Glistening Lantern (Gazellian Series #7)

Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Fire

Hindi lang ako ang natigilan ng mga oras na iyon dahil maging sina Tavion, Caleb, at Howl ay unti-unting napatuwid sa kanilang pagkakatayo habang tulala sa ngayon ay panibagong pintuan.

"W-where is he now?" tanong ni Tavion.

"He can't be dead, right?" nag-aalangang tanong ni Caleb.

I know that both of them were all aware that Rosh might be trapped in that room, or he was transported to other rooms, but I could feel how all of us are worried about him.

Sa maiksing oras ko lang siyang nakasama sa paglalakbay na ito, ramdam kong isa na siya sa grupo namin. He'd never try to help us all and allow himself in delicate state kung hindi rin ganoon ang tingin niya sa amin.

Ilang pang taga mundo ni Caleb ang may karakter na siyang hahangaan ko?

"He's just somewhere else," sagot ni Howl.

Huminga ako nang malalim habang nakatitig sa likuran ni Caleb, alam kong naroon pa rin ang titig niya sa panibagong pintuan.

"And he listened to Howl's explanation about the switching doors, right? Siguro naman ay magagawa niya tayong sundan," paliwanag ko.

Nang sabihin ko iyon ay saka lamang lumingon sa akin si Caleb, katulad ni Tavion na lumapit na kay Iris ay ganoon din ang ginawa sa akin ni Caleb.

Nanatili sa unahan namin si Howl. Now, we're back with our original number. Magsasalita na sana siya nang maalala kong parang may nakakalimutan akong mahalaga sa akin.

Sinubukan kong kapain ang bulsa ko at ang ilang parte ng katawan ko na posible nilang pagtaguan pero hindi ko sila maramdaman.

"Where are those silly pixies?"

Sinulyapan ko ang balikat ni Howl pero wala naman ang mga iyon sa kanya. He even glanced at his shoulder.

"They could be with Rosh," matabang na sagot ni Caleb.

I saw how Howl arched his right brow. Seems like my pixies found another favorite.

"He's not alone. That's good," sabi naman ni Tavion.

Hindi na humaba pa ang usapan namin nang agawin na ang aming atensyon, hindi ng panibagong malakas na hangin kundi ng ingay mula sa aming likuran.

The new room welcomed us by its infinite darkness, we couldn't even feel that any living creature was there, waiting for us, but the moment it started to recognize us, the whole room brought us in another place that we never thought that we would found inside a ruin. . .

Kailan ba ako hindi nagulat sa inilalabas ng lugar na ito kahit isa akong Attero?

Just like Howl mentioned us, I am starting to realize the pattern of this ruin. We already encountered the element of water, earth, air. . .

Earlier, I felt how the time slowed down as we struggle to pull Rosh, but this time, it was a different type of time that slowed down.

Dahil kusang napaatras ang aming mga hakbang sa isa't isa. We unknowingly made a small circle together, with our backs on each other as we felt our world swirl with the sudden increase in temperature.

Kapwa kami napatingala sa paligid habang pinagmamasdan ang kakaibang lugar na siyang sumalubong sa amin.

"Fire. . ." usal ni Howl.

"Water, earth, wind, and now fire. . ." usal ni Caleb na siyang nakuha rin ang siyang naiisip ko.

We're now in the middle of a lake made of lava. The vastness of the whole place was igniting with endless orange lightning as we stood there together—on a tall stoned pillar. I could see a number of pillars scattered around with different sizes and heights. There were also countless sharp-edge mountain-like black stones, steaming its own smoke.