Scroll Two

Clark Clifford

          We were flying on a sky Chariot right now, the only visible thing to us are the clouds we are going through. I was with 3 other people inside the Chariot, two were the same age as me and the other one is a man in his 30s.

           Everyone was quiet when an impatient voice spoke. Here he goes again.

          The guy in front of me poked the man beside him to get his attention, "Master, malapit na ba tayo? Kanina pa tayo lipad ng lipad, tap—sabi ko nga nandito na tayo" magrereklamo pa sana si Matt kaso nakita niya na ang dalawang isla sa harap niya.

          Dalawang isla itong magkatapat ngunit halos 3 kilometers ang layo nito sa isa't isa, sa unahan ay mayroong isang maliit na isla na may eastern temple na nakatayo habang may mahabang tulay na gawa ginto sa likod ng nito na kumukonekta sa main island, the small island was also surrounded by many gate portals where the examinees were supposed to come from.

              Sa Bridge ay makikita ang libo-libong mga taong kaedad ko lamang, fortunately, the bridge was very wide, fitting more than ten thousand people wouldn't be a problem. They're trying to cross the bridge but for some reason some of them are having trouble doing so, some are even crawling.

             I heard a yawn beside me, "The Golden Starfall bridge, the bridge is 3 kilometres long, its width is more than 10 kilometres, The bridge has 6 segments, The further you travel into that bridge, the more pressure there will be, only people in the second triad are able to cross the bridge, even though power rank apprentices are able to cross, they will have a very hard time. This filters the exam takers for the academy. " The guy beside me said. He was the one who just yawned.

              He was Jaden, his pair of golden orbs was the first thing that I saw when he opened his eyes, He just woke up from his nap, He was wearing a royal blue coat, his silver hair was dishevelled due to sleeping.

             After a while, Unti-unti nang bumaba ang paglipad namin, there was nobody left on the smaller island, all of them have already went to the bridge.

              When the Chariot stopped in front of the temple, I saw that at a closer look the temple did not have anything inside it, it was just an entrance to the bridge behind it.

               When we got down, A tanned middle age man wearing a Military uniform also flew down, it was the same old man that was with us in the chariot, as he flew his white aura slowly grew dimmer, his cape was also swaying across the wind, he was General Goreg Park of the Polaris Island Academy's Guardian Protectors, The Orion Corps, and he is also our master.

               Sir Goreg looked at us intently "Apparently, this year's curriculum was changed, all individual apprenticeship will be dissolved, In exchange the Palace Kings will teach a whole class consisting of the top talents that will enter the academy this year due to the Ragnarok Proelium" he seriously said.

               "wait, ibig sabihin non, hindi na ikaw ang magiging master namin, master—wait, that sentence was a little trippy, hahaha." matt jokingly said then laughed, I knew about this because dad have many connections in the Gaian Circle.

                Sir Goreg just nodded, sometime I really want to open matt's head up to know what he thinks, how could he be so clueless? His father is literally The Western Steppes tribe's chief head. Ehem, he literally has 'The rich privilege', it isn't that bad to use it for info.

                "If I'm not wrong, the Ragnarok Proelium is the grand tournament where our parents participated before a more than a 100 years ago, then doesn't that mean, The house of solstice will open up again?" Jaden also asked.

                Ragnarok Proelium, also known as the God's twilight war, Ragnarok means the twilight of the gods in the norse mythology while Proelium means war which is from the Latin language. Isinasagawa ito kada-111 na taon, 3 digit number except 666 are believed to be angel numbers or auspicious signs, The reason why matt, Jaden and I are friends was because our parents were friends when they studied here on the academy, and at that time, they represented PIA(Polaris Island Academy) in the Ragnarok Proeliun.

              While the house of solstice is the Dorm of the chosen manifestors na magpaparticipate sa Ragnarok proelium, hindi lamang ito normal na dorm dahil dito makikita ang Weaponry of hephaestus kung saan matatagpuan ang iba't ibang mystic weapons na naipon ng academy, obviously named after hephaestus of the Greek mythology who's the god of weapons, at ang Mimir's book trove, containing millions of tomed artifacts named after the norse god Mimir, who was known for his knowledge.

