Oculus of Time

Valleys

Kaye's POV

"The trail of blood leads there." Slade pointed at the direction of the clear lake bordering the Elysian field.

"It's Matilda's." Thanatos confirmed whose blood was on his fingertips and walked towards the lake, with Slade following him.

Huminga ako nang malalim nang maramdaman ang malamig na ihip ng hangin sa aking balat.

Nakapagpahinga na ako, pero bakit pagod pa rin yung katawan ko?

"I saw Slade come out of your room the other day. Hindi ka ba nakapagpahinga dahil sa kanya?"

Sinamaan ko ng tingin si Hector na tumabi sa'kin suot ang kanyang pilyong ngiti.

"Should I ask him to let you rest?" Lumapad ang kanyang ngiti.

"Tumahimik ka kung ayaw mong masali sa listahan ni Thanatos." pagbabanta ko sa kanya.

He chuckled lightly and looked at my dad. "How fortunate of you to be a mortal and at the same time, a daughter of Thanatos."

I snorted. "Why?"

"You're not afraid of death." aniya.

"That because I died before." sabi ko. "Or so I thought."

My eyes rested on the wings behind Thanatos' back. I can clearly see dark energy running through the veins of his wings. "Naranasan ko nang mamatay. Doesn't matter kung natuluyan ba talaga ako no'n o hindi."

Nagising lang naman kasi ako sa ilalim ng mga pakpak ni kamatayan. I still had my body, but I found myself in the Underworld, kaya hindi ako sigurado kung ano talaga ang nangyari sa'kin.

"Really? What did you see?" Hector asked, his smile gone.

A familiar cold rushed through me causing me to shiver. "There was a burst of warmth, pero sandali lang. Then, I saw white..."

Pinigilan ko ang aking boses na manginig sa pamilyar na lamig na dumapo sa'kin. "Before cold and darkness settled in."

Kumunot ang kanyang noo, halatang na-intriga sinabi ko. "Can I ask who killed you?"

Nagkasalubong ang aking kilay. "Why?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "The same thing happened to me."

"Wait." Pinaningkitan ko siya. "You... died?" tanong ko na tinanguan niya.

Slade did tell me that Hector's not supposed to be here.

Ito ba ang ibig sabihin niya?

"How did you die?" I asked.

"Answer my question first." Humarap si Hector sa'kin. He was taller than me, but he didn't lower his head to meet my eyes. Instead, he just looked down at me. "Who killed you?"

I looked back at him and realized that the cold I felt came from him.

I have this feeling that I should cower under his gaze... but I didn't.

Because even though his presence was heavy, a part of me was already familiar with it.

"You don't know of any other son of Hades, do you?"

Kaya pamilyar ako sa presensya niya dahil naramdaman ko na ito, at nasanay na ako. Hindi lang naman kasi siya ang anak ni Hades na kilala ko.

"His name is-"

"I asked first." He interrupted. "Who killed you?"

I stared at him for a long time before coming up with an answer.