Luines - Book 1

Chapter 25:The Remnants of the Realm

"Papa's gone..." Hal said. She stared blankly at a kid version Zee, wherein his starlike glow shone as bright as his smile.

"Papa Tito told us once, if we have each other's back, we'll be fine!" Zee hugged Hal snugly, his small arms barely lacing her back.

Her eyes welled up as she hugged Zee back, but her hands went through him. The young Zee was disappearing in the shadows. She yelled, "Don't leave me! I can't do this alone, Zee!"

The remnants of the young Zee winked, and he spoke in his older voice, "I trust you, Hal. We're still alive. Please, find us."

As the vision faded into the darkness, she realized that she was no longer in Nocturne anymore. Was she taken too? What dead world was this? Darkness lurked around them, as if the city of Manila had been in a post apocalyptic depression for decades. The ear piercing sound of her shriek faded like a recovering hangover in her mind. Right now, she was at the clutches of Cedric Chang.

"What the Heaven, Hal! Control yourself!" Cedric cursed her as she clawed her at the neck. He was seething, that she could choke to death if she made the wrong move. However, she couldn't control her burning tears, crawling down her cheeks.

"I can't control my outbursts!" Hal bit her lips and cried, "I can't just sit and do nothing, Cedric! My best friend was kidnapped and I couldn't do anything! I'm supposed to be a Luine but I can't even control them! What am I supposed to do then? Just stand there and allow myself to be another human sacrifice to the dragon? No! I can't!"

"And what would you get if you burned Nocturne fully?" Cedric said.

"As long as it'll save Zee and Neon!" Hal screamed. His hand wrenched at her neck as Cedric roared, his eyes had gone as dark as their surroundings. Hal drew thin breaths until there were none. Tears were still flowing down her cheeks, that each remaining drop evaporated before it hit the ground. She must have become a human torch. As she drew another attempt for a breath, her body cooled down and her tears were now water.

"You're reckless, Luine! Snap of it!" Cedric released his hold of Hal, and slammed her to the ground.

Hal cried as her back collided with the cemented pavement. She laid there, staring at the starless sky above her. She searched for the moon, but it wasn't there. She squeezed her eyes shut, as she searched through the bleak vast for Zee or Neon. They could be alive somewhere. Nothing. No wind nor presence no matter how much she screamed for Zee. Hal exhaled deeply and focused on the words her dad usually said: Hal, be strong. Don't let anyone push you down.

As she opened her eyes, Cedric gave her his hand, and pulled her up. She looked into his concerned eyes and saw Zee in his thoughts. A flashback of their dates and intimate moments ran through her head. Cedric Chang really loves Zee Nakaji. He said, "I've lost someone too, Hal. And I don't want to lose that someone again."

Hal punched Cedric on the shoulder as she forced herself to shut her tears. "Why did you have to be so rough on me? Pucha, my back hurts!"

Cedric folded his arms. "You're one stubborn gal on a rampage, that I had to drag you into our world. Else, you'd really burn down Nocturne. When you screamed, you set yourself on fire! I was scared you'd go Vitorrio Vivendi on me. That bullheaded freak went nuclear. I thought he almost started World War 2."

"So, Vitorrio was that powerful, huh?"

"Scary and powerful that he could become a human bomb if he wanted to be one. And that same power was taken by Bakunawa to destroy our world."

"Aren't we still in Manila?"

"Not exactly. Can't you sense the silence of the place? Don't you feel any life around here?"

Hal turned to the skies again, and he was right. Her empathic nor mental abilities didn't pick up any heart or mind just like the missing stars. It was just a blank void. "So, where are we then?"

"We call this place The Shadows, places that didn't collide with your human realm, and remained in the dark. It's like Limbo or Purgatory combined without guardians that'll bring you to the Underworld."

Hal asked, "Where's Ryu?"

"He's in the Human Realm, but he took a cigar from your pocket."

What are you up to, Ryu? She shrugged those thoughts and wanted a quick solution. "So, what do we do now?"

"We wait. Though, time moves at a different tempo here. An hour in The Shadows could be a week in your world."

Hal gritted her teeth, and began yelling for Ryu on the top of her lungs. She really couldn't sit there and do nothing while time would eat up more than a week. After a few paces and yells, she glared at Cedric, "Aren't you going to do anything?"

"I'm conserving my energy. In this realm, our powers are stronger. We might need my skills when we face Bakunawa. Besides, I trust my good old buddy, Ryu. Do you?"

Hal rolled her eyes and threw him darted looks. "I do." She sat beside Cedric and asked, "What did you see in Zee that got you so interested in him?"

Cedric smiled longingly, as he sighed, "Do you believe in Fate? Do you believe that you feel it in your bones that you've known his spirit for a very long time? I have that with Zee." Cedric turned to Hal and she could feel his heart pounding immensely for Zee, as he continued, "It's like when we began to talk, or when I gaze into his eyes, I see a love that I've lost before and found now. Finally!"

Hal said, "So, it could be possible that in your past lives you were a death god that saved the moon from being eaten or killed then?"

"It could be. My powers are connected to the Netherworld, and shadows, and Zee glows like a moon. We could be reincarnations of them. You know, we, Realm Folk, believe that no matter how many cycles of lives you've been, you end up hanging around the same circle you've been with before."

"Unless some unforeseen force like Bakunawa kills them first, then the circle will be lacking."

"Yeah, but in each cycle, you're bound to find them. The question is if you'd acknowledge it. Would you acknowledge the remnants of the past and be drawn by that energy or would you fight it?"

Hal didn't really have a clear answer yet. She knew the moment she met Ryu in his mind, he felt a certain calm and relief, as if they had forged a relationship for decades. Maybe, that's what Cedric Chang meant.

As she was about to speak, a loud engine sounded, a cloud of smog halted in front of them. As the cloud vanished, a bright jeepney materialized. And there he was, Ryu Kazama; he jumped off the jeep, and Hal sprung towards him.

She jumped to a hug, as she'd never let go. She whispered, "I miss you. What took you so long?"

"We had a detour." He lifted Hal into the jeep, and she saw who their detour was: Charmaine Halliwell. She was sitting next to the Aswang as they exchanged rules of magic and herbs.