UNEDITED...

DENISE

Nakadapa pa rin si Mesh sa malapad na bato pagbalik ko. Her eyes were looking at us with boredom. Tila wala siyang balak na tuluyan kami o ituro ang tamang daan. She's not telling us the thing we should do.

"This is so boring! What shall I do?" Mesh cried while wiggling her feet in the air.

Tiningnan ko lang siya na para siyang nababaliw. She's too lazy to stand up. She's doing nothing except that she's saying that this was boring.

"Mesh, didn't you want to help us?" nag-aalangang tanong ni Ice sa kanya.

"I don't want to. Can't you see? I'm too lazy to stand up. How can I help you when I can't even help myself?" she said with boredom. Ice was secretly pissed. Napailing naman ako.

Tiningnan ko ang sampung daan na nasa kabilang parte ng ilog. I started walking towards the river and jumping on the stones so I could go to the other side.

"Wait. What are you doing, Zeus?" kunot-noong tanong ni Mesh sa 'kin. I stopped on my track and turned to her. Ngumisi ako sa kanya.

"I'm glad that you're not too lazy to talk," nang-aasar na sabi ko sa kanya. Ngumisi din siya at humalumbaba habang interesadong nakatingin sa 'kin.

"You're doing something dangerous. When you set your foot on any of that ten paths, you'll be lost," she said.

"Oh? Why is that?" nakahalukipkip na tanong ko sa kanya.

"When you set foot on any of that paths, you will disappear along with the path. Only one person can use a single path. That means, there are six paths that will lead you to the same gate. There's a chance that you will lose members if you choose the wrong path," nakangising sagot niya sa 'kin. I hissed. She's correct. I can't afford to lose any of my members. Lalo na't mas malakas na ang mga kalaban namin sa susunod na gates. I doubt if we could survive this quest unless we got reinforcements. Kung maghihiwalay kami ng landas, hindi namin mababantayan ang isa't isa.

"You did this too with Death's party?" kunot-noong tanong ko sa kanya.

"Death? Ah! That boy, he never meet me. I just gave him a question and then gave him the right direction. I know that they will not survive the next gate. But this time is different," nakangising sagot niya. "I'm giving challenges depending on how strong the players are," she added. We have no choice then.

Seryosong tiningnan ko siya. Her yellow wings were so beautiful. Her eyes were yellow, almost golden and tantalizing too. Her hair was in pigtails. Her red lips were pouty. She looks perfect to be a fairy. A lazy fairy. "Then what's your challenge for us?" seryosong tanong ko sa kanya.

"I want you to chose three of your members and I will provide the right paths for the four of you. You need to abandon two members. Let them choose their own paths to follow. If you abide on my conditions, I will disappear after giving you the four paths," she said with boredom. Humiga siya sa batuhan at humarap sa madilim na kalangitan. Tiningnan ko siyang mabuti. Pinag-aralan ko kung seryoso ba siya. I gritted my teeth. Nagkatinginan kaming anim. We couldn't decide on what to do.

Kung susundin namin siya, dalawa ang maaaring mawala sa grupo namin. There are ten paths and there's a big chance that we will choose the wrong path.

"Is there no other way?" tanong ko kay Mesh.

"Just do what you're told," she answered with boredom.

I looked around hoping to find an answer. Bumalik ako sa kinaroroonan nina Ice.

"Ano'ng gagawin natin?" Ice whispered.

"There must be other way. Hindi lang niya sinasabi sa 'tin. May napapansin ba kayong kakaiba sa lugar?" seryosong tanong ko sa kanya. "How should I put this? Like a clue to know the right way or anything?"

"Maybe we should just follow her," seryosong saad ni Phoenix.

"No!" naiinis na sabi ko. "We can't afford to lose anyone. Tiyak na mas mahihirapan tayo sa susunod na dungeon. Kapag nagkulang tayo, wala na tayong pag-asang manalo," nakasimangot na sabi ko sa kanya.

