Editing Forum:Shadowkeeper Apocalypse

{{forumheader|Fan Fiction}}<!-- Please put your content below this line. Be sure to sign your edits with four tildes: ~~~~ -->

{{Battle infobox

|conc=

|image= [[File:Shadowkeepers Apocalypse.jpg|380px]]

|conflict=  

|date= March 24th, 2017 - November 7th, 2024

|result= City advantage and victory

*Purification of the Darkness and growing influence of [[Forum:Fusion|Fusion]]

*Zavala's death is avenged

|side1= '''[[Solar System]]'''

*[[The Last City]]

*[[The Reef]]

*[[Forum:AJ's Host|AJ's Host]]

*[[Forum:Eternal Brotherhood|Eternal Brotherhood]]

*[[Forum:Iriksi Syndicate|Iriksi Syndicate]]

*[[Forum:Stygian Brood|Stygian Brood]]

*[[Forum:Sumeragi|Sumeragi]]

*[[Forum:House of Time|House of Time]]

*[[Forum:Sinon's Resistance|Sinon's Resistance]]

*[[Forum:Neon Wraiths (reworked)|Neon Wraiths]]

*[[Forum:Golden Legion|Golden Legion]]

*[[Forum:Shadowkeepers (Paradox)#Shadow Army|Shadow Army]]

**[[Forum:Shadowkeepers (Paradox)#House of Shadows|House of Shadows]]

**[[Forum:Shadowkeepers (Paradox)#Cult of Shadows|Cult of Shadows]]

*[[Forum:Shadowkeepers (Paradox)#Ghosts of Nagasaki|Ghosts of Nagasaki]]

*[[Red Legion]]

|commanders1=

'''Last City:'''

*[[Sagira]]

*[[Osiris]]

*[[Shiro-4]]

*[[Suraya Hawthorne]]

*[[Forum:Anna Blue|Anna Blue]]

*[[Saint-14]]

*[[Colonel]]

*[[Shaw Han]]

*[[Cayde-6]]

*[[The Guardian]]

----

'''Underworld:'''

*[[User:Koriks, Kell of Flame|Koriks, Flame Kell]]

*[[Forum:Rajiks, Flame Archon|Rajiks, Flame Archon]]

----

'''The Reef and Associates:'''

*[[Petra Venj]]

*[[Sedia]]

*[[Shuro Chi]]

*[[Kalli]]

----

'''AJ's Host:'''

'''Eternal Brotherhood:'''

*[[UserWiki:Brayden12012|Brayden-4]]

----

'''House of Lions:'''

*[[Forum:Velaks-3|Velaks-3]]

----

*[[The Spider]]

----

*[[Forum:Emperor Zor|Emperor Zor]]

|commanders2= '''Shadowkeepers:'''

*[[Forum:Tatsuyi Kirigaya, Vibebreaker of Shadows|Tatsuyi Kirigaya, Vibebreaker of Shadows]]

----

'''Shadow Army:'''

*[[Forum:Kamrak, the Titan|Kamrak, the Titan]]

*[[Forum:Lilthis, the Daemon|Lilthis, the Daemon]]

----

'''Ghosts of Nagasaki:'''

*[[Forum:Ghaul, Supplicant to Kirito|Ghaul, Supplicant to Kirito]]

*[[Forum:The Consul, Loyal to Ghaul|The Consul, Loyal to Ghaul]]

----

'''Scorned Barons:'''

*[[Pirrha, the Rifleman]]

*[[Yaviks, the Rider]]

|forces1=

'''Forces of the City:'''

'''Allies of the Guardians:'''

*[[Loyalists]]

*[[Awoken]]

*[[Nine]]

*[[Forum:House of Emperors|Emperor Reformists]]

*[[Forum:House of Flame|House of Flame]]

*Forces from other dimensions

|forces2=

*[[Fallen]]

*[[Hive]]

*[[Vex]]

*[[Cabal]]

*[[Taken]]

*[[Scorn]]

----

*[[Pyramids]]

*[[Blight]]s

*[[The Immortal]]

*[[The Almighty]]

|casual1=

*Many Guardians and Guardian Orders, such as the Sunbreakers, are destroyed

*Deaths of [[Zavala]] and [[Emperor Calus]]

|casual2=*Kirito and Asuna and their Shadowkeepers killed, but then resurrected as Nightmares

