Forum:Corrupted by Edge (Lore Book)

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Corrupted by Edge is a Lore book in Paradox which details the events that led to Kirito and Asuna's corruption at the hands of the Darkness and its Black Fleet. Entries are unlocked by completing Story missions from the Paradox campaign. You can also find it through this page.

Prologue

Dark. Cold. Lightless. That's what I have felt ever since I abandoned my past... I opened my eyes, expecting to wake up to waves of nightmares, but instead, I saw burnt remnants of my old life slipping away as I walked farther and farther away from what used to be my home. As I stepped away from the light, Asuna went along with me.

The first time I experienced the darkness, I felt like I didn't deserve to even be alive; even if I did, I couldn't live with myself, knowing that in protecting her, I had failed to protect my friends, my families, my people, and, ultimately, my world. She is the only remaining part of my sanity that I cling to in this time of madness.

Argo. Klein. Agil. Lisbeth. Silica. Yui. Sinon. Eiji. Yuna. Alice. They're dead now, but it was by my own sister's hands... Suguha, my little sister. The sister who defended me whenever trouble caught up with me. But, that was long ago. Yesterday, she was the girl whose future version helped kill my birth parents and cover it all up as a car accident gone wrong. The girl who put my friends in harm's way. The girl who helped Laughing Coffin execute Asuna's parents and traumatize her. The girl who murdered her own parents... good people who raised us and kept us safe... in front of me. Now, she's just another body. A victim who died by my hands.

I could've risked my life to try to get through to her, but it didn't matter anymore. I had already become the very thing I swore I'd destroy. A monster. But, the worst part is that I never felt any regret or guilt. Asuna didn't care about what happened to me when I killed Suguha, because she knew that I didn't have any choice. But, was she right?

That thought somehow slipped out of my head as I held our daughter's data chip tightly in my enhanced metallic right arm. Forged from the metals of corrupted Pyramid ships, this arm has provided me with much more strength than my previous right arm.

"Kirito?" Asuna asked as I looked back. "What's next for us now?"

I turned to her, startled by what she said. "What?"

"We lost," she spoke softly. "We lost everything, Kirito."

"Not everything, Asuna," I replied. "I still have you."

When she heard what I said, she felt herself coming closer to me. "Really?" she whispered in my ear.

"Yeah," I smiled. "Everything's going to be okay, Asuna. I promise."

World of the Wicked

In the year 2021, many of Earth's bravest and greatest heroes fell under the influence of an ancient evil driven by one singular, malevolent goal: the destruction of all there is. Now subjugated to the will of a malicious organization, those heroes have carried out their heartless leaders' traumatizing orders and slaughtered many innocent people and those they once called friends, even going on to conspire with Maleficent, the self-proclaimed Mistress of Evil; Benjamin Florian, the corrupt King of Auradon; and Evie Grimhilde, the daughter of the Evil Queen; all to slay and erase from existence a girl known only as Mal. Since then, the world has suffered untold despair, abuse, and pain at the hands of their sadistic and shameless commanders, who claimed that they came to Earth to fulfill their mission and bring peace, order, and stability to the universe. As their evil influence spread, the remnants of Earth, having witnessed the deaths of their loved ones and many poor unfortunate souls, knew that this was truly the end of the world; nonetheless, that fact only came true even more when a certain beta tester who fought alongside his fellow friends and conquered the death game known as "Sword Art Online" perished from the face of the Earth 6 years later during a cataclysmic invasion orchestrated by the members of Laughing Coffin and Titan's Hand, all of whom played a role in the destruction of Japan and the end of the age of heroes... or so they had been led to believe as forcibly ordered by these monsters. But, that was a long time ago. A very, very long time ago.

SPRIGGAN SHADOWFLEET, EARTH
12:15 PM, September 03rd, 2724
45 minutes before the Second Collapse

The blizzard came down as predicted, whiting out the area of the outskirts, covering the land in a thick blanket of snow, the drifting hail piling up to the size of a few small houses. Just outside of what could be described as enemy territory was a highly advanced fleet attuned with several dark powers, standing just in front of a teenage boy walking towards it, holding a Taken-fused rifle.

