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English
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Part 9 of XVtober2022 Dual Language Ficlets (Filipino and English)
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Published:
2022-10-08
Words:
383
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1/1
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3
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35

[XVtober2022] Day 9: Hope

Summary:

Ardyn traded his own body and soul for hope.

[Ninth in a series of ficlets in Filipino with side-by-side English translation, for XVtober 2022.]

Work Text:

Filipino English

"Kayo na lamang po ang aming pag-asa…"

May panahong araw-araw na naririnig ni Ardyn ang mga salitang ito. At sa mga salitang ito na lamang siya kumakapit.

Siya ang pag-asa ng Lucis...kaya't hindi siya tumitigil. Patuloy siyang nanggagamot, pinapapasok sa sarili niyang katawan ang Scourge, para malinis ang katawan at kaluluwa ng iba.

Hindi niya inda ang hirap, ang sakit, ang unti-unting pagkaupos ng kanyang pagkatao. May pag-asa pa si Ardyn na matatapos din ang Scourge, nang hindi kakailanganing patayin ang mga apektado.

Kung hindi lang siya titigil. Kung mananatili lang siyang matatag.

Ngunit anuman ang tingin niya sa sarili niya, iba ang tingin sa kanya ng mga diyos. Sa mga tunay na makapangyarihan, isa lamang siyang laruan: isang piyesa sa kanilang walang hanggang mga laro.

Pagkaraan ng lahat ng pagdurusa ni Ardyn, ipinagpasiya ng mga diyos na hindi na muna siya kailangan. Panahon na para kitlin ang buhay ng kanyang minamahal na Aera, ibigay ang trono ng Lucis sa kanyang kapatid na si Somnus, at patulugin siya nang dalawang libong taon.

At habang nawawalan siya ng ulirat, may nagpapaulit-ulit sa kanyang isip:

Pag-asa.

Isang kamuhi-muhing salita.

"You are our only hope…"

There was a time when Ardyn heard these words every day. And these words were the only things he had to hold on to.

He was the hope of Lucis...and so he couldn't stop. He continued to heal, to take the Scourge into his own body, in order to cleanse the bodies and souls of others.

He cared not for the suffering, the pain, and the slow disintegration of his ego. Ardyn still had hope that the Scourge would end, without those affected needing to be killed.

If he would only keep going. If he would just stay strong.

But no matter how he saw himself, the gods saw him as something else. To the truly powerful, he was only a toy: a piece in their neverending games.

After all of Ardyn’s suffering, the gods decided he was not needed yet. It was time to cut short the life of his beloved Aera, give the Lucian throne to his brother Somnus, and make him sleep for two thousand years.

And as he lost consciousness, something echoed over and over in his head:

Hope.

What a hateful word.