Actions

Work Header

Sword Art Online: Echoes of Alfheim

Summary:

November 6th, 2022, the official launch of Sword Art Online, a largely anticipated VRMMORPG for the Nervegear. As the story goes for those in the real world, all 10,000 players were trapped within the game by Akihiko Kayaba, the only escape being defeating the 100 floors within Aincrad to beat the game. Death in the game meant death in real life, and most importantly, any outside interference was met with immediate termination of the player. So the world waited with bated breath, hoping for the return of those trapped.

But, within the game itself, something more sinister happened. A month later, due to unknown reasons, all surviving players were sent to a new and much different game, Alfheim Online. While holding similarities to SAO, it featured flight, a race system, and a new goal, to reach the top of Yggdrasil, a towering tree that held the keys to their escape.

Forced with a new and unfamiliar world, players scramble and strive to reach the end of Alfheim, but growing tensions between nations and players makes that goal seem ever so distant.

This fic aims to answer the question... What if ALO was the Death Game?

Notes:

For new or returning readers make sure to check out the prologue, we have cover art now!

Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter Text


A continent of fairies and a world with a tree that reached into the heavens, holding together everything.

That was all this world was.

From what I’ve heard, many fairies came here to seek independence from the gods, in an abode unique to them so they could further themselves. The fairies still coexist with the gods, and generally they are all equal between each other, or at least that’s what I’d like to think.

Besides that, this world is vast and filled with many wonders, some more deadly to the average person than others. The continent itself is split into 9 different territories for its 9 different races of fairy. Obviously, there are some «Neutral Zones» both within and in the middle of all the owned land, but you don’t see too many races intermingling in or near each other's capitals.

There supposedly is a secret race at the top of the World Tree, «Yggdrasil», in The «Floating City» belonging to Fairy King Oberon and his Queen Titania. It’s said that they are the «Alfs», and unlike the rest of the fairies they have access to unlimited flight, a true unobtainable dream to a lot of us.

But that’s just the lore of this world, and it’s all we’ve been afforded to know so far.

To us eight thousand or so players trapped in the game, we consider this land called «Alfheim» a prison, one which we must escape from lest we wish to perish. But I guess in reality, I shouldn’t be calling this place by its in-game name, to us players, our prison is truly known as…

«Alfheim Online»