Dio's POV
Tch.
Sinilip ko ang maitim na marka sa braso ko. I got hit by one of those black lightnings.
"He looks like he's not going to tone down." nilingon ko si Ria na may malaking hiwa sa tiyan niya.
I cleared my throat and searched for the others. Abalang-abala rin sila ah.
"We have to find Cesia." I told her. Alam ng lahat na si Cesia lang ang may malaking impact sa mga ganitong pangyayari.
But with her gone, ewan ko nalang kung ano ang mangyayari sa'min.
He's never going to tone down unless mahahanap namin si Cesia.
And the thing is, WALA RIN KAMING IDEYA KUNG NASAAN SIYA.
Sinundan ko ng tingin ang mga gigantes, kasali na rin ang mga leviathans. Lahat sila ay sabay sabay na umaatake sa kanya. Yet not one did him damage.
I looked at him and he looked back.
Surprisingly, hindi ako nakaramdam ng takot dahil sa kanya. He just had the same aura he gives off as our leader. Dapat nga akong matakot dahil ako 'tong pinakamalapit sa kanya.
But no.
He gave me a serious look enough for me to undetstand what he wants us to do which is: to focus on Cesia and not him.
Tumango ako bago tumakbo patungo sa iba pang Alphas.
"Anong gagawin natin?" tanong ni Thea.
Napansin kong lahat kami ay may maitim na marka sa balat namin.. Ibig sabihin hindi rin sila nakaiwas mula sa galit ng anak ni Zeus.
"Gusto ko lang sabihin na... mahal ko kayong Alphas. Kung ito na talaga ang huling araw ko, sana-" napa-aray si Chase nang makatanggap siya ng sapak mula kay Ria.
"NO ONE IS GOING TO DIE HERE! OKAY?!" galit na anunsyo ni Ria.
"Kara? May nasesense ka na bang trance?" Art checked.
"Actually... yes." sagot niya. "and I'm sure it's Cesia's."
Nakahinga rin kami ng maluwag pagkatapos marinig ang sinabi niya. Atleast may ideya na kami kung nasaan siya.
But the tense was back when Kara spoke again. "I can't see through it. It's locked. She's keeping it closed.
Her green eyes were vibrating. From light neon green to dull green. Sinubukan niyang gamitin ulit ang ability niya kaya lumiwanag ang kanyang mga mata but then her eyes went back to its original shade of green.
Nagbuntong-hininga siya. "I can't."
I heard the cries of several giants from a distance kaya napatingin ako.
Tila lasing ang mga giants habang naglalakad dahil sa napakaraming tama ng kidlat sa katawan nila.
The black mark kept on spreading all over their bodies. Just imagine my reaction nung makita ko ang isa sa kanila na tuluyan na ngang natakpan ng buo.
He fucking dissolved into air.
Tinignan ko ang sarili kong braso. "Shit."
The black thing covered my entire arm now.. at hindi ko rin magalaw ang bahagya na ito ng katawan ko.
Agad kinuha ni Matilda ang kamay ko. Slowly, I felt warmth crawl up to my skin hanggang sa bumalik na nga sa dati ang kamay at braso ko.
Pinasalamatan ko siya.
Akala ko talaga noon na multo siya. Pero sinabi naman ni Art na nandito siya para tulungan kami... and that we should trust her.
After all the events that happened, syempre maniniwala ako sa kanya.
Hindi nga rin namin alam ang buong kwento kung paano nakabalik si Art at bakit kasama niya sina Kaye at Matilda.
But that's not our priority here.
Sa ngayon, tatapusin mo na namin 'to and then we can ask Art for answers.
Ang mahalaga, nakabalik na sila.
"Nasaan nga pala si Cal?" tanong ko.
"Ayun. Siya na daw bahala sa mga giants. Kasama niya naman yung mga sundalo ni Hades eh!" sabik na sagot ni Art. Yumuko si Matilda para gamutin ang bakas ng kidlat na nakakalat sa binti niya. Kasunod na ginamot ni Matilda ay sina Seht at Kaye na parehong katabi ni Art.
Narinig ko ang nangyari sa Underworld. I wonder where Hades is seeking refuge.
Baka naroon siya sa Olympus kasama ang iba pang deities.
"I can help you, demigods." out of nowhere, biglang lumabas si Medea.
Tahimik naming tinignan ang babaeng nagtangkang patayin kami noon.
"What are you doing here? Why would you help us?" Ria asked with a hint of disgust. Umatras siya saka hinigpitan ang paghawak sa espada niya.
"because I have seen your capabilities as demigods." sagot niya.
