Hazel's appearance had totally changed. From wearing dark blue jeans and a grey shirt, her outfit was modified to like that of a roman soldier! Her whole outfit had an "all white" theme and she was wearing a headdress designed like that of an eagle's wings! Her hair turned gold in color and her right arm was tattooed with ancient letters which we could not understand.
She sat down and immediately hugged me tightly saying, "Gerald!"
"I hugged her back, saying, "I thought I lost you forever. I have always denied myself, thinking that you were still alive and thank God that there is no more need of denying. I thought it was the end."
"What matters most is that I'm here and I am fully alive," She replied as my tears started on her clothes.
"How did this happen?" Cole asked as I wiped my tears.
"Honestly, I don't know. I am surprised as you all are," Hazel answered as we both stood up.
"This is actually weird, but awesome," Scott spoke.
"How did you dress that way in an instant?" Christopher asked as he touched her armor.
"Honestly, I don't know. But one thing is for sure. I have learned a lot from that deep sleep," She answered as Christopher looked at her with a puzzled look.
"Well, that's so strange," Christopher uttered.
"I know," Hazel said as she widened her eyes.
"Who taught you things?" I asked.
"Prince Joshua," She answered.
"What? Are you serious?" I asked with a puzzled look.
"Yes," She answered.
"I can't believe it! I thought that it was only I who was being entertained by Prince Joshua," I said.
"Apparently, it's not the case. As of this moment, it doesn't make you special anymore," Kate chuckled.
"You are such a kind sister," I said sarcastically.
"I know," Kate laughed.
Hazel interrupted our conversation saying, "Guys, let's get back to the topic. Okay? We're still in this dungeon and please speak softer. They might realize that I am alive.
"Okay," Kate whispered.
Hazel continued saying, "Anyway, as far as I can remember, Prince Joshua met me in this place called Dimetria. Whoa! That place was totally amazing. I cannot describe to you all the details of the whole kingdom, but it was awesome."
"I wish we saw what you have seen," Scott said as Hazel replied him with a smile.
"Hazel, can you please tell us what abilities you have learned from Prince Joshua? Reality check: We are still trapped in this stupid place and we need to get out of here," Christopher spoke scratching his head.
"Oh! You're right. For now, I'm just going to discuss to you one of the abilities that I had learned from him that will surely help us right now. Everyone calls it teleportation," Hazel clarified.
"Whoa! That's awesome!" I said softly.
"By only thinking the place I want to go or by thinking the person I want to be with, the teleportation activated," Hazel explained.
"Well, there's a little problem, Hazel," Cole said.
"What is it?" Hazel asked.
Cole continued saying, "You are the only one who can teleport."
"Oh that's easy," Hazel said confidently. "We just need to hold hands."
"Oh! Okay," Cole said with a nod.
"Now that we know what to do, let us hold hands and get the fuck out of here," Scott whispered as we started to hold our hands together.
On the other hand, Brandon, who was the last person on the left, persisted not to hold his right hand with Cole.
"Brandon, don't be such an asshole! Hold my hand, now!" Cole said softly.
"I won't join you," Brandon said as we heard footsteps coming from the outside.
"Brandon, come on!" Cole insisted as the footsteps sounded louder and louder.
"My decision is firm. I am not joining you guys," Brandon said seriously.
Moments later, we stopped hearing footsteps, but a female voice echoed in that filthy place saying, "Oh my goodness! I would like to see their pathetic faces again. Where is General Matthew? He should be here by now."
"Hazel, we really need to go," I insisted.
"But Brandon is still insisting to stay here," She said as the footsteps started to be heard again. This time, it was nearer than ever!
"Cole grab his hand whether he likes it or not. Hazel, you need to bring us to Sam, right now!" I ordered as Cole and Hazel nodded.
Shockingly, Odessa caught us red-handed and stopped in front of our dungeon saying, "Going somewhere? Guards, come quickly!"
"Hazel, do it now!" I shouted as hazel closed her eyes and glowing ancient letters started to float around us.
"Shit! They still are not here! Well, here is a solution," Odessa said as she grabbed the sleeping spray inside her right pocket and gave it a good shake.
