The recording fades, and I'm left in a state of conflict for the third time today.

Do I stay here and help Eydis and Sylvie hunt down the Cult of Primus? Or do I go back to my original plan and head to Admina for the purpose of finding out what they're planning, how it's connected to whoever accessed the server in my world, and find the second half of the Deep Freeze art to awaken Ilia, Mia, and Selka?

Actually, I already made my choice. While the cult poses a threat to my former kingdom, I can return to that task at a later time. Even if I embarked on that quest, I would only get so far as the preparations and return to it tomorrow. The Admina quest is full of unknown progression too, but Kirito is taking that on now. There's no tomorrow for that...and the fulfillment of that quest is of the highest priority. If Eydis' hypothesis is right, Admina might have a connection to her enemies, so I can nail two tasks at once.

My decision is finalized as the four of us return to the hanger, the sight of the Chaos Drake tempting me with the ride of my life, and the human between us and it. Eydis had caught up to us. As soon as our eyes meet, a silent line of communication occurs between Eydis and I. Before we even reach the empress, she turns and begins ambulating, using the scabbard and hilt of her sword as a cane.

I split from my group and catch up to her as we head for the front of the Chaos Drake. "Eydis, did you know about the Deep Freeze art?"

"Of course. I knew the spell we learned couldn't work, and I did know you left something behind in the vault. I just didn't know what, nor did I ever look. Of course, this would be unnecessary if you could wield Falchion's full power."

"Mhm. The first half of the spell, we already know. But the second half, the part Hersyrian modified...why don't you know it?"

"Remember? I was banished from the Human Empire, so I couldn't learn if I asked...and they didn't share that knowledge with us. It wasn't until Mia and Ilia asked to be left behind in the palace did we learned that Ahuya and Selka were successful in restoring it. Obselete as the Hersyrian version was, we had no use for Deep Freeze here, so we didn't learn Administrator's version before it was sealed and hidden away... Let me guess, it's on Admina."

"Yep." I turn my attention to the cockpit, the triangle-shaped top opened to receive three passengers at maximum. I reach out for it, almost using my flying incarnation to climb in, then I realize I have one last bit of business left - Kureha. I look over to her, as she joins Eydis and I. "Hey..."

"Go on. I'll hold the fort here."

"You're fine being left here?"

She nods and glances up at the Chaos Drake. "As much as I'd like to ride this bad boy, you and Kirito can handle Admina. I'll oversee things here until we have to leave. I'll watch over Eydis and figure out the next step. Wouldn't you agree, Your Majesty?"

Eydis chuckles while looking to Kureha. "I must admit, there's some information only you two know and it may answer some questions. This shall suffice."

I feel like I should take Kureha with me, if nothing more than to stop the potential damage my reputation will suffer if they trade stories about me. But Kureha wishes to stay and help out. With a sigh, I climb into the cockpit of the Chaos Drake, but before I could settle in the pilot's seat, I find its already occupied by a pale blond-haired girl and one of the passenger seats claimed by a redhead girl, both dressed rather quickly in flight suits. "S-Sylvie, Cordelia, what the-"

Cordelia grins and hugs Sylvie from around the pilot seat. "This was Sylvie's idea! We're coming along for the ride. You did promise us, after all."

"G-get off me! And do you know how to pilot this thing? Didn't think so."

"I... Geez, someone did not get their adventurous streak from me." I glance back at Eydis, who shares my exasperated look. It is true that i don't know how to pilot the dragoncraft... "I know you agreed to this once, but I'll ask again. Is it okay if they come with me to Admina?"

"Very well. Sylvie is one of the best pilots in the Dark Territory, no doubt because I am a great one myself with Kirimai... Sylvie, you are to get your father safe on Admina and follow his instructions without fail. Same to you, Cordelia. But more importantly... Sylvie, I want you to lead the excursion to the south. You are to return as quickly as possible. Got it?"

Cordelia salutes excitedly. "Yes, Your Majesty." Sylvie responds with a nod to Eydis, then starts clicking buttons to fire up the engine of the Chaos Drake. I finally settle into the remaining seat and close the canopy down. Looking out once more to Eydis and Kureha, the empress turns around and yells a command to the two young knights I met before, Log and Dorothy. The former pulls down a lever, and moment later there's an opening in the hanger wall, wide enough for the Chaos Drake to fly through.

