Part II: Discord On The Yellow Planet

C'mon, Kirito. Wake up.

Kirito hears a voice whisper into his ear, causing his eyelids to open up. His sight is gifted the sight of a dark blanket with small lights scattered around, his sense of touch and hearing directing the feel and sound of vibrations to his brain. He's not outside in a field or inside in a bedroom; he's in the X'rphan Mk. 13, the personal dragoncraft of the Star King.

A helmet covers Kirito's head, and right in front of him, another helmeted head sits in the pilot seat. That's Eolyne, the commander of the Integrity Pilothood, silent in deep concentration as he steers the craft to their destination: the planet Admina. Not wishing to disturb Eolyne, Kirito leans his head back on the headrest, sighing in frustration that the dream he had slipped away as easily as ice on a smooth surface. With impeccable timing, Eolyne's gentle voice fills the cockpit. "Did you wake up, Kirito?"

"Y-yeah. How could you tell?"

"I wouldn't make a very good commander if I didn't notice small details like that... Look, we're nearly there." Eolyne points to the left side, leading Kirito to adjust his seat so he can sit upright and lean forward. In that direction is a spherical body of enormous size, one side completely dark, the other bright and yellow. Once upon a time, this was thought to be the moon Lunaria, and once upon a time two hundred years ago, Kirito remembers a conversation that Lunaria might have people and cities on it. Who he said it to, he doesn't remember.

"...How many people live on that planet?

"About five thousand, between five races."

"Whoa...that's it? Just five thousand on an entire planet?"

"The human realm and dark realm have more than enough space for everyone, and there's also the Outer Continent beyond the Wall at the End of the World. It's almost entirely undeveloped. With the greenification of the Dark Territory proceeding well, very few people would actually desire to move to Admina."

"But if the settlers there have children..."

"Having children won't change the overall population."

"Huh?"

"The number of those who leave the world and enter the world is always the same...Isn't that the way it works in the real world, too?"

Kirito was confused at first, then he remembered that the Underworld has a population limit of two hundred thousand. Population expansion was feasible two hundred years ago when the population of the Human Empire and Dark Territory were equally eighty thousand. Seems they reached the hard limit, so if there's to be a new life, an old one must leave around the same time.

"...No, there's no limitation of that sort in the real world."

"Huh? Then your population will simply grow and grow without end?"

"Yes, that's right. In the real world, the total population is over eight billion."

"Eight..." The cool-headed commander turned left as far as his seat would allow him, bearing a shocked expression on his face. "D-did you say eight billion? As in, ten thousand times eight hundred thousand?"

"Ummm, hang on." Kirito does the multiplication as fast as possible in his head. If Asuna was here, she'd done it instantly. "Yeah. Ten thousand times eight hundred thousand."

"...Goodness gracious," Eolyne murmurs as he faces forward again. "It is written that during the Otherworld War, an army of tens of thousands of real-worlders came here, so I had a feeling you must have a higher population...but in the billions? Which means that if... Er, never mind."

What Eolyne refused to say, Kirito caught it. The truth of the Otherworld War is that it was supposed to be a war between the two realms, but it became more than that when a group of militants invade the Ocean Turtle and the Underworld. When the invasion happened, Kirito was between his final days at the Norlangarth Swordcraft Academy and his battle with Administrator. He was shocked by an outside surge of electricity, rendering him comatose. Jaymes dove in minutes later (days later in Underworld time) to combat the invaders when they arrived and to escort Alice to the World End's Altar when the Final Load Test began.

But Underworld history would remember it as Eolyne said. Thousands of warriors from the real world, summoned by the enemy and with Yui and Strea's assistance, fought each other. The gamers from Japan fought on the side of the Human Empire, following Asuna and Koharu; the American, Korean, and Chinese fought on the side of the enemy, believing they were beta-testing a new game.

The origin of Project ALICE was to twofold: for Rath, it was create AI soldiers to prevent loss of human lives; for RoboTelligence, the creation of a human-like bottom-up AI was the goal. but nowadays, the people of Rath and RoboTelligence along with Kirito, Asuna, Alice and their friends seek to prevent any harm to the Underworld, including a war that the Underworld could not win.

It's time for a change of topic. "Is a day on Admina the same length as on Cardina?"

"Yes, it is. But the position of Ori, the capital of Admina, is the polar opposite of Centoria's, so it's the middle of the night there."

"Ori..." Kirito couldn't imagine the possible origins of the capital's name, and it isn't like he can ask Yui for her opinion. He lets that thought go, watching as the X'rphan is directed far to the east of the sea of lights on the dark side of Admina. "Ummm...I'm guessing we can't just go and land right on the pad in town?"

