[OP-KE-F17] Sunset

[Helios 0]

Helios stepped up to the edge of the seventeenth floor. Behind him was a fair sized plain with a range of mountains and the safezone of Spartaia in the distance. Underneath him was... well, from what he could tell, nothing. Just an empty void that would soon consume him, just as it did to many others. The noirette took a seat in the grass for a moment and stuck his black and green curved sword into the virtual dirt next to him. Showing off his dark, raven-coloured hair, the swordsman took off his hat, hanging it carefully off of the blade's hilt. Then, he stood back up and pulled open his GUI. He wasn't going to leave SAO behind without sending a final message to everyone he knew. The PM was quickly written and sent to every player who was on his "Friends List". All that was said was, "It was fun while it lasted. I wish you all luck in finishing this game. Adios."

The player thought about his time in Aincrad. Had any of it really been worth leaving behind his old life? His mind travelled back to the beginning of Sword Art Online. Helios remembered a blonde dual-wielder, who at the time only used one blade, who had invited him to join a guild that would eventually become the strongest in Aincrad. Maybe that was the reason he was removed from the guild. Back then he was nothing, he was barely even able to challenge a boar or two and exit alive. It wasn't a surprise that he wasn't needed in the group of powerful players.

Then his thoughts shifted to another time, not long after he had left Azure. Another blonde man, Oikawa, had asked him to accompany him on the third floor. He had said Helios would be learning how to become a blacksmith. Man, was that a lie. It turns out he was wanted for a secret project that to this day he had no knowledge of. The dark-haired male chuckled at the thought of having trouble killing a small, green dragon on the third floor. Now, it wouldn't have lasted long at all if he were to retake that challenge. For some reason, Helios continued to be curious about the blonde's "project". Although they had spoken countless times afterwards, the rapier-wielding man had never spoken about it again.

Months after that he had been recruited to join the Velvet Room with Jomei and Piera. Immediately, he accepted their request to join them as a council member. Unfortunately, that guild did not live long. At some point along the lines, Helios had been removed from the council and reduced to a regular member of the guild. Eventually he had simply abandoned the players, and he wasn't the only one. Lowenthal, the leader of the Velvet Room, had ended up leaving Jomei to lead the guild while he joined the Azure Brigade. One of Helios' biggest mistakes was not coming back to help his ginger friend save the guild, which he had thought seemed promising. There was a time when Jomei and the raven-haired man had spoken underneath the branches of the eighth floor. The man had asked Helios to rejoin their old guild. If only he had said yes.

Then, all of the sudden, Zelrius was dead, along with Ssendom, another member of the Azure Brigade. Tristan Delaney had went off the grid and Lowenthal decided to leave the frontlines with Shizuka. Helios didn't understand why Oikawa of all people would have killed the dual-wielding swordsman. Of course, knowing the blonde's reasons wouldn't change anything. Zel would still be dead. It wasn't long after that Manta, a woman who had accompanied him on his Breaking the Unbreakable quest, and Ebony, a healer on the frontlines, had been killed by Calrex's wife, Teayre. Helios did not think about any of this often. Not many spoke to him about it anymore, so he had pushed it out of his brain, much like his identity outside of Sword Art Online.

He continued on with his thoughts. All of the quests he had taken, both alone and with friends. The temple on the fourth floor where he had fought alongside Rain. The time he had met Shizuka, a pink-haired woman, on the sixth floor. His meeting with Oikawa and Hunie on this very floor. His long conversation with Teselmar about life in Aincrad. Rusty, the brunette he had taken interest in so long ago. The ice cream he had shared with Kasier, a friendly, very innocent woman. His mind wandered on and on until eventually, it simply stopped.

He asked himself again. Was any of this really worth it? He had left behind all of his family, all of his friends. His entire life was gone. It had been gone the very second he placed the NerveGear on his head and said those two fateful words. "Link Start." He whispered to himself once again. Then and there he had an answer. Yes it was worth it. Sure, he had left behind his old life, but he made a new one here in Aincrad. He met new friends and considered them to be like a family to him. All of them fought against the game for an exit, but in the end, did they really need one? They had everything they ever needed here in SAO.

And now that I am leaving this world for good, this is my opinion. Although you are hated for what you developed, Kayaba, in the end, I believe you are truly a genious.

Helios took his final breath as he stood up and smiled. At the end of the day, this game was not any more cruel than the real world was. He hoped more people would eventually realize this. And with that, he stepped off of the map, falling for a moment before his vision was gone. All that was left was a black screen and three red words.

YOU ARE DEAD

Edited August 4, 2016 by Helios

[Calrex 0]

Speedy footsteps through the desert-like sands echoed as the bluenette made his hastily. It was only moments before that he saw a message appear from an old acquaintance, one that he had not seen in quite some time. Helios, one of the few curved sword users within the game of SAO that had not switched to the katana Extra Skill, and one that he remembered for a time joining the Azure Brigade. He had not seen or heard from the young man, and the sudden message only made a feeling of regret come to his mind, "Geezes, just hold on for..."

