『SKYLER』

“Guys, tangina mukha natatae na si Xian oh.” Phoenix pointed to Xian, who was wearing swimming trunks. His opponents were stretching their bodies while he was looking so stiff in his place. He was nervously gritting his teeth while roaming his sight.

“Dude, what’s wrong with you?” I heard Phoenix ask Xian teasingly.

Xian opened his mouth yet decided not to speak and roamed his sight around the arena. His opponents are already eager for the competition to start, but not him. Now, he looked like an old man asking for a miracle for him to live more.

“Xian, are you to die any minute now?” Aizen asked.

Hindi kumibo si Xian sa pang-aasar ng dalawa, nanatili lamang siyang nakatingin sa mga kalaban niya na tila ba’y sinusumpa niya sa isip ang mga ito— o baka naman kami dahil kasalanan namin kung bakit siya naghahanda para sa swimming competition ngayon?

Naramdaman ko ang pag-upo ni Light sa bleachers, sa mismong tabi ko habang kumakain ng popcorn at sinisilip si Xian, “Hindi niyo ba sinabihan si Xian na mas delikado ang swimming competition kaysa sa Clash of the Demigods?”

“Nope,” I said. “I told him that it is the safest one.”

“It is safe for you… but not to him. What on Styx have you done?”

Riley suddenly laughed, “It’s not like we can undo his entry.”

Saglit pa kaming nag-kuwentuhan habang pinapanood sina Aizen at Phoenix na asarin si Xian. Masyadong peaceful ang paligid namin na tila ba’y may paparating na bagyo— saglit… nasaan ang mga babaeng maiingay?

“They are late, aren’t they?” Riley asked, referring to the girls of Primus Section. He suddenly looked around until his face turned sour, “Ah…”

Aizen squinted his eyes at Riley and turned his gaze to the direction he was looking at. His jaw immediately dropped, and he continuously pointed to what they were looking for, “Holy Styx! Is that Serena?! Please tell me she’s not Serena—”

“She’s not Serena,” Phoenix said. “Spoiler alert! Siya talaga ‘yon.”

Tanga. At dahil sa namumuong kuryosidad, tiningnan din namin ang direksyon na tinitingnan nila. Pare-parehas kaming napangiwi dahil sa inis, mainit na nga ang panahon ay pinapainit pa ng tanawin ang ulo ko.

Nasa gilid sila ng pool, maayos lamang sana kung sila-silang mga babae lamang kaso hindi e. Nakangiti sila’t parang kinikilig pa habang nakikipag-usap sa representative ng Poseidon Section sa pangunguna nina Celine at Serena. At kung ikukumpara naman si Ice sa mga kasama niya, siya lamang ang natatanging hindi nakangiti pero nakatingin siya sa abs nito at pa-simpleng hihigop pa sa soda pop niya. She’s clearly checking him out. That strawberry freak!

I have that, too! Anim pa!

“Tangina… pati girlfriend ko,” hindi makapaniwalang sambit ni Phoenix habang pinapanood namin sina Sue at Aizelle sinusundot ang abs nito gamit ang daliri nila.

Saglit na nawala ang atensyon ko sa kanila nang mapansin na umuulan na ang popcorn sa paa ko dahilan upanh biglaan akong mapatayo at sumilip sa katabi ko. Masama ang tingin ni Light sa lalaki na para bang anytime may hihigang malamig na bangkay sa harap namin.

“He’s a Titan, Son of Oceanus, right?” I nudged Riley. He simply nodded and swiftly drank his soda as if it would disappear if it hadn’t. “Don’t you know him?”

“I don’t. Mukha ba akong mangangandidato bilang d’yos para kilalanin ko sila at kilalanin nila ako?”

“Sabi ko nga, wala kang kuwenta.” Bumaling ako kay Aizen na parang isang tuta ngayon na iniwan ng amo niya’t bumuntong-hininga. “Aizen, let’s ask Night.”

Aizen slowly turned his head to me and nodded with his eyes tearing up, and he immediately summoned Night, who happened to be bored and lazy because of his yawning entrance.

