The Orphic Secret

Chapter 8

HACKER

"The orb!" sigaw ng isa kong pabidang kaklase. Why did she have to shout it out loud? Napatingin tuloy sa'kin ang lahat.

Nagtaka naman ang iba nang hindi makita ang orb. Malamang naging espada na, eh. Napatingin din sa'kin si Prof. Hal at napansin kong wala na pala si Lein at Iris.

"Where's the orb?" malakas na tanong ni Prof. Hal. Then, he looked at the sword that I was holding.

"Is that the orb?" tanong n'ya.

"It's a sword?" sagot ko. "Pero opo. Nagtransform po 'yong orb sa sword!" Humagikhik pa ako na para bang hindi ako kinakabahan sa mga tingin nila sa'kin.

Attention is nice, but too much attention is suffocating. It's like people watch your every move, and of course, hindi na mawawala d'yan ang kritisismo.

Seriously, bakit ba ang big deal ng orb na 'to? At bakit naman kine-claim nilang may kapangyarihan akong kapareha ng kay Kuya? Creation magic. I've been trying to do magic and be like him all my life, so bakit ngayon lang lumabas? Or maybe I don't really have creation magic at all.

"Can I see the orb?" tanong ni Prof. Hal. I nodded and imagined the sword back to it's old form. It glowed, and after a few seconds, it was back to the form of an orb.

Pinaglaruan ko 'yon gamit ang kamay ko, at nakakamangha dahil sumusunod lang siya sa galaw ng kamay ko. The orb glowed more, and now it was alike to a golden sun.

Naramdaman ko namang bahagya ring nagliwanag ang mata ko, hala.

"So, you have creation magic, Four?" tanong ulit ni Prof.

Nagkibit-balikat ako, "My brother has creation magic, but we are not blood related. Is that possible?"

The professor sighed, and put a hand under his chin. Tiningnan niya ang orb, at gan'on na rin ang ginawa ng ibang tao rito sa Arena. I looked up at saw that all camera drones were shooting me.

Oh, great. Paniguradong kakalat 'to sa buong Academy at marami na namang magtatanong.

"It is only possible that along with the years you've been together with your brother, you've unlocked your peculiarity. And since creation magic ang kapangyarihan niya, gan'on na rin ang na-adapt mo."

I nodded in his explanation. Baka gan'on na nga. I'm used to my brother's extraordinary doings, kaya hindi na rin ako nagugulat sa mga ine-explain nila sa'kin ngayon.

If I really have creation magic, then that's cool! At saka sabi nga nila, hindi nakakapasok sa dimension na 'to ang hindi peculiar. Maybe I'm a late bloomer, or there was no event that triggered me to use my powers.

Nagbabasa naman ako ng mga fantasy stories sa wattpad. Hindi naman ako katulad ng mga bida r'on na nabu-bully or naaapi or biglang namatayan kaya lumabas powers, baka kaya hindi ko nadiscover powers ko agad! Lels!

I imagined the orb to be bracelet. The orb became a bead bracelet. Professor Hal motioned waved his hand, then all camera drones moved. Hindi na ako ang shino-shoot nila.

"Get back to training. Four, come closer," utos ni Prof. Hal.

Sinulyapan ko ang iba at nagsimula naman silang mag-train na ulit. Some are dueling or sparring with each other. Minsan naiiisip ko, bakit kailangan nilang mag-train? May ranking system ba rito, or what? Parang nakakatamad, eh!

"We will first train your ability to create different forms with the orb," aniya.

"Uhm, can you enlighten me first about the orb?" tanong ko.