Player Killer Status. "It's time to start healing."

@Mari

He noted that she seemed much more reserved and much less touch-and-feel as she spoke, and even failed to comment on certain conversation points. It must have been a sore subject. Or he was overthinking it, which was fairly standard. "Well, being asleep while everyone you know is still putting up the good fight puts things into perspective, I guess."

Alkor folded his arms and looked away from the woman. There were so many things he had failed to understand about her, and in many ways, he still failed to understand. It didn't stop him from trying to make that connection now. Friends were a precious resource, and he had neglected to make any before.

Not for lack of effort on Lessa's part.

"Then we're on the same road," he turned and began to walk backward, all the while glancing the armored woman over. "I'd be greatly appreciative if I could get kitted out for the next challenge," he told her. "And... I would very much like a new sword."

The story about the Vampire made him recall another time Lessa had been less fortunate with blades. He dared not bring that particular memory to light.

@Lessa

"I'm not sure that before, I ever really knew what it meant to enjoy something. This whole experience has me thinking differently, and I think that's for the best." He spoke about their grim situation in a positive light, but neither player was content to remain trapped in Aincrad. "Conversations before were rife with responses like the ones you used to get from me. Unfeeling. Reactive. Distant." 

Alkor folded his arms. "I wanted to save everyone but myself, because I didn't understand the value of my own life. I didn't think it had any."

The whole brush with death had sobered him, and as they walked, he rested his hand on the pommel of his blade. "I still want to fight," he told her, "but I think now, I can say I'm fighting for the right reasons."

He looked her way out of the corner of his eye. "I treated people wrong because I didn't understand how they felt. And worse, I didn't want to. But you can't protect people if they don't trust you. If they don't understand. I get that, now."

When she mentioned the "vampire-stripper," his face went deadpan. "You're screwing with me, aren't you? I deserve that, I guess."

He shrugged after moment. "Regardless, I'd appreciate the assist. It'd help me get back on the right track."

@Lessa

One of a very small group who entered Sword Art Online outside Japan, from the sound of it. This woman seemed to be fascinated with the culture and tradition, enough that she stopped to admire the Creator's tribute to his own nation in a game otherwise meant to run parallel to reality. Alkor could appreciate that. He'd dreamed of being a samurai, once.

Pipe dreams, but if you don't dream, what value can you place on your aspirations? It made him wonder- what was his dream? Did he have one? What would he seek beyond this world?

He looked the goggled girl over and reached up to scratch his head. "Sorry, you can see how someone might have got the wrong idea," his chuckle was uneasy, but that was par the course. "Didn't mean to intrude. I'm sure you know what you're doing."

Out of habit, he gave a slight bow and settled into a relaxed standing position. It was obvious she had adapted a bit to the culture: touching was a rarity, even between friends. He respected that, because he'd been living there for several years before...

Before.

"Pleasure's mine," he greeted, "I'm called Alkor."

He took a few more steps and joined her near the edge. "It's a bit different, but the cosmetics aren't far off," he told her. "It's a good homage, all things considered."

@Azhoda

His zeal got the better of him, as it often did. Alkor relaxed after a few seconds of literally staring daggers at the woman expectantly, shut his eyes, and exhaled. "The world moves on with or without you, I guess," he muttered. So it was true. They had made their way all the way to the twenty fifth floor already. For them it may not have felt like much, but for Alkor that was a marathon run.

He heard that Lessa had not been among them, and he wondered how much or how little he had played into that decision. This did not seem like a woman utterly effected by the loss of him. Alkor was glad for that, in part. Lessa had never been someone he could do right by. He had never known how.

"Sorry," he grunted finally. "I should ask how you've been, and not be in such a hurry to get back to old habits." 

It was the most human remark he'd made in a long time, yet he half expected it to earn him a slap. Their relationship had always been rocky, and he had always been callous. To protect people, he had recognized that being distant from them was not always the best course of action.

