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“Mama! Nagigising na si Racchina.”
I slowly opened my eyes.
I saw Raya and Taya’s faces in front me―smiling. And with the strength I felt so enough for me to use, I sat up and wandered my eyes all over the place where I was.
Nasa bahay pala ako.
“Mabuti naman at gising ka na.”
Nakita ko agad si Madame na papalapit sa kinaruruunan namin. She’s holding a tray full of something to eat and drink. She placed it on the table near my bed. And within a split of a second, just a showcase of those foods in the tray made me hungry as if I hadn’t eaten for a week. I was amazed how my hand worked in snatching one bread. I tore it apart then shoved each into my mouth.
“You’re out of consciousness for almost six days,” Madame Ruth let me know.
Hearing those words made me stop chewing. I grabbed a glass of water and drank it.
“Mabuti naman at ‘di ka nasaktan. We thought you’re badly hurt with what happened,” Raya spoke.
What happened? What had happened?
Yea! I already remembered. And seeing what happened in the back of my mind made me feel scared.
“Madame . . .” I looked at her with scared eyes. “I saw a group of people with black coverings. One of those possess a Gate Key.” Then I saw their scared reactions. I continued, “He has the Gate Key of the Serpent Bearer . . . Ophiuchus.”
Madame made a sigh. “It’s still a miracle seeing you alive.” She looked at me with serious eyes. “It only means that he didn’t want to kill anyone. He just wanted to instill fear among the people of Zoidion,” Madame added.
Then Taya inserted, “He wanted all of us to know that he stole the 13th Zodiac Gate Key.”
Now that she said it, I felt like everything’s not going to be fine. The 13th Gate Key which is said to be dangerous and powerful is stolen. A forbidden Gate Key they say. Everyone who touches it will be given a great power capable of defeating the remaining Celestial Spirits. And it is said that the power it gives belongs to darkness. That’s why the Key was hidden from the people of Zoidion.
But now that it’s stolen . . . I know it would already be hard to sit still.
I made a sigh when a great reddish light covered the house. It was blinding . . . I could not see anything.
“Do you think it’s from our r-region?” Taya asked while covering her eyes with her hands, though I didn’t have a clue why would our region would have such light.
“Sagittarius,” we heard Madame answered. Unti-unti namang nawala ang mapulang ilaw makalipas ang ilang sandali. At nang tuluyang mawala ito ay nagsimula nang magsalita ulit si Madame Ruth. “So a new Gate Key Bearer of the Archer is already chosen.”
My ears rang. New Gate Key Bearer? Archer?
In a blink of an eye, Madame and her daughters were already out of the house. So I stood up and followed them outside. It’s already evening at nang mabaling ang tingin ko sa kanan ay laking gulat ko na lang nang makakita ng straight red light coming from the ground straight to the sky. Nasa ‘di kalayuan lang ito’t tila ba nanggagaling sa Sagittarius Region. Napakaganda nito’t siguro’y dito nanggagaling ang ilaw na tumambad sa amin kanina lang.
Taya uttered an expression of amusement, cupping her cheeks with her bare hands. “New Gate Key Bearer of the Archer!”
Now that I heard it often I already wanted to ask them. “What do you mean, new Key Bearer?”
Raya answered, “The event in the Great Circle was still on hold because the Gate Key Bearers of the Regions of Pisces, Gemini, Aries, Scorpio, Virgo and ours were attacked. Kasalukuyan pa rin silang walang malay at tila ba walang signs na magigising pa sila.”
“Ano?” ‘Di ako makapaniwala sa narinig.
“That’s why the remaining leaders decided to choose new Bearers to be trained,” Taya added.
Aware of the conversation, Madame inserted herself in, “The 12 Zodiac Keys are placed in Zodiac Ruins, one in each region. In order to be one of the new Bearers, a Pure Blood should take the risk in finding a Gate Key inside.”
The leaders really knew how dangerous the 13th Key was. That’s why they’re already making a move, choosing new Bearers to be trained . . . to defeat the darkness.
A second of silence struck among us. And when it ended, a new light covered the whole Capricorn Region. This time it came from the left side―and it’s blue. Aquarius Region, the Capricorn’s one of the two neighboring Zodiac Regions.
“Omoooh!” Raya’s mouth opened up in astonishment. “A new Gate Key Bearer of the Water Bearer is already chosen! I hope I could be the Capricorn’s.”
I then saw the frown on Taya’s face. “Hmp! I will make sure I would be the one.”
“Nope,” Raya assured. I will be the new Gate Key Bearer of the Sea Goat!”
Still debating, I noticed that our region hadn’t produce a brown light yet.
So this means wala pang napipili?
“Kakaininin mo ang sinasabi mo ngayon,” Taya. “I will make sure that the Spirit of Capricorn will choose me.”
“Leo, Gemini, Libra, Scorpio, Virgo, Taurus, Pisces, Aries, Cancer, Sagittarius and Aquarius . . .” Madame cut the fight with the serious tone of hers. And that’s when I realized that I could see specs of light from the north, east and south. The other Zodiac Regions were too far that’s why we couldn’t barely see the lights from there. Madame went on, “There’s only one region left. They’re already waiting for our region’s new Bearer. . . . Who could it be?”
Who could it be?
The question echoed inside my head. A question that made my brain produced possibilities. And even if I don’t have a pure blood . . . part of me said to hope it would be me.
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