Notorious Nightingale

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The world stopped moving and there was nothing but a deafening silence and my own cries. Everything around me became stagnant—the smoke that came after the demolished houses around remained motionless in thin air, my Night Court who had their face painted with fear because of my power that I was still struggling to control became stationary.

Everything was static... Ako lang ang gumagalaw sa mundo.

Hindi ko maintindihan kung ano ang nangyayari. Naguguluhan ako, kasabay nito ay mas lalong lumakas ang pagdaloy ng aking kapangyarihan sa aking katawan. I screamed and cried in pain, hoping somebody would finally come and help me... But I was alone. No one will be able to help me.

I looked once more at the lifeless body of Shinigami. More tears fell from my eyes as I struggled to walk towards him. He was lying on the cold bricked ground. I did this to him. He is dead because of me.

The thought has fed my powers more and they grew once more, raging and becoming wilder. Mabilis na ang aking paghinga. Pakiramdam ko ay nalulunod ako. Pakiramdam ko ay nasusunog ako. Hindi ko mawari. Naguguluhan ako. I just want this to stop.

“Zendaya Zandeyi.” A voice of a woman said from behind me.

I looked back and saw a woman—she had a hair that resembles of the snow, she was very pale, and there were cryptic symbols tattooed unto her skin, and those symbols were radiating a pastel blue color. Her hair was braided intricately, revealing her pointed ears that reminded me so much of elves, and she had four ram-like horns, twisted backwards like a naturally-grown crown. She was tall and slender. Her eyes were of the palest silver, almost white, and they were beaming with magic... And her dress was a silky silvery fur that seemed to be from a beast that she hunted.

“S-Sino ka? Bakit mo ako kilala?” No... That’s not the real issue here. It doesn’t matter anymore if she knows me. She has to run away from me! “You have to run away from me... If you don’t want to die.” I told her when I finally remained my senses.

However, she just shook her head. “You are emotionally unstable.” She assessed.

Mariin kong pinikit ang aking mga mata, kasabay nito ay ang muling paglabas ng ilang hibla ng aking kapangyarihan. It sliced through the unmoving world... Unlike before when the world was still moving, there was no damage anymore. It’s like the motionless world is absorbing the chaos that I was bringing out.

“It’s all in the mind, Zendaya. If you fear your magic, then your magic will use it against you.” Malamig ang boses ng babae, but something about it was ancient and magical. I cannot help but look at her once more, and she gave me a smile that seemed to be bolstering. More tears fell. “Become one with your magic, that is the trick.”

“Who are you?” I whispered.

“Oh, you know me well.” She smiled; it was a kind smile... But something about her was mysterious and powerful. Alam ko agad na siya ang may pakana kung bakit tumigil ang mundo. Mukhang napansin niyang naguguluhan na ako, kaya muli siyang nagsalita. “You must be thinking already what’s happening and why the world has suddenly become stagnant.”

“You can read my mind?”

“No. It’s written on your face, Zendaya. You are like an open book. You still have a lot to learn.”

“Hindi kita maintindihan.” I said, muli kong tinuon ang aking atensyon sa pagpapakalma sa aking puso at isip upang matigil na ang pag-alab ng aking kapangyarihan. I wanted it to stop, but couldn’t. I need to find my magic ring—that’s the only way.

“I suppose you are also thinking of finding your magic ring.” Umiling ang babae matapos makita ang pagbabago ng aking ekspresyon na nagsabing tama ang kaniyang mga sinabi. “You rely too much on these items, instead of relying on yourself.”

“You think it’s easy?!” My voice was mad... I felt like she was condensing me, or I guess that’s what my magic is telling me to think. My voice, like before, was layered with multiple voices and they echoed across the unmoving world. I looked around me, at my Night Court who just stood like statues, and at the city that seemed to be filtered in monochrome.

“I did not say it is easy, Zendaya.” Sagot ng babae. “It is hard, especially for someone who has just learned that she had one of the most powerful magic within. But you’ve been warned countless of times already—you rely too much on things to be able to control and contain, rather than relying on yourself.”

I felt my magic tugging some strings of my heart and I felt myself burst some rays of it, I felt myself releasing and releasing more of my magic. I was exhausted, my body was beyond tired already. I just wanted it to stop.

