A Shadow of an Illusion

Chapter 15

After that talk that we had on his room, many questions flood on my mind and I could not find any answer for that. It seems like I am trying to process everything yet I could not totally figure out what he said.

Sinabi niya na ginagawa niya iyon para sa ama niya na pinatay ng isa sa Royal Family noon, pero kailangan bang humantong sa ganito ang lahat dahil sa gusto niyang maipag-higanti ang ama niya? Kailangan bang humantong sa point na gusto niyang sakupin ang buong mundo dahil lang sa dahilan na iyon?

Or is it really the only reason why he did that? Because for me, something was off when he said that. It feels like there was an unexplainable thing behind those word that I could not really figure out. Kaya nga hanggang ngayon, kahit na lumipas na ang ilang araw, patuloy ko pa ring iniisip ang mga sinabi niya no‘ng araw na ‘yon.

Anyway, I managed to stop him from burning down the village, so I guess that this time, it is a win for my side. Though I have to be cautious because I know, anytime soon, Erebus might change his decisions. After all, I still could not figure out how his mind works.

Kahit na sabihin pa ng iba, o kahit na sabihin pa ng utak ko, na ibang side ng Erebus ang nakita ko no‘ng araw na sinabi niyang ang pagpatay sa ama niya ang dahilan, alam kong hindi mababago no‘n ang mga bagay na nagawa niya at balak niyang gawin. But my mind was still going back on that statement that he told me.

“It was because of his father, huh?” I mumbled to myself as I stared at the window of my room.

Ilang araw na rin akong namamalagi rito sa loob ng kwarto ko at lumalabas lang ako sa tuwing gusto ko lang dahil nitong mga nakaraang araw, hindi pumupunta si Erebus sa akin o ‘di kaya naman ay ang mga tauhan niya para utusan ako sa gustong ipagawa ni Erebus sa akin, which is I foudnd it odd.

I mean Erebus was always like ‘don’t do that,’ and ‘just follow what I say’ type of person towards me, and this kind of treatment is somewhat odd for me, and for himself.

Though I never complain because of that. After all, nagagawa ko na ang mga sunod na hakbang sa plano namin dahil walang matang naka-sunod sa akin, at walang Erebus na laging kino-control ang bawat galaw ko.

I can also contact Hemera and Fawn without anyone noticing it which I am really thankful for because our plan is going so smoothly. Though sometimes, my heart is uneasy because it felt like something was wrong and this is all too easy for us, but I always tried to remove that thought from my mind because I already have too many thoughts running on my mind right now, at kasama na roon ang pag-uusap namin ni Erebus no‘ng nakaraan.

Napa-buntong hininga ako nang maalala ko na naman ‘yon. I really have been trying to figure out everything that he say, but my mind is blank and could not think of anything.

I sighed again as I unconsciously mumbled to myself, “Sometimes I am asking myself if I am really intelligent like what they say or not.”

“You know, you have been staring in that window for almost an hour now, and now, you are talking to yourself,” sabi ng taong hindi ko namalayang nasa loob pala ng kwarto ko.

Tinignan ko ang direksiyon no‘ng nagsalita at hindi na ako nagulat na si Hemera ‘yon. These past few days, Hemera was the only one who was allowed to go inside of my room, as what Erebus had instructed them to do.

Siya lang rin ang nakaka-usap ko nitong mga nakaraang araw na hindi related sa plano namin. Hindi naman ako nagre-reklamo dahil lagi siyang nakikinig sa akin kahit na alam kong walang kwenta minsan ang mga sinasabi ko.

I sighed again for the third time that day as I turned at the direction of the window again to continue my oh so stressful thinking.

“Alam mo, napapansin ko na parang lagi kang may iniisip nitong nakaraang araw.” Narinig kong sabi ni Hemera pero hindi ko siya pinansin.

I don’t have much energy to do so. Dahil sa mga iniisip ko nitong mga nakaraang araw, feeling ko nauubusan ako ng energy kahit na ang ginagawa ko lang naman ay ang mag-isip nang mag-isip.

“And for you to stop overthinking things, I have ways,” sabi niya na nakakuha ng atensiyon ko.

