*Season's P.O.V.*
Upon the next sunrise, the army of the three allied races (Engkantos, Mere people, Were horses), lined up on the limited area of the mermaid's cave while the elders gave their blessings and the women and children gave their best wishes. They all said they'd pray for our victory and I just smiled. Yes, our victory because I volunteered to battle with them. Which caused me and Kaloy to have a little argument but of course, I won over him, therefore he let me join. I mean, he did tell his grandfather's sister that I'd be a great asset because of Quinglong so, I'd prefer to be an asset more than a monster you know? That's why I'm lined up with Lumayan's soldiers wearing a lighter version of their armor, so that I'd be able to move around easily at the same be protected. Kaloy, Kataw, and Tikbulanon all stood up infront of their subjects in an authoritative manner, looking all mighty with their stance alone. They looked at each other and nodded their heads.
"Oras na para isagawa ang plano." And that is our cue. The mermen dove underwater while the Tikbalangs ran out of the cave with their speed. We waited for about three minutes before Kaloy nodded and let all of us hold on to him. I just blinked my eyes because of the strong surge of power that surrounded me and when I opened them again, I found myself, along with the others, in Lumayan. I mean, I haven't been in this part of the kingdom, near the docks in what they call the "fishing community" but the familiar bubble-like structures a few distance away from the docks but still close to the sea, are enough for me to know that we are indeed in. There are Dalaketnon guards scattered here and there and as soon as they spotted us, they got their weapons and lunged an attack. Kaloy was quick to snap his raised fingers signaling for us to attack too.
We started to separate from the group to face them head on. There wasn't much of them posted here actually but as I was clashing swords with one of them, I saw someone run in the forest, towards the direction of the castle and we didn't try to stop him because that's exactly what we are aiming. For this attack to reach the higher ups. It didn't take long for their reinforcements to come and when we saw them coming, we started to gather back in our group near Kaloy who released a ball of energy just over the sea to send a cue to Kataw. And as soon as more of the enemy's men emerged from the forest, the mighty looking mermen emerged from the sea and started making arrows rain, taking them off guard.
We took this opportunity to teleport using Kaloy's power and eventually found ourselves in the woods, between the fishing community and the palace. As soon as we arrived the ground shook, and we spotted giants coming our way, along with some Dalaketnons, probably heading to the docks to reinforce too. So, imagine their shock when we ambushed them. They don't seem to get how we got here when we're supposed to be be still battling against their men in the docks. But nonetheless, we fought for another five minutes before we noticed that more of them are coming our way. We know the drill so we gathered around Kaloy as he released another ball of energy and it exploded like fireworks just by the canopy of leaves and that's when the Tikbalangs came out of hiding and started their assault, even against the giants.
Here goes the third stage of our plan. We eventually teleported to the palace and we noticed that it's almost empty. "Sige, maghiwa-hiwalay na tayo, galugurin ninyo ang buong palasyo at siguraduhing mauubos sila!" Kaloy instructed and they all nodded as they ran towards the different wings and halls of the massive building, probably memorizing each and every bit of it already. "Come on." He said, holding my hand and taking me with him on the flight of stairs when we're left alone. Yes, he did say that, if I'm so willing to fight, then I'd better stay close to him.
The castle is practically empty and we only encountered a single guard, roaming the corridor, which means Kaloy's plan worked. We made them believe that it was only us who invaded through the coast so that they'd send their men there and the main headquarters, the palace that they stole, would be abandoned. In this way, the engkantos won't be outnumbered, and the enemies would be distributed accordingly. At least this makes the castle more penetrable, if it makes sense.
We reached something like a tower and judging by the view of the sky and the overheads of the forest's canopy, I can tell that it is in a higher floor, which is part of the plan since we need an altitude advantage so that we'd find Lakan and his father easily. But before I can marvel more on the wonderful view that its terrace offers, five dark figures jumped out of nowhere and Kaloy and I were quick to draw out our swords and started combating. Kaloy has three of them while I have two. It didn't take much for me to know that they're just copycats and easily made them disappear. When I wiped the sweat off my forehead, another one of those dark figures, whose face I can't see because of its hood, attacked me. I thought it's just another double but his skillfulness is different. It's almost comparable to that of Master Cheng's. I managed to get closer to him though, when our blades clashed in a cross position and didn't miss the sinister grin that stretched out his lips and it made my blood run cold.