*Numerous Shadow forces crippled

|casual3=

|casual4=

}}

{{Quote|Dear Diary,<br> <br> This is pretty much the first time I've written to you. In this new world, that is. The diary from my world doesn't exist anymore. So, the two of us are gonna have to acquaint. Maybe for the rest of my life. I don't know. Everything is a blur now. A dark, unforgiving blur. Much like me. But enough about that. Where do I start? Oh, there's too many places to start, but I guess I should start with why I'm writing to you.<br> <br> It's been exactly 29 days since I woke up into this new world. A world I created. Long story short, I killed Maleficent and avenged my parents, but in doing so, I created a world even worse than what anyone had imagined. Just because this world isn't Maleficent's, it doesn't mean it's any better. The Shadowkeepers rule all of Auradon now. Kirito and Asuna are at the top of it all. That's right. The Shadowkeepers have won. I didn't just change reality. I changed history. To keep it simple, there was a war. A war that lasted 5 years. The Shadowkeepers, as I mention, won. The heroes are all dead, although some few unknown souls are in hiding. Kirito mentioned a resistance, but who knows how big or small it is. <br> <br> As for me, well, I have it all. At least, what the old me ever wanted. A [[Forum:Zevon, Pride of Kirito|boyfriend]] who's proud of me. A luxury bedroom I can call my safe haven. Feared and respected by the entire kingdom. A lifetime supply of strawberries. Okay, that last one wasn't exactly what the old me wanted or expected, but you get the point. But I'm living the good life. The good bad life. I can't deny that a part of me is loving this, but a huge part of me knows this is all wrong. It's not real. It's just an illusion created by some few floating Pyramids. I didn't wish for all this. As far as I'm concerned, everything I created is random. If I ever wished for anything, I'd want to change myself completely. Be the good girl that everyone expected me to be. But I haven't changed. I'm still the same me I've always been. I may not possess the dark scepter anymore, but the transformation I went through when I touched it, it still remains inside of me. <br> <br> My parents. Oh, how I wish they were proud of me for real. For being a sort-of good girl. Not this ruthless, heartless vixen they believe I am. For the past 29 days, I had to keep up the act. That includes acting like a bad girl, which isn't exactly hard. The hardest part so far was what happened on the anniversary of the Shadowkeepers' victory. Apparently, in this world, since I was 13, Kirito presents me with an innocent life to execute just for the fun of it. I know. It's sick. Hypocritical, I know. The next victim was a member of the resistance. A husband. A father. A soldier. I was asked to behead him. But I didn't. I put my sword down in front of everyone. But I knew that I couldn't risk suspicions. So, I burned that poor man alive. He screamed and screamed as his body slowly turned to ash. The Shadowkeepers, as you expect, cheered at the sight of it. You'd think I'd feel pleasure for burning someone alive, well, I didn't feel it. I felt disgusted with myself. The worse part, I barely hesitated. <br> <br> I've kept myself locked up in my room since then. I just couldn't swallow the fact that this is the world I'm living in right now. It's horrible. Everything and everyone I touch, I'm worse than poison. But now, I'm done hiding. it's time I get out there, familiarize myself with this new world, and see how I can manage all this. Like they said, I'm gonna rule it all one day. Might as well start by getting to know everyone all over again, if they don't remember anything. Whoever's alive, at least. <br> <br> I just wish the others are okay. Maybe they've gotten better or worse, but I would really like to see them. Evie. Jay. Carlos. Ben. Oh, Bennyboo. I miss you. <br> <br> 'Til next time. <br> <br> - Mal|A page from [[Forum:Mal's Diary|Mal's Diary]], retrieved by the [[Exo Stranger]].}}

==Prelude: The Swordsman's Arrival==

[[File:Nagasaki.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Nagasaki gathering his army]]

===Birth of Fusion===

{{Quote|It seems that we're not the only Guardians chosen by the Traveler. Even before it arrived, there were others like us... those chosen to wield these dark powers.|[[Eris Morn]], explaining the creation of Fusion to the Guardian.}}

Some time after the Guardians' victory of [[Forum:The Dimensional Wars|The Dimensional Wars]], the [[Darkness]], having found a still-open portal, sent the [[Black Fleet]] into the dimensional gateway to recruit its new allies: Kirito and Asuna. Having known firsthand about how they had seen what it saw and mourned for the deaths of their friends and of innocence, the Darkness not only gave them back their powers from Sword Art Online, but also granted them permanent access to its Pyramids, knowing that they can succeed where its previous forces failed.