I looked at her curiosly because I really wanted to remove this things on my mind even though it felt like it won’t be removed on my mind any time soon. Because after all, I have thinking of this for days and I could not seem to figure anything out.

“What is it?” tanong ko sa kaniya.

“You should go out of the palace. When I mean out, really out of this palace and explore the village that was near.” She smiled at me after she said that.

Napa-buntong hininga ulit ako dahil sa sinabi niya. My hopes dropped because of what she said. “Para namang gano‘ng kadali lang para sa akin na lumabas ng palasyong ‘to,” I told her in my defeated voice.

Kahit na wala nang nagmamatyag sa akin, at wala nang nasunod pa sa bawat galaw ko, hindi pa rin ako pinapayagan ni Erebus na lumabas ng palasyo. At hanggang ngayon, hindi ko maisip kung bakit hindi niya ako pina-payagan kahit na hindi ko naman planong takasan siya kapag naka-labas ako rito.

After all, he might do something horrible again, and I could not let him do that. Never. Kaya nga hindi na rin ako nagtangkang gawin ‘yon kahit na gustung-gusto ko.

Inilagay niya ang mga kamay niya sa balikat ko kaya napa-tingin ulit ako sa gawi niya. She has this huge smile on her face as if she will tell me a great news.

“Alam kong hindi mo paniniwalaan agad ‘to,” sabi niya sa akin na nakapag-taas ng kilay ko. “The Emperor allowed you to go out of the palace.”

My curiousness was turned into a frown because of what she said. “Joke ba ‘to? Dahil kung oo, I think I’m out,” I said and I even waved my hands dismissingly at her.

Umiling naman siya na parang sinasabi niya na hindi siya nagsi-sinungaling. “I’m telling the truth,” sabi niya sa akin at ngumiti ulit.

Hindi pa rin ako naniniwala sa kaniya dahil hindi naman talaga kapani-paniwala ang sinasabi niya. Though this is Hemera we are talking to, I could not help but to doubt that Erebus really allowed me to go out of his palace.

Matagal niya na akong hindi pina-payagan kaya bakit niya naisipang payagan ako ngayong lumabas ng palasyo? I could not help but to doubt and think of possible things on my mind, and it looks like Hemera noticed that because she snapped her fingers towards me.

“What?” I asked her as I pouted.

I already gave up of thinking that he will allow me to go out of this palace, and this time around, I really could not help but to be suspiscious of his decisions. I mean, naniniwala ako kay Hemera na sinabi talaga ni Erebus ‘yon dahil siya ang nagsabi sa akin, pero hindi ko talaga maiwasang mag-isip ng kung ano-ano.

“I’m really telling the truth,” pinagdiinan niyang sabi sa akin.

“I know,” I said as I pouted again. “But don’t you think that this is kind of suspiscious?” I asked her.

Napa-buntong hininga naman siya at inalis ang pagkaka-hawak niya sa balikat ko. “I don’t think that this is suspiscious,” sabi niya sa akin.

I frowned at her and told her to keep on talking because I really could not help but to doubt Erebus’ decisions.

“I mean he told me that he assigned a knight to accompany you so this is not really suspiscious,” sabi niya at umaktong nag-iisip.

“Why did you leave that part? That is important,” sabi ko sa kaniya.

“That’s why I told you not to be suspiscious of him,” sabi niya sa akin at tumingin sa itaas na para bang nag-iisip siya. “I think he was just being kind to you? Though I don’t think that the word ‘kind’ is not on his vocabulary.” Tumawa pa siya pagkatapoos no‘n.

Napailing na lang ako sa kaniya at hindi na nagsalita pa. Pagkatapos ng usapan namin no‘ng oras na ‘yon, sinabi ni Hemera na may pupuntang tauhan ni Erebus dito na ‘magbabantay’ sa akin sa labas ng palasyo.

At totoo nga sa sinabi niya, ilang minuto pa magmula no‘ng nag-usap kami ay dumating na ang tauhan ni Erebus na sasama sa akin sa paglabas ko ng palasyo niya.

I looked at Hemera and she just smiled at me as she bowed and said, “I hope that you’ll enjoy this trip, milady.”

