『SKYLER』

The breeze of a cold, silent treatment shown by Dionysus brought our group to rebel against him. Even though he insisted that we stay for a while, we still decided to hit the road again, for him to feel guilty for his actions. Yet, as someone whose life is tangled with someone way more powerful—he does not have many choices but to shut his mouth.

It’s been an hour since we left Dionysus’ house; Celine and others joined us as well as Sabrina with Xian leading the path. In this journey, our goal is to find the infamous Colosseum, built inside of this Labyrinth—because a path leading to a hidden sanctuary lies after the Colosseum.

And that sanctuary is considered as the final gate towards the Dark Continent.

Yet, for us, the guys, this once in a lifetime moment should never be wasted. Isang tanga lang ang sasayangin ang pagkakataon na ito.

“Stop! Tigil sa Tagalog!”

Tumigil kami sa paglalakad kasabay ang sunod-sunod na paglingon kay Xian pati na rin sa tatlong lagusan sa aming harapan.

“Bilisan mo, Xian. Nagsasayang ka ng oras,” sambit ni Aizelle.

“Rawr! Rawr!” Turo ni Xian gitna. Blanko namin siyang pinagmasdan habang ang kanyang mala-gintong mga mata’y kumikislap. Saglit pa’y biglang lumipat ang turo niya sa kanan. “Hiss! Hiss!”

“Parang tanga, ampota,” asik ni Phoenix. “Tutoy, kung tanga ka h’wag mo kaming idamay. Please lang.”

“Phoenix…” Celine called, making Phoenix face her, “Tanga ka rin, remember?”

At bago pa man makapag-bangayan ang dalawa, tinuro ni Xian ang huling lagusan sa kaliwang bahagi. Kanyang marahan na pinagsusuntok ang kanyang dibdib at sumigaw, “Awooo! Awooo!”

Nagkatanginan kaming mga lalaki maliban kay Xian, ang mga ngiti sa aming mga labi ay mabilis na kumubra kasabay nito ang pagbusangot ng mga babaeng kasama namin.

“We need disguises,” Riley said.

Celine grimaced at him, “Wow. Dapat tahimik ka lang sa gilid, Riley. Ikaw ‘yong walang kuwenta sa groupings… ‘yong may panyong nakatakip sa bibig at tumatango lang—”

“Talaga ba?”

“Yes—”

“Alam n’yo… mamaya na kayo magtalong mag-jowa.” Bumaling sa amin si Sue, tila ba siya’y naiinis na na-wiwirduhan sa aming ayos, “At kayo naman, tumigil na kayo sa balak niyong gawin—”

“Sue,” Phoenix interrupted. Sue looked at him curiously while Phoenix reflected a tenacity of seriousness in his eyes, “Mahal kita pero manahimik ka muna.”

What a mighty warrior. But, on the other hand, he might be needing to write his will of testament in advance. Light and Aizen clapped their hands, oohing to Phoenix’s sacrificial remark. Sue glared at him as if he was wringing his neck in her mind, wanting to torture Phoenix multiple times.

“Riley is right. We need disguises, not just for the guys, but as well to the girls,” I mumbled.

Every mythological creature living in the Divine Continent can be found in the Colosseum, for the mightiest claim the throne, and the weaklings become entertainment for the crowd. And if they see any demigod setting foot in their land, we will be devoured by them.

“No. H’wag niyo kaming idadamay sa katangahan niyo—”

“No ka rin.” Pagsimangot ni Aizen sa kanyang kakambal. “This is once in a lifetime opportunity. Hindi ako papayag na ‘di ako makasali ro’n.”

Bumusangot sina Aizelle at Sue saka sila nagbulungan sa isa’t-isa, samantalang sina Sapphire at Sabrina ay tahimik na nakikinig at halatang walang pakielam sa aming plano. Nang ngumiti si Light, na hindi naman niya usually ginawaga ay lumingon kami sa kanya.

Light cleared his throat, “What you’ll do without me? Tch. Tch.”

And before any could even speak, an enormous snowy-white magic circle appeared beneath us, along with a smirk plastered across Light’s face.

“You’re welcome, guys.”

❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅
『AICELYN』

My eyes gazed to the man in front of us; his cunning stature screamed his supremacy, yet his eyes reflected his unwillingness to get his job done. And in conclusion, his mere symbol overpowered his entire identity—the Sloth.

I heaved a sigh and roamed my sight around. The smell of mulch lingered in the entire room, along with the dust of dirt in every corner. Especially that, this place lies beneath the ground, a seamless place to hide away from the Kins.

Yet, my mind wondered— how does the Kin of Sloth find us when his kind couldn’t?

“Don’t give me that look, Cursed Demigod…” Belphegor’s eyes stared amusingly at me as he took a sip in his tea. “You don’t have to worry. I will not harm you.”

“Anong kailangan mo—”

Bago pa man matapos ni Night ang kanyang tamong, kinumpas ni Belphegor ang kamay niya at bigla na lamang kaming napaupo kasabay no’n ang paglapit ng aming silya sa kanyang harapan.

“Ano bang kailangan mo?” Inis na tanong ni Night.

Ngumisi si Belphegor, dahan-dahan na sinuyod ang paligid hanggang sa dumapo ang kanyang mga mata sa akin. “Gusto ko lamang bisitahin ang prinsesa ng Cerulean Kingdom. Masama ba iyon?”

“Nagtatanong ka pa talaga?”

“Calm down, Son of Kronos. I told you, I meant no harm.” His mere words aren’t enough for us to trust him. Yet, I can no longer run away from him, especially since I am useless on this continent. “Cursed demigod—”

“Fucked with that name!” I exclaimed. Hindi lamang sa kontinento ko narinig ang bansag na ‘yan, maging kay Artemis. Ngunit ano bang mayroon sa akin, bakit sa akin dinikit ang titulong iyan?