===A Paradox's Beginning===

Moments before the coming assault on Auradon, Kirito and Asuna would be teleported to a court within the [[Pyramid (Europa)|Europan Pyramid]], where a [[Forum:Winnower's Servant|servant]] of the Darkness would proclaim about the discovery of the [[Forum:Dragon's Eye|Dragon's Eye]] on Auradon and how Kirito and Asuna would soon lay waste to the kingdom and help the Darkness claim a victory unlike any other.

{{Quote|I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, I just... I thought that... I was afraid to tell you. I thought I was gonna lose my life. But I had to do something! I had to protect my birthright! It's just... I wish things could've been different.|Mal, talking to Petra Venj shortly before leaving with the Shadowkeepers.}}

[[File:Kirito attacking Auradon.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Kirito leading an assault on Auradon]]

While Zavala and his crew of allies fought valiantly, they would be slaughtered by the Shadowkeepers, including Kirito and Asuna. [[Petra Venj]] and the [[Awoken]] [[Techeun]]s - [[Shuro Chi]], [[Kalli]], and [[Sedia]] - attempted to kill the Shadowkeepers in retaliation for Zavala's death, but Kirito and Asuna activated the codes for Lightfall, a corruptive-matter system created by the Darkness to destroy every representations of Light, and used it to summon waves of malevolent Blights that destroyed everything that Auradon stood for, killed all living beings of Light and civilians of Auradonian blood within it, and turned the entire city into a realm of Kirito and Asuna's ideal birth worlds, forcing Petra and the Techeuns to retreat as unfathomable armies of Shadows begin to appear across the system in larger numbers, officially beginning the Shadowkeeper Apocalypse.

===A New Aincrad===

====Kirito's Reign of Terror====

====Conquest of the Light====

Some time later, she would enter the [[Forum:Chinese Dead Zone|Chinese Dead Zone]] on the [[Unknown Space]], where she would meet with [[The Drifter (character)|The Drifter]] and [[Forum:Sinon|Sinon]], an amnesiac Lightbearer who had been struggling to find out what happened to her in her past life, to uncover the emergence of the [[Cradle]]. Along the way, the Stranger and Drifter would help Sinon recruit many allies to their cause, including Kibaou, Caesar Zeppeli, Lila Rossi, Sleet, Dingo, Guts, Alex Louis Armstrong, [[Mithrax, Kell of Light|Mithrax]], Varvatos Vex, Sai Yukitsugu, and Hendrickson, in the hopes of fighting back against the Shadowkeepers.

===Rebirth of the Red Legion===

====The Fall of Calus====

{{Main|see=1|Forum:Battle of Bannerfall}}

{{Quote|We thought this would be just another ordinary fight against the Fallen. We were wrong.|[[Shiro-4]], moments after the [[Forum:Shadowkeepers (Paradox)#House of Shadows|House of Shadows]]'s invasion on [[Bannerfall]].}}

Some time during the Apocalypse, Kotrik and his House of Shadows and their operatives had managed to compromise the outer sensors, defenses, and outposts; as well as suppressing the Satellite's communication systems of the City and Reef and concealed their presence, stealing Guardian tech and the Last City's arsenal along the way. In anticipation of the heist on the City, Kirito directly sought to use Kotrik's attack to his advantage in the hopes of crippling the Last City's defenses. To achieve this, he even managed to blind the Guardians' precognition and prophetic abilities in order to enable Kotrik's surprise attack to be 100% effective.

====Vanguard Resistance====

{{Quote|This Lightbearer who calls himself [[Forum:AJ, the Relentless|the Relentless]]... he thinks that he can slaughter you and avenge the man who turned your home against you. He's wrong, and by the time he realizes it too late, you'll have proven that to him already.|[[Forum:Zharves, Shadowcaster of Kirito|Zharves, Shadowcaster of Kirito]], supplying Kirito with help from her Champions.}}

At the same time, across numerous known and unknown dimensions within the Void, [[Forum:AJ, the Relentless|AJ]] would rally numerous factions of dimension protectors to fight against the Shadowkeepers; however, although AJ and his crew fought valiantly, the Shadowkeepers managed to cripple the dimension protectors' forces by destroying their Light and slaughtering them, leaving AJ and [[Forum:Cinnamon|Cinnamon]] as the only survivors. Filled with rage and guilt, AJ would lock three dimensions, including his own, shortly before isolating himself on [[Forum:Yavin|Yavin]].

