She's not here.
Adira can't find a trace of her in the castle. He arrives in the garden and sees the head guard sleeping without any care. He slaps Mogrok's head.
"Master, I love you!" Mogrok shouts when he feels the slap. He blinks his thousand-eyes. It's the Dark God. Ari is nowhere to be seen. "Where's Master?"
"You were supposed to guard her." Adira eyes him darkly. This spirit beast has become lazy and fat, living life too leisurely. "You tell me where she is."
All of Mogrok's eyes snap open. He tries to see as far as he could. "Master is not here."
This spirit beast has also become dumber since then. Adira wonders if he should poke this beast's eyes with a pitchfork. What is stopping him from doing that? Ari. She would become mad if she hears that he did something to Mogrok. Sometimes, it feels like she loves Mogrok more than she loves him.
"Hmph!" She loves him the most. He has to accept the fact that she doesn't love only him. "If something happens to her, you will sleep forever."
Mogrok shivers in fear. "Lord, we must find her first. If she's left alone, she's going to do something bad again."
He also knows that. In these times, she shouldn't be alone. But he can't find her since she is not his harbinger anymore. She doesn't belong to any law. Why did it have to be like this? He only went out for some time. "Mogrok, send every creature of the dark kingdom to look for her. If she's found, bring her back to the castle immediately."
"Yes, Lord." Mogrok lets out a loud roar, alerting every creature in the dark kingdom. In a split second, his roar is joined by other creatures. Adira hears them running in all directions. His heart is anxious for some reasons.
"Mogrok, do you know about Kresi?" Adira asks Mogrok suddenly.
Mogrok blinks his eyes. "The previous harbinger? Master also came to ask me about her. She asked me about the things that Kresi did on Belan."
"Ari did?" Why would she do that suddenly? Unless she found out about Cina and Kresi, she wouldn't try to learn about Kresi. "What did you tell her?"
Mogrok tells him everything that he said to Ari. "Master was suddenly interested. I wonder why."
"Did Kresi's sins transfer to her by any chance?" Adira questions Mogrok with a hesitating voice.
"I think I heard her say something like that once." Mogrok widens his eyes. "Master did say something like that once. It was a long time ago. Her exact words were this: If I can accept your name without shame, I also accept the sins that you left behind."
That's enough for the transfer of debt. Adira lets out an exasperated sigh. Why does Ari do things without thinking? She should have asked this spirit beast. "Why didn't you warn her?"
"Did she ever listen?" Mogrok retorts. He shrinks when Adira's chilling gaze falls on him. "I tried to warn her, but I wasn't sure if words could transfer sins like that."
"She was a Renasir." Adira puts his hands on his hips. His intuition has been right. The sins are really on Ari. He has to find Ari before Cina finds her. How many people does Kresi owe?
Where could she have gone? She couldn't have left this castle without someone's help. Did she get abducted? Not even Noras know that she's here. It has to be another god.
Adira glances at the spying moon in the sky. She would know.
***
"Would you know a way?" Ari glances at the god sitting in the corner.
"Who are you talking to?" Aren follows her gaze. He can't see anyone there. "Are you mumbling to yourself?"
The god lifts the spell from his body with a flicker of his fingers. "I can trace the child by bloodline."
"Who?" Aren steps back when he sees the god sitting in the corner of his room with a grumpy face. "When? How?"
"Sorry for startling you." Ari chuckles. "He came with me. He's a god."
Naughty waves his hand once. "I am Naughty."
What a ridiculous name for a god! Aren purses his lips, wondering what to say. Ari is surely connected to the gods well.
"If I can get the blood of child's father or mother, I can find the child." Naughty says to them, "Even if he's born under no law, he is still carrying a bloodline."
"She's dead." Aren replies to him with a straightforward voice, "Would a half-brother's blood work?"
"If your mother's bloodline is stronger in you, it should work." The god scratches his chin. "The spell is rather exhausting."
"Are you really a god?" Ari knits her brows. "Why would a god become exhausted?"
"Not all gods are strong." Aren takes out a knife hidden under his sleeve and draws it over his palm. Drops of blood fall on the floor. "Hurry up! I want to meet my brother."
Ari is also curious. What kind of person Ai is? Then, how would she resolve the sins after meeting him? She hasn't figured out the second question yet. "Naughty, do it."
Why is he being ordered around by two mortals? Naughty gets up and walks to Aren. He takes some of Aren's blood in his palm. He could smell the fire in that blood. This mortal is powerful. Curling his fingers into a fist, he concentrates on finding the link in the psychic plane. He could sense several mortals around the world.
It would take a while to search through them.
Sweat trickles down on his skin. Naughty feels a strong repulsive force from a source. He turns to that direction and sees a big twisted dark creature running toward him. Naughty lunges to his right. The creature suddenly disappears.
A phantom in his mind? Who? Naughty searches for the source. It keeps hiding from him. He hears a child's laughter.
"Who is looking for me?" He feels small hands over his eyes. "Uncle, would you be able to find me before I find you?"
A shiver runs down his spine. "Ai?"
"That's my name." The boy whispers in his ear, "It's also not my name. Do you know my name then?"
What is this creature? "No."
"Then, you lose!"
A large force slams against Naughty's head. He opens his eyes, gasping for breath. Not even a minute has passed in the world. He touches the back of his head. It's wet and sticky.
"Blood." Ari runs to him and presses her hand on the wound. "How did this happen? You didn't go anywhere."
"Ugh!" Blood pours out of his eyes and ears. "That little scoundrel!"
She helps him sit on the bed and turns her head toward Aren. "What are you looking at? Heal his head."
"He's a god." Aren shakes his head. "His body would heal itself."
"Just help him anyway." Ari snaps at him, "His blood is getting everywhere."
That's what she's worried about? Both men wonder. Aren shakes his head. The Renasir is still strange. He inhales sharply. Ehr is flowing through his veins. He channels the ehr toward the centre of his palm, letting it circulate into the god's wound. Guiding the energy to work on the broken skull, he works on closing the wound first. He's sure that the god's broken head would heal itself.
"Tell us what happened." Ari barely gives any time for Naughty to get ready. "You were standing there and suddenly, your head was blasted open."
"Ai did it to me." Naughty has never felt this kind of pain before. Then again, it's not fun to have one's skull broken by a psychic attack. "I found him and then, I lost him."
"It's more like he kicked your arse." Ari steps away from him and crosses her arms. "He's stronger than a god."
Hearing that, Aren doesn't know whether he should feel proud of his brother or be afraid for his brother. Being powerful than a god is not a good thing in this world. The laws are limitations on the mortals and also, protection charms. The power without limit would drive his brother mad.
"The rune… I think it lost the binding after Ari died and her body was erased." Naughty explains with a solemn voice, "Ai used to be his name, but it's not his name anymore. He's nameless at the moment. I could sense his power rising with time. I think that he's also looking for someone who can give him a name."
Names are really important in this world. If that kid also lost the name, then how did he survive till now? Was he trying to become powerful? Becoming powerful to receive only a name… That's unlikely indeed. Ari can't understand this little kid. She doesn't even know if he's a little kid. "Can you contact him again? Tell him that I will give him a name."