Phoenix Academy

Chapter 37

Eris Sinclair Alderhaide's Point of View

"Leo's special too, right?" sabi ko sa kanila habang pabalik na kami.

Si Levi ang sinilip ko para sa sagot niya, at nagulat ako nang diretso siyang nakatingin sa'kin. He nodded at me and sighed. "It seems like it," he answered. "There's something we also haven't told you, Sinclair."

Halos madala naman ako nang marahas na lumingon si Red sa kanya. Nakita kong pinanlakhan niya ng mata si Leviticus, at mukha namang naintindihan ni Levi ang ibig sabihin no'n. He shook his head at Red and went nearer us.

"There's no point in delaying it, Delvar. Hindi 'yong binibigla natin siya... at 'di natin masasabi kung ano'ng mangyayari sa mga sumusunod," Levi firmly argued. "She also knows that there's a blood fest coming. I told her earlier."

Nag-aalala namang tumingin sa'kin si Red, at doon ko naintindihan kung ano'ng maaari nilang ipaalam sa'kin. It involves me. Hindi naman ako sumagot sa kanila, dahil hindi ko pa rin alam kung ano talaga 'yon. Well, it may be dangerous.

Malakas na napabuntong-hininga si Red. "Fine," singhal niya.

"Sinclair, you might be the one to defeat Phoenicia. And that's why we came looking for you," diretsong saad ni Levi sa'kin. Oh. "The prophecy revealed to us that another full-Phoenix would be able to defeat her. And the conditions for it were met by you..."

Hindi na ako nagulat doon. Something inside me has expected it, like I have known it deep in my memories.

"... and Leonidas," dagdag niya.

Doon, naningkit ang mga mata ko. "Ano'ng ibig niyong sabihin?" Tanong ko.

Red shook his head and went down the horse. "You and Leo might be the key to defeat Phoenicia and end the long war. But you two, especially Leo... lack all the training and knowledge. No, you still don't have the Phoenician fire, the will to protect the realms. Hindi sa hindi naman kayo pinagkakatiwalaan. Of course, I trust you, Sinclair... but Leo—"

"Leo may not be born like us, Sinclair," si Leviticus ang nagtuloy no'n. Bigla kong naalala ang pinag-uusapan namin kanina. "It's just who we are, Lucifer."

"Who knows if he's born as someone else... and not as the full-Phoenix? That's what we're fearing, Sinclair," paliwanag ni Levi. "We cannot ignore the play that the stars have put us on."

Somehow... I understood. Free will isn't free at all. Maaaring piliin ni Leo na hindi lumaban kasama namin dahil hindi niya alam ang takbo ng mundo namin, hindi siya katulad namin na may malakas na will na protektahan ang mundong ginawa namin. If anything, he's human. He might be a mirror of mankind.

"But if he chooses to fight with us?" Tanong ko.

"There's no guarantee of what he'd do in the future," Levi answered, and it reminded me of Lucifer... what if this was the case of Phoenicia in our first lives? They, we, believed in her, only to have her backs turned at us. But Leo won't do that. He was born understanding of the people around him.

Nanatili na kaming tahimik sa daan pabalik. Leviticus disguised as a knight just so he could enter with us and talk matters. Kailangan na rin daw nilang makabalita sa Phoenix Academy.

The telephone in the castle rang, lumapit ako roon para sagutin pero nauna na si Leviticus. Papagalitan ko sana siya nang maalala kong he's the original heir here naman pala. So I shrugged and sat on the royal couches.

The telephone in my room rang. Lumapit ako roon para sagutin sana, ngunit naunahan ako ni Levi. Susuwayin ko sana siya nang biglang maalalang siya ang orihinal na nakatira dito. Napakibit-balikat nalang ako't umupo. And also, maybe that's from the Academy.