The Child of Prophecy

Three

Nakaupo kami sa isang mahabang lamesa. Nasa tabi ko si Sethysus at pinapalibutan kami ng mga duende o elves. Nakahinga ako nang maluwag nang dumating si Agus.

"Welcome to Zero Town." Agus spread his arms as he said those words. "You need no fret about time here, lady."

I felt something weird about Agus. Tila may bumubulong sa akin na tumakbo na. A warning. Danger.

"You control time here," I commented. "How about food? I am starving."

Inilibot ko ang aking paningin. Nasa isang kainan kami. Maraming mga mesa na gawa sa kawayan ang nakakalat, habang may isang maliit na bahay naman ang nakatayo hindi kalayuan. Mula roon ay lumalabas ang maliliit na mga tao na may dala-dalang mga pagkain.

Iba't ibang uri ng halimaw ang nakikita ko sa bawat mesa. Iilan lamang ang magians na kumakain dito. I wonder why. Anong uri ng pagkain kaya ang ibinebenta rito?

Ah, right. I have read something about Zero Town—lair, forge, labyrinth, you name it—sa pagkakaroon nila ng curse. I did not know the story, ngunit matagal na panahon na rin nang huling may magian na isinilang dito. Nang dahil sa curse, lahat ng ipinapanganak ng mga residente sa Zero Town ay mga halimaw.

"Do not worry, we will leave after dinner," Sethysus promised.

"I can't stay any longer," bulong ko pabalik. "How do we get out of here?"

"I do not know. Pangalawang beses ko palang dito."

I could feel a lump forming at my throat. Tinignan ko ang mga elf na nakapalibot sa amin.

"Can we trust these little guys?" tanong ko ulit. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Well... I trust Agus."

"You do not sound so sure."

Hinarap kong muli ang mga elf. "Well, I feel like going home for now. What about a breakfast tomorrow?" I offered.

Sinubukan kong tumayo, ngunit wala pang isang segundo ay naramdaman ko na ang matalim na bagay sa leeg ko.

Tinignan ko ang duende na tinutukan ako ng patalim. Nakatayo siya sa mesa at matalim ang tingin sa akin.

"Oh, Agus." I smiled at him. "Wonderful. That is the spirit! I like that."

Sinakmal ko ang talim ng kanyang punyal at inilayo ito sa leeg ko. Ramdam ko ang pag-agos ng dugo sa palad ko.

"Cute little thing," I muttered. "What do you want?"

"Your blood, lady," the other elf said. "A big sacrifice for the gods. To stop the curse."

"Oh." I blinked twice. Binitawan ko ang punyal ni Agus na bahagyang binalot ng aking dugo. "Blood? I've got plenty here. You can keep that."

"We're not here to play, young lady—" a woman elf growled.

"I am not here to donate blood, either."

"—a big sacrifice! That amount would not suffice!"

Do they think I am their savior or something? Tuluyan na akong tumayo at inilabas ang aking armas. Otomatiko na tumapat sa akin ang punyal ng lahat ng duendeng nakapalibot sa akin.

"What is this, Agus?" Sethysus asked, tila ba ngayon lang rumehistro sa utak niya ang mga pangyayari. Muntik ko nang makalimutan na nandito siya.

"I am sorry, child. She is the only key," sinserong wika ni Agus. "The curse god— he wants her."

"The curse what?" singit ko.

"I am sorry, child of the sea. Your life will end here." Muling itinutok ni Agus ang kanyang punyal sa aking leeg, ngunit sa pagkakataong ito ay handa na niyang kitilin ang buhay ko.

"No!" sigaw ni Sethysus.

Sa gilid ng aking mga mata, nakita ko kung paano siya biglang maglaho. Pinalibutan kami ng malakas na hangin. Ang ibang mga elf ay tinangay nito; nagkagulo na rin ang ibang nasa kabilang mesa.

Sethysus transformed into a wind breeze. Unfortunately, I could not do stuff like that.

"Sethysus! Do not do this!" sigaw ni Agus na nakatingala, pilit sinusundan ng tingin si Sethysus na palipad-lipad paikot sa amin. Punong-puno ng pangamba at lungkot ang mukha ng duende.

"It is okay, Sethysus," wika ko. "A regular strike—"

May isang punyal na lumipad patungo sa direksyon ko tumama sa leeg ko. Agus was totally in awe as he saw my neck turned into liquid form. The dagger dropped and my body part came back to normal, solid form.

"—would not kill me." I finished. "I am a sea child. I can do stuff like that, since I am made of liquid."

Nabitawan ni Agus ang kanyang punyal.

"Sethysus, let's leave," I said.

Naramdaman ko na lamang ang pag-angat ng aking katawan. I feel weightless. I was flying. Unti-unting naghugis tao si Sethysus. Nagpatuloy siya sa paglipad habang hawak ang aking bewang.

"Sorry for the trouble," he said.

"I was born to seek trouble," I kid, which made him laugh that his eyes shrunk. "May I ask where we are going now?"

"I do not know, really. The labyrinth is quite tricky. We cannot leave here, unless..." His voice faltered. I realized that he was staring at me, as if sending me the message through eye contact.

"We force our way out?" I guessed.

"Bingo. I am counting on you, Lierre." I blinked thrice. It was the first time that he called me by my name.

"Me?" I was really flustered. His arm around my waist was not helping at all. "I mean, yes. You can count on me, sure."

"I do not trust the earth right now, so we cannot land. Is there something you can do?" His voice is somewhat calm.

"Well, I have an idea, but I am not sure if it will work. I haven't tried this technique before. I have to try, alright, but too risky." I will die, pretty boy, I wanted to add.

"Risky does not mean really bad, right?" Hindi ako sumagot. "I will try to help. What can we create if we combine water and wind?" I felt his warm breath on my cheeks.

"A storm? Hurricane?" I muttered. "Let's stick with my idea. I can summon a sea dragon, but to do that, I need a massive amount of water."

"That's it," seryosong sambit niya. Muli siyang umabante, lumulutang pa rin kami sa loob ng kweba sa ilalim ng lupa. "Mararamdaman mo kapag may malapit na tubig sa 'yo, right?"

"Yes. Wait . . . a creek!" Nararamdaman ko ang tubig hindi kalayuan sa amin. "A few miles away."

Dahan-dahang umabante si Sethysus. Ipinikit ko ang aking mga mata upang pakiramdaman.

"Stop." Iminulat ko ang aking mga mata. "Sa itaas. I think I got this."

Inilahad ko ang kamay ko. Unti-unting nabubuo ang isang mahabang armas sa palad ko. When it materialized, I wounded my palm on its head. My blood splattered all over its shaft.

"Please connect me to the sea monster, Lusca. Summon her!” I ordered on my spiritual weapon. Kapansin-pansin ang lalong paghaba ng aking armas. Itinaas ko ito at ibinaon ang talim nito sa lupa.

The earth trembled that the rocks started crumbling. I felt Sethysus' arms around me, trying to shield me from the collapsing cave. My vision suddenly became blurry; my head ached, I felt like the world is whirling.

Before I finally blacked out, I heard a loud screech of Lusca above us.