Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-199.126.253.7-20131227130622/@comment-25449768-20151104191222

I always thought the reason Kirito and Asuna didn't die at the end was because there is an amount of time that you can be revived. In episode 3 (the episode where Sachi dies), the revival item dropped by Nicholas the Renegade states that it can be used within 10 seconds of death. This means that you aren't instantly killed when your hp hits zero. My theory is that Kirito cleared the game before the Nerve-Gear killed him and Asuna.