Kirito returned on time, and we were treated to a second round of honey pies, with still enough in the freezer for Alice, Asuna, and Kureha to eat once they arrived. Preparations were made for Alice and Asuna to be brought here from the Arabel residence, but the same foresight was not given to Kureha. I told Orlio that Kureha would be coming around nine o'clock, though I forgot to speak of this to Eolyne or Elgia. But if the Orthinanos family is as prominent as they were when Medina restored their status, then I bet they have a mechamobile or two that I haven't seen. Somehow, Orlio and his staff will get Kureha here.

I quietly listen to Kirito and Eolyne discuss the technologies of the current era, specifically the food preservation kind. Somewhere in the history of the past two centuries, we developed refrigeration, cooling and heating, and piping. As he explains why the villa is too old for such technologies without being rebuilt, Eolyne conjures a heat and frost element simultaneously without words, a skill reserved for me, Kirito, and others with strong amounts of Incarnation like the old knights and their goddess. I watch as the elements encroach on each other and produce steam.

I remember something from my previous visit that Sylvie spoke of me being unable to use my teleporting spell or some guards coming. The Incarnation to produce that is great, and it took me most of the three years I was here on my first set of dives to accomplish it. I don't know if I ever passed the technique to others, but Eydis learned a variation from the First Children, who must've learned it through their own means. After seeing Sylvie use Koharu's Fire and Hyper Awareness, it wouldn't surprise me that she can teleport like her parents...and possibly fly as I can.

But why warn me? And what was Kirito talking about earlier that got him caught? While I ponder that, Kirito serves Eolyne another question. "If you can do that...won't you get detected by those Incarnameter things? What if the city guard sends a car after you?"

"Anything as minor as generating elements won't be picked up unless you're in the same room as the device."

"O-ohhh." Kirito holds out his fingers to do the same, and I might've moved too, but Eolyne stops us by squeezing our hands. "You are exceptions, Kirito and Jaymes. Your Incarnation is off the charts, and that means that even tiny actions you take will cause massive Incarnate waves."

"Incarnate waves?"

"They're like ripples in space that the Incarnameter detects." Eolyne releases us, not explaining much more on the topic despite my curiosity. So that's how Kirito was caught last time, using Incarnation...and now that I think about it, no one stopped me when I teleported from the Arabel home to the Orthinanos ancestral home to the far north and back when we returned the first time. I must've set off the Incarnameters off twice. I'll have to apologize to Laurannei, Mathias, and Cordelia for the trouble I must've caused.

"And now I think we have reached the purpose of this conversation. Earlier, before you returned to the real world, I said that it would be your turn to speak next."

"Y-you did."

"We'll answer your questions truthfully," I say with every intention of honoring those words. Our presence is already known to a few individuals of substantial standing - a princess, family members of councilors, and the commander of the most powerful force on this side of the End Mountains - so why not use them to our advantage?

Eolyne stares at us hard with a question as direct as his gaze. "Star King Kirito, Crimson Emperor Jaymes, what is the reason that you have come back to the Underworld at this particular time?"

"First of all," Kirito says, "as I've said many times, I have no recognition or memory of being the Star King of this place. I can say the same about Jaymes. So if what you want from us is information that the Star King or Crimson Emperor would know, we cannot help you."

"I have to agree on that. As I said, everything I know is but the first two years after the Otherworld War. I was barely recognized as Emperor at the time. And to be frank, I was told all records of our names were lost, even mine, to the point that Sylvie...that someone who's close to Eydis grew up not knowing my name."

"...Right. I understand that. But earlier, Kirito, you asked why I thought you were the Star King when his name had been removed from all records, didn't you? In the same vein, you are correct, Jaymes, that the Crimson Emperor's name has been given the same treatment. The answer is simple. The names have only been hidden, not lost. Though their numbers are few, there are still a few people alive who know the names of Star King Kirito and Crimson Emperor Jaymes. I am one of them."

"...I see."

"As for why the empress hid your name from...select parties, I cannot answer that."

"Uh-huh." I put that aside for now, devoted to answering Eolyne's question. "Well, the reason we've returned is many. I have my own personal reason, as you're already aware. Our overall purpose is to find out the identity and purpose of someone from our world which has entered this world. That person is neither me, Kirito, nor our three companions. As for the last," I glance at Kirito, who nods for me to proceed, "is to awaken someone in a state of deep freeze in Central Cathedral."

