It shall be known

In the days of the end

Where light has ended, and only darkness remains,

That a new nine will arrive upon the shattered heaven of Kalangitan

And they shall clash swords

And there shall be great gnashing of teeth

And the nine shall Make God Bleed.

When I awoke, the first thing I saw was a strange contraption far above me, which seemed to be oval shaped and had a burning yellow circle rune upon its middle. Strands of light, the same color as the rune, created a sort of curtain about where I lay, sealing me away from the rest of the world. I found that I was floating within what looked like a tub of water, which glowed a bright turquoise.

I found that I could move. When I did, the water receded, leaving me lying atop what seemed to be hardwood, and the curtain of light-strands--each individually colored a different color--dissipated as if eaten away by an invisible flame. The light strand curtain that also wrapped around the tub faded away, melting as if cotton candy.

I pulled myself out of the tub, finding that none of my strength had been sapped away, and I had the distinct feeling of having been asleep for a long time. My feet--which were no longer wet--found purchase upon a ground seemingly made of stone. I found myself in a strange… cave? But the stone was smooth as if manufactured. Or maybe artificially smoothed?

Breathing, I sat on the edge of the wooden tub--which, looking at it from without, looked like a strange casket, with the strange contraption I had seen above being its lid. Sitting there, I tried to recall any memory, any recollection of events that might have led to this point… but I found nothing. For all I know, I could have been a newborn.

But… there was a certain muscle memory that coursed through my veins. I could run, sprint, leap…. Where am I? What happened to me? Who am I?

The chamber I was in seemed to be empty, other than that weird clay contraption that held me in stasis for so long. The bottom half was large and bulbous, while the top lid had curvilinear scroll designs that were reminiscent of waves. Those designs breathed with a pale yellow glow, as if it was alive, brightening and then dimming, brightening and then dimming. The dark chamber was illuminated only by that.

Atop the top lid was a sculpture of two men on a boat. One man was in front, and the other behind him. The man in front was sculpted to hold an oar, and the man behind him sat with his hands crossed across his chest. It reminded me of the manunggul jar.

Wait, now how could I have known that? I rubbed the temples of my head. Such cryptic knowledge burning in my brain… fuck, I hate this.

Rubbing the temples of my head made me realize that I had a head full of hair. It was quite long, actually: dark hair that fell down to the small of my back. Upon my brow was blunt bangs, and I noticed how strange it was that my hair seemed to be fully groomed. Was that the quality of the water I floated upon?

The only other thing within the chamber was a door, that led hopefully to the outside. So I did. I walked toward the door, and upon closer inspection, I found that it was a pretty strange door: set upon a wide rectangular frame, it was made of that same strange, black painted clay with the curvilinear scroll designs. However, those scroll designs seemed to flay outward from the middle, which was a circular peg and looked like the sun. Similar to the curvilinear scroll designs, it breathed with glowing light, but instead of yellow, it was indigo.

Muscle memory, again. Instinct carried me, and throughout this strange situation that I have found myself in, I’ve resigned to the fact that I’ll be depending upon instinct more than I would like. My hand seemed to move on its own and pressed upon the stone peg. It screamed bright indigo, like my hand had killed whatever spirit lived within, and then it evolved into a bright pale yellow, similar to the tub I had come from.

Then the doors opened, like an interlocking set of teeth. Before me, I saw a desk that had… clothes? Yes, there were clothes spread upon them. And then above even that, was a simple blade. It looked like… a kris? My mind seemed to answer yes: it was a kris. One of those strange, wavy daggers. It was, however, colonized by rust.

Well, what's better than nothing, I guess.

I walked to it and picked up the clothes. I noticed then that I wasn’t wearing anything, that I was stark naked. Despite no one looking at me, I felt eyes piercing into my skin. I covered myself quickly. The clothes were clean enough and had that distinct newly-dried smell. They were a simple set of bright red balloon pants and a simple white barong. That is, a shirt made of linen-like abaca textiles. The kris came with a scabbard, made of hardwood, which was tied to the hip by virtue of a strong rattan rope.