              Sir Goreg nodded, " Yup, it's the Ragnarok Proelium, that year, The academy sent the house of solstice to represent the school, 30 students of outstanding talents, with your parents included ranked in the top 3 spots, out of all the schools in the competition." he answered. Kaya pala halos patayin ako niyo ako ni dad sa training eh!

            Sir Goreg face the to the direction of the bridge, " Since we aren't in a master-apprentice pact anymore, you don't have any choice but to take the entrance exams, in that way every student would have the same starting point, which makes picking the top talents easier." he said.

              We nodded to let him know we understand. Wala naman kaming pake since we know na kaya naming makapasa sa exams, we trust our skills, we did not train since we were kids for nothing.

              Sir Goreg was about to leave and We were about to go and head to the bridge but something unexpected happen.

              Out of nowhere, a small portal appeared on the beach, there was a guy, maybe the same age as Sir Goreg, Di naman siya maamos pero he looks dirty lang, he was wearing a red outfit that was old and torn out, but unlike Sir Goreg who was very stern and gentleman like, this guy was very rugged looking and 'wild' maybe it was the beard and mustache that made him look like that. Di ako judgemental pero parang ganon na nga.

               The guy was carrying two people in each arm, one boy and one girl , their clothes was burnt, fortunately for the girl, nothing was exposed. The guys clothes were also burnt, only his pants remain.

               The guy looked at us, "hoy! Goreg ikaw ba yan?.... Goregorio!Ikaw nga! Long time no see!" he shouted and suddenly dropped the two people in his arms like they are baggage, as time goes by everything get stranger.

              He ran towards our direction like a... Girl? Weird af!

               Matt acted like he doesn't care and whistled but he went to my side "ehem* so yeah?.... where did the weirdo come from?" tanong niya, putting his mouth near my ears.

               The guy in the red hugged Sir Goreg, akala namin babalatan nang buhay ni sir yung lalaki kaso parang walang pake lang si sir, at napakamot na lamang ito ng ulo.

               When sir Goreg saw us confused of whatever is going on, he tried pushing the guy away but the guy just clinged on to him like crazy, "Hyung, please get off! I told you, please stop calling me Goregorio, it's weird." sabi ni sir Goreg.

(In Korean tradition, guys who are older are called hyung when you're a boy, when it's a older woman then she is called noona, for girls, they call an older guy oppa and older women as eonni)

               Hyung?who's this guy? Did Sir Goreg just call him hyung? I'm speechless and confused right now, ang isa sa may pinakamataas na pwesto sa academy ay tinatawag ang isang gusgusing lalaki na hyung, Haha, ok—okay....

             After a while, they stopped their little fight, umubo-ubo muna ito then sir Goreg spoke to us.

            He went back to his original stern and serious self, "as you know, My Orion Corps also known as the Ascendant is one of the 3 major placements in the academy, The Cassiopeia Unit led by Ms. Elvie Xiao as the Moon and the man in front of you is the one-man army of the Sol digit as The sun, Gio Tuvanor" kalmado at detalyadong paglalahad ni Sir Goreg.

            " Oy, tama na, ano ba! Nagblush ako, pantanga to..... Sige tuloy mo pa!" the guy in red said pabebe-ly, habang inaayos ang ang buhok niya sa likod ng tenga niya na parang demure na babae. Napahilot na lang ng sentido si sir Goreg sa pinaggagawa nito.

            Nagloading pa kami bago namin napagtanto ang pinagsasabi ni Sir Goreg.

            " Eh?????!!!!!!!!! " we all simultaneously shouted. Even I was shocked, and I normally don't talk, everyone knows that. Well, obviously, eto ata first time kong magsalita simula kanina eh.

            You mean the man who was known as the highest elder of the academy is the same person as the dirty looking man in front of us, the man who was supposed to be able to stand on par with the sir Goreg of the Orions and goddess Elvie of the Cassiopeia Unit herself which both are seraphim level manifestor.

            Sinamaan kami ng titig nung gus—I mean ni Sir Gio, "Wow! Gulat na Gulat?! Nakakasaket kayo ng feelings! Naku! Goregorio, apprentice mo ba mga to? pagsabihan mo nga yan, baka masunog ko yan ng buhay!" he shouted back na parang batang nagtatampo.

             Sir Goreg just sighed, "Hyung, they WERE my apprentice but according to the headmaster, we are to dissolve our apprenticeship towards the possible students since malapit na ulit ang Ragnarok Proelium.." he explained.

