Chapter 1080: A dream made from remorse

"Papa, take care of Mama, mmkay…"

Her tender voice resounded in everyone's ears. They all laughed and cheered in unison.

"Put on the rings~ Put on the rings~ Put on the rings~"

Everybody made the church a rowdy place. The mood couldn't get any higher than this. Asuna also blushed furiously when others egged her on.

Blushing is one thing, Asuna's eyes were set on Wu Yan's face. She didn't shift her eyes away, she's waiting with hopeful eyes. Moreover, her beautiful looks and that pure white dress…

He reckons there are no humans alive who can resist putting a ring on someone so outstanding like her.

Including Wu Yan who already cohabitated with Asuna for quite some time.

He looked at the rings glistening under the golden dew of sunset. Wu Yan grabbed the ring after coming out of his stupor.

These are the rings he bought before leaving SAO. The same rings he used to propose to Asuna.

So, it's finally time to put on the ring in front of loved ones and dear friends, huh?

Wu Yan was gripped by excitement. He lifted Asuna's pristine hand and slowly but surely, he put a ring on her ring finger. Asuna also watched with bliss and anticipation in her eyes.

"Y-Yan…"

At the same time when he was almost finished, an anxious but familiar voice rang in his mind, stopping him.

"Nn?"

Asuna flinched. She didn't understand why Wu Yan stopped suddenly. Yui also called out to him.

"Papa, what's wrong?"

She tugged on Wu Yan's sleeve. Yui urged him to hasten his action.

"Faster, put the ring on Mama's finger, she's waiting for you"

"O-Oh…"

Like a clumsy kid, Wu Yan nodded in a panicky manner. He continued while doubting his mind.

Was that an illusion?

"Yan… wake up… Yan…"

A clearer but more anxious voice entered his mind once more.

After confirming that it wasn't a hallucination, he stopped with a drastic change in expression.

Asuna's smile slowly disappeared.

Kirito, Yui, Klein, Souta, Agil, Sachi, Liz, Silica, and Shion also exchanged frowns.

"Yan, what the hell are you doing?!"

"Quickly, your wife is waiting for you to put on the ring!"

"She's waiting for you!"

"Yan…"

"Yan!"

"Papa!"

People were shouting at him to snap out of it. Wu Yan floated a frustrated smile. He lowered the hand holding the ring.

"Yan (Papa)! What is the meaning of this?!"

Now, the people around him are angry. Asuna also used a forced smile that couldn't hide her sadness.

"Yan, are you not willing to marry me?"

Asuna was absolutely heartbroken. Wu Yan's heart also got shredded when he saw her look.

Wu Yan isn't flustered. He replied with a warm smile.

He caressed her soft cheek. The warmth he felt also touched his heart as his smile warmed up even more.

"Why wouldn't I want to tie the knot with you?"

He shook his head with a smile.

"More like, I am constantly thinking about my wedding with you, even more than you!"

"Then, why…"

"Why am I not putting the ring on?"

Wu Yan interrupted her. He threw the ring away violently.

"Because I don't want to put this fake ring on your finger."

Wu Yan's confusion slowly faded as he resolutely spoke up.

"The one I want to marry isn't the fake Asuna."

"Fake me?"

Asuna couldn't understand what Wu Yan's saying.

Wu Yan didn't care. He continued caressing Asuna's cheek.

"Sorry, Asuna, please wait for me just a while longer…"

Wu Yan hugged the Asuna in front of him. He declared that without a hint of a lie.

"Soon, we shall meet again…"

"When the time comes, we can discuss how to hold our wedding, we can pour over every little detail…"

"I bet you're going to be royally pissed. No, you're probably going to ignore me in anger. Because, there are more ladies I want to tie the knot with, not just you…"

"But, Asuna, I want you to believe me…"

"I love you…"

"That's why… Asuna, wait for me…"

"Also…"

He stepped forward and kissed her on her forehead.

"Thank you, thanks to you I can see the face of my significant other who I hadn't seen in a while…"

Then, it happened.

Crack crack

It sounded like mirrors were smashed all around him. The noise drowned out everything around him.

The space distorted until a space maelstrom spun out of control, spreading cracks everywhere.

The entire church scattered into broken fragments.

The friends around him, Kirito, Yui, and Asuna disappeared as if he was stuck in a kaleidoscope. The intricate dream shattered.

Only chaos remained.

The Domain of Gods, inside the green fog…

Wu Yan opened his eyes as he jumped up. He was sweating like a dog under the hot sun. It was like he just woke up from a terrible dream.

No, that wasn't a terrible dream, it was a perfect dream and that's what scared him.

"You, finally awake, I see…"

A stern voice greeted him from within Wu Yan's body. It's the same voice that woke him up from the intricate dream.

"It's you, Natsuki…"

Wu Yan wiped away the sweat on his forehead.

"Lucky for me, you woke me up…"

"Or you might just sleep like that forever, am I right?!"

Natsuki's stern scolding hit Wu Yan's mind like a brick.

"You dummy, if I hadn't detected something wrong with your psyche and woke up from my slumber then you were going to sleep in that wonderful dream of yours!"

"I wasn't expecting that…"

Wu Yan exhaled slowly.

"I thought the viper bite would only result in a hypnotic state. To think it can even create such elaborate dream constructed from my remorse, that's just…"

Wu Yan lived a fulfilling life in SAO.

He had solid blokes in his entourage. He also bagged himself the perfect wife and an obedient daughter as a bonus.

Who wouldn't call that kind of life paradise on earth?

If there's any remorse then it would be the fact that he didn't give Asuna a proper wedding.

That couldn't be helped, Asuna still had her parents and she's just eighteen. A wedding wouldn't be easy to host.

This remorse plagued him and gave birth to a dream like that.

Had Natsuki not woken him up then he would probably continue sleeping like that.

The 10 days would lapse just like that and he would be forcefully sent out of the Domain of Gods.

That would be dangerous in another way…

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