Sword Art Online: The Forgotten Fields

Prologue

Floor: One.
Location: Alder Woods.
Date: June 6, 2022.
Time: 23:51.
Player Status: Green.

The sound of footsteps on dirt carry into the dark, the forest remaining quiet in response. Hushed voices of hooded fighters along the trail are indistinct to the prying ear. Under their cloth garmets, masks, and white armwraps, the men let their weapons show. The uniform is none other than Laughing Coffin's go to, and so are the weapons.

Hanging loosely in one's hand is a elongated knife, its serrated edge shining in the moonlight. The short man twirls the blade absent-mindedly. His other hand pulls along a spooled metal chain covered in metal spikes. Another cradles a large two-handed axe.. Big and brutish like its owner, it is dull to match the owner.

Skimming the group, a horrifying yet familiar sight is present. Throughout the group of black and grey uniformed men is prisoners. People all clad in blue and white uniforms of a small guild.

In the front, a short girl with dark red hair walks along, hands cuffed behind her back. From a distance, a occiasional faint sob resonates from the girl. Behind her, limping beside the biggest of the guards, is a tall man cuffed the same. His beady blue eyes are downcast, sorrow swirling in the twin orbs.

In the trees along the trail, high in the forest canopy, a boy kneels on a thick branch. Lowering his cowl, he studies the group. As his eyes drift along them, a tall girl in broken plate armor in the back catches his eye. As his breath hitches, she gazes at him, recognizing the silence of the forest as his presence.

The cloaked boy raises a crossbow. Designed to be used in one hand, it barely makes a sound as he draws its string. The weapon is his own personal choice, and a secret to many. How he got it was simple. He made it. And now, to use it to become something more than a anyone could have expected.

The girl looks at him as they trudge along, a tear coming to her eye. As it streaks down to her chin her eyes well with relief. She nods ever so slightly. Her purple hair glints off the moonlight, making the archer pause. With a exhale, the crossbow user takes aim at his target, quickly loading a bolt into the weapon. With a ragged breath, he pulls the trigger, beginning the story of one of Aincrad's best player killers.