Elysian Tale: Flare of Frost

Kabanata 58

Flare

Pinasidhan ko ng tingin ang buong paligid. The land I thought that was perfect turns out to be nothing but just an imagination. Everything was wrecked and destroyed. There's no life form left. Sa hindi ko malamang dahilan ay biglang gumuhit ang isang malungkot na ngiti sa mga labi ko. 

Inilibot ko ang paningin ko sa paligid at hindi ko maiwasang matawa. I wasn't laughing because I find it funny. I was laughing bitterly of how a beautiful land turned out this way. Looking at how everything in this land got ruined and destroyed, it was nothing but pandemonium.

So this, this is what they did.

Marami akong nakikitang mga buto at bungo ng mga tao sa paligid. I can even see rusty weapons of swords and spheres with dried blood on it. Hindi rin nakatakas sa paningin ko ang mga sunog na insignia ng iba't-ibang tribu na naninirahan sa lugar na ito. 

"Fichi..." I heard Caiz calling me, but I ignored him. 

Hinakbang ko ang mga paa ko upang maglakad. Sa kanang banda ay may nakita ako roong isang malaking tipak ng bato. Sa ilalim no'n ay may dalawang kalansay. I released a heavy breath as emotions started to dwell inside me. The two skeletons underneath the huge rock looks like they are hugging. Kung titingnan ay para itong ina na niyayakap ang anak upang sagipin ito.

Awtomatiko kong naiyukom ang kamao ko. Nagtagis ang bagang ko sabay pikit ng mata ko. I gritted my teeth in anger. Ito pa nga lang ang nakikita ko ay nanggagalaiti na ako sa galit. I can't imagine how angry my father can be. 

Di kalayuan ay may nakita akong espada. Ang hawakan ng espadang 'yon ay may disenyo ng mga sandatang pag-aari ng Fire Continent. I knew the insignia quite well, that's why I'm so sure it belongs to them and no one else. 

As soon as my hands touched the sword, vivid images of the past started flashing in my mind. I saw people releasing different colors of soul energies in their hands, people fighting using their own weapons, children running their lives, knights chasing them and slitting their throats mercilessly. Mahigpit akong napahawak sa espada. 

How could they?

"Fichi, no..." His voice was hinting me he wanted me stop. He don't want me to discover the truth of what happened years ago when the Elysian Empire attacked them. I closed my eyes and continued foreseeing the events of the past. 

 They burned their houses as well as their insignias, a warrior killing a mother and her new born baby, a knight raping a woman before stabbing her to death, a family trying their best to protect their sons and daughters. 

I saw how every knight princes lost their mother and father. I saw the young version of themselves weeping and crying over the dead body of their parents. An mention crossed their eyes. An emotion I know very well. 

Hatred and the desire to get revenge. 

Then I saw the king, my own father. His facial expression was livid. I can feel he badly wanna kill everyone who caused chaos in his land. I can see through his eyes how he wanted to rob the life out them, but he can't. He just can't because the life of his beloved woman and child is at stake. One wrong move and he'll lost them. 

Nanginginig na ako sa galit pero pinilit ko ang sarili kong huwag bumitaw sa espadang hawak ko. Gusto kong malaman ang lahat. I wanted to know everything that happened without leaving a single detail. He already told me what happened but it's different when you actually saw it instead of just imagining with his words. 

And there, I saw it. I saw how they tortured him using their soul energies. He was not fighting back. He was begging them not to hurt her and their unborn child. He was enduring the pain alone, but he still managed to keep his face calm as he gave her a reassuring smile that everything will be alright.