MAVI'S POV

After that intense encounter, Tazyn and I decided to go back to our hotel room immediately. Kailangan nilang malaman ang nadiskubre namin.

"Haze, dali na!" Before we could even fully open the door, Soleia's voice rang out, laced with annoyance.

As Tazyn and I cracked the door open wider, we were immediately greeted by an unexpected scene. Soleia was standing in front of Haze while the latter was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, an icy expression etched on his face.

Uh, did we walk into the middle of a war zone? Kailan pa sila naging close? Eh halos magpatayan nga sila nung unang pagkikita palang nila!

"It’s still a no. I’m not changing my mind about this," Haze said firmly, rolling his eyes.

Hindi makapaniwalang tiningnan ni Soleia si Haze. "Haze, you're acting like I just asked to go into a battle against a hydra! It’s just the mall. Malapit na ang birthday ni Mira eh!" She retorted. "Hindi naman ako pupunta ngayon! Pagkatapos pa ng misyon!"

"Could you blame me?" Haze replied sharply. "I've been constantly dealing with Talia's tantrums. One moment it’s a fun trip to the mall, the next, it's a three-headed dragon chasing you down the shops."

"A dragon wouldn't be caught dead in a mall," nakasimangot na tugon ni Soleia.

"You'll just cause chaos. It's still a no."

"Chaos? I’ll just be a brilliant ray of sunshine spreading joy." Soleia smirked, unfazed by the glare Haze shot her way.

"Do you hear yourself? You, a ball of sunshine?" sarkastikong ani Haze.

"You know, if you weren't so insistent on keeping me cooped up, I wouldn't need to strategize elaborate post-mission mall escapes."

Haze raised a brow. "Strategize? You mean throwing a fit until you get your way?"

Napasimangot si Soleia. "Edi 'wag na! Pagkatapos mo akong tutukan ng sandata nung unang pagkikita natin..." she ranted.

Behind the slightly opened door, Tazyn and I looked at each other, shaking our heads in amusement.

For a few seconds, I saw Soleia glance at the man in front of her before looking away. Haze was just standing there, staring at her seriously. He's probably wondering what he did wrong.

Goodluck nalang, bro.

After a moment, Haze looked in our direction, causing me to flinch. Ang lakas talaga ng pakiramdam ng lalaking 'to.

"Mavi. Tazyn," he called. Napilitan tuloy kaming magpakita mula sa likod ng pinto.

His tone was so serious. I can’t believe I'm a son of Poseidon, one of the big three, yet I find myself afraid of Haze, a son of Aphrodite, even though he hasn't done anything.

Not that I was unaware of what he could do. By the gods, if he ordered me to kill someone, I would do it willingly.

I entered the room with a sheepish grin, pacing my gaze back and forth between the two. "Hey, Haze," bati ko. Sunod kong tiningnan ang babaeng kasama niya. "Hello to you too, Soleia. We have some news for you."

Saktong bumukas ulit ang pinto at dumating sina Amari at Raven, hinihingal. "What happened to you, bro?" I asked, laughing. Raven glared at me.

"Snakes... we found them at an alley..." Raven said, taking deep breaths in between.

"We have a suspicion that these snakes might be related to our mission," dagdag ni Amari.

My eyes widened. "Nakakita rin kayo ng ahas?" takang tanong ko. Sabay kaming napatingin ni Tazyn sa isa't isa.

"Kami rin eh..." sambit ni Tazyn. May kinuha siya at inabot niya ito kina Amari. Ito pala yung ahas na nahuli namin kanina.

"This has the same pattern as the snake we saw awhile ago," mahinang bulong ni Amari. "Should I summon the others? We need to get ready to find more clues as soon as possible."

Raven nodded as a sign of approval, and Amari took that chance to use her ability. Telepathy.

The Elysian Class has the ability to communicate with one another through our minds, but our range was limited compared to Amari's.

We had to be close to the person we wanted to connect with, whereas Amari's abilities allowed her to reach us even if we were in different countries.

Unbelievable.

Maya-maya, isa-isang dumating ang iba hanggang sa makumpleto kami. "May pasalubong kayo?" 'Yun ang bungad sa'min ni Callie nang makapasok siya.

We were currently settled in a spacious living room. We were in Apollo's hotel, after all. Everything was extravagant and huge.

"Tumahimik ka muna! Mukhang seryoso 'yung topic," singit ni Talia. Agad siyang tumabi sa kanyang kambal.