"Of course not. Even with our deceptive measures, there's no hiding the light of the craft's exhaust."

"So if we land a long distance away, how are we getting to the city?"

"What are those big, long legs for, Kirito?" Kirito grimaces at the seriousness of Eolyne's tone, knowing that his legs are not that long. It'd be nice if he could fly without the use of Incarnation, but until he learns how to hide his Incarnation, that's a no go.

Chuckling, Eolyne pushes the control stick forward, beginning the descent towards the boundary of night and day.

Like Earth being notably green and blue from space due to the abundance of water and green landscape, Admina's color comes from the overabundance of pale, yellow flowers, not from the atmosphere. The sky is just as blue as Cardina and Earth.

As the X'rphan reaches three thousand feet to the surface, Kirito stares at the endless sea of flowers in wonder and amazement. "Did...did people plant these flowers?"

"No, it was already this way the first time the Star King landed here, It's hard to tell from this height, but there is actually a mixture of several kinds of yellow flowers growing there. The particular species change depending on the season, so Admina appears yellow all year round."

"Huh..." Either someone at Rath was lazy with the planet's design, or the planet was auto-generated by the Cardinal System when Kirito...when the Star King approached what he thought to be Lunaria. The only person who could answer that is Cardinal, the sage from the Great Library back in Centoria, but she no longer exists. The only remnants of her existence is that the planet Cardina is an offshot of her name, much as Admina is an offshot of Administrator's.

Turning his attention to the horizon ahead, it is a mix of red and blue. The sun is behind them, and based on the planet's rotation, the city of Ori is in the middle of the night, heading towards dawn. They're flying away from the rising sun to the night, but there are no artificial lights indicating a town.

"...Hey, if we're sneaking up on the capital, wouldn't it be better to do it from the night side, rather than the day side?"

"Well, yes, but in order to do so, we'd have to spin all the way around the planet, which would take twice as long. But we've come on a course that ensures the curvature of the planet blocks the city from seeing us, so the chances of being detected are almost infinitesimally small...I think."

Quiet resumes as the X'rphan Mk 13 continues its glide over the yellow surface of Admina. It flies smoothly for not being moved for nearly three decades, if not more, Kirito wishes he could show Asuna and Alice the planet, which might be possible after they complete their mission. He'd invite Selka, Ronie, and Tiese once they awake from their slumber.

The black of night increasingly takes over the sky from the red of sunrise, meaning their speed is faster than the rotational speed of the planet. However, Kirito doesn't feel the sense of wind resistance, which he knows exists to some degree. When he, Asuna, and Koharu flew at maximum speed during the Otherworld War, he recalls creating a wind-element barrier to protect them from such resistances. The X'rphan must have some means of protection similar to the barrier. Kirito doesn't even recall there being a sign of atmospheric entry around the dragoncraft like there is in anime and movies.

"Hey, Eolyne," Kirito starts, about to inquire about his thoughts, but he's interrupted by a sudden alarm and flashing red lights. Panicking, Kirito yelps, "Wh-what's that?"

"An Incarnation reading. Did you do something, Kirito?"

"N-no, I didn't do anything!"

"Then it's an attack. I'll look above us. You keep an eye on what's below."

"G-got it!"

Kirito has more questions in his head, but that can come later. He keeps his eyes towards the ground, scanning both the left and right sides of the craft. He does notice a series of red lights to the left, at the boundary of day and night. "I've got lights at ten o'clock!"

Fortunately, Eolyne understands clock positions. "Yes, I have visual! Those are...Incarnate-guided missiles. It's gonna get bumpy!" The X'rphan's interior starts a high-pitched whine and shudders as it shoots up and to the right. If Kirito felt the X'rphan was fast as it exited Cardina's atmosphere, this was like going at supersonic speed. The G-forces pins him in his seat, amking it hard to breathe, but his head is still able to rotate.

He can see the red lights are somehow keeping up and coming closer. "We're not pulling away, Eolyne!"

"I didn't think so! Let me know if they get within five hundred mels!"

Kirito internally questions how he could do that, but somehow finds himself able to determine the distances between the lights and the dragoncraft. He counts the decreasing distance in his head, then shouts, "Five hundred!" The craft's engines roar with greater intensity as Eolyne directs it to perform a backflip. He watches as the red lights, about thirteen in number, follow one of two fates. A third continue onward, losing track of the X'rphan, while the rest of the missiles continue the chase.

"Is...is someone controlling them?!"

