CHAPTER 7: THE MIND READER

"Hm? You finally woke up, boy," said Pegasus.

Kairi gasped. This is unbelievable!

"Virgo, pinch me. Quick!" He ordered Virgo.

Virgo pinched his right arm.

"Erk!" Kairi groaned before he rubbed the place Virgo had pinched. It turned a little red.

"Sorry... You did ask for it." Virgo laughed.

Kairi blinked his eyes at him. His expression was asking about the alive Pegasus.

"Do you remember that you're the one who revives Pegasus, Kairi?" Virgo wanted to know.

"Huh? I did what?!" Kairi yells in shock.

"... Thanks, really," Pegasus smirked but inside he was grateful to be revived.

"B, But, how?! I don't have power!" Kairi was confused.

"What is the last thing you remember, Kairi?" Asked Agi.

Kairi went silent for a moment.

"I... That time, after Virgo left, I cleaned him up since he looked pitiful to be buried in such a dirty appearance..." He explained.

Pegasus took a slight breath. He felt awkward knowing that someone was cleaning his dead body. And somehow, he could imagine how his body would be buried. His body shuddered but his face didn't change, instead, it was getting calmer and looked formidable.

Agi who knows how he felt taunted him while grinning.

"A little more and you would have turned into a skeleton."

"Shut up." Pegasus pushed his head away from him.

"Then… I hope that Pegasus can be revived." Kairi's voice continued.

"Suddenly, some sparkling lights and a few magic circles appeared around us. Something from the sparkle turned into a big winged horse and then spoke something very loud. I don't remember what it was saying since I felt dizzy. That's it. I didn't remember anything after that."

Winged horse?! That was Pegasus' emblem spirit in its true form! It was told that long ago while Queen Siarah was still alive, all 32 stellar users had their emblem spirit manifested around them. Now, due to the weakening in power, the spirits are no longer able to form themselves.

Virgo, Pegasus, and Agi look at each other in surprise.

"Kairi, you are indeed..." Virgo finally had to believe Kairi was the heir.

"Am I really...?"

Kairi looked dumbfounded. He looked down at his hands. He still thought he was dreaming.

"How can it be? They said that Queen Siarah disappeared more than 500 years ago. I am... Her descendent?! Who exactly am I?! Does Rafiz know?" He got mystified.

If it's true he has power, why hasn't it appeared in the first place? Was it because he lost his memory or because he couldn't until there was something that drove him to awaken it? Is his power awakened by his desire? He began to feel dizzy.

"Kairi, there is something Virgo needs to discuss with you," said Agi while turning to look at Virgo.

"You explain to him. If anything's wrong, call us." Agi moves out and while at that, he pushes Pegasus along.

Virgo swallowed. Agi wants him to explain to Kairi what they discussed three days ago. Kairi turns his head at him.

"Actually, Kairi... We..." Virgo had to tell Kairi about it.

Kairi inhaled after listening to it. He started to panic.

They want him to follow them to Syarantonia?!

Not only that, since they assumed he was the heir, following them was a better choice. Kairi doesn't agree immediately but Virgo had explained that if he didn't, the unknown danger would come to him which may also endanger the people around him.

This makes Kairi fall into a difficult situation. He wants to go home. He missed Rafiz, his father, and the people in the town. He already intended to go home after giving Pegasus his emblem chain back.

Unexpectedly, he would have to continue his journey to a place far away from Ryam and may not be able to return for a very long time. His chest suddenly tightens and feels suffocated. They didn't give him an option to decide for himself.

The next day, Kairi had to follow them and leave Noir village. They had to move fast because of General Leo's instructions that wanted all Bright Star users to gather immediately. Pegasus and Agi bought four horses that were in the village to speed up their journey. Kairi was silent on the way and his thoughts were unknown.

Virgo felt guilty and uneasy after looking at him.

"Can't we not force him, Agi?" Virgo asked, concerned about Kairi's situation.

Agi let out a sigh.

"Sorry, Virgo. We have no choice. You know, if Kairi falls into the hands of Deorc Star users, there's no future for all of us. I understand if this looks like we're forcing him but this is for his own good," told Agi who was riding beside Virgo while Kairi was riding beside Pegasus in front of them.

Virgo frowned for a moment before he realised that they had been moving for more than two hours. He moved his horse between Pegasus and Kairi.

"Kairi, do you want to rest first?" Virgo asked.

He was sure that Kairi's rear was hurting right now through the discomfort from Kairi's expression. Moreover, every time the horse jumped due to uneven ground, Kairi would let out a small gasp. And, if he waits for Pegasus to ask Kairi if he was okay, that would be no. Pegasus is not very considerate when it comes to taking care of others around him.

Kairi looked at him and nodded his head. Indeed, his body was a little sore because he was not used to riding a horse for a long time. They all stopped at the boundary of a stream and also took the opportunity to have a small meal.

Kairi picked up an apple and sat down under a lush tree, a little farther from where they stopped to let their horses drink from the river. Agi was wiping his face with the stream while Pegasus lay down and rested under another tree.

Virgo approached Kairi and gave him a bottle of water.

"Thank you," Kairi said with a small smile.

