REVELATIONS
ZEREF's POINT OF VIEW

The small rocks crumbled, and the pathway was opened once again. The fire in the torches became dimmer— with less light. Nawala na ang boses, at nawala na rin ang glow sa marka ni Diane sa likod ng kamay niya.

I was still worried for Diane, and for some of us, it still hasn't sunken in our minds. She was going to die. On the other thought, everyone was meant to die.

The butterfly in Circe's wand flew again, and it showed the way. Sinundan lamang namin 'yon hanggang sa lumiko na kami sa kung saan saang daan. If it wasn't for the butterly, we would have got lost.

"Jeez, where are we headed na ba?" tanong ni Irish na halatang pinapagaan na ang atmosphere.

Circe answered, "Malapit na naman siguro tayo. Be aware of the surroundings."

The wind slowly shifted from cold to warm to hot. Pinagpawisan agad kami, at naramdaman ko namang hindi na nakalahilo ang hangin. Tinanggal ko na ang tela sa mukha ko.

"Zeref..." naningkit na naman ang mata ko nang marinig ang boses ng mortal mother ko.

"Do you hear that?" tanong ko sa kanila. Si Mam- Damon naman ang unang sumagot na naririnig din nila. Then, everyone heard it too.

"Zeref, my child." Napalingon ako sa direksyon ng boses. There were three pathways now. One to the right, to the left and straight ahead.

Surprisingly, it came from the back.

"Do you think it's the oracle, Circe?" tanong ni Aster. The butterfly stopped moving and returned to the wand again.

Circe sighed, "Hindi ako sigurado. But there must be something about the voice."

"Zeref..."

"That is my mother's voice, Circe," saad ko. Her mouth formed an 'o'.

"Then, it must be the oracle. Or she knows something that needs to be told. How long was it since she died, Zeref?"

Nagkibit-balikat ako, "Hindi ko na naalala, but it's before I came to the Olympian World. The last thing she said was that I was related to Zeus. I presumed that he is my father."

"Then there must be another revelation. If a shade does not go to the afterlife, she missed to do something important. Once, she does it, she will go to the Afterlif-"

"No... I can't go to the Afterlife. Hear me, son. Hear my words..."

Nagtaka naman ako nang biglang sa ibang dirkesyon na nagmula ang boses. May malakas na sipol ng hangin ang umalingawngaw sa pathway.

"'Nu 'yon?" sambit ni Gideon.

"W-what is it, Mother?" tanong ko. The whistle of the wind became quiet, and now became a calming sound. The torches suddenly ran out of fire.

"You are a child of a prophecy too, my son."

A child of a prophecy? Which prophecy?

"Long ago, Cronus was prophesied by Gaia and Uranus— that he shall be overthrown by a son. And after ages, Zeus overthrew him."

"Yes, we are aware of that-" naputol naman ang sinasabi ni Circe nang biglang ituloy ng ina ko ang sinasabi niya.

"That prophecy isn't dead."

"Then are you saying that Zeus will be able to defeat Cronus, again?" tanong ni Aster. "Is he the answer to this?"

Then, silence strenched the crypt. Hindi sumagot si Mama, at tanging katahimikan lang ang napuno sa loob ng ilang minuto. Does silence mean yes?

"Where is s-" tanong sana ni Damon nang biglang parang may tumakip sa kaniyang bibig. Gideon lit up fire in his hands, then we saw Irish covering Damon's mouth.

Her eyes were closed as if listening to something. "No, she's still there. I can hear her. She's just... finding the right time to speak."

"Y-yes. I'm sorry, I think I need to tell you from the start, but I think I don't have much time... I'll make it short, my son."

"I was a mortal maid of the Underworld. I always visited Tartarus because of a particular reason... that was Cronus."

"Cronus? Ikaw ba ang nagpakawala kay Cronus noon?" tanong ni Damon. Then, the voice answered again.

"No...," she paused a bit. "I bore a child with him, and then the seventh child was born."

Nanlaki agad ang mata ko. This only means one thing. I held my breath when my mother continued speaking. Napaawang ang labi ko, at hindi na alam ang sasabihin.

"It is you, Zeref. You are the seventh child after Zeus. Your fate is to defeat Cronus."

Tumahimik naman ulit hanggang sa magsalita ulit si Diane, "Wow, bro. Ikaw lang pala ang sagot!" awkward din siyang tumawa.

"But then..." tumigil naman si Diane sa pagtawa nang muling magsalita si Mama. "Many of the mortals will die."

"Why naman? I thought matatalo na ni Zeref si Cronus?" Irish asked.

"Buhay kapalit ng buhay."

Buhay kapalit ng buhay? The mortals' lives in exchange of Cronus'? That's absurd!

"Everything is unsure, but there is someone that you cannot defeat. She who will claim the lives of mortals."

S-she?

"She must be dead."

Nagkatinginan kaming lahat nang tila iisang tao ang tumakbo sa isipan namin. Si Xynthea. But... why?

"The second child of Zeus and Metis. The younger sister of Athena. The Semideus. The one who doesn't have a thread."

Napasinghap ako. Who is... Metis? Why do we not know her? And the prophecy she is speaking of.

"Who is Metis?" tanong ni Damon.

"The first wife of Zeus. Mother of Athena and Xynthea. Titaness of Wisdom, Prudence, and deep thought."

"We don't know her," sagot ni Aster.

"Because you have forgotten them. Seek Mnemosyne, and she shall return your memori—"

Isang malakas na pagsabog naman ang nakapagpatigil sa'ming lahat. Then a deep voice alike to mine filled our ears.

"Foolish Semideuses."

Akmang ilalabas ko na ang kaapangyarihan ko nang bigla ko na namang narinig ang boses ni Mama.

"Not now, my child. This is not the time. You must remember your memories first."

I nodded. "Irish," sambit ko. Alam na niya agad kung ano ang gagawin. She whistled while Diane protected us through making a moonlight circle around.

Unti-unting nawala ang usok mula sa pagsabog, and there I saw her. Xynthea. But now, her eyes were violet like Cronus'.

Why is she standing with him?

Masama niya kaming tiningnan. She muttered something, but I didn't catch it. Then she turned to Cronus and manipulated an hourglass with her one hand.

What does that mean?

Before we could completely teleport to another place, I heard my mother's last words.

"She must belong to us. She must belong to the dead. The hourglass indicates the time the mortals would all die—"

Then, we were in another place. Napapikit ako at inalala ang hitsura ng orasan. If my calculation is not mistaken, the sands in the hourglass will all be down in three days.

And if mortals all die... it would be the fall of the Olympian World.

If that's the case, Xynthea must be killed. But... why would she claim the lives of mortals?

The Semideus
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

:) hehe. Please tell me if may magulong part para ma-clear ko sa next chapters.

Votes and comments are highly appreciated. Thank you for reading!