The boy named Kirito stepped towards the fleet, smirking as he entered its halls. Ever since his arrival, he had spent most of his time preparing for a massive war against the Solar System, and now, that time has come. After today, the world will feel his wrath.

Kirito looked over his fleet. Everything was ready for one final, decisive strike into the heart of the Traveler.

It would be the Last City's final stand.

The Shadowkeepers had been extremely useful in reaching this point. With their help, he had been able to rally many forces under the Darkness's banner and conquer most of the system. Various races in the solar system had also rallied under him. These included the Fallen House of Shadows, led by Kotrik; the Hive Shadow Brood, led by Zharves; the Vex Shadow Divisive, led by Hydrax; the Cabal Shadow Legion, led by Gha'arn; the Taken Reborn, led by Thu'urg; and the Scorn Cult of the Scorned, led by Vayeriks. While they, as individuals, proved more than capable of inflicting terrible pain upon their enemies, notably including the Guardians, they, as a whole group, rose to become more powerful than anyone could ever fathom. But, Kirito had a few last things to do before the assault.

As he walked towards the interior hallway of this massive fleet, numerous green-eyed hordes of minions bowed down to him, hollering out waves of "LONG LIVE EVIL" and "DOWN WITH THE CITY." He then stepped into the room where he ran into Kotrik, who quickly bowed and said an apology in Eliksni.

"Don't worry about that, Kotrik," Kirito replied. "Besides, there's something we have to talk about. Rise."

He stood up, at attention. "What do you need, my king?"

Kirito turned towards him and showed him around the fleet. "Within a few moments, the Solar System will be ours for the taking, its worlds bound by the influence of the Winnower. But first, we've severed the connection of many worlds with the Light... that's right, those same worlds that worshipped many false gods, heroes, and pretenders to countless thrones. I still remember that day when my old friends lost their lives back in Japan... the pain I suffered when I watched my parents die... all because of Suguha. But now, that all changes."

Kotrik became intrigued upon hearing what Kirito just told him. "And you know this because?" he inquired.

"We have a new friend of ours, whom I feel can help us succeed where others failed," Kirito spoke, revealing to Kotrik a teenage girl from the other side of the room they were currently in. Her hair was completely dark, pitch, jet raven black. She wore a black, open shoulder knit crop top with a silver dragon necklace dangling from her neck and dark, black pants with a black belt with a dragon buckle, along with dragon stud earrings, black boots and black leather, fingerless gloves. "This is Mallory Bertha, although we call her Mal these days. She is one of the most powerful wielders of Darkness here with us. With her on our side, it is likely that we can overwhelm the Guardians' Light, rendering their strongest powers useless. This would allow us to sweep them with ease and finally destroy the City."

Kotrik turned his head towards the room Mallory was in and then back towards Kirito. "The man you've been looking forward to killing... you want him dead," he spoke. "I know him. That man is Commander Zavala, and 7 centuries ago, someone similar to him helped numerous enemies from your past slaughter your home and take everything from you. I believe you once knew him as Alphonse Perrier du von Scheck, the man responsible for your cousin's betrayal, for Sugou Nobuyuki's release from prison, for Laughing Coffin's revival, and, worst of all, for your friends' deaths. Well, up until now, Zavala has been sending forces of his own to do the same to our homes and families. He thought he was doing it to save the Traitor Machine, but all he did was delay the inevitable."

“An inevitability which is now here,” Dominus Gha’arn said. “For as of today, that same ‘Traitor Machine’ will have nothing to save it.”

As Gha’arn said what he had in mind, Kirito turned around and looked eagerly towards him and Kotrik. “Well said,” Kirito responded, grinning evilly. “With all of our forces combined… the City will fall, and there will be no hope left for them. We will succeed where our predecessors failed and finally attain total control.”