"You can't keep everyone, Zeus," seryosong saad ni Phoenix. "There comes a time when you will lose us too. Just follow her instructions so we can move on to our next destination," dagdag pa niya.

Kunot-noong tiningnan ko siya. "You're kidding me. Sumusuko ka na ba, Phoenix?" naiinis na tanong ko.

"I think, he has a point. Kung ito lang ang tanging paraan para makaalis dito, wala na tayong magagawa," seryosong saad ni Scithe. "Just choose Zeus. Kung maswerte ang hindi mo mapipili, tiyak na magkikita-kita rin tayo," she added.

Halos mapaawang ang mga labi ko sa naririnig. I could not believe them! Kinagat naman ni Angel ang pang-ibabang labi niya. She was hesitating to speak up. Seryoso naman si Fire at Ice habang malalim na nag-iisip.

"I can keep everyone only if they wanted to stay with me," seryosong saad ko sa kanya. "I will not abandon anyone," naiinis na sabi ko. Phoenix hissed. Narinig namin ang pagtawa ni Mesh. Lumingon kami sa kanya. Aliw na aliw na nakatingin siya sa 'min.

"Are you fighting?" she asked mischievously. Hindi ako nagsalita. Tinaasan ko lang siya ng kilay.

"It's not the time to argue with this," seryosong sabi ko kina Phoenix. "Gawin na lang natin ang magagawa natin upang malaman ang lahat ng tamang daan," seryosong saad ko pa.

"Pinapahirapan mo lang ang sarili mo," naiiling na sabi ni Phoenix.

"Your party is easy to break," nakangising komento ni Mesh. Pilit kong pinapahaba ang pasensiya ko. "What if we fight you Mesh?" kunot-noong tanong ko sa kanya.

"You will not get anything from me," nakangising saad ni Mesh. Napailing ako. Nagpa-panic na ang utak ko. What should I do? Pinagmasdan kong maigi ang buong paligid. There must be clues.

"So what's your answer? I'm tired of waiting," sabi ni Mesh. Naiinis ako dahil pagod na siyang maghintay pero maghapon naman siyang walang ginagawa sa buhay niya. Napailing ako.

"My answer is No. I will not abandon anyone of them. You know we will not survive the next dungeons if we lose our party members," seryosong sagot ko kay Mesh.

"But they are against your decision," nakangising saad ni Mesh. Tiningnan ko ang mga kasama ko. Nakasimangot si Phoenix. Nagkibit-balikat naman sina Ice at Fire. Wala silang sinasabi. Whatever my decision was, it will be fine with them. Si Scithe at Angel naman ay tila sumasang-ayon na rin kay Phoenix. Alam ko naman na hindi kami makakaalis dito kung hindi kami sasang-ayon kay Mesh pero sinasabi ng utak ko na may iba pang paraan.

"You look like six frogs sitting on a lily pad and only one frog decided to jump off. I know it's obvious but how many do you think were left? You're off the boat, Zeus," makahulugang wika pa ni Mesh.

Umangat ang kilay ko sa tanong niya. There's something intriguing on her question. Hindi ko alam kung kailangan ko bang sagutin ang tanong niya. Maybe this was the right answer after all. Maybe this could save us.

"There will be six left," sabay-sabay na sagot naming anim. Nagkatinginan pa kami dahil iisa lamang ang iniisip namin. Ngumisi kami sa isa't isa. They nodded at me and let me speak up. Umangat ang kilay ni Mesh pero halata sa mga mata niya ang pagkaaliw.

"And why is that?" interesadong tanong ni Mesh sa 'kin.

"Because that one frog who decided to jump off is the leader. And that frog only decided to jump off. It didn't jumped off. And as the leader, I will not do anything unless everyone agreed to it. Unless it was settled. A leader will never be a leader without her followers. And since everything was not sort out, we still haven't made any decisions yet. I'm not off the boat as you just said," nakangising saad ko.

