THE CUBES

The ten minutes passed like a blur. I didn't even move a bit. I just stare in the blood specks in the floor. Ruelle's blood. Surprisingly, the blood faded away.

Tumingin ako sa taas, at nagtaka kung papaano siya nahulog. Ano kayang klaseng error 'yon? Based on the severity of her damage, she must have fallen from the highest floor.

But she can jump a 30 feet building, heto pa kaya? Unless she didn't have the control over herself. Everything doesn't make sense. She's an assailant. Imposibleng hindi niya 'yon kinaya.

And imposible ring may nakalaban siya sa loob lang ng kaunting panahon. Ano ba talagang ginawa ni Zero?

"Wild card."

Napalingon naman ako sa tumawag sa'kin. Napalunok ako nang mapansing si Lourd 'yon. Sa lahat ba naman ng makakatagpo ko, si Lourd pa. This man is part of the 'greatest' team.

"Suko na agad ako," I said and motioned my hand that he can just pass by.

Inayos naman niya ang salamin at nagbuntong-hininga. He looked around me, like he's finding something.

"Uhm, suko na sabi ako?"

Umiling naman siya, "I'm not here to fight you. I'm just studying this place. This is where Ruelle fell, right?"

I nervously nodded. My eyebrows raised a bit. Is he here to investigate?

I watched him as he lifted his hand up and tried to control something over the higher floors. Mula naman sa third floor, may maliliit na cubes siyang kinuha at dinala palapit sa kaniya.

The cubes looked like jelly cubes. It was glowing, but I could notice the defects on it, as if it was damaged.

He formed it into one whole cube, and looked closely at it. Hindi naman 'yon talagang nabuo bilang isang cube, it's just put closely to each other, alike to a puzzle.

"This might be the one that made the system error," Lourd implied. "Maybe the moment it was broken, it made her vulnerable, or probably there was an explosion."

"May nakita rin akong isa pang gan'to, pero hindi ko naman 'yon ginalaw. Nahirapan akong sirain 'yon. Then the moment Ruelle screamed, the cube glowed brightly. So, this thing might be the cause. I think there are more cubes like this. The same thing could happen to others if they try to destroy these," dagdag pa ni Lourd.

Naglakas-loob naman akong lumapit kay Lourd. Tiningnan ko rin nang maigi ang cube. Paano naman kaya 'to sinira ni Ruelle?

"I need your help." Nagulat naman ako sa sinabi n'ya. I looked up to him while my mouth was gaped open.

He exhaled sharply, "Kailangan nating iiwas sa iba ang cube. This could be deadly for the weaker ones."

Bago pa ako makasagot ay tumakbo na siya palayo. Naiwan naman ako sa kinatatayuan ko, naiwan nga rin ang cube. He looked back at me, and then stopped.

"Four?" tanong niya.

"How about this?" tanong ko at akmang hahawakan ang cube nang bigla 'yong mawala. Napakurap naman ako ng ilang beses. I looked at Lourd, and he was also surprised.

"Hala, nasaan na?" tanong ko sa kaniya.

"Hindi ko rin alam. Ako dapat ang nagtatanong n'yan sa'yo."

Sabay naming nilibot ang tingin namin para hanapin ang cube na naglaho nang parang bula. I looked everywhere, but it's really nowhere to be found!

Napasinghap naman ako nang bigla akong hilahin palayo ni Lourd. Halos natalisod pa ako sa lakas ng pagkakahila niya.

"Anong proble-" hindi ko natuloy ang sasabihin ko nang mariin niyang pinisil ang pulsuhan ko.

I looked up at him and he seemed to be anxious about something. His eyes bore with so much intensity. With curiosity, I turned to what he's looking.

Napasinok naman ako nang makita si Zero. No, Seiji nga pala dapat ang tawag sa kaniya. Lourd must not know he's Zero, right? Anyways, why is Lourd looking at him like that?

Zero's eyes looked down to Lourd's hand gripping my wrist. He exhaled loudly, "I have already taken care of the cubes."

"You know about it?" tanong ni Lourd habang hindi pa rin bumibitaw sa pulsuhan ko. Nagsimula namang pasmahin ang kamay ko dahil sa tension ng aura ni Zero.

"Yes," Zero answered in a deep voice. He raised an eyebrow while looking at me, and then exhaled sharply. "So you should have no problems with the cubes anymore."

"Alam mo ba kung anong mayr'on sa mga 'yon?" tanong muli ni Lourd.

"Akala ko ba alam mo?" pabarang tanong ni Zero at ngumisi. "Matalino ka 'di ba?" Ay ba't parang galit? Tsaka kailan ba sinabi ni Lourd na alam niya? Wala naman siyang sinasabi, ah.

