Nkri's Point of View

Hanggang ngayon ay nakakunot pa rin ang aking noo. Sinusubukang hanapan ng kasagutan ang mga nangyayari nitong nakaraang araw. Nasa last day na ng school fest ang academy. The Anostatos managed to win every competition two days ago.

Chry won in duel fight. Erin and Zuki won the archery competition. Me and Blaze won the sword fight. And Violeta and Ace won the pageant competition. At dahil dito nagpadagdag ng bigat sa pakiramdam ni Heshiena.

I know she wanted to bring the win to our class in her game, but she couldn't when she suddenly passed out with no apparent reason. Hindi naman daw si Xsanter ang dahilan kung bakit siya pinagkaitang huminga sa mga oras na 'yon.

In the end, Xsanter was declared the winner. Hindi na pinagtatalunan dahil parehong bagsak sina Heshiena at Reynir. But what's odd is. Nakatanggap din kami ng balita na nawalan ng malay si Violeta sa labas ng mall. May sugat pa ito sa tagiliran.

Pareho silang walang malay sa araw na 'yon.

Mas lalong gumulo ang utak ko nang maalala ko ang weird na kilos ni Heshiena noong fight examination. Tirik na tirik ang araw at buwan, katulad noong araw ng kaniyang laro. Napapansin ko rin noon na tila naapektuhan din siya sa tuwing nasusugatan o nasasaktan kami.

"May balita na ba kayo kung sino ang sumaksak kay Violeta?" biglang tanong ni Chry. Nakatayo ito sa gilid ng bintana, habang nakamasid sa labas.

May kaniya-kaniya kaming mundo.

Violeta, who recovered the day after she was attacked, and Ace were on the veranda. They were busy talking about beauty products. Anything that related to their personalities. At parang mga batang naglalaro kasama ang mga koleksyon nilang barbie at tom and jerry.

Fuego wasn't around. Nandoon siya sa pinaka-paborito niyang lugar. Ang armory. Plus, mukhang pinapatawag siya ng academy para humingi ng tulong sa kaniya para mamaya sa laro ni Blei. Si Mavros naman ay hindi mapakali sa kinauupuan niya. At alam ko kung bakit.

Si Dash naman ay nasa labas ng dorm namin. Marahil ay inaalagan na naman niya ang mga halaman namin. O 'di kaya'y kinakausap sila. Blei and Erin were on the living room, watching television. Heshiena, on the other hand, is still inside her room.

"Negative," it was Blaze who answered Chry's question. Nasa harap siya ng laptop, nanood ng CCTV footage ng mall. "Wala namang person of interest na nahagilap ng camera habang namimili si Violeta sa mga beauty products. But right after she get outside the mall, she started bleeding and then fell upon the floor," paliwanag niya.

Nagpakawala ako ng malalim na buntonghininga. Dahil kahit na ilang ulit pa naming panoorin ni Blaze ang video ay ganoon pa rin.

"Wala bang kakaiba sa kaniya noong nakaraan?" tanong ni Chry. Tumingin siya sa veranda kung nasaan si Violeta. "Look at her, she acted as if nothing happened," she commented.

Sumunod naman ang nakakunot niyang noo. Habang ako naman ay napaisip nang malalim. Violeta did indeed acting strange the last time I saw her. She was sweating profusely, it's as if she's nervous over something or it could be someone.

Idagdag na rin ang pagmamadali niya. Or is it just her being Violeta? Being hysterical over make-up. A true reaction which she can't live without. We all know how she would exaggeratedly react when her beauty seems to fade.

Or perhaps, it could be used to fabricate some things. I don't know. For the very first time, I couldn't tell what's true or not. And it's a pain in the ass. Only Violeta knows what really happened the day she was stabbed.

We asked her, of course.

Pero katulad ng nasa video, ganoon din ang isasagot niya. Nagkatinginan kami ni Blaze nang sabay kaming napabuntonghininga. We look each other in the eye, and we both know something fishy is going on around here.

"What?" Pareho kaming napatingin kay Chry nang marinig namin itong magsalita. She was looking to the both us. "What's on your mind, you two?" she asked.

Muli kaming nagtinginan ni Blaze.

"Well, come on." Umupo siya sa upuang kaharap namin. "Tell me," her voice were almost whispering.