"No, they're Incarnate weapons that automatically track their target! Somewhere there's a mechamobile or dragoncraft that fired...them!" Eolyne makes a right roll and sharp turn. Some of the remaining lights lose their target, but about five or six remaon on course and closing in. Here, Kirito can see the missiles look like any other missile he could think off, but they were no more than three feet in length. They might be smaller than real-world air missiles, but they might pack the punch of one.

Not wanting his dragoncraft to take damage, Kiriot shouts, "If it looks like it's going to hit us, I'm using Incarnation!"

"I suppose you won't have a choice. Just keep the effect to a minimum!" Eolyne has a point. Their attacker knows someone is here, but they don't know who. It could be Integrity Pilots, the former royalty, or unknown trespassers. Kirito going all out with Incarnation narrows the list down to one group of two people, the Star King and the Crimson Emperor, if not being extended to the Star Queen and Abyssal Empress.

Eolyne makes a third loop, leaving the remaining missiles on their trail to three. They're hot on the X'rphan, less than two hundred mels away. For Eolyne to perform the ecasine maneuvers requires a loss of speed, which will close the distance between them.

Incarnation it is. Kirito could destroy the missiles with heat elements, but as fun as they would be, it could catch the X'rphan in the resulting blasts. The best solution is a barrier wall. "I'm defending us!" he tells Eolyne, then generates an Incarnate wall in the path of the guided missiles. Half a second later, the three missules make contact with the wall. Two explosions occur. Kirito feels the impact through some sort of feedback, equivalent to six exploding heat elements.

But only two explosions occurred. Either the third was masked by the other two or it got thrown off course, but he keeps the wall up. "All guided projectiles remo-"

Kirito stops as something cold and slimy sends a sensation down his nervous system from afar. The wall...something is trying to crumble, invade, and pierce through the wall. Never feeling this sensation before, he looks over his right shoulder towards the wall. Present there is a creature of some sort - not exactly living, not exactly mechanical. It is a worm-like tubular being about three feet long, two inches wide. The end that looks like the head has no eyes, but possesses a mouth with a red light inside.

It had wiggled half its body through the hole in the wall it created. Kirito raises his left hand to close the hole, but whatever coats the worm's body continues to eat through the wall. Is there Incarnation that can nullify another's Incarnation, no matter how strong their Incarnation is?

Eolyne takes notice of the black worm. Since the barrier is not physcially there, all he can see is the worm writhing in a singular point in the air. "Wh-what is that thing?"

"Don't ask me. Also...it's going to get inside our defensive wall soon!"

"Got it. Hold out just a bit longer." Eolyne presses his left hand against the canopy glass, projecting ten frost elements. It is a sign of his high skill with the sacred arts, being able to generate without speaking the commands and creating more than a one element per finger of a hand. He waves his hand, sending the frost elements towards the worm, freezing the front of the worm that had broken through with masses of ice.

While Eolyne's Incarnation maintains the ice, the ice is a solid, physical object, so the eroding ability of the worm has no effect. While the back half contained in the barrier still squirms, the front half is still. But the warning signs in the cabin are still going off: the worm is still alive.

"Okay...I'm going to land the X'rphan now. Keep that defensive wall up."

"G-got it." Nervous, Kirito follows Eolyne's instruction. The sensation of his Incarnation against the worm continue, but he focuses on strengthening the barrier-just as a new mental warning gains his attention from below the descending X'rphan. By the time Kirito realizes what's happening, it is too late: a soft form breakes through the barrier.

"Eolyne! It came from below-"

Something pricks back of Asuna's neck. She was walking down a red-carpeted staircase with the other women when that feeling occurred, but nothing in front or around them should make her feel this way. Nor is she alone in that matter: up ahead, Alice looks back at Asuna with a strange expression.

"Asuna, did something just..."

"You felt it, too?"

"Asuna, Alice, what's the matter?" Higher up on the stairs, Stica, Laurannei, and Airy look back at the two. They don't seem to notice anything strange -not that Asuna or Alice see anything weird about their walled surroundings within Central Cathedral - so Asuna shakes her head.

"Sorry, it's nothing!"

It's sometime between one-thirty and two o'clock, determined by the bells that signalled it was one-thirty moments ago. At that time, the girls left the Great Baths and head for the kitchen on the ninety-fourth floor to prepare food when Kirito and Eolyne return from Admina. They have at least two hours to prepare, and are deciding what to make.

Airy says that Star Queen Asuna spent plenty of time in the kitchen developing her latest creations, which Asuna feels like it's something she'd do and wishes she could remember. Thankfully the recipes were recorded, so it'll be no work at all reproducing them.

