My whole memory was stolen.
My whole memory was corrupted.
But the most painful part of this...is the man who I trusted the most is the one who did it.
The man who I thought to be protecting me all this time...is the same man who's been trying to kill me.
He is protecting me...to kill me.
And right now, hindi ko alam kung ano ang mas nangingibabaw na emosyon sa akin mula sa nalaman ko.
Kung galit ba...o ang sobrang sakit?
I thought it was just only a dream.
Pero after ko marinig ang lahat ng iyon kay Lucian...ay alam kong...those memories are real.
Back to the Last Esylium...
Light is holding my hand so firmly while we continue to run in that place.
Hindi pa nawawala ang bakas ng mga luha sa mga mata nya nang dahil sa pagkawala ng pinakamamahal na kapatid.
At alam kong nasasaktan parin sya but he can't mourn for he knows that there is something he must do.
Maski ako ay hindi parin makapaniwala na wala na si Alex.
Pero wala akong ibang magawa kundi ang umiyak lang ng umiyak habang tumatakbo parin kami ng mabilis.
Sa sobrang pag-iyak ko ay bigla akong nadapa sa malamig na sahig.
Mabilis naman syang napalingon sa akin pero nagpatuloy lang ako sa pag-iyak mula sa kinauupuan kong sahig.
"A-annah..." he whispered saka sya lumuhod sa harapan ko.
Nagtaas ako ng mukha at umiiyak na napatingin sa kanya.
"L-light..." I whispered his name. "A-alex is gone..."
Nakita ko ang pamumuo uli ng mga luha sa mga mata nya pero alam kong pinipigilan nya yun. Instead, he held both of my cheeks and looked at me directly in my eyes. Nakikita ko pa ang mga pulang marka na nasa pisngi parin nya.
"I need you to be brave okay?" he whispered. "We have to get out from here. We have to look for Master Lucian..."
Pinunasan ko naman ang mga luhang nasa magkabilang mga mata ko at buong tapang na tumango.
Yes.
Hindi ko pa man maintindihan kung ano ba talaga ang mga nangyayari ay alam kong walang magagawa ang pag-iyak ko. I need to be strong. I need to be brave for Alex.
He kissed my forehead saka nya ako tinulungang tumayo. Saka nya hinawakan uli ang kamay ko at nagpatuloy kami sa pagtakbo paalis ng lugar na iyon.
Pero natigil kami sa pagtakbo nang bigla kaming salubungin ng isang hukbo ng mga naka-armors na mga bampirang iyon.
At nakaramdam ako ng tuwa nang makilala ko ang mga mukha nila.
I know that we are finally safe.
Napangiti nalang ako nang makilala ko ang gwapong lalaking yun na may itim na buhok at magagandang asul na mga mata na nangunguna sa kanila.
Pero pakiramdam ko ay parang may kakaiba sa kanila...
Napansin ko rin na red rose ang naka-engrave sa mga armors nila at hindi ang dating blue rose na nanduon.
The most painful thing about this memory...
Pero agad na nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang makita ko ang sabay-sabay nilang paglabas ng mga kapangyarihan sa mga kamay nila. And before I get the chance to speak, they attacked us.
...is the people who I trusted the most in the present time...is the people who have hurt me the most in the past.
Yes. They are the Arcadian Knights.
But they are the one who's been trying to kill me right now.
End.
Pakiramdam ko ay bigla akong nanghina nang maalala ko ang kasunod ng panaginip ko kagabi.
Yes.
Everything was a lie.
They lied to me.
They made me believe in something that never existed.
They told me that they exist to protect me.
But they don't.
They exist to kill me.
At ngayon ko naintindihan kung bakit all this time ay galit na galit sa kanila at hindi sila kayang pagkatiwalaan ni Light.
Light not trusting anyone of them makes sense now.
"After the members of our organization were hunted down one by one, Raven and I made a new organization that protects the Titanians and we named them Arcadian Knights. We formed Arcadian Knights because I can sense that the family needed more protection from what I think is going to happen in the future." Lucian said that woke me up from my nightmare. "And I became their true leader and Raven is my right hand"
"We are Argons, the strongest type of vampires and yet we are ruled by the Titanians. I was the leader of the Argons at that time and also the leader of the Arcadian Knights, the Knights who protected Calixus family for many years. At si Lucian naman ang kanang kamay ko. Pero...pero hindi ko alam na may binabalak pala syang masama nung mga oras na yun. Hinikayat nyang sumama sa kanya ang karamihan sa mga Argons at Aletheans na nasa pamumuno ko na umalis sa grupo at gumawa ng sarili nilang grupo na naglalayong patayin ang pamilya ni Calixus. And Lucian is the one who leads them. Gusto nyang palitan ang Titanians sa pamumuno ng mundong ito" Naalala ko ang sinabing iyon ni Raven.
Yes. Everything that he had told me were all lies...
Raven...lied to me.
And so this whole journey is nothing but a complete lie too.
