The Trial

I had a dream.

A strange one.

A war against the Lycan's mortal rivals—the Elementalists.

Bloodshed everywhere; corpses drenched in blood, laying helplessly on the desolated ground; poor soldiers who couldn't even lay their grubby hands on me.

And an arrogant man who thought he could kill me with a sword.

Sword . . .

Wolfsbane . . .

Nanlaki ang aking mga mata.

This was definitely not right! Lycans barely dream! Ni minsan nga'y hindi ko naranasang managinip. Dreaming was never normal to us. We rarely experience such delusions and could only happen not more than once in a Lycan's lifetime. Even the Alpha and Luna weren't an exception!

For centuries, dreaming was only for the pack's seers. The Bloodworth pack, our pack, was the most influential in the whole of Forbourne—the capital city of the Northern Alps—where werewolves, lycans, and vampires co-existed. We had seers that constantly dreamt and foresaw the pack's future.

And what I'm experiencing right now . . . this wasn't making any sense!

Sinubukan kong igalaw ang aking katawan, pero laking gulat ko na lang nang hindi ako makaramdam ng kahit na ano. I opened my eyes only to be greeted by pitch black. I was hearing nothing, but my ragged breath. My mind was working, yet my whole body felt numb.

What on hell is happening?!

I could feel my nerves literally in mayhem. Who could even remain calm, knowing that you were trapped in a dark and bizarre dream? I couldn't even pinpoint if this was still a dream. Wala na akong maintindihan!

In the midst of taming my inner ruckus, my eyes caught sight a light. It flicked as it gradually grew bigger and bigger. Nilamon ako ng liwanag na siyang hindi ko naiwasan. Oh, how I despised light.

Kung sino man ang may pakana ng kalokohang 'to, humanda siya. I would rip off his head and tear his heart apart from his body! Messing with the Crimson Heiress meant death. I'd make sure that creature wouldn't survive, and it would be my greatest pleasure to escort his poor, forsaken soul to the pits of hell.

Isang nakabubulag na liwanag ang sumakop sa aking paningin. Normally, I'd react to a light with such intensity, but somehow my senses remained stable. It felt calming . . . overwhelming.

The light lasted for a minute until it slowly faded. I began seeing blurry images, and my vision swirled thereafter but eventually became vivid.

Sumalubong sa akin ang imahe ng isang dambuhalang pinto. Nakasara ito, ngunit maaaninag ang iilang sinag ng liwanag na nakapaligid dito. The door was positioned at the end of a steep and narrow, stony pathway where I was standing. I blinked a couple of times to confirm the scene in front of me. Lalo lang ako nagugulumihan sa mga nangyayari! But what bewildered my already perturbed mind were the various creatures lined up to get to the door.

Unfortunately, I was one of those creatures.

Mabilis kong binalingan ang sarili, umaasang sa pamamagitan no'n ay maliwanagan ako sa kasalukuyang mga nangyayari. My brows then furrowed upon witnessing myself in an armor soaked in blood. My scimitars were safely sealed in their scabbards on my waist. I was still in full armor—nothing unusual as my life revolved around the battlefield, slaying creatures who stood in our way to stop us from taking territories.

But something's not right here. Everything seemed not right at all!

Habang patuloy na sinisipat ang sarili, tumigil ang aking paningin sa aking dibdib. Kumurap-kurap ulit ako. N-No.

To my deepest horror, my chest . . . it was hollow.

As if on cue, scenes in the battle at Casso Liah replayed in my head. The Duris man, his blazing rapier penetrating through my heart, and the wolfsbane that ended my life.

N-No, this can't be! I can't be dead!

My emotions began conquering my body, making my woman and Lycan form shift from time to time. I opened my mouth to scream out my frustrations, but to my surprise, I couldn't hear my voice. I attempted to speak, but nothing came out from my mouth, not even a whimper!

Dahil sa labis na pagkabigo ay marahas kong binalingan ang nilalang na nasa aking likuran. I glared at the man who had huge white wings and was half naked. The huge three scars exposed on his manly chest were unusually disturbing. Mabilis kong ibinalik ang tingin sa kaniyang mukha nang makita ang pagngisi nito.

I promptly moved and unsheathed my scimitars to attack him, but then my hands only infiltrated my body. Natigilan ako't muling binunot ang aking sandata, pero muli ring tumagos ang aking kamay na para bang ang aking katawan ay isang kaluluwa lamang.

Kaluluwa . . .

My whole sanity was petrified by the sudden truth.

My father, the Alpha . . . I couldn't just disappoint him like this! My brother, Oak . . . he'd be damn furious the moment he learns about my death. A-And my mother, my dearest mother would be miserable.

I can't just die like this! There should be a way out of here!

A hand waved right in front of my face, dahilan upang mabalik ako sa kasalukuyan. Sinamaan ko ng tingin ang nilalang na may pakpak, ngunit ginawaran lamang ako nito ng isang malumanay na ngiti.

I clenched my fists to contain my tormenting emotions. My desire to tear off that smile on his face fuelled. I am disappointed. I am mad. I am in rage! And he also should be! My misery should be everybody's misery!

But I was astounded the moment he opened his mouth.

"You'll be fine." Those were the exact words he mouthed.

Bago pa man ako mawalan ng kontrol sa sarili ay tinalikuran ko na ito. Hindi naman nakatakas sa akin ang isa pang nilalang na nasa likuran nito. A demon. It was constantly eyeing us a while ago, and I could clearly read the furor and dejection from its face. Bahagyang kumalma ang aking nararamdaman.

