Chapter 1685: -1666- The voices that are calling out
Time rewound to when Rozen entered Alne.
As Rozen stepped into Alne, high up on the towering World Tree, inside the golden cage-like room hanging among the branches, Asuna lay curled up on her bed, hugging her knees protectively, looking so lonely.
To prevent Sugo Nobuyuki from discovering Yui and potentially harming her, Yui generally wouldn't appear unless it was certain that he wouldn't come. As a result, during this time, Asuna had to endure her isolation and face her feelings of loneliness and fear alone, waiting for the opportunity to be saved.
So, for Asuna, today was just another lonely day.
However...
"Zing!"
Suddenly, the space before Asuna lit up, and a small girl in a white dress appeared out of nowhere.
"Gu!"
"Gu!"
Saichou and Hanachou appeared alongside her, letting out sounds.
"Yui? Why did you come out?"
Fighting off her loneliness, Asuna sat up in surprise at Yui's sudden appearance, looking at her with astonishment.
But at that moment, Yui wasn't her usual gentle self. Instead, she seemed unusually excited, her expression almost panicked.
"Papa…"
Yui's voice trembled as she spoke.
"Huh?"
Asuna couldn't react immediately.
But soon, Asuna realized the reason behind Yui's unusual behavior.
"Papa…! Papa…! It's Papa…!"
Yui's voice grew more and more excited.
"I can feel Papa nearby! Papa is here!"
Yui's words struck Asuna like a heavy hammer, making her mind go blank.
But at the same time, an overwhelming wave of emotion surged from Asuna's heart, replacing her feelings of loneliness and despair with joy and anxious anticipation, making her eyes fill with tears.
At this moment, only one thought echoed in Asuna's heart:
He's here.
He's here.
He's finally here.
The loneliness and despair in Asuna's heart were entirely replaced by joy and excitement, causing her to tremble.
"Is… is it true, Yui?!"
Asuna's voice shook even more than Yui's, as if she were afraid this was all a dream that would be shattered if disturbed.
"It's true!"
Yui's eyes were wet as if she had confirmed it countless times already.
"This is Papa's SAO ID record. His player profile and character model are exactly the same as they were back then, and he has now appeared in Alne, at the base of the World Tree. There's no mistake!"
After entering ALO as Asuna's possession, Yui no longer had administrator privileges, but as an AI, she still retained some intelligent functions. For example, she could provide map search functions, view status records, and confirm player attributes and locations—though she could only verify this when players were nearby.
Now, as Rozen entered the vicinity of Alne, Yui used her privileges to confirm Rozen's ID and character's presence.
"Rozen!"
Asuna immediately rushed to the golden bars of the cage, gripping them tightly and shouting outside.
"Papa!"
Yui also ran to the bars, calling out with all her might.
"Gu!"
"Gu!"
Even Saichou and Hanachou seemed excited, crying out with all their might.
Unfortunately, they were far from Alne's base. No matter how loudly they shouted, it would be hard for their voices to reach below.
"I'll try to simulate a system warning message to communicate with Papa!"
Yui immediately closed her eyes.
Watching Yui like this, Asuna suppressed her anxiety and longing, looking down at the seemingly endless depths below, almost unable to hold back her tears.
However, she endured.
"It's okay… it's okay…"
Even if they couldn't meet now, it was alright.
Because at least now, Asuna knew he was here, right at the base of the World Tree.
Since he was here, he would surely come to her, no matter what obstacles lay in his way.
That's the person she loved—a genius capable of overcoming any challenge with his own intellect.
"Rozen…"
Soon.
It was close.
He would be there soon.
Therefore, no matter what, she must hold back and not cry.
If she had to cry, it would be in his arms, not here, showing weakness before an unseen enemy.
"Papa… Papa…"
Yui continued to call out for Rozen, trying to make contact.
Due to the distance and lack of privileges, Yui couldn't be sure if her voice would reach him.
But Yui believed Rozen would hear her.
Then, just like when he found her in SAO, Rozen would surely appear before her again.
Until then, Yui would keep calling out to him, no matter how many times it took.
"Papa… Papa… Papa…!"
Yui's voice echoed.
"Gu!"
"Gu!"
Saichou and Hanachou joined in, crying out as loudly as they could.
In the golden cage, the caged birds cried out endlessly.
They were calling for the figure about to arrive.
...
"Papa… Papa… Papa…!"
In his mind, the voice of a young girl calling out became clearer and clearer, letting Rozen hear it more distinctly.
Rozen raised his head, looking toward the top of the World Tree, his breath growing heavy.
"There's no mistake…"
This was Yui's voice.
Yui was here, at the top of the World Tree.
What was going on?
Rozen didn't know.
He only knew that his daughter, who had once called him Papa continuously in SAO, was here, in this game.
Originally, Rozen had worried about whether, after clearing SAO, Yui's program, which was an AI within SAO, would face problems. So he had previously asked Kikuoka Seijirou to find Yui's program and notify him immediately, but he'd received no response.
Only now did Rozen understand—Yui was here, possibly by Asuna's side.
"Could it be that Asuna's subconscious rejection of my calls was because of Yui?"
Rozen finally understood.
If Asuna responded to his calls and awoke in reality, then Yui, as an AI, would remain in this world, with predictable consequences.
This was why Asuna had subconsciously rejected his calls—to protect Yui.
Realizing this, Rozen laughed.
It was a heartfelt laugh.
"Looks like this trip was worth it."
Had he recklessly tried to wake Asuna in the real world or confronted the mastermind behind all this, Yui's fate could have been uncertain.
She might have been deleted out of anger by the mastermind.
Or she could have been used as leverage or a hostage to threaten him and Asuna.
One thing was certain: if Asuna were not here in this world, Yui would be discovered and dealt with by the mastermind.
But now, the two person he had been yearning for were safe.
"Sigh…"
Rozen let out a deep breath.
His gaze calmed down.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone