A Shadow of an Illusion

Chapter 22

Warning: Mentions of death, killing, and violence.

Third Person’s Point of View

Dahil sa napagkasunduan nina Hemera at Fawn, nagsimula silang mag-imbestiga kung nasaan ang Emperor ngayon. Wala ni isa sa mga kawal o ‘di kaya naman ay sa mga maid ang naka-aalam kung nasaan si Erebus.

Mukhang ginawa nitong sikreto ang pag-alis nito na naging dahilan para maghinala ang dalawang magkasama kung ano ang ginagawa ni Erebus sa labas ng palasyo.

“Nagsisimula na kaya siyang mag-plano para masakop ang huling kingdom?” tanong ni Hemera kay Fawn nang may pag-aalala. “Come think of it. This is the first time that he was gone for a long time in the palace. Don’t you think that’s suspiscious?”

Fawn got silent because of what Hemera had said. Sa isip niya, malaki ang posibilidad na gano‘n nga ang nangyayari kaya wala si Erebus sa loob ng palasyo at wala kahit isa ang may alam kung nasaan siya ngayon. So is Grim, the right hand man of Erebus, his butler, kahit ito ay wala sa loob ng palasyo ngayon at kasama ni Erebus.

“I don’t want to think about it, Hemera, but I know that what you just said might be true,” sabi ni Fawn na naging dahilan para mas lalong mag-alala si Hemera.

Hindi niya maiwasang hindi matakot dahil dito. Ilang taon na rin magmula no‘ng sinakop ni Erebus ang kingdom nila at alam niya ang sakit at takot na mararamdaman ng mga tao sa Sky Empire dahil kay Erebus. Alam na alam niya dahil naka-tatak na sa isip niya ang nangyari no‘ng araw na nawala sa kaniya ang lahat.

“But we have to remove that in our mind right now,” sabi ni Fawn kaya naman napa-tingin muli sa kaniya si Hemera. “Wala naman tayong magagawa kung sasakupin niya na ang Sky Empire. Alam kong alam na alam mo na hinding-hindi natin siya matatalo kahit na lumaban pa ang lahat ng tao sa Sky Empire.”

Hemera looked down as she silently agreed to what Fawn had said. Tama ito. Wala silang magagawa kung sasakupin na nga ni Erebus ang Sky Empire. They are still weak, and even if the Royal Family and everyone in that kingdom will fight him, they will not be able to defeat them. Mas lalo lang lalala ang sitwasiyon kung ganoon nga ang mangyayari. Mas maraming tao pa ang mamamatay kung gagawin nila ‘yon.

Fawn patted Hemera’s head when he noticed that she became silent then he said, “That’s why we needed to save Lady Menrui.” Hemera looked at him then he smiled at her so that she could stop worrying about it. “And the only way to do it is to find Erebus and make him save her.”

Napa-buntong hininga naman si Hemera dahil sa sinabi ni Fawn. “Wala na bang ibang paraan para iligtas si Lady Menrui?” tanong niya kay Fawn.

Hindi niya gustong isipin na si Erebus ang magliligtas sa Lady. Maraming posibilidad na maaaring mangyari kapag si Erebus ang nagligtas dito. And one of it is Menrui falling for Erebus even more than before.

At hindi niya kayang isipin kung ano ang mangyayari kapag nangyari iyon. Gulung-gulo na ang Lady dahil lang nalaman niya na nagka-gusto na siya kay Erebus, at alam niyang mas lalo itong maguguluhan kung mas lalo itong mahuhulog sa Emperor.

“We already talked about this, right?” tanong ni Fawn sa kaniya kaya naman tumango siya.

“I know but...” She was contemplating if she will tell him or not, but in the end, she did not have enought courage to tell him the real reason why she was so against this plan.

“We will make him save her, and at the same time, we might have a chance to know what he is doing these past few days,” Fawn started to explain. “Don’t you think it’s a win-win situation for our side?”

Dahil sa sinabi ni Fawn, napa-buntong hininga muli si Hemera dahil aminin man niya o hindi, alam niyang tama ito. Mas pabor sa kanila kung mangyayari man ang lahat ng sinabi ni Fawn, pero hindi pa rin nito maiaalis ang pag-aalala ni Hemera para sa Lady.

‘We have to save her though,’ she thought. ‘And I know that we will never have a chance to defeat those ninja.’

