CHAPTER 67
Rassia
"I already mastered my powers. I've trained enough to take the Erenhal Sartorias and make Galsarius, that wench, Megan, and her fanatic son of the Great Goddess pay for everything they did to me, to my father, and to my husband. Ngayon, gusto kong malaman kung ano ba talaga ang nangyari?
What really happened hundreds of years ago? How were you able to fake your deaths? Why did you do it? And why did you let everyone believe that you were already dead when the truth is, you've been alive all this time?"
Narito kami ngayon sa isang chamber sa loob ng kastilyo, isang marangyang silid na tahimik at halos walang ibang ilaw maliban sa fireplace na nagbibigay ng kaunting init at liwanag sa buong paligid.
Narito kami upang pag-usapan ang katotohanan na matagal nang nakabaon sa kasaysayan, ang mga pangyayaring naganap 502 years ago, noong panahon ng Holy War, at ang tunay na dahilan kung bakit napuksa ang mga Erenhal dahil sa mga gagong miyembro ng Holy Cathedral.
For years, people believed that the Holy War was nothing more than a battle between the Holy Cathedral and the Erenhal, because the Holy Cathedral had declared that the Erenhal were the devils who had to be destroyed before they could bring ruin upon everyone.
They spread fear among the people and used their influence to form alliances with powerful mages and kingdoms, convincing them that standing against the Erenhal was the only way to protect their lands and their people.
Alam kong hindi iyon ang buong katotohanan. There was something more behind that war, something that happened five hundred years ago that had been deliberately erased, hidden, and twisted until no one could tell which side was truly the enemy. Kaya takot na takot ang lahat sa mga Erenhal.
Ngayon, habang narito kami sa madilim na chamber na 'to, gusto kong marinig ang buong katotohanan.
Hindi iyong mga kuwento na paulit-ulit nilang ipinasa sa mga susunod na henerasyon, kundi ang totoong nangyari.
Kung bakit kailangang mapuksa ang mga Erenhal, kung bakit ayon ang paniniwala ng Holy Cathedral, at kung sino talaga ang may kagagawan sa lahat ng iyon.
When I was still pregnant with Raquim, I wanted to have a little peace of mind for a while.
Gusto ko munang magpahinga sa lahat ng nangyari, lalo na sa pagkawala ng aking ama at sa lahat ng nangyari kay Vincenzo.
I knew there were so many things I needed to know, especially about the past and the Holy War, but at that time, I wasn't ready to hear any of it.
Kaya hiniling ko sa kanila na huwag muna nilang sabihin sa akin ang katotohanan. I told them to keep everything from me until the day I was finally ready to hear it.
And now, that day has finally come.
Kumuha ako ng isang kopita at nilagyan iyon ng wine bago ako tuluyang naupo.
Nasa likuran ko si Anastacio na tahimik lamang na nakatayo, habang katabi ko naman si Lucy Pearl, naka-cross ang mga binti at may hawak ding kopita habang nakatingin kay Haring Drakkon.
Tahimik lamang siya, pero kitang-kita ko sa kaniyang mukha na interesado rin siyang marinig ang lahat ng pag-uusapan namin ngayong gabi.
The others weren't here.
They told me that it would be much better if it was only the king and Cassandra who stayed with me for this conversation.
Tanging si Haring Drakkon at Cassandra lamang ang nasa aking harapan. Cayena, Natalia, and Morticia were with Raquim. I trusted them enough to leave my child in their care.
Si Devi at Dimitrius naman ay nasa kani-kanilang lugar. Hindi ko alam kung nasaan ang dalawang 'yon. They had their own things to deal with.
Thaddeus and Lucius were in their studio room, probably busy with whatever they were working on.
While Lapileon and Vladimir...
I couldn't help but doubt them.
Sigurado akong sinisilayan na naman nila ang kanilang mga mates nang patago kahit ilang beses na silang pinagbabawalan. Those two never seemed to learn their lesson, especially when it came to their mates.
Anastacio, who was once the Sovereign Spirit of my ancestor, Aurelius, also knew the truth about what happened 502 years ago. He had witnessed the events through my ancestor and had remained by his side.
But I didn't want to hear it from Anastacio. I wanted to hear it directly from King Drakkon himself.
"How ironic, Anastacio... isa ka rin sa mga pumatay sa amin noon, and now you're here with us once again, standing beside us as an ally," ani Cassandra, habang nakatingin kay Anastacio nang diretso.
"It was my master's will, Cassandra," mahinahong sagot ni Anastacio.
Tumaas ang kilay ko at muli kong tiningnan si Haring Drakkon, na kanina pa tahimik na nakaupo at tila hinahayaan lamang si Cassandra na magsalita. I could tell that there was something he wasn't saying, and somehow, the silence coming from him made me even more impatient to hear the truth.
