At his final syllable, reality folded. A ripple passed through the chamber's artificial stillness, and beside him materialized a figure no larger than a child—a girl with ink-black hair cascading past her shoulders, pointed elf ears peeking through the strands, and a white dress that seemed woven from moonlight itself. Transparent wings sprouted from her back, catching nonexistent light, refracting it into soft prismatic halos. She smelled faintly of honeysuckle and ozone, the particular scent of digital divinity.
"No problem, Papa!" Yui's voice rang bright and crystalline. "Leave the task of saving Mama to Yui!"
Asuna's cheeks flushed crimson at the word Mama, her fingers curling against the cage's cold floor.
Mama? Did she just—who is this child? And why does hearing that word make my chest feel so tight?
Before she could form a question, Yui raised one small hand. Light coalesced in her palm, spinning and compressing until it solidified into a blade of radiant silver—the Elven Holy Sword, a weapon that shouldn't exist outside system administrator privileges. The girl's expression remained cheerful, almost playful, as she swung.
One stroke.
The cage—reinforced by world laws, protected by Oberon's absolute authority, designed to be unbreakable by any player or NPC—split cleanly in two. The halves dissolved into golden particles, drifting upward like dandelion seeds before vanishing entirely.
"Papa, it's done!"
"Good job. Thank you, Yui."
Hozuki Nozomi smiled, and Asuna watched him reach down to pat the girl's head with genuine affection. His fingers threaded gently through her dark hair, and Yui practically glowed under the praise, her wings fluttering with delight.
Then those amber eyes turned toward Asuna.
He extended his hand—palm up, fingers relaxed, an invitation rather than a demand.
"Come with me, beautiful madam."
His voice carried warmth that cut through the sterile chill still clinging to her skin. Asuna stared at that offered hand, at the confident curve of his smile, at the way light seemed to gather around him like he belonged in a painting rather than a virtual prison.
"Call me Asuna."
The words left her before she could second-guess them. She reached out, and when her fingers touched his palm—
Oh.
Warmth flooded through her, starting at the point of contact and spreading outward like ripples in still water. Her heartbeat stuttered, then quickened, hammering against her ribs in a rhythm that had nothing to do with fear. Electricity danced along her nerve endings, phantom sensations the game shouldn't have been able to replicate with such intensity.
And then the memories came.
Fragments at first—a shared meal, laughter echoing in a small cabin, the weight of a ring slipped onto her finger. A different world. A different Asuna. But the man in those memories wore Hozuki Nozomi's face, smiled Nozomi's smile, and held her with the same gentle certainty she felt now.
What... what is this? Why do I remember things that never happened?
"Then, Asuna—" His voice pulled her back to the present. "Please excuse my rudeness."
Before she could respond, his arm slipped beneath her knees. The world tilted as he lifted her effortlessly, cradling her against his chest in a princess carry. Her hands flew to his shoulders for balance, fingers gripping the fabric of his dark coat, and she found herself acutely aware of every point of contact between them.
The solid warmth of his chest against her side. The steady rhythm of his breathing. The faint scent of sandalwood and something sharper—mint, perhaps, or winter air. His arm beneath her thighs, secure and unyielding.
Sacred wings unfurled from his back, white and luminous, each feather distinct and trembling with contained power. They stretched wide, caught an updraft that shouldn't exist inside the World Tree, and then they were moving.
Wind rushed past them, whipping Asuna's chestnut hair into wild tangles. The chamber blurred into streaks of gold and green as Hozuki Nozomi carried her through corridors she'd never been allowed to see, past barriers that should have stopped them, descending through the heart of the World Tree itself.
Behind them, in his private quarters, the Elf King Oberon continued his preparations for the "ceremony" he'd been planning. He adjusted his robes, checked his reflection, practiced expressions of false tenderness—completely unaware that his prized captive had vanished.
Yui had done more than destroy the cage. She'd rewritten the laws governing it, erased the notification protocols, masked every trace of their passage. To Oberon's systems, Asuna remained exactly where he'd left her, docile and waiting.
