Chrysos' Point of View

I am peacefully drinking coffee here at veranda when the sky suddenly became restless. The thunder can be heard across the sky. Sumunod naman ang malalakas na kidlat at ang pagbuhos ng ulan. Nagkatinginan kami ni Violeta na nakaupo lang kaharap ko.

Abala ito sa pagtingin sa sarili niya sa salamin. May iilan pang nakalapag na mga makeup sa lamesa. Sinenyasan niya naman ako nang matapos niyang i-braid ang kaniyang buhok. Lumabas kaming dalawa ng dorm house, habang 'yong iba ay nagpaiwan.

Alam namin pareho ni Violeta kung sino sa academy ang may kakayahang manipulahin ang weather. It's me and Miss Sky, of course. Saka if si Zeus ang may kagagawan nito, malalaman ko kaagad. But, this is different. It screams as if something happened.

It seems like someone triggered the weather. Well, who knows. Baka may bagong anak na naman si Zeus. Hindi naman kasi 'yon nakakagulat. The Greek deities are fond of screwing mortals and then, boom! An offspring of a deity will born and will destined to carry the burden of the world.

Gagawin pa ngang escape plan ang mga anak.

Dinala kami ni Violeta papunta sa entrance hallway ng academy. When we reached there, I saw a disconcerted girl. Kumunot ang aking noo nang makita siya. Observing her behavior, I am sure, she's the one who have caused the restlessness of the sky.

Tiningnan ko siya, pero hindi ko siya mabasa dahil ang hirap niyang basahin. She's the unpredictable one. And there is something within her that screams difference. I mean, there's something within her that we don't have. Hindi ko lang alam kung ano 'yon specifically.

"Stop talking and kneel before me!" utos ni Violeta roon sa babaeng naghe-hysterical.

Nakita ko naman kung paano siya napipilitang lumuhod sa harapan ni Violeta. Tumingala siya at doon niya nakita ang mga mata ng kasama ko, habang gulat na gulat. Her emotions clearly affecting the weather, and I know there's no one in the academy who could do that.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw how ocean blue Violeta's eyes are. Even if I am the daughter of the ruler of Olympus, I can't deny the fact that the ocean blue-eyed demigod is the scariest eyes I've ever seen in my entire life.

They could hypnotize you with their words.

"Behave and talk," maawtoridad na saad ni Violeta.

She charmspeaked her. Tinitigan ko ulit ang babae. I find her seemingly dissimilar from the others. I mean, they all looked normal just like any demigods, but what I'm trying to point here is that there is something in her.

"I . . . I . . . w-want to go home. Ayoko na rito dahil mga sindikato kayo," utal-utal niyang sabi habang takot na takot siya.

What the―napahawak ako sa aking tiyan habang walang tigil sa pagtawa nang malakas. I can't help it but to burst out laughing. She's not just a mysterious one, as well as a funny one.

Sindikato? Nagpapatawa ba siya?

At first, hindi naman ako makapaniwala sa mundong pinasukan ko. Pero never akong nagwala katulad ng ginawa niya ngayon. Well, this means, people really have different ways of dealing things.

"Kami? Sindikato? What a f*cking big joke!" I commented while I couldn't help myself but burst out laughing once again.

Hindi ko na talaga mapigilang tumawa dahil sa sinabi niya. But it quickly faded when I saw Violeta looking at me with her wide smile plastered upon her lips. Sinamahan pa niya ito ng kumikislap-kislap na mga mata niya. She seem amused how I acted.

"Is that you, Chry?" natutuwa niyang tanong sa akin.

My eyes instantaneously rolled.

"What?" Sinamaan ko naman siya ng tingin.

Tila parang nabunutan ako ng tinik nang hindi na niya ako kinukulit pa. Ibinalik kaagad niya ang kaniyang atensyon doon sa babaeng nakaluhod pa rin sa harapan niya. Napansin ko namang bumagsak ang dalawang kilay ni Violeta habang nakatitig sa babae.

