VESSEL

"Zero?" Hindi makapaniwalang sambit ni Callista. "How come? You were frozen. Why-" she paused, then her surprised eyes slowly turned to amusement. She laughed wickedly. Luh, parang mangkukulam.

"Zero is not true, right?" Nakita kong natigilan si Zero dahil sa sinabi ni Callista. Once again, the surroundings slowly changed. The color faded, and it suddenly became pitch black.

But it wasn't dark. Nakikita ko pa rin sila. We were all still visible.

Callista smirked, "So this is all in your mind, huh, Seraphin?"

Seraphin pursued his lips and refused to answer. Tila sinubukan ni Callista na gamitin ang kapangyarihan niya, ngunit hindi niya magamit 'yon. "Powers are now nullified, huh?"

Naisip ko namang gamitin ang kapangyarihan ko para subukan kung na-nullify nga, pero naalala kong hindi nga pala ako masyadong maalam. Kapag inaatake lang ata ng adrenaline rush! Kidding asides, na medyo hindi.

"Do you think this will scare me off, Seraphin?" natatawang wika ni Callista. Seraphin just shook his head. Binaba niya ang kaniyang ulo ngunit napansin ko ang ngiti sa kaniyang labi. I think it was a mocking smile, though.

Zero lifted his hand a bit and noticed that the neon blue tattoo-like veins were already gone. He scoffed loudly. "I will be released from the ice shell, Callista. And you shall meet your demise," ani Zero nang may matalim na tingin kay Callista.

"I do not die, my child," sagot ni Callista. Nagkunot-noo ako agad. My child? Ano 'yan, endearment? Or did it mean what it literally meant?

Napatitig naman ako sa kanilang dalawa, pabalik- balik ang tingin. I almost gasped loudly when I noticed the similarities of their features. The same black sharp eyes, and dark blue hair. Naalala ko naman ang kapangyarihan ni Zero kanina. They also have the same powers! Ice.

"You are frozen, and no one besides you can kill me,"dagdag pa ni Callista. Mas lalo namang nagsalubong ang kilay ko dahil n'on. Zero said that Seraphin and Callista are equal in power, and if Zero is born from the two, then he must be powerful than both of them.

But then there's the zero curse.

He is powerful enough that his body can't handle it? Is that it? 'Yon lang ang nakakapagpigil sa pagtalo kay Callista.

Now I understand why Rory told me to use the orb to absorb Callista's power, but at the same time, I must have Zero's blood in the orb too because Zero's power is the one who can kill her.

"I can be unfrozen, Callista," wika ni Zero. Dito naman nawala ang ngiti ni Callista, but then she shook her head.

"Hindi mo ako malolo-"

"Then why do you think I can exist as an illusion too? It's because I have a connection with someone that can unfreeze my body, Callista. She is the vessel for me to defeat you," sabat ni Zero.

Napatingin naman agad si Callista, ngunit nagulat ako nang biglang pumunta sa harap ko si Seraphin at tila tinakpan ako mula kay Callista.

"No, Callista. Huwag mo nang subukan. Hindi mo siya mapapatay ulit," banta ni Seraphin. Napahawak naman ako sa leeg ko nang biglang may maramdamang kakaiba. I looked down my neck and saw a necklace with an orb-like charm in the middle. Ano naman 'to?

"She is under my protection. Whenever you harm her, I will appear," paliwanag ni Seraphin.

"But that is a temporary protection accessory, Seraphin. Guess, just for a week?" Callista reckoned. Nagulat naman ako nang tumango si Seraphin. Luh? Bakit naman temporary lang?

"Then so be it. A week. Within that week, I would be able to find Zero's body and destroy it before it could-"

"Vanish," bulong ni Seraphin at sa isang salitang 'yon, nawala sa isang iglap si Callista.

They all turned to me. Nagulat na rin ako nang biglang mawala rin si Zero. "Close your mind for a moment, Four."

"Huh? Bakit po?" tanong ko.

"Zero must not know what I'm going to tell you," aniya. Napatagilid naman ang ulo ko. Pa'no ko naman isasarado ang utak ko?

Seraphin sighed and held my head, and suddenly it felt light. "Ako na ang nagsara para sa'yo," sabi ni Seraphin.

I smiled awkwardly. Sorry na, hehe.

"You all need to go back to the headquarters of the ten orphic creators," he ordered.

"Bakit naman po?" tanong ni Lein. "Didn't they fool us? Why would we go back to them?"

"They didn't fool you. They kept you safe."

Nicolas scoffed, "How so? Callista was even part of the administration. She's the enemy, right?"

"She isn't. She just hacked through the system," depensa ni Seraphin. He sighed loudly, "You've been kept in the Orphic dimension for years clearly because they were trying to protect you from Callista. The deaths of Peculiars have skyrocketed ever since Zero's freeze."

"Kung gan'on, bakit kailangan kaming lokohin sa panamagitan ng virtual dimension na 'yon?" si Iris naman ngayon ang nagtanong.

Bigla namang nagkunot-noo si Seraphin, "Virtual dimension?"

"Hindi mo alam?" sambit ko agad. "Po?" habol ko.

Seraphin didn't answer for a while, then he started thinking deeply.

"Hindi ko alam ang rason para d'yan. I've been distant from them for years, and I didn't even know that inside their headquarters, there was a virtual orphic dimension. I just thought they kept you there," sagot niya.

Nagpatuloy naman siya, "But one thing is for sure, there is a good reason for that. Alam kong hindi nila ako bibiguin."

"So why exactly should we go back?" Si Chastille naman.

Seraphin glanced at him and smiled, "Because they know where Zero is- one who can finally end Callista."

"At kailangan niyong mauna kay Callista, kung hindi, ay maaari na namang maulit ang mga pangyayari."

Slowly, the surrounding turned back to a snowy land again. Ang orihinal na lugar kung nas'an kami.

"The orb in the necklace is the orb that you can use to manipulate. I know you haven't mastered your powers yet, but you mastered using the orb," Seraphin exlpained more.

Napahawak naman ako sa sa maliit na orb sa necklace ko. No wonder it felt like the orb that I had in the virtual reality back then.

"But before you go back, I'll give you another gift, Four," pahabol ni Seraphin. Napasinghap naman ako nang hawakan na naman niya ang ulo ko, at pinatong ang kaniyang ulo sa'kin.

He closed his eyes, and suddenly I felt a very calming atmosphere. My eyes felt drowsy, and I feel like I could drift to sleep at any moment.

"This is a gift of memory, Four. May this memory ignite your fire to break the ice."

Memory? Huh? Tatalas na ba ang memory ko?

In a split second, I felt myself falling to an endless void. And the emptiness of the surroundings felt so... heavy.

The Orphic Secret
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

Thank you for reading!