“There is a saying in Vollachia, ‘Time is like a Sword. If you cannot cut it, it will cut you.’, and it has cut me. A wound 400 years deep. Everyone I once knew is now gone.”
— Kirito VI Vollachia lamenting over his existence in Arc 3
Appearance
Kirito is a very handsome and tall boy with relatively long brown hair which he wears tide back. He has a pair of sky blue eyes and a stern expression, giving off an air of inaccessibility and sternness. As a Prince and Paladin, he can be seen wearing a white uniform with the sigil of House Vollachia (a Golden Lion over a blood red background) and the symbol of Tempus (a sword enveloped in flames). In his free time however, he dresses a bit more casually with a long-sleeved, high-collared white shirt and grey vest which are paired perfectly with his ashen-brown trousers. He is always seen wearing a sheathed sword around his waist.
Towards the end of Arc 1, Kirito's appearance became spoiled by the acidic burns of the Demon Lord Slime that had enveloped his person, consequently resulting in the first death of a party member in the WnT series. After being revived by the wood elf Taranis, Kirito obtained permanent scars of 3rd and 2nd degree burns that would mark the left side of his face and entire back. Kirito, under the influence of the Geas, remained unperturbed by this change in appearance which combined with his inept social skills would serve as a great impediment in gaining the trust of others. At the end of Arc 2 however, Kirito was healed by Daero with the touch of the Ring of Regeneration that removed his scars entirely; once more restoring him to his usual charming appearance.
Personality
Under the influence of Geas
Kirito retains a highly complex personality that can almost be segregated into two entirely distinguishable entities. At the start of the WnT anime, Kirito is seen to be self-assertive, brash, and extremely arrogant. He would often make condescending remarks to the other members of the party which quickly resulted in him becoming widely loathed and shunned. This continual persistence of classist, sexist and racist rhetoric eventually resulted in enquiry into his mental state where Taranis would later discover that Kirito was influenced by a powerful spell called Geas. It is later discovered that this Geas was place on Kirito by one of his old affiliates, called The Raven, with the command of Kirito becoming ''The Perfect King''. This command manifested itself in Kirito by him untethering himself from the rest of existence and feeling as though he was alone in this world and that everything else were beneath him; merely distractions or impediments to his mission.
This personality trait of Kirito serves as important character development for the protagonist, Hiei Fortunica, in facing the epitome of the arrogance of the nobility that he ardently despised. It is also here where Hiei would famously dub Kirito, ''The Dirty Royal''.
Post-Geas
Following the removal of the Geas spell, Kirito beings to undergo a trial of self-identity as the lines between the superficial and the ‘real’ authentic Kirito become increasingly blurred. Kirito, for the first time in the anime, begins to question everything; his past, his present, his future and even his very existence. This soon spirals into a feeling of self-pity and depression as Kirito begins to feel as though his whole life, he were only dancing and playing second fiddle to someone else’s tune. This knock in confidence results in Kirito wishing for the world to correct itself and erase his existence from the false life he was involuntarily granted. Kirito’s character becomes defined by self-lamentation and acquiesce to fate, accompanied by the excessive misuse of peace leaves as a coping device.
History
Early Life
Kirito was born in the summer of the year 1361 DR in the Capital City of the Kingdom of Vollachia. His Father was the First Prince of Vollachia, Lelouch I Vollachia, and hence was born into the prestige and privilege of a Royal House. There is little information regarding Kirito's mother, however in the short story 'The Chronicles of Vollachia: The Lost Prince', a scene depicts Lelouch I Vollachia sombrely gazing at a framed picture of a young Kirito in the arms of his Mother. Based on this, it is widely speculated that Kirito's mother had passed away early into his youth. This absense of a maternal loving figure in Kirito's life may have contributed to his disdainful attitude towards women.