Chapter 152: Maybe it's love

It's done. Ari's eyes become moist. Happiness surges in her chest. Little Ai has a name now. Instead of giving him a true name, she has only helped him shape what was already there. Little Ai's soul disappears from her sight. She looks around, wondering why she's still here. She has no idea what happens after giving a true name to someone. 

Ari looks at her reflection in the water. She doesn't have the beauty that the gods have given her. Her body seems to be in her mid-twenties. She has the same brown eyes and mid-length messy dark hair. 

This is Takayama Ari, a twenty-six years old woman from J Country who died when she was trying to stop the burglars from taking her laptop. She's dressed in an old t-shirt and dark checkered pants with an old coffee stain. 

"I was always an idiot." She bends down on her knees and touches the wound on her forehead. "A laptop can be bought again."

However, she's not feeling sad. That day, she died. Then, she was able to experience a  miracle. She met Adira. From a person who cared more about a laptop than her life, she changed into a person who understood the value of life. She loved people and received their love in return. She had died again, but her second death didn't feel as empty as her first death. 

The wound on her forehead heals, leaving a tiny scar. Her lips curl up into a bright smile. She immerses her fingers in the water. "The place where the sea and the sky meet...Where it never gets dark… It's a surprise." 

Her true name is a beautiful place.

"I chose you for an important task." Her reflection speaks to her with a tender voice. The dark eyes are filled with immense affection. "You did well."

Ari doesn't know why she's crying. She can't find any word. Has she been this lonely for so long? She closes her eyes, feeling exhausted. She doesn't want to save worlds or people. She only wants… It would have been better if she could have some sleep. Ari bends down her head. She feels tiny hands on her cheeks. 

"You can't fall asleep."

Her eyes flutter. She opens her eyes to look at the person before her. There are two little girls. In a blink, the girls are gone. The sun is rising at the horizon. Saffron rays fill the sky. She sees a woman with long golden hair and clear blue eyes. She's dressed in a long blue and white dress. 

Deia?

"I am not Deia Parisa." The woman places her hand on Ari's head and chuckles, "Did you think that I would look exactly like her?"

Ari can't speak. She tries hard to keep her eyes open, falling forward. A young boy wraps his arms around her, preventing her from falling in the water. She looks at the boy's face.

Kyo?

"It's someone you want to see." The boy grows into an adult. Adira continues with a deep voice, "I am him, but he's not me."

"Who are you?" She whispers to the person to keep changing his appearance. 

The person lays her head in its lap. Her hair is golden again. Her dark eyes become sapphire blue. She tilts her head. "I have many names. Sometimes, I am only a will. At other times, I am someone's sight. Then, I might be a wind that blew you to Iravan. I could be a storm that cleared away the darkness from the world. I was also the corruption of dark ehr that you carried in your body and the rune that erased your body. I was the magic who brought you back to life. I exist in all the names, and yet I have no name. Do you know who I am now?"

Is this a puzzle? Ari feels content for some reason.  She doesn't want to bother with this.

"That's why I like you, Takayama Ari." The woman laughs. "You have surpassed all my expectations. Choosing you was a good decision." 

Ari says nothing, falling deep in the slumber. The woman pats her head, staring at her face. "Take rest for some time before your new journey begins. My dear Ari, you are never alone. I will give you the best gift after you finish the tasks that I have assigned to you. I assure you that happiness will find you. When it does, it will never leave you again."

***

When the blinding light disappears, the barriers are also gone. Ril'Yah sees Little Ai at the centre of the circle. She rushes to Little Ai's side and checks his breathing. He's alive. "Renasir, you have succeeded. Ai is visible to us now. I can see him."

There's no answer. 

Ril'Yah looks over her shoulder. Where is Renasir Ari? She should be here. Ril'Yah walks to the spot where Renasir Ari was sitting earlier. The drops of her blood are still on the ground. There's no sign of Ari.

She has an ominous feeling about this. Where could Renasir go? Ril'Yah shouts, "Renasir Ari! Where are you?"

Ril'Yah's distressed voice awakens Little Ai. He looks at the third moon's back, rubbing his right eye. "What is going on?"

"She's not here," Ril'Yah turns around and tells him. "Renasir Ari is gone."

Little Ai widens his eyes. He recalls seeing Ari somewhere. But he can't remember exactly where. The memories of that place slip through his mind. In a few seconds, he feels like he has forgotten something important. 

"I heard something went wrong." Cina runs toward them. "Where is Mother?"

"You." Ril'Yah grabs Cina's shoulders. "Ask all the trees of this world if they have seen Renasir. She can't leave this world without us."

Cina shakes his head. "They told me that they haven't seen her since the light engulfed her."

Even Ril'Yah has seen the engulfing lights that took both Renasir Ari and Little Ai. But she could not go into the circle because of the barriers. This can't be happening.

Did something go wrong and Renasir Ari had to sacrifice herself? Ril'Yah utters weakly, "She could have used my true name instead of sacrificing herself." 

Both boys start crying. Ril'Yah fists her hands, looking down on the floor as her eyes well up. 

If the Dark God finds out that Renasir died, he would kill all of them. Ril'Yah shakes her head. She can't let this happen. They must leave this place as soon as possible. Where can they go? The Dark God will arrive in this world someday. 

Where should they go? Earth? But she doesn't know anything about that world. Ril'Yah drags Little Ai and Cina to the seeker gate anyway. She inserts her ehr in the gate and activates it.

"Take me to the world where Renasir wanted to go." Ril'Yah commands the gate, "To the world where she was born as Ari for the first time."

After a pause, she adds, "Before the moment she died in that world."

They can't avoid an angry god. So, they must find other ways to appease that god first. 

***

After a few years, Adira arrives at the world where the true naming took place. There's a flourishing city in the place of the forest. The small hut is replaced by a big mansion. He strolls through the market, looking for the woman and his children. He reaches the place where he feels the remnant of her presence. 

He bends down his knees and touches the ground. Her energy is still here. Did she succeed? Then, why is she not here? Where she could have gone?

It's been years. His memories haven't returned. He doesn't even think that they would ever return. 

It feels like her presence is gone from this universe. He scowls darkly. She should be alive somewhere. If she dares to die again…

Again? He massages his forehead. His heart has been uneasy for a long time. While he's been trying to reach her, yearning has reached him. Though he has no memories of their past, he's been longing for her.

"Maybe it's love." He murmurs to himself, "But why are you running away from me?"

Is it because he doesn't remember? He runs his fingers through his hair. He did treat her harshly that day. She must be scared of him.

But he didn't get a chance to make up with her. 

"You are carrying my child, Woman." He grabs the soil with the remnant of her magic and pours it in a small pouch. "If you truly loved me, then did you not know me a little? Would I ever hurt the mother of my children?"

He sighs. The remnant of her magic only makes him feel lonelier. He will continue to look for her.