/// IN ABANDONED CHURCH, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WESTERN FOREST

The tattoos upon Jaime’s skin burned a bright magenta, writhed, even as he transformed into a terrifying man-crocodile, with the arms of a gorilla, and the face of a boar. Descending upon the crippled Datu, he grabbed the Datu with his gorilla arms and lifted him high into the air. With a roar, a roar of blinding fury, Jaime pulled, and his eyes burned magenta once again, his usbong burning through, even as he ripped Datu Barasik in half, grisly, brutal, with both halves uneven, both halves with bone and gore and viscera and flesh and insides hanging from within it.

Jaime threw both halves toward the river in disgust, and then transformed back into his human form. “Fuck,” he snarled, and he ran over to Jonathan’s lifeless body. He inspected it for a moment, and then said: “Awake.”

Esther managed to push herself up, with great effort. Thankfully no more duwende ascended from earthen mounds. No more tikbalang left. Mattheo, burning uselessly, went over to Jaime.

Before Mattheo could say anything, Jaime turned to him and said, “Give these healing puto to Esther and Angela. Wrap this cloth around Esther’s head just in case.” Mattheo only nodded, and then ran back to Esther and Angela to do as he was told.

Jaime mutated his arms into large gorilla-like ones and scooped Jonathan up in his arms and looked about, cursing himself for being too slow. All about them, the entire battlefield was strewn with engkanto viscera--the being, not the group--and he felt distraught. “Back to the Monastery,” he said, but he cursed. “But will Jonathan make it?”

Fuck. Jaime looked about, not knowing what to do. The tikbalang he didn’t think would be an Attainer. Stupid. He was stupid. He didn’t have the power that Brother Owl did to effortlessly keep his students safe. He was a failure.

Jaime looked about him, at the river, at the trees, at the sky. What should he do?

Then he looked at the church, and coming out of it there was a woman, wrapped in a baro’t saya, with a tapis wrapped around her mid area. Her hair was tied up and she looked like she didn’t live in a church in the middle of a dangerous forest.

Was she part of them?

She ran over to them and said, “Come, bring him to the church.”

“I can’t trust you,” said Jaime.

“And neither can I, you. Faith, Attainer, shapeshifter, aswang.”

“I am no aswang.”

“That is not what normal people will know. Now come.”

With a sigh, Jaime nodded and followed after her. “Esther, Angela, Mattheo!” Jaime called behind him. The three of them were already up and moving. Angela was running up to Jonathan. “What happened to him? Oh my god Jonathan.” And she had to look away.

“He’ll be fine,” Jaime said, and he eyed the witch lady from the church. The lady simply gave Jaime a sidewards gaze. “Who are you?”

The lady stayed silent, instead walking straight back into the church and pushing open the large open church doors. On the other side of it was a strange sight. Instead of the pews and then altar that you would’ve gotten from a normal church, instead those pews were set aside, some of them broken. Ringing the room instead were a multiplicity of wooden statues, the taotao, that all sat in some strange way, with large, mismatched eyes and even larger, mismatched mouths. Strange caricatures of humans. Or maybe rather, it is more apt to say, they are beings unhuman being humanized.

She beckoned Jaime over to a table that lay where the altar of the church would lay. Esther noticed that the church’s wooden bricks had been compromised, as vines and other green have come out of the earth to reclaim the blasphemous church which now stands upon the broken heaven. Sunlight cut into the church through parts where the brick has fallen away, the church a broken corpse of what it once was, a stone haven of protection from “evils”. Dust motes looked like they stood suspended in the air. The only soundtrack to frame their thoughts was the rushing of the water outside, gurgling and whispering.

Angela and Mattheo both rushed over to the table. Looking at it now, Jaime noticed that the table was the damned altar, removed of vestments and turned into some sort of experimenting desk.

“You are a witch?”

“An albularyo,” she said. “I practice the White Secret of Blasphemy.”

“Then you will be able to heal him?”

“With great effort. His Kaluluwa has not left him yet, but his wounds hurt greatly.” She set to work applying a variety of healing poultices, brewing a number of elixirs and potions in a desk behind her. The wooden statues ringing the place where they were seemed to watch as she went about to healing the beaten up Jonathan. She removed his clothes and applied healing poultices, and she prayed in broken chants as she pushed bone back into flesh. Jaime noticed that she was chanting into her necklace, an amulet that had a golden idol hanging from it. “Help me, help me. Let me heal him with my hands,” she muttered. Jaime couldn’t tell if it replied or not.