"Hazel!" Cole shouted as I closed my eyes.
After that, all I heard was a hissing sound and everything started to black out.
As I slowly opened my eyes, I was surprised to see that we were in the middle of the forest! No clouds were visible and the trees were slightly dancing with the light breeze. The flow of water in a nearby stream was heard while the birds were chirping around right above me. At the moment I sat down and looked around, I saw Hazel talking to someone. I couldn't figure out who that guy was, because his back was facing me at that time. After a few seconds, my friends were all starting to wake up. They slowly sat down and rubbed their eyes. Some even stretched their arms.
"Guys, finally you woke up," Hazel said looking right at us.
As she walked towards us, the mystery guy looked back and I finally realized that it was Sam all along!
"Holy shit! I thought that we will still be trapped in that dungeon," Scott said as he widened his eyes.
"You got that right," Christopher added. "I really thought that the sleeping spray will lead us to failure."
"It doesn't matter now. What matters most is that we are all safe," I said smiling.
"Unfortunately, some of our friends are still in that dungeon," Hazel said as I widened my eyes.
I looked around and found out that Cole and Brandon were not with us!
"How did this happen? Why are Brandon and Cole not around?" I asked.
"Oh that explains everything," Christopher uttered sadly.
"What do you mean?" Hazel asked.
Christopher slowly looked at Hazel and said, "All I can remember is that Cole's hand slipped from mine just before Odessa sprayed us with the sleeping spray and that teleportation."
"What? I don't understand. Cole would never slip his hands off of yours," I said with a puzzled look.
"Thinking that Brandon was beside him, there is a chance that he pulled Cole's hands off of mine," Christopher guessed as he stood up.
"But Brandon will never do such a thing," Hazel spoke.
"Hazel, you don't understand," I said. "Brandon and I had a misunderstanding and I hate to say this, but he too loves you."
Hazel was left speechless. She placed her right hand onto her chest and could not believe what she had just heard.
Scott looked at her saying, "He is telling the truth."
"I have always seen Brandon as a friend, but he is not the one I love," She explained.
"Good thing he is not here. Or else, he will end up being upset again. This time, it will be worse than ever," Scott said.
"I'm sorry," Hazel apologized.
"Hazel, you don't need to apologize. You just need to have a talk with him," Kate advised.
"The problem now is that he is still in there and to make things worse is that Odessa caught us all red-handed," I clarified.
"Who is Odessa?" hazel asked.
"She is an Imperialist and a bitch too," Scott answered rolling his eyes.
Unexpectedly, Alex came running towards us holding a tablet shouting, "There is a message from the aliens! Look! Look!"
"What aliens are you talking about, Alex?" Scott asked as Alex stopped beside him.
"The aliens have a message! Look!" Alex replied as he handed the tablet to Scott.
Scott grabbed it as we crowded around him. The moment he pressed the play button, the video started and a classical music was heard. Then, the sweet atmosphere changed when a scorpion symbol started to fade in!
Scott pressed the "Pause Button" and said, "Alex, this is not from the aliens! This video is from the Imperialists! You haven't changed a bit, Alex. You are still weird."
"I know," Alex said with an absurd giggle.
"Alex, stop it. You're freaking me out," Scott demanded looking at him.
I looked at Scott and Alex saying, "Guys, that's enough. We need to play that video, right now."
"Okay! Okay! Here we go," He replied as he pressed the "Play Button".
Alas! The video turned into black and the loading icon started to appear. I was left thinking that it might take eons to make that shitty video play!
"What the fuck is wrong with this video? It should be playing right now! Oh my goodness! My head is aching because of this stress!" Scott complained.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked as he walked towards us.
"The video is not working," I replied.
"I'm very sorry," Sam apologized. "There is a slow internet connection as of this moment. A lot of Democrats are in use."
"Oh come on! There is a message from the Imperialists in this damn tablet that we really need to see. Oh my goodness! Call this internet service we are paying with," Scott beamed.
"Scott, calm down. We can wait."
Scott looked at me with his face as red as a cherry and shouted, "Wait? We need to see this video right now! Can't they understand? I can feel the heat in my whole body! I'm so mad that I can kill a tiger right now! I'm so mad that—"
Unexpectedly, the video started playing again and shown the scorpion icon.
