Sigmund Rola is a mad man! My first impression of this mentor of ours was out of the ordinary, but for him to challenge a newbie into recreating the protective enchantment in this 6 yard cemetery is absurd. And to think he decided this all on a whim―moreover, THROUGH FLIP COIN. It urks me to think about it and yet here I am standing at one of the erected pedistals in the middle of this vast graveyard. I turn to my left to look at my ever so loving mentor who was clearly excited of this task.
"You've been giving me the meek look, Prim. Are you sure you're okay?" he said, grinning from ear to ear.
"You ask me that now? I thought you were confident of my abilities."
"I am." he smiled, "But again, I am more interested to where your heart is. If your soul and your heart will not coincide in this enchantment, it will all be for naught."
You tell me that now old man? I can't beieve I lost my cool with his taunting. I was sure I was more level-headed than this. I didn't want to respond to him anymore. I take as much air as I can, breathe it all in, and release.
"Let's do this." I said, which prompted Sig's pedistal to glow in red. Amazing. This is my first time seeing a protective enchantment undone. He wasn't starting with the sutra just yet, but I feel his mana flowing down to the ground. So this is what it means to be a Messiah.
"You're dazed out Primrose." he said. I snapped back, "I am not!"
He scoffed, chuckling, "Now remember what I instructed you earlier. I'm going to recite the sutra backwards, so pay attention. You'll have to recite it all over again, but the sealing way afterwards."
"I know."
"I'm confident your listening skill is supreme."
Is this his way of mocking me? "Just do it already." I said, fixing my eyes at the lawn of tombstones in front of me.
I hear Sig hum and the pedistal glows brighter. As the words came out from his mouth, my ears started twitching. To think even the simplest sound of this sutra is making my whole body shake. No wonder this task is too good to be true. It's no joke. Okay, enough thinking Prim, more listening. I carefully pay attention to the words he's saying. I recognize it's a difficult one―something I'd expect from a high level priest. And to think he's enchanting this backwards with no pause. Is he even breathing? Remember Prim, if you miss one part, you're going to ruin the synchronization. The interval of the undoing and recreating is only 3 seconds. Any later than that, you're screwed.
As Sig's chanting grows stronger, I felt a strange force coming from below. Spirit? No. Something bigger and it's coming right at us. I can feel the ground shake a little. What is this? It's making my whole body shudder. I glance at Sig and he wasn't flinching. I realized he was down to the last three repititions of the chant. SHIT. I knew I was ready, but why am I getting all scared now?
The shaking on the ground intensifies. I look down and what I saw sent chills all over me. I can see something crawling underneath it. No, it was gliding like....a snake?! And it's huge! It looks like an Anaconda, and it's wriggling all over us beneath our pedistals.
I look at Sig and he gives me a signal with his hand that he's at his final strand. I immediately intensify my mana and the pedistal I'm standing on glow in blue. My hands shake as the serpent grew more apparent than ghost-like. If there's one thing I'm afraid of, it might be snakes. I just have to repeat the enchantment 20 times and we are so done. Come on self, keep it together!
The moment Sig breathes the last word of the strand, I quickly catch his with mine under my breath maintaining the same rhythm he recited it now not backwards. My ears are ringing and the back of my neck is burning up. I look down, and the serpent is still there. Holy crap.
I'm already on my fifth repetition, so far so good, but what's bothering me is how my vision is starting to blur. What is going on this time? My eyes are starting to feel warm too. I try to concentrate on the chanting but I'm somewhat already gasping for air. I see Sig glance at me worriedly. I guess he felt it now, something's weird about me.
"Damn snake, still there." I thought to myself.
"Prim! Don't mind the serpent!" Sig yelled.
Did I say that out loud? I was sure I only had―
"Kill..." a voice echoed in my head.
My whole body pulsated, distracting me.
"Kill..."
There it goes again. My mind suddenly gets pulled into a familiar state of paralysis. It was then that I realized it's one of those episodes again. I start to panic knowing I won't be able to hold out much longer with the chant. I'm still on the eighth.
"Kill..."
No! Shut up! Don't take me there! I have to finish this or else...
"But nobody helped you when you were on the brink of death..."
.
.
.
What...
I feel my body give away and I drop to my knees shaking. I hear Sig calling my name many times then he decides to continue my unfinished chant as I continued to battle the voice inside my head that was pulling me into that trance.
Ughh..no..sorry..please..no..I don't want to see it again..
I hear Sig grunt in his pedistal that it was not working. The serpent beneath us grew in size and I can feel a strong malice from it. I hear Sig try a few powerful chants to hold off the disaster. But I knew there was only much he can do. He did tell me that he can't even do this alone, so I'm sure we're going to be engulf with this sea of malice that I feel all over us for some time now.
"Are you going to give up?"
Huh? a different voice?
"Are you going to let an apocalypse befall now?"
Who are you? Why do you call for me?
I gather up all the strength left in my body and gaze upon the whole cemetery. There in the distance I see a man in all white with hair glowing like moonlight with a golden staff on hand. I stare at him despite not being able to see his face.
"Are you the voice that tells me to kill?" I yell with all my might as I wince in the overheat.
He then points to his ear then to his heart.
What?
"I will not remove this!" I scream.
The man darts his staff to the ground sending a shockwave of energy to me and the wind whispered, "Sing.." to my soul.
I suddenly feel a surge of mana rising and I slowly stand up on my feet. I won't be able to continue the chant now, the chain is broken. I hum the tune of the wind and I feel my body become light. I lift my arms gracefully as if I was trying to dance the ballet, but with this, the melody is set in me. I finally understand what that man was telling me.
Listen to the melody in your heart.
That was all that it took and my voice came out of me like a sweet breeze blowing through the very horizon that I see. Slowly, the malice I felt dissipated and in a similar manner, light grew brighter. I don't know if I'm the one glowing or the whole scene in front of me was glistening. But I've never felt this serene, this at peace. The serpent disappeared, and so did the man.
Close your eyes,
And remember that passing voice.
I can't return,
I can't go back.
There is only deep darkness.
I can't return, I can't go back.
There is only deep darkness.
You hear a gentle sound and it makes you cry
No matter how painful it is,
Move forward
Keep going
Cut off that despair.
Even if you lose, even if you fail,
You have no choice but to keep on living.
No matter how beaten you are,
There is something you have to protect.
Now, that my song is in place, my melody is the lull of the wind.
"It is done." and my song shall be carried away.