Belphegor stared at me once again; looking at his eyes somehow irked the feeling of nostalgia.

“You still looked exactly the same, Lean.”

I blinked as he took a sip in his tea. “Have we met before?”

Belphegor chuckled, reviving the pang of curiosity within me. Night cholerically slammed the table and glared at Belphegor. “Just spill the damned tea! We are not going to play with your mind games, Belphegor!”

“Damn, chill, Son of Kronos. Can’t you see that I’m drinking it?”

Night grew ill-tempered, gritting his teeth while glaring to Belphegor while the other lad just became more entertained as if this grievous scene is stealing his laziness out of him. And as Night tried to calm his nerves, Belphegor gazed at me and smiled.

“Of course, you wouldn’t remember me, Lean.” He slowly placed his tea on the table with his eyes still locked to mine. “As someone whose memory was altered, you do not have the ability to remember the other Kins nor me.”

I frustratingly bit my lower lip. “Cursed demigod… bakit ako?”

“The gods didn’t tell you? Even Garet didn’t, huh?”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s just say that… the gods will do anything for their children even if it is to wager with death and to create a prophecy that never existed.”

Night eyes squinted. “Do you mean the Great Prophecy? Isn’t that given by…”

Tita Alexis.

Nang magtama ang mga mata namin ni Night ay agad siyang lumingan kay Belphegor, samantalang ako’y pikit-matang tumungo. Hindi lang si Artemis, Master Garet… maging si Tita Alexis ay kasali sa misteryong ito, hindi na rin ako magtatakha pa kung alam ng buong Rule-Breakers ang istoryang ito.

Ang tanging tanong… bakit nila iyon nililihim sa amin?

“Was the entire Great Prophecy… a lie?” Tanong ko.

Tumunghay ako’t tumingin kay Belpeghor, umiling-iling siya’t nagsalita, “Not entirely. Ang kalahati ng Great Prophecy ay nagkatotoo, hindi ba? Ngunit ang kalahati ng katotohanang alam nila ay kanilang binura.”

“Bakit?” Tanong ni Night. “Bakit nila ikukubli—”

“Do you think a demigod would love if he’ll receive a prophecy about the disappearance of the gods?”

“What do you mean?” Night asked.

“Ten years ago… an incident of malediction happened. Four maidens died, but to bless them with life, a tragic fate must be fulfilled by the gods.”

Ten years ago. Ten years ago, I met an accident that stole my memories about my father, my friends, and even my brother. And from that moment, the series of Celine’s wrath began to uproar as if I made a horrible thing from her, from the memories that I no longer have.

Celine treated me like nothing but a competition she wanted to end.

“The Great Prophecy… it was the prophecy of each candidate, gathered and assembled, to foretell the tragic fate of Divine Continent.” Belphegor’s word carved within my chest, like everything he said, was a problem that we must solve. “As a Kin, our encounter is a forbidden sanction, but… my kind never obeys rules. The Great Prophecy both hold the truth and deception.”

Belphegor sighed, roaming around the vicinity as the ground, wall and even the ceiling turned into a galactic convention as the stars and moon appeared into the endless Milky Way drifting around us. Yet, we remained seated in the dull, wooden chair.

“The complete will be broken, for no one will believe.”

“Those you treat as friends are your enemies.”

“The enemy will trick the trust one, but the trust one will also trick the enemy.”

“Trust will be broken. A friend will suffer.”

The blinding stars shone the golden lights, along with the piercing eyes of Belphegor watching us. “The truth…” Iyon ang mga prophecy na naganap na at ayon sa kanya, iyon ang katotohanan.

Sue.

Serena.

Aizelle.

Light.

At kung tama ako, ang prophecy ni Aizen ang susunod at kasama ang propesiya niya sa mga binura’ty binago ng mga d’yos.

“In the Depth of Tartarus, the demise of the gods awaits.”

In the depths of Tartarus, the fade one is resting and soon will rise. Iyon ang propesiyang natanggap namin ni Aizen, mula sa pagpunta na siya Fountain of Prophecy at sa akin, sa pagtanggap ko ng Great Prophecy. The demise of the gods awaits—Demise? The gods are immortal. They are beings that can never be closed to death. But… Tartarus is a place that even holy beings like them could never escape. It is a prison, a place that Gaea was thrown.

“The second of all time, the one who signed the contract of living and the dead must die.”

The second of all time will revenge for someone that died. It already happened, meaning that the contract is already made. But why would someone intervene with life and death? This is against Zeus’s absolute laws.

“The wanderer will wonder, for she will once again hold the forbidden key that she must keep until the as life will be the price.”

The lost will rise and hold the key to the forbidden. I looked at Night; this was supposed to be his real prophecy. As life will be the price… his tense face showed his fear and anxiety, for someone who was seeking Sky’s forgiveness, knowing that someone dear to him will lose must be a sinister fate for him.

I drifted my attention to Belphegor—the last and Sky’s prophecy.

“In the night of the endless darkness, the crimson heights will rise; for the fight of the king vessel will be bloody, the fright of the cursed chill will be tangled with grief, the fight of the contractors will grant the answers to the mystery, the fight of the living will be guided by the blessed one, the fight of the dead holds the forbidden key, and the final stand will be judged as the true hero will vanquish and will reborn anew.”

King vessel.

Cursed child.

The contractors.

The living.

The blessed one.

The dead.

True hero.

I frustratingly bit my lips, containing my smile to surface because after hearing the entire prophecy—I know that I’ll be meeting them once again, the surge of hope wouldn’t disappear in my chest.

It’s been three long years, Langit…

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