            Sir Gio just blinked twice then said, "okay". Mukhang lutang siyang tumingin sa kawalan.

            There was a moment of silence before Sir Gio exclaimed, "what?! Out of all times? Now?! Kung kailan mapapamukha ko na kay tanda na may mga apprentice na ako?! Anong gagawin ko dito sa dalawang yun? Nasayang lang yung Sacred Ash pill ko!" sigaw nito sabay turo sa dalawa ng tao na dala-dala niya kanina.

           The two of them were able to get the approval of the Sun himself? How strong are they? Things are getting interesting...

           Wait—did he just say that he used Sacred Ash pills on the the two of them? how bad were they hurt that they needed a medicine able to heal even a person who is already 15 minutes dead. And who hurt them? Did He? No way freakin' way....

           Sir Greg's reaction before just confirmed my guess, " wait, hyung, you mean those two were supposed to be your apprentices? You did not do that fireball test, didn't you? Is that why their clothes are burnt?..... They actually survived that? What kind of monsters did you encounter this time?" Sir Goreg said.

           Matt stepped forward," how scary can a fireball be? It's not.... That scary right? How could they get hurt like that? " he hesitantly said. Yeah, how can a fireball burn the two of them to near death situation assuming that they did because sir Gio was forced to use the Sacred Ash pill.

          He pointed his index finger, "like this" sir Gio nonchalantly said,

          Sir Gio's vibration suddenly rose, a neon green aura also emanated from his body, halos Di ako makahinga sa pressure na pinapakawalan niya, tinignan ko sila Jaden at Matt, parehas lang kami ng condition, I felt my consciousness slipping away but a white energy enveloped our bodies, it was sir Greg's aura protecting us.

          Then a green fireball the size of the island appeared, it was the same size of the island we are in right now, if you think about it, the island would be the size of a big village, it felt like it was as if the sun was near us.

          "Hyung, stop it! There are other examinees here on the island!" Sir Goreg tried to stop him.

          Sir Gio looked at sir Goreg who was glaring at him, so he withdrew his index finger and the fireball vanished, the pressure immediately vanished

          "but since there's two of them, I kinda doubled it..... When I said doubled I mean tripled,hehe, sorry, I kinda got excited." he scratched his head.

           Triple? I mean, I might be able to survive but definitely not gonna live long right after.

           We did not have enough time to react when something appeared in the sky.

           *Boom *boom *boom

            Some kind of firework lit up the sky above the  main island, Sir Goreg and Sir Gio looked at each other, their expressions of comfort was lost and replaced by seriousness.

            " We need to leave immediately,  take the exam, meet me at the academy, you need to be able to place in the top 30 for you to be able to get in the new house" sir Goreg seriously said, Di ko alam kung anong nagyayari pero tumango na lamang ako na siya namang ginaya ng dalawa.

        Sir Gio went to where he dropped the two people he brought, a neon green colored flame appeared in his hands, it split into two and dropped into each of their foreheads. Strong vibration started to make the ground vibrate.

         Bumukas bigla ang mata ng dalawang nakahiga sa buhangin, The girl flew and levitated in the air while the guy's body immediately got covered in inscriptions then countless long needles appear.

         Inscriptions are symbols made by enchanter, dahil don ay nalaman kong enchant manifestor ang lalaki.

        "hey calm down, let me ex—" sir Gio was about to explain when the girl suddenly waved her hands and wind blades suddenly sliced to the direction of sir Gio. Sir Gio evaded them easily but the guy immediately appeared behind him, and controlled the needles to make an arm smashing towards Sir Gio at incredible speed.

        Sir Gio then bursted with green flames blowing away the needles, the guy's eyes glowed in silver light with a golden shine in his pupils, a large manifestation circle in the sky above sir appeared, waves of water  suddenly appeared, making water whips out of it, slashing towards sir, a hurricane also appeared engulfing Sir Gio.

         We looked at sir Goreg, he was just looking there calmly, naramdaman niya sigurong tinitigan namin siya, kung kaya ay nag salita siya, " don't worry...." he assured us.

         The girl stood still in the air, tumigil sa pag-ihip ang hangin, ang mata ng babae na dating hazel brown ay naging purple, at ang aura niyang dating color light green ay nahaluan ng Kulay purple.

