HACKER

"The orb!" sigaw ng isa kong pabidang kaklase. Why did she have to shout it out loud? Napatingin tuloy sa'kin ang lahat.

Nagtaka naman ang iba nang hindi makita ang orb. Malamang naging espada na, eh. Napatingin din sa'kin si Prof. Hal at napansin kong wala na pala si Lein at Iris.

"Where's the orb?" malakas na tanong ni Prof. Hal. Then, he looked at the sword that I was holding.

"Is that the orb?" tanong n'ya.

"It's a sword?" sagot ko. "Pero opo. Nagtransform po 'yong orb sa sword!" Humagikhik pa ako na para bang hindi ako kinakabahan sa mga tingin nila sa'kin.

Attention is nice, but too much attention is suffocating. It's like people watch your every move, and of course, hindi na mawawala d'yan ang kritisismo.

Seriously, bakit ba ang big deal ng orb na 'to? At bakit naman kine-claim nilang may kapangyarihan akong kapareha ng kay Kuya? Creation magic. I've been trying to do magic and be like him all my life, so bakit ngayon lang lumabas? Or maybe I don't really have creation magic at all.

"Can I see the orb?" tanong ni Prof. Hal. I nodded and imagined the sword back to it's old form. It glowed, and after a few seconds, it was back to the form of an orb.

Pinaglaruan ko 'yon gamit ang kamay ko, at nakakamangha dahil sumusunod lang siya sa galaw ng kamay ko. The orb glowed more, and now it was alike to a golden sun.

Naramdaman ko namang bahagya ring nagliwanag ang mata ko, hala.

"So, you have creation magic, Four?" tanong ulit ni Prof.

Nagkibit-balikat ako, "My brother has creation magic, but we are not blood related. Is that possible?"

The professor sighed, and put a hand under his chin. Tiningnan niya ang orb, at gan'on na rin ang ginawa ng ibang tao rito sa Arena. I looked up at saw that all camera drones were shooting me.

Oh, great. Paniguradong kakalat 'to sa buong Academy at marami na namang magtatanong.

"It is only possible that along with the years you've been together with your brother, you've unlocked your peculiarity. And since creation magic ang kapangyarihan niya, gan'on na rin ang na-adapt mo."

I nodded in his explanation. Baka gan'on na nga. I'm used to my brother's extraordinary doings, kaya hindi na rin ako nagugulat sa mga ine-explain nila sa'kin ngayon.

If I really have creation magic, then that's cool! At saka sabi nga nila, hindi nakakapasok sa dimension na 'to ang hindi peculiar. Maybe I'm a late bloomer, or there was no event that triggered me to use my powers.

Nagbabasa naman ako ng mga fantasy stories sa wattpad. Hindi naman ako katulad ng mga bida r'on na nabu-bully or naaapi or biglang namatayan kaya lumabas powers, baka kaya hindi ko nadiscover powers ko agad! Lels!

I imagined the orb to be bracelet. The orb became a bead bracelet. Professor Hal motioned waved his hand, then all camera drones moved. Hindi na ako ang shino-shoot nila.

"Get back to training. Four, come closer," utos ni Prof. Hal.

Sinulyapan ko ang iba at nagsimula naman silang mag-train na ulit. Some are dueling or sparring with each other. Minsan naiiisip ko, bakit kailangan nilang mag-train? May ranking system ba rito, or what? Parang nakakatamad, eh!

"We will first train your ability to create different forms with the orb," aniya.

"Uhm, can you enlighten me first about the orb?" tanong ko.

Tumango naman si Prof. Hal. Matapos ay may lumabas na holographic screen sa gilid ko kaya't napaharap ako r'on. Napansin kong nanggaling sa robotic hand ni Prof. Hal ang hologram.

In the screen, the yellow orb was visible and an AI or Artificial Intelligence Robot was holding it.

"The magic orb is a weapon that only works for those with creation magic. Why? It's because the orb can create anything and absorb magic too, but it must first be linked to creation magic."

Sa screen naman, napansin kong nag-iba na ang kulay ng yellow orb. Naging golden na 'yon, at ang ibig sabihin pala n'on ay linked.

"It's only a support weapon for you since you also have the power to create any weapons, but that alone will drain your power and energy. To save the peculiar's energy and power, the orb was created. It's power does not require human energy to transform into another form."

Now the orb in the screen changed from various weapons. From traditional down to futuristic.

