Chapter 80- Kaya's Question
Ignoring the dazed looks of the two women beside him, Kai asked.
"What happened?" He feigned ignorance of what actually happened.
At that moment, the three heard the sound of the TV news airing. A woman reporter appeared with a huge crater behind her.
"We just received information that some weird hole appeared in the ground near the highway of the city. We do not know the origin of it but some citizens claim that they saw a few silhouettes move around the place before the occurrence. However, the odd thing is that all the surveillance cameras around here that could've captured what happened were all deactivated. What a huge mystery!"
Then, the camera showed the huge hole in the ground. From what the trio could see, it seemed that it happened right after they left the area.
'What in the hell is that?' Eva didn't see the whole after Kai used his powers but the effect still horrified her to no extent.
"What is that?"
"It's nothing… Apparently, some kind of weird earthquake happened." Eva replied.
"That's one weird earthquake." Kai's tone sounded confused.
Kaya also had a frown on her face. That footage worked as a reminder to her who the Black Phantom was. He was a man with monstrous strength and mysterious abilities. However, her eyes instinctively drifted to Kai who was watching the footage too and her heart felt as if it was being squeezed.
What if that person was the man in front of her? What if it turned out to be the love of her life? How should she react?
No, it wasn't that that made her feel complicated, it was the fact that Kai didn't trust her enough to tell her about his secret. Something about it pained her greatly. Did she make a mistake to believe Kai considered her close to him? Was she simply forcing herself on him?
Such thoughts were akin to knives stabbing Kaya in the heart.
"What a huge mess…" Eva murmured as she watched the scene. She knew she will have to do something about it.
Leaving the general public to spread rumors won't be good. So, she stood up and looked at Kai.
"I'm going to make a call." She said as she pulled out her phone and left the room, leaving Kaya and Kai alone.
The two stayed silent. The atmosphere was rather awkward. Mainly because Kaya seemed so eager to speak but had no words in her mouth. Usually, she could easily start a conversation with Kai and flirt with him but now, she was akin to a toddler learning her first few words.
"A-Are you feeling better?" She decided to finally ask.
"Yes."
"I see…"
Then the room was submerged in silence again.
"Hey, did I ever tell you about my childhood before?"
"... Hm?" Kai was confused at first but then he shook his head.
"Have I ever even told you anything about my personal life?" She asked again as she looked down, feeling ashamed of herself.
"No," Kai replied.
'I see, I guess I understand why he doesn't trust me. It's because I never even revealed anything about myself. I'm a mystery in his eyes. How can he trust someone that doesn't even tell him about their lives?' Kaya felt as if she was the dumbest person in the world at the moment.
"Do you want… to hear my story?" She asked.
Kai squinted his eyes before he nodded his head. His focus was now directed at Kaya.
The latter felt slightly relieved that he was interested in knowing her past. She didn't know what she would've felt if he said no.
"Ever since I can remember… I didn't have any parents or relatives. I was born and raised in an orphanage in a small country far away from here. I was quite timid and shy so I wasn't able to make friends in that place. I liked to just stay alone and read books. However, the woman that supervised that place treated me nicely and considered me her daughter that she never had."
Taking a deep breath, Kaya finally looked up again, staring directly at Kai.
"Although I felt lonely, I still didn't hate that place. It was my home. Life was hard but we were able to somehow survive. I thought my life would continue to sail smoothly until one day… The orphanage caught on fire during the night and trapped us all inside…"
Kaya closed her eyes for a second as she recalled that vivid memory as if it was yesterday.
"Somehow, my mother was able to get most kids out. But, since I liked to sleep alone, I always used the empty storage room at night. I didn't realize what happened till the roof fell and trapped me inside. Nobody came to save me and I was on the verge of death, choking on smoke. I thought my life was going to end right there and then.
However, my mother suddenly returned to the orphanage and made her way through the fire till she found me. Then, she tried to lift the huge log that was pinning me down. She ignored the fire that caught her hands and the heat coming from the log and somehow was able to lift it up."
"I never thought she would be able to do it. But, when she lifted me up and started running outside, the rest of the roof fell over her. She didn't give up and threw me outside while allowing for the tons and tons of wood and stone to crush her body." Kaya's tone turned slightly weak as she closed her eyes.
This was one of the most painful memories of her life. Just remembering the sight of the woman she considered her real mother just dying slowly with a smile on her face crushed her heart.
"Live, Kaya! Don't let anything stop you from living your life to the fullest!" She said to her. "You will definitely people that will love you for who you are. I promise you that."
Those words were etched into Kaya's soul and she lived by them to this very day. However, after she saw her mother's death, something inside of her broke.
"I was able to survive and leave the orphanage. But, by that time, I lost hope in life. I wished I would've just died with my mother in that place. That would've been less painful. At that moment, when I was still crying, a certain person approached me and gave me an offer."
"An offer?" Hearing such words, Kai had a hunch about where this story was going.
"Yes, I was offered to join Divinity." Kaya's face turned serious. "I'm someone called an Archangel. I have something akin to superpowers. I know this may sound absurd but that is the truth. I just wanted you to know more about me. You are the second person that I ever tell this story to directly. What I want to say is that I will never betray Kai ever. I hope you can trust me."
"I see…" Kai's tone was low, akin to a murmur. He never knew that Kaya had a sad childhood.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"What?"
"Are you… the Black Phantom?"