Kazuto Kirigaya sat in his room, the gentle hum of the NerveGear filling the silence. The device rested on his head like a crown from a world beyond—sleek and silver, it was a portal to the most advanced virtual experience ever created: Sword Art Online. On his monitor, the clock ticked to 1:00 PM, November 6, 2022—launch day—and a faint smile tugged at his lips as he whispered, "Finally."
He had waited years for this moment, not just to play but to truly live in that world. The beta test had already proven its potential, but now this was the real thing. "Link… Start!" The words left his mouth, and the world exploded into light. Colors, sensations, sounds—all crashed into him like a wave. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a sprawling plaza surrounded by elegant stone buildings and green banners fluttering in the wind. The sky was impossibly blue, and the breeze felt warm, almost real.
"Welcome to Aincrad," the system chimed softly. Overwhelmed by the beauty around him, Kirito reached for the sword at his side, feeling its weight; even the metallic chill of the handle felt genuinely tangible. He was no longer in Japan; he stood inside a dream.
Just then, a familiar face from the beta test broke his reverie—Klein, with his usual grin. "You made it in early, huh?" he said. Kirito chuckled. "Couldn't resist." The two spent the next few hours exploring the starting fields beyond the city. Green plains stretched for miles, dotted with low-level monsters and crystal-clear rivers. Klein struggled at first, his sword swings a bit wild and sloppy, but Kirito moved with a grace that suggested he belonged there.
"Man, you're good at this," Klein said between heavy breaths. "You sure you're not some kind of cheat code?" Kirito smirked. "Beta tester advantage. You'll catch up." Their laughter echoed through the fields, but then something strange happened. For a split second, the world flickered—everything froze. Grass stopped swaying, sounds cut out completely, and Kirito's vision darkened at the edges. In front of him, he saw a flash of movement.
Klein was standing still, and then a wild boar charged toward him. Kirito blinked, and the world snapped back into focus. "Hey—watch out!" he shouted. Klein turned just in time for Kirito to intercept the boar, his sword cutting through it in one clean motion, causing the monster to burst into shards of light. Klein blinked, bewildered. "What the hell—? How'd you know it was coming?"
Kirito stared at his trembling hand in disbelief. "I… don't know." It wasn't reflex; he had seen that attack before it happened, and that realization sent a shiver down his spine.
As they returned to the plaza at sunset, laughter mixed with the noise of hundreds of players. The air carried a faint smell of digital bread and roasting meat, and for a moment, it felt almost human. But then the bell tolled—a deep chime that echoed through the sky, forcefully teleporting every player to the main plaza of the Town of Beginnings. Confusion reigned. "What's going on?" Klein asked, and Kirito felt a rising sense of dread.
A red hex filled the sky—Warning. Then, the sky itself cracked open like glass, and a massive, hooded figure descended, cloaked in digital fire. "Welcome, players," said Kayaba Akihiko, his voice resonating through the air like a thunderclap. "I am the creator of Sword Art Online—and your new god." Instantly, the laughter died.
Kayaba's voice was smooth yet unyielding. "There is no longer a logout button. Any attempt to remove the NerveGear will result in your death in the real world. And should your HP reach zero here… the NerveGear will destroy your brain." A suffocating silence followed, quickly shattered by panic. Players screamed, ran, and collapsed, desperately trying to open their menus only to find the logout option gone.
Kirito stood frozen—not from fear, but from a strange, icy calm that enveloped him. Just then, the flicker returned. He saw flashes of chaos—people falling in dungeons, guilds breaking apart, tears and blood staining the digital dirt. In the midst of it all, a girl with chestnut hair stood in a field of flowers, smiling sadly before the world around her shattered. He gasped as the vision faded.
"Kazuto?" Klein's voice trembled. "What do we do?" Kirito's breathing steadied as he instinctively reached for his sword. "Survive," he said quietly, "and get to the top." Klein frowned, skepticism etched on his face. "You're serious?"
"I saw something. I don't understand it yet, but if what Kayaba said is true, then sitting here won't help anyone." Klein nodded slowly. "Then let's team up—" But Kirito interrupted him with a small, sad smile. "You've got friends to find, right? Go with them. I move faster alone."
Klein's jaw tightened in frustration, but something in Kirito's eyes—the calm certainty—stopped him from arguing. "Alright," Klein said finally. "Don't die, yeah?" Kirito replied, "I don't plan to." They parted ways as the red twilight of Aincrad's first night spread across the sky. Kirito walked into the plains, alone, with the light fading behind him.
As the stars of Aincrad shimmered above, he whispered to the empty world, "If I can see the future… then I'll use it to change it." The wind answered in silence, and thus began the legend of the Black Swordsman—the one who could see beyond time itself.