Heshiena's Point of View

Ace and I fell our mouths wide open when the two who picked us up went through the castle's door like some kind of spirits. Am I seeing it right? Natatarantang hinawakan ni Ace ang pintuan.

Mabilis kong hinawakan ang mabakal na pintuan. And it's firm as it should be. Kumunot ang aking noo sa pagtataka. How in the hell they went through this thick and firm door?

Napasigaw kami ni Ace sa gulat nang biglang sumulpot ang ulo ng isa sa sumundo sa amin. The two remained emotionless as usual.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. Please, get in," he respectfully said.

Huminto ako sa pagsigaw. Tanging boses na lamang ang nangingibabaw sa paligid.

"He's dead!" Takot na takot na sigaw ni Ace. "He's now a ghost! In the name of love, please save me!" Kumapit siya bigla kay Chry dahilan para magulat ito.

Out of the corner of my eyes, Mavros scratch the back of his head. Followed by shaking his head twice. My attention drifted to Chry when I heard she clicked her tongue. Ang sumunod na nangyari ay binatukan niya si Ace.

That made him shut up.

Napasinghap ako nang walang pagdadalawang isip na pumasok si Mavros. And just like that, he disappeared. Ace's eyes grew wider in fear. Muli siyang napasigaw, dahilan para mapabuntonghininga si Chry.

Bago pa man mawala si Chry, narinig ko ang ibinulong niya. "Why am I surrounded with idiots?" She then scoffed in disbelief. Habang sapo-sapo ang kaniyang noo.

This time, it was Ace who gasped for air. He covered his mouth with tears gradually welling up. I heaved a sigh, then tapped his shoulder.

Naglakad ako papalapit sa pintuan. Inuna ko munang ipasok ang kamay ko. Surprisingly, lumagpas lang ito nang walang kahit na anong sakit. Nilingon ko si Ace na hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin maipinta ang takot sa mukha niya.

"Ace, it's harmless." Nginitian ko siya.

Before I could enter, out of the corner of my eyes, I saw he calmed himself by letting out a heavy sigh. Nakapikit pa ang kaniyang mga mata habang ginagawa niya 'yon.

Saktong pagpasok ko, sumunod naman kaagad si Ace. Pero nabaling ang aking atensyon sa ganda sa loob. We were greeted by a wide hall. Each side there are big pillars. Para kaming nasa loob ng templo.

Majority of everything we saw had silver accents.

White marbles embraced the floor with a black zigzag lines. Serving as an illusion that the floors are cracking.

"Illusion . . ." I heard Chry commented.

The two hummed in agreement. "The door was an illusion, an ability that lets a person make others see, smell, hear, touch and taste such things that don't exist in reality." Well, that explains.

"The air people can conjure mirages, a sub-ability of illusion manipulation, weather manipulation and optical phenomena manipulation," dagdag pa ng isa. Sinundan niya naman ito ng pagngiti ng matamis.

After that, a long silence prevailed and found ourselves walking down this endless hallway. The only thing that dominated was the sound of our footsteps.

Huminto kami sa harapan ng isang malaking pintuan. Silver was embracing it. At the center, there are four carved spiral symbol with a golden trace. Each sides, there are also carved owl. The four owls seemed to be connected by a carved symbol of lightning bolt.

On the top of each owl, there's a carved abbreviation of the four cardinal directions.

Dahan-dahang lumapit ang dalawang sumundo sa amin sa pintuan. Pareho nilang inilagay ang kanilang dalawang kamay sa spiral symbol. When it glowed in white, they step backwards.

Nang maglaho ang liwanag ay siyang pagbukas naman ng pintuan. The two gestured their hands. Sa tabi ko rinig na rinig ko ang pagsinghap ni Ace. Tumakbo siya papasok. Sumunod naman kami.

Para lamang itong condominium. There are a total of four rooms. It's so spacious. The room had a minimalist design with neutral colors. The ceiling was colossal.

Napatingin ako kay Ace nang mapansin ko siyang nakatayo nang matuwid. His eyes were falling to the floor. Ang kaninang pagiging excited niya bigla na lamang naglaho. Mukhang hindi lang ako ang nakapansin sa kaniya nang makita kong nakatingin ang dalawa.