"And because of that frogs you mentioned, I guess we already decided on what to do. Everything is already settled. We will not leave anyone here. We will do anything to get the six correct paths from you. It doesn't matter what methods we will do as long as we can make you spill it out," dagdag ko pa.

"I guess, I have no choice since she compared us with those irritating frogs," naiiling na saad ni Phoenix. "I totally got Zeus' point. I'm just provoking her since she can't came up with another walkaround. I also secretly asked Scithe to side with me. Zeus is right that we can't survive the next dungeons if we're not complete in number. And since we're a party, we should protect everyone to not lose anyone," he added.

"Naks! Ano'ng kinain mo Phoenix? Ang lalim ng mga sinabi mo. 'Di ko ma-reach! Ibang level!" natatawang pang-aasar sa kanya ni Ice. Sumimangot lang si Phoenix at napailing. Ngumisi naman si Fire dahil sa sinabi ng kapatid niya.

"We trust Zeus as our leader. We already went this far and we can't afford to lose," seryosong wika ni Angel. "If we need to force you then we will. If it's the only way," she added.

"It's really a No?" Mesh asked.

We all nodded. Mesh frowned. "You're no fun," she remarked. "But you all passed," she said. "You can go now."

Kumunot ang noo ko. "That fast?" nagtatakang tanong ko.

She nodded. "I'm too lazy to fight you. And the road you will take from here is not easy. You will be on your journey alone but it will lead you all to the next and same dungeon," seryosong saad ni Mesh sa 'min. She snapped her finger in the air and the ten paths was now reduced to six paths.

"Enjoy!" natatawang sabi niya na tila may masamang mangyayari sa 'min kapag tinunton namin ang daan na ibinigay niya.

"Thanks!" wika ko. Agad akong tumingin kina Phoenix. "Let's go. Let's meet on the next dungeon," seryosong saad ko sa kanila. "Don't die. Call me to keep in touch," dagdag ko pa. Seryosong tumango sila sa 'kin. Tumawid kami sa kabilang ibayo ng ilog. I set my foot on the path and Mesh was right. When I did that, everything around me disappeared. Ang tanging nakikita ko na lang ay ang daan na nasa harapan ko. I tried to track my party members but to no avail. Hindi ko rin sila makontak kahit ano ang gawin ko.

The road ahead was dark and a bit scary because of the dead trees around me. Ilang beses akong lumunok bago ko ipinagpatuloy ang paglalakad. Malamig ang simoy ng hangin na nakadaragdag upang tumindig ang mga balahibo ko sa katawan. It was amazing how this game made you feel alive and like you're really living inside this world. These emotions started to take over like I was not just inside a virtual world. Like everything was real. It's actually scary how they could make a game like this. She finally thought that everything inside this game were against all the laws of nature.

Napabuntong-hininga ako dahil sa balak gawin ni Fire nang maalala ko ang pag-uusap namin kanina.

"Kung ganu'n sinundan mo si Prius dahil na-curious ka lang? At hanggang ngayon, hindi mo pa rin alam kung bakit siya pumunta sa Main Building?" kunot-noong tanong ni Frey sa 'kin.

"Yes. Maybe he wanted to get a cheat. That's what I thought," I answered.

"Well, I don't think he needs a cheat," seryosong saad ni Fire.

"Okay. Huwag na natin siyang pag-usapan. Sabihin mo na sa 'kin ang binabalak mo. Bakit kailangan mo pang pumasok sa Main Building. Baka mahuli ka lang," nag-aalalang sabi ko sa kanya. He smiled at me.

"Hindi ko rin alam kung ano ang dahilan. I just had a bad feeling with this game. Naguguluhan din ako. Hindi ko rin alam kung ano ang hahanapin ko," he said as he looked up in the white ceiling. "Isn't it weird that we can feel pain inside the game? And how these emotions entered our senses while we are playing? It's actually beyond my understanding. It's scary," makahulugang wika niya. Kumunot ang noo ko. Dahil sa sinabi niya ay tila may takot na bumalot sa buong pagkatao ko.

