CHAPTER 66
Imperial Palace
in Capital City of Sartores
Nakatayo si Megan sa balkonahe ng palasyo, tahimik na pinagmamasdan ang malawak na tanawin ng imperyo. Sa malayo, makikita ang mga lungsod na unti-unting nabubuhay, ang mga karwaheng dumaraan sa mga kalsada, at ang mga mamamayang abala sa kani-kanilang buhay.
Everything looked peaceful. Ngunit sa mukha ni Megan, may kakaibang ngiting hindi maipaliwanag.
"Everything is exactly according to my plan..."
Marahan siyang sumandal sa balustrade habang patuloy na pinagmamasdan ang tanawin sa kanyang harapan.
"People are still living their little lives, unaware of what's coming..."
Megan looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were no longer their usual color, but a bright, otherworldly gold, with a strange ancient symbol glowing within her irises. It was a symbol that no one in the empire would recognize.
I can feel it...
After all these years, the power buried deep within me is finally beginning to awaken...
Rassia
"Anastacio, the Eternal Phoenix, the Sovereign of Fire... he is the oldest of all nine Sovereign Spirits. He was the first one created by the Great Goddess. Among the nine Sovereign Spirits, Anastacio is considered one of the most ancient beings to ever exist. His flames are not ordinary fire.
They carry the essence of the Eternal Flame itself."
"That is why he doesn't choose a master easily. He doesn't care about bloodline, status, or how powerful someone appears."
"He chooses according to the soul."
"And if Anastacio chooses you, your Eternal Flame will become even more powerful."
Those were King Drakkon's words to me. Nang malaman ko ang mga impormasyon tungkol sa Eternal Phoenix, bigla kong naalala ang panaginip ko noon, bago pa ako tuluyang nagising sa mundo ng Vlymir.
It was none other than the Eternal Phoenix himself. Anastacio.
Hindi ko na alam kung ilang araw na ako rito sa kweba. Days, months, or even years may have passed since I came here.
Ang buong kweba ay punong-puno na ng aking Eternal Flame Mana. The walls and ground were constantly surrounded by heat, habang ang mga tubig na dating tahimik ay kumukulo at patuloy na naglalabas ng makapal na usok dahil sa enerhiyang kumakalat sa buong kweba.
Nakaupo ako ngayon sa gitna ng sarili kong apoy.
Sa paligid ko, ang Eternal Flame ay bumubuo ng isang malaking simbolo ng summoning ritual, hugis-bituin, na kumikinang sa pula at gintong liwanag.
Kontrolado ko na ang aking demonic mana, kaya nagawa ko itong pakalmahin at pigilan upang hindi ito humalo sa aking Eternal Flame. Bago ko sinimulan ang summoning ritual, kinausap ko na rin si Lucy Pearl at sinabihan siyang huwag muna akong gambalain habang nagsasagawa ako ng ritual.
Tahimik lamang siya sa loob ng aking dimension. Hindi siya nagsasalita, ngunit kahit wala siyang sinasabi, ramdam ko ang presensya niya.
I could almost feel her smirking at me right now.
Bahagya akong napangiti.
Lucy Pearl... I also can't wait to see you personally.
Soon, I'll finally be able to summon you outside my dimension...
I've been trying to summon a Sovereign Spirit every day.
But every time I activate the ritual, countless fire spirits begin appearing around me.
Some are small creatures made entirely of flames, while others are larger and more powerful.
They gather around the summoning circle, drawn toward my Eternal Flame Mana.
It seems like they all want to enter the ritual. But none of them are the one I'm waiting for.
I slowly opened my eyes and stared at the flames surrounding me.
Anastacio... where are you?
Muli kong ipinikit ang aking mga mata at pinakawalan ang mas malakas na agos ng Eternal Flame Mana.
The summoning circle immediately burned brighter. The fire spirits surrounding me began to tremble.
Kapag nararamdaman kong may mga animal spirit nanamang sumusubok pumasok sa summoning circle, agad kong pinipigilan ang mga ito. Hindi sila ang hinahanap ko.
Isa-isa kong tinatanggal ang kanilang presensya bago muling simulan ang ritual. But every time I force them out, my Eternal Flame Mana becomes more unstable.
Napapaubo rin ako paminsan-minsan, at may kaunting dugong lumalabas sa aking labi dahil sa matinding pagod at pressure na nararamdaman ng aking katawan.
Marahan kong pinunasan ang labi ko gamit ang likod ng aking kamay bago muling huminga nang malalim.
I can't stop. Not yet.
Muli kong inilagay ang aking mga kamay sa gitna ng summoning circle at pinakawalan ang aking Eternal Flame Mana.
Lalong nagliwanag ang simbolong hugis-bituin sa paligid ko. The flames around me roared once again.
If Anastacio is truly the Sovereign Spirit meant to answer my call... then I'll keep summoning until he finally chooses me.
I won't let a few failed attempts stop me.
I already have a child... my baby Raquim.
