Within that blood-stained world, William laid on Celine's lap. He was sleeping very deeply. His body, heart, and soul were very tired. The young boy hadn't slept much during those six months that he had been away from Lont and it had taken its toll on his body.
Celine had a feeling that William had just wanted to return to Lont before he closed himself off from the world. Right now, she had a vague feeling that the boy had no intention of ever waking up from his slumber.
It was as if he had gone into a self-inflicted coma without knowing when he would open his eyes again.
"Did we make a mistake?" Celine muttered as she gently caressed the side of William's face. "Did we push you too much? Did it hurt you that deeply?"
She wanted to know the answers to her questions, but no answer came. William's sleeping face, that used to look peaceful and attractive, was now pale and rigid. She could even see the slight frown that creased the corners of his face, and it made her wonder if the boy was still in pain even in his comatose state.
----
James sighed for the umpteenth time as he stood on the hill overlooking Lont. His gaze was turned to the South where Celine's house was located.
He had already received a message from Celine about William's current condition and it filled him with endless worry.
A week had already passed since William had entered a catatonic state, and only Owen's nutritional potions were maintaining the functions of his body.
The old man wracked his brains to find an answer to his problem, but all of the solutions he thought up came to a dead end. He didn't dare to try and forcefully wake his grandson from his current state, because it might cause his consciousness to be wiped out completely.
'I should have waited until he was older.' James blamed himself for his stupidity. 'Everything was going smoothly and I ruined it all.'
While James was in the midst of his self blame, the sound of a bell reached his ears.
The old man raised his head to look behind him and saw Ella walking in his direction. For a brief moment, James thought that he saw a look of disapproval on the goat's face. When the goat was only a meter away from him, she turned her back and… kicked him!
James was completely caught by surprise and didn't have time to defend himself. He never thought that the goat that he had raised since she was a young kid, would attempt to kick him when he was feeling down and depressed.
Ella snorted at the stupid old man who was sprawled on the ground before walking towards the South. She had just arrived a few hours ago and learned the cause of William's current condition from Oliver. Knowing the perpetrator for her baby's suffering, Ella was very keen to give him a good beating.
However, after giving the old man a full-powered kick, she didn't have the heart to do any follow up attacks. After all, she could tell with a glance that James was also suffering.
After arriving at Celine's house, Ella conversed with Oliver and asked him to help move the sleeping William to the goat pen. Although Celine was reluctant to move her disciple from her bed, she still agreed to Ella's condition.
She had already done everything in her power to help the boy wake up, but it all ended in failure. The beautiful elf thought that, perhaps, Ella would be able to pull William out from his deep sleep because the two of them had been together for a very long time.
With her help, William laid comfortably in a pile of hay inside the goat pen.
"I'll leave him in your care, Ella," Celine said after making sure that the boy was sleeping comfortably.
"Meeeeh." Ella nodded in response.
Celine gave her one and only disciple one last glance before leaving the goat shed along with Oliver. Although they didn't show it on their faces, they hoped that Ella would be able to create a miracle.
Ella laid beside William and looked at his sleeping face with gentle eyes. Five minutes later, she pressed her forehead against William's and closed her eyes.
----
A young lady with long, light-blue hair that reached down to her waist walked towards the center of the blood-stained world. From all angles, her proportions were perfect and even more curvaceous than Celine.
She wore a sleeveless fairy-like dress that fluttered gently as if a soft breeze was moving past her body. The weapons that were present in the background made her look like a Valkyrie that had come to pick up the soul of a brave warrior to bring to Valhalla.
Her light-purple eyes, that were as bright as William's when he was still a baby, stared in the distance where a floating figure could be seen. The silver bell on her neck rang softly, as if to announce her arrival.
The two purple horns on her head glowed faintly as she neared the sleeping boy whom she had raised since he arrived in Lont.
The young lady, who seemed to be around nineteen-years-old, made a gesture with her hand, and faint ripples started to appear under her feet.
If William could see the lady who had intruded inside his world, there was a high chance that he would go in a daze even in his apathetic state due to her incredible beauty.
As if pulled by an invisible string, William's body slowly floated towards the lady with light-blue hair. When he arrived in front of her, the first thing the lady did was to take off the hood that covered his head.
Ella gazed down at William with a gentle expression. She felt sad that the young boy had ended up this way and regretted the fact that she hadn't given James another kick earlier.
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only Light can do that," Ella said softly as she held William in a loving embrace. "Hate cannot drive out hate, only Love can do that."
A celestial throne appeared in the air above her that glittered like the stars in the sky. Ella floated in the air, carrying William, and sat on the throne like an Empress.
With a gentle tug, she unclasped the lock of her fairy-like dress that was located on the back of her neck. Her beautiful upper body was laid bare for the world to see; but in this world, only one person existed and he was currently unconscious.
Ella gently raised William's head as she caressed the side of his face. "You still haven't lived your life to the fullest, so why are you so eager to cross to the other side?
"Do you think that I, will allow you to go? If you want to give a message to the world, let it be simple. As simple as the life of a shepherd!"
William's lips parted as they had done countless times in the past. The beautiful lady didn't need to do anything and simply watched with a loving gaze as her baby moved by instinct to receive what was rightfully his.
----
< Daily Quest: Drink Milk has been completed! >
< Rewards: 5,000 Exp Points. >
< Bonus Rewards: 10 God Points >
< Soul Healing currently in effect >
< Host's consciousness will slowly recover over time >
-----
A series of notifications flashed across William's status page, but the boy was unable to see them because he was still unconscious. However, these messages only flashed briefly before disappearing from the message logs completely.
The system made an arbitrary decision to delete all records of Ella's actions. Even though the messages were deleted, the rewards and healing effects remained.
Currently, the System was in the process of brainstorming a made-up story to explain where the additional experience points and God Points came from.
Ella, who had remembered the memories of the Goddess Amaltheia, was able to use her power for a short period of time. However, there was only one downside. She wouldn't remember anything that happened while she was in her Celestial Form.
Even so, she didn't care. The only thing that mattered to her right now was to pull William out of the darkness and slowly bring him back to his lively self, whom she loved with all her heart.