Still, she entreated with him to walk with her. Alkor nodded, and fell in step. "I'll figure it out as I go along," he replied, "for now, I have a lot of things to do. Answers to find." He found himself staring into the void out ahead of them.

"I've never had any skill at conversation, or social interaction," he said at last, revealing a not-so-secret truth about himself. "I was never much good at talking to you, and I'm sorry for that. You seem to have grown pretty skilled in the time I've been gone. It's good to know that you found a path to follow."

@Lessa

He wasn't ready to face that. There were other demons ahead of him, each more pressing than his own personal desires. If he did see his friends in the future before they finished the game, he would be happy; but the most important thing was what he did now with the gift of life.

Slumber, experience, and suffering had taught him the meaning of something he discounted so readily before. He knew his grandmother would have been proud of his growth without ever having to hear it.

But Mari gave voice to that desire nonetheless. "It's the very last thing I can worry about," he said at last. "Grandmom isn't here. The game is the present, and the only way back to her is through it."

It was hard to say, but he forced it out no less.

"I finally understood, at some point just before we fought the Hydra. And I finally understand now, what I have to do. Why Alkor exists in this world." He tilted his head and smiled softly. "I wasn't wrong, but I was going about it the wrong way. These people trapped here, they all have lives. Most of them had lives that were important before they came to Aincrad. I only found the importance of mine once I got here."

He looked toward the frozen water and then gestured. "I have a duty to those people, to make sure they can have that back. And a duty to myself, and to Grandma, to make sure I get a chance to have a life of my own."

"I'm gonna fight."

@Mari

Aincrad offered different challenges to different people. For some, the simple thrill of combat was enough. Others craved a test of their mental facilities, or sought to face down their fears in order to improve themselves. All of these things were a culmination of the recognition that this was life now. There was no log out option, only constant reflection on the person they had been before, and the one they had become.

Players in Sword Art Online either moved forward or stagnated. For Alkor, it had not been a choice. He had spent so long moving forward that when he acted in an effort to remain alive, he paid for it with time. Now he was free.

The Seventh floor was a different sort of soothing to him. Various Japanese motifs littered his surroundings, and swordsmanship was revered like a proper religion on the craggy peaks of the mountain that climbed toward the skies. He came here to seek another missing piece of himself.

He scaled the treacherous mountain with his blade tucked away and gave silent thanks that pain did not exist here. The strain on his legs by now would have been inhuman. When he saw a decent vantage point, he took a short break and surveyed the sea of clouds that stretched out around him.

That was when he noticed the other Player leaning over the edge.

"Hey there," he called from a short distance away. "Couldn't help but notice you might be thinking about jumping. It's probably not a good idea," he said as he pulled the hood from over his head, messy black hair spilling out. 

Alkor knew he really wasn't the best candidate for talking someone down from self-harm, especially with his ineptitude in social grace. Still, he was the only one here- and if it was anything near what it looked like, he was the only one who had a shot at making a difference.

It didn't even occur to him that they might just be staring blankly over the edge.

@Azhoda

"In the last moments, before it could kill me, I teleported out." He revealed his secret, something he would have told everyone sooner had he not slept like Rip Van Winkle. "When I woke up, it had been multiple years. Someone must have dragged me back to the Inn on the Ninth Floor and left me. It's all fuzzy, I can't remember any details."

He shook his head as she prolonged her embrace, much more for herself than for him, and his eyes went wide. "He's in here?" Alkor asked. "Is he still alive? Are any of the others trapped in the game?" he asked that so fervently, it almost seemed like he expected her to know all of his friends without ever introducing them.

If she had met Evan, then in all likelihood, more of them had entered the game as well. That was more to process than he expected.  "Nevermind, that's a silly question," he relented. 

He smiled as she spoke about closeness, and of selfishness, and he nodded. "That's fair," he murmured. "You've thought I was dead for so long."

Alkor reached up and patted the top of her head. It wasn't nearly as affectionate as her deep, long embrace, but he had never been good with closeness or affection. When his eyes opened, he let out a ragged breath. "To be fair, I thought I was dead, too. It was like a long, dark dream that wouldn't end. I wanted to wake up. I wanted..."