I need to become much, much stronger to protect him and take back the Erenhal Sartorias Empire.
He is Vincenzo's heir, the rightful heir.
I can't afford to remain weak, not when there are people out there who would gladly take away everything that belongs to him.
Once I get out of this cave, I'll start making plans to conquer Erenhal Sartorias.
I won't rush into a war without thinking.
I'll need to know every weakness of the empire, understand its politics, gather allies, and decide exactly where to strike.
If I want to take back the empire for Raquim, I have to plan every move carefully.
Erenhal Sartorias belongs to my son. Vincenzo's blood runs through his veins, and I won't allow anyone to erase his claim. I'll spend as many years as I need inside this cave becoming stronger, and when I finally walk out... I'll already know exactly what I'm going to do.
Napapikit ako at mas lalong nilakasan ang paglabas ng aking Eternal Flame. Biglang umalingawngaw sa buong kweba ang malakas na pagkulo ng mga lawa. The water began to bubble violently, sending thick clouds of steam into the air.
Narinig ko rin ang sunod-sunod na pag-crack ng mga bato sa paligid ko habang patuloy na kumakalat ang aking mana sa buong kweba.
The ground beneath me trembled. Mas lalo kong pinalakas ang aking kapangyarihan, allowing my Eternal Flame to spread farther through the cave.
I'm getting stronger.
Napangiti ako nang bahagya.
No. I'm much stronger now than I was before I entered this cave...
Huminga ako nang malalim habang patuloy na umaalab ang Eternal Flame sa paligid ko.
Fire is the most difficult element to control. Hindi lamang dahil sa lakas nito, kundi dahil direktang konektado ang apoy sa emosyon ng gumagamit.
Rage, anger, fear, even grief... lahat ng iyon ay maaaring makaapekto sa apoy. Kapag hindi mo kayang kontrolin ang iyong emosyon, hindi mo rin lubos na makokontrol ang iyong apoy.
That's why fire mages must learn to control themselves before they can truly control their flames.
At sa loob ng maraming taon na ginugol ko rito sa kweba, natutunan kong hindi sapat na utusan lamang ang aking apoy.
I had to understand it. I had to understand myself...
Bigla akong natigilan at mabilis napadilat.
Kung ang isang Sovereign Spirit ay talagang pumipili ng sarili nitong master, then I shouldn't have to force it to answer my summoning.
Kailangan ko lamang itong tawagin. Napatingin ako sa summoning circle sa paligid ko.
But I never even called his name...
For all this time, patuloy lamang akong naglalabas ng Eternal Flame Mana at inuulit ang summoning ritual, hoping that Anastacio would appear.
Ngunit hindi ko man lang nabanggit ang pangalan niya.
Napangiti ako nang bahagya.
No wonder he never came.
Huminga ako nang malalim bago muling ipinikit ang aking mga mata.
This time, I wasn't going to force the summoning. I was simply going to call him.
"I am Rassia Saint Quentin, the Child of Fire, the Orythea, and the descendant of Aurelius Archimedes Quentin."
Huminga ako nang malalim habang mas lalo kong pinakawalan ang eternal flame mana sa buong kweba.
"I call upon the Sovereign of Fire... the oldest of the nine Sovereign Spirits. I am summoning the Eternal Phoenix..."
"Anastacio."
The Awakening of the Eternal Phoenix
When Rassia opened her eyes, the cave was no longer there. Instead, she found herself in an entirely different realm, a place she had never seen before.
Mabilis na tumayo si Rassia, ngunit maingat siyang humakbang pasulong. Slowly, she placed her right foot onto the dry ground. The moment her foot touched the ground, a small flame suddenly burst beneath it.
Napahinto si Rassia at tumingin sa apoy sa ilalim ng kanyang paa. Instead of spreading wildly, the flame simply danced against the ground, responding to her presence.
She took another step. Another flame emerged. Then another.
When she took another step again, the fire spread across the ground, crawling through the dry grass like it had been waiting for her arrival.
Ang kaninang tahimik at malawak na damuhan ay unti-unting nagliyab, with burgundy red flames dancing wildly across the field.
The flames continued to spread with every step Rassia took, surrounding her without ever touching her skin. Yet the heat that should have been unbearable did not hurt her. Instead, it felt warm.
It feels comfortable...
Tumingin si Rassia sa paligid. Nasa gitna siya ng isang malawak na kagubatan, ngunit wala na ang dating katahimikan nito.
Ang mga puno ay nilamon na ng kanyang Eternal Flame, their trunks glowing beneath the red flames that continued to spread throughout the forest. The ground beneath her feet was scorched, while thick smoke slowly rose into the sky.
Pula rin ang kalangitan, as if the entire world had been painted by the color of fire.
Sa di kalayuan, isang napakalaking bulkan ang makikita, kumukulo ang lava sa bunganga nito habang unti-unting umaagos pababa sa gilid ng bundok.
The entire landscape looked as though it had been transformed into a realm of fire.