The Scope of Trust Cannot Go Further Beyond Unknown

I wonder when did the sight of blood became this much common for me. I had asked the same question before, not once—but a lot of times. And as each question grew more deeper, the more I couldn't bring myself to remember the exact moment somebody else's blood became so familiar to me.

Just the thought of murdering someone used to disgust me, saying that however evil a person may be, nobody deserves death. I told Thane those same words when I was just starting at the Academy, and I probably hurt his pride by saying so. I couldn't understand why humans resort to death if they cannot put a solution to something. But I now realize that was naive of me—stupid even.

Every living things deserve to die, whether they're evil or not, young or old. Because that is just how this world works, nothing can be done against such a law; not even those Gods out there. Humans resort to murder because any more would drive them insane, killing means that they are backed in a dark corner where they could never escape unless they end that problem. And that is death.

While there are those kinds who'd kill just for fun, convenient, thrill, or even just for no reason at all. Exactly because of different people's personalities, experiences, circumstances, and emotions, that this world is entertaining despite being so naturally cruel.

I used to be young, naive, sheltered, and thought everything would go as I think it should, that everything revolves around my decisions and actions. I didn't realize then how weak that made me, how pathetic I must have looked like trying to act cool, a hero.

I'm not saying being weak is some form of a weakness, however, staying one is.  And I didn't want that. But I didn't have that desire to become all that powerful as well, I was contented at what I was and didn't ask for more.

There must have been times I wished I'd become stronger, but as I have mentioned before, strength and power are two different things. One having the courage to step right up, to move on while still being the same, and the other having the desire to dominate everything, to abandon what you are to become something else that fits your character.

Many may say they're still the same in the end, but that's just because they haven't been to that point where they could distinguish the difference. I wonder when I'll reach that point myself, or perhaps I've already did. Though, who knows?

"Isn't this sight somehow comforting, Felix the Light Bearer?" I asked, looking down at his body underneath me; now covered in existing wounds, bathed in blood, and even smell like a living corpse.

My gaze wandered back to the scenery before me. It made me reminisce that time where my surroundings suddenly changed, how I saw myself as Caelesti. When my vision was filled with nothing but blood littering almost everywhere, dead soldiers being ravished by packs of hungry ravens, and weapons being scattered for they were no longer of any use.

Right at this moment though, that scenery isn't all that different compared to what I'm currently seeing. Any people would probabaly—no, would surely despise me for standing all alone in this desert surrounded by my fellow human beings that have already long forgotten how to breathe, unbothered.

"It's comforting because I was able to let myself loose." I continued, inhaling the air scented with rust. "I'm not usually this carefree. I somehow always find a way to secure my own emotions, not letting them run in rampant."

I pulled out his dagger which was struck deep into the sand. "But you can't really blame me, can you? Even after I warned you about my energy fluctuations, you still made fun of me. So I think you know you deserved this, am I right? Furthermore, you're a candidate, this much should already be expected, or do you still believe you're special just because you were chosen as one?"

My eyes widened. "Ah, that's right." I grinned, before finally putting the dagger back to his owner; and now it lay there stabbing on his chest. "I forgot you can't talk even if you wanted to."

I let out a small chuckle, echoing along with the ravens' penetrating shrieks. "I cut off your tongue earlier, after all." I frowned. "I hope you didn't mind though, you were being too noisy so..."

His pitiful state could only let out gagged noises and small moans of pain, but I wonder why such a sight somehow gave me a strange pleasure, that feeling like I could do anything I want, and it's amazing. His eyes were darting me deep glares, sending me his hatred, but at the same time, there's fear.

"You seem to be saying something, Felix." I stepped unto his hand. "You have to speak louder so I can hear you." He screamed as I crushed his hand. "Does it hurt that much? I didn't even react that way when you did that to me."

"Argh...ja...ke...ei—" he was trying so hard to speak up with his cut tongue, tears built from the corners of his yellow-brown eyes.

"Did you revert back to being a baby now?" I mocked him. "Do you remember what you had said to me? That I was weak? Chosen as a mistake? I know there were still more of those arrogant words you had thrown at me, but I couldn't remember them quite clearly anymore."

