𝒐𝑣𝓁xt.𝗇𝓔t

Eva looked at Aria with an apprehensive expression. She couldn’t understand what her words had made Aria contemplate to have such myriads of emotions but she was sure these memories were bittersweet, beautiful and ugly, precious and cursed.

‘Whatever she’s thinking of, it must’ve been quite the ride.’ That mere revelation made her feel even more sympathy for Aria. But, even more, she felt great pain that her beloved had to go through that and change into a cold, distant person for the next 11 years or so.

Kaya also felt that and she could only sigh as she stood up.

“I’m going to call Kai back.” She said in a serious tone.

Eva nodded her head as she kept staring at Aria.

Meanwhile, the topic of their thoughts was standing idly outside, staring at the endless paths extending to his left and to his right.

Hearing the door open, Kai looked to his right at Kaya.

“Are you done?”

“Mostly. We didn’t get much out of her.” She said.

“I see…”

Kaya looked at him for a second before she looked back at the inside of the room. Then, she closed the door and approached him.

“Hey, ehem, Kai. Can I ask a question?”

“What?”

“Are you sure that girl is the culprit of whatever she has done? I know that I don’t know what actually happened. But, I can clearly see that the girl is pretty much feeling guilty or outright hiding something from you.”

“Hiding something? It was pretty clear when I first realized it.” He replied as he ran his hand through his hair.

The memory was as vivid as ever in Kai’s head. He had thought about it a thousand times before, tried to look at it from different angles, searching for any loophole and any excuse he could give Aria. But, he couldn’t find any, and that made him hate her even more.

“I see,” Kaya murmured before she grabbed his shoulder. “Hey, don’t let it get to your head, love. She’s your past, not your present or future. We all have lost something in our lives. But, we found each other, didn’t we? I don’t know about you. But for me, you made me realize that nobody is born to be alone. You’re the main reason why I believe in that.”

Kaya said as she pulled Kai into a hug and whispered in his ear. “You don’t have to struggle alone. We will always be there for you. Me and that kiddo.”

Kai didn’t move from his position but he still quietly left Kaya to caress his head gently as she whispered sweet words into his ear.

‘No one was born to be alone’. Those words resonated with him deeper than he expected. After what happened, he completely closed his heart to any idea of trusting another person. He just wanted to be alone, because at least loneliness never betrays. It could be painful, mind-bending, and more often than not a hellish torture. But, it never betrays.

That was why he even entertained the idea of leaving the Hitman’s Guild in the first place. It was, after all, loneliness that he wanted more than anything else.

However, if someone told him that in a mere few months, two girls would barge into his life and change his perspective of everything, he would just ignore them. Yet, it happened and was happening right in front of him.

“I understand.” He finally replied.

That answer made Kaya smile before she rested her chin on his head. “So, just do what you need to do and you will find us there to help you, okay?” She finished before planting a kiss on his head.

***

The two then walked inside the room where Eva and Aria were sitting.

Kai then sat down and asked straightforwardly.

“Now, I want to know everything.”

***

*One Week Later*

Kai and the two girls had already returned back home. As for Aria, Kai simply shackled her for the first few days and left her in Eva’s house. But, he eventually got his hands on Origin Vow Implicators before he finally set her free after making sure she wouldn’t betray him by saying anything. The two agreed to meet again after a while to erase any suspicious activity and to also do something that Kai had decided on ever since their talk in the hotel.

It was time to finally divulge deeper into the rabbit hole that is called ‘Divinity’. He knew that it was coming sooner or later. Divinity was the only lead he had on his illness and that fact was further solidified when he realized that the person he hated the most, his father, was the one moving things behind the shadows in that Organization.

So, the first step to actually get into Divinity was well… To actually get into Divinity and the best and frankly the only way to get into Divinity was to become an ascender.

To become an ascender, Divinity will perform a plethora of tests on the candidates to see if they truly have potential or not.

In reality, though, all the candidates get accepted most of the time since Origin Users aren’t that many anyway. However, these tests work to show who is worth investing resources into and who doesn’t.

Those who have talent quickly rise in ranks and become great figures and those who don’t, well, they end up staying as Ascenders.

Kai wanted to precisely be the first type. He wanted to rise so high in Divinity that he could have a chance of meeting that man. But, he can’t become something like that with his real identity.

He had to be completely anonymous so Black Phantom won’t work too. He had to create a new identity, a new name, and a new title completely detached from his past or present life.

However, that all can wait as the actual tests to join Divinity start a few weeks later. It’s a yearly process that takes time because more often than not, Divinity has to proactively search for Origin Users, the clueless bunch to be precise. Those people who aren’t aware of the existence of this mystical power.

Those who do are always from prominent families that are already linked to Divinity. So, all these people get amassed into one yearly test to be accepted.

During that time, Kai decided to wring all possible information from Aria and he did. While it wasn’t the most mind-boggling revelation, he was still able to get palpable information about his target before releasing Aria back to where she was.

The news of her suspicious disappearance had filled the news and Aria became the talk of everyone. However, when she returned and explained that she had wanted to spend some time alone to digest all the things she had to do, everyone simply sympathized with her.

Although the topic was still vivid and alive, people were happy that she was alive and that’s what mattered to them.

In other words, Kai’s life returned again -for god knows what time- to how it was temporarily. He just spent his time in Eva’s house, where Miyu was and when he wasn’t there, he would just do what he normally does.

A life where he doesn’t think about what to do against a gigantic Organization sure is a great life. But, Kai doesn’t seem to be getting to that part yet.