"Ace?" Chry called him.

Ace looked at her with worried in his eyes. Tila ba'y nakakita siya ng multo. He slightly pointed in front using his lips. Dahil dito lumapit kami sa kaniya. There we realized why.

Prenteng nakaupo si Miss Sky sa harapan ng round table. She was sipping at tea cup on her hand while her legs were crossed.

Just like the first time I saw her, she had straight white-owl shoulder-length hair. And a pair of orbs similar to Chry's.

A couple of seconds later, ibinaba niya ang kaniyang hawak-hawak na baso't tinapunan kami ng tingin.

Ipinag-krus niya rin ang kaniyang mga braso.

But she was quickly stood up from sitting when our eyes met. Sa aking tabi, narinig kong nagpipigil ng tawa si Chry.

"Lady Heshiena . . ." She bowed. "Pardon with how I greeted you just now. I am not informed na kasama po kayo sa misyon." Muli niyang iniyuko ang kaniyang ulo. Habang si Chry naman ay hanggang ngayon nagpipigil ng kaniyang tawa.

"You're fine, Miss Sky." Nakangiti kong saad.

She hummed, followed by a nod. Inangat niya ang kaniyang tingin at sinalubong ang mga mata ko. Gano'n din ang ginawa niya sa tatlo. But the way she looked at Chry, there's a little bit trail of warning. Pagkatapos ay ibinalik niya sa akin ang tingin.

"Welcome to Aeras City." Ngumiti siya, ibinalik ko naman ito sa kaniya. "Enjoy your stay. If you all need something nasa opisina lang ako." Nilagpasan niya kami.

"We're not here to enjoy our stay, Miss Sky," Chry bluntly said, causing her to stop from excusing herself. "You know what I mean," she added.

Napakawala ng malalim na pagbuntonghininga si Miss Sky. Dahan-dahan siyang humarap ulit sa amin. Naglakad pabalik sa inuupuan niya kanina. She then gestured her hand telling us to seat. We put down the bags that hugging our back in the corner.

At sinunod ang utos nito.

Umupo kami sa isang mahabang sofa. Pinagitnaan namin ni Mavros sina Ace at Chry. Pagkatapos ay tumikhim si Miss Sky.

"What do you want to know?"

"The black and grayish smoke."

Chry was so concise, causing the Anosteros nodded in response. Muli siyang tumikhim bago kami sagutin. And I really did noticed that smokes earlier.

"That smoke was caused by the wind spirits," ang sagot ni Miss Sky. Pero nandoon ang diin sa kaniyang timbre ng kaniyang boses. "The northern part of the city was almost destroyed. Ever since everything falls into chaos, these spirits are going wild," she added.

With those words, I could feel the pain.

"And the casualties?"

"Bad."

A long silence prevailed. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Chry's palms gradually turned to fists. Her jaw moved, a sign that she gritted her teeth.

"What the hell is Aeolus doing?" I heard Mavros disappointingly ask.

Aeolus, the king of the winds. He was appointed by Zeus to guard the storm winds which he kept locked away inside the floating island of Aeolia, releasing them at the request of the gods to wreak their havoc.

That's what I remembered about him.

"The floating island of Aeolia is located beyond ours." Miss Sky announced. My mouth fell to the ground. "Perhaps that's why they are able to find the city. And . . ." Lumunok siya ng laway. Habang ako naman ay hindi ko mapigilang kabahan.

I just had the bad feeling that whatever she's going to say next is not good news. I could tell how fear hides behind those pairs of electrical-blue orbs.

"Aeolus disappeared along with the others." 

☽ ♆ ☾

Zenn Morales ( zeowlll ), ikaw pala next person na nasa listahan ko na pinangakuan ko ng dedication. I am really sorry kung late na ah. I am pretty sure you have been free from your suffering even if it hurts to think about it. Thank you for such an amazing time chitchatting with you even if it's just a small span of time. Rest in paradise, bud. 

This chapter is for you.