"When other's attack you with power, you can use the orb as a defense mechanism. The orb will absorb their powers, and return the attacks."

Ngayon naman, napalibutan ng iba pang AI robots and AI robot na may orb. Pinaulanan siya ng samu't saring kapangyarihan, at biglang lumaki ang orb hanggang sa napaloob d'on ang AI robot. I realized it became a barrier. Then, after a while the barrier broke into pieces and became power shards that struck the enemy AI robots.

Cool! Sana magawa ko rin 'yon, pero syempre ayaw ko ng kalaban.

"The—" natigilan naman kita nang biglang makarinig ng malakas na pagsabog. Umuga rin ang lupa, at napasigaw pa ang iba naming kasama.

We turned to the direction of the sound, and then I squinted my eyes when dust and smoke filled the air. Napatingin ako kay Prof. Hal, but for a second, I thought he wasn't there— like a glitch.

Napasinghap ako nang biglang humigpit ang braclet. I looked at it and shock filled within me when it became color red. Hinawakan ko 'yon at inimagine na bumalik sa dati ang bracelet. After a few seconds, it returned to normal.

Nanliit naman ang mata ko nang makakita ng shadow ng isa pang tao sa gilid ko. I looked up, but saw no one. It was only a shadow.

The hand of the shadow raised and held my chin. I saw it because of my shadow too. Tinaas ko ang kamay ko para hawakan ang taong invisible, pero nagulat nalang din ako nang wala akong mahawakan. Natakot naman ako bigla.

"Professor Hal?" tawag ko. Napatingin naman siya sa'kin, pero unresponsive siya. I looked at the others and noticed that they were silent too.

"Please keep silent, Miss Exiquel. A hacker has broke into the system again," the robotic voice inside me said, but it turned out choppy.

A hacker again? Napatingin ako sa screen at napansing nag-glitch 'yon. Nagulat ako nang makita ang sarili kong mukha sa screen. Then it continued glitching until I saw the face of my own brother. Napatingin ako kay Prof. Hal pero mukhang hindi niya napansin.

The robotic voice in my head now became a gruff voice. "Zero."

Zero? Anong ibig sabihin n'on?

Napatingin naman ako sa screen ulit at napuno 'yon ng number na 0. Patuloy ang pag-glitch n'on, ngunit napansin kong may imaheng binuo ang mag numero. I squinted my eyes and noticed that it resembled Kaiden. Huh?

"They have their secrets, Four. Do not believe them. I will help you out here," Nagkunot-noo ako. This was also what my brother said in my dreams or test.

Nanlaki naman ang mata ko nang bigla akong makarinig ng isa pang pagsabog. All camera drones fell, and another loud noise filled the arena.

Nang tuluyan nang mawala ang smoke, tumingin ako sa paligid. Nanlaki ang mata ko nang may makitang dalawang estudyanteng na... namatay?! Their bodies were bloody. Napapikit ako at nag-iwas agad ng tingin.

"Now, they are erased in the Orphic Dimension," naging choppy 'yon at nang makalipas ang ilang segundo, bumalik na ang robotic voice.

"You can now speak. The hacker has been detected and banned."

"P-prof. Hal, what happened?" tanong ko.

"The hacker must have heigthened the radiations which caused their minds and weapons to explode," sagot ni Prof. Hal na tila sanay na sanay na sa mga gan'tong pangyayari.

"It really happens sometimes. That is why some Orpheuses really prefer traditional weapons rather than cyber ones," dagdag pa niya.

"W-what?" Alam naman pala nilang may namamatay, pero bakit parang wala silang ginagawa para iwasan 'yon?

Professor Hal glanced at me. "Don't worry. The dead bodies are not really Orpheuses. They are only AI realistic robots. Sinadya naming maglagay ng mga gan'yan para sila ang unang ma-target ng hackers. The radiation around them will be stronger."

Napaawang naman ang bibig ko. "But someone really died... before?" tanong ko.

Then, Professor Hal nodded. "Many died the first time the hacker named Zero broke into our system." Kinilabutan agad ako nang marinig ang pangalang Zero. I suddenly remembered the gruff, deep voice in my head.

"Zero... he is a peculiar too?" tanong ko.

"Probably. His power must be something related to science."

Natigilan naman ako. Zero... was he the one who spoke in my mind? And why did he say that the AI robots are now erased in the Orphic Dimension? I mean yeah it is. Big deal ba 'yon?

AI robots lang naman 'yon, ah.

The Orphic Secret
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

Thank you for reading!