[F21 - SP] Shatter <<Betrayal of the King>>

[Bahr 0]

As though through pure force of habit, Apollo managed to get up, brush his teeth, shower, make a small breakfast, and brew some coffee. Appliances he felt he hadn't touched in years sat exactly how he'd left them, and obeyed his whim without so much as a moment's hesitation. When he'd finished his morning ritual, he left his apartment and started making his way to work.

Which was absolutely dreadful. He'd forgotten how soul sucking the daily grind could be, even if he felt as though he hadn't done it for years. But it wasn't necessarily the job or the work that bothered him, but the way he found himself distracted throughout the entire day when trying to rationalize what had happened. He'd spent years in Sword Art. He was sure of it. He'd been through the most harrowing hardships of his life. He'd met people who became friends, enemies, rivals, partners.

He'd met the woman he fell in love with there. Lessa. Alyssa Butler. And yes, he'd already looked her up on social media. There she was, in all her splendor, tending to horses and working toward her teaching degree and sharing bad jokes that perfectly fit her tastes. And as he scrolled through her page and inspected her photos and read the things that she had written, he felt that same warm feeling bubbling up to the surface. Love. But it was bittersweet, and the stronger he felt their connection, the worse he began to feel about the situation.

What he wanted, more than anything, was to reach out to her. To ask her if she remembered what he remembered, if she felt what he felt. If it hadn't all just been a dream. Because it couldn't have been, could it? From the time she encountered him at the Monument, to the time he'd almost gotten her killed, to the times they split food and drinks at White Rabbit, to the time they liberated Sanctuary, to their limitless quests and adventures, to their first kiss and the countless they shared afterward, to the time they admitted their love for one another. He remembered it all so vividly. So it couldn't have been fake, right?

But how does one start a conversation like that? "Hey, you don't know me, but I'm your boyfriend. P.S. We were stuck in a death game together and almost died a few times, call me." But before he could formulate a proper way to broach the subject, his boss caught him distracted on his phone, pulled him into the office, wrote him up, and sent him back out onto the floor. Apollo felt cemented in his return to the real world after this, the cruel reality of daily life, and surrendered to it. Perhaps Sword Art was best left in the past. So he did his best to integrate back into normalcy, not mention Sword Art to anyone, and try to get on with his life without ending up in a mental institution.

With the years behind him stacking higher and higher, Apollo had begun feeling the pressure of time tightening in on him. He felt the tedium of days increase as they flipped like cards being shuffled in a deck. Blending into one long, obscure motion, nearly indiscernible from one another. By most standards, his life was generally pretty good - but he struggled to ever really enjoy it much. The tedium and anxiety and confusion seemed to gnaw at him, and he constantly felt the sense that life should be something more. During his time since waking up, Apollo frequently found himself wondering what he was missing or doing wrong. Seeking wisdom for how to best live, now that the woman he lived for was no longer aware of his existence. 

Apollo felt all of this generally building in the background of his life, compounded over the last several years as friends such as Dante and Scarlet drifted apart for no real reason, family members passed away with age, and moderate life successes turned stale before ever really being enjoyed. It was in this moment, though, a bit longer than a decade after he "woke up" from Sword Art Online, that he felt the feeling truly and totally overtake him. He'd had a dream that he reached out to Alyssa, they'd gone out for drinks, and started a small romance that ended when she left him alone in the same apartment he'd woken up in all those years ago. Her last words to him echoing in his head, "I'm sorry, Apollo, but it's impossible to be with someone who is never happy." 

It had only been a dream, sure, but it had apparently been a dream that had caused him to fall in love with her in the first place. His life had been put on pause from that moment on. He'd stalked her social media frequently without so much as ever sending a friend request, watching as she went from boyfriend to boyfriend. None of them had stuck, but it looked like she was hooked on the guy she'd found this time. It was probably a done deal. He'd never gone a day without thinking about her, their adventures together, and what they would be doing if they were still stuck in the game. What they would be doing if they'd met in real life. Would she still fall for him with the life he led, which was pathetic in comparison to his life in SAO? Or would she see him for the loser that he was, and always had been?

Apollo sat laid back on the couch in his apartment's living room, alone, staring at the ceiling as rage and sadness fist fought in his head. It was a Sunday, and the next day he had to be at work at nine AM for his accounting job. He drank from a whiskey-filled glass as he thought about his life. He contemplated more seriously than ever the idea of skipping to the end of it all. He'd been there once before. It was better than this, even if it was literally nothing.

