-chapter forty-seven-
____________________
I pierce my blade towards his left chest, where his last heart lies. Nanlaki ang mata niya at naestatwa siya bago tuluyang mawala.
"DOON KAYO dumaan sa butas na sahig?" tanong ko sa apat na ngayon ay kumukuha ng mga berries.
Tumango si Minerva. "Opo, Ate! Natrap po kasi kami before no'n sa isang room tapos naging baliw po si Kuya Voldmir!"
"Naging baliw?" kumunot ang noo ko. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, don't listen to that brat, Sol. Everything's fine and- ah!" lumapit si Voldmir sa'kin na nakangising aso. "Alam mo ba, we fell into a den of monsters and these guys showed just how fantastic they are! Minerva smashed her guitars on the monster's head! HashtagFightingTactics101!"
Umirap si Minerva. "Hmp! It's because I'm not like you who can just hide behind Cerberus! Cheater ka! Cheater!"
"Then you should have picked the summoner job, duh." Voldmir answered back, rolling his eyes.
"That's great and both of you look cute pero hindi niyo pa rin sinagot ang tanong ko. Bakit siya naging baliw?" tanong ko ulit.
"He was doing what he said as 'magic arts of controlling air'..." napaisip si Hex. "Or was it art of air magic?"
"Oh, air magic arts?" tanong ni Irusu. Naningkit ang mata niya nang makita ang mga mukha naming blanko. "What? It's a real word and it happens here. You chant something and do a double-punch to destroy the air around the room or control it."
"Wait! It exists?!" bulyaw ni Hex.
Voldmir tsked. "Ayan kasi't hindi kayo naniwala sa'kin! Kailan lang ba ako nagsinungaling sa inyo?"
"Gusto mo bilangin ko?" tanong ko.
Voldmir's face broke into a smile. "Ang galing mo kanina, Sol! Idol! Hehe..."
"But Sol..." tawag ni Filter. Katabi niya si Aegeru. "What should we do with him?"
Nagkatinginan kami ni Aegeru. He was hiding outside the room when the fight ensued. At lumabas lamang nang makitang maayos na ang lahat.
"Oh! A kid!" Minerva exclaimed and ran towards the boy. Mabilis niya itong yinakap at ginulo ang buhok.
"Oh! A kid!" sigaw din ni Voldmir at lumapit sa kanila pero si Minerva ang niyakap.
Malakas na tumawa si Voldmir nang hampasin siya ni Minerva at naghabulan ang dalawa. Aegeru sat beside me, while looking curiously at the two.
"Who is he, Sol?" tanong ni Hex.
"He's an NPC looking for his father," pabulong na sagot ko.
"A side quest?"
"Side quests? There are side quests?"
Tumango siya. "We helped an elderly a while ago find her cane. There are side quests in here aside from the main one and the hidden one."
Napakaraming arte naman pala ng dungeon na ito.
"Sol!" Irusu took my attention. "The walls opened now. Let's go."
Tumango ako at tumayo. I looked at Aegeru and gave him a sweet smile. "Let's go find your Papa?"
"Okay po!"
We walked and walked in the dark dungeon. For now, we travelled on a straight line. Nalaman din namin mula kay Hex na the walls shift every eight minutes and using the clue we got from Cord, sa mga blocked ways kami dumadaan.
"You mean, Feyre and Vesta got separated as well?" tanong ko.
Tumango si Priamos. "Nawala po si Ate Feyre the same time as you, Ate. Si Ate Vesta naman po nawala nang mapatay namin ang isang shape-shifting cat."
"I see,"
I'm worried. Maayos lang kaya ang lagay ng dalawang 'yon. Although Feyre can defend herself well against this dark dungeon, she's in trouble if she meets enemy players. And Vesta... she needs to have a comrade with her.
"Alam niyo po, Ate," panimula ni Minerva. "Kanina no'ng nasa den kami ng mga monsters may mga skeleton na tumulong sa'min!"
"Oh right," Hex tsked. "Now that I think about it, they didn't do us any harm."
"Skeleton?" Filter asked.
Tumango si Minerva. "Opo."
"If it's skeleton, we only have one necro in our group and that's Ceres." aniya.
"What if it's the enemy's necro?" tanong ni Irusu.
"Wouldn't they attack them then rather than help?" wika ko.
Nagkibit-balikat lang siya at nagpatuloy sa paglalakad. Voldmir snapped his fingers making us look at him.
"Kasama ni Vesta si Ceres!" tugon niya. "When we were separated, I saw them both fell at the same time!"
"Then, why didn't Ate Vesta help us po?" Minerva asked.
Napabuntong-hininga ako. "Well, baka natakot siya sa inyo. Biruin mo ba naman na hinahampas mo ang gitara sa ulo ng halimaw, naging spin top si Priamos, heal lang ng heal sa sarili si Hex at nag-arson si Voldmir. Sino ba ang hindi matatakot?"
