"Acedia, I"m back," William said as he walked towards the Spring of Life.
He was still carrying Erinys in his arms as if afraid that the latter would be taken away from him by the G.o.d of Death if he left her behind.
Several tendrils of hair emerged from the water and grabbed hold of William"s body. The Half-ling in his arms started to panic, because this scene was similar to what happened to her in the Underworld.
"Don"t be afraid," William held Erinys firmly in his arms and tried to coax her. "She will not hurt you."
Erinys clung to William"s robes as if her life depended on it, while his body was lifted into the air and pulled towards the center of the spring where Acedia was waiting for him.
Without even asking for permission, the Half-Elf and the Half-ling were pulled into the spring waters, making Erinys scream a soundless scream.
She then held her breath while she was submerged in water, but soon she was forced to open her mouth, drinking a mouthful of the spring water.
However, instead of drowning she found herself able to breathe underwater. Erinys then stared at a beautiful Elf whose gaze never left her face.
Suddenly, the water in front of Erinys seemed to twist before forming a circle. A moment later, the Half-ling found herself staring at her own reflection.
Her face, which had been left unkempt for an entire week, looked so haggard. However, this image changed as she continued to look at her reflection.
The dark circles that were under her eyes slowly disappeared, and her dry, and chapped, lips returned to their soft and tender appearance.
The Half-ling was reverting to her previous appearance. A doll-like beauty, whose body held no imperfections.
Acedia reached out to caress the side of Erinys" face, while her hair wrapped itself around William and tossed him out of the Spring of Life.
The Half-Elf who had been tossed aside, corrected his position mid-air and sighed. He then descended back down into the spring of life, and checked on the condition of his wives, while Acedia hugged and held Erinys in her arms.
A moment later, her hair picked up Chiffon"s body and brought her close to herself. She then hugged the two little girls in her arms, and closed her eyes in bliss.
Clearly, she had labeled Erinys as another hug pillow due to how adorable she was.
William could only shake his head helplessly as he looked at the Elf, who had now found a new toy to play with.
A few minutes later, the Half-Elf finished inspecting the bodies of his wives, including Chiffon, who was still being held by Acedia.
All of their bodies were still radiating with life. The only thing that was not there were their souls. Even so, William was certain that it wouldn"t take long before they would once again open their eyes, hold him in their embrace and speak words of love.
"It"s time for me to go, Acedia," William said as he tried to pry Erinys away from the Elf"s hold. "You can play with her another time. There are some things that I need to do in the Central Continent, and Erinys is coming with me."
Acedia then opened her eyes to look at William.
"I"m sorry, but I"ll try to finish things as soon as possible to see you again," William said before lowering his head to kiss Acedia"s lips.
When the kiss ended, the Half-Elf was finally able to take Erinys away from Acedia"s hold because the latter had let go of her.
"Keep them safe for me, Acedia," William stated. "I"ll come back for them soon."
"I"ll be waiting," Acedia replied. "But, remember this Will. Be careful of whom you trust. Not everyone who says they love you is your friend."
After saying those words, Acedia closed her eyes and held Chiffon"s body close to her.
William stared at her for a minute before he left the Springs of Life, while carrying Erinys in his arms.
When they had returned to the Sacred Grove, Erinys lightly tapped William"s cheek to catch his attention.
"She"s a weird one," Erinys said. "But, she"s a good person."
"Yes," William replied. "That she is."
After saying goodbye to his mother, William left the Silvermoon Continent behind and went to the Floor of Asgard located in the Tower of Babylon.
As the ruler of the Floor, he could command the Bi-Frost bridge to take him there instantly, anytime he wanted.
The moment he arrived, all of his subordinates present on the Floor of Asgard came to meet him.
"Welcome back, Your Majesty," Nisha said as she gave William a respectful bow. "We are very happy that you have finally returned to the world of the living."
William gave Nisha a brief nod in greeting before asking her the most important question.
"What happened while I was gone?" William asked.
"It"s a long story, so let"s talk in the conference room," Nisha replied before s.h.i.+fting her gaze to the doll-like beauty in William"s arms. "Is she perhaps a souvenir from the Underworld?"
"Something like that," William answered. "Let"s talk first. Tell me everything that happened while I was away. t.i.tania, Medusa, come."
The Fairy Queen who had been trapped inside the Thousand Beast Domain finally made her appearance. While she was there, she was able to see everything that had happened in the Underworld, using her connection with the black-haired teenager.
There were several times when she tried to appear by his side, but there was simply no way to do so. In the end, she was forced to spectate as the Half-Elf journeyed in the Underworld with Erinys by his side.
Because of this, she felt closer to the Half-ling who was now given to Medusa for care.
"Erinys, this is Medusa," William said as he crouched down to pat Medusa"s head. "Do you remember my wife, Chiffon? She is her best friend. She will take care of you inside my Domain. Don"t worry, you"ll be safe there. I will come look for you later after I"m done handling my business, okay?"
Erinys nodded. She understood that the black-haired teenager had many responsibilities in the Surface World, so she decided to let him do his work, and not get in his way.
"Your name is Erinys? It"s a very good name," Medusa grinned before holding Erinys" hand. "Come. Let"s go to the Thousand Beast Domain. I"m sure you will love it there."
The Half-Elf opened a portal to allow the little gorgon to drag the little Half-ling with her, and bring her inside his Domain.
The moment the two disappeared, the black-haired teenager then glanced at his subordinates before walking towards the Palace of Asgard.
Nisha had already informed the others of William"s arrival. She knew that all of them wanted to personally give their reports to him as well.
The veiled-beauty wanted all of the members of the Dark Prince"s to be present in the conference room as they discussed matters of great importance.
That way, they would finally be able to make a plan to put an end to the threat of the Holy Order of Light, once and for all.