I started circling his body, eyeing every of his small attempts to grab unto something but couldn't really move. His other arm was torn, his legs were broken, every bones were disfigured, and his whole body punctured with holes. I genuinely smiled at him, trying to reassure him that his pain wouldn't end that easily.

"You should really close up your wounds, otherwise you'll die." I suggested.

Though I know he no longer have the energy to even use his light magic. He reminded me of Silverrium, but then again, that demon is even far stronger than this supposed 'chosen candidate'. And I wonder why I don't feel bad about this, I should even feel guilty, but I don't feel even the tiniest sympathy for him.

I'd probably, in the end, feel that guilt once my energy becomes stable, once my emotions are back in control, and my judgements aren't easily affected by personal conflicts. But right at this moment, I don't feel like doing so.

"I don't hate you, Felix the Light Bearer from a small Western country." I said, stepping near him. "I don't dislike you either. But in the first place, you're the kind of person who's easily influenced by people around him. Blinded by fame, fortune...those who desire such trivial matters can only go down in the end."

I looked up, the skies are red, the sun is about to set. "It's not that I'm questioning your reason, everybody has a thing or two they can even die for just for it to be fulfilled. I'm not criticizing you for being that pathetic excuse of a human being, I'm not preaching you either. So don't take eveything too literally."

I sighed. "It's just how the world works. You didn't do any mistake, you're only fulfilling your role as human being, as a candidate. You simply just chose a wrong decision." I let out a bitter smile. "And that is choosing to fight somebody who is far out of your league."

"Keila," hindi ko na kailangan lumingon para malaman kung sino ang tumatawag. "He's already long dead."

"I know." I wrapped my cloak more tightly around me feeling the breeze blowing more colder as evening comes. "It's a pity, isn't it? He died too easily."

"You've been torturing him for hours. It's not so surprising he finally gave up abandoning his pride."

"You don't blame me, do you?" I asked, crouching down as I closed his wide-opened eyes. But I never heard Iyana's answer. "How many did we end up killing?"

"Around a thousand."

I finally turned around, seeing Iyana standing there with her arms crossed. Blood was seen on her brown cloak, I also see some minor scratches. I didn't expect the two of them to jump right into the battle. Just the three of us against an army, it amazes me how we were left out without even an injury.

"Do I appear more of a monster now, Iyana?" I asked with sincerity. Lumapit ito sa akin at tumigil sa unahan ko.

"Annihilating people with delight on your face might make you seem like one." She admitted. "But I don't blame you. Calling yourself a monster because you've killed...what does that makes us then?"

I heard her let out a tired sigh as I leaned my head above her shoulder, she's shorter than me but it's comfortable doing so. Hindi ko alam mung bakit nila ako tinutulungan. Dahil interisado sila? O dahil sa katotohanang ito lang ang matutulong nila dahil matapos ang lahat ng ito, makukuha na nila ang gusto nila sa akin?

"Why are you even helping me?"

"Because you needed us to survive." Sagot nito. "Plus, you can't die yet."

I smiled with a hint of sadness I didn't want to admit. "I don't think it's just for my survival. Because in the end, out of anyone else in this world, you two are the only one who can stand alongside me."

"You shouldn't trust us that much, Keila." She replied. "You'll never know when we'll draw out our fangs."

I lifted my head up, my eyes scanning her light, golden-brown eyes. "It's fine."

"You're saying it's fine that we betray you?"

"People always do so. Perhaps if it's the two of you, I'll get used to anything worse in the future."

"You give us too much credit."

I walked passed by her, as she followed closely behind. "Who knows?"

"Someday, Keila." She muttered. "Someday you'll find companions who'll follow you with trust and would even die for your sake. Those people might not be us, but if they indeed show up, trust them. Trust them even if you have to put everything for it. Trust them more than you do towards me and Andrea." Tinaas niya ang kamay niya sa gilid at may lumabas na isang space. "Maybe when that time comes, we wouldn't feel so guilty about the fact that we're going to betray that trust you hold us for."

