ASTAKOS
DIANE's POINT OF VIEW

Minulat ko agad ang mata ko pagkagising dahil hindi ako katulad nang iba na dahan-dahan pa, na akala mo naman pinadala na sa Afterlife.

Pero syempre, dahan-dahan akong bumngon kasi mahihilo tayo mga pards kapag biglaan.

"You good, dumbass?"

Napalingon naman ako agad sa nagsalita. Umirap agad ako. Napansin kong nasa isla kami ni Athena. Syempre alam ko 'to dahil dati akong mentee ni Athena.

"Ba't ako narito, dumbell?" tanong ko.

"What? Dumb— what?"

Umirap na naman ako, "Sabi ko tanga ka, bakit ako narito?" Nanggigigil ako ha. Nas'an na ba 'yang Poseidon na epal na 'yan?

Kinuwento naman niya sa'kin ang nangyari. Alam niyo na 'yon kaya hindi ko na ikukwento. Ang masasabi ko lang, buti nga kay Poseidon.

Tumayo naman ako at lumabas. Sumunod siya sa'kin, at wala nang sinabi. He's really a quiet type of person, and I'm not complaining.

Baka nasapak ko na kapag sobrang ingay katulad— ayan ni Gideon. Tama 'tong batang 'to, sobrang ingay. Kakagising ko lang, eh.

"Diane! Sama ka?!" malakas niyang sigaw.

"Where are you going?" tanong ni Llyr.

"Long story short, punta tayong Astakos dahil sabi ni Cronus," sagot ni Gid. Ah, so alam na pala nilang nakalabas na si Cronus.

Gulat namang nagsalita si Llyr, "What? Cronus? Anong meron?" Then he turned to me, "Alam mo?"

I smirked at him, "Syempre. Ako pa. Ikaw lang walang alam kasi nga dumbell ka, boi."

Sinamaan naman niya ako ng tingin, at halos napatawa ako. Napatingin ako kay Irish na para bang takot na takot. Then, si Zeref naman seryoso lang.

I tied my hair to the back, and experimented on my power. It still feels surreal, pero cool! Kapag nakita ko si Cronus, papaulanan ko 'yon ng arrows. Scam siya.

Akala naman niya maniniwala akong may plano ang Olympians sirain ang mortal realms, e'di nawalan sila ng Kaharian? If no one believes a certain God, they will be forgotten. That is why the mortals need the Gods and vice versa.

Hays, bobo naman ni Cronus!

"We should not waste time. Irish send us to the mortal realm," utos ni Zeref. Napaka-serious naman ni Sir!

Irish nodded, and whistled. Wow naman! Iba talaga mga anak ng Diyos! Napalibutan lang kami ng fog, at pagkawala n'on, nasa ibang lugar na agad kami.

Namilog naman ang mata ko nang makita si Aster at Damon.

"Uy! Bakit kayo nandito?!"

༻❁༺
ZEREF's POINT of VIEW

One of my eyebrows slightly raised upon the sight of Aster and Damon. Why are they also here in Astakos?

Halatang nagulat din sila, that only means that they weren't following us. They were probably sent here too.

"Kayo? Bakit kayo narito?" tanong ni Damon.

I scoffed, "Diane asked first. Don't answer with a question, mortal." Nainis naman siya sa'kin, at nagtiim-bagang na siya.

"We were sent here by Apollo," sagot naman ni Aster. "There is an awakening Oracle here. We need to check it out."

"Oracle na naman?" singhal ni Diane. "Ang dami namang oracle!"

"An awakening Oracle?" tanong ni Irish. "We were sent here by Cronus. He visited us, and gave us a piece of paper with the name of this City."

Ano namang balak ni Cronus? Does he want to obtain the Oracle? Pero ba't niya kami pinapunta rito?

"Do you think he's after the Oracle too?" tanong ni Aster habang hindi maiwasang mapatingin kay Gid.

"If he was, bakit niya kami papapuntahin dito? Mas madali niyang makukuha ang Oracle kung kayo lang. There must be another motive. We must be careful with our actions," I answered.

"In the meantime, we'll help you obtain the oracle," dagdag ko.

Aster nodded, and muttered a thanks. "The Oracle is said to be the only Oracle of Dead. Apollo hasn't sense this for decades, and now, it seemed to be pulling off a strong energy."

"Where is it located?" tanong ni Irish.

"It's atop a hill near the confluence of the Rivers Acheron, Pyriphlegethon and Cocytus. All associated to Hades."

The Archeron is the River of Woe or the River of Misery. Pyriphlegethon is a stream of fire, which coils round the earth and flows into the depths of Tartarus. Lastly, Cocytus is the river of wailing. These are three of the five rivers of the Underworld. Then it must really emit a strong sense of Death.

Tiningnan ko naman si Irish, and motioned her to send us there, but then baka hindi niya na kayanin ang enerhiya. "Kaya mo pa ba?" tanong ko.

She smiled, "Of course!"

Muli na namang sumipol si Irish, at napapikit nalang ako dahil sa lakas ng hangin. It will be easier for her to move us all, since it's just inside a mortal world. Kanina kasi mula sa Olympian World papunta sa mortal world— and that requires more energy.

I opened my eyes. My nose was filled with the scent of damp earth. Tiningnan ko naman ang paligid.

Up on the hillside, there is a small grove of trees— mainly cypresses which are emblems of the dead. Amidst the trees, there are dark passageways which are protected by cyclopeon walls and an inner circuit of polygonal masonry. There were also knee high stones.

"Is this it?" tanong ni Llyr. May tiningnan siyang isang sulat na naka-engrave sa mga walls. Binasa ko na rin 'yon.

NEKROMANTEION

Napalingon naman kaming lahat nang makarinig ng boses. I recognized it immediately.

"What are you doing here, Semideuses?" The Sorceress Goddess asked. Circe.

"To obtain the Oracle of Dead by the order of Apollo," diretsong sagot ni Aster. "What are you doing here, Goddess Circe?"

"To seek the future, Semideuses," sagot ni Circe.

"The shades of the dead were said to possess abilities that the living did not have, kasama na r'ong ang kapangyarihang alamin ang hinaharap. Temples were therefore erected in places thought to be entrances to the Underworld to practice necromancy in order to receive prophecies. That is why this Nekromanteion is built in association of three rivers of the Underworld," mahabang paliwanag ni Circe.

"And I am here to ask whom upon you will be able to defeat Cronus. I am here for the future."

The Semideus
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

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