“Who is that hoe?!” Aizen asked, pointing to the Poseidon Section’s representative. Bumaling si Night sa direksyon na tinuturo ni Aizen saka ngumiti.

“His name is Tyrone.”

“No! His name is now Tyhoe!” Phoenix exclaimed.

Tumingin sa paligid si Phoenix saka niya biglaan na hinubad ang kanyang t-shirt dahilan upang humagalpak sa tawa si Night. Pinaikot-ikot niya pa ang t-shirt sa kamay niya’t nag-model sa itaas ng sementadong fence. Wala sa sariling napaawang ang bibig namin habang patuloy ang pagtawa ni Night na kulang na lamang ay mamatay siya ulit.

The crowd suddenly went wild. Riley was about to smack Phoenix in the face when Aizen stopped him, pointing to Serena and others’ locations. And because he is Phoenix, he teasingly smirked at Sue, making his girlfriend’s face darken. Our place suddenly became crowded as the girls in every section began to feast themselves on the appalling sight of Phoenix’s body.

“Nandidiri na ako,” bulong ni Riley.

All of a sudden, a loud, deafening roar of the thunder echoed in the entire arena. The sky slowly darkened as the clouds turned gray and drawn themselves with each other— it was mere warning from the daughter of the God of the Sky, and because none of them wished to be struck with a bolt of lightning, every girl gathered around immediately went back to their seats.

But Phoenix remained in his nauseating pose while smirking at Sue. Minsan nakaka-proud ang katapangan niya. Mas lalong dumilim ang tingin sa kanya ni Sue, ngunit mabilis na nawala ang atensyon ko sa kanila nang makita ko si Tyrone. Kagat-labi itong nakatingin kay Phoenix, sa abs nito to be exact.

“Oh…” Wala sa sarili akong napangiwi’t humarap kay Night na patuloy pa rin na tumatawa. “Night, is he—” I wasn’t able to finish my question when a sudden squeal roared in the entire arena that made all of our jaw drop.

“OH MY, PAPA PHOENIX!” Tyrone squealed like a girl. Sunod-sunod niya pang pinaghahampas ang balikat ni Celine habang nagtitimpi itong saktan siya pabalik. “He’s so pogi!”

“This is revolting…” Light mumbled, grimacing.

Nang mabilis na sinuot muli ni Phoenix ang t-shirt niya, kusang kumala sa bibig naming ang mga tawa habang siya ay nanginginig sa takot sa harap namin. That’s it. That’s why Night was laughing his ass out since the beginning. He knew Tyrone’s real nature.

Sue heaved a sigh out of this belief. She glared at her boyfriend until they reached our place. And because it is man’s nature to act cold and unapproachable in sceneries like this, none of us tried to talk to them. Let’s treat them with a cold shoulder, shall we?

Sky Cold Era.

“Hey, do you want—” Before Ice could even offer me a drink, Light immediately stole it, making Ice look dumbfounded. “Light, do you want to die?”

“I don’t—that’s why I drank it. Duh,” mabilis na sagot ni Light. Minsan hindi ko alam kung manhid si Light o sadyang nang-aasar pa siya lalo. Hindi niya ba pansin na kulang na lang ay sakalin na siya ni Ice? “The popcorn got stuck in my throat—”

“Do you think I even care?”

“Well… do you?”

“No!”

“Then, the answer is no. Why are you so pumped up?” Light asked, smirking.

Hindi sumagot si Ice, umirap lamang siya’t diretsong tumingin sa direksyon ng pool habang naka-krus ang mga braso. Napukaw ni Xian ang atensyon ko, ilang beses ko nang napapansin pero parang may gusto siyang sabihin sa amin, ngunit hindi niya lamang magawang sambitin. Siguro kaunti na lamang makikita na naming siyang nakahandusay sa sahig.

“Aizen, would you mind calling Sapphire?” Night suddenly asked. Aizen just shrugged his shoulder and summoned Sapphire, which made Xian more anxious.

