' Tell me what did you mean by saying that I was your chosen one?'
The girl's voice finally broke the silence. Kigami hadn't said a word to her since their argument. Kimoko looked at him slowly. She could still see guilt in his eyes, but she could see something else in them.
Fear.
She didn't understand. Why would he be afraid of anything? Unless... he was hiding something from her.
' I...' his voice was quiet, his gaze fixed on the floor. The man took a deep breath and continued with a trembling voice:
' You're not a random victim. I chose you.'
Kimoko stopped. Shock and anger were written all over her face. Kigami sighed.
'' Why are you even trying to explain this? She wouldn't understand anyway.'
' Why? Why me?' Her voice was quiet, but Kigami could hear the desperation and despair in it.
He sighed, then grabbed her hand.
' I've been watching you for a long time. Something about you caught my attention.'
He slowly took a step back, his gaze still on her. Kimoko, however, did not resist and began to walk forward herself.
'' Does this mean that I will never be free again?''
She felt warm tears start to flow down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away. She didn't want Kigami to see that she had figured out the meaning of his words.
' Is it still far to Amori?' she asked, trying to hide the trembling in her voice.
Kigami nodded.
' At this rate, we'll get there in no time.'
Kimoko felt his hand tighten around hers. She tugged hard in the hope that he would let go. However, he did not react to her resistance.
'I heard that Amoria is a beautiful place, full of life and love.' he said calmly, looking her straight in the eyes.
Finally, the girl felt his grip weaken. She quickly yanked her hand away and stopped.
'' Is he trying to tell me that he... loves me?''
She suddenly started laughing hysterically and fell to her knees. Kigami immediately crouched down next to her.
'Kimoko, are you okay?''
She could hear the worry in his voice. She felt his hand rest on her shoulder, but she quickly shook it off and lifted her head.
Their eyes met.
Her anger and desperation.
His pain and guilt.
' If you love me, then why did you kill me?' she whispered.
She saw the shock on his face. He closed his eyes and turned away from her.
His voice was calm, but heavy with pain as he finally answered,
' Did I have any other choice?''
Kimoko could see tears beginning to flow down his cheeks. His voice trembled as he continued,
' I am a demon. Everyone is afraid of me. But when I first saw you... you were different. I... I had hoped.'
He clenched his fists.
' I had hoped that you... But I see that was a mistake. You are suffering because of me. That is why you can leave if that is what you want. Just like the others who came before you.'
Kimoko couldn't believe what she was hearing. Instead of happiness that she could be free, she only felt pity for Kigami. She knew that the loneliness he had struggled with for hundreds of years was devastating to him. Yet, despite this, she could not forgive him for what he had done to her.
She sighed quietly and gently touched his arm. Kigami looked at her, shocked.
' I will help you. That was our agreement. Besides... I don't trust you enough to believe that if I leave now, you won't try to kill me.'
'But I will never forgive you for what you did to me. Do we understand?'
Kigami nodded. They both stood up and continued walking in silence. Kimoko felt the air around them grow heavy. Her thoughts were haunting her.
'' If you hate him so much, then why do you have so much empathy for him? You could have been free, but you still decided to help him with his sick game.''
''Why? Is it him and his manipulations, or are you cursed by him?''
' Zonrumi used to be one large continent,' Kigami spoke up, his voice tearing her from her thoughts.
' But when the Vorthakai were born, everything changed. Zonrumi split into four parts, and each of them was subordinated to one of them. These countries are Amoria, the land of life and new beginnings, Nokta, the land of protection and night, Veridona, the land of law and justice, and Maladira, the land of chaos and change. So each of them has at least one of the crystals, which means we have to visit each of them.'
Kimoko looked at him, noticing a small smile on his face.
' Just out of curiosity... Do you know anything about the ruler of Amori?'
Kigami laughed.
' Of course I do. She is the goddess of life, known as the White Lady. She is the only female among the Vorthakai. Her people rarely see her, which is why their faith in her sometimes dies. As for her personality... well, it is quite specific. People say she is timid and a bit too... flirtatious with those who catch her eye. And since she supposedly catches everyone's eye... well, you can figure out the rest yourself.'
His voice suddenly fell silent. Kimoko was looking at him with disgust. This time, however, it was not directed at the demon, but at this goddess. She knew it was not proper for her to judge gods, but the only thing that came to mind was comparing her to a companion girl.
Kigami clearly had similar thoughts, but he did not keep them to himself.
' From that description, it seems that their goddess is just a whore.' he stated without a shadow of a doubt.
Kimoko looked at him in disbelief. She knew that he didn't like any gods, but some of his thoughts would be better kept to himself.
' Are you serious?'
' Hey, it's not my fault that she created such an image for herself. So please don't be angry at someone who only tells the truth.' His voice was unaffected, and on his face was his terrifying smile that Kimoko already knew well, she knew that the man took pleasure in insulting the gods. The girl opened her mouth, but before she could say a word Kigami pulled her towards him. One of his hands was on her shoulder in such a way that his hand was resting on her breast. And the other was stretched out in front of him. As if he wanted to show her something.
" What is he planning?"
Kimoko began to struggle frantically, hoping that the man would release her from his grip. She felt his face get closer to her ear, she felt his breath on her skin. And she closed her eyes. A shiver ran through her body.
' know that I'm not planning anything with you, I just wanted to show you Amoria, from this point you can already see it in the distance.' he whispered.
The man was right, in the distance she could see how tall trees towered over the area, their leaves shimmering in the sunlight as if they were made of silver. Kimoko felt Kigami's hand slide away from her body. Kimoko then waited until Kigami moved away from her enough to lose sight of her, and then with disgust she began to wipe her clothes.
- Three hours later
' If I had known that you were going such a long way I would have left immediately, then I wouldn't have cared if you killed me.'
Kigami turned to her, rolled his eyes and finally spoke to her:
' Dear lady, I would like to solemnly announce to you that you reached Amoria on your own two feet.' His voice was full of irony and he bowed deeply so that his ponytail touched the ground. Kimoko laughed
' Oh you fool, get up already and let's keep walking, your crystal won't gather itself.'
The girl walked past him towards the entrance to Amoria. Kigami straightened up and for a moment looked at her, at her delicate face and charming smile, her smile, she was smiling and it was because of him. Kigami felt as if his heart was starting to beat again, he walked knowing full well that he had never had it, even so he put one of his hands on his chest where his heart should have been and smiled.
'' Her smile is the one thing I want to see until the end.''
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