"But we will fight until the end..."
AVERY
We sneak out of the kingdom's wall. I remembered before that Alveria's walls can nullify magic, but now, it is so ordinary that a simple magic casted can tear it down. Mukhang inalis na ni Seth ang nullification magic na ginamit niya rito upang makapasok ang magic circle na binubuo niya.
Habang naglalakad si Aris sa kagubatan, napansin ko ang pamilyar na daan patungo sa tirahan nina Zach. Tahimik naman na pinagmamasdan ni Zirrius ang kapaligiran. Nakahawak ako sa damit ni Zirrius. I don't know if it's alright to hug him or not.
"You'll fall. Hold on tight," he said in a husky voice.
Tahimik akong sumunod. I wrapped my arms around him. I can feel my heart beating against his back. We both sighed heavily but didn't dare to speak. It's like a mutual understanding that we didn't want this moment to end. We didn't want to ruin this moment. We crossed some rivers. Lumabas kami sa kakahuyan at bumungad samin ang malawak na kapatagan. Hapon na nang marating namin ang lugar.
"Zach!" Zirrius called out. Out of nowhere, a figure appeared in front of us. Zach, with a smile on his face welcomed us. His caramel eyes are gentle and warm as he greets Zirrius.
"You're back!" he said.
Zirrius smiled and nodded. "I'm back."
Zach gestured to follow him. Sumunod kami sa kanya hanggang sa maglaho kami at makalampas sa magic barrier na pumoprotekta sa buong baryo. Bumungad samin ang mga masasayang tao at simpleng tahanan na gawa sa kahoy. It feels like nothing has changed in this village. They all stopped when they saw Zirrius. Nakarinig pa ako ng masasayang hiyaw upang batiin siya. They are all excited to see him. I saw hope in there eyes as they look at him. He's like a savior, an answered prayer. Binati ni Zirrius ang mga tao at sinundan na si Zach patungon sa bahay nila. Natanaw ko pa sina Lolo Zark at Rein na naghihintay sa tarangkahan ng bahay nila.
Inalalayan ako ni Zach na bumaba mula kay Aris. Nagtama ang mga mata namin. Napaawang ang labi niya dahil sa mga mata kong kulay ginto pero nang makabawi, tumango siya na tila alam niya kung bakit ako nandito. Hindi ko pa ibinababa ang hood ko dahil tiyak na magugulat ang mga tao rito kapag nalaman nilang hindi ako tao.
Itinali ni Zirrius si Aris sa isang bakod matapos niyang makababa kay Aris. Pumasok kami sa loob ng maliit na tahanan nina Zach.
"Umupo muna kayo," sabi ni Lolo Zark. Naghanda naman ng maiinom si Rein para sa 'min. Ngumiti si Lolo Zark kay Zirrius nang makaupo ito. "Ngayon bumalik ka sa simula. Kamusta ang iyong paglalakbay?"
Hindi agad nakasagot si Zirrius. Halatang hindi niya alam kung paano niya sisimulang ikwento ang lahat ng nangyari sa kanya. He just smiled bitterly and answered, "It's a long journey but I will finish it."
Tumango si Lolo Zark at bumaling sa 'kin. Nagtama ang mga mata namin at alam kong naalala niya ako. "Ikaw ang elf na nasa loob ng katawan ni Zirrius dati, hindi ba? His birthmark and the color of your eyes are the same. Tama nga si Zara."
I removed my hood and showed them my true form. "You're right. It's been a while," I greeted them. Napasinghap sila sa itsura ko pero alam kong tanggap nila ako. They are astonished. Maging si Rein ay natigilan habang ibinababa ang mga inumin sa mesa. Pero nakahuma naman at agad na ipinagpatuloy ang naudlot na gawain.
"Ano'ng maipaglilingkod namin sa inyo, Mahal na Prinsipe?" malumanay na tanong ni Lolo Zark.
Hindi na nag-alinlangan pa si Zirrius at agad na sinabi ang pakay. "I'm not your prince anymore," may lungkot na saad niya bago nagpagtuloy. "But I want to know what happened to Alveria while I'm away. And I want to ask for your help. We need your forces. Your magic. We need you to stop King Aulius." His tone was sincere and hoping.
Ngumiti naman si Zach. "We're actually waiting for you. We're waiting to fight anytime. I investigated when you left... when I realized that there's some changes in Alveria. And we discovered some things that may help you. Hindi ko lang ako sigurado kung alam na ninyo ang impormasyong ito."
"Nakikinig kami," pahayag ko.
"We discovered that King Aulius is possessed. I'm just not sure if he's a different person or if an external force is manipulating him. I just know that there's a culprit behind all this mess. Nagbago ang lahat. Naghirap ang mga tao sa loob ng kaharian. They became lifeless. Even the crops withered. Hindi ko alam kung dahil ba ito sa magic circle na binubuo nila. I feel like it's slow stealing their life forces."
"May nakita ka bang crescent moon mark sa Hari?" tanong ni Zirrius.
Umiling si Zach. "Wala akong napansin. O baka naman nakatago lang?"
Marahang tumango si Zirrius. "He's really possessed. Pero hindi namin alam kung sino ang totoong kalaban. Kung tama ka na humihigop ng buhay ang magic circle, kailangan na nating pigilin ang hari bago pa niya tuluyang mabuo ito."
"Anong dapat nating gawin upang mapigilan ang hari?" tanong ni Rein.
