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Chapter Forty-Four: The Lost Child of Aegnus

"How did you get up here?" tanong ni Irusu.

"I used that." sagot ko at itinuro ang espada na nasa ilalim.

"Sandali," he gave me a blank look. "Why didn't we just use it a while ago."

Nagkibit-balikat ako. "Honestly, I just wanted to try something cool."

Umiling si Irusu. He looks so done with me. Tumayo siya at luminga-linga sa paligid habang nanatili akong nakaupo. I glanced at Filter who looked at me with so much curiousity. Tinaasan ko siya ng kilay.

"So..." panimula niya. "How are you going to get your sword back?"

His question made me go cold. Even Irusu froze in his step.

Napatingin ako sa espada na nasa ibaba. It stayed at the same spot. Na parang isang espadang itinusok sa lupa at ang makakakuha ay siyang magiging hari ng lupain. Napatingin ako sa sarili at pabalik sa sword. Oh god...

How could I be so dumb to use it as a way to climb up when I don't have any method to get it back?!

"Seriously?" hindi-makapaniwalang tanong ni Irusu.

Nagpakawala ako ng marahas na hininga bago tumayo at tumalon pababa. Irusu looked at me and his mouth was something in between a smile and grimace. Inikot ko lang ang mata at kinuha ang espada.

Ngunit natigil ako sa kinatatayuan nang may lumabas sa harapan ko.

A kid.

A kid who looks lost. Nakatingin siya sa'kin, mugto ang mata dahil sa kakaiyak. He was fumbling with the hem of his large shirt, that almost served as his dress. His adorable wide eyes glistened in tears, and he looked even cuter with the messy chestnut hair.

"Solace, is everything all right, down there?" narinig kong tanong ni Irusu ngunit nakatitig lang ako sa bata.

Ang mga kamay niyang naglalaro sa t-shirt ay umakyat papunta sa may mata niya para palisin ang mga luha mula dito. His eyes looked at me, begging and crying.

"Ate, do you know where my Papa went to?" he sniffled. "I can't see my Papa!" nagsimula siyang umiyak.

"Solace anong nangyayari? Why can I hear another voice?" tanong ulit ni Irusu.

Sumulyap ako sa kaniya. "There's a kid here..."

"A kid?!"

Nagsimulang maglakad palapit sa'kin ang bata, sniffling at every step. "Ate... I want to find my Papa... Please, help me ate..."

"He's looking for his father." sagot ko at yumuko para magkalebel ang itsura namin ng bata. "How did you get here?"

Tumalon pababa si Irusu, naka-akay si Filter sa kaniya. Napatingin din sila sa batang lumapit.

"What is this? What is he?" tanong ni Irusu at mas tinitigan pa ang bata. "He doesn't look like one of those shapeshifters earlier."

Yeah, we encountered a kid a while ago which turned into a monster! At ang hirap niyang kalabanin dahil panay ang pag-iba ng itsura niya. He's wearing a demonic face at first then changes quickly into an adorable litte baby face.

"Please help me..." naiiyak nitong saad. "I want to see my Papa but we got separated. I want to see my Papa! Please help me find my Papa!"

"Well, if he's not a monster then... is he a fellow player?" tanong ni Filter.

"H-How did you lose your father?" tanong ko.

Ilang taon na ba ang batang ito? He looks younger than Priamos, maybe about eight or nine. And he's playing this? I mean, I've seen kids play different kinds of gadgets at a really young age. Ngunit patok itong laro sa mga teenagers.