"Okay. I rest my case," Scott said.
After a few seconds, a feminine figure started to fade in. As I have expected, it was Odessa. She said, "We are the Imperialists and it is our pleasure to make the best out of the Philippines. Bringing order and discipline to the whole country is our mission and giving death to our enemies is our vision. We have finally conquered the office of the President and the Department of Peace and Goodwill and expect that there will be a lot of changes in this country."
"Damn, she is still a bitch," Scott murmured.
In that video, Odessa cued someone to be on her side. Surprisingly, a tall muscular man brought Cole and Brandon beside her, handcuffed and full of blisters!
"Oh my gosh!" Kate said as she covered her mouth with both of her hands.
"I knew it! This was going to happen," Christopher said putting his right hand onto his forehead.
Odessa continued with a smirk saying, "People of the Philippines, I brought you here two criminals who have always been a threat to our motherland."
"She's lying! We are even helping the country in so many ways!" Kate complained.
"They are members of the Democrats," Odessa clarified. "They have been using us all along. They are in an alliance with our former president; Mr. Dela Cruz to have a share on the budget that is supposed to be used for consumption of the whole Filipino people. Don't be fooled! They are liars and traitors to us all!"
"I can't believe that she is making things up! She is the one that is a traitor!" Scott beamed.
"Scott, she can't hear you," Sam clarified. "She is in the video."
Seconds later, Odessa walked in front of the camera and said, "Join us in our fight. Fight the corruption where we were all once a victim. Stop the Democrats now! If you see these people on your screens, report to your nearest police posts immediately."
Then, she faded out and surprisingly, our pictures were posted on the screen!
"This is insane!" Kate beamed. "She is such a hypocrite! Oh! I should not be shocked. A bitch always remains a bitch."
"Kate, calm down. We can show her who the boss is," Scott said confidently.
"How can we do that?" Kate asked.
"Umm...We could....We should...We must....Oh fuck it! I have no idea. Let me think about it," Scott replied scratching his head.
"Anyway, one thing is for sure," Sam said.
"What is it?" I asked looking at him.
"They are brainwashing the whole people in thinking that they are the ones who are right and we are the real enemies. Actually, they don't want discipline and order. They want revenge and world domination," Sam replied.
"Sam, you need to know something," I said. "The Goddess Kadugan is on their side. She was the reason for the meteor attacks in the mansion. That is the reason why they are so powerful."
"What? I can't believe this!" Sam spoke with a puzzled look.
"Reality hurts, Sam. Reality hurts," I said.
"That explains everything!" Sam said. "That explains why they easily kicked us out of the president in that office. Honestly, there were already a lot of soldiers to keep us safe in that place when we were under attack by those Imperial freaks, but everything was going too fast that I had no idea that we were actually losing. Everything literally had gone faster! As a matter of fact, two-thirds of our soldiers in that office died. Good thing we managed to get out of that place with the president and decided to hide in this forest."
"Sam, where are the other Democrats? Are they all safe?" I asked.
"We gave them the coordinates to get here and they are now all safe with us in this forest," Sam replied.
"Oh that's a relief," I spoke.
"Unfortunately, the Imperialists are still doing everything they can to find us. It is even clearly stated in the video," Christopher uttered.
"We can't escape from that fact, but we can do something about it and it has to do with the sacred hourglasses," I said.
"Unfortunately, both of the sacred hourglasses are now with the Imperialists," Christopher said sadly.
"I need to correct something about that, Christopher," Sam said with a smirk.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
Sam grabbed his backpack. Then, with his right hand he slowly grabbed one of the sacred hourglasses inside it. Everyone widened their eyes and could not believe what they were seeing.
"Is this really the one?" Kate asked while touching the texture of the hourglass.
"It really is," Sam replied with a chuckle.
"You're joking, aren't you?" Kate asked with a puzzled look.
"No, I'm not. Trust me. Even your brother knows this," Sam replied as Kate slowly looked at me.
"You knew this all along? You have been lying all the time?" Kate asked.
"Yes," I said. "It must be done to keep the plan a secret. I'm sorry."