====The Betrayer====

[[File:Wrathborn1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Ahnkra's army of Shadow Ravagers fighting the Guardians]]

====Strike on the Dreadnaught====

At the same time, the Vanguard would permanently lift [[Osiris]] and [[Lysander]]'s exile so that Osiris could help assist with enhancing Rasputin's defense system so that the Last City can fight back against Kirito's forces while Lysander would rally his [[Concordat]] forces to unite the lightless Guardians against the Darkness.

===A Power Reforged===

====An Alliance with House Flame====

====Unlocking the Past====

{{Quote|Up until now, we only knew about the Light and the Darkness. But what if I told you that there's a way to claim ancient powers and save Humanity at the same time?|Lucy Heartfilia to the Guardian, moments after the Guardian acquired a Fusion subclass.}}

====Preparing for the Hunt====

Upon reaching the Last City, Luther Hargreeves explained to the Guardian that ever since Kirito killed Zavala, many enemies of humanity have pledged their loyalties to him and Asuna, seeking to destroy the Light. The Guardian would also learn of the identities of the Shadowkeepers who helped kill Zavala and are planning to usher in a new dark future. Luther then tasked the Guardian with hunting down Zharves's Hive sect, to which the Guardian accepted.

====A Personal Score====

[[File:Panoptes2.png|300px|thumb|right|Hydrax attempting to delete the Guardian from existence]]

Refusing to let Zavala's death go unanswered or let Kirito and Asuna and their Shadow Army rule the entire world, the Guardian prepared to fight Kirito and Asuna. While the Guardian initially had the upper hand throughout most of the fight, Kirito soon caught up speed and overwhelmed them, summoning Hydrax, who attempted to pull their Ghost out of its shell and delete them from existence, but was interrupted by the [[Exo Stranger]], who arrived to help the Guardian fight back against it and the Vex.

===Beyond the Darkness===

====Revealing AJ's Whereabouts====

[[File:Nagihiko Explanation.png|300px|thumb|right|Nagihiko uncovering the reasons behind AJ's isolation on Yavin during the aftermath of the War of Dimensions]]

Upon reaching the Tower, after regaining their memories of the [[Red War]], [[Panoptes, Infinite Mind|Panoptes]]'s attack on [[Mercury]], [[Nokris, Supplicant to Savathûn|Nokris]] and [[Xol, Will of the Thousands|Xol]]'s emergence on [[Mars]], [[Cayde-6|Cayde]]'s death at the hands of Uldren, the battle against the Pyramids and [[Nightmares]], [[Saint-14]]'s resurrection, the fight against the [[Red Legion]] to destroy [[The Almighty]], the destruction of [[Io]], Mercury, [[Titan (moon)|Titan]], and Mars at the hands of the Pyramids, the emergence of [[House of Salvation]], [[Savathûn, the Witch Queen|Savathûn]]'s arrival, and the destruction of the City, the Guardian learned from Nagihiko that they were living in a paradox and from Fireteam Infernium that many events had changed ever since the attack on Auradon, one of them being that the Red War had now destroyed Danville and transformed it into a Cabal empire. The Guardian would also learn that seven years after Zavala's death, AJ and the dimension protectors had fought in a war against the Shadow Army in an attempt to restore the timeline, but ultimately had their Light drained; although AJ was luckily able to escape, no one knew what happened to him after he left for [[Forum:Yavin|Yavin]]. Nagihiko then tasked the Guardian with finding any intel on AJ's location, starting with Mars, so that the Vanguard can bring him back, to which the Guardian accepts.

[[File:Cheiftain1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Vayeriks challenging the Guardian on an abandoned outpost in the Dreaming City]]

===The Death Game===

====Challenging the Ghoulies====

====Bringing Down the Archangels====

====Destroying the Cabal Shadows====

====End of the Dimensional Mind====

===Seeking the Truth Eternal===

==Appearances==

**''[[Forum:The Void Within|The Void Within]]'' {{Mo}} {{c|Alternate Timeline}}

***''[[Forum:Season of Farewells|Season of Farewells]]'' {{c|Archived footage}}