『AICELYN』

“Death is inevitable.”

Mammon’s voice rang in my ears. I looked at him and grimaced. His forest-like eyes reflected something other than greed—truth. He refreshingly smiled and said, “The only difference for each end is the way it approaches every being—an awful death or a peaceful one.”

“Is this really coming from an immortal like you?”

Mammon smirked, “Who said that I was? Who said the Kins were?”

“Anong ibig mong sabihin?”

“Kins only have seven lives. We have lived for a long time now… do you think that we could keep all of it?”

Saglit akong napatigil, tila ba’y sinasadya ni Mammon na kuhanin ang atensyon ko upang makalimot sa nangyari kanina. Pero hindi ko maikakaila na ang mga sinasabi niya’y hindi walang kuwenta.

“Then… you are really vulnerable.”

“We are.” Mammon chuckled. “Beelzebub and Lucifer—those two were obsessed with killing back in days, but now they are hiding… because they fear death, just like any beings.”

“Do you fear death, too?”

“Of course, especially that just like my brothers—I only have one life now.” Pinagmasdan ko siya’t pinag-aralan. May kakaiba sa sinasabi niya, ramdam ko na nagsasabi siya ng totoo, ngunit parang may kulang. Mammon suddenly lifted my chin and smiled. “But what comes next will be the most ferocious part.”

“What do you—”

“Mammon, what the hell are you doing?”

Mabilis na napangiwi si Mammon nang tumingin siya sa aking likuran. Nang lumingon ako ro’n, nadoon sina Aizen kasama si Belphegor na masamang tingin ang pinupukol kay Mammon.

“Yes, yes! I’ll get lost.” Mammon grimaced. He looked at me and teasingly kissed my forehead, “You have to keep moving forward. Save that servitour because you are the only one who can, or else she’ll die.”

“What—”

Bigla na lamang dumilim ang paligid at naglaho si Mammon. Anong ibig n’yang sabihin? If it is about Aizelle… then he knew the meaning of those marks, that only I and Aizelle can see. Ilang beses akong kumurap at lumingon sa paligid. Tangina. Nasaan ako?

“Ice.” Mabilis nitong hinawakan ang kamay ko’t nang lingunin ko siya, isang nagtatakhang tingin lamang ang binigay ko Aizen. “Alam namin ang tungkol kay Sab. I’m sorry for—”

“Don’t be. Sab needed to rest, and Sapphire must live.”

Aizen smiled and ruffled my hair. Sumimangot din siya’t bigla nalamang marahas na pinunasan ang noo kung saan ako hinalikan ni Mammon. Nakatingin lamang sa amin sina Belphegor, pinapanood na matapos si Aizen sa kung anong katangahan man ang ginagawa niya.

“Baka magalit sa ‘kin sina Sky kung mauunahan siya ng isang Kin sa’yo habang pinapanood ko pa.”

Nginiwian ko siya, “Tanga.”

All of a sudden, our attention was stolen by an odd scenery. In front of us was an island, divided in half; one was covered with a mountain of ice, and the other was filled with sea of magma. I squinted my eyes. Realm of Souls. I am not that stupid not to know we are the only living ones in this place. The beings around us, watching us in silence, were souls, Psyche’s unseen legion.

“Now, this is where your ability shines, Blessed Human,” Belphegor mumbled.

Dahan-dahan tinaas ni Xian ang braso niya’t tumuro kung saan, na siya naming sinundan ng mga mata naming, “Si Night,” sambit niya. Isang nagtatakhang tingin ang binigay sa amin ni Night habang lumapit siya direksyon namin, “Hindi na si Night ‘yong gumagalang multo—tayo na, as in gumagalang tao—ako lang pala.”

“Stupid,” I mumbled.

“Gumagalang demigods.” Pagturo niya sa amin nina Aizen. Sumimangot siya’t tinuro si Belphegor, “Gumagalang demonyo.”