That's it. Feed me with your disdains and hostilities, not some bunch of angelic reassurances!

Hindi na ako nagtangkang balingan ang anghel sa aking likuran, instead I focused my sight on the creatures before me. There was this huge dragon-like woman who had three horns and a silver hair, a creature with a tail who was weeping on one side of the narrow aisle, a glowing figure that resembled a human, and some other weird beings that I didn't know existed in Orlean.

Usually, I'd go berserk in situations like this, searching for and threatening the creature behind this ridiculous abduction.

I am the Crimson Heiress and these creatures should bow down before me!

Hindi ko alam kung ilang minuto na akong nanatili sa puwestong iyon. It made me furious 'cause I couldn't even escape and save myself! Even worse when my body abnormally moved without my consent—as if it had a life on its own. My feet would constantly step forward every time a creature would get in the huge door before us.

That scene remained until I was already the one standing in front of the door. Bigla akong nakaramdam ng isang hindi pangkaraniwang kaba. I've never felt such anxiousness before other than being reprimanded by my father.

Sa nakikita ko kasi'y lahat ng pumapasok dito ay hindi na nakalalabas, kumbaga ito ang pasukan sa kung saan man kami dadalhin ng pintong 'yan. And even if we didn't want to go in, we couldn't even say no! We couldn't speak, we couldn't move at our own will, and we couldn't fight! Sinusubukan talaga ng lugar na 'to ang nauubos kong pasensiya!

I gritted my teeth in an attempt to calm my nerves again. Tinitimpi ko na lang ang galit na kanina pa nais kumawala sa aking katawan, pero tuluyan na nga akong natutop nang dahan-dahang bumukas ang pinto sa aking harapan. Lalong lumakas ang pintig ng aking puso nang masilayan ulit ang walang hanggang kaliwanagan.

I mentally chortled. How funny of them to think that I'd step into that light. They couldn't fool me with these nonsense! I've had enough. Sapat nang nagawa nila akong dalhin dito. Hindi ko na palalampasin ang kung ano mang nais nilang gawin sa akin.

Unfortunately, my own body was beyond my control. I just saw myself stepping into the door, devoured by the light that sent burning sensation to my whole being.

I was in agony. I felt pain, misery, and grief.

Hindi ko alam kung gaano ko katagal pinagdusahan ang hindi kanais-nais na pakiramdam na 'yon. Yet eventually, the pain subsided, along with the appearance of a roaring voice that resonated in my head.

"Seraphina Destin Bloodworth. A ruthless being, taking lives of innocent creatures. Your soul is yet to be arbitrated."

W-What?

"You shall forever be condemned for the grave sins you and your kind have committed. Yes, you will compensate for your family's immoralities. You are bound to die and will suffer the aftermath of the atrocity and malevolence embedded in the history of your kind. You can choose to become a tool for a change, or you can forever dwell in darkness. Your choice, little one."

My mind was clouded with so many questions. Who the hell is this impudent creature and why is he speaking lowly of me?! Doesn't he know who I am?!

"How impertinent of you to not recognize me," he replied as if hearing my thoughts.

Oh, yeah? Then how rude of you, too, to not know me! You're dealing with the wrong creature, mister. An immediate death shall be endowed upon you and your accomplices for abducting and bringing me in this place!

I demand to be released this instant!

"I pity you for not recognizing me, but your demand isn't my command. You shall be castigated at once. Your soul will be conferred in a threefold incarnation until you realize and regret your sins. Failure to achieve this second-life mission in the agreed period of time shall result to your soul's extinction. Your name shan't be remembered, along with your family's memories of you."

This is ridiculous! Who is he to say those words to me?!

"You will die as if you have never lived at all."

Nagmistulang binuhusan ako ng malamig na tubig sa kaniyang huling sinabi. H-He's kidding, right? T-This couldn't be a curse! Who is he?! Why is he doing this to me?!

"Apparently, if you succeed and learn the malefactions you executed, you will be granted one final wish—a wish that shall justify your repentance."

Hindi ko na pinagtuonan ng pansin ang kaniyang mga sinasabi. All I wanted was to get out of this place and return to the pack. Father must have been very enraged right now. He and my brother, Oak, must have wiped out the whole of Casso Liah to vindicate my death!

I need to get back!

"Good luck on your journey. May you choose to seek and do what's right, and may light prevail in your heart as it shall always be."

Bahagya akong nabuhayan sa kaniyang isinaad. Does this mean that I could really go back? That I'd be alive again?

Isang imahe ang biglang lumitaw sa aking harapan. Two tunnels leading to different dimensions. One was projecting the Kingdom of Forbourne, our kingdom. The other one showed nothing, but a tunnel that led to another source of light.

Just as when my emotions stabled with the thought of going back home, my brows instantly knitted upon seeing the tunnel containing my kingdom's image starting to fade. My nerves panicked and I felt my world crumbled when it was the tunnel with the light that remained vivid in my sight.

Halos hindi na ako humihinga nang maramdamang kusang lumutang ang aking katawan tungo sa lagusan.

No, no, damn it! This isn't my fate! I don't deserve this!

"I am the great Anoteros. No one, not even a common felon like you, could defy my words. Flee, my child, and witness the world in different perspectives. Rectify your history, and your soul will ever be redeemed. Farewell."

His words reverberated in my system, along with faint images in my mind showcasing my last moments as a Lycan heiress. Nang tuluyan akong lamunin ng liwanag ay siya ring paglaho ng mga imahe.

From then on . . .

. . . those memories became a forgotten piece in my history.

HagaraSibs, 2022