Kate placed her hands on her head saying, "I don't know if I must be angry or happy at you, Gerald. I'm really confused."
"I said I'm sorry," I apologized again.
"Oh my gosh! Let me cool down," Kate said raising her hands.
"Okay. Okay," I said with an awkward smile.
"Let me clear everything up," Sam said. "As you can see, it was really our plan to keep the sacred hourglass safe, thinking that there is a huge possibility that the Imperialists will be waiting for us from the outside of that cave. We can't deny the fact that we were actually being observed by the enemies' soldiers even at the time when we were on the quest in finding the first sacred hourglass on that old church in Ilocos Norte."
"Only, Sam, Cole and I knew everything," I clarified.
"Guys, look on the bright side," Christopher spoke. "It's not yet the end. We have one of the sacred hourglasses and we can easily grab the other one."
"How?" Scott asked.
"We can easily get it with the help of this lady over here," Christopher answered pointing at Hazel with a smirk.
"Oh!" Scott said with a nod.
"Apparently, I'm not the only one who can help you, guys," Hazel clarified as she walked beside me.
"So, who are the other people?" I asked.
"You'll see," Hazel answered as she let a knife appear on her left hand and unexpectedly slit my throat!
I was left with confusion and pain as I fell down and saw the whole scene turn into chaos. Then, I saw her run towards Scott and it really looked like he was about to be her next victim! Apparently, I was right. Instinctively, my friends figured this out and defended Scott against her. Everyone tried to stop her by strikes of lightning, force fields and flying branches, but she was just too powerful! Eventually, she successfully defeated all of my friends, leaving all of them lying on the ground catching their breaths. She walked beside Scott with a smirk on her face and rapidly stabbed him several times!
"What is happening?" I asked myself as my blood continued to ooze on the ground with a greater volume. "Was hazel an enemy all along?"
Before I knew it, I could feel my whole body weaken and everything was turning bright. Eventually, I closed my eyes and expired. I really thought that at that moment, it was the end of me and I could finally enjoy my life in the heavens where everything is at peace. Oh wait! The heavens were also not in peace. In short, I thought that I would continue to see chaos in the heavens with my grandfather, Alexander, Patricia and Commander Hilda. Only then I realized when I opened my eyes in a dream-like state that I was back in the kingdom of Dimetria! This time, I found myself sitting down beside a fountain entirely made out of marble. The sun was shining brightly above me and surprisingly, I could feel the gentle breeze touching my face. As I looked on my right, I have seen that golden building I have once visited. In other words, I was specifically in the Pravasta Empire. I slowly stood up and tidied myself up.
Suddenly, a male voice from behind said, "It's good to see you back here, Gerald."
When I looked back, is as expected, it was Prince Joshua wearing the same roman-like clothes.
"Do you even change your clothes?" I asked with a giggle.
"It's not even necessary. I'm a spirit for crying out loud," I answered as he walked towards me.
"Wait a minute. Am I already dead?" I asked with a puzzled look.
"Well, yeah," He answered with a nod.
"Oh my goodness!" I said as I widened my eyes.
"Truly reality strikes a person like a truck," He giggled.
'I don't know what to say. Should I be angry or sad?" I asked with an awkward smile.
"By the way, I'm just kidding," He said laughing.
"It's not funny," I said with my eyes narrowed. Honestly speaking, it's not funny."
"Gerald, come on! It's just a joke," He spoke. "You don't need to take it seriously."
"It's easy for you to say," I whispered.
"I heard that," He uttered with a smirk.
"Anyway, how did it happen? I was clearly killed by my own girlfriend," I asked.
"Oh! She really proceeded with her plan," I spoke with a sinister smile.
"What? You knew this all along?" How could you?" I shouted.
"Gerald, calm down! Even if you die, you will still resurrect anyway."
"Can you explain this further?" I asked seriously.
"Okay. Here it goes. Do you still remember the time when Hazel, Scott and you used your powers together to destroy that crystallized heart?" He asked.
"Yes. I remember that event like it just happened yesterday," I answered.
"Good. Actually, you were successful in destroying its ability to immortalize a specific clan, but there was a side effect," He clarified with an awkward smile.