"Wala pa akong ka-ide-ideya noon na sya nga ang traydor sa samahan namin" Lucian said. "But slowly, I've gone more suspicious of his actions. Especially that he's getting closer to you"
Nanginginig akong napalingon sa kanya.
Nanginginig ako sa pinaghalong sama ng loob at sobrang sakit sa dibdib ko.
Pakiramdam ko ay hindi ko kakayanin ang malaking reblesyon na ito. And any moment now ay baka bumigay na ako.
"P-pero bakit..." I whispered at pakiramdam ko ay nawalan na ako ng boses. "Pero b-bakit...bakit ako?"
Hildegarde red eyes turned to me.
"In order to protect the Ten Stones of Death, we decided to implant it to the Titanians" she said that stunned me. "We implanted the two stones in Calixus and one stone in Eries"
Nanlalaki ang mga mata kong napatitig sa kanya.
Kung ganun...
Ang pitong esylium...
Ang pitong crystal balls...
"And yes" she continued. "We implanted the rest of the seven stones of death into their newborn baby and it was you Annah"
...ay hindi esylium kundi ang natitirang seven stones of death?
"It is not called esylium. But it is called the stones of death" Maalouf confirmed my thoughts.
Pakiramdam ko ay tuluyan na akong nanlamig sa mga sinabi nya.
"And after knowing that, Raven got obsessed on you" Lucian said. "He always sees to it that you won't be out of his sight. You have all the remaining seven stones of death so you are the most precious thing to him"
"I'm just so happy to see you again...I have always looked forward for this day to come that I could hold your face like this..." I can still remember what Raven said when we first come here in this world.
"The Seven stones of Death is now in your blood" Cedric said. "He needed only your blood to use all of it"
Now it all makes sense.
It all makes sense kung bakit ganun nalang sya ka-desperado na makumpleto ang pitong esylium. Because he needed me. He needed the seven stones that only will be completed by using me.
Pero nagtaas ako ng mukha.
"P-pero..." I whispered. "P-pero bakit gusto nyang makuha ang Ten stones of Death? Bakit sya nag-traydor sa samahan ninyo?"
Hindi ko parin matanggap na nagawa ni Raven yun.
Hindi ko parin matanggap na nagawa nya akong lokohin.
Hindi ko parin matanggap na naniwala ako sa lahat ng mga sinabi nya at nagtiwala ako sa kanya.
Pero ano ba ang malaking rason nya at nagawa nya kaming trayduring lahat?
Ano ba ang malaking rason nya at nagawa nyang traydurin ang mga kasamahan nya?
Lucian's red eyes turned to me.
"Because he wants to resurrect someone..." he said. "And in order to do that, he needed the Ten stones of Death"
I was stunned.
So he wants to resurrect someone...
Nagtaas ako ng mukha at napatitig sa mga mata nya.
"And who is that?"
His red eyes looked intently at my eyes and in that clear voice, he answered.
"His older brother" he said.
My brows met.
Older brother?
Raven...has an older brother?
Nagtataka akong napatitig nalang sa kanya.
But what he said next froze me from where I stood.
"The Fire Argon Vampire Ancestor, Alexander Tybalt" he continued. "He is Raven's older brother"
********************
Pakiramdam ko ay hindi na ako makahinga sa mga nalaman ko.
This is just too much.
This is just too much for me to take.
Pakiramdam ko ay hindi ko na kayang paniwalaan pa ang lahat ng sinasabi nila.
But I know that this is the whole truth.
And I was right.
I wasn't ready for this.
I wasn't ready to hear all of this.
Tybalt.
And all this time iniisip ko lang kung saan ko ba narinig ang apelyidong iyon.
"Si Raven..." I whispered pero hindi ko na kayang magsalita pa at pakiramdam ko ay nanghihina ako sa mga nalaman ko.
"My name is Raven. The heir of the Tybalt clan..."
Tama. Yun ang ipinakilala nya sa akin nang una kaming tumapak sa mundong ito.
Kung ganun...all this time...ay kinukumpleto lang namin...
Kinukumpleto lang namin...ang mga batong bubuhay sa nakakatanda nyang kapatid?
And the most shocking about this...is his older brother...is no other than the fire argon ancestor, Alexander?
"We all know that he's the younger brother of the fire argon ancestor who was killed by our master Demon in the past" Cedric said. "And we thought that his hatred towards us for killing his brother had faded away with time. But we were wrong"
"When he heard that the Ten Stones of death can actually resurrect someone from the dead, he gone obsessed with it" Hildegarde said. "And we know that right now, he will stopped at nothing to get his brother comes back to life. But when that time comes..."
She paused and her emotionless red eyes looked at us.
"...all the vampires in this world will meet its doom" she said.
Ngayon naiintindihan ko na...
Naintindihan ko na kung paano nabuhay ng esylium o ng stone of death si Helga na nakilala ko noon sa Murrk. But she's weak because she only have one stone. At kung nakumpleto nya lang siguro ang sampung stones ay baka tuluyan na syang nabuhay.