Serves him right, Yui thought, floating invisibly alongside her Papa. Nobody imprisons Mama and gets away with it.
The descent took less than a minute.
Hozuki Nozomi touched down in a forest clearing, the impact barely registering as his feet met soft grass. Wildflowers dotted the meadow—clusters of white and pale blue swaying in a breeze that carried the earthy sweetness of moss and growing things. Somewhere nearby, a stream gurgled over stones, and birdsong filtered through the canopy above, dappled sunlight painting shifting patterns across the ground.
"Alright, we're on the ground. Asuna, you can come down now."
She didn't move immediately.
Her gaze had fixed on his face—the sharp line of his jaw, the slight upturn at the corner of his mouth, the way his amber eyes caught the filtered light and seemed to glow from within. This close, she could count his eyelashes if she wanted to. This close, she could feel his breath ghost across her cheek.
Slowly, almost experimentally, she raised one hand and poked his cheek with her index finger.
Firm. Warm. Real, despite everything.
He glanced down at her, that half-smile widening into something more amused. "Don't mess around. Let's talk after we've put some distance from the World Tree."
"Mm."
Why did I do that? What am I, twelve? He just rescued me from months of imprisonment and I'm poking his face like a curious child.
She pouted slightly, but her heart felt lighter than it had in ages.
This person was gentle. Just like Yui had said. Just like those impossible memories suggested.
"Ah? So fast?"
The words slipped out before she could stop them, and she immediately regretted it.
Hozuki Nozomi's expression shifted into something knowing. He looked down at her with raised eyebrows, that half-smile taking on a teasing edge.
Fast? Are you reluctant to leave my embrace?
He didn't say it aloud. He didn't need to. The question hung between them, written in the curve of his lips.
Heat flooded Asuna's face, spreading from her cheeks to the tips of her pointed ears. She was a grown woman. She had a daughter—adopted, yes, but still. She'd led armies, faced death, survived horrors that would break lesser players. And here she was, blushing like a schoolgirl because a handsome man carried her through the sky.
If Lisbeth could see me now, she'd never let me hear the end of it.
"I—I'm coming down now."
She released her grip on his neck—reluctantly, though she'd never admit it—and hopped from his arms. The grass cushioned her landing, soft and cool against her bare feet. She smoothed her dress, tucked her hair behind her ears, and tried desperately to compose herself.
"Then, let's exchange information." Nozomi's tone shifted, becoming more serious. "Miss Asuna—or rather, should I call you Asuna Yuuki?"
Her composure shattered.
"You found out."
It wasn't a question. She showed him a helpless expression, caught somewhere between embarrassment and resignation.
"There's no helping it." He shrugged one shoulder. "'Asuna' sounds quite similar to 'Asuna Yuuki,' and you two look almost identical. I couldn't help but wonder."
Almost identical. Does he know another version of me? From those memories, perhaps?
"Since things have come to this, there's no need to hide it anymore." She sighed, then straightened her spine with renewed resolve. "You're right. My real name is Asuna Yuuki."
She paused, meeting his gaze directly.
"Nozomi... would you like to hear my story?"
The hope in her voice surprised even her. She wanted him to say yes. Wanted him to listen, to understand, to know everything she'd been through.
"Of course." He settled onto the grass, legs crossed, attention fully focused on her. "I'm all ears."
Asuna took a deep breath. The air tasted of wildflowers and distant rain. She sat down across from him, close enough that their knees almost touched, and began.
"Ten years ago, I used my older brother's gaming equipment to log into a virtual reality game called Aincrad—created by a man named Kayaba Akihiko."
Ten years. Has it really been that long? Sometimes it feels like yesterday. Sometimes it feels like another lifetime entirely.
"But that madman used his administrator privileges to remove the logout function. All ten thousand players were trapped. If you died in the game, the NerveGear would fry your brain in reality."
She watched his face for a reaction—horror, disbelief, skepticism. He showed none of these. Only calm attention, patient and unwavering.
"The only way out was to clear the game. Defeat the boss on the hundredth floor. Free everyone."
"The nightmare began."
