"Eskasha, I am not a single man. I already have a family..."
As Askuro's words fell, Eskasha's expression froze in shock. The smile vanished from her face, replaced by confusion, shock, and pain that engulfed her heart as it plunged into an abyss. Askuro's voice echoed in her mind as if coming from a far, distant place. Eskasha's body trembled, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her lips quivered, and her eyes fixed on Askuro's, as if searching for so hint that his words were untrue—that he was joking, trying to surprise her, and did not truly an it. But her heart shattered as she saw no trace of jest in Askuro's eyes.
"Wh... why..."
Eskasha managed to choke out before succumbing to sobs. Her chest felt like it was being torn apart, her heart ripped to pieces by the man she loved with all her being.
Askuro departed, leaving Eskasha to return to the city alone with a broken heart. Heavy snow began to fall, obscuring the view. Chang Long and Thankhun stood rooted in place, silent and unable to process what had just transpired, just as Eskasha herself could not.
The scene shifted. Eskasha was now waving to the public from a balcony on the castle's second floor, wearing a bright and radiant smile. She seed to be fine, as though she had moved past her heartbreak. But when she turned to re-enter the castle, her smile faded. Walking down the hallway to her room, she neither spoke nor smiled at anyone she passed. Chang Long overheard a palace maid speaking to a colleague,
"The princess has been suffering from chronic illness for two months now. Her condition didn't seem better. She might seem cheerful, but her face is pale and sorrowful."
Following Eskasha to her room, Chang Long and Thankhun watched her remove her small crown and place it on a table. She moved to her bed, tears streaming down once more.
"I'm so tired,"
Eskasha murmured softly. She glanced down at her belly, gently caressing it.
"I should rest for a while. I haven't been sleeping well lately."
"Your sleeping pills, Your Highness,"
a maid said, entering the room with a tray. Eskasha opened the bottle and poured three pills into her palm. Alard, the maid quickly protested, but Eskasha had already swallowed the pills. Turning back to the maid, she offered the warst smile she had shown in months.
"I just want to rest,"
she said before lying down. The maid tucked the princess in, gazing at her with concern for a mont before leaving, allowing the Frost Princess to rest—a rest that seed destined to last forever.
The scenes that followed played out rapidly. Her funeral. Her burial. The construction of the Frost Princess Eskasha's morial. Ti passed, and the once-pristine monunt aged, left to decay as her kingdom fell into ruin. Finally, the visions faded, leaving Chang Long and Thankhun standing before the aged morial. Before they could fully comprehend what they had witnessed, the shadowy figure of a small child darted out from within the morial's tomb.
The child appeared to be about two years old, with snow-white skin, strikingly delicate features and light purple eyes. Chang Long and Thankhun initially thought the child was just another lingering illusion, but then another figure erged—a figure they recognized as the Frost Princess. At first, Princess Eskasha did not seem to notice them, reinforcing the belief that she might be part of the illusion. But when she picked up the child and turned to et their gaze, both Chang Long and Thankhun felt chills run down their spines.
"How strange. I never thought anyone would make it here,"
the princess said softly. The child clung tightly to her neck, looking at Chang Long and Thankhun with a mixture of curiosity and fear.
"Princess Eskasha?"
Chang Long murmured, mouth agaped. The princess smiled and said,
"A couple? You two are quite an unusual pair."
It was clear why the princess found them strange. The refined elegance they once carried from Longshan City had been obliterated. After trudging through a snowstorm, though the snowfall had lightened to a re chill now, their current appearance resembled little more than drenched, bedraggled puppies.
"Princess, we've co to find Zhi Yuan,"
Chang Long quickly stated her purpose.
"Oh, that man,"
Eskasha replied, extending a hand toward her morial. From within the monunt, a figure erged—a man in tattered armor, looking visibly weary and worn.
"Zhi Yuan?"
Chang Long asked. The man nodded silently, so she continued,
"We've co to bring you back. Ling Lan asked us to retrieve you."
"Ling Lan!"
Zhi Yuan's face lit up with shock.
