Silence took over the room as Aria waited anxiously for Kai's decision. She wasn't scared of death as much as she was scared of Kai dying soon after her.
That would be her worst nightmare. Seeing her goal get shattered into pieces after years of suffering and pain wasn't something she was ready to handle even if she was dead.
It didn't matter if she had to do an Origin Vow at all as it would only prove her honesty first and foremost. What was her life worth if she died and then ended up failing everything she sacrificed her life for?
It wasn't a selfish thought but more of a desperate attempt to regain hope that she did the right thing. Even if she hurt Kai doing it, she wanted to believe that she did what was best for him.
'Please, Kai. Please, you can't die… Not now, not never.' She thought to herself. Her eyes were on the verge of tearing up but she denied that from happening. She couldn't break down, not now, not when she could do one final push before her death.
Eventually, the boy opened his mouth and finally spoke. "Are you really ready to put everything at risk for this? Are you really going to put your life in my hands willingly?"
"Yes. I'm ready." She replied without a shred of hesitation.
"Fine, let's do an Origin Vow. A one-sided contract that you can't breach or you won't simply die… You will suffer for eternity."
"Yes, I understand."
Seeing her willingness, Kai snapped his finger and instantly, the Origin he imbued into her body vanished.
Aria slowly lifted her hand before she touched the back of her neck. She clearly felt it vanish and that made her exhale a long sigh of relief.
"Until I get an Origin Vow implicator, you're going to follow me." He said before he approached her and then with a simple move of his hand, two ice shackles appeared around her wrists.
"If you break these, I will kill you. If you try to run away, I will also kill you. If you do as much as anything I deem remotely suspicious, you're dead. Just stay quiet and don't do anything unless I tell you to do it." He ordered her with an extremely cold tone.
"I understand." She nodded her head.
Seeing that, Kai nodded his head before he suddenly grabbed Aria by the legs and lifted her up before dropping her over his shoulder.
Then, he looked around the room before he summoned the wind to quickly turn the whole place into a huge mess.
'That should make it look like a kidnapping.' He thought to himself before he walked toward the window.
"I can… walk alone."
"Silence." Saying that Kai jumped from the window and vanished into the night.
***
"Hmm, I wonder why Kai told us to leave first?" Eva murmured as she looked behind her at the arena. Countless people were leaving after the end of the show, talking excitedly about how much they loved it.
"You know him. He always has things to do out of nowhere." Kaya replied with a shrug.
"Yeah, I know. But, it still seemed rather odd that he left so suddenly. Hopefully, there is nothing wrong."
"Relax, kiddo. Kai will be fine. He had been able to handle himself before we came along and he will still be able to do the same now. There is no point in worrying with no reason."
"Tsk, I hate that you have a point." Eva rolled her eyes.
"I always have a point, you just can't see it."
"As far as I remember, you always come up with dumb ideas."
"My dumb ideas saved your ass countless times. How ungrateful of you, darling. Someone grateful would've kissed my feet in your stead if I have to be honest." Kaya grinned.
"I would rather bury my head in dirty mud and wash my face with it than to kiss your feet. It's more hygienic as far as I'm concerned." Eva replied.
"You don't know till you try."
"I will kill you, saggy breasts." Eva's cold tone made Kaya grin even wider.
The two continued their banter till they reached the hotel and went up to their floor. But, when they reached Kai's room, they noticed that it was occupied.
"Hmm? Did Kai come back?"
"Apparently," Kaya murmured before she knocked on the door.
"Come in." Not long after, Kai's familiar voice replied.
Opening the door, Kaya and Eva were met with a cold wind.
'What the hell? Did Kai turn on the AC on full blast?' Eva blinked in confusion as she walked inside.
However, when she felt the ice particles in the air, she quickly realized that Kai must've used his ice powers.
"Kai? Is everything OK? Where are you?"
As the two took a turn to the living room, they were met with a sight that they never expected to see in a thousand years.
Kai was sitting on the sofa, sipping a cup of tea casually. In front of him, dangling in the air while tied by ice shackles that protruded from the ceiling and the ground was none other than Claire Redsky.
The two stared silently as if they couldn't believe their own eyes.
'Did I go to sleep without noticing?' Kaya thought seriously as she blinked. However, no matter how she looked at it, this was real, everything was real.
"Kai…"
"Sit down. I will explain." He said.
The two girls looked at each other before they quickly sat down next to him.
"This woman is the one that you saw sing, there is no illusion here." He confirmed their suspicion and that made the shock even bigger.
"Did you… kidnap her?" Eva asked with an audible gulp.
"Yes. She will be with us for a while."
"Why?"
"I have a good use for her. But, don't worry, she will stay shuckled like that."
"Kai… She will die from hypothermia. Look, she shivering." Kaya said.
"She's an Origin User, she won't die. That's all fake." He said with a cold tone. "Oi, you're awake, right? You can speak and answer their questions."
Hearing his voice, Aria shuddered as she lifted her head up weakly. Her face had traces of ice on it and her arms were read from the sheer coldness of the ice shackles.
'She looks really weak and feeble.' Kaya couldn't deny that she felt pity for this girl. But, she could also see that Kai didn't like her or even outright hated her from his tone and the cold glare he gave her.
'Do these two have a past between them?' Eva thought.
"She is going to be my lead to finding a cure for my sickness."
"Wait, really?! She knows something?"
"Hopefully," Kai said as he stood up and brought his teacup to the kitchen, leaving both Kaya and Eva alone with Aria.
"Are you two… Kai's wives?" The girl finally opened her mouth and asked with a weak tone.
"W-Wives?!" Eva blushed when she heard her.
"I-I mean, I'm not but maybe soo-"
"I am." Suddenly, Kaya cut her off and responded with a deadly serious expression.
"No, the hell you're not!"
"I am his wife. You're still a kiddo, so you won't get it. It's a matter between adults."
"Since when?! Besides, Kai is still not an adult yet!"
"Since ever, duh. Also, he's smarter and wiser than most adults so he's an adult mentally."
"Stop being shameless, saggy breasts! Neither of us is his wife!" Eva said as she clarified the misunderstanding.
"Tsk, party pooper…"
"I will knock your ass out with a punch." Eva threatened.
Meanwhile, Aria listened to the interaction with a stoic expression before she looked down again.
"You two seem like interesting people to be with. I can see why Kai would like you.
Those words made the two girls look at Aria at the same time.
"And how do you know what Kai likes and dislikes?"
"I…" Aria was about to speak before she shuddered again and started coughing. Her complexion didn't look well.
"Are you ok?" Eva asked.
"I… I'm fine… I can't stand for long periods of time or I get disoriented."
'That's far from fine!'
"Shouldn't we at least make her sit? Hanging like that from the air is really impractical." Kaya suggested.
Kai came back and looked at Aria for a second. Although he did that out of spite, he did agree with Kaya. Keeping her hanging like that is not a good idea.
"Tsk…" Clicking his tongue, he snapped his finger and Aria fell to the ground.
'Sigh, I've never seen Kai this angry before. What did this girl even do?' Eve thought as she helped her up before she made her sit down on the sofa.
"So, you two knew each other before?"
"Yes… We…" Aria was about to speak, only for her eyes to wander toward Kai.
The latter nodded his head. "Go ahead."
"I was his fiancee… 15 years ago."