"You know there's nobody else in this world I trust more than the two of you. I have my spirits and the rest who I can do my bidding with, but they can't give me the sense of humanity I feel from you."

"You're making us feel even more guiltier." She smiled, but that smile was too pretentious I couldn't bear watch it.

"That's what I'm doing." I honestly said as the space in front of us grew wider. "You wanted to claim my own death, rather, you and Andrea make it a personal competition on who could do so. I don't hate it though."

"Mas gugustuhin ko pang magalit ka kaysa sa tanggapin lang ng ganoon kasimple ang lahat."

"I'm making you feel guilty. So much that you wouldn't be able to sleep and live peacefully even after you killed me. I don't have the desire to kill the two of you, so that emotion called guilt will slowly eat you up to the point where you'll regret it every single time you breathe and will remember me in everything single thing you do." I smirked. "I'm fine with that kind of revenge."

"That sounds scary." She smiled, this time, it wasn't pretentious, it wasn't bitter, it wasn't of pity, just a genuine one. "You really are twisted. But I'm fine with that as well."

I stepped inside the space after she did, the flow as well as the scent of air gradually changing as we went passed through it. But unlike any other portal, Iyana's spaces don't give me nauseousness, she simply cuts off the space and replace that part with another.

We're atop a cliff, surrounded by endless sands and a thousand of dead bodies waiting to decomposed underneath the ground. Naabutan namin na nakatayo ang dalawa sa dulo kung saan mula doon ay makikita nila ang resukta ng naging laban kanina. Mukhang may pinag-uusapan sina Celeztie at Andrea pero agad din namang tumigil nang makita kami.

"Nagbago na ang nakasulat sa mapa." Panimula ni Celeztie. "It still shows your position as the holder of the relic, pero may nagbago."

Nilahad niya ang scroll sa mabatong lupa, then she swiped her hand from the left to the other end of the scroll. Matapos niyang gawin ito ay may lumabas na pulang liwanag mula dito mismo at tama nga siya, hindi lang ang posisyon ko ngayon ang nakalagay.

May isang rectangular box sa kabilang dako ng scroll kung maraming pangalan ang nakasulat, at sa bawat segundo na dumadaan ay may itim an linya na bumubura sa mga pangalang ito. Sa ilalim, nakasulat din ang pangalang Felix the Light Bearer tapos agad din namang nalagyan ng itim na guhit.

"So it also shows eliminated candidates." I stated, as Celeztie nodded.

Kinapa-kapa ko ang loob ng cloak ko at nang maramdaman ko ito, ay kinuha ko ang scroll na nakuha ko kanina kay Felix nang nakikipaglaban ako sa kaniya. Binuksan ito ni Celeztie at ang bumungad sa amin ay mga kulay pulang letra.

"Frambjóðandi felldur út." Pagbabasa ni Celeztie. "It's Icelandic, in English it means Candidate Eliminated. Siguro dahil sa patay na ang may-ari ng scroll ay nawawala narin ang mga nakasulat. It's just a guess, but I think every Candidates have different quests or specific tasks. Completion leads to being one of the top."

Hinawakan niya ang isang parte ng scroll at may lumabas din ditong isang rectangular box. Sa loob naman ng box na ito ay mga pangalan na may nakalagay na numero sa gilid. Ito siguro ng nagpapakita ng ranko, at sa kasalukuyan ay may dalawang pangalan ang nakalagay dito.

Top Twelve Candidates
1. Salem the Demon of the Void
2. Amariz the Ruler of Avalon

"The World's Battle has been choosing candidates for years ever since the last battle began hundreds of years ago." Celeztie continued. "The fact that since those times, only two candidates have managed to get into the top twelve means..." she trailed off.

"Means that the other candidates haven't completed their own quests yet. Ibig sabihin narin nito ay hindi normal ang mga quests na binibigay." Dagdag ni Iyana.

"Or is it that some already did." Napatingin kami kay Andrea na seryosong nag-iisip. "I mean, think about it. You said the World's Battle has been choosing candidates for ages now, at dalawa pa lamang ang nakakakompleto nito?"

"The point is?" Iyana asked.

