Chapter 206: Fiery pit

When the Dark God arrives, he finds Cina and Amami unconscious in front of the house. 

It doesn't take him long to understand what could have happened in this world. 

There's a different scent in the air. It doesn't belong to Ari. Rather, he doesn't believe that it belongs to anyone whom he knows. But only Ari has been here.

She has a good reason to say that she doesn't want him anymore.

Adira doesn't leave immediately. He takes Cina and Amami inside the house. It would take a while for them to regain consciousness. Adira takes a deep breath, recalling Ari's words. 

She's disappointed in him.

"Is she truly going to leave me this time?"

He did fail her. Not once or twice.

Chaos is the reason for everything. 

He thinks about everything that had happened. The origin was Kresi who turned out to be Chaos, a primordial god. 

If he had kept looking for Misaki instead of Ari, would she…

It's his fault for not responding to her voice. 

"How could I forget about her?" He questions himself. "I promised her that I would never forget her name."

Ari Takayama. 

However, he can't imagine a future without her. 

"She's right." Adira holds his head, feeling his heart tightening with sorrow and guilt. "If I had tried to look deeper that day…"

So what if Rilyah lied? Any sane person would have tried to look for the truth. He should have tried to find out what happened to Ari. Misaki was taken away because of his carelessness. 

It's all Chaos' fault. Adira grits his teeth. Why did that woman take away Misaki? 

Nevertheless, he's still going after Ari. 

"I am sorry for choosing you over our child." Adira exhales, "I should have always chosen you over everything else."

Even if he blames Chaos, the truth is clear. Ari left Iravan because she couldn't trust him. 

In addition to that, there were different forces working in the background. He will deal with them one by one. Chaos or whoever is behind this will face his wrath. 

First, he needs to find Ari and Misaki. 

After much thoughts, Adira leaves Earth, trying to trace Ari. He could sense her through Cina's key. 

Ai is still carrying one. 

***

"Why I am here?" 

Aren finds himself lying on the ground. There's a layer grass beneath him. The sky is still white. But the air is cold. He sees men and women moving around him, working on civilization. None of them are talking or looking at him. He frowns, wondering if this is the same Oblivion where he came to. 

Where's his brother and Ari?

"Brother Aren."

He looks at the boy standing next to him. Aren knits his brows. The boy is dressed in a simple black robe. His golden locks are combed back into an odd style. "Li Jun, who did you hair?"

"Scias." Scias glowers at Aren. "My name is Scias. Don't forget that."

"I like Li Jun more," Aren mutters under his breath. 

"Please don't get it wrong." Scias looks at him scornfully. "Names are important."

"Alright, alright." Aren waves his hand. "Where am I? Where are Ai and Ari?"

"They left hours ago." Scias clasps his hands behind his back, imitating Anik who is always doing it when he's commanding his people. "Brother Aren, are you going to laze around? You should help us. We need magicians."

"Huh?" Aren hasn't digested the news that Ai and Ari left without him. He could make a guess where they could have gone. Either they are chasing Chaos or looking for Misaki. So, he doesn't ask about them anymore. "You are saying that this is the same white space that belonged to Chaos."

"Yes." Scias grins at him. "Do you like it, Brother Aren? We are decorating it for Misaki."

Ari is going to bring Misaki here. What about Misumi then? Is Ari truly leaving Dark God? Even if she decides to, it's her decision. "What about Misumi?"

"Who is Misumi?" Scias tilts his head, very curious about the person named Misumi.

"She's Misaki's sister." Aren scratches his chin. Misaki and Misumi should be ten-year-old now. "I guess they are around your age. If she brings them here, they can be your playmate."

"I don't have time to play with kids." Scias wrinkles his nose. "Come and help me create a fiery pit."

Fiery…? Aren squints his eyes. "Why are we making a fiery pit?"

"We have decided to make a place where we can surf on the fiery waves." Scias points at the pit in the north direction. "We need fire. None of us can create runes. Since you are a fire magician, give some fire there." 

"..." Is it right or not? He has never heard of people who want to surf on fiery waves. Scias tugs Aren's arm. 

"Fine." Aren stands up. Fire can always be put out. "If you get burned, don't cry later."

"Fire can't harm me." Scias tells him, "Well, I can't die. There's no death in this world yet."

"Don't underestimate Ari." Aren replies, "She knows all of your true names."

"We trust her." Scias increases his pace, walking ahead of Aren. He thinks about the people who killed his mother and the rest of his family. The spring court was destroyed by someone. However, he doesn't feel any sadness anymore nor does he feel any need to feel sadness or anger for his past. He's abandoned by both past and everything else. Haven is the world where he belongs now. 

***

"She's here," Ari says to Ai, "I can sense Chaos here."

To find Chaos, one must trace chaos. With the degree of chaos in the world, Ari can guess whether it's a face of Chaos or Chaos herself present in the world.

The world has weak magic. In fact, magic is rare here and magical beasts are rarer. There are five kingdoms. Among them, Kask Empire is the most powerful one.

The degree of Chaos is low but strong here. 

Chaos hasn't started in this world. But it won't take long for wars to start. The roots of Chaos in this world start from the civil wars. Ari could sense people's emotions and the unrest under the surface. 

"Do you think that Misaki is also here?" Ai asks her. They have gone to many worlds and tried to track down the faces of Chaos. The faces of Chaos usually have no idea where original Chaos is. Now, they are here. It's an ordinary world… too ordinary than Earth or Iravan. Earth is remarkable because of all the dimensions that surround Earth. Those worlds are hidden from humans. It is a feat that most humans aren't aware of those small worlds.

"Must be here somewhere." Ari takes a deep breath. Misaki has to be here if Chaos is here. Chaos isn't someone who would abandon Misaki. Why is that? Chaos wouldn't have taken Misaki away to abandon her. But why would she take them? Ari sneers at the thought. 

Taking away Misaki would create an uproar in everyone's lives. 

That must be one of her purposes. 

That goddess… did she need to turn her child into a pawn? If she finds her once, she's going to teach her what chaos means. 

There's a game between them. Who told that woman to drag others into it? Her children should be out of it.

And Adira… she's tired of him. She doesn't want to be the only understanding one in the relationship. Compromise? She's done. Even if he took back Misumi to Iravan, he could find Misaki in ten years. She gets it. Finding Chaos is difficult. There are so many worlds. Chaos and Misaki could be anywhere. 

In any case, she doesn't want her children to be with Adira. She's going to bring Misumi and Misaki to Haven. She will ban any god from entering. She's done with gods' schemes. 

They can play games without her. She can't care less if worlds get destroyed in her absence. Her children, Ai, Misaki, Misumi, and the forsaken ones are more important than any god or any world. 

Life and death are two sides of one coin anyway. Even if the worlds get destroyed, the worlds will also get created. Didn't she create Haven? 

Well, it's not exactly a world. A dimension with only her as a goddess. 

"Can you recognize Misaki?" Ari inquires Ai solemnly. It's been years. The flow of time is different in each world. It's not something simple as a solar system. But magic is rare here. It's not as strong as Iravan. Misaki will stand out. 

"She has horns." Ai watches the people around him keenly. They are standing at the city's square in the capital of Kask empire. The fountain has a sculpture of the current king. The people, dressed in colourful clothes, can't see Ari and Ai since they are under a spell to keep themselves invisible to others. "Misumi doesn't have any."

Horns... Ari feels a lump forming in her throat. She clears her throat, trying to control her emotions. She couldn't even hold her daughters properly. And Misaki… she hasn't laid a glance on her child. 

She can't wait to meet Misaki.