"I want to go to the Marduk Forest."
"No"
"I am going."
"You are not."
"Then I will leave when you are asleep."
"You will not"
"Yes, I won't. But I am going to the Marduk Forest."
"William, we have talked about this already. It's dangerous to go there, and you want to go there alone."
"I want to go there because it's dangerous. And if I take anyone with me, you will kill the monsters before I am in any danger!"
SIGH
Ophiscus sighed in exhaustion; he was tired of arguing with his son. After the battle, William came to see him in the office and declared that he was going to the Marduk Forest alone. He tried to convince William not to go. But William was adamant about going and wasn't accepting "no" for an answer.
'What should I do? If his mothers find out that I agreed to him going there alone, they will kill me!' The Marduk forest was a dangerous place. It had many monsters and cannibalistic tribes. And the ruler of that place was a saint; it was known to be aggressive towards those who encroach on its lands. Even though it comes under my rule, I can't just send him out there all alone.'
SIGH
"You are not going anywhere, and this is final!" Ophiscus ordered sternly, his golden eyes shone in fierce light as he stared at his son.
William, too, met his gaze with the same determination and replied, "And I'm telling you that I am going, and no one can stop me!"
The father-son pair stared at each other with sparks flying between them. 'I need to go to that forest alone and get stronger.' His hands curled up into fists while he clenched his jaw. 'I don't want to see Mother like that.' He muttered inwardly, recalling the scene of his dead mother.
Tears threatened to come out of his eyes, recalling that scene. Every day, William would get nightmares. About his family dying because he wasn't powerful enough. Yesterday, he dreamed of Lyra getting stabbed in her heart. But the worst part is that she blamed her death on him: 'You are the reason we all died!'
'I have to get stronger!' Just as William was about to ask his father again, a knock was heard.
.KNOCK KNOCK
"Enter," Ophiscus said while gazing at William.
William, too, took a deep breath and relaxed a little. He turned to the door to see who it was, but he was surprised to see Achlys, daughter of Amaris, the princess of the Ravina continent. And Seraphina, daughter of Lucien, the heir of the Holy continent. Achlys and Seraphina had been staying in the Spade mansion for a while.
They wanted to get close to William, but they didn't have any chance to. Frustrated, they wanted to meet Ophiscus and try to get William to spend some time with them.
"William!" Achlys exclaimed; she was surprised to see him here. "Oh! William, I didn't know you were here. Did we come at the wrong time? If you want, we can wait," Seraphina said with a smile on her face.
As William was about to say something, Ophiscus interrupted him and said, "It's nothing; we just decided on something, isn't that right, William?"
William glared at his father, who was smiling threateningly, daring him to continue. But William smiled at him slyly and said, "Yes, Father has just given me permission to go to the Marduk Forest to train."
'This bastard.....!' Ophiscus's mouth twitched heavily as he ground his teeth while glaring at his rebellious son.
"Oh! Really! Can we join!?" Seraphina asked while clasping her hands. She was quick to grab onto an opportunity to spend time with William. 'We are going to be husband and wife after all!' Seraphina mumbled inwardly.
Achlys, too, looked at William expectantly, hoping for him to agree. 'I have to get closer to him; it's the only way for my family to survive the oncoming disaster.' William smiled at the two women who had stars shining in their eyes; 'Father can't order them, and I can also appease mothers by saying that they are coming with me.'
"Yes, Of course." He replied, clearly ignoring his father's orders. "Why don't we inform mothers about this?"
The trio then left the room, leaving a dumbfounded Ophiscus behind.
SIGH
"Why did he change so much? Even that in a few weeks?" Ophiscus mumbled as he massaged his temples.
"Fufufu, looks like the young master has grown really well," Sebastian muttered as he emerged from the darkness behind Ophiscus.
"Ugh!" Ophiscus grumbled. "Why do you think he has changed so much? He is even disobeying me!"
At his complaint, Sebastian's grin disappeared and a serious look adorned his face. "You're forgetting something, master," Sebastian muttered; he stared at the door while he continued, "Young Master William has become an amateur too quickly. As you know, our bodies adapt to the power in our core."
"So you are saying that William didn't change but adapted to his power?"
"Yes, and since he advanced so fast…" his voice trailed off, looking at his master.
"It appears as if he has changed," Ophiscus muttered.
"Yes," Sebastian said while nodding his head.
"Haaah!" Ophiscus sighed as he leaned back in his chair; he began to rub his temples in exhaustion. The war with the traitors, the incoming army, the preparations, and time with his family. It was taking a toll on him.
"Master, why don't you take a day off and spend time with your family? I will inform you if something happens," Sebastian suggested.
SIGH
"Alright. Thank you, Sebastian." Ophiscus thanked and left the room to find his wives. 'Ugh! I can already imagine them fuming with anger.'
He lazily walked toward his room, clearly not excited to meet his wives right now. "Absolutely not!" Ophiscus heard a shout resounding in the hall as he neared his chambers.
'Ugh!' he grumbled inwardly while he slowed his pace even further. He opened the door and entered, "Hey...." As Ophiscus was about to greet his wives, he was cut off by Carina, who was glaring daggers at William: "You are not going anywhere, young man!"
"But I am going!" William retorted. He had a frown on his face while he clenched his fists. 'Why is everybody stopping me?' William wondered; he was getting frustrated that he had to explain everything.
"I am going, and if you try to stop me, I will stop talking to you. HMPH," William snorted. It might seem childish to think that it would work.
GASP
But, for his mothers who loved their children more than anything else. It was like a death sentence! William's threat worked like a charm.
"W-William, you are joking, right? You are not going to stop talking to your mother, right? ... right?" Ara asked, her chin trembling as she spoke.
Aquila and Carina too had similar reactions. Their son ignoring them? Absolutely not. They can't let that happen!
"N-No need to go that far, William. We can talk about this," Carina tried to appease him. But,
HMPH
William snorted at her and turned to the side. He was determined to go to the forest.
SIGH
The trio sighed simultaneously. Aquila walked forward and stood in front of William and said, "Alright, you can go to the forest."
"B-But," as Carina and Ara were about to object, Aquila cut them off and said, "I will be coming with you."
"No!" William rejected. If Aquila comes with him, then there will be no danger for him.
Aquila, however, shook her head in denial and said, "This is the most you can get. Take it or leave it." She put on a brave front, though inwardly she hoped he would agree. 'Please say yes, please say yes.' She was anxious that he might reject her and insist on going alone.
William thought about her offer for a while before he finally caved and said, "Fine, but you cannot come and kill the monsters until I am about to die." Aquila nodded her head like a chicken while Carina and Ara sighed in relief. They can rest easy knowing that Aquila is going with them.
William jumped out in joy and ran out to inform Seraphina and Achlys. They didn't come with him, knowing that his mothers might get angry.
Carina turned to the door and noticed Ophiscus. She glared daggers at him for agreeing to send their son to a dangerous forest without any protection.
HMPH
She snorted at him and turned away. Aquila and Ara, too, who had noticed their husband at the entrance, snorted at him angrily before they walked into their bedroom, closing the door behind them.
'Ah!' Ophiscus began to lament his life. 'What did I do to deserve this?' He trudged toward the sofa at the center of the room. His shoulders, which gave strength to his people, slouched defeatedly.
.....
William ran through the mansion corridors and found Achlys and Seraphina sitting in the garden.
The duo, noticing William coming toward them, turned and looked at him expectantly. "So?" William nodded as he smiled victoriously and said, "We are going."