"What is…" Abyss grimaces at Chaos. "Happening here?"
"You tell me," Chaos snaps at her. "Your son and Noras' son are in my territory. Why are they here?"
Abyss fists her hand. She wants to beat down Chaos. Even if Chaos looks like a child, she isn't a child. "I want to know the same. Why are you kidnapping our sons again?"
"Ha!" Chaos huffs at her. "I have no interest in your son. And why does he pretend to be a toddler? Do you want him to stay as a toddler for his whole life?"
"Chaos, don't cross your limits again," Abyss shouts back. "My son isn't pretending. He is special."
"As if!" Chaos laughs. "Take a good look. He is pretending."
Abyss glances at her son. Dai blinks his eyes bashfully.
"Why don't you ask him?" Chaos smirks at him.
Noticing that something isn't right about Dai's expression, Abyss asks him gravely, "Dai, I believe you. Tell me if she is speaking the truth or not. If she is lying, I will put her back to a long sleep."
Dai purses his lips. He glances at Chaos who gives him a deep look. Then, he meets his father's eyes. His father raises his brow.
"Sister Misaki told me that I would be loved forever if I stay as a toddler," Dai speaks clearly. His voice is husky and honeyed. "She said that Father would take Mother's whole time if I grew up."
"..." All the adults are speechless.
Dai's body morphs. In a few seconds, there is a young boy around Silas' age standing at his spot. The boy looks like Kyo, Adira's younger self. Less than five feet away, Suki's face turns pale.
The corner of Abyss' lips twitches. She wants to kill someone. For years, she has been worried about Dai's growth. It turns out that the culprit is Misaki. She will ban Misaki from entering Haven for the next hundred years.
"Ho Ho Ho!" Chaos covers her mouth and laughs darkly. "You are fooled by Misaki. I knew that the girl is more like me than you."
"Shut up!" Abyss glowers at Chaos. "This changes nothing between us."
"I don't want it to change." Chaos rolls her eyes. "Now, can you all leave this place? No, I didn't kidnap your children -- this time. They were here before I woke up."
Adira goes to the girl. "You are Suki?"
"Yes." Suki sniffles. "I am sorry. I didn't know that there was a boy inside that package. I received the order and picked up the box. When we came here, I realised where we were."
Suki babbles about everything that has happened in details, including the part where she told the story to Silas and misled him into believing a myth that turned out to be true since Chaos woke up.
Abyss glances at Chaos again. "Now, why did you wake up when he kissed you?"
"Atvi must have done something to him." Chaos crosses her arms. "Can't you guess who put him into the box and made the order? It's Atvi. It's always her. I am going to kill her."
Abyss sighs. "Fine. Do whatever you want. But stay away from my family, especially my children."
"I have no interest in them." Chaos turns her head to her right. She sees Silas looking down at his feet sadly. He must have realised that the story about true love is false. It's good for him. She doesn't want to see him either.
"Come here." Noras signals Silas to come to his side. "Let's go home. Your mother is worried."
Silas takes another peek at Chaos who is ignoring him. Then, he drags his feet toward his father. He hasn't given up. "Father, I want to marry her."
"It's impossible," Noras says, trying to keep his face straight. "You cannot marry her."
"But I love her!" Silas insists.
Noras doesn't know how to react. Are these Aren's feelings inside Silas? "Then, why don't you ask her? If she says yes, I have no problem."
Silas's eyes gleam with hope. He turns around and runs toward her.
"I don't love you. Go back to your world." She shouts before he can reach her, "All of you must leave before I lose my temper. I don't want to see any of you again."
Silas's heartbreak is evident on his face. He bends down his head and walks back to his father.
Noras pats his son's back, but he is actually relieved that Chaos said no. If she had said yes, he would be bound by his word. Ea would have been devastated. None of them wants Chaos as their daughter in law.
He nods his head to Adira and Abyss. Then, he leaves Oblivion with his son.
"I hope that you start behaving." Abyss grabs her son's hand. "I don't want to see you ever again either."
"Leave already." Chaos grumbles, "Uninvited Guests."
Adira picks up Suki in his arms. Knowing that it's not a good idea to take her to Haven, he takes her to Iravan. Abyss returns to Haven with Dai.
At Iravan, he arrives at the Dark Kingdom. Ai has been looking for Dai too.
"Who is this?" He looks at the girl. She is human for sure. "And where is Dai?"
"He is at home," Adira exhales. He puts down the young girl on the floor and asks her, "What is it that you want? I will do anything in my capability."
Suki realises that she has hit a jackpot. If Dai's father can speak to Chaos in such a manner, they are definitely powerful. "I want freedom. I want to be rich. I want to live in a safe place."
Her wishes are simple. It's not surprising since she used to be a slave. Adira turns to his son, Ai. "Do whatever she asks for. She is an esteemed citizen of the dark kingdom from now on. She is nobody's slave. I will have a talk with the god of messenger."
Ai smiles at his father. "I will do as you say."
Suki lets out a breath of relief. She can barely conceal her happiness. She doesn't have to live as a slave anymore.
***
When Adira returns to Haven, he finds his wife sitting on the couch and seething in rage while Dai is standing in front of her with his head lowered.
Cyran snickers, but he doesn't utter anything.
"Dai, do you know how worried I was?" Abyss asks her son. "I thought that I did something wrong."
"I did what Sister Misaki told me." Dai doesn't understand what he did wrong. "If I grew up, I won't be able to sit on your lap. You will also leave me here and go on tours."
Abyss holds her head in frustration. She doesn't approve of her daughter's parenting styles. Misaki doesn't spend much time with Cyran. She roams from world to world with her husband. Her other daughter is too protective of her children. She barely visits them in Haven.
They don't mind having Cyran here. Cyran is their grandchild. But he can't stay here for long. They will send him to live with Ai for a while. It will do Cyran some good if he attends a school at Iravan. Ilucia is good.
"It is not like that." Adira tells his son, "It will never be like that, but tell me something, Dai. If you grow up, won't you make friends? Won't you spend time with them? Will you stop loving us?"
Dai shakes his head. "That will never happen."
"Then, why would we treat you differently?" Adira asks him. "There are times when we will leave you alone because we think that you can take care of yourself. Misaki doesn't leave Cyran with us for long. But she knows that we will take care of him because he is our family. Besides, she wants Cyran to spend a lot of time with us because she loves her son. She wants her son to get to know us since we are important to her."
Cyran scratches his head. Is it like that? But he is sure that his mother likes travelling more than she loves him.
"Growing up is a privilege." Adira explains to his son, "Change helps us learn the values of the relationships and the gifts we have. If you want to live as a toddler, we are fine. But I think that you will miss a lot of things if you don't accept change."
"I don't think so," Dai murmurs.
"What about the new friend you made today?" Adira rubs his son's head. "The girl saved you."
"That's because she knew that you would help her." Dai clicks his tongue. "She made me drink milk while she ate meat."
"She took care of you when she didn't have to." Adira looks at Ari and smiles at her. "People like her are too rare."
Ari rolls her eyes. It looks like Dai also has a complex. But Adira is doing his job. She will be the strict parent today. By the way, when is Misaki coming back? That girl has a lot to answer.