I voided Selka's name and location where she rests in the tower, but Eolyne nodded as if he knew who I was speaking of. He thinks it over, then nods. "Yes, I see. Two of the answers were not what I expected, but neither was outside the bounds of my responsibilities or creed. As the commander of the Integrity Pilothood, I believe I will be able to help with both of them and maybe your personal quest, Jaymes."

"And the price?" Kirito asks.

Eolyne leans forward to us and, as if the walls of this abandoned, ruined manor have ears, whispers, "I want you to help me, too."

I figured this was the price, but I see no reason not to comply. Whatever Eolyne needs help with, I can see his determination in his green eyes behind the mask. With a look at Kirito, who seeks my approval in the matter, I give my nod. He nods back and answers Eolyne. "As long as it is within our ability and our...varying creed."

"Heh. That shouldn't be a problem. In fact... As we spoke earlier, Jaymes, I have a feeling that your goals and my request are at least somewhat overlapping."

"What do you mean? What is your request?"

"I want you to go to Admina with me," Eolyne says casually.

I frown. "Admina? I've never heard of this place."

"H-huh?" Kirito yelps, pointing towards the ceiling. "Admina. like...the planet Admina?" Oh... Wait, I had forgotten about the symbol of the Human Empire, which features two small circles that Cordelia called Admina and Cardina...we're going to space again?

"That's right," Eolyne says with a grin to match our shock.

Asuna, Alice, and Kureha arrived at the mansion at about nine-thirty. We greeted them at the mansion's entrance, and Eolyne seemed more excited and nervous to meet the Star Queen and the legendary Osmanthus Knight than he was in greeting the Star King and the Crimson Emperor. Alice herself seemed shocked for a reason I did not know of until Asuna filled me in.

To Kirito and Alice, Eolyne bears a strong resemblance to Eugeo. That explains why Kirito was acting weirder than usual. I never met or saw Eugeo; Asuna only saw his fluctlight when it appeared from the Blue Rose Sword during the war.

The last mechamobile to arrive was from the Orthinanos household, and out popped Kureha. I introduced her to Eolyne. Being the only person without renown, I didn't expect Eolyne to react any more than a normal person would - but that did not occur. Apparently, "someone" appoints remarkable members of Dark Knights, the Pugilist Guild, and the Dark Mages into a group of warriors named "the Kureha." That circle of warriors was the emperor's eyes, ears, mouth, and hands, and they still work as such for the empress.

While Kureha got a laugh out of that, I only sunk internally in embarrassment.

Back in the tearoom, Eolyne serves the girls cofil tea and honey pies as he did for us boys but denies knowing the recipe for the pies when Asuna asked. Afterward, we questioned why Eolyne needed our help with Admina.

"The government of Admina, or perhaps its military council, is suspected of concocting plans to rebel against the Stellar Unification Council and the Imperial Dark Council." The answer that came out of his mouth didn't surprise me as it did the others, but then I replayed his wording. Not just the Unification Council that governs the Human Empire, but Eydis and the Dark Council of the Dark Territory.

"R-rebel? But...is that even possible in the Underworld? It's encoded in law that the Unification Council is the highest governing body of all, right?"

"Of course. It's written in the book of Stellar Law, Article One, Section Two. And as I'm sure you know, Underworlders do not break the law as a fundamental rule. In fact, they cannot break it."

"Before we continue," I interrupt, "you say they're suspected of rebelling against the empress, too, right? I get that, but that makes it seem that the two governments are joined together. So does the Stellar Law... No, it seems like the Stellar Unification Council here is the supreme power."

Eolyne straightens up a bit. "Oh, right, you don't know how the two sides exist these days. The Stellar Unification Council and the Imperial Dark Council are considered equal powers. As a matter of fact, it could be said that they are one. Both sides follow the same set of laws for the most part, with a few pertaining to either side exclusively. But if you're worried about the Dark Territory's independence, Article One, Section Three outlines that the Dark Council is equal to the Unification Council. And with how conflicts brewed and were responded to, it can be said that, at least back during the reigns of the Star King and Crimson Emperor, an affront to the Stellar Unification Council is an affront to the Imperial Dark Council."

"Then why are they suspected of rebellion?" Alice asks.

"It is a rather complex subject, I'm afraid...Lady Alice, how well versed are you on the subject of dragoncraft?"

"Those are the steel dragons that Stica, Mathias, and Laurannei were riding...what they call airplanes in the real world... Or is it fighter jets?"