"I only know that it's harmful, but I do not know what it really is and what it is for," sagot naman ni Lourd. Nagulat naman ako nang parang biglang lumamig ang kamay niya. Hinampas ko 'yon, at kumalas na ang hawak niya sa'kin.

"Gago, ang lamig!" sabi ko kay Lourd at hinimas ko naman ang pulsuhan kong halos nanigas sa lamig. Narinig ko namang tumawa nang bahagya si Zero. Nagtataka ko s'yang tiningnan.

He smirked at me then answered Lourd without breaking our gaze, "The cube is the one responsible for the virtual space here. It's not really dangerous, but somehow it happened to be dangerous for some."

"How so, Seiji?" tanong ni Lourd.

Ngayon lang hiniwalay ni Zero ang tingin niya sa'kin. May nilabas siyang isang cube na hindi pa nasisira. It was different from the one we saw here. Dinala niya 'yon palapit sa'min.

"Destroy it, Four," utos n'ya sa'kin.

"Luh," kaagad kong sambit. "Bakit?"

"Beca-"

"Bakit kita susundin?" dugtong ko sabay irap. He laughed heartily. I pouted and Lourd looked at me unbelievably.

"I know you, Four. I know that the cube will not hurt you. I'm still not sure with Lourd."

"Pa'no mo naman nasabi?"

Mas lalo siyang lumapit at sumagot siya ngunit sa utak ko lang, "You think I could harm you?" Muntik naman akong masamid dahil sa sinabi niya.

Napatingin sa'kin si Lourd at hinimas ang likod ko nang bigla akong napa-ubo. Mas lalo naman akong napa-ubo. Zero growled, so I moved away from Lourd.

Ay teka, bakit ba ako lumayo?

"Just give it a try, Four," aniya na medyo marahas ang tono.

Malakas namang nagbuntong-hininga si Lourd at siya na ang humawak sa cube, at nag-emit 'yon ng malakas na liwanag sa kamay ni Lourd. Nanlaki ang mata ko at naghintay ng mangyayari. Kahit si Zero ay nagulat sa biglang paghawak at pagsira ni Lourd, but it slowly turned to an expression of relief when nothing happened.

The light vanished and the cube was destroyed to bits. Lourd panted and then looked around. There seemed to be a change in the colors, it seemed like it lost hues.

"There's no damage done to you," Zero said.

"Pero bakit kay Ruelle mayr'on?" tanong ko.

"Because Ruelle and the two of you are different," sagot ni Zero. Natahimik naman kaming dalawa ni Lourd.

Zero snapped his fingers and the academy around us suddenly became black. He broke and destryod six cubes into small pieces that were almost invisible to our eye.

"Now that the cubes are gone and destroyed, some parts of the virtual space is gone too. That's what happens when the cube is damaged, it also damages what it shows."

Oh. Kaya pala n'ong sinira ni Lourd ang cube, nawalan ng hues sa paligid. Now, nawala na lahat.

"I get it, but why did Ruelle-" pinutol naman ni Zero ang sasabihin ni Lourd.

"When Ruelle tried to damage the cube, she was also damged, right? That only explains one thing."

My eyebrows made a furrow. Zero pursued his lips and suddenly, his body was glitching. He closed his eyes and slowly the glitch in his body lessened. "Seems like they can detect my hack again."

Luh, inamin niyang siya 'yong hacker?

"Hack? You're a hacker?" Lourd mumbled.

Zero smirked, "I am Zero, Lourd. The hacker you all know, but what I'm really trying to do is decode the ciphers of this dimension."

Tila naalerto bigla si Lourd at bigla niya akong dinala sa likod niya. Mas lalo namang napuno ng tension ang atmosphere. Zero just exposed himself!

He scoffed and chuckled. Tumikhim pa siya bago magsalita ulit.

"Ruelle is only a virtual person. She is not true. Even your other comrades and Orpheuses. They are not true, Four."

"W-what?" Lourd murmured. "Bakit naman kami maniniwala sa'yo?"

Hindi naman pinansin ni Zero ang sinabi ni Lourd, at nagpatuloy sa pagsasalita, "The Orphic Secret is that even this whole world is not true. This dimension only exists in your mind."

Hindi naman agad 'yon naproseso sa utak ko. Napigilan ko pa ang paghinga ko. Some of them are not real?

"No, Four. Most of them aren't real. Almost everyone here isn't real."

"This is also why you can see my physical body. It only exists virtually."

What the virtual fuck?

The Orphic Secret
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

One secret revealed.

Thank you for reading!