BATTLE

The contenders move the moment the game began. All except Zero or Seiji for them.

Nanliit naman ang mata ko nang biglang may naisip. "Since when did Seiji become an Orpheus?" tanong ko.

Tiningnan naman ako ni Sirius. "Matagal na. Mas nauna pa ata siya sa'min, pero n'ong nakaraang dalawang taon lang siya maging active talaga."

Last two years? The year when twenty-five Orpheuses died in the Orphic Games. Si Zero ba talaga ang pumatay sa mga 'yon? Or is it someone else?

Wait, can he read my mind?

"No. Only if your thought reaches mine," sagot agad ni Zero sa utak ko. "Like now."

What?! Narinig niya kaya ang mga iniisip ko kanina? Huwag naman sana. I sighed and imagined closing my brain for him, though I do not know if it will work. I just hope it does.

"Bakit parang kuryos na kuryos ka kay Seiji?" tanong ni Sirius habang nakatingin sa mga screens.

I exhaled loudly. "He just looks like someone I know," sagot ko. Lumingon naman siya sa'kin, at nagtaas-kilay. I just smiled a bit and drifted my attention to the screen.

Zero didn't move a bit. Pinikit niya pa ang mata niya habang may maliit na ngiti sa labi. Blue aura radiates around him. Anong ginagawa niya?

Naalala ko naman bigla ang sinabi nila kanina sa'kin. He just sits, and still wins. Hm, maybe because he really doesn't have a physical form? Maybe he is really lurking around using shadows.

Sa ibang players naman ako tumingin. Lourd was using his power, telekinesis. He used it to detect every object, and destroy it. Sabagay ni hindi nga nila alam kung ano ang kailangan nilang sirain, so why not break everything?

Gan'on din siguro ang gagawin ko kung ako ang nand'yan.

Ruelle had less advantage than Lourd. Her power is hemokinesis, hindi naman niya magagamit 'yon sa pag-destroy ng gamit. Aish, ka-team ko pa naman 'yan.

Tumingin naman ako sa iba, at katulad sila ni Lourd, halos sinisira ang bawat gamit. Kahit anong makita nila.

"Is that the real academy?" tanong ko kay Kaiden. Umiling naman siya.

"That's a virtual space," sagot n'ya. "It's not real."

I sighed in relief. Nanghihinayang ako sa mga gamit eh. "Fascinating how virtual space looks so real," puri ko.

Ngumiti naman si Astraeus, "Peculiars made a dimension and a new world for us. Malamang ay madali nalang ang paggawa ng virtual space."

"Really? Kaya mo ba 'yon?" asar ko.

He scoffed, "Wala pa tayong lahat sa kalingkingan ng ten creators of the dimension. Well actually nobody knows who they really are. Pero ang sabi nga sampu ang gumawa ng dimension na 'to."

I nodded. Binalik ko naman ang tingin ko sa screens. Nanlaki naman bigla ang mata ko nang makita si Ruelle na may kalaban-oh, a girl from I do not know which group.

"Anong nangyari?"

"Well, Ruelle is an Assailant, so she always attacks. Clearly, she doesn't have to power to destroy items, so she'll destroy the enemies instead. In that way, mas magkakaroon siya ng tyansyang manalo," Willyn answered.

"Pero ang rule ay kung sinong makasira ng artifact 'di ba?"

She nodded. "She can win if she is left in the game. The lesser the enemies, the more chances of winning."

Napapikit naman ako nang mariin nang biglang may sumigaw na babae mula sa kabilang team. Her scream echoed in the circle, and all speakers seemed to vibrate. Nang imulat ko ang mata ko, isang babae na dumudugo ang ilong ang bumungad sa screen.

"It's really scary when Ruelle is in the battlefield," ani Willyn. Ngumiwi siya at napailing.

"Anna from Team Atrocity is down!" anunsyo ng host. Nanlaki naman ang mata ng ibang players.

Akala ko ba warm-up game lang 'to? Bakit parang ang seseryoso nila? Jeez. Buti nalang pala hindi ako ang nand'yan.

The camera moved to Ruelle's face and she smirked devilishly as she looked straight at the camera. Other peculiars cheered for her, and some even made banners. Ah, that face! Hindi ko pa nga rin alam kung kakampi ba talaga siya or kalaban! Ni hindi niya nga inexplain sa'kin kung bakit niya ako inattack sa underground cities.

Hanggang ngayon pala hindi ko pa rin alam ang dahilan.

Tumakbo naman si Ruelle pababa sa unang palapag ng academy. She jumped down to be faster, and then she met another enemy player.

"Hello, love!" bati niya. Nanlaki naman ang mata ng lalaki. The crowd cheered for Ruelle again.

