Behind This Name (UNEDITED)

44

CHAPTER 44 — TICKTOCK

"IS it true that our body in this real world can die when we get stuck in an illusion?"

Napailing-iling ako nang marinig ang tanong ni Vienne sa isang staff na kagaya ko ay illusionist din.

It's now dinner time and we all gathered in these long tables to eat. Katabi ko si Vienne nang bigla niyang harangin 'yong staff na payapang naglalakad papunta sa lamesa nito.

"Well, yes. Like what Ms. Fenella Meneses said." Napangiti ako nang marinig ang sagot ng staff. "In some circumstances, illusionists can even bring trauma and disturbance to someone's mental health by just locking the people in an illusion and torturing them there."

The staff continued walking when Vienne finally let him go. Vienne went back on her seat, still bothered by that fact. Narinig din ng iba ang sinagot noong staff kaya pati sila ay hindi makapaniwala.

Heck, these people thought illusions are only about making random things appear inside someone's mind.

"Come on, it's just a simple fact. You look like you're having a hard time swallowing the truth." I gave them a playful smirk as I sipped on my juice.

Kai, who's sitting across the table, laughed so hard.

When the dinner was finished, we prepared ourselves for the next game. I heard one of the staffs calling the next game ‘Ticktock’.

"Ticktock? Like the clock?" nagtatakang tanong ni Vienne.

I nodded. "That's what I heard."

After waiting for almost half an hour, we sat on the lawn again while Professor Aidan stood up in front of us. The sky finally darkened and there were lights hanging on the trees around us. It made our surrounding even brighter. May tinayo pa silang maliliit na poste na may kakabit na ilaw para mas magbigay pa ng liwanag sa amin.

"So, for our next game," Professor Aidan started. A grin was visible in his lips, which gives me a different vibe. "We will group you into twelve groups, which gives each group seven members. We want to call this game, 'Ticktock'. Yes, like the clock. Now, here's what you need to know. Inside the forest, there are twelve clocks scattered everywhere. Currently, at this very moment while I'm talking you, all of those clocks are not working. Bawat isa sa kanila ay nakaturo sa iba't ibang oras. Meaning to say, one clock for one hour. There's one o'clock, two o'clock, up to twelve o'clock.

"Now, once the game starts, the hands of all those clocks will automatically start moving. Each of the group will be assigned in a certain time. Your goal is to find the clock that has the time that is assigned to you. You only have exactly one hour. To make this even clearer, let me give you an example."

Professor went closer to his son, Arche, and pointed him. "Let's say, Arche's group was assigned to find the two o'clock. At kagaya ng sinabi ko kanina, once the game starts, the hands of the clock will automatically start moving. At may isang oras lang sila para hanapin ang orasan na naka-assign sa kanila. Dahil two o'clock ang naka-assign sa kanila, they are ought to find the one o'clock. Why? Dahil once na natapos na ang isang oras, ang one o'clock na 'yon ay magiging two o'clock na. Right? That's the very reason why those clocks will only work for exactly one hour. When the one hour has finished, it will automatically stop and each group must stand near the clock. When one member is missing, you will automatically lose the game. And no using of your ability. Once one of your members use their ability, your group will be automatically disqualified. Understood?" 

Everyone bobbed their head, some did even say 'yes' as a response. It seems so easy. I mean, we only need to find a clock. Well, the one-hour thing made it kind of harder because we're dealing with time.