The otherworldly beauty walked towards William with steady steps. She walked upon the water’s surface as if she was walking on land. When she was only ten meters away from the Silver-Haired William, she stopped and raised a hand.
“If you were an ordinary mortal, I would have bestowed a simple quest upon you,” Ashe said in that same cold voice that was devoid of feelings. “Unfortunately, you are no ordinary man. The bloodline of Pendragon flows inside your veins, so mundane quests would not be suitable for you.”
“I will accept any quest that you will bestow upon me, Your Excellency.”
“Very well, young Pendragon. Since it is a quest that you seek… a quest you shall get.”
A water mirror appeared between Ashe and the Silver-Haired William. Soon, the image of an Elf, who seemed to be in deep sleep appeared on the mirror’s surface.
“In the land of Alfheim, where the Elves reside, there is a girl that goes by the name Acedia,” Ashe said cooly. “Your quest is to bring her to the Violet Ever Garden, where she will remain for the rest of her life. Once you accomplish this quest, you can return to me to receive your reward and my blessing.”
The Silver-Haired William looked at the sleeping Elf in the water mirror and burned her image inside his memory.
The Red-Headed William walked in front of his adult self and also looked at the mirror. There, he saw a sleeping Elf with very long golden hair that extended to the ground around her.
The corner of WIlliam’s lips twitched as he saw the Rapunzel-like Sleeping Beauty on the surface of the water mirror.
For some unknown reason, he felt that the sleeping girl was familiar to him. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall who she was.
Even so, the familiar feeling coming from the golden-haired girl, who was sleeping peacefully on a bed of roses, made his heart ache. He couldn’t understand why he was feeling this way. Yet, William knew with certainty that he knew who she was.
While William was deep in his thoughts, the adult William inquired of The Lady of The Lake how he would get to Alfheim from Midgard.
The red-haired William decided to put the issue of the sleeping elf girl to the side for the time being as he listened to Ashe’s reply.
“Located in the East, deep within the Bridgefell Grove, lies an Old Oak Tree,” Ashe answered. “It is the biggest and tallest tree in the forest, so you will identify it right away. On the ninth hour, of the ninth day, of the ninth month, a portal between Midgard and Alfheim will appear at the base of the Old Oak Tree.
“You may enter Alfheim through this passage. However, know that this passage only opens once a year. If you want to return to Midgard, you have to return on the ninth hour, of the ninth day, of the ninth month, and cross the bridge between the worlds once again.”
The Silver-Haired William said his thanks and bid goodbye to the Lady who was looking at him with a cold expression.
The red-haired William watched his adult self walk away as he rubbed his chin in thought.
‘Are these dreams perhaps connected?’ William thought. ‘Or is it just a coincidence?’
Asgard, Midgard, and now Alfheim. The three worlds that resided within the World Tree Yggdrasil were both familiar and unfamiliar to William. He had heard about them when he had learned a little bit about Norse Mythology, but his knowledge about it was superficial.
He only knew about Odin, Thor, Freya, and Midgard. As for the rest, he had no idea at all!
“Fool.”
An irritated voice passed through his ears and William hurriedly looked at the Lady of the Lake who was glaring in the Silver-Haired William’s direction.
“You didn’t even recognize me after I saved you from drowning when you were eight years old!” The Lady of the Lake’s aloof expression broke down as she gnashed her teeth in anger. “Back then you said you would marry me, but after ten years, you’ve completely forgotten about me. I knew that Humans couldn’t be trusted! All of you are thick-headed fools who only know about chivalry and fighting. I hope your head gets kicked by a donkey!”
After saying a few more curses the Lady of the Lake returned to the depths of the water. The lake once again returned to its peaceful state as if the earlier event hadn’t happened.
William scratched his head because he was at a loss on what to do. The dream was coming to an end and the world was turning blurry. This meant that Ashe was about to wake up.
The red-headed boy came to see if Ashe was alright by entering her dream. However, what he didn’t expect was that he would come upon a scene, which made him wonder if the dreams had another significant meaning aside from being dreams.
—–
Ashe opened her eyes and found herself in a familiar room. She was still half asleep, but she could feel two sets of hands that were hugging her from her left and right sides.
“Do you feel anything strange?” William asked. “Are you hurting anywhere?”
Ashe’s drowsiness faded away when she heard the concern in William’s voice. It was as if the haze inside her mind was slowly clearing away and it made her think more clearly.
“My head just hurts a bit, but aside from that, I am fine,” Ashe replied. “What happened to me? The last thing I remembered was going out of the Dungeon. I can’t remember anything after that.”
William sighed as he held her hand firmly. He was relieved that Ashe was only feeling a light headache and there were no severe side-effects from being possessed by a Demigod.
“I’ll tell you everything,” William said softly.
He then narrated what happened after they left the Dungeon and came upon the City of Atlantis. William didn’t hide anything and told Ashe the conversation he had with the Demigod. The Half-Elf didn’t tell her anything about the dream because he didn’t know if it was just a one time thing or not.
He planned to visit Ashe’s dreams several times before he passed on his judgement on whether her dream was connected with Wendy’s dream or just a coincidence.
His Incubus Job Class was an incomplete version, so the powers that came with it were also not complete. The only time he would be able to use the power Dream Weaver, instead of Dream Walker, was when he had come of age and visited a Temple to talk with the Goddess Eros.
Until then, William could only use his powers as an Incubus to subtly manipulate a dream and guide it to his intended result. The chances of this succeeding were not that high, but it was still better than being carried like a leaf on the river’s surface.
Unable to fight against the flow and being forced to be carried along with it.