Before he could get to the edge of the cliff he had seen Helios' tracking positioned at, it vanished. As if to try and get some form of sick confirmation, he pulled up his friends list, seeing that his name was also crossed out. Going to the Memorial of Life wouldn't change anything, as it would only confirm what everything in his menu had said.

Helios was gone, having taken his own life by leaping off a cliff into the abyss. Just like Daeron had done in the past. Cursing under his breath he closed his eyes to center himself, walking a few feet away from the edge, "So you decided to leave both worlds as well. I can only hope you're at peace now Helios. I'm sorry that I couldn't have gotten to know you more before the end..."

His quiet reverie brought no tears to his eyes, a side-effect of months of combat and seeing those he once knew die both in front of him and faraway. There was nothing he could do for those who had passed away. Lindow, Azide, Zelrius, Ssendom, Helios and all of the others who had given their lives in this world. They were all marks on the stone obelisk, and all names that he carried in his mind.

With a swipe he summoned his menu, pulling up the last message as he gave a weak smile, "Thanks for the luck, and the same to you in the next life, if there is one."

Turning back to face where he had come from he gave a small sigh, putting his hands into his jacket pockets, "I'm sure there will be more people coming to see what happened. Maybe I'll linger here for a bit longer, see who shows up and who will attempt to follow suit."

[Kasier 0]

It was raining. Kasier had been gathering materials once more in the fields of the first floor, the usual place that she did most of her material gathering in. However, a few raindrops soon resulted in an absolute downpour. Kasier looked up and closed her eyes to allow the rain to seep down her face, slowly making its way to the ground after purifying her dirty face. Her usual well-kept dark blue hair was ruined, but it wasn’t as if she actually cared too much about it. She was definitely going to have to call off the day of material gathering, it had been an unproductive one as well and now, the rain was stopping her from making too much progress. One might as well stop if they weren’t going to make any progress doing something. As she ran back from the fields of the first floor to head back to the safe zone in order to return to her home, she heard a notification that made her legs shiver.

It was from Helios, a message of goodbye. Sure, the message was written in a playful way but Kasier knew immediately what the message meant. Just a few days ago, the man had been really, really nice to her and seemed really confident but now…

“Suicide?” Kasier asked, allowing her legs to go to the floor outside of the safe zone. All of the boars and wolves had been driven away by the fierce and powerful rain, but Kasier could care less about the wet downpour. In reality, she was a lot more focused on the conflicting thoughts that were going through her mind at the moment. Kasier had not expected Helios to be a suicidal man; in fact, Kasier could barely tell that the man was depressed to any point that he would just simply jump off a cliff and kill himself. Kasier looked up at the sky blankly, the same way that she looked up at the sky when she realized that her friends were dead. However, now, she realized the truth and had it by her hands. She had swore to protect everyone that she knew with her healing yet she was unable to help someone like Helios because she was clueless and helpless. All she could do was be helped by others because she was weak.

All of those times that she had strived to become a great player she had been blind. There are only so many things that someone can do. Kasier had thought that she would become the top of the world but now; she had fallen down onto the ground. Death in this game was reality. The reality and there was no denying it. Helios was dead, in both this game and the real world. Indeed, it was time for Kasier to grow up. No longer will she try her hardest to please everyone. She had realized the truth, why so many players jump off cliffs in order to relieve themselves of the pressure of this game.

Helios was a foolish man. There were so many choices that he could’ve made but he made the worst one of them all. As a experienced player, he probably had lots of people, including her, that he could turn to. Despite Kasier being a weak player, she had seen it all, she had seen combat, material gathering, death… Multiple times already. This game wasn’t just a game, it was a struggle to live and Kasier was going to become the strongest… The strongest of them all no matter who says anything. I will avenge you Helios. Kasier thought, standing up and looking at the map, which depicted Helios to be on the seventeenth floor. Hence, she headed there; perhaps she would be able to catch a glimpse of one of the dearest friends that she had seen so far in this game. However, as she reached the seventeenth floor, the man’s name had already disappeared from her friend list as well as his sign from the map. The dark-haired man was gone, away from this world. He had done so many material gathering with her and she had talked so much with him, but now all that was gone, no longer would Kasier ever speak a single word to him. There was no other choice now then to go back to her shop on the first floor and rest in the safe zone. She would definitely need the rest. Along the way, she began to speak in the deserted safe zone.

“I will become stronger and stronger… So no one else dies without my consent.” Kasier said, her eyes glaring in front of her in pure stubbornness. She was someone else… A new Kasier. And she was seeking to be the new Kaiser of Aincrad.

Edited August 5, 2016 by Kasier
Forgot a period which is the most important part of my post