Chapter 223: Something broke?

Two days after Noras' visit, Ari goes into labour.

"I think something broke," Ari says to Adira calmly.

"Broke?" Adira stares at her. "Broke what?"

"Water." Ari puts down the slice of cake on the table. "Our babies are going to come out."

Then, everything goes into a frenzy. Adira. The healers arrive. Adira decides to stay in the room. When Ari's face contorts in pain, he takes her hand and absorbs her pain out of her body.

Their daughters are born without any problem.

But something is different this time. Misaki is born first. 

Ari holds Misaki and Misumi in her arms. Her eyes become misty when she sees their faces. They look so much like their father. "Adira, our daughters are so well-behaved."

Not like newborns at all.

Watching this scene, Adira feels a surge of happiness. Everything is going well this time. Ari didn't suffer. She's an immortal. His both daughters are also healthy, though they are born earlier than they were born last time.  (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

After fifteen days, Ai is allowed to visit his sisters and mother. His eyes sparkle when he sees the twins. 

"Mother, she has horns." Little Ai touches Misaki's head. The girl's face twists before she bursts into tears. Her piercing cries echo through the castle, waking up everyone.

"She's crying." Little Ai also tears up as he retracts his hand. "She hates me."

"She doesn't like it if you touch her horns." Ari tries to pacify Misaki. "Go to Misumi. She will like you."

Little Ai walks to Misumi's crib. The baby stares at him. He pokes her cheek. "Misumi, I am your elder brother."

"Uwa~" Misumi blinks her eyes as if she's acknowledging the fact.

"You are so small." Little Ai pokes her other cheek. "Why are you small?"

"..." Misumi's lips tremble. She turns her head away. 

"You are cute." Little Ai leans closer and kisses her head. "My sister, I will play with you every day."

Misumi looks at him with shiny eyes.

On the other hand, Misaki is watching her mother's lips move with deep lines on her forehead. 

"Can you understand me already?" Ari grins at her. "I want to hear you talk so much."

"I am talking." Misaki opens her mouth and says the words but only baby jargon comes out. "Mother, sing for me."

"You seem like you can't wait to learn to speak." Ari chuckles. "Don't be mad at Little Ai. He won't touch your horns again."

Misaki yawns. She blinks her eyes slowly, listening to her mother's sweet voice. Soon, she falls asleep in Ari's lap. Ari lays her down in the crib beside Misumi. The sisters like to sleep next to each other.

She pats Misumi's head while Little Ai sleeps with his head on Ari's lap. In no time, Misumi and Ai also fall asleep.

"Now, I am also sleepy." Ari lays down Little Ai beside her. The crib is on the right side of the bed. She lies down on the bed, holding Little Ai's hand. Her gaze is fixed on her daughters. With a warm and content smile on her face, she falls into slumber.

When Adira returns, he finds her on the bed. Misaki and Misumi are awake, playing in the crib, whining for food. Little Ai is also awake, rubbing his eyes. 

Adira sits down beside Ari, wondering whether he should wake her up or not. She must be tired after taking care of three kids. He sighs and gets up. He can take care of Misaki and Misumi. He picks up Misaki first. 

"Calm down." He tells her, "Your mother is asleep."

Misumi doesn't cry. Misaki is always crying. A little has changed about them. 

"Waaaaaaaa~" Misaki cries louder. "I want food."

"I will give you food." Adira sighs. It seems that Misaki's mind is immature. She doesn't remember the other timeline. The reason must be that Misaki wasn't born when the time was turned back.

"I want mother's food." Misaki cries out loudly. "Mother! Mother! Mother!"

"..." Why is his elder daughter so whiny? Misumi never gave trouble like that.

"Uwaaaa." Sound of Misumi's soft cry enters his ear. Adira feels helpless when Little Ai also starts crying.

"Now, why are you crying?" He asks Little Ai.

"Because, Father, they are crying." Little Ai wails, "I am sad because my sisters are sad."

"..." Raising one child is difficult. Raising three is definitely a feat. None of his children listens to him.

Having no option left, Adira goes to Ari's side and tries to wake her up. He utters half-jokingly, "Ari, wake up. They will start a rebellion if they don't get food."

Ari doesn't wake up.

He creases his forehead. Is she too tired? He notices that her body is turning cold. Adira puts Misaki in the crib and then he turns toward Little Ai. "Ai, find Mogrok. Tell him to prepare food for Misaki and Misumi."

"Yes, Father." Little Ai accepts the mission and runs out of the door to find Mogrok.

"Ari?" Adira turns Ari on her back. He touches her forehead. Her skin is as cold as ice. He checks her breathing. It's slow. Her heartbeat is also slow. He searches for her soul. 

It's still inside her body, but it's lying inactive. There's no sign of life in her body and soul, although she's alive.

Adira pales. What is wrong with Ari? Did something go wrong during the pregnancy? Why is her body acting like this? She's an immortal.

Mogrok arrives. He looks at the Dark God, puzzled by the scene in front of him. The twins are crying in the crib. Little Ai is confused beside him. 

"What happened to Master?"

"Mogrok, take Misaki and Misumi outside," Adira commands him quickly. "Take care of the children."

Mogrok realizes that he won't get any answer. He picks up Misaki, Misumi, and Little Ai, and then, he flounces out of the room.

No matter what Adira dows, Ari doesn't wake up. He realizes that something is very wrong. The time-turn might have been a failure.

"Why?" Adira can't understand. How could Ari get hurt inside the castle? "Nora's would know."

He sends a message to the God of light. 

After the message is delivered, the God of light comes to the Dark Realm right away.

Noras listens to Ari's pulse. He searches for any abnormalities in Ari's body.

"Is her essence stolen?" Adira asks him anxiously. There's fear in his eyes. He doesn't want to lose Ari again.

"No," Noras replies, knitting his brows. "She still has her essence. It's her true name."

"True name?" Adira sweats profusely. Ari's name was erased because she killed a primordial Goddess. Is it being erased? How could she get punished for the crime that she didn't commit this time?

"It's changing by itself." Noras opens Ari's eye. "The goddess essence is devouring Ari. It seems that Ari will disappear as Abyss takes over. Her body is also changing. She will become a forsaken creature."

Adira realizes what is going on. Ari fell in the river of death around this time. For ten years, she stayed in the river. The forsaken creatures are abandoned by time, worlds, and gods. How could Ari be an exception? From the moment she fell into the river to the moment she came out of the river as a forsaken goddess was a transition period. Then, Ari's name was erased along with Chaos' name. 

When Ari wakes up, she will be Abyss.

"Ari is truly gone." Adira drops on his knees, feeling mortified. Everything has been a failure. Nothing has changed. "My Ari is gone."

"We don't know what will happen until she wakes up." Noras looks at him. "There's a little fight inside her. She might not be Ari anymore, but we can't be sure if Abyss won't be Ari either. She might remember her life as Ari."

They will only know it after she wakes up. Adira grabs Ari's hand, tugging her gently. Tears stream down on his face. Why is this always happening to his Ari? 

"Adira, we have to take her away from Iravan." Noras tells him with a grave voice, "As her body begins to change, it will affect the people of Iravan. We need to keep her away from the mortals who can be easily affected."

"Where should I take her?" Adira looks up at him. "Haven is not built this time. Let me keep her in this world."

"Then, create a place that is far from the mortals." Noras pauses for a moment. "We should look for Chaos."

"Why?" Adira scowls at him. "Ari is suffering because of her."

"I want to know if she is dead or not." Noras crosses his arms. "Chaos and Order are connected. If Chaos' true name is still intact, we can be sure that the changes in Ari is because she was a forsaken creature once."