Soulbound

Soul 16: Chains

"I never had the chance to know," kibit-balikat na saad ni Zirrius.

"What's her name?" tanong ko na lang. Maybe I could track her lineage through her name.

"Zara... Zara Montfort," he answered. Pakiramdam ko biglang tumigil ang mundo ko. Kung may sarili lang akong katawan, tiyak na mahihirapan akong huminga.

"M-Montfort?" nauutal na tanong ko sa kanya. No. He can't be connected to that person! Mahabang katahimikan ang namayani. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang iisipin. I don't know if I really just a got a very twisted life or what. Is this a joke? Pero alam kong hindi ko dapat husgahan si Zirrius. Wala siyang alam sa pinagmulan niya. And why does the queen ask me to bring Zirrius with me? So this was the reason? Naguguluhan ako. What was the real score?

"Yes. I do have this feeling that I'm under investigation," naiiling na sabi ni Zirrius. Natahimik ako. I didn't expect this.

"Still there?" kunot-noong tanong niya sa 'kin. Hindi ako nagsalita. He sighed heavily. "Pupuntahan ko na si Zach kung ganu'n," he added. Isinara na niya ang kurtina. He closed and locked the room's door. He was keeping the key for his father's room. Dumiretso na siya sa kwadra at agad na sumakay kay Aris.

Hindi ko na alam kung ano ba ang dapat kong isipin at gawin. Kaaway ko ba si Zirrius o kakampi? This revelation was starting to cloud me with doubt. Would he really fight alongside with me when he discovered that he's connected to that man? I should be careful from now on. Blood was thicker than water but I'm not sure what Zirrius would choose. Before he could fight against me, I should get my body back first. Ano ba talaga ang iniisip at pinaplano ng reyna? Kinukutuban na ako nang masama. Kung lalabanan ako ni Zirrius, wala na akong magagawa kundi tanggapin ang mga desisyon niya.

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Kumunot ang noo ni Zach nang makita ang pagdating ni Zirrius pero tiyak na may ideya na siya kung bakit bumalik si Zirrius. Seryosong lumapit si Zirrius kay Zach.

"It seems, she knows how to control my body," panimula ni Zirrius. Zach nodded with understanding. "So what's your decision?" hindi siguradong tanong ni Zach.

"I want to know how to temporarily seal her," mahinang sagot ni Zirrius.

"So this is my punishment?" dismayadong tanong ko sa kanya.

"If you didn't control my body, I won't do this," nakasimangot na saad ni Zirrius sa utak niya. I sighed in resignation. Hindi ko na siya mapipigilan dahil desidido na talaga siya. Hindi naman niya matututunan agad ang mahikang iyon kaya ligtas pa ako, pansamantala.

"It's not a magic you can learn overnight," paalala ni Zach sa kanya. Good! Zirrius nodded with understanding. He was a bit nervous. This was his first time to actually study or use magic. Poor, baby. Para siyang bata na nagsisimula pa lang mag-aral na lumakad.

"You need to imagine tha you are putting her soul to chains. You will lock her soul up until she was not able to take over or even talk," mahinang paalala ni Zach sa kanya. "You need to draw so much magic to push her soul on the depths of your existence. The time you can seal her away depends on the magic you used."

"That's cruel," nagpapaawang wika ko. "Can you really do that to me, Zirrius?"

"How will I be able to draw magic?" nagtatakang tanong ni Zirrius. He really didn't have any idea. Kapag natututunan niya ang mahikang iyon, malaking problema.

"Magic is flowing inside your body like thick blood. You need to control your magic well first... before you can do this kind of magic," he said. "Close your eyes and try," seryosong wika ni Zach. "Concentrate," paalala pa niya. Zirrius closed his eyes. Napakunot-noo siya dahil hindi niya alam kung paano magko-concentrate katulad ng sinabi ni Zach. I heard Zach's sigh. Alam niyang mahihirapan siya sa pagtuturo kay Zirrius kung sakali man. "Can you imagine that blue light flowing inside your body together with your blood?" he asked once again. Mas lalong kumunot ang noo ni Zirrius. He couldn't imagine anything. Gusto ko siyang tawanan pero ayokong sirain ang konsentrasyon niya. This was the first step for him to study magic and I didn't want to ruin my chance.

"Your mind and body must be in sync. Can't you feel that great power flowing inside you?" Zach asked once again. Zirrius sighed heavily and opened his eyes. Tiningnan lang niya si Zach. "I can't imagine anything and that damn blue light," pigil ang inis na sagot niya. Zach grinned. "I know. It's really hard to understand so you should start with basic trainings. You really can't imagine it like that. I was just playing with you."

"What?" naiinis na tanong ni Zirrius. Malakas akong tumawa dahil sa sinabi ni Zach. Akala ko, ako lang ang mahilig mangtrip sa kanya. But I'm sure, Zach's instructions make sense. Magic was really flowing inside a body like thick blood but of course Zirrius can't imagine it when he's doing it for the first time. Zirrius really needs to undergo training. Not bad for Zach. Pero ang hindi malinaw ay kung kulay asul nga ba ang mahikang dumadaloy sa kanya. He came from a powerful royal elven family. I guess it will be a red light. That's also the reason why I felt that endless pit of magic coming from his body.

"So what's your decision? Kapag pinag-aralan mo ang mahikang ito, wala ka ng kawala. You will break your Kingdom's rules. Hindi na rin malayo na ipapatay ka ng hari," seryosong paalala ni Zach kay Zirrius. Halata sa mukha ni Zach ang pag-aalala. "Come back tomorrow when you already made up your mind. Pero huwag mong sabihin sa 'kin na hindi kita binalaan," dagdag pa niya. Zirrius sighed heavily. "At hindi magiging madali ang mga pagdadaanan mo bago ka matutong gumamit ng mahika. Hindi ito laro. Magic is already dangerous and playing with it is even more deadly."

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TO BE CONTINUED...

There are too many revelations. Avery will not be able to contain them all soon. <3 Hahahahaha! What do you think? :)