Meanwhile I spot Eydis waving her hands. Through the noise-dampening glass of the cockpit, she manages to relay his message. "Oh, right! Sikhan had informed me that our... er, spies noticed strange movements on the higher levels of the Central Cathedral. Though only the exhaust trail was only seen, we believe the X'rphan Mk. 13 has launched. This was about thirty minutes ago, when you were first brought before me... Oh! And you might not know this, but the Chaos Drake comes with a small armory with your...gun things on the sides and has an attachment for a mechamobile underneath the belly. You might find that come in handy!"

A gun armory and a detachable mechamobile. No wonder its so large. I give her a thumbs up and turn to my companions. "You hear that? Let's get going, girls."

"Right. Helmets on, everyone." A soft vibration rocks the craft. I can feel the Drake hovering above the ground and sliding forward. It has the ability to do a vertical launch, with no need for a runway. A few seconds later, the vibration intensifies, smoothly transitioning into an accelerated launch out of Obsidia Palace and into the blue skies above. I look down to the square-shaped city below as we began to rise, feeling a kiddish excitement in the manner.

Then my jaw drops as a pair of grey-colored winged beasts appear out of nowhere, flanking the Chaos Drake. On the left side of the craft where I sit, the dragon bears a black head, though I cannot tell if its naturally black or protective armor. To the right, where Cordelia sits, I can distinguish that the purple coloration of its head is a helm. As I watch their flight, the pair roars loud enough to shake the heavens before departing back down for the land below.

"Kirimai, Yoiyobi... Good to see you two."

Once we reach a stable ascending speed. Sylvie relaxes and looks over her shoulder to me. "We'll cruise at this speed until we reach three thousand mels, then go at full speed. The trip to Admina is about three hours with the standard issue Keynis dragoncraft, six by passenger craft. But the Star King and Crimson Emperor's crafts were said to be faster than the normal dragoncrafts, so this should take about an hour and a half at max."

That's a relatively short trip when compared to the real world. The trip from Earth to Mars, our closest celestial neighbor aside from the Moon, takes months with the probes we send there. To the moon takes a couple of days. If Cardina and Admina are so close to each other it takes mere hours, minus the science of how insane that will be in reality, Admina should dominate with its presence in the sky. "An hour and a half... How far is Admina from Cardina?"

"About five hundred thousand kilors," Cordelia answers. So the two planets are about 1.5 times farther apart than the moon is from Earth, but we'll get there astronomically quicker? Wow. While I think on that, Cordelia notices my pondering "Something wrong, Jaymes?"

I shrug and look outside, finding the moon Lunaria almost immediately. "It's just...weird to know there's a whole entire planet so close to here and not be able to see it. I've looked up to the sky at night and never seen it before."

"Oh, right, you don't know. What we call Admina nowadays, you called Lunaria."

"...Huh? Wait, wait, Lunaria is not a moon, but a planet?" I narrow my eyes at the white dot in the sky. That moon, named for the goddess of the moon and bears the same name as Koharu's goddess account, the moon in which Medina and I promised to never betray the other again, is a whole planet?

"Admina is only half the diameter of Cardina and more distant from Solus, which is why it is the secondary planet and Cardina's the primary," my daughter informs, somewhat pleased by my bafflement. "Mother told me on my first trip to Admina that when you and the Star King first realized Lunaria was a planet, you had a similar reaction. The two planets are near identical in their orbits, which is why we can always see Admina."

"I-I can see myself being shocked...so that explains why Lunaria...er, Admina's lunar cycle is complete in a single night. Amazing. It's not like that back in my world."

"Oh? How is it in the real world?"

"Well, for one, there are eight planets in our solar system. We're the third from our sun. Our moon orbits the planet, so while Admina waxes and wanes nightly, our moon does it in a month. Maybe... Maybe one day I'll be able to show you two my world."

What I said is a tall order. RoboTelligence might have control of Project ALICE to access it from the Ropponggi branch office of Rath, but the two most important aspects of the simulation - the Main Visualizer and the Lightcube CLuster - remain on the Ocean Turtle, guarded by the military. Mom and Dad are still fighting to keep the project alive and, eventually, be allowed access to the Ocean Turtle again. If they fail, the Underworld will be shut down.

If it is ever brought back online, it won't be the same world I've come to love.

I hope my parents, Kikouka's, and Dr. Koujiro can win that fight; in the meantime, Kazuto, Asuna, Momiji, Alice, and I have to win this one. Whoever this intruder is, they'll regret putting the dreams of the Hardin family in danger once I get my hands on them. Then, after that...I'll see to Sylvie, Eydis, and Cordelia setting eyes on my world.

