Chapter 185: One time was more than enough

"Why is it empty?" Ai mumbles to himself as he enters the house. He can feel that there's no one inside. What happened after he was gone?

He doesn't even know how many days have gone by. 

His sister is asleep in his arms. Ai takes her to his mother's bedroom. It's empty. The cradle must have been used by Misumi. There are a few toys on the floor too. It feels like the people left this place recently.

"Were they attacked?" Ai climbs downstairs and heads toward the sitting room. He takes a few steps back when he sees a woman with long white hair in the room.

Dressed in a flimsy white robe, the woman is petite and beautiful in her own face. She's sitting at the same place where Ryou used to sit. Leaning back on the wall, she turns her head toward him. "Little Ai, you have grown up."

Ai blinks his eyes several times. The woman looks familiar. Her eyes are pale blue. But there's something about her face. She has little similarities with Kresi. "Do I know you?"

"Did you forget about me already?" Chaos grins at him. "You know me as Kresi Mirin, I guess."

Though the face has changed a lot, her voice is the same. Ai purses his lips. Why did she change like this?

"Come and take a seat." Chaos gestures to him to come inside as if it's her house. Ai finds himself walking into the room. He sits opposite her, keeping some distance and holding the child close to his chest. 

"It's a long story." Chaos looks at him with smiling eyes. "In short, I am the goddess of Chaos."

What? Ai furrows his brows, worried. How could there be a goddess of chaos? He has never heard of one. "I don't understand?"

"The child in your arms is one of my faces." Chaos utters solemnly, "She called me to her."

Faces of the god… he understands the meaning. If Kresi is really Chaos, he can't see her as someone with goodwill. Then again, the dark god is also supposed to be evil. Ai creases his forehead, confused. What should he do? If she's truly a god, he can't win against her. Maybe he should try to find out what she wants.

"Isn't she a cute one?" Chaos' laughter stirs Misaki awake. The child whimpers in Ai's arms. Chaos lets out a chuckle. "But her arrogance managed to get my attention."

Misaki is truly mischievous. Ai shields the child's eyes and stops Misaki looking at Chaos, trying to distract her. Who knows what this child might be saying to Chaos at the moment? He smiles at Chaos and asks her, "Elder Sister, what do you exactly want?"

She shakes her head and guffaws. "I am not Kresi anymore. I am definitely not your Elder Sister. If you call me that again, I will rip your tongue out."

Her tone is lighthearted but her message is clear. She has never been close to Ai. But the boy is quite different from his elder brother. Ai is more sensible and realistic than the redhead who thinks that anyone can be saved. Chaos clicks her tongue. The man was quite annoying.

"My apologies." Ai bows his head respectfully. "Goddess, I am curious what you want from this child."

"What can I ever want from this little fledging?" Chaos raises her brow. "I am not like Adira or Noras. I am fully aware of myself while they limit themselves to only one world. Then again, they will lose little compassion that they have for the mortals if they don't do that."

If she doesn't want anything, why is she not leaving? Is it because of Misaki? Ai looks down at Misaki's face. The child is smiling slowly. "What does Misaki want from you?"

Misaki blinks her eyes full of mischief.

"That's between me and her." Chaos sighs. "I am waiting for Adira to appear. He should be here already."

"They are coming here?" Ai asks loudly.

"Child." Chaos looks toward the door. "They are here already."

The door slides open. The dark god steps into the sitting room. His dark gaze falls on Ai and the child in his arms. Adira lets out a breath of relief. He gives a nod of approval to Ai. "You have done a good job."

It's clear who killed the toad-folks in the other dimension. 

"No greetings to your ex-wife?" Chaos tilts her head and taunts Adira as he steps toward his daughter. Adira halts in his track and turns his head toward Chaos, lifting his brow questionably. 

"Don't tell me that you didn't recognize me?" Chaos gasps. She raises her head and looks at Noras who is equally confused. "Not you too, Noras?"

Cina scrutinizes Chaos' face. Though she looks familiar, he can't remember where she has seen her. He can't feel any mortal or immortal energy from the woman. She's hiding her powers. "Are you a goddess?"

She doesn't answer his question. Chaos tsks. "Gods with little to nothing in their heads."

Behind Cina, Aren has been observing the woman since he came. There's a shadow of Kresi in her face. But that's not how he recognizes her. It's not her voice either. It's the way she talks. "Why is your hair white, Kresi? Are you trying to change your fashion?"

Chaos stares at the redhead with a straight face. "Oh, you are also here."

"It's Kresi?" Noras looks at her with disbelief. "How could you be a goddess?"

"That's true." Chaos puckers her lips playfully. "How could I be a goddess, Noras? But I am a goddess. Nothing can change that. You have forgotten about me, but I remember you, Light. It's rare to see Light being so friendly to darkness."

The Dark God can also see the similarities. His ex-wife is also a goddess. "Why did you take birth as a mortal?"

"You mean why did I become Amara and Kresi?" Chaos props her chin on her hand. Her voice is a little sad. "Why, indeed?"

There's silence for some time. She stands up and walks to Adira. "Do you want to marry me again?"

Adira shakes his head. "One time was more than enough."

"That's a pity." She releases her breath. "I came to Iravan to create chaos. After all, I am a goddess of chaos. I didn't know about my true self until recently. By the way, it's annoying that you look at me that way. You still don't remember Ari, right? So annoying! I might be your ex-wife, but we never consummated our marriage. We both know that the marriage was in name only. So, don't look at me as if I was betrayed."

The dark god grapples her throat. "Married or not, you betrayed me, Amara."

"Hurts." How bold of him! He's barely himself. Half of his power is gone. Chaos clenches her teeth. "Let me teach you a lesson then."

She lifts her hand and touches his forehead, removing the mist that Atvi put in his mind. Adira releases her throat and takes a step back. He gasps for air as the memories rush in his mind. 

Ari.

Takayama Ari.

He promised her that he would never forget her.

His eyes well up. Adira drops on his knees, panting for air as he looks into the memories jumbled up in his mind.

"What have you done to him?" Noras shouts at Chaos.

"I gave his memories back to him." Chaos rolls her eyes. "This is what happens when you forget your true self. Anyway, I came here because of his daughter. Since she wants to go with me, I am taking her."

Before anyone could react, she flicks Ai's forehead. The boy falls backwards, wincing in pain. Chaos grabs Misaki and dematerializes from the room.