"Waaah! Ate! Bawiin mo po!" pagmamaktol ni Minerva at talagang hinampas-hampas pa ang balikat ko. Tumawa ako.
"Wait, so you mean you won't help us also, Sol?" tanong ni Hex.
"I'd even cut ties with you."
Rumehistro sa itsura nila ang gulat at napalitan ng inis. Hindi nagtagal ay sinusugod na nila ako. Mabilis akong nagtago kay Priamos na walang pakialam at kumakain lang.
"Kids," tawag ni Irusu. "We reached a room."
"A room?" lumapit kami sa kaniya.
It was really a room. A room far large and fancier than the other ones. Nauna silang pumasok at tiningnan ang paligid. My sword tingled when I stood by the doorway and when I finally stepped inside, everything changed. The once dark room was transformed into a bright place, up in the clouds with the colorful sky around us. Napaatras ako sa gulat at nahagip ng tingin ko ang sa ilalim. Oh my gosh! BAKIT NAPAKATAAS NG LUGAR NA ITO!
And in front of me is a man in blonde hair and fancy clothes. His eyes and eyelashes are both the color of gold. He is radiating glory, authority and indispensable power.
"S-Sino ka?! Nasa'n ako?!" pasigaw na tanong ko.
"I'm Arthur. Your king."
Naestatwa ako sa gulat dahil sa sinabi niya. Arthur? You mean si Arthur na pinossess si Hiraeth?!
Paano ako napunta sa harap niya kung nandoon lang ako kanina sa loob ng kwarto? Is this a glitch?!
"A-Anong ginagawa mo dito?"
Napatingin siya sa espada ko. "You have something of mine."
"It's not like I went looking for it, you know." I sighed. "Oh, ito. Sa'yo na."
Natigilan ako nang ayaw umalis ng espada sa kamay ko. Like it was glued to my palms even by my attempt to throw it in front of the man. Kumunot ang noo ko at iwinasiwas ito.
"I'm not here to take that away from you."
I stopped moving my hand. Pinigilan ko ang umismid. Bakit niya pa sinabi kung hindi niya naman kukunin.
"Ah," bakit kasi hindi sinabi agad. "Ano pala kailangan mo?"
"The person who currently sits at the throne will look for you. He actually used the room you stepped into to summon you," his golden eyes shined. "But I interfered because I have to talk to you... about something."
"Ano?"
"You know now that I'm inside Hiraeth's body," he noticed the shock from my face. "I exist within Hiraeth and that sword. So everything you do, I see and I hear."
Grabe, wala ba akong privacy sa lugar na ito? My affection for this game is getting lessened.
"You talked to his brother and they want you to kill the current king with my sword. Killing him will bring either destruction on Arth or me back to the throne," he stepped closer to me. "Now, I don't want you to do those."
Umatras ako at tiningnan kung ilang atras pa ba ang kailangan para tuluyan akong mahulog.
"Huh? B-Bakit?"
"Because I don't want to become a King. When I saw Hiraeth, I found him interesting. He doesn't exist here but at the same time he does. So I escaped the locked-up palace. And I enjoyed our every travel together," he frowned. "I don't want to lose the adventure I had. I don't want you to kill Hiraeth and take away my freedom."
"But what about Hiraeth?" galit kong saad. "What about his freedom?"
"He is free."
"He's not! This is not his world! He- He has a life outside here! He deserves better..." malungkot ko siyang tiningnan. "Are you so selfish to use him for your own freedom?"
Nagulat ako nang may maramdaman ang dulo ng isang blade sa leeg ko. His eyes held fury. The sword in my hand began to twitch, wanting me to fight back and recognizing his owner as his enemy.
"I will not let you destroy the freedom I have," he menacingly threatened. "I'll do everything to put a stop into your plan. So I suggest that you-"
Bigla siyang nawala. The bright place atop the sky vanished and I saw myself inside a room. May isang malaking upuan sa dulo, nagsisimbolong para iyon sa pinakamalakas na tao sa buong Arth. A throne! I'm in the palace throne room! And there's a guy with white hair that reached the floor on the other end.
Napalinga-linga ako sa paligid dahil sa takot. Walang katao-tao sa paligid! Tanging ako lang at ang lalaki. Ano na ba ang nangyayari?
Bakit wala man lang nagsabi sa'kin na ngayon pala ang national tour day?!
"You're the chosen one," he murmured. "Out of a million players in Arth, why did he pick you? A girl?"
Ito na naman ba ang sword ko?! Tsaka sino ba ito?
"What do you want?" I developed the courage to ask.
"Nothing. I just want to see the chosen player. The sword should not be in anyone's hands, you know? Not until they finished the Grand Quest and get the throne. But you," he smirked. "You're a cheater."
