LEON I BARELY noticed that Roark was holding my hand again, but this time, he was unfazed. “You’re an empty vessel, Leon. I can sense no life from you,” he announced. “What the hell are you talking about?” I asked in confusion. “This thing that is following you… I think it wants you,” he speculated. His grip on my hand tightened a little bit, worry was present in his eyes. “Everything that has been happening to you lately…” he paused for a while, slightly turned his head to my left and stared at something that I couldn’t see. “This thing is trying to keep you away from the people you know to this day. I can’t fully understand its purpose, but it also means no harm against anyone,” he revealed. “Roark, the voice in my dreams said something like… something like… They are going to kill me!” I panicked. “No, Leon,” Roark disagreed. “It’s a warning from someone who must be very close to you,” he clarified. “Someone close? If you’re referring to my family then I no longer have that!” I
LEON “WHAT’S the meaning of this, Helen?” I asked my wife. I just got back from a long day of work. When I came home earlier than expected, I caught Helen lying butt naked next to a guy in our very own bed. Helen was horrified to see me. “Angelo, please let me explain!” she pleaded, and got up while covering her naked body with our blanket. “What’s there to explain?” I scoffed and forced a smile. Helen tried to grab my arm, but I distanced myself in repulsion. She got hurt by that but still, she tried to lie her way out to this. “Angelo, I can explain everything so please, don’t leave me,” she begged, and shed crocodile tears. The guy reacted, and laughed sarcastically. “Are you going to tell your husband how much you enjoyed my rod, dear Helen? C’mon, you can do better than that, baby. Tell him how many times you complained about his lousy sex techniques and how bad he is in bed, honey!” “Shut your trap, you big oaf! This is my house!” I shouted at him. He ignored my outburst, a
LEON I RAN to a nearby dark alley and there, I staggered and panted. [I can’t breathe!] I exclaimed in my mind. My vision started to get blurry, and I could feel my head spinning. It was way too early to doubt my boyfriend. We haven’t talked much lately because I became busier at work, so he must have changed his job and didn’t have the chance to tell me. “That must be it,” I convinced myself while trying to catch my breath. “Sheldon was always the one who considered my situation and went along with my one-sided requests. And not once did I ask if he was really fine with all of it.” Realizing all of these now scared me. What would I do if Sheldon grew tired of me? After that brief overthinking, I decided to go to his place so I could talk to the person himself. We’ve been lovers for more than six years! How come only now I would realize that I knew so little about Sheldon?! ━━━━━━ ◦ ◦ ━━━━━━ I ARRIVED at his place faster than I expected. Was it because of the adrenaline rush th
LEON “AWW~” I heard my mother say. Then, she patted my head. “I have faith in you, (.....). I know you’ll do just fine without me,” she said. “That’s not true! I’m only ten!” I reasoned out. “For now,” she uttered. “Okay. (.....), whenever you feel lonely, just look at the moon,” she advised. “The moon?” I frowned. “Why the moon, Mom?” I asked. “I don’t know,” she half joked, and chuckled when I pouted at her. “I mean, just look at it,” she encouraged, and pointed a finger at the moon. I stayed longer that day so it was already night time. “The moon is so beautiful, don’t you think?” I stared at it for a while. Back then, I never understood what my Mom tried to imply. Who would’ve thought that it was her way of saying that she loved me all her life? “What’s so special about the moon, Mom?” I retorted, a little disinterested about it. “You know… I was told that I can never get pregnant. That was also the reason why your father left me because I couldn’t give him a child,” she re
LEON I BARELY made it on time. I parked my motorcycle a little farther from the studio so they wouldn’t notice that I was here. I hid myself in a dark corner and decided to message Derrick before I proceeded. Leon: Where are you? Derrick: Doesn’t matter. Where are you right now? Leon: Still in front of the studio, but I hid in a dark corner. Where the hell are you?! Derrick: Don’t mind me. Go at the back, but don’t get yourself caught. Leon: Caught? By who? Derrick: Can’t explain. Just do it. -seen- I clicked my tongue in annoyance. I had no idea why Derrick was acting weird. He was adamant about it. I was about to leave my spot when he sent me one last message saying: Derrick: Please be safe -seen- I attempted to reply as it bothered me. What was going on, really?! I made sure that my phone was put on silent before I walked my way to the other side of the building. I felt uneasy, but I still had to do it. ━━━━━━ ◦ ◦ ━━━━━━ IT WAS quiet, so I began to think that
SIDAPA WHEN the world was created, several gods were given important roles to keep the balance between good and evil. Some became the Goddess of the Sea, some became the God of the Sun, and others chose to be a lot closer to humans and took many forms. Gods and Goddesses all had their true forms. In order to relate themselves to the mortals, a lot of us took the form of humans when they visited their realm. One of the few, who neither looked like a human nor a God, was me. Born from darkness and light itself, I became the God of Death. In the near future, humans would have known me as the Grim Reaper. When I came to the mortal realm, I took residence in the highest peak of the mountain called Madja-as, a place that no humans dared to climb for it was known to send them to their early deaths. All I had with me was the giant, black tree. There, I silently welcomed every new soul that was yet to be given a body to live in. I would measure its lifespan and carve it to the tree with th