Dahil sa naisip niya, napilitan siyang tumango at sumang-ayon sa gustong mangyari ni Fawn. After all, Goddes Menrui is their only hope so that they could stop Erebus from doing something so destructable.

“Don’t you think we need to tell this plan to Helios first?” tanong ni Hemera habang patuloy pa rin silang naglalakad sa tahimik na palasyo. “I mean we need to hear his opinion about this before we move, right?”

Tumingin si Fawn sa kaniya bago ito sumang-ayon sa gusto niyang gawin. After all, they are on the same side so Helios have the right to know about what they are planning to do.

“Alright. Let’s do that. He might also have an idea on where we could find Erebus.” Nagsimula silang tahakin ang direksiyon ng ‘hide out’ nila.

Sa bawat corridor na madadaanan nila, nakaka-kita sila ng mga tauhan ni Erebus, at pati na rin ang mga maid ng palasyo, na wala nang buhay at nakahandusay sa sahig. May ilan rin silang nakitang sugatan habang sinusubukan nilang tulungan ang iba pa nilang mga kasama.

“We should help them later,” bulong ni Hemera kay Fawn at agad naman itong sumang-ayon sa sinabi niya.

“Yeah. We should do that later, but for now, we need to find where Erebus is.” Mas binilisan pa nila ang paglalakad nang sabihin ni Fawn iyon.

In no time, they already arrived to where their hide out is. Of course, they chanted a spell so that no one will notice on what they were about to do because after all, some of Erebus’ eyes inside the palace that survived in the incident earlier might tell the Emperor what they are doing.

“We need to hurry,” sabi ni Hemera matapos niyang mag-enchant ng magic spell. “Hindi ko na makakaya pang suportahan ang spell na ginamit ko kung matatagalan pa tayo. That fight we did earlier already consumed most of my magic.”

Fawn tsked when he heard Hemera said that. “If it is not because of that Emperor’s loyal dogs, hindi mo na sana kailangan pang gumamit ng magic ulit.”

He is clearly worried about Hemera. Kahit naman isa ito sa pinaka malakas na kanang kamay ng Royal Family, alam niyang may hangganan rin ang magic na kaya nitong gamitin. At dahil sa labanan na nangyari kanina sa pagitan nila at ng mga ninja, alam niyang wala nang sapat na magic si Hemera para sa mga bagay na ‘to.

“We cannot do anything about it,” Hemera said as she waved him off. “All we have to do right now is to hurry and tell Helios everything that happened. I know that he has a clue on what happened but we still needed to tell him our plans.”

Tumango lang si Fawn sa kaniya at nagpatuloy nang pumasok sa ‘hide out’ nila. They were immediately greeted by Helios who has a worried look on his face. Though, if someone other than the both of them had seen him right now, that person would probably tell them that he was just stoic and does not show any emotion.

“What happened?” agad na tanong nito nang makita niyang pumasok ang dalawa sa kwarto kung nasaan siya.

Hemera and Fawn sat on the sofa that was located inside and Helios immediately followed the both of them. He could see the wounds on the both of them, and he knew that what happened inside the palace is more sever than he thought.

“We only have a short time left because Hemera is already losing her strength so I will tell this a brief as I could,” sabi ni Fawn kaya agad naman na tumango si Helios sa kaniya.

Fawn started to tell him everything. When the someone invaded the palace, and he found out that it is the ninja of Iga, up until the time that he met Hemera and Menrui, until they fought almost twenty of those ninja, and until the time that they managed to kidnap the Lady.

Napa-buntong hininga si Hemera matapos magkuwento ni Fawn. “Kaya kami naririto. Dahil gusto naming sabihin sa‘yo ang plano namin para mailigtas ang Lady,” sabi niya bago siya tumingin kay Fawn.

The latter only nodded at her as he started to explain their plans. “Dahil alam ko naman na indi natin makakaya kung tayong tatlo ang lalaban sa mga ninja na ‘yon, ”

Helios raised his eyebrows as he asked him, “What is it?”

“We plan to make Erebus save her,” sabi ni Hemera nang diretsahan kay Helios.

Helios curious look was turned into a frown because of what she just said. “Do you think that he will really save Lady Menrui?”

This time, Fawn was the one who answered his question. “I think he will,” sabi niya bago siya tumingin kay Hemera. “Hindi naman siguro lingid sa kaalaman mo kung paano tignan ng Emperor si Lady Menrui hindi ba?”