Jaime closed his eyes and decided to inspect the wooden taotao all about the area. “I cannot sense spirits within them.”

“They are abandoned larawan,” she said when she got the chance, and then she went back to healing Jonathan. A few more dabbed healing potions, some more herbs applied to broken areas, and then a whole lot of praying, to the diwata, to whatever god still lived.

As the albularyo was ritualizing and healing Jonathan, she managed to give a white cloth to Jaime and told him to wrap the bleeding head of Esther. Jaime understood.

He knelt down before Esther, who was sitting against a broken pillar. He wrapped the white cloth around her head, making sure to get the part where she had been struck. Thankfully the damage wasn’t too severe. Gahum does strengthen a being’s corpus after all.

“Eat this. It should heal you up a bit. We’ll try to get you looked at by the albularyo later.” Esther still didn’t move, just nodded. Jaime noticed as well as he was wrapping the white cloth around her head that a part of her head seemed flatter than usual, caved in. When she was struck, for sure.

Jaime inhaled and held the side of her head. She looked listless, but her eyes found his. “What?”

“Don’t move too much, okay?”

She looked at him, and her eyes didn’t move. She only got to nodding.

Jaime rose to his feet and breathed out through his nose. “Mattheo, watch over her.”

Mattheo nodded. Jaime then gave him a piece of the healing puto as well to chew on to get his energy back up.

Jaime looked around to see Angela, looking nervously over Jonathan. Jaime walked over to her and said, “Angela,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

She didn’t look away from Jonathan. Jaime grabbed her arm. “Angela, come over to your friends, first.”

Angela pulled away from Jaime, and there were tears in her eyes. “Are we going to die here?”

Jaime felt a lump growing in his throat. With great effort, he managed to speak without choking up. “No. But only if you follow what I said and remember your training--”

“We did what you said but now look at Jonathan! He’s going to die! Esther got her head bashed in!” She was trying to inhale but she couldn’t. Tears ran down her eyes.

All of their glowing had subsided at this point, so the intense glowing Usbong, markers of their rebellious heroic might, now didn’t serve as a reminder of their great deeds, being invisible and unable to be seen.

Esther was still looking straight ahead. Mattheo looked at both Esther and Angela with worried faces.

As with them, Jaime felt it increasingly difficult to speak. He inhaled. “Look, if you wish to survive in this broken world and rescue your friend, you’re going to have to listen to what I say so that you don’t die in the process.”

“We almost died!”

“But you didn’t. Trust me, Angela. You will need me, and I have put myself up to this task because I want you to succeed in rescuing your friend. Nobody said that rescuing your friend will be easy nor safe. You are not in your safe hometown on earth, anymore. You are at the end of all creation.”

Angela fell and she pressed herself against a pillar. She inhaled in rapid breaths, as if she couldn’t get enough air, and her sobs were soundless.

It took around two more hours before the woman pushed herself off of Jonathan. “He will be fine, but he will need a few hours of rest here. Perhaps an entire day. I have infused him with healing poultices so he will be healed. You will not need to stay here long if you don’t need to. Additionally, I had these in hand for your young friends.” And she brought out a necklace with a golden disc, and then a triangle etched onto the front. However within the triangle was what seemed to be a larawan, a sitting person. “Agimat?”

She nodded. “An Anting-Anting, an amulet. Within it lives a guardian spirit that will protect both their souls and their bodies when needed, but only once. Once you have been struck, the amulet will shatter, the guardian divinity freed.”

“I thank you… you still haven’t given me your name yet. What kind of altruism is this?”

“Can I trust you would not use my name for horrible means?”

Jaime smiled. “You can trust me but it is not something I can completely guarantee.”

“Then a half-hearted answer shall be responded to with a half-hearted gift. Casias.”

“I thank you for your help, Casias.”

“Apply these healing poultices to the wounds of your friends, and then make sure they drink this infusion.”

Jaime nodded and he set about to doing that. Esther did as she was told without replying back, applying the healing poultice to the flattened back of her head. “Her head should heal back correctly, but there will be scars.”

“What have you infused upon your tea and your infusions?”

“My friends, healing diwata. They are not yours, so once they have done healing, they will flee and return to nature.”