"You have to follow me now. Come!" tumalikod siya at nagsimulang maglakad.
"We have no time for this. Gaia is already awake!" Ria exclaimed.
Tumigil siya at tinignan kami. "The mist is keeping her from waking up. It works like a drug. It keeps her senses unclear and she will not wake up unless she has fully regained her immunity against it."
The heavier the mist is, the more time we have to look for Cesia.
"huh... kaya pala di ko pa nakikita si Gaia sa visions ko..." narinig kong bulong ni Art sa sarili niya.
Sinundan namin si Medea. We went inside the forest and it was even darker than usual. Rinig na rinig pa rin namin ang ingay ng kidlat mula sa itaas.
"Where are we going exactly?" tanong ni Kara.
Hindi kami nakatamo ng sagot. Nagsimula na akong magduda kung tama ba ang naging desisyon namin na sumunod sa kanya.
Mayamaya, tumigil kami.
This part of the forest was glowing. A ray of pink and purple light gathered in front of us.
Nagtinginan sina Kara at Art. Meanwhile, I have got no clue as to why we're here.
Atsaka, bakit may liwanag dito? Art and Seht couldn't even summon light because Trev's power won't allow it.
"She's here. I can sense it." Kara took a step forward.
"Kara." I grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to me.
Halatang nagulat siya sa ginawa ko.
"She never closed the trance. She left this light for him." ani Medea at tumingin sa itaas. It was as if there was a little hole in the dark sky.
"For him?" Ria asked, confused.
Kara gave my hand a gentle squeeze before letting it go. "Then all this time.. he knows where Cesia is... but how come he can't find her?"
"That's the problem." Medea added. "he's too overwhelmed with everything else he couldn't notice this faint light in the darkness."
"Wait. So we have to lure him here? Dapat niyang makita ang liwanag na'to? ganon ba?" nakapameywang si Ria.
I cleared my throat.
"Let's get this straight. Trev is not going to calm down and have time for a little chitchat-" napatigil ako sa pagsasalita. The purplish light was slowly vanishing.
Napasinghap si Art. "May nangyari kay Cesia..."
Nagbuntong-hininga si Medea. "The light is slowly fading... she's weakened."
"But why isn't she back?! If she's weakened then why is she still in the trance?!" tila hindi kapani-paniwala ang nakita ni Kara.
Walang naisagot si Medea. She gave us a sympathetic look which I'm sure meant we can't do anything.
"She's slowly closing the trance.. kasi ayaw niyang makalabas si Eris. She will have to keep Eris locked up in there.. and by then, no one can enter and leave." this time, it was Kaye's turn to speak.
Suddenly, a tall tornado made out of fire sprung out towards the sky.
It was Thea.
Nagtaka ako saglit kung ano ang ginagawa niya and then I realized...
kinukuha niya ang atensyon ni Trev mula dito.
I sighed as I looked at the light. It was already fading.
She's losing hope.
I inhaled sharply before summoning all the water in the area. With all the strength I had, I directed the waters towards the sky.
My body grew weary pero pinilit ko ang katawan ko. I willed myself to keep the water up until Trev notices it.
"Chase. Sumama ka sa'kin. We have a demigod to call." Ria transformed into a Phoenix and left together with Chase.
Mayamaya, bumalik si Chase. "Hindi pa rin..."
Pinatong ni Kara ang kamay niya sa balikat ko. Umiling ako.
I'm not giving up.
With all the force I had left, I pushed the waters further. Ganundin ang ginawa ni Thea.
"Teka... Ipagpatuloy niyo lang yan. Seht halika dito." tinawag ni Art ang kambal niya.
I didn't know what happened but a beam of light coming from the twins emerged from the ground. It was radiating like the sun and I'm sure it was enough to get Trev's attention because it literally pierced through the dark clouds.
But he never came.
After a few seconds, I stopped.
Fuck. I'm already out of energy.
So were the others too dahil tumigil rin sila. The sky went dark again, as if nothing happened.
Yumuko si Medea.
There was dead silence among us.
Tinignan ko ulit ang liwanag. It was the size of a string.
"Dio.. are you okay?" tanong ni Kara.
Tumango ako at hinila siya para yakapin. "I'm sorry..."
I dipped my head on her shoulders when we heard a loud crash.
I sensed a large amount of power in front of me so my eyes glowed brighter than usual.
Inaasahan kong isa sa mga leviathans ang makikita ko.
But it wasn't.
"WHERE IS SHE."
Lahat kami ay napatingin sa kanya.
Damn.
Good motherfucking luck Eris.