Ten Earths. Interstellar voyagers. Cloned rebels. Astral witches. A forbidden love that could reshape humanity's grand history.
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5,000 years from now, reality has dramatically transformed. Humans enjoy much longer lives and can unlock the full...
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"Which star system are you from?" Hindi pa rin matinag ang mahigpit na pagsakal sa'kin ni Jon. "Hexus? Leverthorne? What the fuck are you?" Iniuntog pa niya ang likod ng ulo ko sa metal na dingding habang pinapatay sa sakal. I groaned in pain, my toes barely reaching the floor as he continued to lift me by my neck.
"Who ordered the assassination, huh? Speak you little shit!" he continued his violent interrogation, his face inching closer to mine, his teeth clenched, his caramel eyes burning with fury.
Tears streamed down my face as I tried to speak. Gusto kong sagutin ang mga tanong niya at ipagtanggol ang sarili ko. O kaya naman ay sumigaw nang may magising na iba. But I couldn't. No matter how hard I tried to break free or scream, I couldn't. Jon was too strong; one wrong move from his fingers could crush my voice box or snap my neck.
"Still not going to answer?" aniya, nagngingitngit pa rin sa galit.
Binalak ko siyang sapakin pero nahuli rin ng isa pang kamay niya ang braso ko at lalo lang siyang nagalit. He raised a stone-hard fist a few inches away from my face, ready to smack me. I felt all my blood run ice-cold.
Then, Jon punched. Luckily, another pair of hands blocked it, sparing my face and possibly my life.
"For god's sake, snap out of it, cap!" Dylan shouted, almost getting punched by Jon himself. He shoved our ship captain with all his might, leaving Jon stumbling on the floor.
Ako naman, maluha-luha ring napaluhod sa may sahig habang kinakapa ang leeg kong napuruhan. I looked at Jon who's a few meters away from me. Hinihingal na siya ngayon habang nakaupo sa sahig at tinititigan ako. Somehow, Jon's expression had softened, as if a heavy weight had been lifted.
"Sorry, who are you?" aniya sa akin na naglalamukos ng mga mata. 'Di hamak na mas maalumanay na ang boses niya ngayon, bagay na lubos kong ipinagtaka. "What happened? Why are you—are you alright?"
Lalo akong naluha. Hindi ko kasi maintindihan kung anong ibig sabihin ng mga tanong na 'yon. Muntik na niya akong patayin pagkatapos, ngayon lang siya nagkainteres na alamin kung sino ako at tinatanong pa kung ano raw ang nangyari? Kung napano raw ako?
"Cap, it happened again," si Dylan ang nagsalita kaya sila ang sunod na nagtinginan.
"Shit," Jon cursed under his breath, shaking his head. He walked towards me and offered his hand to help me up, but my body reacted with fear. I instinctively crawled away from him, pressing my back against the wall, curling up like a ball. Pero hindi niya ako kaagad na sinukuan.
Jon Gavelan looked at me once more—alam ko ito kahit na hindi ko siya matingnan nang diresto. He even tried to touch my knees, but I just flinched away, still very traumatized.
"I'm sorry, okay?" aniya gamit ang isang mababa at seryosong boses. "I was. . .I—ugh. I'm so sorry. Damn it. This fucked up brain of mine," umiiling-iling niyang sabi bago siya biglang tumayo. "Dylan," aniya sa kaibigan. "Buddy, please—"