Blaze heaved a sigh. "We think something fishy is going on with Violeta." Tumingin siya sa akin tila ba'y naghihingi ng permiso sa akin. "For the very first time, we couldn't tell what's true or not. We'll look into it as soon as possible," he said.

Surprisingly, Chry wasn't upset when we told her about Violeta.

She even give us a nod as a permission. Marahil ay napansin din niya ang napansin namin sa kaniya. She took a sip of her coffee and lean her back unto the chair.

"I've been eyeing two people within our class." She suddenly said, making our eyes grow wider in surprise. "Well, apparently, it's three. One is an outsider," she added. Both Blaze and I were waiting for her to elaborate. "I'll tell you both if my suspicion is right."

Pagkatapos niya sabihin ay umalis na siya papunta sa kusina. My mind flew. If it's true, there's a traitor among us. Their purpose must be so enormous to start a commotion within the academy's premises.

"Ako lang ba?" Napatingin kami pareho ni Blaze kay Erin nang marinig namin itong magsalita. Habang nakatutok pa rin ang mga mata niya sa T.V. "This past few days, when something bad happened, Heshiena always the first one to be affected," she commented.

She then clicked her tongue.

Sinabayan pa ito ng sunod-sunod niyang pag-iling. Ako naman ay napabuntonghininga na lamang. Dahil hindi lang ako ang nakapansin tungkol kay Heshiena, maging ang iba rin. Speaking of Heshiena, she's been isolating herself inside of her room. Again.

Hindi rin namin siya nakikitang lumalabas kahit man lang pumunta sa kusina. O baka ay lumalabas lang siya kapag walang tao ang dorm. Ace tried to approach and asked her how she was doing, but she said she wanted to be alone.

Hindi rin naman pwedeng ipilit dahil karapatan din naman niyang magkaroon ng privacy space. Ace and Violeta even said that her emotions were at wreck. Ramdam na ramdam nila 'yon. Halo-halo ito. Nakakasakit. Pero kung ipagpapatuloy niya ito delikado para sa kaniyang pag-iisip.

"I'll try to talk to her later," I said with finality in my voice.

☽ ♆ ☾

Mas lalo atang dumami ang mga nanonood dito sa dome. Marahil ay dahil ito na ang huling game at closing remark para sa school festival ngayong taon. The three contestants of the game were now on their places. Waiting for Chiron's signal.

The three of them were few inches away from each other. They are at the edge of the dome, looking at the waves of the ocean. They are designated into different places. Paunahan lang sila sa paghahanap ng magical item sa ilalim ng karagatan.

Hindi namin alam kung ano ito. But it might be the replica of Poseidon's trident. Or baka hindi sila pareho ng item na hahanapin. Medyo panatag naman ang lahat dahil lahat ng sumali ay may alam tungkol sa tubig. Blei is our representative, since she's the offspring of Poseidon.

Sa Mesi Magna naman ay anak ni Amphitrite. Sa Chamilos Magna naman ay si Elly, ang anak ni Miss Aqua. The three of them immediately dived into the deep when Chiron finally signaled. The audience cheered boisterously.

"Go, Blei!" Sigawan ng mga anak ni Aphrodite.

Sinabayan naman ito ng mga sipol nina Fuego, Blaze, Mavros, at Dash. Erin also cheered. Habang ako naman ay nakaupo lang nang nakangiti. Natahimik ang lahat nang biglang nabuhay ang naglakihang L.E.D na nakakabit sa sentro ng dome.

There are total of three L.E.D, signifies for each class. Mabuti naman at nakaharap ang L.E.D sa amin kung nasaan si Blei. Blei using the waves as her transportation to the first stop. I was impressed how calm she is.

We wouldn't be able to watch them live if it's not because of Fuego.

At the bottom of the sea is really scary. Kahit na nanonood lang kami. It's beautiful yet eerie. May mga nakita pa kaming mga isda na nakuha ng camera. Couple of minutes later, Blei arrived at her first stop, dumating naman ang anak ni Amphitrite nang mahagilap ko ito sa kabilang L.E.D.

Blei's first stop is a shipwreck.

Bago pa siya makapasok ay mga nereids sa hindi kalayuan. They are just monitoring the contestants. Pagkapasok ni Blei ay sumalubong sa kaniya ang mga sira-sirang gamit. May mga gold coins pa ngang pakalat-kalat sa sahig ng barko.