"We need to destroy the towers," saad ko. "And we need your help to remove the crescent moons on the citizens of Alveria. We need your magic. We will teach you how. Kami na ang bahalang humarap sa hari habang ginagawa ninyo ang mga bagay na ito. Huwag kayong mangamba. Siguradong may darating na tulong mula sa ibang kaharian at sa mga elves."
"Kung ganu'n maaari na nating simulan upang makabalik na kayo sa kaharian. Alam kong may iba pa kayong gagawin," pahayag naman ni Lolo Zark.
"We will sneak inside the kingdom to secretly carry out the mission," segunda naman ni Zach. "I will meet with you and report every now and then."
Zirrius sighed with relief. He's grateful to hear that they're willing to help. He thanked them and we proceed to teach them how to remove crescent moon marks. Ipapasa na lang nila ang kaalaman sa mga kasama nila. Nanatili kami sa baryo nila sa loob ng dalawang araw at muling nagbalik sa Alveria.
Nang makabalik ako sa inn, may inabot na liham si Damon. "She's coming," he said. Kumunot ang noo ko at binuksan ang liham. I smiled. Verone and the army were on their way to other kingdoms and Alveria.
Bumaling ako kina Shin at Damon. "Ano'ng balita habang wala kami."
"We need to hurry. The magic circle is stealing life forces," seryosong saad ni Damon. "Everyone will wither if this continues."
Tumango si Shin. "Pumasok ako sa kaharian. Nakita ko ang pinagmumulan ng itim na mahika. The medallion stolen from Zirrius is in the middle of the Magic Circle. It's the source that we need to destroy. The one who steals our life forces. Binabalot na ito ng itim na mahika. And I saw the king steadily performs the ritual. I did a research about that medallion. It's an heirloom from your ancestors, Avery. A medallion that represents all essential elements of magic. A medallion that almost ruin this world because of two lovers, Sin and Damon. The forbidden lovers that was bound to be forgotten by time and cursed to not cross paths ever again. I wasn't able to research about Sin and Damon. Sin is a Devon. Damon's origin is a mystery. It happened ten millenia ago. They both died in the end. Hindi ko alam kung bakit hindi sinira ng council ang medallion. Naiwan lang ang kalahati nito sa pangangalaga ni Reyna Zara na ina ni Zirrius at Empress Demelza, sa ina ni Avery."
"Maybe it's too powerful that they have no power to destroy it?" nakakunot noong tanong ko.
Tumango si Shin. "The medallion seems breathing."
"Breathing?" Tanong ni Damon. "It's alive?"
Umiling si Shin. "Hindi ko masabing buhay ito. Siguro dahil lang sa nahihigop niyang buhay?"
"It's getting more complicated," saad ni Zirrius. "Nasaan si Kendrick?"
"Nasa palasyo. Nagpanggap siyang isang kawal at naglilingkod sa hari. He's preparing some things for us. Para mas madali kayong makapasok sa loob ng kaharian," sagot ni Shin. "He provided blueprints of the underground tunnel and the castle. I can give him signal once we decided to move."
"Ibinigay rin ni Kendrick kung saan madaling mapapasok ang kaharian. Kailan tayo kikilos?" tanong ni Damon. "Oo nga pala. May pumunta ritong babae na hinahanap si Zirrius. May kasama siyang lalaki. Liana at Leo. Mukhang kadarating lang nila mula sa paglalakbay."
Nagkatinginan kami ni Zirrius. Mukhang hindi magandang balita ito. "Nasaan na sila? Anak ng hari si Leo," sagot ni Zirrius. "Maybe we're not safe here."
"They're staying somewhere. I think they're hiding from the guards and from the king," sagot ni Damon. "He told me he's a prince. The son of King Aulius. Sinabi niyang umalis siya dahil sa kakaibang ikinikilos ng kanyang ama. His father started to change. He became more cruel and emotionless. Maging ang ama ni Liana na si Lord Kelvin ay naapektuhan din ng Hari. Nang hindi na nila makayanan ang nangyayari, nagdesisyon silang umalis. Hindi nila alam kung saan sila pupunta at kung kanino hihingi ng tulong dahil lahat ng pinupuntuhan nila ay tila apektado ng mahika ni King Aulius."
"Sa tingin mo nagsasabi siya ng totoo?" tanong ko kay Damon.
"It's for us to find out," sagot ni Damon. "They sound genuine and true. I never met them before so I can't judge them that easily. Hindi nila hinihiling na paniwalaan ko ang sinasabi nila. Ang gusto lang nila ay makausap si Zirrius. Gusto rin nilang matapos na ang lahat ng kaguluhang ito."
"Have you tried to enter their minds?" tanong ko kay Damon.
"Kay Liana lang. She's telling the truth. And there's no crescent moon mark on them both," sagot ni Damon.
Pero noon nakita ko talaga na may crescent moon mark si Liana. O baka naman nakalaya na siya?
Napaisip si Zirrius. "What do you think Avery? Should we talk to them?" tanong niya.
Hindi ko alam ang isasagot ko. Kung hindi na talaga kontrolado si Liana, alam kong mas lalo akong maaapektuhan ng presensiya niya. But I have to control my urges. I have to stop these unnecessary feelings. We're here to fight. I need to decide what's right.
Tumango ako. "Let's meet them and confirm everything. Tomorrow."
***