The Orphic Secret

Chapter 34

SEALED

Akala ko talaga namatay na ako. Hindi ako makapag-respond agad sa kanila nang magising ako. Nararamdaman ko pa rin ang kaba sa puso ko.

But at the same time, I felt thankful— that I really was reborn again. Naiisip ko lang na bakit parang hindi na ako katulad ng noon. I seem to lack my past self's or Rory's traits or mindset.

Even my feelings for Zero has changed. Or maybe I just couldn't recognize it… for now. Pero hindi na 'yon ang mahalaga ngayon. Kailangan ko nang hanapin si Zero, para tuluyan nang matalo si bruhilda.

"Ano nang nangyari sa'yo, Four?" tanong sa'kin ni Lein. Walang emosyon akong tumingin sa kanila, at napabuntung-hininga. Base sa panaginip ko, lahat sila'y may koneksyon sa sampu. Lein is Ephraim's daughter, Chastille is Caster's son, Nicolas both Adara and Nicolas' son, Lourd is Andrix's son, while Iris… she must be Isis' daughter.

"May naalala lang," tugon ko sabay ngisi. "Let's go back to the headquarters now." Tumayo na ako, at naglakad pero nagtaka ako nang hindi nila ako sinundan. I looked back at them, then I caught sight of a car near us.

"Oo nga, babalik na tayo. Hinihintay ka lang naming magising," natatawang wika ni Iris.

A girl jumped out from the car. It was Illeasalis who was in the driver seat, and then in the gunshot seat, it was Tamonjie. They both smiled at me.

My eyes blinked several times. They seem… okay now? "What happened?" tanong ko. "Habang tulog ako."

Nicolas answered me without even throwing me a glance, "Ah, nag-explain na po sila, Tita." After talking, he looked at me with teasing eyes.

"A-Ano?! Anong tawag mo sa'kin? Tita? Gago ka ba?"

Nagtawanan sila, "Totoo naman hindi ba, Chastille?"

Kaagad kong sinamaan ng tingin si Chastille. He chuckled without a sound, and mouthed 'Hello, Tita Four.' My jaw dropped in shock. Mga walang hiya, tita ang tawag sa'kin?! Por que— wait. Alam na nilang anak sila ng isa sa sampu?

Ay. Oo nga pala, na-explain na raw.

"Hello, Four." Halos nabali ang ulo ko nang marinig ang boses ni Kuya Nine. My head snapled to the direction of his voice. Napasinghap ako sa gulat nang makitang may bandage sa mata niya.

Hindi ako nakapagsalita agad dahil hindi pa rin naman ako nakakarinig ng paliwanag mula sa kaniya. Pero bakit naman siya biglang nagkar'on ng bandage sa mata?

"So bakit ka nandito, unggoy?" bungad ko. "Sinundan kita. Inuuto mo lang pala ako. Tsk."

He laughed. He wasn't my brother by blood, but I slightly remember him taking care of my past self. Ever since, siya na pala talaga ang nag-aalaga sa'kin. He is my brother by heart.

And no matter how much I get disappointed with him, I still can't change the fact that he took care of me for this life.

"I knew that my health is already weakening. I wouldn't be able to protect you, so I sent you the headquarters. The virtual dimension is actually a safe place to train you all," paliwanag ni Kuya.

"Huh?" sambit ko. Weakening? May sakit ba siya, bukod sa bulag siya? I didn't know about it. And what does he mean by a place to train us?

He smiled, "Hindi kayo makakapag-train sa mortal realm, dahil malamang mata-track ni Callista ang kapangyarihan niyo. So the purpose of the virtual dimension was to train you safely with the mimd. But then, we didn't expect her to crash into the system. You were sent to the underground cities, so we can prevent Callista from seeing you— and again, to train you. At bonus na rin na na-meet mo si Zero."

What the f— so totoong pinlano lang nila 'yon.

"Nonetheless, it was successful training you all virtually. Knowledge is power, and now your bodies and energies are slowly adjusting to the real world," dagdag pa niya.

I scoffed loudly, "Pero hindi pa rin naman 'yon sapat para lokohin kami. Duh?"

"Who said we fooled you?" My brother snickered.

Natikom ko naman ang bibig ko, pero halata pa rin sa mukha ko ang pagtataka. Nine chuckled again. He walked towards me as if he really can see me.

"That dimension is not just in the mind. It's a true dimension, the only problem is that it's not yet alive. Everything that exists there is true, pero hindi pa siya pwedeng makipag-coexist sa peculiars because of your death," seryosong paliwanang ni Kuya.

"H-huh? What does it have to do with my death?" tanong ko.

He sighed loudly, "Your role is to give life to the dimension. You are the final step."

My eyes widened instantly. Even the others were shocked. That is my role, and I failed to do it because I died?

"But then, you did the right thing to save Zero. If he had really died back then, we would have no chance against Callista. Malamang ay sisirain niya ang realm na ginawa natin, and the process will just repeat. It will be a never-ending cycle for us."

"Pero, Kuya. Anong ibig mong sabihin—"

Hindi naman niya ako pinatapos sa pagsasalita, dahil hindi pa rin pala siya tapos magpaliwanag. "The plan now is to kill Callista first, and then we proceed to completing the realm. The sealed peculiars can finally be unsealed and sent to the Orphic dimension with peace."

"Sealed peculiars?" tanong ko. "Ano 'yon?"

"Bobo si Zero, actually." Nagulat naman ako nang sabihin ni Kuya Nine 'yon. Napahawak ako sa dibdib ko. Kung siya bobo, ano ako?

"It is true that the six of you, including Lourd, is different from others, but that doesn't mean the others aren't real people too. They just happen to be weaker than you."

Bigla namang nabuhayan ang puso ko. They are real people?! They exist?! Oh my gosh? Bigla ko namang naalala ang ginawa ko kay Sirius. Kaagad akong nahiya at namula.

"They are the sealed peculiars. Nasa ibang lugar sila at nakabukod sa inyo, kaya hindi niyo sila nakita n'ong magising kayo sa mortal realm."

"We connected their minds with the NeuroLink too. The glitches are the system problems. Nonetheless, they are real people. They are just waiting to be saved by you, Exiquel Four."

Juicemother. Biro lang naman 'yong sinabi kong ako ang long lost princess na sasalba sa mundo.

The Orphic Secret
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

Thank you for reading!