He felt a hopelessness fill him so heavily that in this moment, without Apollo being conscious of it, a few of the strings holding together his normal self snapped. Which, unable to withstand the weight of Apollo on their own, caused more strings in his head to snap in succession. In this, a sort of death occurred. The end result was some form of Apollo on a plane on his way to China. With one bag of clothes and necessities, one debit card, a cell phone, his passport, no real plan, and no real communication with anyone. Prepared to spend whatever portion of his life savings and however much time he needed in search of finding what he was searching for.

Like most people, this idea of dropping everything and disappearing into the unknown, with no plan or destination, had circulated Apollo's mind plenty of times before. But, of course, he never acted on it. Until now, it never felt like his reasons were big enough, or perhaps his reasons not to were big enough. But now, he felt the seed of the idea sprout, watered by desperation and worse alternatives. He had set out to touch the freedom of nowhere to be and nothing to do. A complete toss of caution to the wind, willing to lose everything in the hopes of finding something else. 

Once in China, Apollo wandered somewhat aimlessly by himself. He visited different cities and towns. Temples, art galleries, gardens, outskirt lands, every nook and cranny he could find and stumble across, essentially backpacking and staying in little hotels or camping along the way. He sought places with people from whom he could learn. He'd talk with those he met about matters of life and death, briefly welcomed in by some and shown their ways. In particular, Apollo was repeatedly directed by many toward one individual who was supposedly a revered teacher and guru of sorts, that many traveled great distances to, seeking answers and advice. 

Apollo would work his way in the direction he was pointed, eventually finding himself in a province at the foot of the Himalayan Mountains. After some time of waiting, he met the person he had been told about. A lovely older woman who somehow felt both small and large at the same time. Apollo introduced himself and the two talked cordially for a little while. The woman asked him where he was from, his reasons for being there, and so on.

Apollo explained to her as well as he could, and when the timing was appropriate, he said, "If I may ask, in your view, how should life be lived? How does one make the most of this whole thing?"

The woman paused for a moment, inhaled in a commanding manner, and replied, "Do not chase worldly pleasures or material successes, Apollo. Do not succumb to the temptation of the moment. The only real is the eternal real. Work for what is hard, but necessary - what is meaningful in the long run. Let go of yourself and dissolve into this. You only have one chance at this life, you must take it seriously and make something of it. Give up trivial pleasures and desires in consideration of the long game. Live and contemplate in the garden beyond you. Always be growing, and improving, and adapting. Leave your legacy strong and sturdy. That is what it means to live a good life."

After a little bit longer, the conversation reached its natural end. Apollo thanked the woman and left on his journey, alone. He felt a sense of immense clarity in her answer as he thought over it to himself. It made great sense to him, and sounded appropriately wise. He stopped along a small river while walking and wrote in one of the notebooks that he had brought with him. 

Still somewhat unsatiated, Apollo continued on his travels, visiting other countries and places. After several pit stops and many moments of difficult challenges and disorientations, he would find himself in the country of Greece. Here he visited cathedrals, museums, art galleries, parks, outskirt forests, every nook and cranny he could find and stumble across. He sought places with people from whom he could learn. Many directed him in particular to the National Garden Park in Athens. Here, supposedly, a highly regarded self-help type of writer worked and wrote on the weekends. 

After making his way and forcing a seemingly coincidental bumping of pass, Apollo met the man while he was working at a small table in the park. Apollo introduced himself kindly, and told the man who he was, his reasons for approaching him, and so on.

They talked about this and that for a little, and at the right moment, Apollo said, "If I may ask, in your view, how should life be lived? How does one make the most of this whole thing?"

With little hesitation, the man replied, "Enjoy the moment, my friend. Seize the day. Do not wait for what might come, because what might come is always uncertain. Do not live for some imagined 'later,' or what might come after you are no longer here. Enjoy and indulge in the simple pleasures of life right now, while you can. You only have one life, do not work too hard, do not take it too seriously. That is what it means to live a good life."

The two talked a bit further, until the conversation reached its end. Then Apollo thanked the man, said his farewell, and left on his journey, alone. He felt a sense of clarity in the man's answer as he pondered it to himself. It made great sense to him, and sounded quite wise. He stopped on a bench just outside of the park and wrote a little summary of the conversation down in one of his notebooks.