Tila malungkot siya para sa babae basi sa ekspresyong naka-plastada sa mukha niya.

"Is that your reason?" tanong naman ni Violeta roon sa babaeng nakaluhod pa rin sa kaniyang harapan.

Nakita kong nanginginig ang mga kamay niya. "Y-yes," she quickly replied. "I'm just afraid that it will happen again. If you all knew," narinig ko ang sumunod niyang sinabi. And I am pretty sure, Violeta also heard it.

Nagtaka ako lalo nang lumakas pa lalo ang ulan. Ibinaling ko ulit ang aking atensyon sa babae. She's now clenching her fist, and I saw her jaw constantly moving. As if she's crying silently. And as I observed, tila may koneksyon ang kakayahan niya sa tubig.

I guess she's an offspring of Poseidon. If she is, she will be the third offspring of Poseidon in the academy. But, I am still wondering why sinamahan pa ng kulog at kidlat ang malalakas na ulan.

"Then I swear to you, if you give this place a chance, this could be your permanent home. The academy is not the one you think. This place is like a fortress for someone like us. And whatever you've experienced in life, this could be your comfort place. Who knows? The academy provides safety for all of us. Therefore, you don't have to worry about anything," pangungumbinsing saad ni Violeta.

And it really did work. Nakita kong medyo kumalma na 'yong babae at unti-unti na ring tumitila ang ulan. Nawala na rin ang malalakas na kulog at kidlat. Dahan-dahang nawala ang kulimlim sa kalangitan.

"You can now stand up," Violeta harmoniously said, "and behave," pahabol niyang sabi.

Tumayo naman ito sa pagkakaluhod nang dahan-dahan. At tumahan na ng iyak ay siya ring pagtigil ng ulan. At muling makikita ang napakalaking buwan. Her tears seems triggers the rain. Her anger triggers the thunderstorm. If combined, she could manipulate sinister storm without realizing it.

Bumulong naman ako kay Violeta. "Iwan mo sa akin 'yan. I have a question to ask her." Dahilan para tignan niya akong nakakunot ang noo. Habang binigyan ng nagbabantang tingin.

She crossed her arms. "Aanuhin mo siya?" paninigurado pa niyang tanong.

I rolled my eyes once again.

"Magtatanong nga lang, 'di ba?" naiinis kong sagot.

Dinuro niya ako't bumulong pabalik. "Okay listen to me, Chry. If you do something bad to her, swear you'll gonna end up kneeling before me." She threatened me.

I raised my left eyebrow.

"Don't you trust me?"

She sighed. "Okay. Dalian mo dahil kailangan nilang lahat makapunta sa office. The director wanted to welcome them personally and explain some things they needed to understand."

Nilapitan naman ni Violeta 'yong babae at sinabihan na kakausapin ko lang siya. Tumingin ito sa akin nang madalian, pero bumalik naman ang atensyon niya kay Violeta. Tumango ito bilang pagsang-ayon. After no'n, umalis na si Violeta kasama ang mga baguhan.

"What can I do for y―"

I immediately interrupted her words that made her feel uncomfortable.

"Who are you?"

I don't know, I just had the instincts that she's the one who is in the prophecy. But, I just want to confirm something. I know, I don't have the evidence that she is. But why do I feel like she's the one?

Narinig ko naman ang sunod-sunod niyang mabibigat na pagbuntonghininga.

"My name's Sabrina," maikli niyang sagot. I looked at her in disbelief. And it seemed she understood what I'm trying to convey. "Look, if you are going to ask about my family background. Or ask me about the lightning, thunder and the rain just like everyone says. You will get no answer from me. Even myself, I don't know."

She don't know?

Sabrina's Point of View

Nakasunod lamang ako sa babaeng nagtanong sa akin kung sino ako. That girl who asked me who I was earlier has a shoulder-length spiky black hair and a stormy blue eyes. She seem always wearing a dead-serious expression upon her face according to what I observed earlier.