Wearing that, I no longer felt naked, and additionally, I felt protected. With a bit more pep in my step, I walked forward to that second door.

“Ah, you’ve awoken,” a womanly voice made me jump. It didn’t acknowledge my surprise. “I apologize for being so late, I had to go and eat. You know, in this snake form, I still have my food requirements.”

I could understand her perfectly. I turned to my right and saw there, slithering, was a small emerald green snake, with eyes red as rubies. It slithered up to me and then raised its head. “Ehem, let me see if I can remember this. Ah yes: Greetings, newly awakened! The time has come to fulfill the prophecy. Only you can save Kalangitan now. Venture through our broken heaven, and fulfill the promise of Attainment!”

I stared at her, my face contorting into confusion.

She sighed. “Of course. Anyway, good day to you, granddaughter. I am Orlok, your umalagad, or ancestor spirit.”

“Mine…?” My voice was pleasant, soft, and lilting. I found it surprising, despite my lithe and athletic frame.

“Well, I guess to be more precise, I would be the umalagad of the body that you now inhabit.” I’m sure I made an even more ridiculous face because the snake laughed. Now I’m sure you have a lot of questions and rest assured we will get to them eventually. However, first things first: do you remember your name?’

My name? Of course, I didn’t. I barely even knew where I was, or why I was there! “What is my name, Nuno?” For somehow, in the depths of my mind, I knew that that was the proper honorific for ancestor spirits.

The snake nodded, seemingly pleased. “You are Dalita, for you are difficult.”

Dalita. Right, that’s my name. A name that wasn’t my name.

I nodded, simply. “Nunong Orlok, what is my goal? Why am I here?”

“Place your hand out, and let me help you.”

I followed, even with my all too human instincts telling me to never trust a snake, for they bite no matter what hand.

But my knowledge of the ancestor spirits overwhelmed whatever superstition I had. The emerald green snake slithered around my wrist, and then coiled and became solid emerald. It became a great bracer that now coiled around my forearm.

And as the emerald green snake settled, something coursed through me. No, it was definitely not poison, as poison could not have the effect of a sudden rush of vigor. I looked behind me because I felt like something was staring at me from behind. However, there was no such thing.

Something flooded into my mind, and I then had the sudden urge to look up. There I saw three floating hearts, wreathed in white flame. Once I saw them, I could see them everywhere, instinctively and inexplicably, like they were there at the back of my head.

“What’s that…?” I pointed at it, and then it promptly disappeared.

“That is your Ginhawa, your life force. Those hearts represent your life.”

“What? Does that mean…”

“Violence, my dear daughter Dalita, will be unavoidable here in the horrible altercation that you now face.”

“I don’t… understand.”

“Look down at your clothes.”

I did as I was told. Somehow, words appeared and came to my mind’s eye. At first, they were unreadable suyat, magical ancient scripts. But then, suddenly, they became words I could understand, and I saw that some of them were numbers.

Simple Baro Shirt

Deducts 1 point of physical damage to the armored area.

Simple Balloon Pants

Deducts 1 point of physical damage to the armored area.

As the suyat was decrypted and translated I somewhat saw what was written upon it, and strangely understood what they meant. When I looked to my ancestor spirit, she simply said: “Now, take out your sword.”

Without protest, I did. I unsheathed the great kris and stared at it, and the same information blasted my mind’s eye.

Rusted Kris

Deals 1 point of damage against the opponent’s Ginhawa. Never breaks.

“In this cruel and unjust game made by the Tyrants That Rule Reality, you must abide by their laws. Fortunately for you, we umalagad have been accounting for these strange rules, and as long as you have us, you will be able to see through the pall of their game, and you will be able to use it to your advantage.”

I nodded and said that I somewhat understood, but that it was all still too cryptic and did not help my already lost being.

“You are Dalita, and your muscle memory and warrior’s instinct will surely get you through most of your trials. Fear not. I will be here to help you. Now, before anything else, we must get out of this rancid chamber, this cave called The Altar of Awakening.” Orlok then urged me to tap my hand against the stone peg, and I did so.