"Air-plains…jitt fighters... I see. Well, at the moment, there are regular flights of large passenger and freight dragoncraft between the planet Cardina and its companion Admina. So in the style of the real world, you would call them…transport 'airplanes'?"

"Or passenger planes, maybe," Asuna corrects.

"Then I shall call them that. The time it takes a passenger plane to fly from Cardina to Admina is about six hours. Theoretically, then, you could make two cycles in a single day. But until a month and a half ago, we could only fly once every week. Do you know why that is?"

"…Was it that space monster? The…Abyssal Horror?"

"Yes. But we call it a spacebeast. For a long time—since before Admina was even discovered—the Abyssal Horror has flown between our two planets at a specific speed, along a specific route. If spotted and attacked, even the most heavily armed dragoncraft stands no chance. In fact, very long ago, a passenger plane headed to Admina was destroyed, killing many on board. According to legend, it was vanquished three times by the Star King, but in each case, a small piece of it escaped into the darkness of space, only to return in a fully regenerated form… Not even the Crimson Emperor got rid of it."

Damn. That meant Falchion's deletion power was useless against the Abyssal Horror if it scrambled into pieces. I passively brush my hand against my partner as if telling it, "It's okay that you didn't defeat it. We got it in the end." That also means the Abyssal Horror wasn't a run-of-the-mill spacebeast. Only one group of monsters gave me great trouble, the Ancient Apostles. To think one was floating around in outer space... forget that, I never knew outer space existed in the simulation.

"Yes, we thought Asuna's meteor drop blew it to pieces, but those bits just wriggled away like bugs, trying to escape. After that, Alice's Memory Release art eliminated every last one, as I recall."

"Are you doubting my technique?" Alice questions Kirito with a firm glare. "I destroyed every last piece of that monster."

"N-no, no, I'm not doubting you. But it's just kind of a trope that there's always one of those things that escape by hiding somewhere you'd never expect...like on the underside of your armor, say."

"Girl's armor, to be specific, Kirito. Like up here between these things or down here under the skirt."

"So you are doubting me!" Alice snaps at Kirito.

"Ugh, don't be so gross!" Asuna scolds me because I'm using her as my anatomical dummy.

"Never meet your heroes, Eolyne," Kureha says while sipping her tea with one hand and pulling my ear with another.

The masked commander looks conflicted, probably due to his image of the Star Queen, the Star King, the Crimson Emperor, and the Osmanthus Knight being forever tainted. "Have no fear, my ladies. In times past, the Abyssal Horror returned in full after a single month, but it has now been a month and a half, with no sign of it. The battle itself is top secret, so this information is classified, but after much strict observation, the Integrity Pilothood has concluded that the dreaded spacebeast is no more."

"Y-yeah. So we're all good here. Great news," Kirito says as he refills everyone's cup with cofil tea.

"Yeah, but how does the Abyssal Horror tie into Admina's suspected rebellion?" I inquire.

"The Abyssal Horror was considered the greatest scourge in all of the Underworld, so there is no way for us to express the depth of our gratitude for eliminating it. But the truth is: That fight should never have happened."

"Meaning?"

"I just told you that the Abyssal Horror flew around the two planets, following a specific speed and route, but this is a living thing we're talking about. Because it would alter its orbit on rare occasions, Cardina and Admina each built specific observation centers, using enormous telescopes to track the spacebeast and keep a firm grasp on its location before authorizing any dragoncraft to fly. A month and a half ago, Pilot Orthinanos, Pilot Arabel, and Pilot Schtrinen left Cardina based on information from Admina that the Abyssal Horror was traveling on the far side of the planet. There should have been no chance they would encounter the spacebeast during a three-hour flight."

"Meaning," Asuna starts, "that either the Abyssal Horror moved with incredible speed or Admina's information was wrong?"

"Yes, one of the two. But the former is not possible. The Abyssal Horror moves very slowly when it is not attacking a dragoncraft and the people inside, so it's simply unthinkable that it would move from the far side of Admina to the place where it encountered the pilots in less than an hour. And for the latter to be true, an experienced observer would have to mistake that massive beast's shadow for some other object."

"Meaning that they might have intentionally sent bad information," Alice bluntly states. Eolyne nods tensely in response.

"Yes, I...I suspect that may be the case."

"So someone tried to kill Mathis and the two girls specifically?" I ask with a frown.