She doubts Jaymes and Kureha will return to the Human Empire over the Dark Territory, so the only problem is Kirito's return time. Dr. Koujiro sternly said the quintet will be pulled out at five, and not even Jaymes could counter that. As long as Kirito returns in time, they could eat in peace.

As she skips up the last few steps, Asuna thinks to herself, Just make sure you get back with thirty minutes to spare.

Hundreds of mels to the east, Kureha subconsciously frowns. She can't explain it, but something unseen feels amiss.

Eydis and her had finalize a detailed plan, and the empress is presenting it to the Knight Commander and the four select youths that will join her and a battalion of soldiers. Their first destination, when the princess and Lady Orthinanos returns, is southwest of the World End's Altar near giant territory and the Southern Corridor. The denizens of the dark real realm will investigate signs of the rebellion spoken of earlier. Also present is the Dark Council, which weirds Kureha out. Seeing a giant and goblins stand alongside humans is...something new.

She didn't have the best introduction to giants, with that bastard she fought and the information that all this began with an ambush on Imperial soldiers by giants. And with the empress visibly stricken (though Eydis doesn't share the reason why), the councilor looks like he's preparing for the chopping block. After all, Eydis had not publicly named the Cult of Primus, so to the uninformed, all eyes are on the giant clan.

Kureha was introduced as a special agent of the Integrity Pilothood, but she no longer wears their uniform. Instead, Eydis issued her a select choice from her own wardrobe, feeling they were mostly the same size in frame. She called it the "Daybreak Guardian" attire; a pink and white tunic that drops down to her knees. The lower hand of her body is clothed by black tights and pink and black heeled shoes; a similar makeup covers her upper limbs with black sleeves and pink gloves. Over her shoulders and back is a lengthy pink cape.

The attire was originally white in the pink areas. Eydis, at Kureha's behest, changed most of the white colors to pink with Incarnation, leaving only the accents of the clothes white in colors. She didn't question why, and Kureha wouldn't know how to explain it except it makes her feel comfortable, just as Kirito with wearing mostly black, Asuna in white, and Jaymes in red and black.

Her weapon, which Kureha has not named yet in its inert state, hangs on the back of her left side, underneath the cape. She keeps the unbladed hilt in its unbladed state for ease of carrying. She's not used to having a heavy axe or a bow on her body, but the hilt has the weight of a large knife. No one bats a second eye while she's appears unarmed, or pay her much attention since her introduction. While Eydis speaks to the war council, the lack of attention on Kureha allows her to scan the room.

Having been nearly killed before in a similar manner, there's only a single explanation for what happened today: there's a traitor in their midst. That's the only explanation that Lancer (yes, Kureha has decided to name them by the classes they represent, just as Caster introduced herself) could have gotten into the castle and the fiftieth floor. Is the traitor a member of the Dark Council? Could it be the Knight Commander Acras? Supreme Commander Sikhan? Merls? It has to be someone who could get Lancer inside the castle unnoticed.

Careful not to accuse anyone directly, Kureha did share her hypothesis with Eydis. Surprisingly (or not, given what she knows of the empress' first years as sole ruler), Eydis agreed with her. When asked who is the most likely culprit, Eydis answered with shocking ease: "Everyone but Sylvie, Cordelia, her father, and you. Surprised that I even suspect those closest to me?"

The fact that Eydis doesn't believe in anyone but her child, Jaymes, and Kureha stuns her, yet it is understanding. Kureha doesn't know how it is to rule a kingdom, but she knows what it is like to be at the top of a social hierachy. Joshua has been there his entire life, and school brought the worst of it. He was either hated or "loved" by his peers when they were younger, and the only person he trusted was Momiji By association, she suffered the same affections from most of her peers. The same went for her after she moved to Japan for middle and high school, as her sister's shadow somehow casted over her during those years despite the elder Takemine daughter was in university and entering the workforce at the time. To be in a world where everyone can be your enemy is scary, but it makes the bonds you do form more special. That's why Joshua's friends from SAO and Crimson Squad (for the most part) are special to Momiji.

Desite her earlier reluctance, she desires to have the same connection to Eydis. She owes the empress that much for taking care of Jaymes.

Kureha was mentally associating the councilors with their roles when the mysterious sensation affected her. She can say it isn't from the gathering in front of her, so it must be...She glances at the nearby window to the afternoon sky. It is about two p.m., and the two dragoncrafts heading for Admina should be coming to the planet around this time. Kirito will get there first, so if something has happened...

...Be careful, you two.