Chapter 872 - Raizel"s Last Goodbye
William, Lilith, Raizel, and Cathy had breakfast together inside the Glory Shelter.
It was their last day in the Deadlands and all of them would leave after they finished eating. Raizel proposed that they should have one final breakfast before they go.
Xenovia was already at the stairs, waiting for their arrival. Since she decided to come with William, she would enter the Thousand Beast Domain, instead of going through the Golden Portal.
The four of them ate in silence as if they no longer had words to say to each other. Everyone had calm expressions on their faces, but deep inside, their feelings were in turmoil.
Half an hour later, William, Lilith, and Raizel, walked hand in hand with the young beauty at the center.
It was as if they were a family of three taking a stroll through an abandoned ghost town like those in apocalyptic novels.
Cathy walked a few steps behind them and observed the three in front of her with a calm expression on her face.
Deep inside, she wanted to join the four of them, and walk hand in hand, but she knew that this would just ruin the mood, so she kept her distance.
It was not the right time for her to hold the Half-Elf"s hand in public, for their timelines still hadn"t intersected with each other.
Even so, she was still happy.
She had been waiting in the Deadlands for a very long time. Shedding many faces, as to not let anyone know what she really looked like.
In fact, Cathy herself had forgotten what she really looked like.
Cathy was just one of the many names she had used in countless lifetimes. However, right now, this was her name.
Cathy.
A name that she would use when the world descended into darkness, and no hope could be found.
When the four of them arrived at the base of the stairway, Lilith stopped walking, making William and Raizel look at her.
"I can"t after all," Lilith said as she looked at William with a serious expression. "I can"t leave just yet."
"Why?" William asked.
"Do you still need to ask?" Lilith complained with a beet-red face. "Must I spell it out to you before you understand?"
William blinked as he connected the dots in his head. Lilith had no attachments to the Deadlands. The Half-Elf was sure of this, which means that there was only one reason why she refused to leave and that was…
William and Lilith looked at Raizel who had a devilish smile on her face.
The young beauty giggled as she walked four steps up the stairway before facing the two most important people in the world to her.
"The Deadlands is a dead place," Raizel said with a smile. "It means that it"s impossible to create a life in this world."
"Hah?"
"What?"
William and Lilith looked at the young beauty who had stuck out her tongue at them.
The two then glanced at each other in disbelief before their faces turned red as a tomato when they realized that the two of them had been duped.
In order to conceive the mischievous young beauty in front of them, the two had been doing it like rabbits for the past few days until their hips ached.
"Come here, you little girl!" Lilith roared as she ran after Raizel who had started to run up the stairs while laughing merrily.
Cathy chuckled as she walked beside William and held his hand. "Your future daughter is a troll. I wonder where she inherited that trait from?"
"Definitely her mother"s side of the family," William answered in a heartbeat.
Xenovia whistled as she walked towards William with a scrutinizing gaze.
"What is this I see? An affair?" Xenovia laughed. "You sure have guts, I"ll give you that, Will."
William smirked. "What can I say? Being handsome is a sin."
"Tsk. I"m starting to regret my decision of becoming your subordinate."
"You can still back out, you know?"
Xenovia chuckled as she shook her head. "Nah, I"ll see how this Fairy Tale of yours will end. I"m a sucker for Happy Endings, so make sure to give me that."
William smiled. "No promises. The future looks very bleak."
"Right. Even so, I want to see it until the end."
"Good. I also want to see how it will end."
After their little bit of small talk, William sent Xenovia to his Thousand Beast Domain. Having her around would definitely bolster his forces, so he was very glad to have her join his army.
"Let"s go," Cathy said as he pulled William up the stairs.
"Mmm." The Half-Elf hummed as he started to climb up the staircase with her.
They walked casually, as they took in the sights of the Deadlands.
"Are you bringing everything with you?" Cathy asked as he gently squeezed William"s hand. It was her way of telling him that she would miss him after they parted.
The Half-Elf nodded as he also held her hand tightly. "Lilith and Raizel enjoyed the theme park. I was thinking of repairing it completely, so that we will have our own private theme park that we can use anytime."
"Sounds wonderful, you do that."
"I will."
As they neared the Mother and Daughter pair who were standing three stairways away from the Golden Portal, William let go of Cathy"s hand as he turned his head to look at the entirety of the Deadlands.
This was the first time that he was looking down on it in its entirety and it filled him with awe.
He didn"t know how the Deadlands were created, but he was sure of one thing. The buildings, and other establishments, definitely came from Earth.
William knew that the only one that could tell him how this world was created was the cloaked figure who had killed Raizel in front of him. If possible, he didn"t want to meet him a second time.
The Half-Elf breathed in deeply as he spread his arms wide. Sweat formed on his forehead as he raised his hands at the same time.