SIDAPA I GOT back to my tree, but I saw no one. I looked around, searched every bush and tree, and still nothing. When I got tired, I walked back, disappointed. “Um, excuse me?” I panicked when I heard a voice speak behind me. I assumed it was hovering over me so I lifted my head up to the sky, but it turned out that it was standing right in front of me so I looked down. My eyes widened. Before me stood a being whom I had never seen before. It had long, silver white hair that stretched down to its waist. Its skin was so pale, and their icy blue eyes were gorgeous. It wore a silk robe that covered very little of its skin. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman, but one thing was for sure: It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life. “Who are you?” I asked in a soft voice. But since I was in my true form, what was soft for me would sound very deep and scary for others, like talking to a creature that came straight from the underground. “Can you please help
SIDAPA I GASPED when I remembered about it, and I quickly left to find some herbal plants nearby. It didn’t take me that long to find one. I handed over some leaves and vines to the guy, and he accepted them. “Wrap them around your leg. It will ease the swelling,” I told him, and he just stared at the leaves. “What? You don’t know how?” I raised an eyebrow. I laughed when he shook his head. “Don’t laugh at me, Mister! I am not from here, so I really have no idea about these… these things you gave me,” he admitted. “What are these for?” he asked with teary eyes, before showing me the vines. “Use that to tie the leaves together so they won’t fall off when you move,” I said, and he looked more confused. “Please put the leaves for me,” he pleaded. “What?” I exclaimed. “My claws… I might hurt you,” I refused. He sat down and sighed. He felt hopeless. “Can I ask you something?” he opened up while trying to figure out how to apply the leaves on his injury at the same time. “What is it
LEON/LIBULAN “I WILL.” Sidapa was taken aback by my quick response. “I was very disappointed when you told me that what Leon and Sheldon had were all lies,” I began. My spear reappeared, and I let it float up. “Because, as far as I know, I loved you both, whether it was you or Sheldon. You may be two different people, but I spent so much of my life as Leon. I treasured everyone who had been a part of my life. I value each and every one of you. In terms of my real name, I’m not sure why I didn’t tell you I was Luan. But I did hear someone’s voice whisper in my ear for a brief moment. “This is not the time,” the voice said. I apologize for keeping you waiting for so long, my beloved,” I said. “I’m also sorry for not listening to you at the time,” he added. “It’s all right. I now understand why you did it. Sidapa, you kept your promise to me that night,” I said. “I love you, too… more than my own life, Libulan. I’d do anything for you.” “You really exceeded my expectations,” I chuckl
LEON/LIBULAN “PLEASE don’t get any closer!” He growled and fixed his gaze on me. But I insisted on walking forward rather than back. “It’s fine. This time, I’m not going to leave you behind,” I assured him. “I told you not to get any closer!” he growled again. His lower body began to wither and shrivel. Whatever was causing it had to be related to his overwhelming power. From where I was, I could feel its heaviness. It was sucking my life away. “You don’t have to bear it all to yourself. If you want to lash out, you can do so with me,” I told him. Sidapa began panting and shaking his head violently. “No,” he refused, but he was clearly holding back. “I told Agui to get you out of here!” “He did, but I chose to stay,” I said, a faint smile formed on my face. “It’s all right, Sidapa. I’m sorry for abandoning you. I should’ve fought alongside you until the bitter end. I’m truly sorry.” “No!” he denied. “Get the hell out!” I came to a complete stop in front of him and was about to t
LEON/LIBULAN SIDAPA was about to stab me when a massive ball of fire crashed into him, trapping him inside and separating him from the rest of us. Only then did I realize Roark had vanished. “What happened to Roark?” In a panic, I inquired. “He was only here a short time ago,” Lisuga confirmed. She, too, began to be concerned. I could feel my entire God power flowing through me. Despite regaining my true form, I was not satisfied. I felt compelled to return just to end something else. Instead, it made me feel terrible on the inside. “Libulan, please stay here. Sidapa is dead set on killing you. He’s completely insane!” Likabutan tried to persuade me. I knew he had good intentions and was only concerned about my safety. But would anything change if I continued to flee? I couldn’t stand to do nothing and watch everyone die in front of me. “Please forgive me, brother. I will face Sidapa and stop him no matter what,” I declared emphatically. “You and Lisuga must find a safe place