Virgo sat next to him. They were both silent as they listened to a comfortable sound around them.

"Sorry, Kairi..." Virgo said slowly.

"No need to apologise, Virgo... I understand..." Kairi replied and lay down, his back toward Virgo.

"Okay... Take a rest for a while. It's a long way to go."

Virgo stood up and went near Pegasus. He did not know how to cheer Kairi up.

"I don't think Kairi likes me anymore..." He told him sadly.

Pegasus opened one eye and then closed it again. "Of course, he doesn't."

"Urgh! Don't you even understand? We're forcing him to follow us!" Virgo shouted softly to Pegasus.

"Sooner or later he needs to get used to it... Now, shut up. I want to sleep." Pegasus was too lazy to continue their conversation.

Virgo snorted angrily and let out a groan. A few minutes later, he turned back to Kairi and was stunned when he didn't see Kairi in the place he had left him.

"Kairi?" Virgo looked around but not a shadow was found.

"Kairi! Kairi!"

His calling caught the attention of Pegasus and Agi. The two immediately went to him.

"Where's Kairi?" Agi asked while looking around.

"Could he be..." Pegasus's brows tightened and guessed that Kairi had run away.

"Find him, fast!" Agi ordered them.

They immediately ran in the opposite direction. An hour later, they regroup. None of them found Kairi.

"How can we not notice he's gone?" Agi asked in wonder.

He should be able to feel Kairi's movement leaving them but he felt nothing at all.

"C-Could he be... Kidnapped?!" Guessed Virgo.

He also started to panic.

"That's nonsense! We don't know if he was kidnapped or escaped. Anyway, we need to find him." Agi decides and they agree.

They rode their horses and left again for search.

As for Kairi, he actually did get kidnapped.

"Mmph!"

Kairi tried to free himself from the restraints on his wrists and ankle. His mouth was wrapped in a cloth that binds to the back of his head. He did not expect to meet a group of kidnappers after fleeing from Virgo and others.

He felt stupid for making such a decision. He turns to look around him. They were other people with him, from children to adults. They were also tied up like him. The place they were in now was a carriage. It was moving to somewhere unknown.

Kairi took a deep breath. He was injured on his side due to his body being thrown over after a fight with the kidnappers. He lost because their number was more than him.

"Hey, you!" Called a voice to him.

Strangely enough, he heard it from inside his head and not from his surroundings.

"Who, Who's talking to me?" Kairi asked.

Is he daydreaming or having a hallucination?

The voice was soft and small like a girl. He inhaled when the voice was heard in his head again but this time it was a small laugh.

"Yes, I'm a girl," answered the voice to his question.

Kairi now realised that someone here was talking to him and looked around. His attention concentrated on a woman with short blond hair and blue eyes because she also was looking at him straightforwardly.

"Hehe! You found me. Awesome!"

Kairi could feel the woman smile at him although he did not see the woman's lip. Only the shadow of the woman smiling appeared in his mind. How did she do that?

"Because that's my stellar power. Hi, my name is Aries," told her without hiding it.

"You are?! That's really amazing!" Kairi was impressed.

He never thought that there was a power like that among the stellar users. Maybe, there was more bizarre power than he could imagine.

"Haha. Are you that surprised? But this is not my main power, Kairi." Aries said his name.

"Eh? Ah, could you possibly read people's memories too?" Kairi guessed.

"Erm, yes. I'm sorry to break into your memories..." Said Aries with a guilty expression.

"This... Sighed... You saw it, didn't you? About Virgo and your friends..." Kairi looked awful.

He still felt guilty for leaving Virgo, Pegasus, and Agi. They might have found out he was gone and must be very worried.

"I know why you did that but... Is it so terrible to be the heir to the power of Queen Siarah? We, all Bright Star members, have been waiting for a very, very long time for you, Kairi." Aries feels sad after knowing Kairi's true feelings.

"I, I know... But, I don't want it! I don't want to be the heir if I have no freedom at all!" Kairi starts to get angry.

He also feels depressed because Agi did not let him go back to Ryam Town.

"I'm very sorry, Kairi. Yes, we are being selfish but... I too have to agree with them."

Kairi stared at Aries. He wanted to hear her reason for this decision too.

"Kairi, we ask for your forgiveness. We hope that you understand us as well. We don't want to force you but we urgently need your help. Only you can save all the people in this world. No one else is as strong as you are to bring down the Deorc Star." Aries explained.

Kairi knew about it from Agi but his heart still stubbornly wanted to go home. How can he help the Bright Star when he doesn't know how to use his power? Can he even defeat the Deorc Star?

For goddesses' sake, he could not even defeat a normal kidnapper!

What if he dies before everything turns peaceful? Will everyone blame him for it?

This was a huge responsibility that he doesn't want to deal with.

"You're scared..." Aries said slowly, beginning to understand Kairi's feelings.

Kairi did not reply to her guess. Aries has already seen his memory and knows Rafiz and Rafael were the most important people to him. If he has to choose between the Bright Star and his family, he would choose the latter.

"I'm sorry for interfering with your memories..." Once again she told him.

Seems she has been reading his thoughts.

"Erm... It's okay..." The two fell silent.