The couple looked at each other for a few seconds.


    Tony spoke, "Thanks for your divination... please return to your seat," he told the oracle.


    ??


    The oracle went back to his seat quietly.


    Evelyn looked at her husband. "Why is it that the three oracles haven''t mentioned the vision of tragedy in our daughter''s future. C-could it be...that...that...Granny Menedelia is lying to us all this time?" she asked and nced at the old woman.


    Menedelia was also looking at the couple at the same time, their eyes met.


    Evelyn withdraws her gaze.


    "We still have two more oracles left. Let see what is the result of their divination," Tony said.


    The 4th oracle stood up and went to Nini''s bed and asked the couple for a go signal to proceed. "Shall I start now?" she asked.


    "Yes, please..." Tony replied.


    The oracle ced her hand on the sleeping girl''s forehead and began her divination.


    Meanwhile...


    Menedelia already senses that something is wrong based on the way Evelyn looked at her. Too bad, she can''t hear the conversation between the couple and the oracles. She sighed inwardly and looked at the three male oracles trying to read the expression on their faces. They weren''t talking about their divination of the girl, they''re talking about something else that is not rted to the purpose of theiring manor.


    She nced at the couple and caught Evelyn looking at her. Dang! Something is going on! She''s getting restless in her seat.


    A few minutester.


    The 4th oracle finished her divination and looked at the couple. "Your daughter is physically healthy. Her essence is great and powerful...however... something is growing inside her body that is messing up with her essence from time to time. I can''t identify what is this exact thing growing inside her body. It''s beyond my power and capabilities...unless..."


    Tony''s eyes widened in rm. "Unless what-?"


    "Unless.... you will cut up her body and find that thing that is growing inside her. There is also another way..." the oracle said.


    "What is the other method? Please tell us!" Evelyn asked in a panicky voice.


    "Find a powerful healer or shaman that can force that thing to leave her body," the oracle said. "I''m done with my divination, can I return to my seat now?" she asked permission.


    "Ah, one more thing... did you see a vision of tragedy involving my daughter in the future?" Tony asked.


    The oracle shook her head. "I didn''t see anything of that sort! However, I see a happy asion in the future involving the girl. That''s all!"


    "Okay, please return to your seat," Tony told the oracle.


    The 4th oracle returned to her seat.


    The 5th oracle stood up and went to Nini''s bed. She looked at the couple. "Shall I start my divination now?"


    "Yes, please..." Evelyn replied.


    The oracle ced her hand on Nini''s forehead, closed her eyes, and began her divination.


    The coupled looked at each other. They were deeply bothered by the im of the 4th oracle informing them that something is growing inside Nini''s body. That im added another heavy blow to their already stressed mind.


    Ten minutester.


    Thest oracle finished her divination and opened her eyes. She looked at the couple and spoke, "Your daughter is healthy and generally fine for now, but she had a short life span..."


    The couple looked at each other in shock and disbelief.


    "No! I can''t lose my daughter too early! We have just reunited!" Evelyn gasped in pain and despair.


    Tony looked at the oracle. "A-are you sure about what you saw in my daughter''s f-future?" he asked the oracle in a trembling voice.


    "Yes. Soon, she will undergo a happy event in her life, but after that, darkness will take over, and death will im her life. I saw her essence entering a coffin and lies inside never toe out again," the oracle replied.


    The couple was shaking their head, already traumatized by what they heard from the oracle.


    "How about the tragedy? Did you see my daughter killed someone before she died?" Evelyn asked.


    The oracle shook her head. "I didn''t see any tragedy or killing perpetrated by your daughter after performing divination on her. The only clear vision I see is a happy event involving her. Then afterward I saw a coffin, with her dead body lying inside, her essence trapped in that coffin forever," she concluded.


    Tony released a deep sigh. "Thank you, you may return to your seat now," he spoke.


    The oracle returned to her seat.


    Tony looked at his wife. "Let''s go back to our seat," he said.


    "No. You go back there, I''ll remain here in our daughter''s side," Evelyn replied.


    Tony left his wife''s side and returned to the gathering. He addressed the oracles wearing a calm demeanor on his face. "Thank you foring here and perform divination on my daughter. My family appreciated it very much. Please ept the token of our appreciation for your services," he said and motioned the servants to give the wooden boxes to the oracles.