"Do you want to discover how they develop this kind of game?" I asked with concern.

"No. I want the deeper essence of this game," he answered. "Pero ngayon, bumalik na tayo sa laro dahil tiyak na hinahanap na nila tayo," he added. Tumayo na siya at naglakad patungo sa pinto. Nang makalabas siya, tumango lang siya sa 'kin at nagtungo na sa elevator. I bit my lower lip. Hindi ko na alam kung ano ang dapat kong isipin ngayon. Hindi ko alam kung ano ba talaga ang tumatakbo sa utak ni Frey ngayon.

Isasara ko na sana ang pinto nang bumukas ang pinto ni Prius. Napalingon ako kay Prius na nakasimangot sa 'kin.

"Why did you let him in?" agad niyang tanong sa 'kin na ipinagtaka ko. Naglakad pa siya papalapit sa kinatatayuan ko kaya kinabahan ako. Hindi pa rin siya ngumingiti. Gusto ko sanang isara agad ang pinto pero nanigas ako sa kinatatayuan. Bumilis din ang tibok ng puso ko.

"He's my friend," nakasimangot na sagot ko sa kanya.

Mas lalong sumimangot si Prius. "He's treating you differently," agad na sabi niya. Hindi ko na siya napigilan nang pumasok siya sa loob ng kwarto ko.

"What do you mean?" kunot-noong tanong ko sa kanya.

"Nag-usap lang ba kayo sa loob ng silid na ito?" nagdududang tanong niya sa 'kin. He's acting like a prosecutor who's ready to get truthful answers from me. Namula ang mukha ko dahil sa tanong niya.

"Y-yes," I said. I bit my tongue because I stammered.

"You're lying. He kissed you?" he almost whispered. Mas lalong namula ang mukha ko at mas bumilis ang tibok ng puso ko sa kaba. Ayokong malaman niya pero masyado siyang matanong.

"Ano ngayon?" naiinis na tanong ko sa kanya. Tumalim ang tingin sa 'kin ni Prius. Mabigat na bumuntong-hininga siya. He looked away.

"So, your guy friends can kiss you?" mahinang tanong niya. He seems sad and it almost break my heart.

"No! My situation with Frey is different. He needed to clear his mind. He's acting weird and he also knew it," depensa ko agad kay Prius. Kunot-noong tiningnan ako ni Prius.

"What's weird about him?" seryosong tanong niya.

Umiling ako. "Hindi ko rin alam," frustrated na sabi ko sa kanya.

Tiningnan niya ako nang mabuti. Lumapit siya sa 'kin. He lowered his head. Napalunok ako at napapikit nang mariin dahil pakiramdam ko hahalikan niya ako.

"You're defenseless," he muttered under his breath. "I'm tempted to kiss you right now but I won't do it because you kissed another guy. Maybe, I'll check Frey too. If he's acting weird then... " he said. Hindi niya itinuloy ang sinasabi niya. Naramdaman ko na lang ang labi niya sa pisngi ko.

"I will go for lunch now," he added. Wala na akong nasabi pa nang magmulat ako ng mga mata dahil nakalabas na siya. Shit! Gusto kong sabunutan ang sarili ko dahil sa reaksiyon ko. I'm really defenseless in front of him. Pero hindi pa siya kumakain? Why? May oras naman siya kanina upang kumain? I wondered if he really waited for Frey to come out my room. Naiinis na isinara ko ang pinto ng kwarto ko. Kailangan ko na'ng bumalik sa game. Tiyak na hinihintay na nila ako.

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TO BE CONTINUED...

Sobrang busy sa work kaya ngayon lang nakapag-update ahaha. Nakaka-stress kasi sa work eh. :P Stress reliever ko na lang ang wattpad ngayon. Comments?