The Grimoire

Chapter 28: Cracked Orbs

VERMILLION

May they rest in peace. Iyon lang ang mga salitang pabalik-balik kong sinasabi sa sarili ko. It was unfortunate to send them off this way when in fact we even talked before we departed for this mission. One team got wiped out to protect the world and another team betrayed the world. It's heartbreaking. 

"I'll handle this, Sheena," I heard Cairo whispered at napabuntog hininga lang ako.

We all watched their bodies taken by our school's staff. Not to mention that their families were present while watching the dead bodies on a casket made of plain wood get on the huge white ship. If only we noticed earlier, we could've saved them or at least one of them. If only I followed my guts about that forest, then maybe none of this would've happened. I wondered why they were taking them using a ship when we used trains to get here. Well, sabi nga nila, baka i-cremate nila sa barko at itatapon ang natitirang abo sa dagat. I'm not quite sure how it works or if is it part of their tradition or what- but still, it is still painful. There is no way I could handle that sadness.

Napatingin ako kay Cairo na nakatitig lamang sa barkong palayo ng palayo na dala-dala ang mga katawan nina Sheena. Alam kong arrange marrieage lang ang meron sa kanila ni Sheena but it doesn't change the fact that he lost another girl to this stupid war. He furrowed his brows, and he clicked his tongue.

"We'll leave in two days. Let me fix the details on what we need to do. We have no time to mourn," he said at napatingin siya sa amin. "If we'll mourn for a long time, then we might end up mourning for the whole world instead," he added at naglakad siya palayo sa amin. He's right.

Napatingin muli ako sa kaniya at pinagmasdan siyang naglakad palayo. He might not show it, but he's definitely frustrated and sad. It might've felt like the scenario was repeating from the past. I took a deep breath as I watched the others started walking away to different directions, maybe to cool off sa nangyari. Evie went by the shore, Cairo went back to the tree house, and Leo walked towards the forest where it happened. Ang nanatili na lamang dito ay ako at si Kel. We looked at each other at napahinga siya ng malalim.

"I can't believe you guys are letting this mourning phase pass after what happened," reklamo niya.

"We have no choice," sagot ko. "Tsaka isa pa. Cairo was giving us two days to relax while he settles things on his own. It might sound selfish, but I think he just meant that he also wants time alone," I added at tumango si Kel.

"You've got a point. So, anong gagwin mo? Saan ka pupunta?" he asked. 

The tragedy was sudden and unpredictable, but at that time, there are some things that remained on my mind. Aside from witnessing Cairo, wearing the Black Reaper mask which turned out to be him the whole time, hindi nawala sa isip ko ang orbs sa lake. I definitely remembered how Ishara's orb cracked while I tried to heal Sheena.

"Why don't we take a look at that lake again?" I asked at tumango siya na para bang ngayon niya lang naalala na may nangyari doon. "We saw how Ishara's orb cracked, right?" I asked at tumango ulit siya.

"I actually went there kanina and both of the orbs were cracked, hindi lang kay Ishara, pati na kay Horus and it never happened before," he said at sabay kaming naglakad papunta doon. "In fact, maybe it was the deities responding to the mess," he added at tumango ako kasi may punto siya.