Team Alpha

Chapter 59

'His Greatest Betrayal'

"You're here again." Xin just looked at the woman who was in front of her. It was Time. Napabuga nalang siya ng hangin at tiningnan ang sarili niya. After the Queen Star took the energy from her, she already knew that this was one of the places she'd go to.

She's in the afterlife.

"Why do you keep coming back here?" May halong inis na tanong ni Time sa kanya. Xin just looked at her hands and then at Time. She just shrugged her shoulders because she's already tired and she doesn't really care about the reason why she keeps dying.

Maybe she wasn't destined to live a long life after all.

"Look at them. Look at how you affect them." Iginiya niya ang tingin ni Xin sa dagat kung saan nakikita niya na naman sa tubig ang mukha ng team. It's their worried faces, some tears and Xy's cry. Napabuga nalang siya ng hangin at tsaka naglakad palapit dito. Xin took a careful look at each of the member's faces.

She smiled bitterly when she took a last look at Jun. Oh, how he suffered from all these heartbreaks. How the team had to bear with this problems and sorrow.

"I can't go back, can I?" Tanong ni Xin habang lumuluhod siya sa tubig at hinawakan ito para kahit papano ay ramdam niyang nasa piling paring siya ng Team Alpha. Time just looked at her and closed her eyes. And when Time opened her eyes, she already took Xin to a place were the darkness was fought by the lights coming from the candles.

Tumingin-tingin agad si Xin sa paligid at nagtaka pa kung paano siya nakarating rito sa isang kisapmata. The candles had a specific symbol written in front of it. And even though Xin didn't know the symbol, she figured that they were names.

"You are really a clever child." Time said when she noticed what Xin knew. Time looked at the candles and at the names in front of them. Xin was also looking at certain places until Time called her and showed her a candle. Agad na lumingon si Xin sa kanya sabay lapit at tiningnan ang kandilang tinuturo ni Time.

"Time area, this is for Team Alpha." Aniya at napangiti nalang si Xin nung makita niyang mahaba pa ang kandila at parang hindi nababawasan 'yung iba. Some must be for the immortal members. What mattered most to her was that she knew that the team would live a long life. Tinuro naman ni Time ang kandila ni Xy na kasing tangkad lang ng kandila ni Walter.

Xin was smiling the whole time until Time finally introduced her to her candle.

The candle was already dying as it was surrounded by a black fog. Napalunok nalang si Xin habang nakatingin siya sa kandila niya. She thought she was ready for this, but she wasn't. Mapait siyang ngumiti habang nakatingin sa kandila niya.

"I'm going to die then." Aniya habang nakatingin sa kandila niya.

"Well, not really. Your body is okay, but your soul, I think not." Kumunot lang ang noo ni Xin dahil sa sinabi ni Time.

"My body? I thought my body was destroyed." Naguguluhang sabi ni Xin dahil wala siyang nakitang katawan kanina. She thought that it was the same as she pictured it. That her body would just disappear, like in her visions. Lumingo-lingo lang si Time at may pinakita kay Xin.

It was a mirror, specifically, the black mirror.

"Stella has your body." Muli na namang kumunot ang noo ni Xin dahil sa sinabi ni Time. After all this time, she just knew that the mirror's name was Stella. What creature was Stella, exactly? How did Stella ended up in the mirror? How did the Queen Star know about Stella? And how did Stella got hold of Xin's body?