Skyward Blade

Chapter 3

The crowd had barely started to disperse when Asuna nudged me with her elbow. "You really forgot, didn't you?"

"Forgot what?" I asked, still catching my breath from the excitement of the fight.

She shook her head, grinning. "Your birthday, Kirito. You're seventeen today."

I froze, the realization hitting me like a slap. I had been so focused on the competition, on winning, that I'd completely forgotten. "Oh... right."

Asuna rolled her eyes and laughed. "Only you would forget your own birthday."

Before I could respond, the Headmaster approached, his booming voice cutting through the post-competition chatter. "Kirito, champion and birthday boy!" His face softened into a rare smile. "We'll be holding a celebration for you this evening. Not just for your victory, but to honor your coming of age."

I could feel my face heat up. "That's really not necessary, Headmaster."

"Nonsense!" He patted my back, almost knocking me off balance. "It's tradition! Now, go get cleaned up. You've earned it."

The rest of the day passed in a blur. The Academy threw an enormous party, far bigger than I'd anticipated. Students and instructors alike gathered in the grand hall, which was decorated with floating lanterns and banners that danced in the gentle breeze from the open windows. Tables were piled high with food, and music filled the air, the melodies blending with the sounds of laughter and conversation.

I tried to enjoy myself, but something felt off. Maybe it was the overwhelming attention-everyone congratulating me on the fight, on turning seventeen-or maybe it was something deeper. Asuna noticed and gave me space, which I appreciated, though she hovered nearby like she was ready to snap me out of whatever daze I was in.

At some point during the evening, I found myself standing near one of the windows, staring out at the night sky. The stars sparkled brightly, scattered across the horizon like scattered memories. That's when the weight of everything came crashing down on me. Seventeen years. And yet... all I could think about was my family.

My father, who had died in the line of duty when I was still a boy. He had been a Sky Knight too-a warrior whose strength and bravery had been unmatched. He was my hero. And my sister... Leafa. She had disappeared not long after my father's death, vanishing without a trace. No one had ever been able to explain what happened to her.

I hadn't thought about them in years, or at least not as much as I should have. It wasn't that I wanted to forget them, but training to become a Sky Knight required so much focus. I couldn't let my mind wander, especially not to painful memories. But now, with the celebration around me and the stars above, I couldn't stop thinking about them. If they were here, would they be proud of the person I'd become?

The party eventually wound down, and the other students drifted back to their rooms, leaving me with my thoughts. Asuna said goodnight, her eyes lingering on me as if she wanted to say more, but I waved her off with a small smile. "I'm fine," I told her. "Just tired."

As I lay in bed that night, the festivities long over, sleep came slowly. My mind was too restless, filled with fragments of memories, regrets, and questions I didn't have the answers to. When I did finally drift off, it wasn't into a peaceful sleep.

I found myself standing on a vast plain, the ground stretching endlessly in every direction. The sky above was a dark, swirling mass of clouds, and in the distance, I could see faint shapes-mountains, ruins, and something else. Something looming.

A voice called out to me, distant at first but growing louder as it echoed across the emptiness. It wasn't a voice I recognized, but it filled me with a strange sense of calm, like I had heard it before, in another life, another world.

"Kirito," it whispered, as if carried by the wind. "The time is near. The sword... it is waiting for you."

I looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, but there was no one else here. Only me and the endless plain.

"The balance is shifting. The surface stirs, and what lies below will rise again. You must be ready."

I tried to speak, to ask what this all meant, but the words wouldn't come. My heart raced as the voice grew softer, fading into the distance. "The flames... the sword... find it before it's too late..."

Suddenly, the ground beneath me trembled, and the dark shape in the distance-the thing looming over the horizon-began to move. It wasn't a mountain or a ruin. It was something alive, something powerful. I could feel its presence pressing down on me, its shadow swallowing everything in its path.

And then I woke up, my chest heaving, sweat soaking my sheets.

I sat up in bed, my heart still pounding from the intensity of the dream. It had felt so real, so vivid, like something more than just a dream. I could still hear the voice in my head, the cryptic warning ringing in my ears.

For some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that this dream meant something-that it wasn't just my imagination. There was a weight to it, a sense of urgency that I couldn't ignore.

I got out of bed, my legs shaky as I walked across the room to my small bookshelf. There, tucked away in the corner, was an old, dusty tome that I hadn't looked at in years. The Legend of Excalibur.

I pulled the book down, brushing off the layer of dust that had settled on the cover. This was a relic from the past, filled with ancient stories and myths about the world before the Great Separation, before the Sky Knights were formed. I hadn't thought about it in years, but now... something about that dream had brought it back to the forefront of my mind.

I sat down at my desk, opening the book to its first few pages. The legends spoke of a great sword, forged by the gods themselves, a blade of immense power that had been lost to time. Excalibur, the Sword of Kings.

But the legend didn't stop there. It also spoke of a chosen one-a warrior who would one day find the sword and use its power to save the world from a great darkness. A darkness that would rise from the surface.

I flipped through the pages, scanning the text for any mention of what I had seen in my dream. The voice, the warning about the flames and the sword. There were hints, fragments of prophecy scattered throughout the book, but nothing concrete. Nothing that gave me the answers I needed.

But one thing was clear: the sword was real. And if the dream was anything to go by, the time to find it was fast approaching.

I leaned back in my chair, staring down at the open book, my mind racing. Whatever was coming, it wasn't something I could ignore. The dream had been a warning, a message meant for me. And if the legends were true, Excalibur might be the only thing that could stop it.

The question now was... where was it? And how was I supposed to find it before the darkness consumed everything?

I didn't have the answers yet, but one thing was certain: my life, and the lives of everyone in the sky, were about to change. And whatever lay beneath the surface, waiting for its moment to strike, was already on the move.

And so, the adventure I had long been training for... was just beginning.