The Last Wizard: Rewriting Destiny

CHAPTER 1

GABRIEL POINT OF VIEW:

"Ina... Ama!" I jolted awake from my sleep because of the dream I had. Ngunit hindi iyon isang pangkaraniwang panaginip—isa itong bangungot. A nightmare that keeps coming back, one I wish I could leave behind forever. I wiped my forehead, sobra akong pinagpapawisan kahit malamig naman ang panahon.

Seven years have passed, pero parang kahapon lang ang lahat. I can still recall every detail of what happened that day. Parang sirang plaka, paulit-ulit na dumaraan ang mga alaala sa aking isipan, never-ending and relentless.

"Quick, hide in the cabinet, Gabby!" Even though I was young, I understood what was happening. I wasn’t dumb to not recognize the situation.

"Hindi ina, dito lang ako sa tabi niyo. I will fight along with you," I insisted, feeling the urge to stay with them.

"Please, anak, just follow me. This is for your own good, hmm?" My eyes began to cloud with tears. I knew that after this, there was a great possibility that we would never be a family again.

"Ina, please! Hindi na ako magiging pasaway. Susundin ko na lahat ng iuutos niyo sa akin. Magiging good boy na ako, pero dapat kasama ko kayo." I hugged my mother and begged harder.

"Isa, Gabby, huwag nang makulit," she remove my grip and kneeled down to meet my eyes. She gently caressed my cheeks, as though she were tracing the lines of a fragile map, afraid that the paths of my face would fade away if she let go. "Makinig ka sa akin, anak, napakabata mo pa. Marami ka pang pangarap na dapat tuparin, and I don't want it to end like this." Her eyes were soft and gentle, but full of unspoken pain and concern.

For the first time, I saw my mother cry, and it shattered my heart.

"Kahit anong mangyari, kahit anong makita mo, never go out of the cabinet. Understood?" She hugged me one last time and kissed my forehead. Then, she stepped back as my father came forward to embrace me.

I slowly crawled into the cabinet, squeezing my body into the small space. The sounds that followed left me speechless, the scenes unfolding before me breaking my heart as I witnessed their death.

Simula noong araw na iyon, I’ve been tormented by my conscience. Kung may nagawa kaya ako, buhay pa kaya sina Ama at Ina? If I hadn’t been so weak, could things have turned out differently? Questions without answers. Questions I keep trying to push away, but they always come back. Because in the end, I was just a coward isa akong duwag.

After my parents' death, a heavy lump formed in my chest, as if a piece of my heart was lost forever.

A cold breeze passed through the room, dahilan upang yakapin ko ang aking sarili. Bukas ang bintana, nagbibigay-daan sa malayang pagpasok ng malamig na simoy ng hangin. That’s when I realized how alone I truly am now. Kung ganito dati, kapag binabangungot ako, tinatabihan ako ni Ina sa pagtulog. But now, she’s no longer here to do that.

I curled up at the edge of my bed, trying to calm myself down. I forced myself to sleep again, and finally, sleep came to me.

---

Nagising ako sa ingay ng mga tao sa labas. This is Levitica, the town where I’ve been living. A place for people with special abilities like super speed, telekinesis, and many more.

Ngunit hindi puwedeng malaman ng kahit sino na isa akong wizard. Everyone believes our kind was wiped out long ago. That’s why I’ve hidden my true powers. I made it appear that my ability is controlling water—something that doesn’t stand out too much in this place.

One of the unique traits of wizards is our ability to use magic without tools. Pero mas malakas ang kapangyarihan namin gamit ang Book of Spells.

At dito, sa tahimik na bayan ng Levitica, I am turning a fresh page, ready to write a new chapter of my life.