In just a snap of her fingers, the enemy already went down. Napakurap naman ako nang ilang beses. Tumawa naman bigla si Kaiden.

"Warm-up palang, ah," sambit niya. "She's aiming for the weaks first. Masyado siyang nakakagulat kaya hindi na sila nakakagawa ng defense moves. Her power works more if the enemy is surprised. Tsk."

"Really?" tanong ko.

"John from Team Feral is down! That leaves seven players left to destroy the artifact."

Ruelle ran again and jumped up to the floors. Takbo lang siya nang takbo at tinitingnan niya ang paligid upang maghanap ng ilan pang kalaban.

"I surprisingly think she can win this one," sabi ni Astraeus. Tumango naman si Sirius, "The winning point also got higher. It's twenty points for the winning team now. Biglang nagdoble."

"Luh, oo nga 'no?" sambit ni Kaiden. He laughed, "Hindi na ata warm-up game-"

A scream from the players silenced us. Bigla ring nag-glitch ang mga screens, at hindi namin makita nang maayos ang mga nangyayari.

"Si Zero na naman ba?" biglang anas ni Willyn.

I gaped my mouth open. Zero is in the game, so it's really possible that it is him glitching everything. But how does he do the hacking anyway?

"Another Orphic system error," nahihiyang tawa ng host. He looked worried and anxious. Bigla ring nag-iba ang background music. It became a deep gloomy song, with a lot of pauses.
Everyone looked serious now. Muli na namang napuno ng zeroes ang screen, then after a while, black out.

"What happened?"

The circle plunges into darkness. Startled shouts come from the audience. Over the chaos, the announcers try to maintain some semblance of order. “Everyone stay in your seats,” the host says, cheerful this time. “It looks like we have a temporary malfunction, but it will soon be fixed.”

Narinig ko ang malakas nilang paghinga. Isang malakas na kulog naman ang nakapagpabalikwas sa'kin.

A bright lightning flashed upon the Orphic circle, and the sound returned to normal. The screen slowly regained colors too. Nawala na ang mga zeroes.
Everyone gasped upon the sight of Ruelle. Her platinum blonde hair was drenched in red, and her red eyes bled. Nanginig naman ako. She was down in the ground, like she fell.

Did you do this, Zero?

Hindi ko naman narinig ang sagot ni Zero, ngunit narinig ko ang malakas niyang paghinga sa utak ko. He exhaled loudly. Silence. Silence meant yes.

"A-anong nangyari?" takot na tanong ni Willyn. Everyone started gossiping. "The scream earlier was from Ruelle?"

I could feel the tension between my team. Napalunok nalang ako, at nagtiim-bagang. Mas lalo akong nagtataka sa mga nangyayari.

Ano ba talagang balak mo, Zero?

Kaagad namang dinalo si Ruelle ng mga healers at medics. Natigil panandili ang laro. Everyone was in shock.

President Ephraim took over the microphone. "We are very sorry for the system error. However, the game shall continue again in ten minutes."

Tinaas naman agad ni Kaiden ang kaniyang kamay. President Ephraim looked at him and nodded.

"Are we eliminated? Hindi po ba unfair 'yon 'pagkat nangyari lamang 'yan kay Ruelle dahil sa error? Hindi po ba?" asik ni Kaiden.

President Ephraim looked at me, then he smiled a little. "Yes, of course. Your wild card shall be used."

"Ha?" kaagad kong react. Lumakas naman ang kabog ng puso ko.

"It is stated in the rules that any severely injured will be replaced by the wild card. Since it is our fault, we will give you the chance to enter your wild card."

Napasinghap naman ako. Napatingin ako sa points na matatanggap at biglang naging 50 points na 'yon.

"We assure you that no more errors will be made," mariing wika ni Sir Ephraim.
May lumapit naman sa'king isang maliit na circular platform. Napatingin ako sa mga kasamahan ko nang nagpapaawa.

"You can not go if you do not want to," Kaiden said. Tumingin naman akong muli sa screen. Si Zero na ngayon ang nakita ko. Nakapikit pa rin ang kaniyang mata.

Maybe... maybe I should go and participate in this game.

Kung si Zero nga talaga ang may gawa ng error, maaaring hindi niya na ulit gawin 'yon dahil kabilang na ako sa laro.

Well that is if he really cares for me, and if he cannot hurt me.

Without further ado, I jumped into the small platform. Light engulfed over me, and then I was sent to the virtual space.

"Why are you here, mi amore?" narinig kong wika ni Zero sa utak ko.

Dahil sa ginawa mo.

The Orphic Secret
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

Thank you for reading!