No matter what, the god of light can't find the third moon anywhere. When he's tired, he goes to see her mother, the goddess of night and wishes.
"I don't know either." Mirinae gives him an annoyed look. "That daughter of mine is too secretive."
"What about you, Sion?" Noras inquires Ril' Yah's father, the god of war. "You are close to her, aren't you?"
"No." Sion replies curtly, "Ril' Yah never listens to me."
What kind of parents are they? How could they never try to find out where their daughter disappears to? Noras glowers at them. "Is she your daughter?"
"You don't understand." Mirinae exclaims, "Ril' Yah is different from her sisters. Ever since she was born, she would do things her way. I can't understand what goes inside her head."
"We give freedom to our children." Sion adds, "If Ril' Yah doesn't want to say, we don't force her to speak. Besides, she's a goddess too."
Since Noras doesn't have any children except for his worshippers, he doesn't argue with them. What freedom? Children shouldn't be given freedom until they understand the meaning of freedom. If Ea ever decides to have a child, he's going to keep that child within the palace all the time.
"Have Parisa ever visited Ril'Yah?" Noras questions them. Ril' Yah's behaviour seems strange to him. She might have done everything so far to save the child. Is it pity? Kindness? But the third moon has never shown this kind of interest in any other creature of Iravan.
"Once, I think." Sion frowns. "Ril' Yah was only a baby back then."
"She would never cry." Mirinae sighs. "She either slept or stared at the ceiling like an adult. It scared me sometimes."
"God's children are different from mortals," Noras mutters. "The Renasir is carrying the Dark God's child."
"Really?" Mirinae claps her hand. "A child of another main god… it's time for the celebration."
"It will be a halfling." Sion scrunches his nose. "Renasir isn't immortal yet."
"Still, it's the first child of the Dark God." Mirinae walks to the window and looks at the constellations. "Adira must be excited -- Where is he? I can't feel his presence."
"I can't sense him either." Sion scowls darkly. "A god shouldn't leave his woman alone at this time."
Noras sighs. "There's a situation."
"Not again." Sion shakes his head. "Why does that Dark God never sits still?"
"It's not Adira's fault." Noras continues, "Cina attacked Kresi. I don't know how Kresi was able to summon the forbidden rune to imprison Cina. Adira was pulled along with them when he tried to save them."
"What?" Mirinae widens her mouth. This is a piece of horrible news. Renasir is carrying the child and the Dark God is in Qeshaya again. Even Cina is in that place.
"It is either Amara or Adira." Sion crosses his arms, grumbling. "We shouldn't have let that woman stay in Iravan."
"Sion, stop talking about what we should have done." Mirinae scolds him, "We should focus on freeing them from Qeshaya."
"Why are you screaming? We can open the realm again." Sion turns to Noras. "Where's the universal key, Noras?"
"I have it." Noras shows them the key. "The night of union won't happen anytime soon. I need the three moons to leave the Iravan for some time to summon the universal gate. However, Ril' Yah wants me to help Renasir draw the true name."
Sion and Mirinae become quiet. They understand Noras' hesitation. Who knows what will be that boy's true name? And teaching Renasir to draw the true name? It's not something that happens in one or two days. Sion says quietly, "If Ril' Yah is gone, we only need to send Raya and Riha somewhere away from this world."
"I don't know any place that can remove their presence from this world completely." Noras ponders, "Ril' Yah knows."
"Noras, Ril' Yah might be smart, but I am her mother." Mirinae puts her hand on her hip. "Let that wayward child do whatever she wants. Since she's gone, the effect of the three moons is already weak. Also, we don't need to completely remove the three moons from this world. We only need to send Raya and Riha somewhere far away. I know many faraway worlds. I will take them with me for a while."
"That might work," Noras mumbles. "Contact the other gods. Ask them to leave this world for a while. I will open the gate in their absence."
"You want to recreate the same situation that was there before our return." Sion glances at him solemnly. "What if it doesn't work?"
"Then, there's no choice but to help Renasir." Noras exhales tiredly. "It might not take that long."
Naming the child might be urgent, but freeing the gods is more urgent.
In the night, the moons and the stars disappear from the sky. The sun also disappears, leaving the world in darkness. Ari looks at the sky. The moons are missing. The starless night reminds her of the night of the union. God Noras must have received the key. Adira will return.
God Noras comes to the barren land that was a forest once. He touches the charred ground, summoning the universal gate. After a long moment, the gate appears before him. He lets out a breath of relief. It is working. He puts in the key and waits for it to open.
Click! Click! Click!
Multiple locks are undone. Noras purses his lips. Even a second feels like an hour to him. How would he find them? He's sure that Kresi would be exterminated by now. Qeshaya would devour that mortal. What about Adira and Cina? Since Cina brought this upon himself, he can't sympathize with that god. But Renasir is carrying a child. Nothing should happen to Adira.
When the gate opens, only darkness welcomes him. He walks toward the last room in the nearly endless corridor. Qeshaya, the forbidden realm, is a prison that all the main gods created a long time ago. It is bound by the laws that even the gods can't break. So far, this prison has only been summoned twice -- once, it was called by the gods, and this time, it was a mortal.
What is that woman? She shouldn't be able to understand that rune. Only the Renasir and the main gods hold that capacity. Did Mayaeira teach Kresi? He doesn't think that even Mayaeira knew how to draw forbidden runes.
He reaches the last room. The door is locked from outside. He uses the universal key again. When he opens the door, the glimmering runes on the wall flicker violently. He glances at the figure in the centre. Cina is in his child form, barely older than five or six. Noras breaks the chain of runes and frees his body. Then, he goes to Adira's side. Thankfully, Adira hasn't returned to his weaker form. But the Dark God is unconscious. Noras looks at the girl's body on the floor. Her hand is missing. Adira's hand is on her forehead.
She's still alive. Did the Dark God… Noras purses his lips. First of all, he needs to bring them out of his place.
Noras bring the Dark God out of the room. He lays him down on the floor and returns to the room. When he comes out of the room with Cina and Kresi, he finds the Dark God standing with a straight face.
"You are awake already." Noras smiles at him. "Are you feeling okay, Adira?"
The Dark God doesn't reply. He puts his hand on his chest, looking confused.
"Did your core get affected?" Noras queries him. When he doesn't get any reply, he speaks with an annoyed tone, "Say something, Adira."
Adira takes Kresi away from Noras and takes long strides toward the universal gate. That Dark God's attachment toward his first wife is a little bothersome to the god of light.