"My point is, people don't live forever." she shrugged. "May mga candidates din sigurong nakakompleto na ng mga sarili nilang quests pero hindi pa buo ang top twelve kaya hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa ito nagsisimula. It's either other candidates have already died waiting or it's the new set of candidates."

"So in other words, the candidates who reached the top twelve could change if the top twelve spots itself isn't completed yet." I finally said. "At alam ko mismo na hindi normal ang mga quests na binibigay. My quest states that I have to find Cretian Plains, but it doesn't exist."

"What?" Gulat na tanong ni Celeztie. "It does exist, Ke'ala. I've been there."

"It should be. Otherwise, I wouldn't get this kind of quest."

But that's strange, an ancient being itself told me it doesn't exist. And I only have the reamining two months to find such a place. I'm not desperate, but I have a feeling things could get bad if I don't make it.

"Pero kung may sariling mga quests ang mga candidates, then why do some chase after the same relic?" Andrea asked.

"The map updates daily about the whereabout of these relics, I knew for I noticed the map changing its lauout a lot. The relics should be a way to help candidates, not to mention getting one has a lot of benefits. But getting one also could mean absolute death. So it's safe to say that other candidates won't go after the relic since it has a huge risk of dying." Celeztie stood up, rolling the scroll.

"Yet the Council have the other two." Wika ni Iyana.

"No, walang nakakasigurado kung nasaan ang dalawang relics na iyon." Sabi ko naman. Back at that time, I didn't know the importance of those ancient artifacts and it seemed pretty easy to get mg hands on one. "Do you know the conspiracy between the Council and the Black Clan?"

Tumango si Iyana sa tanong ko. "I have my own investigations too. The Head of the Council, Howard Callyan, is actually a member of the Black Clan, he's one of those with high authority wihin the group."

"No wonder the relics were easily handed down to the Clan, and every of my plans getting almost ruined because of a leaking information. Very cunning." I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

"Also," napatingin ako ulit kay Iyana. "The West Mages Association is on the Clan's side, I don't know what happened which led to their conspiracy, but all I know is that they agreed something regarding the relics. My men couldn't get any more info than that. They've all been killed when they tried to dig deeper."

I wasn't surprise when she said that. Of course I already knew of this. Kana Grail, one of the West Mages Association, an organization that seek and protect the relics, told me herself about them being one with the Black Clan. I haven't hard anything from that group for a while.

Thinking back, Kana has been telling me something about being a candidate which means she knew about this World's Battle even before I got my own scroll. Kung paano niya nalaman o kung kay sino niya nalaman, hindi ko alam. I also know what they're trying to do. They're planning to merge the other remaining relics inside me.

They want to protect the relic, and at the same time, gain control over me, a canidate for the World's Battle. Malamang ay wala akong planong gawin ang gusto nila. Having Sigillum inside me stopped my heartbeat a lot of times before and it happened around the time we were on a war againsy Black Clan.

Then there's the other relic, Gïzë which almost killed me for a fact. Having two more relics inside me might actually kill me for sure, and God knows what'll happen to this world if I die knowing the relics are inside me. Ayaw ko ng ganoon kalamimg responsibilidad. It's already hard for me as it is.

"What about the Saints?" I asked Iyana. Andrea flinched at my question, but said nothing. "The Saints and the Council had a dispute about their authorities."

"I never had any news regarding about the island after I left myself, but the last news I heard was theat the Council's reputation is barely hanging on the line."

"What do you mean?" Tanong ni Andrea.

"You know what's going on in Magnus. The Council has the highest authority in the country, followed by the four Saints of the East, West, South, and the North." She even started drawing on the ground with her hand. "You also know that the Council doesn't always move when the citizens need them to and thus, they always count on the Saints for help. Last year, when I was in Siegber Nations, I heard people talking about riots in Magnus."

"They even had a riot?" Hindi makapaniwalang sabi ni Andrea.

"The last riot was such a large scale that people started fighting back with the Knights. Knights are always loyal to the Council, and you know that. Even if the Saints order them to when the Council doesn't want it, they don't do it."

"What exactly happened?" Ako na ang