Mr. Panther’s annoying laugh roared from the speaker, meaning that the competition is about to start. Nagtatakhang tumingin sa paligid si Sapphire saka bumaling kay Aizen na tila ba’y tinatanong kung bakit siya sinummon nito, pa-simpleng nginuso ni Aizen ang direksyon ni Xian na mabilis namang umiwas ng tingin kay Sapphire saka naglakd patungo sa direksyon ng ibang contestant.

“What’s his problem?” Sapphire asked, “Does he know kung anong pinasok niya?”

I suddenly felt their gazes towards me. I awkwardly scratched my chin, “I forgot to tell him the real deal.”

“So, let’s just pray for his soul? I think…” Aizelle mumbled.

“What a wonderful day, demigods!” Mr. Panther’s voice echoed within the arena. A mischievous, cunning smile curved on his lips while looking at the contestants, especially Xian, the soon victim of the frightening swimming competition. “The sea is vast, wide, and uncertain. Are you ready to unfold the mysteries beyond it, my dear contestants?”

With only Xian being clueless about the theme, his opponents’ eyes beamed with excitement and eagerness. And somehow, I felt guilty. It was me who pushed him to be the swimming competition contestant instead of Serena, and aside from that, I forgot to tell him the real chaos behind it—the reason why Light and the others used me to compete in that event.

Xian’s eyes glimmered the hues of gold. His eyes were locked to the pool, and slowly the droplets of sweat began to form in his temple. He can see it. Xian anxiously looked in our direction, seeking help, but all of our friends avoided his eyes. And after the hammering sound of the gong, the pool suddenly turned into a cryptic sea. It was wide, grim, and dangerous. And the sight was enough to drain all of Xian’s blood out of his body.

The sea monsters occupied most of the sea, though it appeared like an endless chamber of death, the finish line got the trail of shining, shimmering gold, and there Vernyr was waiting for the triumph.

“Ah… hindi ko alam kung anong dapat kong sabihin kay Xian pagkatapos nito.” Dinig kong bulong ni Celine. Sumulyap siya sa akin at umiling-iling, “Kasalanan mo ‘to,”

“Hindi mo man lang i-dedefend ang sarili mo? Weak,” pang-aasar ni Riley.

“Shut up, weed brain.” I glared. The loud chanting of cheers once again conquered the arena, pampering the excitement in every vein of each contestant, aside from Xian.

“Hail to Zeus, the mighty warrior! Hail to Zeus Section, the mightiest section!”

“Primus, Zeus, Hades, we’re S-C-A-R-E-D because the best has arrived! Poseidon has arrived!”

“We’ll take you down! Hades Section will take you down! Down! Down!”

“Wala pa rin tayong cheer?” Aizen asked.

Ngumiwi sa kanya si Phoenix saka tinuro si Xian, “Hindi na natin kailangan… talo na rin naman tayo.” It is not like we don’t trust Xian, but I doubt that he could engaged a battle with all those sea monsters.

Besides, the real monsters were the contestants alongside him. Tyrone, from the Poseidon Section, is the son of the Titan God of Salt Water, Oceanus. His father represents the unknown waters of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

On the other hand, Shine from Hades Section is the daughter of Hecate, the Titaness of Magic and Spells. Shine’s blessing should have been weak because it is daylight, but the sudden change of scenery means that she may hold the upper hand, yet there is Lylia from Zeus Section, daughter of the Goddess of Daylight, Hemera—her existence in this battle marked the eagerness to bring down Hades Section.

“On your mark… Get, set, go!”

Xian, Tyrone, and Lylia suddenly slowed down; they were still in their diving position in mid-air, and Xian was still standing in his position. Shine was already swimming, widening the gap from her opponents, but her early victory was immediately canceled; a blinding light suddenly drained the power of her blessing from Lylia’s attack.

Tyrone and Lylia began to submerge themselves in the water, fighting the sea monster trying to get in their way. One of the gigantic Kraken tentacles suddenly landed in front of Xian, making him jump out of surprise and slip his way to the water.

We waited for a moment, yet he didn’t resurface.

“Don’t tell me…” I awkwardly laughed. May masamang kutob ako rito. “He can’t swim?”

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