God of Gaming // SAO x Male Reader x Hoyoverse Harem

Chapter 32: Meeting the Parents

A/N: Alright, last chapter in the batch, and i suppose the title says all you need to know, so please enjoy this one, it was rather emotional to write.

Also, i wanted to write a quick note about how ALO will be handled. Considering that the arc kinda... well, it was ass in canon, at least in my opinion, if you enjoyed it, hey, no problem. But i will be taking a couple of liberties with it. For example, magic will not require weird words to cast, instead they will have a cooldown and a cast time instead. The races will still exist as they did in canon, and yes the MC will choose a race, mostly for plot purposes, but it will not change the way he looks, or change the way any character looks. Accept for race features like the cait sith having animal ears and tails... that's not foreshadowing at all. Also, flying will still exist as well. That's all i can think of right now so...

Enjoy :)

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the towering trees, casting dappled shadows across the forest floor as you trudged forward. Your steps, though measured, were unsteady. Each footfall echoed the rhythm of your heartbeat, pounding heavily in your chest, accompanied by the grinding of your teeth—impatience and frustration gnawing at you from within.

You knew it was the right decision to gather the girls before attempting to find Jingliu. Logically, it made sense. But knowing didn't stop the irritation from simmering in your gut. If you had gone to her alone—without their company—the outcome would've been disastrous. You would have done something reckless, something beyond foolish. It wasn't a hypothesis; it was an inevitability.

Eula's earlier words echoed in your mind, a subtle suggestion you had already known to be true: Jingliu loved you. The signs were clear, painfully so. The way she had looked at you that day, her gaze locking onto yours with an intensity that lingered far too long. You remembered every breath she took, her hot breath against your face as she leaned towards you, the slight parting of her lips as she raised herself onto her toes, her crimson eyes gleaming with an emotion too raw to dismiss. You didn't have to be Yoimiya to see it.

And the worst part—the reason you couldn't forgive yourself—wasn't because Eula and Yoimiya had made her feelings fact. No, it was because you reciprocated them. Tenfold. You loved her with an intensity that terrified you.

Y/N: Fuck!

Your fist slammed into the nearest tree, the impact sending a sharp sting through your knuckles. Not hard enough to break the bark, but enough to release some of the pent-up frustration. You panted, leaning your hand against the thick trunk, trying to regain some semblance of control.

Y/N: Just a little longer... Please, Jingliu, just wait a little longer. I promise. I'm not like the others...

You straightened yourself, pushing off the tree, and resumed your pace down the mountain, faster this time. The sound of footsteps behind you grew louder, closing in. You couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. None of them had seen you in over a month and a half, and here you were, reappearing out of nowhere, demanding they drop everything to follow you.

Y/N: (God, I'm pathetic...)

It wasn't long before you emerged from the woods, stepping onto a narrow dirt road. The canopy of leaves that had shielded you earlier was gone, and the full force of the sun bore down relentlessly, making you clench your teeth once more as the footsteps behind grew closer.

You took a couple of deep breaths, straightening your posture, smoothing out the suit you wore. Only moments later, six women emerged from the trees. Two of them were panting, their breaths ragged and uneven, while the others—Eula, Ganyu, Shenhe, and Xianyun—seemed unaffected as they joined you on the road and stared at your back.