Kahit na natatakot man ako dahil sa mga trust issues na nagsilabasan, sinubukan kong magtiwala roon sa babaeng may kulay ocean blue na mga mata.

I don't know how she did it, but I am sure she's not just an ordinary mortal. I also remember that I accidentally saw Katarina's eyes changing its color twice. From black to sea blue. And she said before my departure, mahahanapan ko na ng sagot ang mga tanong ko kapag dumating ako sa lugar na 'to.

Perhaps, it's time to open myself for another chance.

Perhaps, Katarina is right.

I was too preoccupied by my thoughts, dahilan para hindi ko namamalayang nakarating na kami sa opisina ng academy director. I saw the girl with spiky black hair slightly looked behind her back before opening the door.

As she finally opened it, the interior design of the office meet my eyes. Almost everything are made of gold. Sobrang lawak din ng space. May pahabang lamesa sa gitna at napapalibutan naman ito ng mga upuan. Sa pinakadulo ng opisina ay nandoon ang isang lamesa.

Sa lamesang 'yon may mga nakalagay na sandamakmak na papeles. At mga iba't iba pang mga kagamitan. No guess, sigurado akong lamesa 'yon ng academy director. Sa gitna naman ng ceiling naka-disenyo roon ang malaking compass.

The walls are filled with different paintings of different faces of Greeks. I don't have knowledge about Greeks, but I could recognize their features.

After I roamed my eyes to the office design, napagtanto kong marami palang mga matang nakatingin sa amin. Nakaupo na ang lahat sa kaniya-kaniyang upuan. At tila ba'y kaming dalawa na lamang ang hinihintay nila.

A woman in mid-30's arose from sitting. I looked at her. She had sea green eyes and wavy sea blue hair. And a gentle smile gradually plastered upon her lips.

"Welcome to Imitheos Academy, new students! I never imagined you'll be this many. I know, this place is too good to be true. And too far from reality. But, you all are here because of the same reason." She paused for a while and looked at everyone. But, I caught her and she stared at me for a second. "You are all the Greek deities' descendants."

"Descendants? What does that mean?" I heard Jace's voice in the crowd.

"Descendants mean an offspring of a deity. A semideus or a demigod for short. "Semi" from the Greek word which means "half" and "deus" from the Greek word as well which means "god". That means you all are demigods. An offspring of a deity and a mortal." Nakangiting sagot ng academy director. "Rest assured, we're not a crime ring organization . . ." she paused and made a quick look at me. Napakagat ako ng aking ibabang labi. "Under our care, you will be protected. The academy will teach you a proper way of becoming a hero. And everything you all need to know."

She stopped and looked at us one by one with a gentle smile plastered upon her lips. Dahil sa huling mga pangungusap na kaniyang sinabi ay kahit papaano ay mapanatag ako. Pero kahit ganoon, nandito pa rin ang mga pagdududa.

"For now, Chrysos, the daughter of Zeus, will accompany you all to the cabin of undetermined." Napatingin kaming lahat sa taong itinuro ng academy director.

'Yong babaeng itinuro ng academy director ay ang taong nagtanong sa akin kanina kung sino ako. The way the director utter her name seems like she has the leadership than the light ocean blue-eyed girl.

Saka kapansin-pansin din naman kasi sa tindig niya. Her dead-serious expression plastered upon her face and her aura screams it all.

Nahinto ako sa pag-iisip nang makita kong nagtaas ng kamay 'yong lalaking sobrang gloomy. His name is Joshua, if I am not mistaken. When our eyes meet earlier, his dark eyes and cold stare seems go straight through my soul.

"What is the cabin of undetermined?" he gloomily asked.

"Cabin of undetermined means a dorm house for demigods who hadn't been claimed by their deity parent. Don't worry, it's just temporary. You all are staying there tonight. And by tomorrow, you all must attend the claiming ceremony. Where you all claim by your deity and distinguish what cabin you are all supposed to be," the academy director precisely answered.

So, I am one of the fifteen undetermined demigods.