Apollo would continue on and on. For weeks he traveled and wandered. From Greece to Romania, from Romania to Austria, eventually finding himself in France. At the direction of others he met along the way, he found himself seeking a woman who was regarded as one of the great modern intellectuals. Apollo found her at Cafe de Flore in Paris, as he was told he might. He timidly approached her table, after finally happening by at the right time, and cordially introduced himself. Not quite welcomed by her initially, but after some charismatic coaxing, she engaged him in a brief conversation. 

At some point, when it felt right, Apollo said, "If I may ask, in your view, how should life be lived? How does one make the most of this whole thing?"

With a confident smile, the woman replied, "It's all a balance. You have to live in the now, but also be sure to think ahead at the same time. Enjoy the pleasures of life as often as you can, but never so much so that you neglect the future. An indulgence of the now, sustained by a constant and simultaneous reminder that there are more and better 'nows' still to come and hold out for. The balance of the two makes both great. That is what it means to live a good life."

Apollo thanked her for her kind willingness to spare a few moments, and left her to herself. As he walked away, he was again struck by the wisdom and convinced by the clarity of the woman's words. It made great sense to him, and was definitely wise. He sat at a little bench in downtown Paris and wrote what she said in one of his notebooks.

A few days later, still somehow unsatiated, and growing increasingly tired by this point, Apollo would find himself in Germany, at a small debate between two philosophers that he had been directed toward. After the debate ended, Apollo approached one of the philosophers at the bar attached to the auditorium that the event had taken place at. He introduced himself briefly, and naturally started a conversation. They talked about this and that.

When appropriate, Apollo said, "If I may ask, in your view, how should life be lived? How does one make the most of this whole thing?"

With a deep, slow, and tired exhale, the man replied, "We don't. Don't you see? We are condemned by our awareness of the future, and the perpetual slipperiness of every moment. We are stuck between the finite and the infinite, the now and the later, unable to ever reconcile this balance and know how to make the most of either. To make the most of now risks the future, to preserve the future risks never making the most of now. To be human is to be aware of and desire both, forced to live in between. And to live in between is to never touch either. Wisdom is accepting this condition. Live with the pessimism and lower your expectations, and the occasional good will emerge once in a while. That is what it means to live a good life."

The man drank from his beer as Apollo somberly thanked him, then continued on his way. Although melancholic, he felt a sense of clarity in the man's answer. It made great sense to him, and was clearly quite wise. He sat on the ledge of a small city fountain and wrote what the man said in one of his notebooks. 

Apollo would continue on and on, reading and talking and looking everywhere else he could. Almost without realizing or planning it, suddenly, he found himself at home again, laying back on his living room couch. An assortment of books that he had collected along his journey, as well as journals of note that he had taken, sat next to him. He thought to himself, reflecting though the pages of his notes and memories. He considered how he had explored different worlds, and different cultures, asking some of the wisest members of each how to best live. He received a newfound collection of wisdoms from all of them, all of which sounded powerful, and insightful, and true on their own. Yet somehow, together, seemed to all contradict almost entirely. 

Apollo wrote his thoughts down in some of the empty space of one of the journals he still had room in. Eventually, after plenty of mostly incoherent babbling, he wrote the following:

I went out into the world claiming to seek wisdom. But what I really sought were answers. And it is now perhaps my only clear conclusion that wisdom is the ability to know the difference. There is no general wisdom of the kind I sought. The sort of wisdom that is alluded to in aphorisms and cliches. Wisdom is knowing the limits of this wisdom. That it is entirely situational, and rarely general, if at all. There are countless ideas and sayings and so-called wisdoms that can justify nearly any way of living. They all sound good, because they all are. But by the same token, none are. All ideas and cliches and wisdoms are both true and false, meaningful and meaningless, depending on where and when and how they are applied. Even the most brilliant thoughts and lines ever written or uttered across history inevitably face their falsehoods, hypocrisies, and righteous oppositions. One can travel the world and back, through books or on their own two feet, just to discover that the answers are not out there. But perhaps one does not need answers, nor certainty, nor solace of this form. Bad things happen. Life is an impossible puzzle, missing a majority of its pieces. To live it in its ordinary form is courage. To find meaning in its mundane meaninglessness is a sort of genius. To just exist for the time one has and to do one's best, that's wise enough. It need not be more complicated than that. One should always be learning and listening and considering the ideas and words of others. But I think I know now that this wisdom is always a means and rarely an end.

