When Our Blades Cross (A Sword Art Online Story)

Link... Start!

Gosen Kyllman stood in line, getting his money out to buy the new game that had just struck the markets by storm: Sword Art Online. He had saved that money by helping his older brother at work, because lord knows his parents wouldn't have helped. The boy anxiously tapped his foot as he slowly inched forward in the line.

He got out of the store as quickly as possible; the crowd was getting insane, the line wasn't even in the store anymore, but he was there well before it was on the shelves, but even then there was still a decent line. Damn... is this game really that popular...? Heheh... Guess I'm lucky.

Gosen put his earbuds in and pulled his scarf up. The wind blew, causing Gosen to have to put his hands in his hoodie pockets. The music began to play, shuffle picking out the first song for him to listen to on his venture home: "Break Me Down" by Sleeping With Sirens.

The thirty minute walk home would have been less painful had his parents been there to drive him, but the boy wasn't exactly on the best terms with them. Gosen opened the window to his room slowly, a fearful shaking as he hoped his father wouldn't catch him coming home late.

He plopped down on his bed, setting up his NerveGear. "Boy!" A gruff voice shouted, causing Gosen to tense and open the door, heading out to his raggity looking living room.

"Y-yes, father?" The boy said, his voice weak, with fear tinting it. His father got up with an angry growl, approaching Gosen with steps with the force of stomps.

"Just where have you been for the last hour?" The man growled, getting in Gosen's face.

"I-I've been in my room..."

"Liar," his father growled, "count yourself lucky, kid, I have a date tonight, so I can't afford to waste time with you." His father glanced around the room, walking behind Gosen,
"This house better be spotless by the time I get home," he said, pulling on the boy's scarf, choking him slightly.

As his dad left, Gosen breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't noticed that his breath had hitched. The boy went to his room, and checked the note his brother had left him two days before.

Hey, kiddo. It's been brought to my attention how Dad has been treating you, and it's wrong. I want you to know this, and I hope my words can help convince you because I know you want to see the best in him because he's you're Dad. Just... know my house is open if you want to stay here. You don't have to make this decision immediately, just think about it, okay?
-Chris

"...I see what he means now." Gosen got out his phone, typing a message to his brother. 'Hey... can you come get me?' He stared at the send button for almost a minute, before hitting send.
He lay down in the bed, it was a mess, but he'd worry about it later. Gosen put on the NerveGear and said the keywords: "...Link Start!"

His vision immediately changed and he was relieved to find there was an avatar building function, no one would have to see his regular body. After creating his avatar, he loaded into the actual game, greeted with a bunch of other players talking to eachother and smiling.

Gosen smiled slightly, realizing that he could use this place as an escape from reality whenever he wanted. The reality he hated so much. He stretched around, fidgeting, "Wow... it really does feel so... real."

"Well, I suppose I should mess around a little to try to get a handle on everything... let's see..." The boy glanced around, "Is there a tutorial or something...?" His breath hitched as he scanned the menu until he found the label 'help'. "Tutorial... tutorial... ah! There we go."

The system was helpful; it guided him through how to activate sword skills, a few proper, but uncomfortable stances. Hmm... it'll take a minute to get used to... the game teaches you how to do basics to the game, but I'm on my own for actually learning how to be proficient with the sword.
Gosen checked the time. 7:36pm... my brother should be home any minute now. I suppose I should log out now and get my things together. The boy waved his hand, opening the menu and scrolled down to the gear icon, opening a sidebar where the logout button was supposed to be.

Huh? It's... blank? He clicked it, but nothing happened. Is this a glitch? I should report the issue just in case--
As he was thinking, he noticed a blue glow appear around him. "H-huh?" The boy noticed he had been transported back to where he had spawned: the Town of Beginnings.

Everyone else was being teleported as well, a confused ruckus breaking out. "Is this some sort of special launch-day event?" He heard someone suggest, pondering the idea himself. Above them, a hexagon-shaped sign saying "Warning" appeared, spreading in multitudes; what seemed to be blood poured out of the sky, meeting up in one location to form an entity in a red cloak.

"Hello all players of Sword Art Online," the entity spoke, "I am Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of the game you are playing now." The being claiming to be Kayaba opened his own menu, beginning to speak again, "I'm sure that by now many of you have noticed that there is no log out button. This is not a glitch, but rather a key feature. There is no longer any way to log out of Sword Art Online."

Gosen's breath hitched. No way to log out...? You... can't be serious...
"That being said," Kayaba begins to speak again, "if someone tries to log you out by forcefully taking off the NerveGear, the system will send harmful waves through to your brain, and it will result in death. If your health points hit zero, the same thing will happen. The only way to log out will be to complete all 100 floors of castle Aincrad." Kayaba continued to speak afterward, but Gosen was lost in thought.

No logging out...? Beat Sword Art Online..? I... I guess it beats my usual life... maybe this is a chance for me, a chance for me to prove that I'm strong. I'll be the strongest out there, then no one will be able to treat me like dirt...!