It's him! The one that killed Kaloy's mother. The fear that's creeping up on me caught me off guard, hence he was able to push me hard, making me fall onto the floor with my weapon being thrown somewhere. I was defenseless and dreaded the strike that he sure as hell would make. However, his blade didn't even graze my skin as another sword stopped it. Kaloy. I see that he managed to finish off the copycats and is now taking the fight out of my hand, which is probably for the best. I watched from the side as they fought, not only with their swords but also with those energies that would appear from their palms. The kind of power that these creatures have never ceased to astonish me and until now, I can't believe that I'd find myself in a world like this. Footsteps coming from the stairs alarmed me and as soon as I saw Lakan emerge from the corner, I felt a certain rush in my system as he too, made an energy strem appear from his palm and aimed it on Kaloy, to somehow help his father.
And I don't know what the hell came inside my mind because just before that stream of energy would reach Kaloy, I let my body intercept it. Freaking hell! It's as if a current containing a thousand volts shook my entire body and within a fraction of a moment, everything went dark. Did I pass out? Maybe but I'm not quite out because I can still feel my surroundings and the electric volt that Lakan's energy stream provided, but this time I can feel myself fighting back, with my own stream of energy and because of that I dared to open my eyes. And of course, I didn't find myself in the palace's tower, facing off against Lakan. I am in somewhere like an island, surrounded by lava. I know I've been here before and knew exactly that there would be another being just like Quinglong in here.
"You came back, Xia." And I wasn't wrong as a flaming bird poked its head from the lava, swimming on the hot, red substance.
I took a deep breath and suppressed the fast beating of my heart. I can't really be afraid now, can I? I know now that they're on my side. "I-I uhh... I'm not Xia." I started off.
"Oh?" Its brows raised in question, much like Quinglong.
"I'm Season. I don't know who the hell is Xia and why you're expecting me to be her but I'm not. And I don't have the time to chitchat right now cause I'm in the middle of a fight." I straight up explained.
"I know. That's why I intervened. To help you." She said as she finally disubmerged her whole flamming body out of the lava.
"So who are you?" I asked.
"I am Zhoque, Vermillion Bird of the south, astral representation of summer-" I can tell she has a lot more to say but I cut her off.
"Okay, you can tell me the rest later, I wanna fight with you." I said and the bird nodded, lowering her body to my level since she's a lot taller than me.
"Get up here then." She offered.
"Am I not gonna burn?" I asked since she's literally covered in flames.
"The only thing that I can burn is your desire." The way that she said that made me hoist myself up into her back and instead of feeling like ridding a bird when she started flapping her wings, I felt like I became one with her. And the next time that I opened my eyes, I now saw how Lakan is trying to push his energy stream my way but I fought back with my own stream of fire which is obviously stronger than his. A clash of purple and bright red exploded, affecting the wall behind him as his body flew and slammed into it.
He fell and was covered by the falling debris of the crumbled wall and I knew I wouldn't have to worry about him anymore cause he'd probably be dead soon so I turned my bird body to Kaloy who's down on his knees now, as the tip of his opponent's sword pointed at his neck. Hmmm, their position is familiar so I didn't let the dark figure make another move. With one flap of my wings, I reached them and they were both caught off guard by my presence so I didn't waste another minute. My claws grabbed the enemy's shoulders and flew high over the castle with him protesting. I looked down at the magnificent aerial view of Lumayan and without thinking twice, I opened my claws and dropped him to his death. I flew back down, over the forest, seeing the victory of the Tikbalangs against the enemy, even the giants, and then over to the docks to see how Kataw produced a tidal wave that made them victorious, before I took a sharp U-turn back to the palace where Kaloy and his men already gathered in the largest balcony, overlooking the entire kingdom.
We won.
It did not take long for our victory to become official as we are now gathered in a banquet in the palace when the sun finally said farewell for the day. Merry engkantos and engkantadas littered everywhere, along with the Tikbalangs and the merepeople who are in the part of a river that is close to the castle and is infact inside the castle's walls. This palace is grander than I thought and until now, I can't help but be amazed. Even if there are parts of it that needs to be repaired due to the damage caused by the war, (coughs) yeah I contributed to that damage, its elegance is still very evident.