"I repeat myself... what really happened?"
Bumuntong-hininga si Cassandra at tuluyan nang nawala ang kanina niyang pilyang ngisi.
"It's because of the fuckass first prophecy the Holy Cathedral saw. The same thing that happened to you. They interpreted it wrong," aniya, habang nakatingin sa akin.
"Correction. The Orythea is both a threat and a savior... the Holy Cathedral just knew one word. The Language of Gadesea is difficult to understand, especially when the words can have more than one meaning depending on how they are interpreted." agad namang sumingit si Anastacio upang itama siya.
Kumunot ang noo nina Haring Drakkon at Cassandra sa narinig. Nagkatinginan silang dalawa na para bang hindi nila inaasahan na dalawa ang ibig sabihin no'n.
Umiling lamang ako at muling uminom mula sa aking kopita bago ko sila tuluyang hinarap.
"Regardless of whether I am a threat or a savior, I have a moral compass. I know what is wrong and what is right. I don't need some ancient prophecy to tell me who I should become or what I should do."
Bahagya kong ibinaba ang aking kopita at matalim silang tiningnan.
"I know the difference between good and evil. I know when something is wrong, and I know when someone is being unjust. Whatever the prophecy says about me doesn't change that. So whether the Orythea is a threat, a savior, or both... it doesn't matter to me. I will decide for myself what is right.
Not the Holy Cathedral. Not some prophecy. But me."
I saw King Drakkon smile, and there was something different in the way he looked at me. It wasn't his usual teasing or mysterious smile. This time, there was pride in his eyes, as if my words had confirmed something he had already believed about me.
"I knew it. You have it in you, Little Red. You are my hope to bring peace back to Erenhal Sartorias. Now... I shall tell you what really happened before I go to a faraway place..."
My brows immediately furrowed.
"What? aalis ka? saan ka pupunta?" mabilis kong tanong, my voice filled with confusion.
Hindi ko inaasahan ang sinabi niya. The last thing I expected was for King Drakkon to suddenly talk about leaving.
I stared at him, waiting for an explanation.
"Where are you going, King Drakkon? and why are you talking as if you won't be coming back?"
For a moment, Drakkon remained silent, his smile slowly fading as he looked toward the flames of the fireplace. There was something in his expression that made my chest feel uneasy.
"First, I shall tell you what happened hundreds of years ago so you can understand everything," aniya.
"Centuries ago, after I conquered the countries of the continent of Vermeleyon... there was peace. For the first time, the entire continent was under one rule, and the people were finally able to live without constantly fearing another war. But that peace did not last long...
not until the Holy Cathedral saw the first prophecy."
Binuka ni Haring Drakkon ang kaniyang palad, at biglang lumitaw ang isang itim na magic circle. Mula roon ay lumabas ang isang itim na enerhiya na unti-unting nabuo sa isang bagay na parang isang Holy Stone, katulad ng nasa Holy Cathedral kung saan lumabas ang propesiya tungkol sa akin.
I stared at it with confusion.
May mga nakasulat na ibang lengguwahe sa ibabaw nito, mga salitang hindi ko maintindihan kahit gaano ko pa ito titigan.
Tumingin ako muli kay Haring Drakkon.
Blanko ang kaniyang ekspresyon habang nakatingin sa Holy Stone, as if he was remembering something that happened centuries ago.
"'What hides behind the light... shall be the one who brings the world to ruin.' that's what the prophecy says." ani Haring Drakkon.
Tahimik akong nakinig, trying to understand the meaning behind those words.
"I believed the Holy Cathedral interpreted it wrong. There weren't even any Gadesea words in there. They are just idiots," singit ni Cassandra, habang nakatingin sa itim na Holy Stone.
"They interpreted it as 'What hides behind the light'... which they believed was us, the Erenhal. We were the light because we brought peace to Vermeleyon, and we were loved by the people. They saw our empire as something pure, something that had brought prosperity and order to the continent."
King Drakkon explained.
Cassandra's expression darkened.
"But instead of trying to understand the real meaning behind the prophecy, the Holy Cathedral immediately believed that the Erenhal were hiding something behind that so-called light.
They twisted the words and made the people believe that we were the ones who would eventually bring ruin to the world."
ani Cassandra. Napailing siya at napabuntong-hininga.
"They turned the prophecy into a reason to fear us. They convinced powerful mages and kingdoms to stand against the Erenhal, telling them that if they didn't destroy us first, we would eventually destroy them." uminom muli si Haring Drakkon sakanyang kopita na may dugo.
Tahimik akong nakinig, my fingers slowly tightening around the stem of my wine cup.
"They destroyed us because they were afraid of what the prophecy might mean."