The door opened once again with that same, teeth like pattern. It revealed to me a great circular chamber, a larger one with a strange raised dais of jade in the middle. On the other side of the chamber were stone stairs, seemingly carved from the stone of the cave itself. At the top of the stairs was a door. The door was open.

“Ah, the gods have no shame,” cursed Orlok, right as my eyes also fell upon what she was probably cursing at. Upon the chamber, around the great jade dais, were groups of black earth-skinned creatures, no taller than half of my own height. These creatures had large red pits for eyes and they brought with them stone weapons.

As I stared upon them, that little mind’s eye trick happened again.

Black Lamanlupa

Gahum 1.

Ginhawa 2.

Its claws deal ½ damage to Ginhawa, and its teeth deal 1.

“The lowest of the Holy Trinity’s manufactured footsoldiers woven from the stuff of Kawalan, the void.”

Shit, 1? I only have three hearts!

“Be afraid,” said Nunong Orlok. “But don’t let fear hamstring you. Move, your body will know what to do. Unfortunately, you are a simple Unemployed, so you do not have any special Charms. But rely on the hardiness of your body, for you are stronger than you think! Go forth, Dalita, o Difficult One!”

And I did, ignoring the fear that held me back, and using only the rusted kris that I had. And truly, the muscle memory that Dalita had was something to be admired.

I counted four of these black lamanlupa. With long strides of my muscled legs, I was beside one in an instant. I kicked the lamanlupa up--which I saw reduced one of his hearts by ½--and I swung twice with my kris, like a farmer cutting grass. The lamanlupa screamed, as it twisted in mid-air and flung its sword at me. The sword slammed against my chest, and I felt pain, but it wasn’t enough to deter me. As that lamanlupa fell to the ground, I stabbed it down, impaling it like a stray fly.

It then dissipated into great strands of black spirit, which then wrapped around my heart. Suddenly, I felt stronger. It was then that an arrow struck my foot, and another cut past my neck, and then even another cutting into my ear. Wincing, I pulled out the arrow that struck my foot. Blood welled upon it, but no injury.

“What the hell?”

“You’ve lost a heart from that assault, thanks to your clothing and Endurance deducting their damage. Now, rip and tear!”

And I did. I grabbed the stone sword that that black lamanlupa had dropped--

Stone sword.

Deals 1 point of damage. Shatters after 3 battles.

--and I turned to the rest, who were all rushing toward me in a mad frenzy. One leaped to the sky, angling its stone spear so that it would impale me, and I danced out of the way, catching the mid-air lamanlupa with a double swing of the stone sword and rusted kris. 2 damage, and that sent it flying back, uttering crazed, indistinguishable utterances.

Another came upon me with a stone hammer, clutched in both hands. It swung horizontally, and I tried to dance to the side, but the wide swing caught me, and I cursed as it flung me back. As it did, an arrow cut past my brow, causing me to wince once again. It was a storm of chaos, and I couldn’t see, as red blurred my vision. Was that my blood?

Pain exploded on from my chest and—I think I felt bones crack—I saw that the stone hammer had fallen upon my chest. I felt that jarring pain knock me into a dazed stupor. Even in that hazy recollection, however, I somehow saw in my mind’s eye that I had lost 2 and a half hearts entire. I had half a heart left.

Orlok spoke. “The stone hammer deals 2 damage. You have an Endurance of 2, with each point of Endurance deducting half a point of damage. And then your clothing cut down 1 damage. So you simply deducted the hit down to 1/2, like what you did with the previous lamanlupa’s stone sword, so now you only have 1 and a half heart from that attack. The arrow that cut your brow hit an unprotected area, and it deals 1 damage. Again, your Endurance deducted that by 1/2, since you have an Endurance of 2, so now you’re down to 1 heart. Finally, that strike against your chest was nasty. That was deducted by 1 and 1/2, so now you’re down to half a heart.”

Scowling, I lunged forward, striking twice with the stone sword and rusted kris, and then finishing it off with another strike from my kris. It exploded into black strands that seeped into my chest.

Then, I threw the stone sword at the one with the spear, skewering it against a red clay chair. The same black strands erupted and funneled into my heart. No, now that I noticed it, it wasn’t my heart, it was my liver. Or at least, where I thought my liver was.