Jaime finished administering the infusions and the poultices to the entire party before coming back to Jonathan. She had put spectacles on now, her baro’t saya still looking immaculately clean. She looked way too young for her caliber--round cheeks, squared shoulders, a stocky yet thin frame, like she spent her days carrying around heavy sacks of rice.

“Wait, what were you doing here, again?”

Casias looked at him for a quick moment. Past her spectacles, Jaime could see the outlines of dark bags beneath her eyes. “I’m travelling,” she said, matter-of-factly.

“No, why are you here in the church?”

“Looking for something.”

“How did you not get noticed by the tikbalang?” asked Angela now. “Are you with them? Are you a killer too?”

Casias nodded. “A killer, yes, but I am not with them.” Angela gazed at Casias, her eyes wet. “Don’t worry,” Casias continued. “You’re not worthy of my blade just yet.”

“Where are you travelling to?”

“Travelling in search of something. An artifact.” She walked over to Jonathan’s body and felt his pulse. Jonathan was breathing. “One that can bring the dead back to life.”

“A Hero’s Monsala?” asked Jaime.

“Monsala?” Angela turned to Jaime, her face contorted with slight confusion. “Isn’t that, like, a scarf or something? I’ve heard it before from my parents.”

“Close to it. A kerchief, a large panyo. Yes, actually, a scarf is not a bad approximation.”

“But what’s a Hero’s Monsala?”

“It is said,” Jaime explained. “That a Monsala worn by a Karanduun hero gains the properties to bring back the dead. It is the way of the world.”

“And thus I seek it,” said Casias.

“How do you propose to find one?”

“By looking for heroes, for Karanduun. Or… for artifacts from the past that might hold the past accoutrements and equipment of previous Karanduun.”

Jaime watched her. Angela glanced for a moment at Esther and Mattheo. Mattheo was sitting before her, staring intently, bruises all over his body. Esther had fallen asleep.

“What’s wrong? Why do you stare at me so, shapeshifter?”

“I await your bargain, albularyo.”

“So savvy, peering into the future of my thoughts.”

“I’ve dealt with your kind enough times before to know how a conversation might end up.” Jaime grinned, a quick laugh as well.

“Fine. I am here due to a grain of truth I’ve accrued during my travels: that the large idols that stand out of the sea are used as old coffins for the heroes.”

Angela blinked. Was she talking about that huge bulul-looking statue overlooking Inarawan?

“And from where did you learn this?”

“From a few devils, and more than a couple demons.”

“Then you are fed lies.”

She smiled, making a mocking face at Jaime. “Lies are the only truth in this world. And, I suppose, I want to see it for myself, if it were true or not.”

“You are no Red Scientist.”

“Keeping the Secrets secret is such an outdated thing.” She laughed. “Anyway, the bargain--as YOU said--is this: in return for healing your precious children, I want you to accompany me and potentially defend me as we go into the statue.”

“A dangerous proposition,” said Jaime. He looked around him, and said, “If we were not to honor it, surely you would reverse the healing process, or beseech the healing diwata to take away healing instead of administering it.”

“You’re too smart.”

“Don’t fluff my feathers,” said Jaime, shrugging. “Give us ample time to rest, and then we shall accompany you. It is only fair. And after you get--or don’t get--what you want?”

“We part ways,” said Casias. “As fate intended. Unless you wish to go against that fate?”

/// ON A SMALL BOAT ON THE WAY OUT TO THE STATUE OF GOLD OVERLOOKING INARAWAN FROM THE SEA

They had returned to the barangay just as they were repairing the damage. They were heralded back as heroes, shining in glory, scions of the Owl. Before they could do anything festive, however, Jaime told them that there was no time for celebration, not right now. That there was a debt to be paid.

Sawasiwa understood, and gave them food before letting them go to the shore.

They paid a young fisherman to ferry them over to the base of the gold statue. “But sir, there is no opening!” He had said.

Jaime said that that is not a problem, and that he had found a secret entrance in the back. Jaime continued on by saying that if he kept his mouth shut about it for a few weeks, he’d share some of the riches they’d find, if they found any.

“Very well sir,” the boy had said, and then they were off through the sea.

“So let me get this straight,” said Esther again. “You want us to look into the statue, because you think there’s like, a big ol’ secret inside it?”

“Equipment from past heroes, past Karanduun.”

“Okay, sure, that makes sense.” Esther paused, and then raised both of her hands and yelled: “I GUESS.”

