Arriving at the top of the World Tree, Kirito and Yui finally reunite with Asuna. However, they are suddenly hit by high gravity magic, which forces Yui to retreat, and they are confronted by Oberon. As Oberon reveals that his mind control experiments are almost complete, he chains Asuna and molests her in front of Kirito. Falling into despair, Kirito hears the voice of Akihiko, who encourages him to stand up and fight. Using Akihiko's administrative functions, Kirito removes Oberon's powers and challenges him to a fight with no pain absorption, and shows Oberon the true meaning of pain before destroying him. After logging Asuna out to ensure her safety in the real world, Kirito meets with a remnant of Akihiko's memory, who gives him an item called the World Seed before leaving. Kirito respawns back at the World Tree, where Yui returns after hiding inside of Kirito's NerveGear storage. Kirito logs out of ALO, and in the real world, Kazuto heads to the hospital where Asuna is waiting.