I just smiled at her and nodded my head as I told the ‘knight’ to go with me. I smiled to myself as I thought, ‘Yeah I will enjoy this trip.’

Pagka-labas na pagka-labas pa lang namin sa palasyo, agad akong na-excite dahil sa mga nakita ko. Though this might be a normal scenery for the people, this is new to me because I never really appreciate this kind of scene because Erebus decided to lock me up inside the palace.

Hinayaan ko lang ang paa ko na maglakad sa kung saan-saan habang tahimik lang na naka-sunod ang tauhan ni Erebus sa liko ko.

Na-punta ako sa gubat kung saan ako unang napdpad sa mundong ito, and I really got excited to look for everything around me. Para akong isang bata na pinayagang maglaro sa labas sa sobrang kasiyahan ko.

And when I got bored, I sat down on a large rock beside a stream, at nagsimula na namang akong mag-isip. Ang tauhan ni Erebus na kanina ko pa kasama ay tahimik lang na nagmamasid sa bawat galaw ko.

I thought of doing something to get this boredom out of my system, and then I thought of Elysium. Hindi ko pa nga pala nasasabi sa kaniya ang mga nalaman ko sa mundong ito.

This is my chance to contact her because there was no barried in this forest, and I could easily take care of this man who was following me all day. I can give Elysium all the information that I gathered, and we could discuss things.

With that thought in mind, I silently enchanted a spell to have an illusion Menrui again, and then I looked at the man who was following me all day.

Ngumiti ako sa kaniya at nag-enchant muli ng magic spell para ma-distort ang isip niya.

Yeah. I can do things like that, but I never revealed it to anyone because I thought that it has no use for me, but now, I think that it already found its purpose and I could do it to this man right in front of me.

“You will follow that Menrui and you will think that it is me that you are following,” I told him with a smirk on my face. “That Menrui will lead you on the nearest village, and you will tell Erebus that I went there with you so that I could explore what they are doing,” I added.

Mukhang gumana ang magic na ginamit ko sa kaniya dahil tumango ito sa akin bago niya sinundan ang papalayo nang Menrui. And I, on the other hand, just smiled to myself as I watched them go and started to enchant another magic spell to make myself invisible. I even made a small barrier so that no one will notice me.

Pumasok ako sa barrier na ‘yon at sinubukang tawagan si Elysium gamit ang magic ko. I did not even wait long because she already picked it up and I could see frown on her face when she saw me.

“Ano‘ng nangyari sa‘yo at ngayon ka lang tumawag?” pa-singhal niyang sabi sa akin.

I immediately raised my hands as if I surrendered as I told her, “Chill, Elysium. Okay? I will tell you the reason why so try to calm yourself, alright?” I told her with a sheepish smile on my face.

I heard her sighed as she waved her hands as if telling me to go on. And so, I started to tell her why I could not contact her, and that includes my ‘wedding’ with Erebus, and our deals. At habang nagsasalita ako, unti-unting kumukunot ang noo ni Elysium sa bawat salitang sinasabi ko.

Pagkatapos kong sabihin sa kaniya lahat, narinig ko ulit ang pagbuntong hininga niya. “Do you think that you can pull that off? I mean that ‘I don’t know who Erebus is’ part,” she said.

I frowned at her and asked, “Are you not worried about me that I married him without a second thought?”

She just waved her hands at me as she said, “Sabi mo parte ‘yon ng plano mo kaya mo napagdesisyunan na gawin ‘yon, kaya naman may tiwala akong magagawa mo iyon. But to answer my question?” She raised her eyerbrows again.

“I think that I can pulll it off,” I told her then I looked straight into her eyes. “I mean I think I am doing a great job right now, so I guess I am can really act like I don’t know him,” I added.

Tumango-tango lang siya dahil sa sinabi ko bago siya nagtanong ulit. “What about your progress in finding some information about him?”

I sighed and thought of everything that I found out on his palace, and tell everything to Elysium. After all, it was her I am talking to, so I know that I could tell her everything without worry.

Nagsimula ako kina Arson na hanggang ngayon ay naka-kulong pa rin sa dungeon, sa mga nangyari bago ang kasal namin hanggang sa araw na ‘yon, sa biglang pagsulpot ni Grim at pagpapa-kilala niyang siya ang butler ni Erebus, hanggang sa araw na ‘yon kung kailan nagka-sagutan kami ni Erebus at nalaman ko ang isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit niya nagawa ang mga bagay na ‘yon.

