Chapter 31

nightmare
​

Nakabalik ako sa Divine Camp at kinalma ko ang sarili ko matapos ang nangyari. I went to our cabin and saw Ryleigh sitting on the bed. We looked at each other, mentally understanding what we both wanted to do. We needed to go to the Capital.
 
“Let’s go,” we simultaneously said.
 
Agad akong nag-ayos at kumuha ng supplies. I packed a few bottled water and food, spare clothes and a knife. The train stations stopped operating after the attacks on the village and travelling through air was proven to be dangerous so we opted to walk, which would take us for about one and a half day. After that, we both quietly left the cabin and headed to the forest.
 
Noong nasa gubat na kami ay agad naming nakita ang ilang silvanias. We avoided them to not cause any quake, especially this time when they were easily agitated because of what was happening.
 
“By the way,” biglang sabi niya kaya napatingin ako sa kanya. “I owe you one.”
 
Agad naman siyang naglakad nang mabilis pagkasabi no’n. Was that his way of saying thank you for what I did to him? Oh, well.
 
Nakarating kami sa pusod ng gubat kung saan malayo na ang Divine Camp.
 
“The sun’s setting down,” sabi niya at doon ko lang napansin na dumidilim na pala. Hindi pa man din kami nakakalayo ay kailangan na naming huminto sa paglalakad. “Let’s find a place to stay for the night.”
 
We found a large burrow below a hill and we settled inside it. He easily made a fire using our resources while I prepared our makeshift beds. I plopped on the ground as fatigue washed over me. Hindi ko alam kung bakit sobrang pagod ako ngayon. Wala naman akong ginawa maliban sa nangyari kanina.
 
“Are you okay? You look pale,” Ryleigh said.

“Y-yeah. I guess.”
 
Sumandal ako sa malaking bato sa loob para makapagpahinga, pero hindi ko namalayan na naka-idlip na pala ako.
 
***
 
“Reika . . .” the girl’s voice in my head called.

“Where are you?”

“You shouldn’t have look into his eyes.”

“Whose eyes?”

“Ignus.”
 
After the voice said that name, the image of a middle-aged guy that I saw earlier came to view. But this time, he was not looking at me. There was someone in front of me, but I couldn’t see her because of the blinding light.
 
“I finally found you, Princess,” Ignus said with a smug.
 
Princess? Was he talking about the girl in front of me? The voice that lived in my mind?
 
“Where is the seal? Give it to me before I destroy this world,” he said with authority and I flinched by the intensity of his words.

“I won’t allow you to destroy it again,” the girl said. “What happened before was alreadyenough.”
 
Hindi ko alam pero kapag naririnig ko ang boses ng babae ay laging gumagaan ang pakiramdam ko. It felt like she was looking after me. That she was always beside me. I wonder who she was . . .
 
“Just because some of your precious Spirit Masters casted a cursed spell on me doesn’t mean I can’t do that,” he said in a conceited tone. “How about you, Princess? What can you do? Nothing—!”
 
All of a sudden, a burst of spirit particles blinded Ignus. He grunted as he stepped back, trying to avoid the massive explosion of light.
 
“Don’t speak ill of them,” the girl snapped back. “It’s precisely because of them that you can’t even use your full power. They have sacrificed their lives to stop you from your evil deeds, and I won’t allow their death to be in vain.”

“D-damn you! Wait until I get the seal from you. I’ll kill you and your vessel!”
 
The girl went silent and slightly turned her head in my direction. However, I wasn’t able to see her face.
 
“So you have found her,” she pointed out.

“She may not look like you, but she has the same aura as you.”
 
The man roared with laughter and jeered at the girl. Suddenly, a column of fire enveloped him . . . no, not just him. The whole world was on fire.
 
“Now I know why I can’t find the seal for the last two decades,” he remarked. “It wasn’t in the Capital in the first place. What a way to trick me, Princess.”
 
‘Reika, you need to wake up. Don’t let his words confuse you.’
 
Napatingin ako sa likod ng babae at hindi ko alam kung ako lang ba ang nakakarinig sa boses niya.
 