"That would be the case, if so. I'll explain in further detail later, but in fact, there are other cases of suspected sabotage and destruction of Cardina Space Force assets. If they are attempting to weaken our overall military strength, we must assume that it is because they intend to rebel against us. But I simply cannot believe that the director of Admina's government or the commander of Admina's base would be involved in such a thing…They are both great figures whom I've known since I was a child."

"...Is it not possible for great people with a great cause to stage a rebellion?"

"it has happened before," I say with folded lips. "It requires a strong will to see oneself above the world's laws to rebel, which we've seen with the right eye seal. But in the cases of rebellion that I know of, it's been due to not agreeing with the law of the land. Hersyrian, who never followed the Taboo Index, fought the Axiom Church to revive Quinella; The four emperors rebelled against the newly-born Unification Council in what they saw as a coup against themselves and the Church; Primus and his family fought back against the Unification Council and Dark Council as they did not recognize the rule of our governments or the Church."

"In the same way that you started a rebellion against the Axiom Church, long ago?"

Now it's Kirito's turn to tense up. "N-no, I didn't fight the church for some great cause. It was for myself...and for my partner."

I can recall what Cardinal, a child-sized woman with the mind of someone who's lived well past her physical appearance (and Administrator's foil), told me when I met her in the Underworld about a month after Kirito's "rebellion." Here, he and Eugeo stormed Central Cathedral and fought Integrity Knight after Integrity Knight until they reached Adminstrator on the hundredth floor. They weren't fighting for some noble cause but to free Alice from the Axiom Church and bring her home to Rulid. Kirito would free Alice from Quinella's control by destroying her Seal of the Right Eye, but he'd fail to return her home. In that final fight, Eugeo would lose his life.

Adminstrator, however, almost died. In truth, her body was destroyed, but her fluctlight scrambled to save itself within the Main Visualizer. Eydis, Medina, and I would end what Kirito and Eugeo started, first by bringing Alice back to Rulid, then with her and the rest of the Anti-Cedar Task Force, put away Quinella for good.

"Eolyne Herlentz: To you, the battle between Kirito and the Axiom Church might be ancient history, but for Kirito, it happened only months ago. It should not be spoken of lightly by one who is not in full possession of the details."

"…I humbly apologize, Lady Alice. Sorry about that, Kirito. One day I would like to know the truth about your fight against the Axiom Church…But let us speak only about what is necessary now. As Jaymes has stated, it is true that great people can lead rebellions. But such things require a valid reason to break Stellar Law. Say, if Cardina was tormenting the people of Admina, for example."

"And that's not happening?"

"Not in the slightest. The Star King created many laws protecting Admina, to prevent such a thing from occurring. So Admina should have no reason to attack Cardina. But…when you mentioned that someone from your real world had infiltrated the Underworld, it made me think. Perhaps this is just the first glimmer of a new Otherworld War."

All five of us gasp sharply. Asuna is first to form words again as she turns to Eolyne. "You think that the intruder from the real world is fomenting discord...trying to start a war between Cardina and Admina?"

"The Goddess of Darkness, Vecta, who caused the old Otherworld War was a real-worlder, wasn't he? So it's not far-fetched that the same thing could happen again."

I clamp my mouth shut to prevent myself from saying that the Otherworld War would have happened with or without real-worlder interference, nor was it Subtilizer who initiated it - it was Rath and me. But Subtilizer and PoH indeed used the war to proceed with their plans.

That aside, that poses a problem. If what Eolyne says is true, then the day we returned to the Stellar Calender era of the Underworld and Mathis, Stica, and Laurannei were attacked by the Abyssal Horror was manipulated by someone from the outside. That...doesn't seem right.

I look to Kureha, who has a hard-set cress on her forehead while maintaining her silence. "Kureha, in the last month and a half before today, have you entered the Underworld?"

She nods. "I've been here every day since Wednesday, getting the hang of this world and watching in case something happened. But if you're asking what's certainly bothering you, then, aside from my Amusphere during the war, no. Remember that we couldn't log back in before we received that IP address... And that bothers me too. Are we really dealing with another Yanai incident?"

The Yanai guy is the one responsible for the Seal of the Right Eye, also known as the Code 871 program, embedded in every fluctlight, perfectly solidifying Quinella's rule to prevent rebellion. At the same time, it prevented us from birthing a perfect top-down AI until Alice broke a rule of her own will before she was turned into an Integrity Knight. Kikuoka and I suspected the cause was internal sabotage, but it wasn't until the invasion of the Ocean Turtle that the culprit revealed himself. Yanai was a former worker under Nobuyuki Sugou, the bastard who foully tried marrying Asuna, and used Code 871 to continue the work they were attempting within ALO with 300 trapped SAO survivors.