Cole was sitting next to Soleia, while I was with Raven and Haze. Unfortunately, Amari found herself stuck with Callie.

"Ano'ng agenda natin?" Cole asked innocently.

Dahil baguhan pa lang naman siya, natural lamang na maging kuryoso siya sa mga bagay-bagay. Para sa'kin, ang galing nilang dalawa ni Soleia dahil kalmado sila sa kanilang unang misyon, hindi katulad ko na halos mamatay sa kaba.

"Get ready in a few minutes. We're gonna go out to investigate." Ako na ang sumagot sa tanong niya.

"Nakahanap na kayo ng lead?" Talia asked next. I nodded and explained to her what had happened, from the meeting with Akira to the snakes that suddenly appeared.

"Snakes- as in ahas talaga?!" Sa sobrang lakas ng sigaw ni Callie, pati yung mga halaman sa loob ng hotel room namin ay nagambala. Bigla kasi silang gumalaw at parang nagulat pa. "Ano pa ba ang hinihintay natin? Tara na!"

Akmang tatayo na siya nang pigilan siya ni Amari. "We need to have a plan. We need to go back to both the lobby and alley," suhestiyon niya.

Napatango-tango kami. When it came to strategies, it was Amari we could count on.

A few seconds of silence passed until someone decided to break it. 

Biglang umimik si Soleia. "Kanina pa akong nagtataka, pero... hindi niyo ba nararamdaman 'yun?" biglang tanong niya. Her voice was almost a whisper, soft and gentle, but we managed to hear it anyway.

"Ang alin? 'Yung gutom? Hindi eh, kakakain ko lang," Callie joked, trying to ease the tension in the room.

Napasimangot si Soleia bago umiling. "No, not that! 'Yung kapangyarihan! Medyo mahina, pero... hindi niyo ba talaga nararamdaman?"

I glanced at Haze who scoffed lightly. "You felt that too, huh?" he whispered. "Gods, I thought I was hallucinating..."

"It's faint, but I can feel it. Saan ba 'yung alley na tinutukoy mo, Amari?" dagdag ni Soleia.

"Just near the hotel. I think it was across the steakhouse."

"Across the steakhouse..." Soleia mumbled. "I have a feeling that the energy I'm detecting is coming from the alley. Whether you believe me or not, I think it would be worth investigating."

Tumango kami bilang pagsang-ayon. She may be new, but we trusted her.

Suddenly, a butterfly of striking purple and black colors appeared, gently landing on Soleia's ring finger. It lingered for a moment before flying once more.

"I think the butterfly wants us to follow it," komento ni Callie. We exchanged glances and nodded in agreement. As the butterfly took flight, we all jumped to our feet and hurried after it.

Saan nanggaling 'to?

Habang tumatakbo, biglang tumigil ang oras, at hindi ko na kinailangang magtaka pa nang makita ko ang hawak na device ni Amari.

With Raven's incredible speed, it wasn’t long before we found ourselves at the alley's entrance.

"It's the same one we went to earlier," pagkumpirma ni Raven.

He walked deeper into the alley, and despite the sun being out, the darkness made it impossible for us to see anything.

Fortunately, Talia summoned a small ball of light to guide our way.

"Ingat kayo ah," bilin ni Callie.

A few seconds passed, and the only thing I could hear are my footsteps.

And then, all of a sudden, we came to a halt.

I nearly bumped into Cole's back. I noticed how he trembled slightly and how a look of terror slowly filled his face.

As I looked around, the others had similar reactions.

Ano'ng nangyayari?

"What in the realms?"

"Oh my greeks, I think I'm gonna puke!"

I finally gathered the courage to look closer, and when I did, nausea washed over me.

Whoever was responsible for this deserved nothing less than to be cast into Tartarus.

In that moment, it struck me.

The one behind the disappearances was not human.

Instead, it was a creature from the mythological realm.

The missing people were right in front of me, but now, they were lifeless statues.

Stone statues.

"Sino'ng may gawa nito?" Hindi makapaniwala sina Callie sa nakita.

Amari walked closer to the statues and Soleia followed, the butterfly gently landing on her shoulder.

Amari inspected the statues and closed her eyes, sighing heavily. "It's a threat..."

Her eyes glowed dull gray as she eyed us intensely.

"It's a warning... of what's to come."

۞۞۞

Merry Christmas, everyone! ♡