We reached back at the tent, my knees still felt like jelly because of the shit that happened earlier. Wan ended up carrying me so we could get back to the tent faster, and, honestly, he wasn't wrong. In maybe half an hour, we were already back. Mayari was awake by the time we arrived. She looked tired and all.
"Where did you go?" she asked me.
"I honestly don't even know," I replied right away. "But girl... I seriously don't know what kind of planet you people are living on anymore."
"World?" she echoed. Yeah, of course. These people don't even know what outer space is.
I sat down to catch my breath and rest my knees, as if I used them to walk back here. Meanwhile, Hiraya moved with quite an urgency, as if she were racing for something, or someone. She grabbed a bag and filled it with clothes, her clothes.
"Oi, where are we going teach?" Wan asked.
Hiraya paused for a while, like finding the right words to say, "Not 'us' Wan." Her words carried such weight, not to mention this is the first time I heard her call Wan by his name. "I need to go." She added, her tone calm, yet felt like she was a mile away.
Wan walked towards Hiraya, "Oi teach, what are you saying?" Hiraya just continued packing her things. Wan tried to find Hiraya's eyes to get his answer. "Oi teach?"
Hiraya finally faced him, her sling bag already hung on her shoulder. "Wan, listen," her tone was stern and quite serious. However, I felt it. Something underneath it. Like she was cracking too, just refusing to let it show.
"Listen, Wan, you're strong, adaptable, and I know that behind your stupid face lies a sharp intellect." She gently placed her hand on Wan's shoulders. "But you'll never reach your full potential if I'm always standing beside you." She took a slow breath before continuing. "Today's fight proved that. So did your fight last time, with red-head." Her grip tightened around Wan's shoulders just a little.
Hiraya turned to Mayari, "Mayari, I want you to take this dimwit with you." Mayari hesitated, probably caught off guard by the sudden request. "This kid might look like an idiot... well, he is most of the time. But trust me, you can rely on him; you saw how he fights." Then her gaze turned to me, "Given, it's a pleasure to meet you. You brought some semblance of the world I was taken from..." Girl! What are you doing? I tried to stop my tears from flowing, I just knew her for around three days. Yet, because of her, I don't felt alone in this world.
"Wan, treat this as part of your training. Your task is to protect Mayari." Said Hiraya.
"But –." Wan never finished what he was about to say because Hiraya suddenly pulled him into a hug.
"I trust you, dimwit." Slowly, I saw Wan's hand tremble as he returned the embrace. His eyes reddened, and then a single tear fell.
Hiraya broke the hug and walked away. She told us she needed to do something on her own. Before leaving, she handed Wan the piece of tree bark that Verde and Luntian had given her. She told him to take care of it, and, if possible, find a way to decipher its contents and locate the 'Tungkung Langit'.
We followed her outside, she tapped her finger on the air like tapping on a touchscreen phone. A portal suddenly appeared, not like the one that pulled the woman earlier. This one's opened like old TV screens used to. She stared at Wan one last time before walking towards it.
Both Mayari and I turned to check on Wan. We only knew him for a really short while. That was the first time we saw him lost. Like a child left alone on the playground.
Mayari stepped closer to me and asked what had happened, and whether I knew where the explosion she had heard and felt earlier had come from. We went back inside the tent while Wan remained outside. Mayari thought it would be best to leave him alone for a while.
"Yna?" Mayari whispered after I told her everything that had happened earlier. "A woman who can draw a dagger without chanting, and open a passage to another place, or another dimension?"
She paced back and forth, her hands pressed together in front of her lips, as if in prayer. "And the tree bark, two berberoka who can speak, and a map, you say, leading to the Tungkung Langit?" she clarified.
"Yeah, and girl, what is this Tungkung Langit anyway?" I was really itching to know what it was.
"It's the staff of Emperor Lam-ang," Mayari answered. "The first Emperor of Ma-i."
Lam-ang? Why did that name felt familiar? Like I'd heard it before, somewhere in class, way back in elementary school. I sat down across from her. I wanted to know more. About this world. Because if I'm going to be trapped here for a long time, I might as well understand it.
Basically, this continent was once a single, united kingdom called Ma-i. But after its collapse, it was divided into four kingdoms—then colonized by, and I quote her on this, "those bastard Iberians."
One of those kingdoms is Tundun—the place where I was summoned by someone. Her theory was that one of her father's soldiers intended to summon Salimbay. Her maharlika, a warrior sworn to a lord or in their words, 'maginoo'. Anyway, she said that for some unknown reason, the panawag spell was—again, quoting her—"completely fucked up," and I was summoned instead of Salimbay.
A few minutes later, Wan entered the tent. His eyes were swollen, but he was already smiling.
"Wan..." Mayari said, her tone careful, maybe she was still checking if he was really okay. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," Wan replied, his voice lively again, his usual tone. "By my teacher's command, from this moment on, you may use me as your weapon and your shield."
Okay... honestly, those words sent chills down my spine. Mayari stood and thanked Wan. But then she said,
"Wan, you are not a weapon..." She paused for a moment. "Like me, you are also an orphan. But with your help... we can set Tundun right, for people like us." Mayari turned to me, her eyes burning with determination. "Giben, I don't know if Salimbay will ever return. But are you willing to come with me?"
