"This is the place where I rest." Ai points at the spot with this little finger. He looks up and beams at her. "Pretty Sister, you can rest here with me."
Ari purses her lips. The kid is showing her around this strange place that is his 'home'. All the spots look the same to her. Well, it's not like she can say that to a kid who is excited. "Child, I like this place. It's so…" empty. "Big."
"There are only two of us." Ai grins at her. Then, he lowers his head and frowns. There are a few unwanted people here. He should throw them out of here. Then, he and his pretty sister can stay without a worry. "No one will bother us here."
This Deja-Vu feeling… Ai sits down and pulls him toward her. It's a kid. She can coax him into leaving this place. "Child, this place is really nice. But I know a better place."
He senses that she wants to leave. The corners of his lips curl down. He puckers his lips and looks side-ways. Seeing that, Ari resists the urge to squeal. She's not a sadist, but this kid is just precious. "Child, you can't live here forever. There's your father waiting for you. Your brother also wants to meet you. Do you know that your brother was a chosen one? He's a really cool person. Your father is also…" She doesn't know much about Gabriel. "A wonderful person, I am sure."
Ai cocks his head and mumbles while fidgeting with fingers, "I just want to be with you."
"..." Deja-Vu again! He is so much like Kyo. Maybe Adira will like him. "Then, we will be together. Child, I also have people who are important to me. I am sure that they will like you a lot. They might be able to help you find your true name."
"But I am fine without a name if I am with you." Ai sighs, looking down. "What if those people take you away from me?"
She gives him a hug. "Nobody will take you away from me. I have powerful backing. He will beat all the bad people. Trust me, Child? He will protect us both."
"If you say so," Ai mumbles, finding it hard to trust others.
Convincing him hadn't been hard. She lets out a breath of relief. Thankfully, this kid doesn't throw tantrums like Kyo. He's such a well-behaved child. "Then, we should leave this place. I will introduce you to my friends. We will get you a new name soon. Then, you can live in world with everyone else."
His nose twitches when he inhales a scent that reminds him of Belan Continent. He blinks his several times, feeling jittery and restless. The child suddenly squirms in her embrace. "Pretty Sister, I have to go."
"Where?" She releases him, surprised to see the feral look in his eyes. He steps back, hyperventilating. Trying his best not to show his other side to her, he clenches his teeth and runs away from her on his all fours.
"Child!" She yells after him. "Wait, where are you going?"
A tear appears in the space. The kid lunges toward it. With a flash of light, both Ai and the doorway to Iravan are gone. Ari frowns hard. What is going on? Why did he run away like this?
What's she going to do here?
"Why does it always happen to me?" She touches her temple. "I don't understand why kids never listen to their elders. How I am supposed to chase after him? Mogrok isn't with me either."
Chasing Kyo in the cursed sea was easier for sure.
"I can take you."
Startled, Ari jumps away from the young girl standing beside her. She gapes at the girl with long golden hair and big sapphire eyes. How long has this girl been here? She didn't notice this girl.
The girl curtsies to her politely. "Bride of the dark god, the saviour of Iravan, and the last Renasir, accept my greetings."
Ari studies the girl. The girl looks around seven or eight. She's dressed in a frilly blue and white dress. Though Ari has never seen the girl before, she finds her familiar. "Who are you?"
"I am Ril'Yah, the third moon of Iravan, daughter of Goddess Mirinae." Ril'Yah smiles at her. "I have been watching you since the day you were born on Iravan."
"Wait." Ari furrows her brows and raises her hand. "I was never born on Iravan. My soul was thrown inside someone's body without my permission."
Ril'Yah chuckles. "Isn't it like that always? Usually, the souls are thrown inside a foetus with no memories of past life. I admit that your case was different. You were born inside someone else's body and you also had your memories."
Technically, the girl is right. When Ari was on planet earth, she often heard stories of people who remembered their past lives. She always thought that those were fake news. "But I am still someone who doesn't belong to any law."
"That's also true." Ril'Yah says to her with a calm voice, "Do you even want to belong to any?"
Is that even a question? Ari frowns at her. "Can you make people belong to this world? Then, why aren't you helping that child? He lost his name and place."
"I can't help him." Ril'Yah sighs, gazing at her with sorrow in her eyes. "It was an accident that his true name got erased when you took your life. I wasn't strong enough to stop it when I realized the problem. The power of naming was given away to someone a long time ago."
"Then, find that person." Ari yells at her, "Why would you even give away such important power to someone else?"
"It was given away for the sake of the world." Ril'Yah clasps her hands behind her back. "It was supposed to be returned, but the person killed herself and the soul was dissipated into many pieces. Along with her soul, that power was also broken down. When her soul was reconstructed, it was impossible to take it back. The power and the soul became one… That power will go with that soul wherever she goes."
This story sounds familiar. Ari's lips purse into a thin line. Does she still have the powers of Renasir? "How?"
"After the war, the gods decided to put the dark god in the prison. His dark heart was put into the reincarnation cycle. But they needed someone to take care of the world after they were gone. Cina gave a piece of his power to Belan who took care of the spirits and the beasts. Noras left his holy fire to the Starfire bloodline. But it wasn't enough." Ril'Yah explains to her, "My mother and all the gods created a new power to protect the world. It was too much for a mortal to handle it. So, my mother created a special bloodline. That's how the Mirins came to be. You were supposed to give it back, just like the chosen one did. However, it's merged in your soul. We can't take it back anymore."
Should she be sorry that she died? Ari shrugs. "I can't use it anyway."
Ril'Yah agrees with her. "That's why the child will be destroyed soon."
"What?" Ari widens her eyes. "Why would he get destroyed?" Why do these gods like killing children so much?
"I saw you promising him that the Dark God will protect him." Ril'Yah snickers. "You are quite naive. The Dark God is still a god of Iravan. He set up a trap to capture that child. That child will be destroyed by him after the trial is finished."