"It's unusually tiring." Ari looks at Cina and Amami lying on the concrete. She murmurs to herself, "He's not himself but he believes that he is."
Everything has been a mistake.
"Adira wasn't himself when he was Kyo." She looks up at the darkening sky. "When he lost his memories, was he himself? Maybe he wasn't himself then either. But I don't think that I have ever known him."
He didn't understand her either. And she's tired of this long game. "I don't want to be a part of this game, but I am still a part of it."
Countless voices resonate with her voice as she continues, "Darkness and light reject us. So we also reject the darkness and light. We shall make our own place."
They must free their brethren. Ari closes her eyes and inhales the wind. "I understand. I won't abandon you. You are already a part of me."
There are dark creatures who belong to the darkness. There are also creatures who belong to the light. Humans can always choose what they want to become. So, the world is often thought to be divided in black and white.
Then, there are creatures who are abandoned by both light and darkness. They are called forsaken ones.
Some of these creatures have been dwelling in the river of death. They aren't recognized by anyone. If they escape the river of death, they are sent to the unbreakable prison.
These creatures are Ari now. She's them. They have chosen to follow her and she has embraced them.
"Even if I am a goddess, I am only recognized by you now." Ari sighs as she walks away from Cina and Amami. "I wonder where Chaos is hiding."
How long will it take for heaven to notice? Well, heaven is just a small part of the light.
"Mother!"
Ari turns her head to her left. A familiar boy is running toward her. It's been a long time since she saw him. Ai has grown up. He's no longer a boy.
She has missed so much.
He stops in front of her, panting for air. Ari scrutinizes him, trying to see the boy whom she left around ten years ago. His features are sharper and he's a head taller than her. The colour of his eyes hasn't changed -- and he hasn't changed the way he looked at her.
"Mother, are you going to leave me again?" He questions her with wide eyes. Ai notices that her eyes have changed. Even the air around her has changed.
"I need you to come with me." Ari says to him in a low tone, "Ai, I am going to look for Misaki. That's why I need your help."
"I will follow you anywhere." Ai reaches for her hand. "Mother, what happened to you in the river? You smell different. Why do I sense evil inside you?"
Ari steps back quickly, not letting Ai touch her. She looks at him calmly. "Ai, I am no longer…"
"Ari!" Aren's shout interrupts her. She sees another man coming in her direction. Ari closes her mouth as she knits her brows. Her gaze falls on the bundle that Aren is holding.
"You are alive." Aren scrutinizes her face. "Why are your eyes white? Have you also changed your appearance like Kresi? Damn it! You look evil!"
Ai exhales, shaking his head. Why can't his brother be sensible?
She ignores Aren's words and stares at the little boy in Aren's arms. "Where did you find that boy?"
"Him." Aren glances down at the boy who is still under the sleep spell. "We found him in the fae realm. I don't think that he has a family."
"You went to the afterlife with this boy." Ari's cold gaze makes him shiver. She adds, "You and Ai are from Iravan. You wouldn't become a forsaken one. It's not the case for this boy. The river of death also flows in the fae realm."
Aren creases his forehead. What is she trying to say? What forsaken one? He looks at Ai for some clue. His younger brother is watching Ari with a grave look in his eyes. Did they do something wrong to the boy?
"I will take him then." Ari takes a step toward Aren and takes the boy from his arms. Though the boy is around ten-year-old, she carries him with ease. When she puts her hand on the boy's head, his body stirs.
The boy opens his eyes and raises his head to look at her. The woman's skin is chalky and white. Her lips are purple. Confused, he blinks his eyes. "Who are you?"
"Because of these two idiots, you are not a part of the living world anymore." She strokes the boy's head. "How old are you?"
"I am ten." He lowers his eyes thoughtfully. "Am I dead?"
"You aren't a part of the afterlife either." She sighs. "Even though I am like this, I am still picking up kids."
"Mother, is this boy going to be okay?" Ai questions her cautiously. Honestly, he wants to ask if she's going to be okay. But it doesn't seem like she would answer any of his questions.
"I will protect him," She replies as she puts down the boy on the ground and looks into his green eyes.
The boy swallows and curls his fingers, afraid of the woman in front of him. Though she sounds kind, he doesn't believe her. He has met many people who acted kind first and then they would change suddenly.
"It's going to hurt a little." Her voice is lighter than a feather. Ari presses her thumb between his brows, binding the boy to her.
The boy thrashes his arms and screams madly. It feels like countless needles are passing through him, sewing him to something darker. Just then, he hears a cool voice. He opens his eyes and finds himself standing under a clear blue sky.
His feet are dipped in the water. He looks around in confusion. There are men and women standing around him. Some are in modern clothes. Some are in strange clothes. All of their eyes are closed.
"These are your past lives."
The boy raises his hands in front of his chest, startled to see the woman. It's the same woman who was holding him a while ago.
"As a forsaken one, you are even abandoned by your past." Another woman appears next to Ari. The woman is wearing a long blue dress. However, there's blood on her clothes and face. The woman has her eyes closed like the other.
"Mother." The boy goes to the woman. "You are here."
When he touches her hand, she disintegrates like a dream. At the same time, all the figures except for Ari disintegrate. The boy shrieks in pain as he falls in the water. His body twists miserably. He feels his bones reshuffle. His skin changes as the water seeps into his skin.
"You are no longer bound to this world or the people of this world. You are freed from the karma, debts, and promises of your past lives." Ari bends down on her one knee and places her hand on his forehead. "You are a forsaken one. You are one of my people now. All the bindings of your past lives will be. I am giving you a new name. You are Scias."