"She's still waiting for ? She's still waiting, I thought she had long forgotten , moved on, found soone new, and lived happily ever after. But she's still waiting for ..."
His voice cracked, tears glistening in his eyes.
"True love. I spent my whole life dreaming of it, but even in death, I never found it."
Eskasha murmured softly, a gentle smile gracing her face.
"Death... Princess, are you really dead?"
Chang Long gasped in shock.
"Then, Zhi Yuan, when you walked through that sealed door earlier..."
"I too am no longer alive. The Zhi Yuan you're speaking to is rely a spirit,"
the ghostly figure replied somberly. After five years trapped in this desolate land, survival had been impossible.
"Then the child..."
Thankhun trailed off. Where could they have co from? He could not fathom the origin of this little one.
"That ti, before you passed. Princess, you touched your belly. Could it be that you're..."
Chang Long's jaw was hanging open in shock.
"I never realized the sleeping pills would be so potent. I only wanted to rest, deeply, to forget what happened to , to forget the heartbreak of an unfulfilled love. It's so painful, but what ca after was even worse. Whatever the future holds for you two, don't ever harm yourselves as I did..."
Princess Eskasha said sadly. Then, she let the squirming child down. The little one imdiately ran off to play gleefully.
"Let's go, Zhi Yuan. Let's return to Ling Lan,"
Thankhun said firmly. Zhi Yuan nodded, then glanced in a particular direction.
"My body. Can you help bring it back? I want my remains to return to where I was born." Chang Long and Thankhun nodded. Zhi Yuan led them to where his lifeless body lay. Five years had passed, and all that remained were tattered clothes, armor, and his skeletal remains. Thankhun removed his cloak and carefully wrapped Zhi Yuan's remains. As soon as they finished, a system notification sounded:
"Players Chang Long and Thankhun have completed the first part of the Couple's Quest. The system will now transport both players back to Longshan City automatically."
Before they could process what was happening, they were teleported back to Longshan City. When their feet touched solid ground, they found themselves at the southern gate of the city. Their sudden appearance drew the attention of nearby players. Since no one had ever witnessed players materialize in front of the gate like this before. So even laughed at their bedraggled appearances. Ignoring the curious stares and whispers, Chang Long and Thankhun hurried into the city.
Making their way to Ling Lan's house, they did not notice that they were no longer stuck together, they had been in the Land Below.
When Ling Lan and Zhi Yuan saw each other for the first ti, they paused for a long while, gazing at one another as if afraid that the other might vanish if they looked away. They called each other's nas repeatedly and rushed into an embrace. Chang Long and Thankhun were about to warn them but froze instead. Ling Lan and Zhi Yuan hugged tightly—contrary to their expectations. Humans and spirits could see each other, but physical contact was not supposed to be possible. Unless...
"We've been tricked by ghosts,"
Chang Long huffed in annoyance.
"Huh?"
Thankhun frowned, turning to her.
"They're both spirits. If this isn't being tricked by ghosts, then what is it?"
Chang Long pouted.
"But Ling Lan hugged you back then,"
Thankhun pointed out.
"That must've been due to so quest condition or sothing. Who knows?" Chang Long replied dismissively, then turned to the two spirits who were still lost in their reunion.
"Hey, is this quest over yet?"
She asked irritably.
"Not yet. Please, Chang Long, we want to get married. Even as spirits, we wish to..."
"What do you need us to do?"
Chang Long cut her off quickly, eager to avoid hearing any more dramatics from the ghostly bride.
"Nearby, there's a church. The AI Christian priest can conduct the ceremony for us. All you need to do is bring our ashes to the ceremony," Ling Lan explained, her face brimming with hope. The ashes of Zhi Yuan's bones, who had burned himself to completion, were placed in a fine white ceramic urn, just like Ling Lan's. Chang Long and Thankhun each carried one urn, eager to complete the quest and move on. They did not ask too many questions, even though they wondered how a wedding ceremony could proceed with just ashes—especially when spirits could not enter sacred places.