Chapter 58

“Who are you and why do you know things about me?” I struggled to ask. Tiningnan ko ang aking mga kamay at napansing kumikinang ito. The light must be the rays of my power being released madly.

“I am Margaux.” Pagpapakilala ng babae. Nanlaki ang aking mga mata dahil sa aking nalaman. I just stared at her... So, it is true—what Lilith said. She was an elf. “And just like you, I also lost control... That is why I accidentally killed everyone in the city that I teleported to a lake... And that city is now named after me, guarded by the remaining Lullaby.”

“H-How did you regain control?” I asked. I wanted to know. I was desperate to find out already. “Please... Tell me.”

“Right now, we are inside a dimension I created with my magic—Portal. You may think that the world has stopped moving, but you are wrong. The world continues to move, the only thing is that you’re no longer in it. You were just teleported with my magic to this stagnant dimension... It is able to absorb your magic powers that are still raging and out of control. In this dimension, it is just us.” Saad nito. She snapped her fingers and suddenly, the scenery of the city in chaos along with my Night Court vanished away and we stood on top of a calm water that seemed to have no depth and when I looked down, it reflected myself—I looked horrible and I was still out of it.

“A-Ano ang nangyari? Bakit biglang nag-iba ang lugar?”

“The place did not change, we’re still in the stagnant dimension I call Timeless.” Sagot ni Margaux, “for every hour that you are here, a day passes on the other side, on the real world.”

“I need to regain my control.”

“Of course, you do. That’s why I put you here... So that I’ll teach you how to do it.” Ngumiti si Margaux sa akin pagkatapos, “I’ve been watching you all this time from this dimension.” She said, “as I promised your ancestor, King Prius Nightingale, before he succumbed to his powers as well and turned mad.”

“Paano mo kilala ang isa sa mga ninuno ko?”

“King Prius is a charming man and he also wielded the creation magic. Like you, he had platinum-blonde hair and his eyes were of different color. He was good and kind.”

“But what happened?” I asked. Kinuyom ko ang aking kamao upang tigilan ang pagragasa ng aking kapangyarihan. I was already sweating and in pain, ngunit tinatak ko sa aking isip ang sinabi ni Margaux, pati nina Vandersnatch at Shinigami. It’s all in the mind.

The sudden thought of Shinigami made me feel sad and my magic seemed to feed unto it, and it became stronger.

“King Prius was kind, really kind. He used his magic to protect the kingdom against conquerors. But he was blinded by his overwhelming love for his queen who was assassinated. He turned mad and thirsty for revenge... And revenge is bad. He could not control his emotions... And the creation magic feeds unto your emotions. If you feel negative things which you are currently feeling right now, your magic will use it. That’s how it has always been for all your ancestors who has gone mad.”

“Anyway, you asked me how I know King Prius.” Ngumiti si Margaux, “he searched for me when I lost control with my magic and that was the time before he went mad and died... And he helped me regain my control. In exchange as I was already indebted, I pledged my loyalty unto him. But he had not much long... And before he heaved his last breath, I came and he told me that I must ensure that the next Nightingale who wields the creation magic will not meet the same fate that he and his ancestors had. It was his dying wish... Which is why when I learned that a Nightingale was born who had God’s Eyes, I’ve been watching you already from this side—watching you grow.”

“I-If you’ve been watching me all along, then... Do you know what happened when I was four years old? Bakit wala akong maalala? H-How about my mother?! Did I really kill her?” The thought sent shivers down to my spine. How many have I killed so far? The thought made me so afraid of my own powers... I was afraid I might harm Margaux as well.

“You awakened when you were four years old, Zendaya.” Saad ni Margaux, “but ever since the Church rose into power after King Prius’s death who caused massive destruction unto the world, everything changed—cultures, traditions, and principles were manufactured and distorted out of fear. The Church has written the Sacred Scriptures to forbid magic that are too powerful—magic like yours. They deemed these magics as cursed magic... Everyone who wielded magic that they categorized as evil and cursed were executed. And on the other hand, the magic that is accepted are called holy magic.”

“Now, to answer your question, your mother, Queen Zenesis Zafeta Nightingale... You are asking if you killed her.”

I nodded, ramdam ko ang pagbilis ng pintig ng aking puso kasabay ng muling paglakas ng pagdaloy ng aking kapangyarihan.

“You did not kill her, Zendaya. You saved her.”