SCARLETTE'S POINT OF VIEW
"Is it okay to you to skip class?" he questioned again to the point I had lost count. I nodded for the nth time. We went to the library, instead of attending our first class.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" the librarian asked when she saw us entering the door. "Good morning, Ma'am." I smiled as I greeted. "We have research that we forgot to do," I reasoned out. Of course, it was a lie. The librarian sneered. "Oh, come on, Scarlette. What happened to the 'good-student' type you are?" I smirked. "She is on a vacation as of now. She said that she badly wanted to take a break." She laughed at my joke. "Use the books carefully," she reminded. "Noted," Asher responded with a sweet smile. 'No need to use your charm, idiot.'
Asher led the way. We went to the shelves where we first saw each other.
He grabbed a hardbound book from the middle of the fiction books' shelf. It seemed familiar to me. "Looks familiar to you?" he asked. I nodded. "This is the book that was fell on our first meet." A memory flashed in my mind from that day. And yes, it was also the day that he gave me a mysterious cheeseburger and the day that we nearly got locked up inside the school campus.
"So, what is with that book?" I stared at the book that he was holding. "Your questions will be answered by this," he answered. I could sense seriousness in his voice but it seemed a joke to me so I laughed. "Really?" Then, I laughed again but I also stopped when I realized that we were in the library. "Really? The answers are in that fiction book?" I asked, unbelievably. "Yes." I was about to laugh again but his cold expression gave me the creeps so I just remained silent and muttered, "Fine. I believe you."
"Come on, Scarlette. No time for fun. I am dead serious right now." I closed my eyes and sighed. "Okay. Okay." I raised my both hands in defeat. "Good."
He showed the front of the black hardbound book. It was entitled 'Hetarnian Myth'. The letters were gold in color and all in capital letters. "It seems a fiction to many but for us, this is not just a myth. This is our reality."
The Hetarnian Myth – according to Asher, " . . . this is our reality." This is a not well-known myth – a myth for others, but for us, it is not.
In the beginning, Od―the greatest god―created everything. He created the universe, the Earth, humans, animals, and anything. He was so happy after seeing what he had made.
The time came when he felt like there was still missing. So, he divided his soul into three – 50%, 25%, and 25%. His 50% left in his own self while the other half was transformed into two beautiful daughters of his. He named them Er and Wart. Er is the goddess of fire while Wart is the goddess of water. They are the Twin of Balance.
After a long time, a war happened on Earth between Od's believers and those who were not. Back then, the people on Earth got divided into halves. Blood scattered everywhere because of the battle. The believers got defeated. The three believers who remained never surrendered – the reason why the god and goddesses went down to Earth. The non-believers got shocked when they saw them. Before they could speak a word, Od altered their memories so they had forgotten their existence and forever avoid that kind of war to happen again.
The gods brought the three wounded believers to Hetarnia – the place where the gods and souls live. This place looks like a paradise with a big kingdom.
The three believers―namely, Heta, Durlen, and Cavhian―were rewarded to be gods but Cavhian refused. It was because he wanted to continue his ordinary life on Earth. Heta became the goddess of healing, wind, and forest and Durlen became the god of metal, potions, and shadows. The two chose to stay in Hetarnia while Cavhian returned to Earth.
As time passed by, Durlen became greedy. He was not satisfied with what he had. He wanted more power to rule the whole universe and the whole Hetarnia. So, he created a sword that could kill a god.
One midnight, while Od was sleeping peacefully in his chamber, Durlen stabbed the sword into his heart. The three goddesses got awaked because of the shout. They dashed towards Od's room immediately but before they could enter, Durlen vanished. The goddesses and souls grieved because of what happened.
Since Er was more powerful than Wart, she became the next ruler. Durlen never regretted what he did. All in his mind was power. Because of the reason he could not go back to Hetarnia, he made his world – the Underworld. He made demons, evil spirits, and other devil creatures, becoming his minions. He always gave chaos to Earth to make Er give up her position, which was never happened.
The goddesses got angrier toward him. They wanted to kill him right away but they could not go to the Underworld because of the dark spell that Durlen cast.
To counterattack his attacks, Er asked her twin sister Wart, and Heta to lend her help. Using their powers, they created a powerful silver sword – the Hetar sword, embedded with a white diamond crystal. They went to Cavhian and gave the sword to him. This time, he did not refuse and gladly accepted it and his duty – that no matter what, he would protect Earth from evil. When Durlen knew about the sword, he wanted to take it because of the power that it has. However, each time he tried to take it, he could not breathe. Cavhian's duty and his sword were continuously passed through generations.
Asher said that the book was written by Leather Antonio – the fourteenth holder and the first woman to hold the sword. Aside from the title and the whole mythology, there were no other details in it, even the details about the author.
"This is the only copy left out of a thousand copies in the whole world," Asher told me as he returned the book to the shelf. "Gladly, it was destined here. It is indeed fate."
"If Cavhian was the first holder and Leather Antonio was the fourteenth holder, how about my father?" I asked when I suddenly remembered what the demons told me. "Um," he stared at me like the answer was on my face, "Mister Max Sevilla, he was the seventeenth holder, I think, if I am not mistaken," he replied, unsure.
"Then―" I stopped when I had a sudden realization.
I remembered how Aunt Wart called me niece sincerely. The demons that night called me the daughter of a swordsman. It was unusual how could I use the sword like I was an expert though it was my first time. The ring of fire that had appeared. Asher told me I am a demigod.
Asher smirked at me when he saw me wide-eyed. "I have a hint that you finally connected all the dots."
I just nodded slowly and spoke what I found out, "I am a demigod—the daughter of the seventeenth holder of the sword Max Sevilla, and the ruler of Hetarnia and also the goddess of fire―Er. And I am going to be the eighteenth holder of the Hetar sword."
I thought things would be clear when I already knew who really I am but it turned out that things got more complicated.