ZODIAC GATES-Beware of the 13th Sign

30'GATE KEYS

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“You, idiot!” My eyes widened seeing Kuting standing in front. His hands extending forward and a magic circle was in front of his palm. Then he grabbed my arm. “We have to get back to the time sphere.”

     He opened his door. Agad ko namang inialis ang kamay niya sa braso ko. I looked at Raya and Taya. I then hugged them. “I won’t,” I said to Zyke habang umiiyak.

     “’China . . .” Raya worried.

     “Let’s go!” Zyke grabbed my arm again and dragged me toward his door.

     “Madame! Raya, Taya!” I yelled, not wanting to leave them.

     “Go, ‘China . . . and save our region,” Taya was looking for it, and then, I was already back to the training room.

     A great silence greeted me. I fell on my feet and cried silently. “Our regions are on the verge of being ruined. You know it as well, right?” I asked behind him.

     “Why did you go outside?” he questioned, not taking my question seriously.

     “Why didn’t you tell us?” I wiped my tears.

     “Don’t you know the risk of going outside?” he yelled, facing me already. “You’re wasting the time, Capricorn. Look!” he pointed the air clock and it was already almost eight in the morning. “I never thought Capricorns could be this damn irresponsible.”

     My eyes widened. “Take that back,” I ordered coldly.

     “I won’t.”

     “I said take that back!” then I attempted to slap him nang mahawakan niya ang kamay ko.

     “Do you really think you can protect them with this might?” he mocked. “You’re weak, Racchina. You’re weak! What will your region say if you stayed there, unable to save them?” he scolded. “They will only know how frail you are. They will only know how weak your region is!”

     I stared on his serious eyes, trying to search for the words I couldn’t find and utter. That was too much. I guessed I couldn’t bare the insults anymore. “What did you say?” I whispered, my eyes squinted, before him as a tear from my eye, dropped.

     “Your people are nothing but weaklings,” he finally stated after a few seconds.

     I nodded disapprovingly. And just that, in a blink of an eye I felt the urge to make him pay. I felt my body was burned in flames. I felt there’s something in me which was about to explode.

     Zyke released his nimbus and in a second, his Gate Key showed up. “Prove that I’m wrong, Racchina,” he challenged. Then, even if he didn’t tell it so, I would still be proving it to him.

     “Hindi kita mapapatawad sa pang-iinsulto mo!” I yelled, then gritted my teeth. In the space of a heartbeat I already saw myself with so much anger toward him. A surge of energy had escaped from me. And without so much realization, my body was already covered with nimbus with intense yellowish light. I extended my hand sideward and concentrated my life energy into my hand. And in no time, my nimbus became a Gate Key.

     “Gate of the Sea Goat . . .

     . . . I open thee . . .

     Cap―” But fate didn’t let me summon him. I fainted and fell down on my feet.

•

I opened my eyes and saw the Capricorn Sign on the ceiling together with the other Earth Signs.

     I’m in our room?

     I sat up and came to know that I was the only one inside the room. Naalala ko naman kaagad ang nangyari kanina.

     Tiningnan ko ang mga kamay ko.

     I was able to release my nimbus and Gate Key. I never expected it to happen.

     Wrath. It could have been the reason I was able to do it.

     I sighed and got back to the training room. There, I saw how they trained to convert their nimbi to Gate Keys and how to withstand its energy-consuming characteristic.

     “’Chinaaa!” Suwan ran toward me and hugged me. “I was worried about you,” she said when our hug loosened up.

     “That’s enough, Suwan. Get back here,” I heard Zyke commanded, then took a quick gaze at me.

     Hinila naman ako ni Suwan.

     “Are you already okay?” Xayl’ asked beside me kaya kinuha ko na agad ang tingin ko mula kay Zyke.

     “H’m,” I answered.

     “You’re delaying the training, Racchina,” Zyke uttered and I already didn’t hold myself back.

     “Our regions are at risk,” I spoke to everyone and it made them so shock.

     “Racchina!” Zyke yelled, couldn’t believe I blurted it out.

     “What do you mean?” Drok asked.

     “I saw it in my eyes and Narvya told me . . . our regions are under attack.” I then saw their faces painted with disbelief. Then the room was filled with deep silence. No one could get enough hearing that the regions were under attack.

     After a while, I heard Suwan cried on the corner while everyone couldn’t stop pacing back and forth.

     It took an hour before one of us talk again. “Keep yourself up,” Zyke spoke before us, his voice seemed to sound kind. “Our regions need us. We have to continue the training even without preceptors.”

     I never thought Kuting would act like the way he was that moment. ‘Kala ko’y puro yabang lang siya but still, it wouldn’t lessen the anger I had for him.

     “Now stand up!” he yelled so we did stand up and make our composure back. “We have to keep moving . . . for our regions.”

     Time went by. An hour. Hours. More hours. We tried hard but we couldn’t focus that much. The thought that our regions were on the line, made our focus lessened.

     “One more time!” Adiya talked, not giving up. So we already closed our eyes.

     “We can do this,” Kases said and then tried to release their nimbi.

     A minute passed.

     A minute more.

     And there, I saw how Euai, Irgo, Gemida, Taru, Drok and Con converted their nimbi to Gate Keys.

     “I did it! My Gate Key!” Con uttered happily and I could also see the happy faces of those who were able to do it.

     “Good job, Euai, Irgo, Gemida, Taru, Drok and Con,” Zyke complimented. “Now let’s try again, Suwan, Kases and Racchina,” he looked at us who were not able to do it.

     “No need.” And then, to our surprise, Xayluz faced us. And just that, he used his lightning power to put us off.

•

Xayluz stood before his unconscious co-Bearers. He moved his feet and bent down to get the Gate Keys.

     Aries, Gemini, Libra, Virgo, Taurus, and Scorpio—their Gate Keys were already in his hands.

     Xayl’ opened his door and went through it. He was sent to his region’s castle, then he walked inside a familiar room.

     There, he saw a man standing in front of the window, obviously waiting for his awaited arrival. And when he turned back, Xayl’ uttered his words.

     “I already have their Gate keys as planned . . . Father.”

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