“You see, everything that was happening inside of his palace right now is crazy. Like really crazy.” I even showed it to my hands how crazy it is for me. “And those information that I found day by day never failed to shock me and scare me at the same time.”

Tahimik lang na nakikinig sa akin si Elysium hanggang sa matapos kong sabihin sa kaniya lahat ng iyon.

“I think our situation is worse than we thought,” she mumbled after a few minutes of silence and I just agreed with her statement.

And then, I suddenly thought of something. “Something is odd though,” sabi ko habang napaisip muli.

“What is odd?”

“I met this girl, she was one of Erebus’ maid actually, and she was the chosen one by Celeste,” I told her and she straightened her back when I started to speak again. “Isa siyang espiya sa loob ng palasyo, ang totoo na‘n, tatlo silang espiya roon at ipinapadala nila ang nalalaman nila sa Sky Empire.”

“Now. This is interesting,” I heard Elysium said and I agreed with her.

“It is.” I nodded my head at her and I continued to explain my worry. “Pero may bumabagabag sa isip ko.”

“What is it?” tanong niya sa akin.

“She told me that Celeste told her that someone from the six of us will come and save them, and she even said that she was sure I am that person,” I said then I looked at Elysium and I could see that there was a frown on her face. “Hindi ba nakakapagtaka na sinabi ni Celeste ‘yon kahit na napagka-sunduan nating anim na wala tayong pagsasabihan na kahit sino?”

I heard Elysium sighed again as she tapped the table in front of her. “Now that was really odd.”

I nodded my head at her again because I agreed with her. “That is why I had bo choice but to tell them the truth. Pero sinabi ko sa kanila na huwag na huwag nilang sasabihin muna sa kahit sino na naririto ako dahil baka makarating kay Erebus iyon.”

Elysium nodded approvingly at me. “That was a wise move,” she told me.

“I will take that as a compliment,” I told her with a smile but it was turned into a frown again when I thought of something again. “By the way, did you give Helix another mission?” I asked her to change our topic.

Nakita ko ang pagkunot ng noo niya dahil doon. Umiling siya sa akin at sinabing, “Wala. Sinabi ko sa kanila na huwag gumawa ng kahit ano hangga’t hindi ka pa nakakabalik.” Tumingin siya sa akin habang naka-kunot pa rin ang noo niya. “Why did you ask that?”

I sighed again and started to tell her everything that happened that day when Helix just appeared out of nowhere, without even informing me. “Isn’t he acting so strange?” I asked her after I explained to her everything.

“Celeste and Helix,” bulong niya sa sarili niya. “They can be listed as a traitor because of what they did,” sabi pa niya.

Natahimik kaming pareho pagkatapos no‘n dahil sa sinabi ko sa kaniya. Alam kong darating ang araw na ‘to na may pagsususpetsahan kami sa kanila, pero hindi ko akalain na ganito kabigat ang mararamdaman ko dahil hindi ko pa rin lubos maisip kung bakit kailangan niyang traydorin kami.

I heard Elsyium clasped her hands that made me snap out of my thoughts and look at her. “Anyways, wala pa naman tayong proof na sila talaga ang traydor sa atin,” sabi niya at tumango lang ako sa kaniya. “You should continue to observe Erebus’ movement and I will go to that world so that we can organize our plans,” sabi niya kaya tumango lang ulit ako sa kaniya.

Pagkatapos no‘n ay nagplano na kami kung kailan ulit kami magkikita. And I just hope that Erebus would agree to let me out of the palace that day or else, we will be doomed.

I bid Elsyium a goodbye after that, and removed the barrier that was keeping me undetected. Sakto rin namang dumating na ang illusion Menrui na ginawa ko at naka-sunod roon ang tauhan ni Erebus.

Tinanggal ko rin ang magic na ginamit ko sa kaniya at mukha namang wala siyang kaalam-alam na ginamitan ko siya ng magic.

“Let’s go,” I told him as I keep my smile on my face.

I just really hope that everything will go well.