Apollo put the pen back into the notebook, closed it, and sat back in his couch. Eager to get back to, and repair, the life that was his.

"Quite the collection," he heard a familiar voice chime from the other end of the couch. "Did you get the answers you were hoping for?"

He leaned back and tilted his head up, letting an exasperated sigh loose between his lips. "Not quite," he admitted. "More questions, really. But I feel like a learned a lot."

"Well, what do you want?" the voice asked. As though prompted by a ludicrous question, Apollo gave Alyssa an incredulous glance.

"Well, you, of course," he replied coyly, unable to hold back the upward curl at the edges of his lips. 

"Then I guess it's time for you to head back, then, isn't it?"

After a moment of pondering, Apollo nodded his head.

"Yeah. I guess so."

Spoiler

Bahr: HP: 1357/1605 | EN: 55/144 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 124 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 6 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | PHASE | BH: 80 | HB: 24 | LD: 5 | Paralyzed

Parry cooldown: 2/2 turns
Bahr is Paralyzed

Forgotten Time King: HP: 655/3750 | DMG: 300 | MIT: 150 | ACC: 3 | PLZ | ID: 170196 | BD: x
MD: 3+3=6, Hit for 300-124=176 DMG

 

[Bahr 0]

Before he knew it, Bahr was right back where he'd left off in the fight against the Forgotten Time King. Its spear was hurtling toward him in the same fashion that it had thousands of times before this, but now something was different. Bahr could see it, track it trajectory before it collided with his sternum and sent him through the same cycle of death and reverse rebirth he'd encountered countless times before. He caught the blade in his hand just before the tip carved into him, refocused eyes clinging to life staring into the empty sockets of the King. 

"Didn't anyone ever teach you not to play with your food?" Bahr asked as he shoved against the blade, pushing the King back several paces and creating some distance between them. As though pitched into overdrive, his Battle Healing began replenishing his health gauge at an astonishing rate, filling to a quarter, then to half, then to three quarters in a fraction of the usual time necessary. "You've had an infinite number of chances to finish this for good. I think you'll realize very seen why that was a mistake."

As his health gauge capped out at its maximum, Bahr gripped Dawn's Demise tightly and, with careful deliberation, lifted it to its strike-ready stance. It burst into flame once in position, the raw energy of his Sword Art overflowing from the blade and consuming the oxygen around them to fuel its unrelenting tenacity. "You won't get me again. I can't afford it."
 

Spoiler

Bahr: HP: 1461/1605 | EN: 53/144 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 124 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 6 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | PHASE | BH: 80 | HB: 24 | LD: 5 

Bahr used Parry, -5 EN

Forgotten Time King: HP: 655/3750 | DMG: 300 | MIT: 150 | ACC: 3 | PLZ | ID: 170198 | BD: x
MD: 4, Miss

 

[Bahr 0]

كم لطيف. تعتقد أنك تستطيع الفوز.

How cute. You think you can win.

أنت تفشل في فهم أعماق قوتي. أنا لست من نفس مرتبتك. أنا أعلى مستوى - أنا ملك!

You fail to understand the depths of my power. I am not of your rank. I am the highest level - I am King!

 

Bahr's lips curled into a wry grin as he absorbed the King's monologue. Sure, it had probably just been a psychotically-induced hallucination, his trip around the world (albeit a convincing and illuminating one). The product of a fractured mind trying to piece things back together in a way that had made sense. But still, Bahr had learned things in his travels. And while the translation still seemed fuzzy, he was pretty sure he could understand most of what the egotistical mob was saying.

"Then call me the Kingslayer."

Speeds not thought possible for a mortal soul carried Bahr from where he was to where the King stood in the blink of an eye. No, faster than that. Wind did not follow his approach - it fled from it, fighting against his approach to fill the vacuum left behind from where his body had been the instant before. And just as fast, Dawn's Demise found itself buried in the monster's shoulder, carving clean through its armor before the armor itself could even recognize it had been penetrated. A split second later, it shattered, scattering across the cloudy expanse they continue to fight in. 

Were it to have eyes, Bahr was certain he'd see fear in them.
 

