Chapter 1009 - Promises Of The Past, Present, And Future After three days of traveling, William and his entourage arrived at the outskirts of a city that belonged to one of the Major Clans in the Demon Continent. The Half-Elf gathered, Zhu, Sha, Kira, Athrun, Vesta, and her two shieldmaidens, to discuss their next course of action. "I plan to rest for a day and resume our traveling tomorrow at noon," William said. "If you guys want to explore that city then you may do so. I will stay in the Thousand Beast Domain for the time being." Vesta immediately crossed her arms over her chest, as she looked at William with a serious expression. "I don't want to enter the city. I plan to visit the Thousand Beast Domain as well." William arched an eyebrow at the green-haired beauty, but he didn't reject her. He then glanced at Kira and Athrun, and both of them nodded their heads in agreement with Vesta's words. In truth, both of them were dying to enter William's Thousand Beast Domain. When the two of them were allowed to enter it for the first time, the Half-Elf only took them to his villa, and didn't allow the two Demons to wander around. This left them feeling quite helpless because they were hoping to do some exploration, to better understand the portable Domain that belonged to the black-haired teenager, who still remained a mystery to them. "Um, Bro, I want to go there as well," Kira said with a smile. "Can I?" "Big Brother, I also want to visit your Domain," Athrun stated. "Can you accommodate this request of mine?" William rubbed his chin as he pondered if he should allow the two Demons to enter his Domain a second time. He didn't mind taking Vesta in because he planned to make the green-haired Demon an ally in the future. After making her two shieldmaidens sign a contract with blood, they were allowed to follow Vesta inside the Domain. Only Kira's and Athrun's retainers were barred entry, because William had no intention of letting too many people wander around the Thousand Beast Domain, because they might accidentally stumble upon things that they weren't supposed to see. "Fine," William answered after a few minutes. "Kira, Athrun, tell your retainers to rest inside the city. We will meet with them at the North Gate tomorrow to continue our journey." "Understood." "Very well." Kira and Athrun went to their men and issued their orders. Right now, William was a wanted person, and several Clans had their eyes on him. Going inside the city wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do because it might cause tension with the local warlord. After the battle against Caspian, and the Rajah Clan, he deemed that it wasn't worth it to show his face in public. He also didn't plan on absorbing any more Clans. There were already nine Minor Clans inside the Thousand Beast Domain that were starting to orient themselves with their new environment. William did his best to provide them with good living conditions by spending God Points to add lakes, rivers, as well as fertile lands that they could farm, and a forest that had many fruit bearing trees. The Half-Elf had also created white sand beaches, where people could take a swim, and enjoy the sunset. In fact, the Minor Clans fell in love with the Thousand Beast Domain, and never wanted to leave it. Although they were surprised at first when they saw several beasts loitering around the Domain, they all understood that all of them belonged to William. The Clans were also forbidden to hunt any of them, and the consequences of killing one of them would be expulsion from his Domain. Everyone took this seriously because they didn't want to give up this wonderful place where they could live in peace. Besides, there were plenty of places to fish, forage, and plant vegetables that they could eat. William's ultimate goal was to make the Thousand Beast Domain self-sustainable, so that it would truly become a miniature world where people and beasts could live in peace. The first thing that Vesta did after entering the Thousand Beast Domain was to go to William's Villa and invite Chiffon to go with her to the theme park. She had become addicted to the gaming arcade that William had expanded during his free time. The green-haired beauty was particularly invested in mastering the songs in the Let's Dance Revolution, in order to set the highest record for all of the songs on it. Chiffon and Medusa were more than happy to accompany her. The three had become something short of rivals, and often challenged each other in arcade fighting games like Takken, and King of Faiters. They also enjoyed the multiplayer shooting games like House of the Dedz, and Taym Crisis. There were times when William regretted taking the girls to the arcade because all of them had become gaming addicts. While everyone went their own ways, the Half-Elf returned to the Villa. There he found Kenneth sleeping in the hammock that he had built recently outside the residence. Ever since the silver-haired Elf had accompanied him in his journey, all he did was sleep. This was why William tossed him inside the Thousand Beast Domain, so he could rest as much as he wanted. "All you know how to do is to sleep," William said as he approached the sleeping Elf. After looking at his peaceful sleeping face, the Half-Elf noticed a small book that was lying on Kenneth's chest. Out of curiosity, William picked it up and opened its pages. He was quite curious about what kind of book Kenneth liked to read, so he decided to take a peek. —-- Third Day of the Month of the High Priestess… The stupid Human tried to pull on my hair, so I decided to teach him a lesson. Hehehe… he looked like a stupid monkey hanging from a branch after I tied him up. —-- Fifth Day of the Month of the High Priestess… It's raining… I hate rain. Sleeping on muddy ground is the worst. —--- Eight Day of the Month of the High Priestess… Why is this Human so annoying? Since I'm too tired to walk, he decided to pull my hair and drag me along, so that we could continue our journey. This is why Humans have no class, they are barbarians. Hehehe, I'll just tie him up in a tree again. This will teach him not to mess with me. —--- Fifteenth Day of the Month of the High Priestess… Not bad. He decided to carry me this