Kumunot ang noo ko. "Who are you?"
"I'm what they call the current king of Arth. Which is a total bull because I am it's one and only king! Because... I'm it's creator."
Cord and Hiraeth's father! The guy I'm supposed to kill! May death wish ba ito at lumapit na agad sa'kin?
As if I can kill him immediately.
"It was going fine! Arthur left the throne and went inside my son's body. But you arrived with the holy sword in your hand, using it in the demon's king dungeon and threatening my throne? Should I kill you now or wait for you to finish your adventure?"
Instinctively, I pointed the sword up to him. The golden flames burned around the sword and the pale ones around me. Napakalaki at napakalakas ng nagmumula sa espada that even the 'current king' had to take a step back.
"What a stubborn sword. Did it recognize you at it's master now that it has the guts to show at me? I am the one responsible for creating it!"
"But you're not the one who's supposed to wield it."
Umiling siya. "Looks like that. I didn't come for the sword anyway. It already has a king in mind. What I want from you is a different thing."
Bakit ba lahat na lang kayo may kailangan sa'kin?!
Naningkit ang mata niya at may masamang ngiti sa labi. His hands grazed his hair. "I want you to kill Arthur."
Nanlaki ang mata ko. "What?!"
"I want you to kill Arthur. The King of Arth."
Bakit ako?!
I scoffed a laugh. "You can't kill a spirit."
"He's not a spirit right now. He stays in the body of someone right," he smiled. "Hiraeth?"
"Isn't he your son?" may takot sa tinig ko.
"He is. But he's in the way of my ambition," his eyes glistened in anger. "So better if we take care of him, hmm?"
What?! This is just fucked up!
"Now, will you do my favor, slayer?"
"You people just really blab what you want, huh? Speaking carelessly like life was just something you can lay with," fury burned in my eyes. "Well, sorry to say this but if you want to achieve something. Do. It. Yourself!"
I slashed my sword into the air, making the room crack like glass. The king's face went blank but there was annoyance amidst it. He uttered some words I couldn't hear because of the glass breaking. The next thing I knew, I was catching my breath and sitting on the floor.
"Solace! Are you okay?!" nag-aalalang tanong ni Irusu. "All of a sudden, you just fainted!"
"What happened? Your HP and Energy are both in good shape," tugon ni Hex.
Napahawak ako sa ulo nang may nakakabinging sakit na dumapo. I looked down at my sword whose flames are burning down and disappearing.
"Your sword just burned really brightly for a moment too," wika ni Voldmir. "Nagulat kami nang bigla na lang nangyari 'yon."
What was that then? My conversation with them? Was it only illusion or was it my spirit that was only transported? Bago pa ako makasagot ay may narinig kaming sigaw.
"Papa!" Aegeru shouted and ran away.
Mabilis akong tumayo at sinundan siya. I kept on shouting his name until I saw him fell into something. I quickly jumped to catch him and I found us both falling. Falling and falling until we stopped.
And we were in a void.
Sa gilid ng mata ko ay nakita ko si Aegeru na patuloy na tumatakbo kaya sinundan ko siya. We arrived in front of a man bound in chains. His hair growing longer and beard appearing in his face. His tired eyes glanced up at us and he looked surprised when he saw Aegeru.
"Aegeru! My son!" sigaw niya.
"Papa!" naiiyak na sagot ng bata at agad na yinakap ang kaniyang ama.
I looked around the place. There was nothing. All empty and black.
"Where are we?" mahinang sambit ko.
Tumingin sa'kin si Aegnus, ang ama ni Aegeru. "We're in the Demon King's room."
"Demon... King...?" hindi-makapaniwala kong saad.
Tumango lang siya and suddenly I felt a gush of air blow my hair. Then there was a looming and dangerous presence that appeared. Naramdaman ko ang pagtaas ng balahibo at pagbalot ng kakaibang takot sa aking katawan. It feels like everything went colder and darker.
Then a pair of bright red eyes met mine. It looked so menacing and murderous. I stepped back, my chest heaving. And with a deep, vicious voice, he snarled.
"What are you doing in my territory, warrior of light? How dare you disrespect my palace!"
____________________
-chapter end-
▪▪▪
1. Make a legacy with the Oddcredibles.
2. Save Hiraeth? By killing the king? Because I wield the sword? That can kill him? What?
3. Complete the Quest for the Shrine Maiden.
4. H̶e̶l̶p̶ ̶A̶e̶g̶e̶r̶u̶ ̶f̶i̶n̶d̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶D̶a̶d̶.̶
[NEW!]:
4. Find my way out of the Demon King's room because WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING WHY AM I ALWAYS TRANSPORTED INTO EVERYWHEREHALSHSKA.
▪▪▪