Spoiler

Bahr: HP: 1565/1605 | EN: 46/144 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 124 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 6 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | PHASE | BH: 80 | HB: 24 | LD: 5 | PARRY

Bahr used [x13] Galaxy Destroyer, -10 EN

Forgotten Time King: HP: 350/3750 | DMG: 300 | MIT: 150 | ACC: 3 | PLZ | ID: 170199 | BD: 6, 35*13=455-150=305 DMG
MD: 6, Miss

 

[Bahr 0]

ليس بهذه السرعة.

Not so fast.

The King flashed from Bahr's point of view and appeared behind him, quick enough that not even teleportation could have carried it so quickly. But as it poised its spear to lash out and painted the surroundings gold, it noticed that Bahr, too, had evaporated from existence. He was now behind the King, illuminating the surrounding haze with a crimson glow as his Sword Art ignited his blade. As quickly as it could, the King turned and put its spear in the path of Dawn's Demise, only barely catching it in time to avoid catastrophic damage. The resulting impact and explosion of obsidian energy blasted both Bahr and the King back.

أحسنت. لكنني أشك في أنه يمكنك الحفاظ على هذا النوع من السرعة لفترة طويلة.

Impressive. But I doubt you can maintain this sort of pace for long.

It was then that the King would feel the firm hand against the back of its shoulder, completely halting its backward momentum from the blast and stopping the creature dead in its tracks. Not but a split second later, Dawn's Demise would erupt through the King's chest, having been plunged straight through its spine from where Bahr stood behind it.

"You're right. That's why I need to end this quickly."

Spoiler

Bahr: HP: 1605/1605 | EN: 39/144 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 124 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 6 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | PHASE | BH: 80 | HB: 24 | LD: 5 | PARRY

Bahr used [x13] Galaxy Destroyer, -10 EN

Forgotten Time King: HP: 201/3750 | DMG: 300 | MIT: 150 | ACC: 3 | PLZ | ID: 170200 | BD: 4, 23*13=299-150=149 DMG
MD: 3, Miss

 

[Bahr 0]

أنا ... لا أفهم.

I... I do not understand.

"That's fine," Bahr responded. "You don't need to." He twisted the blade, then shoved his boot against the King's back. This pushed the mob away, its body sliding along the blade of Dawn's Demise until it was finally relinquished from its grasp.

لا أحد يستطيع هزيمتي.

No one mortal can defeat me.

It slowly turned so that it could look at Bahr.

لا أحد يستطيع أن يمتلك قوتي.

No one mortal can possess my power.

إنه غير آمن. القلعة سوف تنهار.

It is not safe. The castle would crumble.

So that was it? The Forgotten Time King saw itself as some sort of arbiter of peace for Aincrad? A force which glued its walls together and prevented collapse? How absurd. It was everything Bahr could do to keep himself from laughing. 

"You think I would destroy this place? My home? The single most important structure of my life?" Bahr questioned incredulously. "You needn't worry what should happen to this place after your passing. Aincrad is under my protection now."

A moment of silence passed, before letters began materializing once more.

هكذا هو الحال.

So that is how it is.

...

 

ثم أكملها. تقدم بصفتك حامي القلعة. منحت بركتي.

Then complete it. Advance as the guardian of the castle. You have my blessing. 

With pleasure, Bahr thought to himself as he readied Dawn's Demise and poured every last drop of available power into it. The King, who had previously been quite animated, had suddenly stopped moving - as though it had resigned to its fate. This last strike would be the one that finished it all.

"Shatter."

Spoiler

Bahr: HP: 1605/1605 | EN: 32/144 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 124 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 6 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | PHASE | BH: 80 | HB: 24 | LD: 5 | PARRY

Bahr used [x13] Galaxy Destroyer, -10 EN

Forgotten Time King: HP: 0/3750 | DMG: 300 | MIT: 150 | ACC: 3 | PLZ | ID: 170201 | BD: 7, 35*13=455-150=305 DMG | Forgotten Time King defeated

Looting
Forgotten Time King
ID: 170203
LD: 20
Forgotten King's Spite obtained

 

[Bahr 0]

اكتملت المهمة.

Mission completed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Thread net gains:
7 SP
10400 col
Forgotten King's Spite (T3 - Demonic OHSS: Fallen/Paralyze/Bleed/Acc) [ID: 170203]