Nahinto lamang siya sa harapan ng isang malagintong salamin, malapit sa bintana ng sirang barko. Blei tried to open it, but she couldn't. She then solidify the water around her left arm, and punched the mirror easily. Nang mabasag ito ay lumapit siya.

Doon namin sabay nakita ang isang gintong shell na tila may mga salitang nakaukit doon. Kinuha niya ito't binasa. The camera zoomed and it says; Defeat the monster who was sent to ravaged the land of Aethiopia, which he will set to devour the daughter of Queen Cassiopeia.

Ibinaliktad niya ang shell. This time, binasa niya ito ng malakas. "Let your authority be the one to speak; and he will lead you to the one you seek."

A monster who ravaged the land of Aethiopia. A light bulb instantaneously appeared above my head when I remembered this tale. Ang creature na tinutukoy nito ay si Cetus. Ipinadala siya ni Poseidon bilang parusa kay Queen Cassiopeia. Because she hubristically boast her daughter, Andromeda, that she was more beautiful than the nereids.

Nagalit si Poseidon kay Queen Cassiopeia dahil ang mga nereids ay isa sa mga retinue niya sa kaniyang court. To assuage the wrath of the sea-gods, the girl was chained to a rock as a sacrificial feast for the monster.

It was also at this time that Perseus was winging his way back to Greece with the head of Medusa. He spied the girl, flew down, Perseus petrifying Cetus with Medusa's head to save Andromeda.

Napunta ang aming tingin sa kabilang L.E.D nang magsigawan ang mga estudyante ng Mesi Magna. Mesi Magna's representative was also able to identify what item he must find at the bottom of the sea. He need to retrieve Amphitrite's diadem that made of corals and pearls under the hands of the nereids.

Tumingin ako sa isa pang L.E.D. To my surprise, Elly is now fighting with the god of the dolphins, Delphin. Nakahawak si Elly ng isang kwintas sa kaniyang kanang kamay. Muling bumalik ang aking mata sa L.E.D kung nasaan si Blei.

Tumambad sa akin ang hitsura ng sea monster na si Cetus.

The camera slightly shook when it roared. Nagkaroon pa ng malakas na pag-alon dahil dito. The monster appeared as having a dump-truck-sized head, a face covered in blue-green scales, a mouth lined with needle-sharp teeth, and a pair of yellow reptilian eyes.

He was drooling with flames every time he hissed.

Narinig kong napasinghap sina Ace at Violeta. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Chry stood up from sitting with worried in her eyes. Ganoon din ang ibang boys. Nakipagtitigan lang si Blei sa halimaw. Tila ba'y nakikipag-usap.

Lahat ng mga nanonood ay nagpipigil ng kanilang paghinga dahil sa intense ng laban. Mesi Magna's representative is now fighting with the nereids to be able to retrieve Amphitrite's diadem. Elly is still fighting with Delphin. Pero palagi siyang natatalo.

Hindi namin mapigilang maghiyawan nang biglang iniyuko ni Cetus ang kaniyang ulo bilang pagrespeto kay Blei. Nagtatalon-talon pa kami, habang hindi napigilang madala sa emosyon ang mga luha.

Let your authority be the one to speak. So, this is what it means.

Blei had the ability of divine authority over Poseidon's subjects. She can communicate with all the aquatic creatures. And as I can see, they respected her the way they respect Poseidon. Sumakay si Blei kay Cetus at dinala siya sa pinakailalim na bahagi ng karagatan.

The small temple slowly became visible in the camera. Sa gitna ay doon nakalagay ang replica ng trident ni Poseidon. But there are few hippocampus guarding the trident. Lumabas naman ang isang giant squid mula sa madilim na bahagi.

Pero hindi nagtagal ay umalis sila sa daanan ni Blei. Habang nakayuko pa rin ang kanilang mga ulo. Lumangoy siya papunta sa item at kinuha ito. She then raised the trident, and use the force of the water to transport her back to the surface.

Isang malakas na hiyawan mula sa 'min nang bumalik siya sa field ng dome, dala-dala ang trident. I saw Poseidon's proud smile in my peripheral vision.

"Blei, daughter of Poseidon, our champion!"