“Alam n’ya bang kayang-kaya siyang patayin ni Belphegor kapag nainis sa kanya ‘yan?” Patanong na bulong sa amin ni Dylan.

“He’s Phoenix 2.0. So, do you think he knows?” Aizen asked Dylan.

Kasabay nang paglapit ni Night ang pagliwanag ng mga mata ni Xian. Ilang beses kinurap ni Xian ang mala-ginto n’yang mga mata saka dahan-dahan na tinuro ang gitna sa pagitan ng dalawang isla.

“Let’s go,” Belphegor ordered.

We followed Xian’s footsteps. And even with my eyes looking straight into the path Xian was pursuing, my body could feel those devious, wicked eyes darting at us. Night is the only grim soul that we could trust; not only is he Aizen’s contracted soul, but he is also a friend.

“Aizen, your life is in danger here.” I heard Night say.

Aizen grunted and squinted his eyes at him, “Sa tingin mo ba hahayaan kong maglaho na lamang si Sapphire?”

“I’ll be your knight, then.”

“The fuck? Ano ako prinsesa?”

Dylan and I immediately looked away from them, suppressing our laughter. Nakabusangot akong tiningnan ni Aizen, ngunit nakuha ni Belphegor ang atensyon ko. He fell in love with a mortal, right? And it must be… one of the reasons why he is willing to lend us a hand, for the human he fell in love with, for Sapphire Mendoza.

“Ice…” Mabilis akong napalingon sa gilid ko kung nasaan si Sapphire. Bumuntong-hininga siya’t tumingin sa baba, “I’m sorry for—”

“You shouldn’t be. Kung hindi dahil kay Sab… masaya ka sana ngayon sa tunay mong katawan.”

“Not really. If it weren’t for Sab… my soul already has perished… if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t receive Psyche’s blessing.”

“What blessing did you receive?”

Mahina siyang tumawa’t tumingin sa ‘kin, “Hindi ko rin alam. The only thing she told me is that… magkaiba ang ability ng pagiging isang Empyrean Soul ko sa mismong binigay niya sa akin.”

I smiled and looked in front. The Realm of Souls seemed to be an island divided in half earlier, with nothing but only ice and lava in it, but looking around this place is as peculiar as the beings residing in it. There are castles built upside-down around filled with moss and dust as if they have been abandoned for thousands of years, and in every window, each glimpse was like looking at your own soul, a part of you that even you do not know of.

The grim souls around didn’t hide their thirst and hunger in claiming Aizen’s body, but all of them seemed to be afraid of the demon with us. Yet, even though Night is one of them, his oath and presence as a friend overpowered his desire to take the body of his master.

“Do you want to know why the Seraphim rejected my soul?”

I just looked at Sapphire without uttering any word. The only thing I had were the details that Belphegor told me and nothing else.

“I…” Marahan niyang pinikit ang kanyang mga mata at kinuyom ang kanyang braso bago muling ngamulat ng mga mata. Mapait siyang ngumiti at direstong tumingin sa direksyon nina Belphegor, “My face… resembles the Queen of the Dark Continent.”

Lilith, the mother of all Demons.

Napatigil kaming lahat nang tumigil si Belphegor at lumingon sa direksyon namin ni Sapphire. Nakasimangot ito at tila kinekwestyon niya kami sa kanyang mga tingin pa lamang, “Don’t you dare mention her name.”

“Why?”

“It will bring us misfortune, especially that I’m with you.”

And as the deafening silence filled us after Belphegor’s remarks, we followed Xian’s path again. Sapphire and I moved closer to them. Makahulugan na tumingin sa amin si Xian saka bumaling kay Belphegor.

“Why did you offer Sab that contract?” Xian asked.

“It was Mammon who offered her. I offered Aicelyn, and Asmodeus… offered Aphrodite.”

Naguguluhan akong tumingin kay Belphegor. Why did Asmodeus offer Aphrodite a contract too? Belphegor smiled amusedly while looking at me as if he could clearly read what was on my mind.

