William sat in front of the World Tree in the Lotus position.
He had been meditating for the past few hours, while waiting for midnight so he could enter the Underworld.
His father, Maxwell, had told him that he could only open the path, but as to how William would reach his destination, it was all up to his ability.
Using the memories of the World Tree, Maxwell told William the things he needed to know about the Underworld.
For one thing, he wasn’t supposed to eat anything that came from that world. Second, when he left it, he mustn’t look back, no matter who or what was calling out to him.
As long as he was able to meet these two conditions, he would be able to return to the world of the living, without suffering any side-effects from his journey to the Underworld.
“It’s almost time.”
Maxwell’s voice resounded inside William’s sea of consciousness, prompting the Half-Elf to end his meditation and open his eyes.
“The entrance to the Underworld will open for only ten breaths,” Maxwell said solemnly. “Once it is open, make haste. The World Tree can only open it once a month. However, if you fail to enter it tonight, you will have to wait a full year before you can try again. As to how you will return, you will need to find the answer on your own. This is only a one-way trip.”
William nodded his head in understanding. He had already left Soleil with his mother. The only problem was whether he would be able to travel from the Underworld to the Lands of the Living, with this method.
The moment the Half-Elf nodded his head, dark storm clouds covered the star-studded sky above his head. Lightning crackled, and thunder roared.
The very fabric of the world was being forcefully torn apart as the passageway that led to the Underworld appeared at the base of the World Tree.
A second later, a black lightning bolt passed through the portal, leaving the Sacred Grove behind.
It didn’t take long before the portal closed again.
The dark clouds covering the sky disappeared, allowing the beautiful stars to shine upon the land. Everything returned to its peaceful state, making what happened earlier seem like a figment of someone’s imagination.
Arwen gazed to the place where her son disappeared with her hands crossed over her chest. She knew that this was no ordinary undertaking, and William’s life might be at risk, but she didn’t say anything to try and persuade him, or stop him from going.
Arwen liked to believe that her son would be able to bring back the four women who loved him so much that Ahriman killed them for trying to save him during the battle inside his Domain.
“Be safe Will,” Arwen muttered as she pressed her hands together in prayer. “I, and those who care for you, will be waiting for your return.
——
William passed through a tunnel that was constantly changing.
If an ordinary person would traverse it, they would find themselves hard pressed to push forward because the path spiraled up, down, left, right, and center.
The Half-Elf was certain that he had already been flying for what seemed to be an hour, and yet, the path in front of him seemed unending.
Finally, as the second hour passed, William saw a red light in the distance.
As he neared his destination, he noticed that the small red light he saw was actually a river of flames.
The moment he stepped out of the tunnel he was traveling through, his feet immediately landed on the riverbank, making him feel as if he had just jumped off a speeding truck.
Fortunately, he was stronger than an ordinary mortal, or he might have collapsed on the ground, and rolled towards the flaming river.
William didn’t really know if he would burn up if he happened to fall on it, but something was telling him that he didn’t have the leisure to find out the answer to this question.
As William scanned his surroundings, looking for a way to continue his journey, he noticed a small wooden platform in the distance, where several people were lining up.
It looked like an old, decrepit port that could easily collapse at any given time. However, the Half-Elf felt that this was the place he needed to go if he wished to continue his journey into the Underworld.
When he was only several meters away from the port, the people that were on the queue looked at him with a glare.
“Wait, I know you!” a Demon with a missing ear shouted. “You’re that blasted Dark Prince who attacked our camp in the Elun Empire!”
“Oh! Now that you mention it, he does look like that person.”
“Fool. He just doesn’t look like him. He is him!”
“Hahaha! So, you also died? What a joke. It seems that in the end, Felix, and Ahriman, had the last laugh.”
All the Demons on the queue started to laugh. They were the Demons that had died in the war, and although they didn’t like Felix, they also hated anyone with the surname Ainsworth.
Eve was an exception. Everyone loved her, and even the battle-hardened Demons treated her with respect.
William ignored their taunts, and simply looked at the long line of souls in the distance. He was wondering whether he should line up, or he should just beat the sh*t out of the Demons who were at the front of the queue, so he could save himself the trouble of wasting his time.
Just before the Half-Elf was about to make a decision, the ringing sound of a bell was heard in the distance.
Slowly, but surely, a boat started to appear on the fiery river.
Riding on top of it was someone wearing black robes, and holding a lit lantern in his decrepit hand.
The black-haired teenager had read, and heard, stories about a being that ferried the dead in the Underworld.
The Half-Elf had no doubt in his mind that if he wished to reunite with his wives, the first thing he needed to do was to ride the boat, and somehow convince the ferryman to take him where he wanted to go.
A journey that would shake the very foundations of the Underworld, was about to begin.