    After the servants finished handing the boxes to the five oracles, he addressed them again. "My servants will apany you to the gate. Have a safe trip back to your home!" he said.


    The oracles stood up and left the banquet hall apanied by the servants.


    Tony looked at his wife already sobbing loudly beside the bed. He released a deep sigh and rushed to her side.


    A momentter, Ang entered the banquet and saw her mother crying beside Nini''s bed. She rushed to her mother''s side and looked at her father. "What''s going on? Why is Mother crying?" she asked worriedly.


    Tony sighed heavily. "Apany your mother back to our room. She needs to take a rest," he ordered.


    Ang holds her mother''s arm and guided her towards the door.


    After the women left the banquet hall, Zero and Menedelia sprang to their feet and approached the distraught-looking Tony.


    "My Lord, what happened? Why Lady Evelyn is crying?" Zero inquired.


    Tony released a deep sigh and looked at Nini''s sleeping form. "The 4th oracle imed that something is growing inside my daughter''s body. And the 5th oracle imed that my daughter has a short life span, and she will die soon. She saw my daughter''s lifeless body lying inside the coffin. The first, second, and third oracle imed that there is a foreign essence in my daughter''s body that is messing up with her essence..." he paused for a moment catching his breath.


    Zero and Menedelia looked at each other in shock.


    Then Tony looked at Menedelia and spoke, "The five oracles didn''t mention of seeing a vision of tragedy involving Nini killing the entire family and the Helix Vanguard n," he said.


    Menedelia was startled by the revtion. Howe she''s the only one who saw the vision? Why did the other oracles fail to see the ring vision?


    This can''t be!


    She looked at Zero and then at Tony. "My Lord, I would like to ask permission to repeat my divination on your daughter again," she requested.


    "Go ahead," Tony gave his permission.


    Menedelia ced her hands on Nini''s forehead and closed her eyes. A few minutester, she finally felt the foreign essence lurking inside the sleeping girl''s body. Then she saw a vision of Nini enjoying herself on a happy asion. Then she waited for the vision of the tragedy toe. But it never appeared again, as if what she saw before was just a dream, a figment of her imagination.


    Fifteen minutester.


    Menedelia gave up. She was about to open her eyes but she was faced with a question, what she''s going to say to Nini''s father if he will ask her about the vision. Damn! She doesn''t want to be used that she made that vision up just to get money. That was never her intention in the first ce. She did saw the vision before! It was clear! But now it''s gone, no trace of it as if it didn''t exist at all. Crap!


    What''s going on!?


    Zero studied the old woman''s confused face. "What''s wrong, Granny?"


    Menedelia looked at Zero. "I can no longer see the vision of Nini''s tragic killing! It was wiped out from her consciousness as if it didn''t exist at all. But I was never wrong with what I see...unless...unless..." her voice faltered.


    "Unless...what-?" Zero asked.


    "Unless her mind... was tampered or corrupted without your knowledge and it took ce at some point after I''m done making my divination on her," Mnedelia stated. She looked at Zero. "Did something happened with Nini during the time we parted ways? Did she meet anyone? Did she venture outside on her own without you by her side? Somewhere those times, her vision was wiped away from her consciousnesses. And the foreign essence that was currently invading Nini''s body, was never there before! I should be able to detect it from her body on the day that I made divination on her!" she persisted.


    Zero was in deep thoughts. "Let me think for a moment..." he said. He can''t remember anything, other than that one strange urrence that happened when they were traveling. He remembers it so well when the carriages stopped in the middle of the road and no one answered his call and when he was about to leave the carriage to investigate what''s going on, suddenly his nostrils caught the smell of a fragrance that put him to sleep. When he woke up in the morning, he thought that was just a dream because nothing bad happens to them and no one remembered anything strange that happenedst night when he asked them. Hispanions even told him that they didn''t stop in the middle of the roadst night.


    For him that was a suspicious urrence but he pushed it at the back of his mind because nothing happens, nothing was lost, no one was hurt and no one was missing!


    C-could it be? That... that was the time Nini''s body and consciousness undergo a change instigated by the enemy?