After being rescued by the mysterious young girl Cardinal, Kirito and Eugeo find themselves in the safety of the , one of the few places beyond the Administrator's reach.
A small spider familiar belonging to Cardinal is introduced, having been observing the boys since their early days at the academy. Narrative Impact
Cardinal explains her own existence as a sub-process of Quinella that split off when the Administrator attempted to expand her memory capacity by using another person's Fluctlight.
Cardinal reveals the dark history of the Axiom Church and its ruler, Quinella (the Administrator). She explains how Quinella manipulated the system to gain absolute power and effectively froze her own aging process by merging with the Cardinal System.