Girl, as if I had a choice. I just nodded and said yes.
"So, what's the plan?" Wan asked.
"We need to leave," Mayari said. "Based on the strength of the explosion earlier, soldiers from the capital are probably already on their way to investigate." She opened the tent's flap, letting the cold forest wind rush in.
"Hiraya isn't here. Once the effects of her concealment spell fade, it will be easier for the soldiers to detect us."
"Then we should leave this forest too," Wan said.
"Yes," Mayari replied quickly. "By now, news of my death has probably reached the council. That will loosen our movements, fewer people will be looking for me."
"Do you think they'll really believe you're dead?" Wan asked as he packed our things.
"Some of the elders on the council will," Mayari said as she tied her copper-colored hair. "But Aslon? That bastard definitely won't."
"Then what's the point of pretending you're dead?" I asked. It didn't make sense. "That Aslon guy will still look for you."
"Yes—but not as aggressively as these past few days," she said. It still didn't make sense, until she continued.
"I know how that animal thinks. He'll use the news of my death to place his son on the throne, now that no one from our family can claim it. So, he'll be busy doing that for at least four days give or take."
Mayari gritted her teeth, her fist curling tight. "I'll let him place the crown and throne in his son's hands, for now. But I'll come back and take everything that's mine."
We began helping Wan pack. We started with the bedding, then the books. I noticed Wan hesitate when he picked up a cigarette case from the top of the small table. He sighed, then placed it in his bag. After an hour, we were finally done.
We opened the tent, and I instinctively stepped back.
"Fudge." I muttered.
I peeked again. Soldiers were outside. One of them looked about our age. And let me tell you—oh my God—I nearly lost my mind when I saw him.
It was like an angel had a baby with Adonis. He was ridiculously handsome. His jawline should be illegal. Even his biceps were clearly outlined beneath the sleeves of his uniform. Then he spoke, his voice deep and raspy.
"Be careful. I can sense traces of Nu in this area."
"Tch... Masala," Mayari whispered behind me.
"Masala?" I whispered back. "That's his name?" Girl, it suits him perfectly.
"Yes. Aslon's youngest son."
"Wait—what if they see us?" I asked while fixing my hair if ever.
Wan cut in. "Don't worry. My teacher's concealment spell on the tent hasn't faded yet. They can't see us."
He crossed his arms. "Though I admit... that guy sensing the spell teach used on this tent is quite impressive."
Mayari explained that the boy of my dream was actually one of the youngest soldiers in Tundun. And it seemed that Mayari respected him.
"Alright then... where are we going?" Wan asked.
Mayari stopped and let out a long breath. She said something about moving away from the capital and searching for the leader of a certain group.
"Penumbra," she said. "I need to see them."
"What?" Wan asked quickly, a bit startled. "Those terrorists?"
"Yes. In just a few days, the council of elders will surely appoint the new Datu."
Her fist tightened as she slung her bag over her shoulder. "Those sons of bitches... I'll make sure they pay for everything they did to my father, and to me."
If looks could kill, Aslon would've been dead already just from the way Mayari was staring. She then turned to Wan.
"Wan... I need you. Can I count on you?"
Wan smiled.
"Yes," he said. "I've got you."
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Masala's group reached the place where Yna, Wan and Hiraya fought. Instantly, the Arbikizers that were with him gasped as they tried to make sense of what the hell just happened here.
"W-what kind of monsters fought in this place?" Masala asked, his eyes wide and his breathing uneven as he stared at the devastation left behind by the clash between Hiraya and Yna several hours earlier.
The area was littered with fallen trees, a massive circular crater carved into the ground, and scattered chunks of stone. The air smelled of charcoal from the burned trees. While the whole place itself looks like it has been devastated by a catastrophic storm.
"C-corporal, w-what do you think we should do?" one of his soldiers asked.
"I've never seen destruction on this scale before," another of the ten soldiers with Masala added. "Even the explosion reports involving Datu Rakta didn't look like this."
Masala called one of his soldiers over. He looked a little bit older than Masala and had a scar over his left eye.
"Corporal, what is it?" the soldier asked.
"Tonyo, can you send a message to my father and to the Governor-General about the details of our investigation here?"
"At once, Corporal."
Tonyo bowed and saluted, then stood straight. He moved both hands in a circular motion—one from the left, one from the right. His right hand was above, his left below.
Moments later, the scar on his left eye began to glow, shining with a blue light. From between his hands, a large bird emerged. It stood about a meter tall, with a wingspan nearly two meters wide. Its blue wings beat slowly as its sharp eyes fixed on Tonyo as it lands on his left arm.
"It's ready, Corporal," Tonyo said.
Masala nodded and thanked him. He stepped closer to Tonyo and the bird, gently pressing his index finger to the bird's forehead. Masala closed his eyes and carefully recalled everything he had seen at the site of the explosion. Few more seconds later, he opened his eyes, looked at Tonyo, and nodded.
"Take this to the Head Elder first," Tonyo said, "then to the Governor-General."
The bird nodded, beat its wings once, and soared upward. A powerful gust of wind nearly knocked some of the soldiers off their feet as it took flight.
While all of this was happening, Mayari and her group were already making their way out of the forest. Mayari's eyes remained burning with determination. Her alliance with Penumbra would dictate her future as an exiled noble.