The Prophecy of Fates

CHAPTER XL: Το σταυροδρόμι του χρόνου

040- THE CROSSROADS OF TIME

AHLKRIA

"Kria? Okay kalang?", I immediately shrugged my thoughts out of my head while staring at the ring on my finger nang bigla nalang akong tinawag ni Prim sa gilid ko. I forced a smile at her and Pen na halatang nagtataka sa mga kinikilos ko ngayon.

"Maiba tayo. I didn't know that Theo actually had an animalis guardian. And a griffin at that. They're pretty rare these days. This is actually the first time that I've seen one in actual.", Pen tried to change the topic at sinabayan naman siya ni Prim pero mas lalo lang bumigat ang loob ko pinag-uusapan nila.

"Same here. And I always thought that Theo never received one from the god Zeus. What's that griffin's name again? Andras?", I stopped at that nang maalala ko na namang yung mga bagay na kanina pa nagpapagulo sa isipan ko.

Andras. So that large feather I found on his room back at the House of Zeus with the engraved name on it---ay galing sa griffin na iyon? That's h-his animalis guardian.

Mas hinigpitan ko ang pagkakahawak ko sa singsing na suot-suot ko sa kaliwang kamay at bumaling sa gawi ni Theo. Kaharap niya sina Kai at Eur ngayon dun sa kabilang dulo namin but to my surprise, his gaze was also fixed at me. Hindi ako nakagalaw sa kinatatayuan ko.

I-It was never Apollo who gave me the ring on the first place, am I correct? It's... you. Kaya pala ganun nalang yung reaksyon ni Apollo when I mentioned and showed him the ring back at the Banquet Hall. Because he wasn't the one who gave me the ring. Why are you doing this, demon son of Zeus. And why does the thought hurt me so much? Especially when I remembered Circe's warning to us...

"This will be my last warning Theoddeus... Ahlkria. Can't you see that I'm trying to help? I want the both of you to just give it all up. Restrain yourselves, before it's too late. Because I swear to the river Styx... it will only cause you pain and misery in the end."

Ako ang unang umiwas ng tingin kay Theo at bumaling nalang ulit kina Prim na ngayon ay kasama na yung ibang girls ng class Primarius. I tried to interact with them casually even though my thoughts just won't leave me alone. Focus, Ahlkria.

"Clea, it wasn't your fault. We'll find a way to cure Eur.", rinig kong sambit ni Pen dun habang kinakausap nila si Clea na blangko lang ang ekspresyon. Nagtaka naman ako kay lumapit ako sa kanila.

"What happened to Eur?", I asked, confused. Malungkot naman silang bumaling sakin. Nagulat ako nang kinuwento sakin ni Pen yung lahat ng nangyari sa Team nina Eur at Clea dun sa Mount Etna. Nang bumaling ako sa gawi nina Eur, nanlaki ang mata ko nang ngayon ko lang napansin yung nangyari sa kaliwang braso niya. Hindi ako nakapagsalita kaagad...

"All of us had rough experiences with our assignments. We all had to sacrifice, something... I---I w-wonder, ano kaya yung paggagamitan natin nung mga artifacts?", halatang hindi sigurado si Pen sa mga salitang nais niyang sabihin as we turned to the artifacts that we gathered on the sand.

"Circe mentioned to us back at the Island of Aeaea that we are to assemble something with these artifacts. Pero hindi ko masyadong nakuha ang ibig niyang sabihin dun.", I told them as their foreheads creased in unison, halatang nagtataka din. Nagsalita naman si Rae...

"I'm sure Sev will know what to do with the artifacts once he arrives. Hintayin lang natin na bumalik si Andras. I'm sure it won't take long. Griffins travel at incredible speed after-all.", she declared. Sumang-ayon din sina Prim sa kanya.

"I wonder what would happen to us if Sev didn't disseminate that scroll containing the hints and warnings and all that. Saan kaya tayo pupulutin ngayon noh?", biro ni Prim to lighten up the mood around us. Mahina namang natawa sina Rae at Pen, maliban samin nina Eureca at Clea.