Hemera just looked away from him as she said, “You noticed it too?”

Pero bago pa man makapagsalit muli si Fawn, naunahan na siya ni Helios. “You mean that he look differently when the Lady is around?” he asked in disbelief.

Dahil hindi siya pwedeng makita ng kahit sino sa loob ng palasyo, hindi siya pwedeng pumunta sa loob nito kaya naman hindi niya alam ang nangyayari sa palasyo ni Erebus kung walang magsasabi sa kaniya.

“Yeah. We only noticed that days before Erebus had gone somewhere,” sabi ni Hemera habang naka-tingin nang diretso kay Helios.

Napa-isip naman si Helios pagkatapos no‘n bago siya tumango at sumang-ayon sa gustong mangyari ni Fawn. “Yeah. We can use Erebus so that he will save the Lady if what you are saying is true.”

“Because that is really the truth!” Pagpupumilit ni Fawn pero hindi siya pinansin ni Helios dahil nagpatuloy lang ito sa pagsasalita.

“But we have a problem,” Helios said while he was still in deep thought and the other two were just listening to him intently. “Hindi natin alam kung nasaan siya.” Then he looked at the two people he was talking to.

Sabay na napa-tango at napa-buntong hininga sina Fawn at Hemera. “That’s one of the reason why we came here,” sabi ni Hemera and somehow, her voice is getting weaker and weaker as time goes by. “We thought that you will know where he is but it looks like you were clueless too.”

“Yeah. I never really pay attention to him. Ang nasa isip ko lang nitong mga nakaraang araw ay ‘yong mga impormasyon na kailangan nating makuha, kaya naman hindi ko talaga alam kung nasaan nga ba si Erebus nitong mga nakaraang araw,” sabi ni Helios at napa-buntong hininga muli ang mga kasama niya dahil ganoon rin ang ginagawa nila nitong mga nakaraang araw.

Nag-isip muli ng paraan si Helios para malaman nila kung nasaan si Erebus, at makalipas ang ilan pang mga minuto, he snapped his fingers as if he remembered something. The other two looked at him curiously and they could see the happy look on Helios’ face as if he figured out something.

“Do you remember Veer? One of the previous knight of Wind Domain?” tanong niya sa dalawang kasama niya.

Umakto namang nag-iisip sina Fawn at Hemera bago ito tumango. “Yeah. What about him?”

“He is one of the most trusted men of Erebus now, right?” tanong ni Helios kaya naman sabay ulit silang tumango.

“Yeah,” sabi ni Fawn na para bang naiirita na siya dahil nagpapaligoy-ligoy pa si Helios at ayaw pang sabihin ang naisip niya. “Now, could you please already tell us what you just thought? Hemera is losing her strength.”

Dahil sa sinabi ni Fawn, nag-aalalang tumingin siya kay Hemera pero nag-sign ito na okay pa naman siya. Pero dahil alam niyang mas lalo lang mahihirapan si Hemera kapag hindi pa niya sasabihin ang plano niya, sinabi na niya nang diretsahan ang gusto niyang sabihin.

“You can ask him about Erebus’ whereabouts,” he said that made the other two frown.

“Do you think that he will really tell us where he is?” Hemera asked with a doubt in her voice. “Just like what you had said earlier, he is now loyal to Erebus. Do you think that he will really tell us where he is?”

Agad namang tumango si Helios at nagsimulang ipaliwanag ang nasa isip niya. “The whole palace is desperate right now because of too much damage that the palace had experienced. Kung sasabihin niya sa kaniya na kayo na ang magsasabi sa Emperor kung ano ang nangyari, siguradong papayag agad ‘yon dahil nga kailangan na kailangan na nila ng tulong ng kanilang Emperor,” sabi niya at agad namang sumang-ayon ang dalawang kasama niya.

“Yeah. We should do that,” sabi ni Fawn at nagsimula nang tumayo.

Sumunod naman si Hemera sa kaniya bago nito sinabi kay Helios, “We will inform you once the Lady is already safe.”

Tumango lang si Helios sa kaniya bago ito ngumiti. “You should rest after this. You really look so pale right now,” sabi nito sa kaniya kaya naman tumango na lang siya.

Pagkapasok pa lang nila sa palasyo, agad na nilang hinanap si Veer, ang taong ayon kay Helios ay may posibilidad na may alam kung nasaan si Erebus.

Luckily, they do not have to look for every single room inside the palace because they already seen him inside the grand hall healing the knights and maids that managed to survive the incident earlier.