Her voice steadied as she spoke, settling into the familiar cadence of a story told before. "With the beta testers' knowledge, we barely cleared the first floor. But over a hundred players died in the process. After that, survivors formed the Strategy Group—guilds working together toward liberation. I became one of their representatives."
A faint blush touched her cheeks. "They called me 'Asuna the Flash.'"
It sounds so arrogant, saying it myself. But he's looking at me like that title means something. Like I should be proud.
"After three months of grinding, strategizing, and burying friends, I led the assault on the hundredth floor alongside the Knights of the Blood Oath's commander. We faced the final boss."
Her expression darkened.
"What I didn't expect was that the commander was Kayaba Akihiko. He'd been playing alongside us the entire time, watching us struggle, pretending to fight for our freedom while holding all the cards."
"As a player, how could I defeat the game's administrator? He had an invincible health lock—true immortality. If he wasn't beaten, all of us would remain trapped forever."
She paused, and something softened in her eyes.
"Then someone appeared. Someone who looked exactly like you."
Hozuki Nozomi straightened slightly, interest sharpening.
"One sword stroke." Asuna mimed the motion, a single diagonal slash. "That's all it took. Kayaba Akihiko's head separated from his shoulders, and he... smiled."
"He said something strange as he died."
"'So it was you. I still lost in the end, but this time I can say I had a good time playing with everyone. I have no regrets in this life.'"
"Then he handed me a golden seed and dissolved into light."
"Wait." Nozomi leaned forward, brow furrowed. "Someone who looked exactly like me? Do you know someone named Kirigaya Kazuto?"
Asuna tilted her head, searching her memory. "Kirigaya Kazuto... I have some impression of him. He was one of the beta testers, but he preferred acting alone. Eventually, the Laughing Coffin guild hunted him down." Her expression flickered with old sorrow. "They killed him on the fifty-seventh floor."
"...Alright. Please continue."
She gave him a curious look but didn't press.
"After Kayaba's defeat, the other players logged out safely. But I didn't. Instead, I woke up imprisoned—here, in this cage, by my fiancé."
The word fiancé dripped with venom.
"Sugou Nobuyuki transformed himself into the Elf King Oberon and trapped me in this world. He wasn't just playing god—he was conducting experiments. Brain manipulation. Mind control. He planned to brainwash world leaders, seize power, become a king in reality as well as fantasy."
Monster. Wearing a crown made of stolen minds.
"But one of his experiments went wrong. The entire server destabilized. Every player connected at that moment—" She swallowed hard. "—died."
"I should have died too. But something saved me. Golden light, like waves, surrounding me, carrying me somewhere else."
"I woke up in a different world entirely. And in that world... there was another me."
Nozomi's eyes widened fractionally.
"To avoid confusion, I changed my surname to Yuigahama. I built a new life. And I adopted a daughter."
"Wait." His voice sharpened. "Yui was adopted by you?"
"Yes." Asuna smiled softly. "What a coincidence—she shares the same name as the elf girl beside you."
Yui, floating invisibly nearby, made a small sound of surprise.
Another me? Mama adopted another Yui? What does that mean?
"That's the summary of what happened." Asuna exhaled slowly. "When I came to that world, I was still wearing my NerveGear. The reason I logged in today is because my body started becoming transparent—like I was fading away. I hoped logging in might provide answers."
"But instead, I ended up back here. Back in the cage. Back at the moment everything went wrong."
Silence settled between them, broken only by birdsong and the distant stream.
Then—
Ding!
The notification echoed in Nozomi's mind, accompanied by the familiar warmth of his Game Life System activating.
「Congratulations, player. You have triggered the Divine Artifact Retrieval Quest. Complete the Divine Artifact collection and become a true Divine Child!」
「Please successfully retrieve the Divine Artifact: Alchemy Heart. Completion rewards: One skill entry OR item draw, plus fixed reward of ¥1,000,000.」
His spirits lifted.
So this world was created by a Divine Artifact. That explained Asuna's impossible journey, her survival against all odds, the golden seed Kayaba had entrusted to her.