‘But . . .’ My voice faltered.

‘I don’t want him to see you here.’

‘Then . . . am I really . . .’
 
After seeing Ignus in flesh a while ago, I felt something different. It seemed like he knew me and the terror I felt was familiar. And based from their conversation, the vessel they were talking about . . .
 
‘Reika. Please.’

‘Then promise me that you will answer all my questions when I wake up.’

‘I promise.’
 
Huminga ako nang malalim at pinilit kong magising pero nang magsalita ulit si Ignus ay napatigil ako.
 
“I’ll find your vessel and I will kill her in front of you,” he threatened. “Just like what I did to your puny servants. What were their names? Ah. I remember . . . Ramon and Kass.”
 
***
 
My emotions came in waves as my eyes fluttered open. When I saw the fire crackling beside me, my body started to convulse. Ignus? Did he come to kill me?
 
“Reika?”

“No. No. Don’t touch me!”

“Reika, what’s happening”

“No! Please, no!”

“Reika!” Bigla ko namang naramdaman na may humawak sa mukha ko. “Look at me,” a voice whispered and Ryleigh’s face came into sight. 

“R-Ryleigh . . .” I called between my shallow breaths.

“Calm down,” he softly said. “Breathe slowly. Relax your muscles.”
 
Slowly, I followed his words and I managed to keep myself from shaking. Doon ko lang naramdaman na halos maligo na ako sa pawis at hindi na rin ako makapagsalita dahil sa uhaw. Binigyan niya ako ng isang bote ng tubig at matapos kong uminom ay umayos ako ng upo.
 
“Are you okay now?” he asked.

“Y-yeah. Thank you.”

“What happened?”

​“I had a nightmare,” I confessed.
 
I told him everything, expect the fact that the girl spoke to me directly, because I couldn’t bear everything alone anymore.
 
“You mean you saw Ignus? Kanina? Pati sa panaginip mo?”
 
Tumango ako at hindi ko na napigilan ang emosyon ko matapos kong maalala ang huli niyang sinabi.
 
He killed my parents, and it was because of that immortality seal. Now I understand what the Divine General meant when he said that I should be ready to hear the truth. But why them? And what was the real deal between me and that immortality seal? I wanted to know the truth.
 
“The prophecy,” Ryleigh mentioned. “Do you think—! Are you crying?”

​“I’m not!” sigaw ko at humarap ako sa kabilang side habang pinupunusan ang luha sa pisngi ko.
 
Tumahimik lang siya at tumalikod din sa akin. Ilang minuto kaming hindi nag-usap dahil doon pero nawala rin ang tension sa pagitan namin nang bigla na lang lumindol nang sobrang lakas. I got thrown out of balance but he managed to pull me before I fall. We hastily picked out things and ran out of the burrow. Pagkaalis na pagkaalis namin ay gumuho ang lupa sa itaas at natabunan ang kweba kung saan kami nagtatago kanina.
 
Tumakbo kami palayo pero nandilim ang paningin ko at nanghina ang mga binti ko. Damn it, why now?
 
“W-wait . . .”

“Shit!”
 
Tuluyan nang nawalan ng lakas ang mga binti at tuhod ko. I thought I would fall on the ground but my body fell on his arms.
 
“You’re too hot,” he said, his hand resting on my forehead. “This isn’t normal.”
 
He carried me on his back and I rested my head on his shoulder. I felt sick and weak. My insides seemed burning. I just drank water earlier but my throat felt dry again.
 
“Reika.”
 
Ah. It was her.
 
“T-tell m-me . . .”

“What?” tanong ni Ryleigh pero hindi na ako nakapagsalita. All I wanted was to hear her voice again.

“This is bad. The Limiter is breaking at a faster rate. Go to the Capital and look for the Book of Prophecies. You will find your answer there.”

“B-book of Prophecies . . .”

“Yes. This is the right time for you to know the truth, or the world will turn into hell.”

“H-hell . . .”

​“Come, Reika. Come and unleash your power.”

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