The Orphic Secret

Chapter 25

SHUT DOWN

Mabigat ang mga yabag ni Lourd habang naglalakad kami papunta sa maliwanag na parte. Hindi ko pa rin naaabsorb ang lahat, ngunit naiisip ko na rin na... Is Sirius real? Is Kaiden real too? Are my friends real?

Sabay kaming napabuntong-hininga ni Lourd. "Can we do this?" tanong ko.

He looked at me before shutting his eyes. "We need to. I want to fucking escape this fucking virtual dimension and crush my fucking father's face."

Ay. Galit na galit! Kung sabagay, kahit naman ako magagalit kung ilang taon akong lolokohin. Sino ba namang hindi?

Bigla namang may pumasok na ideya sa utak ko.

"Wait, Lourd," pigil ko sa kaniya. He turned to me nonchalantly.

"These lenses," sabi ko sabay turo sa mata ko. "These heightens our senses for virtual reality, right? So if we remove this, then maybe we can see, uhm, true-er people?"

Nakuha ko naman ang atensyon niya ngayon. He stared at my eyes while nodding. Nagulat naman ako nang marahas na bumagsak ang salamin niya. Pinulot ko naman 'yon para sakaniya. Napaawang ang bibig ko nang tinanggal niya agad ang lenses niya at inapakan.

He raised his middle finger to the ground where the lenses were. Ay, brave. Pinigilan ko naman siya nang akmang tatanggalin niya ang relo niya.

"Huwag 'yan! We can use it to connect to others pa. Tsaka masyadong halata kapag tinanggal mo rin 'yan. Ako nalang muna ang gagamit ng lenses, tapos ikaw hindi."

"Malamang hindi na ako gagamit, sinira ko na," anas niya naman.

"Sabi ko nga po," sabi ko't bumingisngis. "Now what's our plan?"

"What would trigger them?" tanong niya. "What could possibly be an action that can awaken those who are true?"

"Hm, basta hanapin na muna natin kung sino ang totoo. If I see them, and you don't, they're only virtual people, right?" tanong ko. "Pero hindi rin lahat ng nakikita mo totoo, kasi n'ong pumunta ako sa underground cities, wala akong lenses pero nakita ko pa rin si Ruelle."

He nodded, "Okay. I get it. Let's just go. I'm sure we can think about something later."

I also nodded and gave him his glasses. He murmured a 'thanks,' and wore it again. I think he's slowly calming down, while I'm slowly getting nervous.

Finally, we reached the light. Kaagad kaming sinalubong ng mga drones. I looked back but the black or null space earlier was gone. Probably the men controlling this virtual dimension can see us now.

Napangiwi naman ako nang makitang halos sira na lahat ang kagamitan dito, like it passed through severe calamaties.

"Jeez, it's so weird without-" tinakpan ko naman ang bibig ni Lourd bago niya pa sabihing 'contact lenses.'

"Bobo ka ba?" I mouthed. "You can't say that word."

Nagulat naman kaming dalawa ni Lourd nang biglang mawala na ang academy. It slowly faded away and the surroundings turned to the Orphic Circle again.

"We've got Seiji of Team Cipher to destroy the artifact! Congratulations! The team gains fifty points!" the host announced.

Huh? Seiji? Akala ko ba nawala na siya?

Mula naman sa taas ay may nag-replay na video. It was Zero or Seiji who had his eyes closed, and then the moment he opened his eyes, a massive blast was sent upon the virtual space. Destroying every single thing inside it.

Kaya pala mukhang sirang-sira 'yong academy kanina!

"As expected, Seiji is always unexpected," the host continued on. Napataas-kilay naman ako roon. Expected na unexpected?

Napalayo naman ako kay Lourd nang biglang umangat at lupa, at dinala ako sa sarili kong team. They smiled at me and waved. My heart ached more. I started to overthink.

"We didn't catch sight of you that much. Hindi ka ba sinaktan ni Lourd?" tanong ni Kaiden. I weakly shook my head.

"Ayos ka lang? Mukha kang malungkot, ah?" si Astraeus naman ang nagsalita ngayon.

I just smiled at him, "Nah. I just feel bad for our team. Hindi niyo na rin ako magagamit. A wild card can only be used once, right?"

Sirius just patted my back. "It's okay," he smiled. I suddenly felt pained. Everything seems so real, but I do remember one time during our training, his hand became so light that I could almost feel nothing.

I pouted and tried fighting back my tears. I'm sure Sirius isn't real. He is a virtual person, and now that I am aware, I could slowly recognize some malfunctions and glitches.

His eyes do not reflect the surroundings. He blinks less than me, and his breathing was subtle.

Sa wakas ay nakaisip ako ng paraan kung papaano maipapakita sa lahat na hindi totoo 'tong mundong ginagalawan namin.

Napalunok ako, at unti-unting dinala ang orb ko sa palad ko. I transformed the orb to a dagger, and I plunged it Sirius' heart.

My other team mates didn't react immediately. Sirius grunted and then everyone turned. May napasinghap at napasigaw nang makita nila kami.

I looked away from Sirius. "F-Four," he quavered. My eyes drifted to my hands, which one rested on Sirius' chest while the other held the dagger, now painted Sirius' blood.

This is not real, Four. I reminded myself.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," nahihirapan kong sambit. "I'm sorry you aren't real." Marahas ko namang tinanggal ang dagger sa kaniyang dibdib.

"Exiquel Four!" galit na sigaw ni Kaiden sa'kin. My vision blurred because of the tears pooling in my eyes. Mabilis ko namang pinawi 'yon.

Saglit akong napapikit nang biglang bumagsak si Sirius sa sahig. Tumingin ako sa kaniya at nag-igting ang panga ko.

If this world is connected to my mind, then I can do everything here. I can imagine what I want to happen. But that would be hard. I can use my orb instead.

I transformed my orbs to speakers. This will be my voice, so everyone can hear me.

"So, this is your game," sabi ko. "Tama na ang paglalaro."

May mga inquisitors or guards na lumapit sa'kin. I swished my hand to the air, and a massive earthquake was sent upon them. Our world suddenly became black and white, or at least in my eyes because I am aware.

Nagkagulo na ang mga nanonood. Kahit ang ibang teams ay biglang nataranta. I sighed deeply and closed my eyes.

If this only exists in our mind, then we wouldn't die. So I must do something that can kill everyone. The virtual people will vanish, and then we, the real ones, might probably wake up from this stupid virtual reality.

That's it. I need to shut this virtual reality down.

Using the orb, I absorbed every possible magic energy and power. I heard them stopping me, but I am to immersed in absorbing everything in the orb. My heart and head thumped in pain, but I know that this pain is virtual too. This pain isn't real.

"Good bye for now, mi amore. May reality make a way for us to meet again," narinig kong wika ni Zero sa utak ko.

Nang marandaman kong sapat at puno na ng kapangyarihan ang orb na kinokontrol ko, in-unlink ko agad 'yon sa'kin. A blast of sound and light engulfed the whole Orphic circle. I felt an immense pain in my skin, and it was as if my soul was drifting away from me.

Severe damage. The system will automatically shut down, a robotic choppy voice said in between the blast of noises.

"Thank you, Four," at ngayon naman ay sarili kong boses ang narinig ko. Aurora Calytrix.

"Our reality awaits for you."

The Orphic Secret
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

😗✌

Thank you for reading.