Since Underworlders cannot normally break rules, the program is permanent. We can't remove it from the outside, and there's nothing I can do about it here. Trying to do so causes immense pain to the fluctlight and paralyzes them until they give up. But with some exceptions, Underworlders can break the rules and rebel; Alice, Eugeo, Eydis, Medina, the Pugulist Guild's leader Iskahn, and Lilpilin the orc each broke free from the right eye seal two hundred years ago in rebellion against Quinella and Vecta. The Imperial families of the four empires rebelled too, but not because they broke the seal. They saw the Unification Council as taking over the Axiom Church and fought back. Those same emperors, and their ancestors, secretly rebelled against Quinella's own rules by finding loopholes in the Axiom Church's laws. And there are the few enemies I faced who never adhered to the Axiom Church's rules in the first place.

Rath and RoboTelligence programmed the first Otherworld War to test humanity's defenses against a vengeful dark world of monsters. The Underworld was not supposed to exist past that point if the project failed, and that can only be programmed from the tightly guarded Ocean Turtle, so if there's another war, if is not our doing.

"If it wasn't someone from within Rath or RoboTelligence like Yanai, then..." If the people of Admina and Cardina are adhering to the rules made by the rulers of the Human Empire and Dark Territory, those conditions that created enemies of us in the past must be the same; someone like Hersyrian or Primus never acknowledged the Stellar Law; someone like the former imperial families must believe they're above the law or found loopholes in it; the Seal of the Right Eye is broken by someone very important; or they believe in someone who they see as superior to the Stellar Unification Council and the Imperial Dark Council.

"And you want to go to Admina to learn more about this?" Kirito concludes.

"That's right, but we can't use a dragoncraft?"

"Huh?"

"In order for us to roam freely in Admina, we must secretly infiltrate the planet. But flying between planets with Integrity Pilot or space force crafts requires advance authorization from the Admina government, and riding on a large transport dragoncraft requires a citizen number. Both of these will be very difficult to fake."

"Can't we just fly there secretly, without a permit?"

"If even a single dragoncraft disappears from the base hangar, it will turn into a huge emergency involving the Unification Council. It's not like taking a mechamobile."

"So how the heck were you planning to get there, Eolyne?"

Eolyne doesn't blink when he answers my question, first looking at Kirito and me. "There are three methods. The first two is for you to use Incarnation to transport me, Lady Asuna, Lady Kureha, and Lady Alice."

Kirito blinks twice in confusion. "H-huh? You want to fly to another planet...without a craft? Just floating out there?"

"When you rescued the three pilots, they said you were flying freely through space."

"Y-yeah, that's true, but... But that's just going to make those Incarnation waves, right? I assume Admina's got at least one or two Incarnameters."

"Yes, one or two hundred, I'd say. Someday, you'll need to learn Incarnation-Hiding Incarnation…But even the Star King will take some time to do that."

I shrug. "If you forget the science of traveling in outer...oh." I meant to counter with the facts that traveling through space in the manner Eolyne speaks of is scientifically impossible, but I remember that the concept of a vacuum doesn't exist in a virtual world. Alice, Asuna, Kirito, and I not only breathed and talked back when we shockingly appeared in space, we indeed flew around in the cold, dark, gravity-less area. So Eolyne's idea to use Incarnation to fly from planet to planet works...but then I remember that the Crimson Emperor said it was impossible for Kirito and me, as units with IDs, to fly up a certain distance in the sky, but objects can.

And the second method, without being said, is my teleportation spell. But there's an inherent issue with that besides setting off Incarnameters, in that I have been to that place before to be able to visualize it or have a clear image of the person I want to appear beside. While the Crimson Emperor might be able to travel to the celestial bodies beyond this world, I doubt I can. And there's no one I know on Admina. "Sorry. Incarnameters aside, I can't use my power either."

Eolyne nods in understanding. "Then I think we'll use the third method instead."

"And that is?"

"Very simple. Simply use a dragoncraft that no one will notice is missing." Eolyne raises his hand and gestures toward the south wall of the tearoom in the direction of Centoria. "In the sealed-off upper floors of Central Cathedral, the Star King's personal dragoncraft, the X'rphan Mk. 13, should still be stored and operational. With that, as long as we can hide the fact that it's left the tower, the higher-ups at the Unification Council won't notice."