"We've reached three thousand mels. Check fasteners, you two."

Cordelia and I quickly check our belts and each others. "We're good, Sylvie." I take a last glance of the world below. To the right, I can make out the green lands of the Human Empire. To my left, raised high above the land before it, is the Wall at the End of the World, which encircle the Dark Territory much like the End Mountains and the circular walls of Centoria envelope their respective regions. Once upon a time, no living creature, be it man or dragon, could cross the wall or ascend to the heights we are now, but here we are.

"Then hold on tight. This is the fun part." Without warning, the near-silent hum of the Chaos Drake roars with incredible might. With an insane laugh, the Princess of the Dark Territory throttles my dragoncraft to max propulsion, pressing Cordelia and I's backs into our seats as we yelp in fear and surprise. I thought I flew fast at my maximum speed both here and in ALO until I got into Mathias' dragoncraft; and if the crafts the Pilothood used were fast, this is what lightspeed must feel like in those sci-fi shows.

"S-S-Sylvie, wh-what the hell is w-wrong with you!"

"Don't be a big baby, Cordelia!"

Baby or not, I felt like I was going to hurl. The Chaos Drake turned from a level ascent to a sharp climb, and I could only watch, frozen with fright, as the blue sky darkened. Stars, once hidden by Solus' light, started to appear en masse, and before long, the frightful rumbling of the Chaos Drake's belly started to calm down.

"Atmospheric exit complete, haha." Proud of herself, Sylvie glances at me. "Welcome to outer space, Jaymes."

"Uh-huh..." The helmet on my head feels lighter, which supported Sylvie's assessment of our location. I could also see Solus in the distance. The last time I was here, me and the others were surprised to be here in the cold void, still able to breathe as normal, and that the planet we'll know as Cardina was below us. We'd fight the Abyssal Horror, save Mathias, Stica, and Laurranei, and sent in motion our current journey.

Two months ago, I couldn't have imagined something like this. I couldn't have known that rescuing Kirito after his fall in battle with Administrator would set me up in three lifetimes of adventures and memories here. It has had an effect on my real life too, including the possibility that Unital Ring might be connected somehow. Perhaps the greatest miracle is that I'd see my partner descend from the heavens and announce her revival...that my greatest friend that I met here would become my greatest regret above Koharu.

"I wonder if Medina ever got to see this sight," I murmur under my breath, then shake off that thought. "So another hour at most to Admina, right?"

"We're going at top speed, so maybe less. I have no idea where to go once we're there, though. And the Star King is half an hour ahead of us."

"Don't worry about Kirito," I say while leaning forward. "I know his presence, so I can get to him instantly. You just get us to Admina safely."

"Okay. We'll take a less than direct route to avoid being spotted. But even then, I think we can outrun them."

"Let's try to keep this a secret mission, Sylvie," Cordelia begs as she reclines her seat. She is right, this mission works as long as we're not caught. Eolyne seeks to find the truth about the sabotage a month ago. Kirito and I look for the infiltrator of the Underworld. I also have the task of finding the sealed chest that contains the Deep Freeze art and signs of the Cult of Primus' involvement on Admina. Easier than challenging Aincrad, but still a difficult task nonetheless.

But to start those tasks, I'm missing something vital: information on Admina. "Cordelia, what can you tell me about Admina?"

"Admina is host to a small population of five thousand humans and demihumans. Population is smaller than you thought, huh?"

"Yeah." I know that the maximum population of the Underworld is two hundred thousand. Two hundred years ago, the Human Empire and Dark Territory split a population of one hundred sixty thousand, so the remaining forty grew over time as relative peacetime took over.

"Well, it's part in due to your efforts to greening the Dark Territory and the exploration of the Outer Continent beyond the Walls at the End of the World. So there hasn't been much reason for permanent migration for many to Admina."

"But within that five thousand are my mother's enemies," Sylvie adds, her tone tense. "Our families' enemies, Cordelia." Hesitant, Cordelia nods and clutches the red and white scabbard between her legs. Reality must've set on the young women. Originally, this was an adventure to Admina with Sylvie's father and Cordelia childhood hero; now the trip has become a result of revenge of the Cult of Primus.

And the greatest challenge on Admina has settled on me: keeping my closest friends' descendants safe.