I felt someone breathe so close to me and I smiled as he snaked his arms around my waist. "Ready for your coronation?" I asked and he kissed my right cheek first before letting go of a sigh and looking at the garden where everyone is having fun. Yes, that's because we are in one of the castle's many balconies.
"Do I have much of a choice?" Kaloy asked and I turned in his arms to look at him.
"You prepared for this your whole life." I pointed out. But still, his face has a grim expression. Eh? Is he not happy about our victory and the fact that he's going to be a king now? I mean, I know I would be.
"Yes, but I didn't want it to be like this..."
"Like what?"
"Like... Giving up everything that makes me happy for the sake of the kingdom. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm very much willing to serve but... I want to live as well. Live and love, and truly be happy."
"Kaloy, you'll learn to love the person that you're meant to be one day. You know that."
"More like, the person that I'm obligated to be."
I sighed and cupped his cheek. "Why are you acting this way? Do you prefer it if you didn't have your life set? Did you prefer it if you have yet to know who and what you really are?"
"Yes-"
"No! You're already so lucky to know your whole being from the moment you opened your eyes. You know me and what I'm going through right now Kaloy. I have literally nothing to guide me through, not even certainty. And I'm not happy. I'll never learn to love what's missing in me until I could find it." Yes. We're too different and that's why we understand that we can never be together. Not like this.
"I guess the only reason why I'd never be happy even with all these certainty is because, I'm certain I'm not going to be with you anyway." He leaned in for a bittersweet kiss and I responded because, who am I to say no to the thing that I've always longed for?
"You'll be fine without me." My voice broke at the end of that statement as we pulled away from the kiss.
"I don't want to be without you. Can I not really change your mind? Can you not let me make you the queen of my kingdom when you already are the queen of my heart?" A fire burned within my heart, reminding me so much of Zhoque, the vermilion bird who's part of who I am and wished that I could just say yes to his question but I know that I can't.
Before I could say another heartbreaking reply, I felt an unbearable pain in my head and I held it between my hands as I screamed in pain. "Season? What's the matter?" Kaloy asked frantically.
"My head ahhh!" I exclaimed as he made me sit on the bench. It's like different waves of strong energy came rushing all at once and my vision became blury. My right eye is seeing azure, while my left is burning vermillion and it is as if they are competing in my head. "Quinglong? Zhoque?" I can only call out as I felt both of their energies clashing inside of me.
"Season." They said simultaneously, only worsening the pain.
"What's going on?" I managed to let out despite my cries of pain.
"Season? Season!" I can hear and feel Kaloy trying to contain me in his arms but my body somehow convulsed and I felt my soul being ripped out of it as the energies consumed it altogether.
"It's time." Both the azure dragon and the vermilion bird said in a chorus and I don't understand what's going on. I felt my body move but I didn't really move it and suddenly I felt how I slammed the concerned Kaloy to the ground with a strength I never knew I possessed, shocking the both of us. "This is what you're born to do sweetie." They both said again as they used my body to shower Kaloy with punches and kicks.
"Stop! Stop it!" I cried out as my helpless soul felt trapped in my own body but they didn't listen. They choked him! "Kaloy what the hell do something! Hit me, use your powers against me! Go the hell on!" I screamed frastrated at the fact that he's not even fighting me, I mean my possessed body, back.
"Season, I know you're in there. Calm down." He pleaded. Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down? And where the hell are his men? Can't they see that they're king to be, is in danger?
"I'm in here. Quinglong! Zhoque! Stop! Stop please!" I begged and thrashed around, as if that's going to help me but...
"You said you wanna know what you're born to do." Zhoque spoke. "This is it!"
"No! I'm not a monster! You're not a monster!" I screamed and this time, noticed that his men are starting to get to where we are, while Quinglong and Zhoque are still holding Kaloy captive, this time with his own sword against his neck. I can't believe that these two creatures that once saved his life and mine just recently, would be the ones who'd harm it this way too.
"Bitawan mo ang mahal na prinsipe!" A general said.
"Season, what is the meaning of this?" That's Kalista, with Alisya beside her.
Damnit! "He's meant to die!" Quinglong and Zhoque's voice resounded from my mouth and they all seemed surprised. I really thought that my own hands would hold the sword that would behead the only man that I ever loved. Luckily an arrow, though not steadily aimed, pierced through my arm and everything turned black.