The words caught in his throat. I wanted to see Grandma.

When she greeted him by name, he shut his eyes once more.

"Thanks," he whispered. "Thanks, Amari."

@Mari

His face contorted in a pained expression. Even without asking, the cursor over her head was enough to tell stories. She had held it close to her heart like an envenomed blade and plunged it deeper, desperate to find a way to him. It did not matter that it meant death. Alkor let out a chilled breath as he listened to her words. 

She never had let go. It twisted her until it controlled her completely. Devils in her mind saw him around corners, just barely out of reach. Mari had yearned for him so deeply that she had lost sight of reality. 

His fists curled and tightened at his sides as she told a tale of acceptance. Mari would accept that people wanted to kill her, and in turn, lose herself deeper in a sea of crimson. It was not a life he had ever wanted for her.

The dull ache in his chest spread wider, to his arms and the pit of his stomach. Emptiness swallowed him whole. In a single instant, he had failed her entirely. "I-" he began to say, "I am here, but then she said something completely obtuse. Cows? Horses? Cats?

"Why would I believe that?" he blinked skeptically. Were the delusions far worse than he could comprehend? "Who the hell would believe that? It sounds like some goofy line from a cartoon."

He had already flinched from her initial touch, but eased himself into acceptance. If her mind was to heal, or any part of her being it meant fragility in handling right now.

"A-ah!" he let out a cry of surprise as she wrapped him in an unexpected embrace and held him close. "Y-you're close," he stuttered. "And we're in public."

At her final words, the swordsman closed his eyes and nodded.

"I think I'm real," he answered. "At least, as real as I can be in a virtual world."

@Mari

The world felt cold.

It was a nice contrast to the hellish heat that plagued his memory, but it offered little comfort to the player. He had effectively become a ghost, a haunting memory for those who knew him. Some of them had fond thoughts, while others spat his name like venom. For Alkor, running into any of them meant finding a piece of the lost puzzle. He needed to solve that in order to find himself again.

Snow crunched under his boots as he made his way through the Starglade, each meter he went evoking another scene from his fractured past. There had been good times and bad times in this place. Did those people still come to visit? Did some of them still remember?

He couldn't fault them if they had put him out of their minds. Survival in this world meant that dwelling on the past was a luxury. Forward thinkers and momentum carried them toward the top floor. They could keep vigil for the fallen for only so long.

You played the piano, right...?

The words seared like fire against his flesh as the familiar voice seized his heart. Alkor never expected to see her, at least, not so soon. She came here to reflect, but still, she recalled such an abstract detail? How could he face her? After all this time, and all of the things he couldn't do or say...

Comfort was something the man rarely knew how to give.

His spirit spoke for him, because kindness was his nature. Alkor found himself moving without willing it, and his voice rising against his fears. Whether bold or stupid, he reached out.

"Yeah," he replied softly. "I did. Not too many pianos around here, though."

His gaze softened, and he wore the sorrowful smile of a man who had lost everything.

"But yes," he added. "It would be nice."

@Mari

"I thought so," he agreed with no hint of amusement or sarcasm in his voice. It seemed she had changed. Reservation had never been the woman's strong suit. It was a welcome change, but it felt odd nonetheless. Alkor shifted uncomfortably as he considered his words.

"I don't remember much after those last few seconds. I don't remember anything," he corrected himself. "I used a teleportation crystal in the moments before I would have died. After that, everything went black."

Someone had found him, probably, and dragged him to an inn. That was the best he could figure, and even that could not wholly account for everything. The other Frontline players moved on, and he was frozen in time.

He looked to Lessa, relieved she had not tried to hug him. The swordsman was already stuck in his head about everything. "I'm trying to put things together. What's been happening since I disappeared? How far have we come? Who do I need to catch up to?"

@Lessa

And I'm looking to party.

Or whatever.

Something.