         Suddenly, the sunny weather turned dark, sparks of lightning started surrounding the girl's body. An air sign variant of the Aquarius zodiac?

         Out of thin air, she appeared behind sir Gio, the guy also appeared in front of him, many inscriptions floated in the air, the atmosphere became cold, the symbols emmited cold energy, then a moment later an ice spike as big as a truck appeared pointing towards sir Gio floated in the air. Sh*t, sir Gio's in a tough spot, how would he get out of there?...

         I looked at sir Goreg, he was slightly shocked of how the two performed. But his expression became normal again after a while.

          Sir Gio laughed out loud, "you guys are really full of surprises huh, I really wanna take you as my apprentices and know more of your secrets but I can't and right now, I don't really have much time" he said.

        The two were confused but they spoke, "where's the stained occult member?!" the girl asked. Stains?

        Sir Gio acted like he remembered something, "oh! That guy? I sent him back to the academy through a transport talisman, for all I know, he's being tortured by Elvie right now" he said like he didn't care, like there wasn't a ice spike targeted towards him.

         He touched the tip of the ice spike suddenly it evaporated into thin air, in a split second he also appeared behind the girl catching her off-guard.

        " don't worry about that guy, he's getting the punishment he deserves, death isn't always the worst punishment" he said to girl from behind, he place his mouth near her ears.

        He walked away, the two also put their guards down, wala na ang mga aura nila, they have seemed to understand what sir Gio meant, "by the way, I can't take you guys, as my apprentice, the academy's curriculum apparently changed that the staff are to dissolve all apprenticeship, that means I can't directly take you into the academy, you have to take the exams yourselves" He explained.

        The two of them just looked at him, the guy raised his hand, "I don't know about the apprenticeship thingy, but who are you anyway? Why would we even be your apprentice? And also we know that we should take the exam, after all, it's the only reason we were waiting for the gate portal to open" he said then yawned. Same, that was our reaction just a while ago, just take out the yawning part.

         Sir Gio crossed his arms and looked at the two, while they just raised their eyebrows "oh that, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Gio Tuvanor, I'm sure you've heard me" he said proudly.

        *crunch

        *crunch

         "nope, no, we don't , not a clue" the girl said not even glancing at Sir Gio with a blank expression while munching on chips from the container the guy is holding, the guy also just looked straight into sir Gio's eyes and shook his head. Like how? And also where did they even get the chips from?

         "pffft*" we heard matt trying to hold back his laughter. Damn, savage, I smell something burning...

         Sir Gio sighed, "what's the point of being strong? Nobody even knows me" he said dramatically.

         Tumalikod na lamang ng walang buhay si sir Gio habang nakatungo ang ulo, tumingin lamang ito sa kawalan at biglang naglaho.

         Sir Goreg went towards the two with some clothes and smiled at the them, "Hehe, don't mind him, he's just like that, here are some clothes, you can change into these, just take the exams and find us there, I'm sure you'll do good in the entrance exams, I'm Goreg Park, I'm one of the higher ups in the academy, we really need to go" he said.

         He looked at us three, "You three, Take care of them for me, you guys know more of how things work here in the academy. I trust that you know what to do, I'm going now, we really need to go" he instructed. Oh really babysitting?

         The two of them bowed, "thank you sir" they said.

         Sir Goreg vanished just like sir Gio did, right after, we waited for them to change in their clothes,fortunately, there's a cubicle in the temple so the girl could change into their outfit.

        When they got ready, matt started a conversation, "so what are your names? We're going to be stuck together for some time, maybe we could get to know each other and be friends " he said.

       They both looked at each other, "I'm Cage Vaugn Alnur, as you've I'm a enchant manifestators, I'm 19" pagpapakilala nito sabay abot ng kamay niya kay matt.

       "I'm Matthew Kingston, I'm a fire sign stellium of the Aries Zodiac, I'm 20,nice to meet you" Kinamayan naman ito ni matt na ngiting ngiti, well he was always the social butterfly out of the three of us.

       After that he shook my hands too,

"Clark Clifford, I'm 20" I said plainly.

         Jaden also introduced himself, "Jaden Alphius S—Sol, *cough I'm 20"  when he was shaking Jaden's hand, there was like a brief pause in the middle, like there was an invisible tension, but they just brushed it off, well, that's what it seemed to me.

         I don't care about them, the moment they become a burden I'll discard them.