"X'rphan? Dude, really?" I turn to Kirito, knowing only he'd name something like a dragoncraft after an actual dragon. It is named after X'rphan the White Wrym, a field boss on the fifty-fifth floor of SAO's Aincrad. I never met the dragon myself, but I know the tale surrounding it because that was the adventure Kirito had with Lisbeth. But I can visualize the pure-white dragon and guess why Kirito named it so.

Kirito gives me and Asuna, who also turned his way, an embarrassed smile, then looks back at Eolyne. "That does sound more realistic than flying there with Incarnation. But can we get into where it's sealed away? What kind of seal are we talking about, actually?"

"Aside from the great stairs of Central Cathedral, there is an automated platform that can move from the first to the seventy-ninth floor. But if you take it to the eightieth floor, which it normally cannot be directed to do, there is a huge door right past the landing. Even the Stellar Unification Council is forbidden from approaching that door. I expect that it is heavily locked."

The seventy-ninth floor is the limit of access to Central Cathedral nowadays? The Crimson Emperor told me the ninety-fifth was the limit back at the birth of the Unification Council, but I can understand why Kirito and Asuna would do so. After all, our eyes locked onto Alice, and her eyes are on the wall, for Selka's frozen body lies in wait on that floor. Before Eolyne told me about the Incarnameters, I considered the only difficulty in awakening Selka was the act of doing so. Getting to the eightieth floor would be as easy as snapping my fingers. But with my power being traceable, I forwent that idea...and Eolyne presents another course of action. Another promise and reunion to be fulfilled.

"I see," Eolyne murmurs, aware of our reactions. "So the person you mentioned being in deep freeze in the cathedral has something to do with Lady Alice, I presume?"

"Yeah," Kirito admits. "Do you know anything about that?"

"I've certainly never been as high as the eightieth floor, you understand... All I've been told is that the ancient Integrity Knights, save the empress, are sealed at the top of Central Cathedral and that the Star King's dragoncraft is there as well. Also... One of the Crystal Panels, of which there are only three in the Underworld, is installed on the top floor. That's all."

Eolyne speaks of the system consoles. One's at the top of the ivory tower, one in Obsidia Palace, and the last at the World End's Altar south of the palace. All three of them were unusable during the maximum acceleration phase, but that's no longer the case. We could learn more about our intruder probably...and that brings something to mind.

Kirito places his hands on his knees and leans forward. "Well, if that's all settled, let's go back to Centoria. Will another mechamobile come for us?"

Eolyne smiles uncomfortably again. "You're rather impatient, aren't you? I was expecting the legendary Star King to be more...relaxed about things."

"Exactly!"

"I agree."

"Uh-huh..."

"Wait." I paused the group before anyone could call for dismissal. As if it was natural as breathing, my head turns to the east wall, staring for a few seconds, then back at Eolyne. "If the Star King had a personal dragoncraft, would it be too much to say the Crimson Emperor had one of his own?"

Eolyne takes hold of his chin in thought, then locks his eyes with me. "Yes, the Crimson Emperor did. I don't know where it is in Obsidia Palace, but do you mean to retrieve the Chaos Drake?"

I feel Asuna, Kirito, and Kureha's eyes peering at me. Like Kirito, I must've named my dragoncraft after an SAO boss, Dorz'l the Chaos Drake, but we never faced it as we never set foot on the ninetieth floor. However, the four of us know of it from the augmented reality game Ordinal Scale. It surprised us halfway into the fight against a lower-level boss, the Strict Hermit of the twelfth floor, and decimated us. It was against those bosses that Asuna lost her memory of Sword Art Online.

I sigh and shake my head. It does sound cool in my head, connotation aside. "Yeah, I do. You can take Kirito, Asuna, and Alice to Central Cathedral. Kureha and I will go to Obsidia Palace."

"We will?" Kureha glances at me quizzically. After we lock eyes, she starts to understand. "Right. Yeah, we can make it to Obsidia...and quickly too."

"How so?" Kirito asks. "You said it yourself, you don't want to use your powers if it means setting off the Incarnameters."

"Agreed, but...there's someone else in this world who might be able to hide their Incarnation, perform the spell, and lead me through the palace to the dragoncraft. And right now, she's at your alma mater."

Asuna raises an eyebrow. "You know this person?"

I shrug. "Not really, but I know I can trust her without worry because Eydis does."