"It's still the same," Aren mumbles to himself when he returns to Iravan. The dusky skies of the Dark Realm are painted with soft auburn sunlights. The familiar air makes him feel safe. After so many years, he has returned to this world.

He glances at his younger brother's back. Ai hasn't said anything since Ari was buried. The Dark God is the same.

Is Ari truly gone?

Adira hasn't explained anything. And he can't ask him either. As for Ai, his younger brother is still grieving. It makes him worry. His relationship with Ari wasn't the same as Ai's relationship with Ai.

Ari was like a mother to Ai.

He knows the pain of losing a mother.

Just like him, Ai has closed his heart to everyone. As he's his brother, he's going to do everything in order to open his heart. Back then, he didn't have anyone. But Ai has him.

***

Ai stops in front of the gate of the dark castle, hesitating to go inside. He senses his brother stopping behind him. His brother places his hand on his back.

"Why are you standing there?" The Dark God's deep voice enters his ears, jolting him. "Follow me."

"I…" Ai looks at the Dark God. "Mother isn't there."

"Your sisters are still there." Adira gives him a meaningful look. He glances at Aren, giving him a nod. "Ai is also my son."

Aren smiles faintly and says to him politely, "Lord, you are too kind."

"I am not," Adira replies with a heavy voice. Just then, his other half appears in front of him. Adira eyes his other half. "How is Misumi?"

"She's fine." The 'other' Adira tells him, "Misaki is here too. She's no longer the face of a goddess. Thus, her body is in a shocked state. She's been put to sleep."

"I understand." His second daughter is back at the castle. Adira inhales deeply, and then, he commands his other half. "Come back to me."

The 'other' Adira nods his head obediently. His body transforms into a ball of black burning ehr. It floats right toward Adira's chest, delving deep into his body. All the memories of ten years in Iravan emerge in Adira's head. From that moment on, Adira and his other half are the same again.

He goes straight to Misaki's room. To his surprise, Lucius and Misumi are sitting on the bed with Misaki lying asleep in the centre. Misumi is holding MIsaki's hand, whispering something to her. Lucius is staring at her with deep concern in his eyes.

Adira doesn't think of Lucius' concern as something else. He walks toward Misaki's bed. "Why are both of you here?"

"Father, I want to stay here." Misumi looks up at him. "Misaki is sick. I want to take her pain away."

"She's not in pain." Adira strokes her head gently. His eldest daughter is a lot like Ari. She cares deeply for other people. He's afraid that he might have sheltered her too much. How would Ari raise them if she had been here? He interrupts Misaki when he opens her mouth to protest. "Don't you want to meet your elder brother?"

"Elder brother Ai?" Misumi looks at the boy standing near the door. She blinks her eyes slowly. "Are you really Elder Brother Ai?"

Ai nods his head nervously. He peers at Misaki on the bed. He can't help but look for similarities to their mother. There is a shadow of his mother's features on both of them. It gives him a twinge of envy in his chest. He doesn't look like Ari.

"Elder Brother is also back." Misumi runs to him and wraps her arms around his legs. "Elder Brother, do you remember that we used to talk a lot?"

He doesn't remember much actually. Ai looks down at her and smiles. "Misumi remembers?"

"Not much." Misumi grins at him. Then, she peeks outside and sees Aren. Her eyes search for more. "Mother isn't here."

Silence falls in the room. Adira doesn't dare to look at Misumi. She's been waiting for Ari to come back.

Sensing the heaviness in the room, Aren steps forward and picks up Misumi in his arms. "Do you recognize me, Misumi?"

"No." Misumi frowns at him. "Who are you, Mister Red?"

"You already have a name for me." Aren signals Ai to follow him discreetly. "I will introduce myself to you then. I am afraid that it will take a while."

"Mister Red, you look like my elder brother," Misumi remarks.

"Your observation skills are good." Aren winks at her. "Misumi, I am Ai's brother."

"Then, you are also my brother." Misumi creases her forehead.

"Let's not make it complicated." Aren laughs awkwardly as he takes her away from Misaki's room with Ai walking beside him. He can't imagine Ari as his mother. "Your mother is my friend. You can call me Uncle."

***

After Aren, Ai, and Misumi are gone, Adira turns his head toward Lucius. "Why are you still here?"

His other half has always treated this boy in a nonchalant manner. But Adira knows that the child can't be an ordinary child.

There's a seal on this boy. In addition to that, the entity inside the boy's body is different.

It's not a part of Iravan as if this boy came to this world just like Ari did for the first time.

The boy bends down on his one knee and lowers his head. His voice is solemn, laced with respect. "Lord, I am a timekeeper."

"What is your purpose?" Adira questions him.

"I am here because of your daughter."

Adira's gaze turns cold. "Say it clearly."

"Misaki is a time-traveller." Lucius raises his head and meets Adira's cold gaze, unaffected by the pressure in the air. "She was also a time-traveller in her past life. She wasn't supposed to be born as your daughter, but some things went wrong in purgatory."

"I don't care what she was before she was born as my daughter." Adira grimaces at Lucius. "She's my daughter now. I don't want an entity like you anywhere near her."

There are some entities who are autonomous. Forsaken ones are similar, but they are negative creatures. As long as there are time-travellers, there will be time-keepers. Gods can't control them.

However, Adira, who is a primordial god, can send this boy back to where it came from.

"I am not here to hurt her." Lucius sits on his knees, straightening his back. "I am here to protect her from other keepers."

"Protect her?" Adira frowns at him suspiciously.

"She turned back time several times in her past life." Lucius licks his lips before he continues, "As a god, you understand how changing history can impact lives. I tried to stop her but she absorbed the time crystal that changed her soul. Then, an accident happened. Her body was frozen for a thousand years."

"She was supposed to die a lot earlier than the day she died but I decided to give her a chance. If she had gone through hell, she would have lost her abilities and born again as a normal child in this world."

"But the hell was destroyed in another battle. And she didn't want to wait. She was born in this world." Lucius gazes at Misaki. The girl doesn't look anything like Kyuri. "She's too dangerous now. Not only that she has the abilities of her past lives, but she is also a wahr right now. If she meets her contracted spirit, she will be able to control her powers. The original plan was to find her and kill her immediately. But the other keepers couldn't get a hold of her. She was under the protection of Chaos. Now, she's here."

Adira glares at him. "You want to kill my daughter?"

"No." Lucius shakes his head. "I left the keepers' realm because I want to protect her and stop her from using time. If she doesn't create more anomalies in time, the keepers will eventually leave her alone."

"I won't let them touch my daughter," Adira growls, clenching his fists. How could those creatures think of harming his daughter? "Other than you, is there any other keeper on Iravan?"

"I am not sure." Lucius begs in a low tone, "Lord, please let me stay beside her."

Adira stares at the keeper for a long moment.

Lucius can't guess what's going inside the Dark God's head. He can't return to the keepers' realm after abandoning his duties. He chose n Kyuri over everything else.

"Go to your room," Adira exhales. The feelings in Lucius' eyes are clear to him. He doesn't want to think about this much. "Misaki needs rest. She's no longer the face of Chaos."

Lucius already knows that Misaki isn't the face of Chaos anymore. Knowing that the Dark Lord's temper isn't good, he leaves the room. Healing Misaki is something that even he can't do right now. The Dark God will be able to heal Misaki completely.