Thread Complete

Alkor gains 400 Col and 2 SP

The world had gone on without him. He trudged up the path high on that sobering realization, and absently wondered at how those people left behind had chosen to live. It was never the same when someone was lost. It left a mark, and healing from it was impossible. That was why people said things like "I'm sorry for your loss," or "if there's anything I can do."

Sympathy.

But not Empathy. Unless one had lost someone, they could not truly understand how it felt. Alkor could not begin to measure the confusion and loss his absence could potentially have left. To him, it was no different from waking up a day later, even if it had been multiple years. Lessa could easily have moved on. It made sense for someone like that to be skeptical.

There had been discord in their initial relationship, after all. It's not like they were altogether close. Or, if they were, he wasn't self-aware enough to recognize it. Still, he had his hood up in the normal fashion, and his blade- the one she forged for him- rested at his right hip. Alkor had always been left handed.

The woman he saw was far and away from the meek thing he remembered. 

Time really had changed her.

@Lessa

Thread List

The light flashed in front of him and prompted that he had a new message. He had not expected to get a response so quickly, but as he opened it, Alkor realized why. He read the words several times and wondered at their meaning before it hit them. She had told him to go somewhere only he would know to go.

She didn't trust it. 

That made sense. If it were him, and she had seemed to disappear completely he would have done the same. Had time made Lessa quite so guarded? It made sense. Aincrad was a cutthroat world, and there were hordes of people in it who had become just as cutthroat themselves in a mad attempt to survive it.

Alkor did not have to respond with a message. He silently turned to head back to the Starglade, not far from where he already was. There, he could wait for her and make an attempt to compose himself. After all, things were probably about to get much more confusing and emotional.

He turned a full twist and lashed out three times. His blade sank deep into the wolf, which froze mid-motion as Alkor's damage was done. It sputtered for a moment before sinking to the snow and dematerializing as a stream of data. 

The darkly dressed player let out a sigh and shook his head. Even the least daunting of fights in this world came with the possibility of certain death, so one wrong move could be costly. Fortunately, he had learned quickly and early on how to survive. It was showing through now as he put away his weapon and checked on his stats. Soon, he would be able to invest more in either damage, or defense, or... well, there were plenty of options. Alkor was glad for it, too.

Then, there was the matter of Lessa. He would get a message back soon, he was sure of it. There was no way after all that time she would not have questions. He had them, after all. He looked around and headed back toward the path. That would be the safest place out in the deep snow for him to get some direction.

Level 21 430/430 HP 28/42 E

7 Base DMG 3 EVA 2 Savvy 21 MIT

Snow Wolf 0/40 HP

27 DMG

He wasn't quick enough to capitalize on its weakness, even with the augments he received from his equipment. It managed to slip out of the way of his next sword art, squandering the energy spent to utilize it. Still, Alkor learned about his strengths and weaknesses, especially with the build he had chosen for himself.

It was important for any player in an MMO to understand their class and abilities. Endgame players were only ever successful when they knew what to do and when, and Sword Art Online's Frontlines were not only the same, but the stakes were much higher as well.

Alkor took the opportunity to settle himself and reassess the situation. The Wolf circled him with a quickness that came with being indigenous to the floor, but the darkly clothed player gave no quarter. He would not be taken unawares.

The wolf pounced once again, but Alkor scrambled out of the way. "Damn snow," he hissed ironically. It had always been some of his favorite weather, but it made combat much more strenuous.

Level 21 430/430 HP 33/42 E

7 Base DMG 3 EVA 2 Savvy 21 MIT

Snow Wolf 12/40 HP

27 DMG

He dug into the snow with each step, but he also remembered how it felt and slowly acclimated. Despite how it dragged him down, it also made him less of a target and the beast struggled just as much. It was unused to a more cunning enemy, especially one that could adapt to its surroundings. Much less threatening than the Lizard Warrior he fought previously, and yet it was also dangerous in its own right.

A weaker player could easily fall victim to something like this. With that in mind, he struck with the intention of putting it down, and activated his Sword Art. The blade once more shone a brilliant red color as the system urged his body forward.