“Don’t speak too loudly,” said Casias. “Out in the open sea, or deep in the choking forest, the diwata might be miffed.”

“I’ll miff them all I want,” said Esther, but she said it in a lower voice this time, and with considerably more smoldering irritation. Mattheo grinned at her. “What?”

“Nothing,” said Mattheo, and he forced himself to look away. Angela smiled at them as well.

“Where did you come from, Casias?” asked Angela. “You look so young. Like you’re just a college student.”

“Thanks,” said Casias, grinning. “That’s the power of makeup, I guess. But it is none of your business to know where I hail from.”

“Right, right. I get you.”

“That’s young?” asked Jaime, scoffing. Casias shot him a look.

“Yeah she looks like she’d fit in one of our classes,” said Jonathan.

“What do your classes look like?”

“Grade 12 Senior High classes? Very hodge-podge,” he said. He was talking a bit more, Angela thought, no doubt happy that he didn’t die. “It’s like one third of your classmates are going to look like little chicken kids, while the other third are going to look like fashion star supermodels.”

“What about the other third?” asked Jaime.

“Ugly. Like us.”

Jaime laughed. “I like that.”

“You seem alive, Jonathan,” Mattheo jeered. Jonathan jerked his hand as if to hit him, and Mattheo flinched away. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.”

“It didn’t hurt too much afterwards,” said Jonathan. “Just a lot of numbness. When I woke up… well that was nice.”

Casias smiled.

Mattheo laughed, clapping his hands. “Pre, the first thing you saw when you woke up was Casias looking over you.”

Jonathan rubbed his neck and looked out of the rowing boat.

“You incursions are a weird lot,” said the boy rowing, who said his name was Jinggoy. “I haven’t met a lot of them, but it’s always interesting to hear about different universes.”

“What have you heard?”

“There was one guy, another human looking guy, but had pink skin and no hair. He said that he didn’t like being weak, so he trained so hard his hair fell out. He said he arrived at Paraiso not because of luck through balete, but because he saw a Servant and the Servant trained him and he traveled to Paraiso on his own.”

“He sounds badass,” said Mattheo.

“He developed a very deadly martial art, focusing on the aspects of the An where you focused on striking weakpoints by focusing all your Gahum into that single point, and then shattering it. Shatterpoint, he called it. Basagan Style. Ah, we’re here.”

And they were, before the golden statue. They rowed over to the side, and Jaime leaped over to the little ledge that lay a little beneath the winds. Then, with a hand, he probed the back until he found a crack. His arm tattoos burned magenta and then transformed into huge, gorilla-like arms. With that strength, he pulled on the crack, and a panel flew off of its hinges. “How did you know that was there?” asked Jinggoy.

“I flew around here and saw it,” said Jaime, offhandedly. The panel opened up to a small chamber that had a single golden stair winding up the side. In the middle was a square table made of gold, and then around it were empty shelves. “Abandoned, but it seems the stairs lead to somewhere. Come.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” asked Mattheo, even as he stepped off the boat and onto the ledge. The statue was very stable, as if it had been embedded onto the sea floor at this point.

“Yes. Come, I’ll protect you.”

Mattheo made that brief nose that was a not-laugh. “Sure then, I believe you.” He turned to his friends. Angela was already there beside him. Casia wasn’t on the boat either anymore, but rather, within the little clearing with the empty shelves.

“Jonathan, you don’t have to push yourself, okay?” said Mattheo.

Jonathan nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. Bring me up.”

Jonathan was almost good as new as they helped him step up onto the plate. Esther still had a white cloth wrapped around her head, but the back of her head didn’t look flattened anymore. It looked like she was healing at a considerable speed as well, which made Mattheo glad.

“You too, Esther. You’ve sustained considerable damage.”

Esther shot him a look. “You telling me I can’t handle it?”

Mattheo chuckled. “No you idiot. I’m just looking out for you here.”

Esther smiled at him, and then seemingly bit back a lightning retort. “Yeah, thanks.”

Mattheo blinked at that, but decided not to push any further.

“Aye, Kuya! Will you need me to come back for yous?”

Jaime nodded. “I’ll fly over to your house by the shore when we do.”

“Gotcha. Alright then, pray keep safe.” And with that, Jinggoy pushed the boat off of the statue and rowed back to shore. The four of them watched him sail away.

“Come on,” said Angela. “Let’s stay together.”