Pero nagtaas ako ng mukha at nagtatakang napatitig sa kanya.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked her. "How do this world will finally meet its doom when the fire argon ancestor comes back to life?"
Pero si Lucian ang sumagot.
"I've been secretly investigating Raven for the past years...and there is something I found out" he said then his eyes looked intently at me. "I found out that he's been keeping a secret laboratory in Vedra"
My brows met.
Laboratory?
In Vedra?
"But as soon as I get the chance to look more closely at it, the whole city was burned into ashes, leaving no trace from it" he continued. "But even if I didn't get the chance to gather more evidence from it, I've found out something that turns out to be true"
Napatitig lang ako sa kanya at naghintay ng sasabihin nya. At hindi ko alam kung bakit bigla akong nakaramdam ng kaba sa dibdib ko sa ipinapahiwatig ng mga mata nya.
It was like he's going to say something that I'm not ready to hear.
And I was right.
"In order to complete the resurrection of his brother, Raven needed a new body where he can place the soul and the power of his brother. And so he adopted two of his nephews from a far relative for it" he said and what he said next shattered me. "And it was Light and Alex"
Tuluyan na akong nanigas mula sa kinatatayuan ko nang dahil sa nalaman ko.
At pakiramdam ko ay bigla akong nanghina kaya napahawak ako sa noo ko.
Agad naman nyang napansin yun kaya agad nya akong inalalayan paupo ng silya.
Naramdaman kong may umalalay din sa kanang braso ko at nang lingunin ko ay nakita ko ang nag-aalalang mukha ni Bea.
"Beh..." she whispered.
"You should take some rest..." ang nag-aalalang sambit naman ni Lucian habang hinahaplos nya ang buhok ko.
Pero agad akong umiling.
"Hindi..." I whispered. "K-kailangan kong malaman ang lahat...please...please tell me everything..."
For a moment ay tumitig lang sya sa akin na para bang binabasa nya ang iniisip ko.
And then he sigh and continued to speak.
"Noong una ay si Alex ang napili nya because Alex is a fire argon too which makes him perfect to be the new body of his older brother" he continued. "He even named Alexander after his own brother for it. But when Alex grew up, he noticed that Alex has grown a weak body. And Light, who knew that the weak body of his brother won't make it if the experiments will continue, volunteered to replace his brother. But the experiment wasn't successful. Light and Alexander Tybalt is now sharing into only one body but in order to completely resurrect his brother into Light's body, Raven still needs the ten stones of death. "
Ngayon naintindihan ko na...
Naintindihan ko na...kung bakit napatay ni Light ang sariling kapatid...
At kung bakit gusto nya akong patayin noong gabing iyon...
And it is because...Light is sharing his body with someone who has a great grudge into our family.
At iyon din ba ang rason...
"I love you but I never existed into your past..."
...kaya nasabi nya yun sa akin dati?
At iyon ay dahil sa may ibang bampirang unti-unting umaagaw ng katawan nya?
At kapag nakuha ni Raven ang Ten Stones of Death...ay tuluyan ng mawawala si Light at tuluyan ng maaagaw ng fire argon ancestor na iyon ang buong katawan nya?
Pero nagtaas ako ng mukha at tumitig sa mukha ni Lucian.
"K-kung ganun..." I whispered. "...si Raven ba ang sumunog ng Vedra?"
He didn't respond.
He didn't respond and that made me cold.
At ngayong nakatitig lang sya sa akin ay pakiramdam ko ay may sasabihin pa sya na alam kong hindi ko kakayanin.
"L-lucian..." I whispered. "S-si R-raven ba?"
Napatingin narin ako kay Bea pero nag-iwas lang sya ng tingin.
Napalingon naman ako sa ibang kasamahan namin na nanduon pero katulad ni Bea ay parang wala silang balak na sagutin ang tanong ko.
Kaya nilingon ko uli si Lucian at hindi ko alam kung bakit nagsisimula ng mag-init ang sulok ng mga mata ko.
Dahil ang totoo nyan...ay may sagot ng unti-unting namumuo sa isipan ko pero hindi ko lang ito gustong paniwalaan.
At gusto kong patunayan sa akin ni Lucian na mali ang iniisip ko.
Pero...
"Light is a Wind Argon" he whispered. "But when you joined two powers at the same time, it will become something that has never existed in this world before. It will become the most powerful thing in this world..."
I felt cold.
Pero alam kong kailangan kong marinig ang kung ano man ang sasabihin nya.
"The power of wind of Light was mixed with the most powerful fire of Alexander Tybalt inside of just one body...and it created something that no one can beat into this world..." he continued.
But what he said next is just like a bomb that pierced into my ears.
"And Light..." he said then sigh. "...Light or known by his true name Alburz Light is the blue fire using Argon vampire. And he is the one who destroyed the whole city of Vedra"
to be continued...