Upon reaching the church, the AI priest seed to instinctively know his role. He stepped forward to greet Chang Long and Thankhun and accepted the urns containing Ling Lan and Zhi Yuan's ashes. Chang Long expected the system to announce the quest's completion, but nothing happened. Instead, the priest smiled warmly at them and beckoned,
"Please, step onto the altar so I can conduct the wedding ceremony."
Both Chang Long and Thankhun froze in shock. The priest added,
"The ashes need witnesses, don't they? Without responses from the bride and groom, how can the ceremony be completed?"
Grinding her teeth in frustration, Chang Long stepped onto the altar first. The system's announcent imdiately rang out, leaving her agape. Thankhun, curious by her reaction, followed her onto the altar. As his foot touched the altar, the announcent froze him too.
"Th... The groom?"
Chang Long stamred, her mouth hanging open.
"Th... The bride? !"
Thankhun echoed, equally dumbfounded.
Since Chang Long had stepped onto the altar first, the system designated her as the groom. Thankhun, arriving second, beca the bride. Once the ceremony was complete, Chang Long would officially be the husband, and Thankhun would be the wife. Seething with anger at Ling Lan, the Couple's Quest, and the absurd system logic that designated their positions by order, they had no choice but to play along. This was the last part of the quest.
"Players Chang Long and Thankhun have completed the Couple's Quest, receiving one pair of wedding rings, one wedding outfit, and two discount vouchers for wedding reception hotel bookings. Players Chang Long and Thankhun have unlocked the Lover and Wedding systems, enabling all players to hold wedding ceremonies and achieve Couple or Married status."
As the announcent ended, the rings given to them at the start of the quest glowed briefly before vanishing. When they checked their statuses, they found the Couple status had also disappeared. Both were now back in the outfits they had worn before starting the quest. Before they could discuss what had happened, a ga-wide announcent echoed throughout:
"The Lover and Wedding systems have been unlocked. All players can now hold wedding ceremonies and achieve Couple or Married status."
This announcent sent waves of excitent through the ga, particularly among female players—many of whom did not yet have partners but were thrilled the system was finally functional. Speculation about how the lover and wedding system were unlocked, caused such a flood of ssages that the public communication channel nearly crashed as countless players voiced their theories.
Chang Long and Thankhun exchanged glances. At that mont, they were officially no longer tied to each other in any way. A subtle sense of loss lingered between them, but neither spoke a word until the signal on Thankhun's wristwatch-phone buzzed. They bid each other farewell and went their separate ways.
"Lord of Spirits!" Chang Long, unsure where to go next, turned toward the voice calling her na. She was mildly startled to see who it was.
"You?"
.....
The ga between Aswa's group and the clowns continued in chaotic disarray. They split into three teams to play different gas with the clowns simultaneously, hoping to save ti. After Lost Martial Artist boldly triggered a full-on battle, no one dared to provoke the clowns again. They feared the entire gang would annihilate their group of just over thirty in an instant.
The first group, led by Ma, was shaking with suppressed laughter. If they laughed, their base stats would drop, and the clowns would punish the laughing culprit imdiately by attacking with their weapons. The second group, led by Aswa, was playing a card ga. They had to draw cards from a pile and pair them with the cards the clowns drew. For example, if a clown drew a flower card, Aswa's group needed to find a matching vase card from the ss of scattered cards within a set ti limit.
The third group, led by Lost Martial Artist, was engaged in a group brawl. The results were shocking—although the clowns were not particularly high-level, their sheer numbers outmatched the players. Fortunately, the clowns lacked advanced skills beyond their ability to reduce base stats by provoking laughter, and they did not have crystals to consu for power-ups like the players did.
Small clowns were easy to take down in one-on-one fights, but in this chaotic lee, other clown groups cheered, jeered, and laughed raucously. Worse, if any player's skills accidentally hit a clown from another group, that group would imdiately draw their weapons and join the fray.
Aswa had no choice. Seeing his subordinates struggling, he stepped in to help. This caused the clowns he was playing cards with to draw their weapons and attack him as well. The battle escalated further when Ma's group joined the fight, bringing along their own clowns, who imdiately ard themselves and entered the fray.
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Read 'Adventure World Online (AWO)' before anyone else with more chapters at sjinovel/en
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