Agad silang napansin nito kaya naman lumapit ito sa kanila. “Where the h*ll the two of you had gone to?” inis nitong tanong sa kanila. “Kailangan kayo ng buong palasyo para gamutin ang mga sugatan pero basta-basta na lang kayong nawala,” dagdag pa nito.

Hindi na lang iyon pinansin nina Hemera at nagsimulang sabihin sa kaniya kung ano ang gusto nilang gawin. “We will tell the Emperor what happened in this palace,” sabi ni Fawn sa kaniya nang diretsahan.

“What?” Veer asked as he tried to process what he said.

“Wala pang nakakapagsabi sa kaniya hindi ba?” tanong ni Fawn sa kaniya kaya naman tumango si Veer sa kaniya. “Then I should tell him what happened. After all, Lady Menrui got kidn*pped by the invaders.”

Dahil sa sinabi na ‘yon ni Fawn, nanlaki ang mata ni Veer na para bang bigla siyang natakot. “Is that really the truth?” he asked.

Tumango si Fawn sa kaniya habang patuloy pa ring pinipilit si Veer na payagan sila na sila ang magsasabi at sabihin sa kanila kung nasaan ang Emperor. “Yeah. That’s why we volunteered to tell him what happened.”

Agad namang tumango si Veer bilang pagpayag sa gusto niyang mangyari, dahil na rin sa takot na baka siya ang pagbuntunan ng galit ng Emperor kapag siya ang nagsabi rito.

“Alright. I will tell you where he is so that you can tell him what happened, but in one condition,” sabi niya kaya nagkatinginan sina Hemera at Fawn.

Tumango ito sa isa’t-isa bago nagtanong ulit kay Veer. “What is it?”

“Ikaw lang ang magsasabi sa kaniya kung ano ang nangyari,” sabi ni Veer habang naka-tingin kay Fawn.

Nagkatinginan ulit ang dalawa at nag-usap sa pamamagitan ng kanilang mga mata. Tumango si Hemera bilang pagsang-ayon sa gustong mangyari ni Veer.

“Alright. Now, tell me where I could find the Emperor,” sabi ulit ni Fawn sa kaniya.

Without a second though, Veer started to explain where he could find the Emperor. Nalaman nila na nasa border ito ng Wind Domain at Sky Empire ang Emperor, dahil ayon dito, may kailangan itong ayusin roon kaya isang linggo nang wala ito sa loob ng palasyo.

Nagkatinginan muli sina Hemera matapos sabihin ni Veer kung nasaan ang Emperor. Mukhang may binabalak nga ito kaya ito naroroon sa border ng dalawang kingdom. At mukhang kailangan nga nilang malaman kung ano ang ginagawa ng Emperor doon para na rin maging handa sa kung ano man ang mangyayari.

“Then I will go now.” Iyon lang ang sinabi ni Fawn bago siya tuluyang umalis ng kwartong iyon para pumunta kung nasaan si Erebus.

Erebus’ palace was located at Wind Domain so he was sure that he could get at the borders of the two kingdom in no time. At dahil kailangan niyang magmadali para mailigtas agad ang Goddess, napag-desisyunan niya na gumamit ng isa sa mga kabayo sa palasyo.

Without looking back at the palace, he immediately hurried to where Erebus is so that their plan could be fulfilled.

In no time, he already got to the borders of the two kingdom and he immediately saw Erebus. Mukhang nagtataka ito kung bakit siya nanroroon, pero hindi niya iyon pinansin at lumapit agad siya roon.

“What do you want?” Erebus asked as he recognized the person in front of him. Isa iyon sa mga tauhan niya.

Fawn kneeled in front of him, even if he doesn’t want to, as he bowed down and said, “Someone invaded the palace and the lady got kidn*pped by the invaders.”

Worry immediately creeped into Erebus’ heart because of what Fawn had said to him. “Who are the invaders? And where are they?” he asked hurriedly, worried that something might have happened to his Menrui.

“It is the ninja of Iga and I think that they are already on their village with the Lady as we talk,” Fawn said while still kneeling in front of Erebus.

Erebus did not even think twice nor think if what Fawn is saying was true, when he immediately left the scene right after he instructed Grim to be the one who will be in charge while he was gone. Then he immediately went to save Menrui.

“I will come and save you, Menrui,” he said as he ride the horse that Grim readied for him.