time. I don't think I'll mind if we travel as long as he carries me like this. —-- Twenty-secondth Day of the Month of the High Priestess… The Human is burning up with a fever. This is not good. All he does is sleep on the ground. Is he trying to compete with me? If yes, I won't lose. Sleeping is my specialty! —--- Twenty-third Day of the Month of the High Priestess… This is bad… I think this Human is actually dying. Should I do something? But I'm too lazy to move. Okay, I guess I'll just let him die then. —--- Twenty-fourth Day of the Month of the High Priestess… So scary! After pinching, flicking, and pulling on that scary worm, I think I got pregnant! I'm starting to regret helping him recover. This is why Humans are so detestable… but, having a baby doesn't sound bad. At least, I won't be alone, right? —--- William closed the diary, which he thought had been a book at first, before placing it back on Kenneth's chest. The other entries that were written in the book were simply someone cursing the stupid Human, which seemed to be up to no good. The Half-Elf scratched his head as he gazed at the sleeping Elf before walking away with a smile. In truth, William was feeling restless the past few days, so he decided to take a day of rest from traveling because there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that wouldn't go away, no matter how much he tried to ignore it. The diary he had read a while ago amused him enough to momentarily forget the thoughts that were inside his head. Once William entered the villa, he closed the door behind him. The silver-haired Elf who was sleeping on the hammock opened his eyes. He then summoned the silver-ballpoint pen that William had given to him as a gift, and opened the diary. He turned several of its pages. Kenneth then started to write his latest entry in the diary. —-- Fourteenth Day of the Month of The Lovers… The stupid monkey read my diary without my permission. I was forced to fight the urge to wrap my hair around his waist and hang him up in a tree because of his crassness. Doesn't he know the meaning of privacy? Well, I guess it is my fault for sleeping here with my diary out in the open. Next time, I will make sure that I put it in my storage ring before I sleep. —--- After admiring his work for a minute, he returned the diary and ballpoint pen inside his storage ring, and closed his eyes to sleep. A smile hung on his delicate-looking face, as he once again entered his dreamworld, where a silver-haired man, with blue eyes, stood while carrying an Elf in a princess carry. Both of them looked at the picturesque scenery in front of them, that made his heart skip a beat. He had seen this scene a few times already, but he didn't get tired of it. In fact, he even anticipated it. "You see that, Acedia?" the silver-haired man asked the beautiful Elf with long-blonde hair, that he held firmly in his arms. "That's our destination. The Violet Ever Garden." "Beautiful," the long-haired Elf replied. This was one of the very rare occasions when she didn't feel sleepy. Because of this, her memory of the view was quite vivid. The silver-haired man chuckled. "Well, it's not as beautiful as you, Acedia." "Mmm," Acedia hummed. "Will, are you going to leave me once you bring me there?" The smile on William's face stiffened, and the happy expression he had was replaced with a sadness that made Acedia's heart ache. "If I told you that I don't want to leave you, would you believe me?" "I believe you, but you will still leave me, right?" William sighed as he forcefully tore his gaze from Acedia's tear-filled gaze that made his knees weak. Acedia wiped the tears from her eyes with her hands, before shifting her gaze to the promised land where she would spend her eternity by herself. "I wish we didn't go here," Acedia said softly. "That way… this journey of ours, would never come to an end." William closed his eyes, as he held the lady in his arms tighter. For a brief moment, he also wished that their journey would never end. But, all journeys had an end. Both of them understood this, and yet, the thought of parting made them feel uneasy. Acedia pressed her hand over the silver-haired man's chest, as she listened to his beating heart. The beautiful scenery, which both of them loved, faded away. But, before that happened, William had made a promise to her, and she made a promise back. Kenneth's lips moved, as he muttered something in his sleep. It was also at that moment when a tear streamed down his eyes. The memories of the two people slowly faded away, turning into a storm of flowers. "This time… things will be different," Kenneth muttered softly with his eyes closed. Suddenly, he felt something pressing lightly on his face, near the corner of his eyes. Kenneth opened his eyes, and saw William using a handkerchief to wipe the tears that streamed down from his eyes. "What's wrong?" William asked in a teasing tone as he continued to wipe Kenneth's tears away. "Did you get pregnant in your dream and cried due to the pain of childbirth?" Kenneth blinked once then twice, before his hair extended and wrapped itself around William's body, turning him into a Half-Elf spring roll. The silver-haired Elf then hung William on a tree branch upside down, with an annoyed expression on his face. "Stupid monkey," Kenneth said before closing his eyes to sleep again. He completely ignored William's pleas to let him down, and just left the Half-Elf dangling there without a care in the world. On top of the roof of the villa, a giggle escaped Ella's lips. It was very rare for her to see William in such a state and it was pure eye-candy in her eyes. "Oh Will… I wish these days could last forever," Ella said softly with a smile on her face. ''That little baby of long ago, is now a very handsome and dependable young man." Ella looked fondly at William. Although she didn't know what choice her adopted son would choose in the future, she would give him her full support regardless of what it was. That was her duty, and the reason why she transformed into a constellation. To give the helpless, and dangling, teenager, who was wrapped up like a spring roll, a chance to make a choice that would affect the unfulfilled promises of the past, present, and future.