“You don’t know, huh?” He mockingly asked. Belphegor meaningfully glanced to Night and looked at me once again, “It seems that your father and the goddess who blessed you loved hiding things from you.”

“What does that supposed to mean?!”

He let out a sigh. “You are supposed to be Aphrodite’s blessed child—that goddess yearned for you even though she already had Sabrina Anderson. And after watching what happened to you and Sabrina… she takes a risk without hesitation, but—”

“She’s not the one who signed the contract, right?” Dylan interrupted.

Ngumiti lamang sa amin si Belphegor, isang ngiti na siyang mismong sumasagot sa tanong ni Dylan.

“It was Zeus. And it was a powerful contract that Gods, nor the Kins could destroy.”

“What do you want to gain now?” Night asked.

Belphegor played with his hand as if he was holding a tea while looking straightly at the path we were going. He glanced at the souls around before plastering a bitter smile on his face.

“Satan became the worst of the worst after he killed Marina. And now… the Kins decided to end things, even though it means sacrificing an important key.” His words hid meaning behind them. It was like a metaphor, something that we couldn’t understand without any hint. “Satan must die in the hands of the king vessel.”

“Paano niyo naman nasisigurado na matatalo ni Phoenix si Satan? Alam kong isang King Vessel si Phoenix pero…” Sambit ni Xian. May point siya. Kahit isang beses ay hindi pa nagiging successful ang merge nina Phoenix ag Aizelle. Bukod pa ro’n, may isa pang problema si Aizelle sa kanyang katawan.

“He is not the only king vessel alive, and present in this place,” said Belphegor. “Sinabi ko na sa inyo hindi ba? Hindi ko nakita si Garet sa arena. At isa pa…”

“Hmm?”

“You went to Mt. Seraphyl, right? You were able to see a magical tree in the middle of it.” Belphegor looked at Aizen, who immediately nodded. Tumingin siya kay Sapphire saka muling nagsalita, “And apparently, that tree is connected to the one planted in Demigods Academy… you must have spoken to her, right Sapphire?”

“I did…” Sapphire surprisingly mumbled.

Belphegor chuckled. “Too bad. I wouldn’t be able to see Garet’s Spriggan form, but at the same time, I’m relieved.”

Napatigil kaming lahat nang tumigil sa paglalakad si Xian. Nawala ang lahat ng atensyon namin sa usapan tungkol kay Master Garet nang matuon ang mga mata namin sa isang napakalaking portal nasa harap. Tila isa itong kalawakan, napupuno ng maliliit na bituwin na siyang nagbibigay ng kintab sa bawat paligid.

Isang masaya na may halong lungkot na lumingon si Xian kay Sapphire saka mahinang tumawa’t kinamot ang kanyang batok, “I think, this is where… we part ways.”

Tears slowly began to form in Sapphire’s eyes. She couldn’t take her eyes off Xian and to the portal. This was the first time I had seen her beautiful galactic eyes filled with sadness, confusion, and happiness as if the dream that had already slipped away from her hand came again and showed itself to her in order to grab it once again.

I lightly pushed her back, “Go, Sapphire.

Dahan-dahan na naglakad si Sapphire palapit sa portal, ngunit mabilis siyang tumigil nang makarating siya sa harap ni Xian. Diresto pa rin ang mga ni Sapphire na pinagmamasdan ang portal, samantalang si Xian ay buong katawan na nakaharap sa kanya at pilit pa rin na kinakapa ang mga salitang nais niyang sabihin.

“Thank you, Xi—xian…” I heard her voice crack. “Really… thank you.”

Belphegor cleared his throat. “Sapphire Mendoza, once you go back, your memories as an Empyrean Soul will disappear.”

“I see.” Sapphire scuffed. She suddenly pushed Xian’s chest and looked at him with a smile, “Then… I will give the Primus Section a Croceus Mission.”

“What are you saying?”

“You must find me.”

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