The twin strikes of his <<Vertical Arc>> painted a crimson wound across the creature's torso as it limped backward, surprised by the vicious attack from the player. It was obvious that there was a gulf of difference between him and the beasts on this lower floor now, moreso than there had been before. Alkor could see his own growth.

Now, he could harness that power and climb the ladder.

Level 21 430/430 HP 37/42 E

7 Base DMG 3 EVA 2 Savvy 21 MIT

Snow Wolf 12/40 HP

27 DMG

The Snow Wolf growled as he closed the distance between them. Its white pelt was almost the same color as the floor beneath them, but its eyes glowed a hot crimson and its breath roiled from between it's jaws. It sprang for him quickly, and he smirked.

The beast tumbled as he twisted his body out of the way, but the snow managed to delay him just enough that reprisal was impossible. Alkor gripped his blade tightly as he rounded to face the wolf, eyes squinted to stave off the cold.

Two predators, a single mind.

Alkor's [Savvy] proc went off as the beast went wide, granting him increased probability of striking the creature due to his evasiveness. It was the kind of trick a rogue in more traditional RPGs might use, and for Alkor, that was as natural as it got.

The beast snapped at him and barked as he settled into a combat ready stance, low to the ground and with his knees bent.

Alkor

Level 21 430/430 HP 40/42 E

7 Base DMG 3 EVA 2 Savvy 21 MIT

Snow Wolf 40/40 HP

27 DMG

The knowledge that Lessa had received his message put all new thoughts in his mind. What would he say? How would she react? Would it be as calamitous as some of their previous meetings? He took a deep breath and shook it off. It was set in stone at this point.

Instead of fretting over it, he decided to head back toward town. There would be plenty of opportunity to sort out the confusion and emotion when he got there. Until then, he would use his time to shake off a bit more rust.

Alkor hurried down the frosty ridge and down along the path. He practically slid at the speed he opted for, but now, he was just so excited to be alive. It was like never before, energy brimming up inside him and boiling over, threatening to burst him at the seams.

But he channeled it all into his movement, and continued to move with subdued Grace as the snow drifts tripped him up every so often. Alkor let out a laugh and a cry in the same breath, tumbling down the mountainside and back within sight of the safe zone.

He brandished Nightbringer and rushed headlong toward a mob.

He swiped the menu open deftly and moved to open the messenger. There were no friends on his list, but the game would allow him to message someone provided they were on the same floor, and he did know her name. It was a gamble by all rights.

Lessa had no cause to remain on the lower floors if she had survived. If she was helping others, she would probably be on floor one, not floor four. The chance was still there.

He put her name in the field and started to write, letting his uneasiness settle more with each word. They would be faced with each other eventually, and it was better if they both were unsurprised by that fact.

Better, or worse- if she didn't get it, or she wasn't still alive, what then?

Again, he had to tell himself not to dwell on that. He would know after he hit send.

He hit the send button, and by some miracle, the message went through. He swallowed drily. 

"It went through?" he questioned. Wait. That meant... 

"She's here somewhere?"

Alkor took a step along the path, snow crunched beneath his boots. Starlight poured down over his face and the cool air bit at him. He let out a long, relieved sigh. This was what it meant to be alive. Warm days, cold nights, and uncertainty that led to new adventures. In the real world or in Aincrad, it did not matter.

What did matter was how they used that time. Had he not grown, those experiences would have been wasted. Thom understood how all those interactions had fundamentally changed him as a person, and he had no desire to go back to the person he was.

The persona of Alkor was important for another reason. 

People had died. People would continue to die without intervention. Alkor was not an avenger- Alkor was a protector, a warrior who fought so that others could live. He had given himself the power to fight because others could, or would not. He threw himself at the Hydra without a thought so that the pathway to the end could be reached.

The time to hold himself accountable, and to set himself back on the path forward had come. He was done with finding himself, and his memories.

It was time to move onward.