I sheathed the kris and picked up the stone hammer. However, as I was picking it up, an arrow flew across the air, and then struck straight through my neck, and I fell to my side, as the pain numbed me, and the last of my ginhawa left my being. I died to the sounds of laughs and pleasure.

A chill erupted from my body like a snow flower blossoming. Somehow I could see myself… from outside myself, like some sort of astral projection. From here I could see that I was beautiful. Dalita, who was me, was beautiful. Her eyes shone vivid orange, like fires, against her long hair with blunt bangs. She was tall and strong.

I saw Orlok slither away from my wrist, returning to the same tub I awoke in, and it coiled there. And then--

--I awoke, again, to the sound of that same laughter. I was in the tub.

“Oh dear,” said Orlok. “This cruel game has stated the following Laws: I can only bring you back three times. After the third time, you are kicked from the game, and you will die forever, and your soul will be tortured forever by the Kings of the Underworld. You have expended one of these resurrections. You now only have 2.” And her voice was curious, yet somewhat apologetic.

I blinked. “Ouch. Do I still have Dalita’s body?”

“Aye, you do. That is you, now, remember, for the rest of this game.”

“Very well. I shall go.” And so I did. I was naked, once again, without armor or weapon. Everything was left the way that I had left it, meaning the doors were opened and the clothes were gone. I made my way back to that same chamber, and I saw, where my old body was, that there sprouted a flower, shaped almost like a bulb, crooked and bent forward, shaded with a white-purple gradient. A forest ghost flower.

“Pick it up, child, and learn the word of retribution.”

I ran over to it, and I picked the flower, and immediately the stem shriveled and died, and the flower blossomed and erupted into a great firework of pale yellow hues, eventually wrapping itself around me, and then materializing into the equipment I had left behind.

“I understand,” I said, as I turned to the last black lamanlupa--for truly only one was left--and I ran over to it. It saw me coming, raised its bamboo bow in fearful response, but I was too quick, and before long my rusted kris was within its body.

2 damage, I said, as I saw that it lost 2 hearts. Perhaps it was because of my mode of attack?

The lamanlupa managed to fire an arrow, but I was quick enough to duck out of the way, ripping my kris out as I did. Another point of damage. The lamanlupa fell, and then dissipated into those black strands, wrapping around me, and then receding into my liver.

I took the bamboo bow and put it behind my back, along with the quiver of 3 remaining arrows.

Bamboo bow.

Range: 100 feet. Damage modifier: none.

Stone Arrows.

Deals 1 damage to Ginhawa.

With the chamber now completely strewn about and empty--even the sound of my footsteps echoed--I walked over to the stairs and ascended into the day.

The bleached sun seemed so… bright. Too bright. As if it was trying to kill me, actively. However, as I stepped out into the grassy fields, which lead to a cliff, I found myself struck through the heart with an arrow of beauty.

Before me lay a great land-and-seascape, painted primarily by the blues of the sea and the greens of the vast islands. To the far north, I saw a great snow-capped mountain. To the far east were a small group of islands that encircled a great black volcano, with ash swirling about it like a patron dragon.

To the west was a sea of trees and mountain ranges and there I saw great structures, spires, and pylons. Cities, thousands and thousands of kingdoms.

Below me was even more forests, and three rivers rushing from three different sides, all converging into the sea. Above me was the great bleached sun, smiling its rictus grin upon us all. The sky was a cracked firmament. Peppered upon the Archipelago were palaces and great structures. Emblems of the empires and settlements that lay strewn about.

Dominating this all was the great structure in the middle. Upon what seemed to be the largest island, encircled by a vast city that worshipped it, was a colossal obsidian and bone cathedral. Its six towers pierced the heavens, and three great stone giants stood guard of it at its south, northeast, and northwest.

Orlok spoke, then: “That is where this cruel game will take you. To the heart of that great cathedral.”

My voice was small against the grandeur of what I saw. “And what will I have to do there?” And for a moment, I heard nine voices, speaking at once.

“Make God bleed.”