Cradle of the Valiant (Duyan ng Magiting)

CH 10 - FORGOTTEN LEGENDS

The echoes in the room were too loud, like they were amplified by unseen speakers.

It felt like they were in a very large chamber. It was hard to tell because of the absence of sufficient illumination.

The walls were so tall and the pillars massive but that was all they could tell about the room they were in.

There were some glowing marks on the pillars but no one has been able to make it out.

They talked in whispers because even the slightest noise gets sent to every corner of the room and gets sent back several times.

Vince took out his lighter and was looking closer at the wall near him.

He rapped his knuckles into it and got rewarded with a plastic sounding echo.

"Don't do that, buddy."

John's voice came from the far end of the room. They can see him well even though everything else was dark.

They can't even make out the faces of the one beside them but John's looked as if he is glowing or something.

There was no obvious change but they can all tell that it was a slightly different person than the one who entered the gate.

For one, he exuded confidence and an aura of command. Vince immediately backed away from the wall.

"Well...?" asked the one in the black leather jacket.

"Plenty of time for stories later but for now, I learned of the importance of a name. I believe introductions are in order. Believe me, when you go through one of the doors, you are going to have your name firmly in mind."

"Why?" Vince asked.

"You might forget who you are."

The answer seemed like a joke but they dared not ask.

John glanced at Rai who entered with them.

"Okie...as I have said before, my name is Rai. The old guy here is John, the small one is Ice, the nice lady in black is Ora, the one trying to look cool over there is Ash.

"And I am Vince, by the way," volunteered the one holding a guitar case.

"Oh, I didn't see you there!" she giggled.

"Someday you are going to tell me why that is funny," Vince said irritably.

"As I have said before, your names are important. Fix them firmly in your mind. I will wait here for you." John squatted down near one of the pillars.

As soon as he said that, four identical doors made of scribbles of light appeared in the air.

On the upper portions of each door were markings that looked familiar.

"I am not going inside before anyone tells me what those meant. For all I know, that one is marked 'death' or 'another rejection' and I don't know if i could take either one."

Vince was obviously trying his best not to look nervous but he looked at each of them appealingly.

"No need to be afraid," said Rai.

"Nothing is going to happen without your say so but if you really wanna know, ask Ice. She can read it."

"Me?" asked the visibly surprised Ice.

"Not you, the other one" and Rai clicked her fingers in front of Ice.

The latter's eyes went unfocused for a second but when it cleared she looked up at each door and read the inscriptions out loud.