The Grimoire

Chapter 52: Midnight

VERMILLION

We arrived earlier than expected and well, everything was normal. The sun was about to set so the first rays of sunlight painted the city in hues of gold, casting a warm glow upon the bustling streets. The aroma of street vendors' delicacies wafted through the air, blending with the distant hum of traffic and the laughter of children playing in hidden courtyards. Ornate lampposts adorned with swirling ironwork stood sentinel along the boulevards, casting a soft, nostalgic glow as evening descended.

Our cars were parked just close to our ship kaya sumakay kami kaagad para puntahan ang school. Cairo was very careful knowing that this will be our last step before we could surrender the grimoires, we have with us. Hindi na ako nagpahalata sa kaba ko kaya tumingin ako sa labas habang siya ay focus na nagpatakbo sa sasakyan. Street markets bustled with the energy of merchants haggling in a myriad of languages, while the aromas of exotic spices and freshly brewed coffee lingered in the air. Street performers dazzled the passersby with their talents, creating impromptu spectacles that transcended the boundaries of language and culture.

. Neon signs and illuminated billboards painted the buildings in a riot of colors, turning the streets into a celestial canvas. The city's heartbeat, a symphony of distant sirens and the occasional honk of a taxi, underscored the rhythm of life.

We passed by at the Dead City at hindi ko maiwasang hindi mapatingin lalo na't pupunta ako doon mamayang gabi. The dead cty is located just at the farthest side of Terrax so the hue of the sunset gave off a different feeling. Once a vibrant hub of life, its streets now echoed with the eerie silence of abandonment. Towering structures, skeletal remnants of a once-thriving metropolis, clawed at the heavens like mournful sentinels. Desolation hung heavy in the air, suffocating the remnants of civilization that clung desperately to the desiccated facades of forgotten storefronts.

Buildings, once adorned with gleaming glass and vibrant murals, now stood as crumbling mausoleums to a time when the city pulsed with vitality. Broken windows gaped like hollow eyes, and graffiti adorned walls, the only living testament to the void that now engulfed the urban landscape. Nature, relentless in its reclamation, crept through the cracks in the pavement and reclaimed the once-conquered terrain.

In the dead city of Terrax, the only inhabitants were shadows, haunting the corridors of abandoned buildings and alleys with a spectral presence. The silence, once an eerie symphony of decay, now reigned supreme, broken only by the occasional creak of a decaying structure or the haunting howl of the wind.

"What's wrong?" Cairo asked at tumigil siya saglit kaya napatingin kaagad ako sa kaniya. I smiled at him at umiling ako tsaka ako umiwas ng tingin. 

I never saw what expression he gave off, but he drove off after I looked away. We crossed at the bridge at napatingin ulit sa karagatan. I don't see any signs of living creatures just like how it used to kaya napatingin nalang ulit ako sa harap. The gates opened widely as if they knew that we were coming. We went inside and yes, as usual, we caught the other's attention. Dumeritso kami sa maliit na gate kung saan kami pumasok ulit at tumigil kami sa harap ng building kung saan ang Principal's office. Bumaba kaming lahat at binigay ko ni Cairo ang suot ko accessory na nakasabit sa arm ko kasi nandoon ang grimoires.

I looked around at hindi ko napigilang ngumiti lalo na't namiss ko ang buong harden na punong-puno ng mga food stalls. Pumasok si Cairo sa building at lumapit naman sa akin sina Evie, Leo, at Kel.

"Maybe we should head back," Evie suggested. "He'll take long," he added at tumango naman ako.

We left our cars to someone else para ipark ang cars at naglakad-lakad muna kami. Kel wanted to have a complete tour of the school kasi hindi nga siya ganon nagtagal dito. We just recruited him in the middle of our mission kaya pinagbigyan namin siya. Hindi ako sumama sa kanila at dumeritso ako sa garden kung saan ko nakita ang maze dati. I smiled and I entered the maze without hesitation. The breeze was travelling towards my direction, so I followed the scent of the flowers mingled with the earthy aroma of freshly turned soil.