As if to answer his summons, the entirety of the Deadlands rose up in the air, leaving only the sea behind in its wake.
"Merge." William ordered as he made a pulling gesture.
The Deadlands then transformed into particles of light and flew towards the gem on his chest. It was a beautiful and surreal scene that awed Lilith, Raizel, and Cathy.
A full five minutes pa.s.sed before the entirety of the Deadlands had been absorbed by the gem in William"s chest.
Closing his eyes, he used his consciousness to place the Deadlands at the West of the Thousand Beast Domain, shocking those who had made the domain their home.
He knew that his subordinates would definitely explore this new addition to their world, and was even looking forward to their reactions once he had repaired the entire city.
This would be his future project, and it would probably take a long time to have it up and running. William was not in a hurry. He still had many things to do, and knew where his priorities were.
When he opened his eyes, the Deadlands were no more. The only thing that was left were the memories they had left behind.
"Well then, it"s time to take my leave," Cathy said. "See you when I see you, Will."
Cathy gave Lilith a side-long glance before tiptoeing to kiss William"s lips. The kiss only lasted for a few seconds, before the pretty lady pulled back.
She then walked towards the golden portal with a smile on her face.
"Let"s all meet again in the future."
Cathy said those parting words before stepping inside the portal, leaving William, Lilith, and Raizel, behind.
The young beauty then took a deep breath, as she pulled William"s and Lilith"s hand.
William and Lilith shared a knowing glance and they both wrapped their arms around Raizel, hugging her tightly.
"I won"t say goodbye," Raizel said as she felt the warmth and love of the two people by her side. "The only thing I will say is see you soon."
Lilith kissed Raizel"s forehead and cheeks lovingly as she tried hard not to cry.
"Yes, we will see each other soon," Lilith replied. "Definitely."
William nodded his head, as he too kissed Raizel"s forehead and cheek.
"Raizel, just tell me one thing," William said with a serious expression on his face. "Was I a good father?"
Raizel nodded her head. "Although you have many shortcomings, you are definitely the best father I could have wished for."
"How about me?" Lilith felt compet.i.tive and decided to ask the same question as William. "Was I a good mother?"
"The best mother in the world," Raizel answered with a smile.
"Who do you love more?" Lilith inquired. "Me or your father?"
William suddenly felt a sense of crisis. Something inside him was dreading the answer to Lilith"s question.
"Secret." Raizel giggled. "Not telling!"
William sighed, while Lilith pouted.
One felt relieved, while the other was disappointed.
"Let"s go, Ma, Pa," Raizel said softly. "I want to hold the two of you again, in the future."
William closed his eyes as he enveloped the three of them with a gentle breeze that made them float towards the golden portal while they continued to hold each other.
As they pa.s.sed through the golden portal, the three of them found themselves in what seemed to be a golden tunnel. Raizel"s body, which was locked in their protective embrace, slowly started to turn into particles of light.
Lilith cried out in panic, but the young beauty only shook her head as she gazed lovingly at the Amazon Princess.
"I belong in a different timeline, so it"s only natural that I cannot accompany both of you to where you are right now," Raizel stated. "Ma, do not cry. Like I said earlier, this is not goodbye, but see you soon."
"Yes," Lilith replied as the tears in her eyes fell like rain. "I"ll see you soon."
Raizel smiled as she turned her head to William. "Pa…"
Once again Raizel hesitated as she bit her lip.
"It"s fine," William said as he held her tight. "You don"t need to say anything. Whatever happens, I will face it with everything I have."
Raizel closed her eyes as tears streamed down the side of her face.
"Un…"
A sigh escaped Raizel"s lips as her entire body turned into particles of light, headed towards the light that would bring her to the future.
Lilith buried her face on William"s chest as she cried her heart out. The red-headed teenager hugged her tight, as their bodies slowly turned into particles of light.
Headed towards the present, that would pave the path to the future.
—-
Raizel covered her eyes with the palm of her hands as she cried bitterly.
She had once again reappeared where she had been before she appeared in the Deadlands.
A few moments later, growling and snarling sounds reached her ears as countless Myriad Beasts encircled her delicate and frail figure.
She had entered a different Forbidden Land in search of a treasure that was very important to her. However, after searching for it for a very long time, she fell into a trap and found herself surrounded on all sides by Monsters that she had no hope of defeating.
The Young Beauty brushed away the tears on her face as she summoned Gleipnir. She then turned it into a Golden La.s.so that encircled her like a viper.
Although she knew that this was a futile action on her part, she would not allow herself to die without honor.
She was an Amazon Princess, and until she drew her last breath, she would never surrender till the bitter end.
"Come!" Raizel shouted. "I will take you all to h.e.l.l with me!"
That was the last thing she said before the monsters lunged at her, with the intention of feasting on her body until not even her bones were left.