SHELDON/SIDAPA [WHAT is this? These fires are very familiar,] I thought as I stared at the flames that tried but failed to burn me alive. It didn’t, however, leave me unscathed. “Sidapa!” exclaimed a familiar voice. The fortune teller appeared in front of me when I looked up to see who it was. “Who is that pathetic fortune teller? No. “You’re not the fortune teller,” I told myself, and when I realized who he was, he grinned maniacally. “Agui?!” I exclaimed, perplexed. It was the fortune teller’s body that appeared just now, but his voice and mannerisms were unmistakably similar to Agui’s. I’ll never forget his arrogant demeanor. He was a particularly vexing God. The fortune teller (Agui) jumped to his feet and boasted the moment he spoke to me. “Behold my grand presence, you arrogant God of Death!” he exclaimed, pointing at me. “I dare you to a fight!” “Because I hadn’t felt your presence before, I didn’t think much of that guy. If only I had known, I would have killed you back t
SHELDON/SIDAPA I MADE a huge mistake. I had not intended for things to end in this manner. All I ever wanted was to see my beloved Libulan again. But I messed everything up. All I wanted was for us to have another opportunity to be together. Our story was brief, and we didn’t even get to savor the moments we did have. I was well aware of the consequences from the start, but I chose to disregard them. In comparison to Libulan, I should have been able to accept our fate with ease, but the tables have turned. Death, which had always been a normal occurrence for me, became my greatest fear and weakness. I was terrified of losing Libulan forever. It drove me insane. But my desperation only exacerbated the situation. Time slowed down as Libulan stood up and confronted me bravely. He was looking down, but I could see that he was enraged at me. This was not how I intended for him to feel. And I was certain he would be disappointed in me, which is why I sealed his memories away. Part of m
LEON/LIBULAN “LIBULAN!” It was Likabutan’s voice. He dashed out and caught me just in time. The impact of my fall greatly affected Likabutan’s body. “Argh!” He groaned and growled in intense pain as he became my cushion. He coughed out some blood after receiving my harsh fall. “Libulan! Likabutan!” I could see Lisuga running towards our direction with a panicked voice. When she arrived, she quickly bent over and checked our condition. [This is not making any sense at all. Why is Sidapa doing this?] I asked myself inside my mind. I looked up to him one more time and he just remained unmoved in midair, waiting for us to beat him up again. “Why won’t you talk to me?!” I shouted at Sidapa. As expected, his mouth remained shut. “Talk to me, damn it! Was the Sheldon that this body of mine met six years ago was nothing but a fraud?! All those passionate nights that we shared together, were all of them lies?! Did you really love me?! Answer me! Don’t make me look like a clueless fool here!
LEON/LIBULAN I SNAPPED back to reality when I heard a loud explosion a few meters away from me. Beside me was my crying sister, Lisuga, who clearly tried to shelter me from whatever that was going on around us. When I lifted my head, I saw two figures endlessly attacking each other without a care in the world. The two of them were badly wounded, but none of them gave a damn, not even the people around them. When I found the strength to speak up, I shouted at the top of my lungs and called out to the man I called ‘beloved’. “Sidapa, please stop this!” But he didn’t even budge or bat an eye on me. He was simply lost in his urge to finish everything with his own hands. [Why are you doing this, Sidapa? What are you trying to prove by dragging everyone else in our problem? Shouldn’t you talk it out with me instead of acting this way?] I thought to myself while clenching my fists in anger. “Get away from here, Lisuga,” I told my sister who was trembling by my side. She quickly refused to
ROARK “RING a bell?” The man smirked at me with full confidence. I stared at him for seconds and tried my hardest not to ruin his mood, but nothing would come to mind. “Are you a psychic like—” “Ah, damn! I’m Agui!” he growled angrily and threw childish tantrums, making the fire on the fireballs hotter and larger. “How can you not tell?! I thought you were way better than Leon, who couldn’t even remember the tiniest bit about his past life, but you’re far more worse!” he grumbled. “How would I even know?!” I snapped at him. “But you’re a psychic, right?!” he retorted. “That’s not how my psychic ability works, jerk!” I retaliated. “Jerk?!” His eyes widened, and he was suddenly covered in fire but he didn’t look like he was hurting. “You dare call a God like me a jerk?!” “God?!” I exclaimed, baffled. “Don’t tell me… You are that kind of God?” “I just told you my name!” he yelled. “I am Agui, the God of Fire!” “What?!” I gaped in disbelief. “That’s impossible! What do you want f
ROARK “WHY did you do it, Sidapa?!” Leon asked his lover, sounding betrayed and hurt. “Did I oppose the judgement that was passed on us? If we were supposed to die right here before, why did you change our fates?!” Sidapa let out a sigh before answering, “There is no point explaining myself, is there?” he said sarcastically. Then, a cloud of black smoke started to disperse around him, giving all of us chills down to our very spines. “You were not supposed to retrieve your memories. If this psychic here,” he threw a quick glare at me before talking back to Leon, “didn’t find the necklace, none of these would have happened. We could have spent our lives happily.” Leon, Lisuga, and Likabutan took small steps back. Sidapa was brewing with danger. He was serious about taking us on. Even I could feel his menacing power. He was no doubt the God of Death that people feared nowadays! [Seriously, am I going to get caught up in this mess? What am I now, some kind of eye witness?!] I panicked