Guardians | Self-Published under Taralikha

Chapter 28 : Immortality

Nagising ako dahil sa liwanag na nakita ko. Pagbukas ko ng mga mata ko ay ang pamilyar na puting dingding at kisame ang bumungad sa akin. Am I in my room?

"Oh. You're awake."

Napatingin ako sa gilid at nakita kong nakatayo malapit sa pintuan si Henric. Doon ko narealize na nasa ibang kwarto ako dahil nakahiga rin sa kanya-kanya nilang kama sina Lexi, Yano at Ryleigh.

"Huh. So you're the first one," sabi ni Henric habang nakatingin sa tatlo na ngayon ay natutulog pa. Ako naman ay hindi makapaniwala na ako ang unang nagising. Last time, I was the last one to recover. I slept for two . . . Or was it three days? Wait . . .

Napabangon ako bigla nung sumagi 'yun sa isip ko.

"A-anong araw na? Ilang araw na ang nakakalipas?" I was so uneasy but Henric just smiled.

"Don't worry, it's still the same day. You just slept for three hours."

Pagkarinig ko nun ay gumaan ang pakiramdam ko at napabuntong-hininga na lang ako. Akala ko inabot na naman ako ng ilang araw gaya ng mga nakaraang trainings namin.

"Come with me," biglang sabi ni Henric at pagtingin ko ay naglalakad na siya palabas ng kwarto. Dali-dali akong tumayo at sumunod sa kanya.

Tahimik lang kaming naglalakad sa hallway at may kakaiba akong naramdaman sa paligid. The air seems suffocating and there's a growing tension around us. I want to ask him what's going on but he suddenly stopped walking. Curious, I sidestepped to see what's in front of us and now I'm looking at a huge door.

"Laxo," he chanted and the door opened by itself.

A gasp escaped from my mouth when I saw the other side of the door. The whole Capital and even the villages surrounding it came into view, but the astonishment I felt was immediately replaced by horror.

"The Exorcists made their first move," Henric said in a grim tone.

The villages located at the borders of the city were on the brink of destruction, and my village wasn't exempted. Seeing those places engulfed by fire made my body shake uncontrollably.

"We need to stop them," bulong ko sa sarili ko.

"The Divine General already sent capable Divians to protect the villages." Agad naman akong napalingon nung narinig ko 'yun.

"Bakit hindi ang Spirit Masters?"

"The Spirit Masters have other missions."

Pagkasabi niya nun ay nagpaalam siya sa akin. Pinapatawag sila ni Divine General kaya naman naiwan ako roon na nakatingin sa kalahatan.

"Reika . . . "

That voice again. I turned around even though I already knew that I won't found anyone behind. And I was right. The hallway was deserted.

Napagdesisyunan kong umalis doon at naglakad ako pabalik sa loob. Doon ko naalala ang daan papunta sa kwarto kung saan sinubukang tanggalin ni Astrid ang seal sa bandang balikat ko.

The seal . . .

Hindi kaya dahil doon kaya nauna akong magising kina Lexi? The seal was temporarily lifted when Astrid tried to undo it. Maybe some of my sealed power was released?

My hand instinctively reached for that spot on my shoulder. I remembered the scene I saw during the seal removal. 'Yun din ang dahilan kung bakit ipinatigil ko ang pagrelease ni Astrid sa seal. Hindi pa ako handa. Hindi pa ito ang tamang panahon.