"Dad, are you listening?"
Sitting on a chair inside a quiet room, Eva looked at her father who was lost in thought. Beside him, his wife sat silently while looking at her daughter. Selina had a serious expression on her face.
Meanwhile, Meli was sitting on Eva's lap as she idly fiddled with her teddy bear.
Finally, Markus looked up at his daughter. "Sigh, Eva, are you trying to get yourself killed?" He asked. "Destroy the Guild? G.o.d, Eva… That's beyond reckless!"
"I already decided that I will do it. I have Kai with me so I'm going to be ok." She said as she patted Meli on the head.
"That doesn't mean it's safe!! It's the Guild! They have an army of people that could wipe this world out of existence if they wanted! Speak, Selina! Your daughter is throwing her life away!" Markus' eyes shifted to his wife.
The latter didn't immediately speak as she eyed her daughter. She could see it clearly in Eva's clear red eyes. Determination, trust, confidence. She had them all and more. It was as if it was already set in stone that she would succeed.
"Is this really what you want, sweetheart?" She asked.
"Yes. The Guild attacked me and my family and who did I find when I was in dire need of help? It was Kai. He saved me and my dad. No matter what I do, I won't be able to repay his kindness. I decided to dedicate my whole life to helping him achieve everything he wants." Eva replied with a determined look, making her two parents speechless.
"Dedicate your whole life? Eva, you can't… What about your goals? Your dreams?" Markus asked.
"I know that if I follow him, my dreams will be achieved. He is akin to magic, Father." A beautiful sparkle appeared in Eva's eyes when she mentioned Kai. Her deep admiration and love are as clear as day that even Markus couldn't even speak.
"You really grew up, sweetheart," Selina murmured as she eyed her daughter with a small smile. She could see that her daughter had already decided on what she would do in the future. She had found her purpose from a very young age.
People would go half their lifetime not knowing what purpose they have in this life. Yet, her daughter had already found it. As a mother, she felt proud even though she was extremely worried about Eva.
"Are you going to listen to us even if we try to stop you?" Selina finally asked.
"I'm sorry, Mother. But, I already decided to do it. I know that I'm on the right path. I can change the whole world along with him."
"You heard her, darling."
"Selina…"
"Shh, listen to me. Our daughter is now old enough to choose how she lives her life. We can't just cage her, can we?" Selina squeezed Markus' shoulder slightly to rea.s.sure him.
"I've been training really hard for the past two weeks and my strength has increased greatly! I'm confident in my abilities! So, when I come back a month from now, be ready to hear the good news."
***
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Kai and Kaya left the hotel. The streets were not as busy as usual because of the stuff that happened yesterday. People were extremely scared of this unknown killer that ended the life of Stephen Layl.
"Our first destination is, drum rolls please, Lalo-land amus.e.m.e.nt park!" Kaya said as she stood in front of Kai. Behind her, the biggest amus.e.m.e.nt park in the world was apparent in all of its magnificence.
Giant games were moving in the background with occasional screams from the people riding them.
"I played every game in this place when I was young and I had the time of my life."
"..." Kai looked around silently as he followed Kaya inside. "You came here alone?" He eventually asked.
"Well, I had no friends so I had to come alone, haha." Kaya scratched her cheek awkwardly. She was ashamed to say that this was the first time she had come here along with someone.
Kai looked at her before he closed his eyes for a second. "Let's go." He said.
The two then went from one ride to another, trying all of them. While most of them might seem thrilling to normal people since they tested their limits. Kai had done even crazier stuff in his life so these rides weren't that big of a deal. But, seeing that Kaya was smiling from ear to ear as she dragged him around, he didn't feel as bored as he thought he would.
The most interesting was by far the haunted house for Kai. He was intrigued to see how they would try to scare him. However, as he expected, his senses told him where the jumpscare was coming from before it came.
"Kyaaa~ I'm scared~" Instead, Kai had to deal with Kaya who would throw herself at him, smashing her b.o.o.bs against his face shamelessly. Her seductive figure even made one of the ghosts dare to touch her inappropriately in the gist of 'Scaring the guest'.
However, with a simple glare, the ghost immediately cowered away.
Hours pa.s.sed quickly before they finally finished their journey in the amus.e.m.e.nt park.
"Fuuuh, so much fun! I never thought coming here with someone else would be this different. Especially if it's my darling~" Kaya said as she hugged Kai.
"Hmm, it's already dusk. Well, we spent the whole day here I guess." Kai murmured as he checked the time.
"Well, let's go! We still have to visit some places."
Kaya then dragged to the car and they drove off. Then, for the next few hours, they roamed the city as she showed him all the monuments, landmarks, and beautiful spots that Kaya knew about.
Eventually, they finished their tour and Kaya halted the car in a rather rural area of the city near the frontier. Ahead of them was a small forest.
"I left this place for last. It's by far my favorite spot."
The two left the car and pa.s.sed through the forest. Not long after, they reached the end of the forest only to find themselves on top of a cliff that had a magnificent view of the city.
Kai looked at the view silently, admiring it with his eyes.
"What do you think?" Kaya asked as she walked beside him.
She only needed a nod from him for her smile to widen.
"Whenever I felt distressed or scared, I would come here and admire the city. Seeing how vast the world is, makes my problems feel insignificant. It makes me feel a lot better. I don't know why. But, now that I came here with you, I think I found my answer."
Turning to face Kai, Kaya smiled softly. "It's because I wan-"
Before Kaya could even finish her words, Kai's senses suddenly went into full alarm mode when he felt something approaching them at a horrifying speed. Without a second thought, Kai pushed Kaya away before he swung with his arm.
*Cling*
His hand hit the object, slicing it in half. When it fell to the ground, Kai noticed that it was a bullet.
"Move!" Kai said as he jumped away. Kaya had already gone into fighting mode as she jumped too.
A second later, a huge explosion shook the whole area like a violent earthquake.