"Then, what was it?" I asked.
"Even if you destroyed the crystallized heart, its power of immortalization has to go somewhere," He clarified.
"Then, who got its power?" I asked as he started looking at me from top to bottom.
"Prince Joshua, stop looking at me like that and answer my damn question! Who got it?" I demanded as he continued looking at me. This time, his eyes got wider.
Seconds later, he smiled and said, "It is now within you."
"What is within me?" I don't understand!" I said with a puzzled look.
"Gerald, stop asking and look at your whole self," He spoke pointing at me.
Only then I realized that my whole body was actually glowing with a yellowish color, and before I knew it, my outfit changed from a normal casual wear to a roman-like battle suit!
"What is this all about?" I asked.
"Use your common sense, Gerald. You should be happy," He said. "You got the power of immortality! You are now an immortal!"
I was left speechless. I couldn't believe that it just happened.
"Actually, you are not the only one who got the power of immortality," He continued. "Scott and Hazel got it too. The side effect for destroying the crystallized heart was being immortalized. Then, the only way to activate it is to kill your own self. Don't worry. Like Hazel, sooner or later, you will go back to the mortal world. But for now, you still need to be with me so I can help you activate all the abilities an Immortal can do because it's not part of the whole 'metamorphosis process' that just happened now. But you can learn some by just following me," He explained.
"Well, okay," I said still shocked of what actually happened. "It makes sense! Actually I had sensed something odd when Isabella told the three us twice that she could feel something magical within us... I should have known that this was what she was talking about."
"Oh I see," He nodded as I looked back at my outfit.
Like Hazel, my outfit was all colored with white. There was a head of a snake in the center and as I looked closer to my suit, it was carved with small ancient letters that I could not understand. On my right, three enlarged golden spikes were attached on my outfit just above my shoulders. Remarkably, it gave my clothes its "intimidating look" and I actually liked it. As I looked on my back, a yellow colored cape was there. I have to say that whoever made this outfit of mine exerted a lot of effort.
"You really like it, don't you?" He asked as he walked around me.
"Of course I do! It's awesome actually and I really want to thank whoever made this," I replied smiling.
"It's good to hear that," He spoke with a smirk.
"By the way, what does these ancient texts mean?" I asked touching these carved texts.
"Oh! Those texts are written in Dimetrian language. He answered.
"Can you read this for me, please?" I requested.
"Okay. There's no problem with that," He answered as he took a look at the texts. He narrowed his eyes and would often nod in the process.
After a few minutes, I asked, "What does it mean?"
He looked at me and answered, "It seems that these texts tell that story of your life."
"Well, that's strange," I said. "I'm already a teenager and this outfit will not fit the story of my whole life."
"Gerald, everything is possible here. As you can see, these texts are changing constantly. In other words, a different kind of story about you is being flashed in every minute," He explained.
"Whoa! That's fantastic!" I said smiling.
"But wait a minute. It doesn't include the things that are about to happen," He clarified. "In other words, your outfit is not a fortune teller."
"It's okay," I said. "I don't mind."
After a few seconds, I felt like something was not right. I looked around feeling like someone was missing. Only sooner, I figured out that my instincts were right. Scott should be there with me!
"Where is Scott?" I asked.
"I was about to ask you the same thing earlier. He should be here right now," He spoke looking at me.
"Well, that's odd. He just died a few seconds after me," I said.
I was about to shout his name when all of a sudden, a brownish orb started to appear a few meter in front of us. It grew and grew until it reached the same height as mine!
"I think this is Scott," I guessed.
Suddenly, a voice shouted behind us with the words, "Gerald!"
As I looked back, I was shocked to see that it was Scott all along! Like me, he wore a white colored roman-like outfit. He ran towards us and said, "Oh my goodness! It's good to see you here. At least I know someone here in heaven."
"Scott, we are not in heaven," I clarified.
"But it looks like it," He said.
"I'm going to discuss that later on," Prince Joshua said looking at the orb.
"Prince Joshua, if Scott is already here, who is that?" I asked as fear started to run into my veins.
"Gerald, is everything alright?" Scott asked with his eyes widened.