Descendants of the Gods

Chapter 4: An Offer

KASDEYA ARGYROS' Point of View

Zyiam Argyros.

I almost forgot my true father's name.

Kung hindi lang siya nabanggit ng lalaking nasa harapan ko, baka hindi ko na naalala si Papa.

Seven years ago, I used to have a family. Kaming dalawa lang ang miyembro ng pamilyang yun, still, it's considered as one.

But my relationship with my father was odd.

All I knew was his name, face, and our connection by blood. Lagi siyang wala sa bahay dahil sa trabaho kaya nasanay ako na wala siya, ngunit hindi ko alam kung saan siya nagpupunta.

His profession, the basic facts about him, and even our relatives are all unknown to me. We almost never spend time together dahil lagi siyang wala sa bahay. Hindi rin naman ako nag-rereklamo dahil hindi kami close ni Papa, at halos mawalan na rin ako ng paki sakaniya at sa kung ano ang ginagawa niya.

I was left alone in our house. And at the age of eleven, I already knew how to fend for myself without any help.

But maybe I do know a few things about my father. At least two facts about him. One, he used to love this one song that he played on the piano. And two, men and women alike would fall on their knees for him.

May itsura si Papa. Mayroon ring nagsasabi sa akin na sakanya ko raw nakuha ang itsura ko and I couldn't disagree more. Hindi ko kamukha si Papa kahit saang anggulo. The only thing we have in common is our weird charcoal-colored hair. His eyes, on the other hand, were a dark shade of pink.

My father was attractive, unusually so for someone of his age. One can even mistake him as a younger man because of his features. Mapa-babae o lalaki, nagkakagusto sakaniya kahit anong edad pa man. Kulang nalang ay malusaw si Papa dahil sa mga tingin nila.

'He is as beautiful as a Greek god statue.'

People would always say that. Dati, that little comment would completely pass my mind. But thinking about it now, I realized that it contained a clue to who he actually is.

My father is the same as me. Parehas kaming demigod, at isa lang ang ibig sabihin no'n.

I am a descendant of two Greek deities.

My father's deity parent, and his wife.

Sinundan ko ang lalaking nagpakilala sa akin bilang Adonis Castello patungo sa loob ng Acropolis. We enter the roofed entrance, and my eyes stay on the white fountain spewing gold liquid at the center of it.

A gasp escape my lips nang makita ko ang kabuuan ng Acropolis. From the gate, I can already tell that it's extravagant inside out, pero mas engrande pa rin ang bumungad sa akin.

Halos mapapikit ako dahil sa magarbong buildings. Everything is either gold or made out of white stone and marble. The gold roofs reflect the colors of the rainbow when the sun hits it just right.

Bubungad sa'yo ang isang malaking arena pagpasok. At first glance, there is a lot of stairs and castle-like buildings. It's too much to take in. Tila nasa loob ka ng isang syudad na gawa sa mga magkakaduktong na palasyo. The fields are dotted by demigods of different ages, some are in casual clothes while a small percentage are in uniforms similar to what the two demigods were wearing earlier.

What in Tartarus is this? Tahanan ng mga aristokrata?

But we don't stop there. The man leads me towards the biggest castle behind the giant arena at pumasok kami sa loob nito.

Just as I thought, mas engrande pa sa labas ang loob ng main building. It's surrounded in gold and marble, while the walls are hugged with white wallpaper. Kumikinang ang bawat dekorasyon at frame na nakasabit sa pader. Everything around me is dazzling, beautiful, and grandiose...