999 years later: Modern world---
"In the early times, these were the explanations of our ancestors why natural disasters happen. Of course that has changed now that science has been discovered. Now for your assignment--- research on additional myths preferably coming from your own hometown. Due date will be on Monday."
A buzz of sighs and complaints began to fill the classroom which soon diminished when the professor urged everyone to settle down.
"I expect everyone to have something to pass, given the fact that we'll be having a long vacation starting tomorrow." He gazed at his wrist watch and saw the secondhand nearing six. "Alright, have a nice vacation and be careful on the way home." He smiled amiably at the students as if he truly meant what he said. He doesn't. But it was a role he decided to take. The least he could do is throw in some caring words to look the part of a kind teacher.
What's another hypocrisy to a world that's brimming with an even bigger hypocrisy?
Nothing has changed. The amount of corruption on earth definitely increased, but it was still the same. He was still the same. Still a man in his twenties. And still as lethal as the day he woke up eight centuries ago, washed up ashore, alone and confused. With no memories of who or what he was, he decided to coexist with humans, watching them rot away every so often as they reached the limit of their lifespan that only amounted to a measly number of years.
After discovering this difference, he distanced himself away from them. He no longer bothered with the trifles of human relationships, realizing he was a monster in their pudgy, little minds. Occasionally, however, humans forget about him. The stories of his monstrosity became ridiculous tall tales of the ancient mouth.
One instance would be... this situation he is now presently subjected to. He was heading home until a moment ago when a thin-looking fellow, clothed with ragged clothes suddenly demanded he hand over his money. So he forked out his wallet which frankly only consisted of a 20 peso bill that was enough for his fare ride home.
"You fucking twerp! Give me all of your money if you don't want this buried in your gut!" The stranger proceeded to perform intimidating gestures with his knife.
Smiling apologetically, he muttered, "Sorry but that's really all the money I have right now." And it was true. He didn't feel the need to carry a lot when he only has one class for the day. "If you'll excuse me..." He then spun away from the seething man and that was when he felt pressure on his back.
"You'd better be off dying then!"
Stabs rained down on him from behind but there had been no pain whatsoever.
It took the man a minute to realize something was wrong. A fact that amused his victim. "What the heck?? Why are you still standing..-!?" His words stopped and a blood-curdling scream came out instead, shaking the once silent and dark, narrow alley. "Why do you have worms and flies coming out from your back!? You monster! Fuck-! Ahhh!"
He turned to look at the man who was frantically scrambling away from him while shaking his hand vigorously to try and fend off the wriggling worms and slimy substance that had oozed out to cling on his skin from when he was hacking into his victim's back.
"Monster?" He let out a dark laugh as he sauntered towards the stranger who was now shaking like a leaf. His earlier bravado seemed to have vanished as if it was never there in the first place.
"You and I are the same. The only difference is I'm stronger than you..." He removed the knife from his left shoulder, knelt down to his assailant, took his hands and forced the bony fingers to grasp the hilt, crushing the tiny, little bugs that refused to leave his skin.
"Get away from me! They're digging inside-! Aahhh-!!!" The low pitch screams raw with torment continued on as sweat poured down the man's haggard face.
"And they'll dig even deeper until they reach your insides... They'll spread in your body and nurture themselves with your essence, lay their eggs inside your organs and slowly eat you from the inside till you writhe in pain."
"No! Take them out! Take them ou-!" He coughed just as a worm entered his mouth.
"Why would I? This world will be rid of one less worthless human being." The professor ruffled his head and smiled at him. "Hold on to your knife well. And if it becomes too much, you can end it yourself. This is the only kindness you can get from me."
Standing up, he bid him farewell and continued on his way, ignoring the moans of pain that was slowly being muffled by the sounds of traffic.
Nights like this have become less and less surprising for him and humans became more predictable as he continued to interact with them. In short, life became boring.
But that had drastically changed the day he met Lace Serafica. The first human to survive an encounter with him. It was unexpected. Shocking, even.
They met the next day after the incident in the alley. An on-site forensic specialist. She probed him with an air of professionalism most people would lose when talking to him, seeing how meek he looked.
"Mr. Kier Larazabal. This is yours, isn't it?" She said this as she handed his I.D. It must have fallen off his wallet last night.
But rather than being professional, she actually seemed more hostile. For sure the detective in charge had been alerted by her and the thought that someone would be looking into his activities vexed him. All because of a measly human being. He thanked her and made sure to return the favor. Slightly touching her fingers (a means to pass her an illness) whilst taking his identification card, he expected her to be dead in a few days but nothing of the sort happened. In the end, he got suspected, was questioned and was later on released when evidences pointed out that the cause of death was undoubtedly suicide.
"I'm sorry..."
He could still remember her apology. She looked extremely uncomfortable and interestingly looked... quite healthy. He'd known that she didn't die, given the investigation to check if he was related to the murder proceeded, but personally seeing her standing, radiating with life and vitality, he couldn't help but feel intrigued. So intrigued that he'd performed numerous experiments on the oblivious human.
He followed her around and manipulated her guilt to get close to her. Twisting the meaning of his words, trying to make her believe she had committed a grave sin. Something that she did not take too kindly, unfortunately. Gaining her trust was a lot harder than he thought. He'd acted kind. Gentlemanly. He even swallowed whatever pride he had and became something like a lackey. Of course, not without weighing the merits. From there, the small assessments, which generally consisted of ineffective friendly physical interactions (thinking the first time was a fluke) became bolder. So much that he tried to feed her all kinds of food, jam-packed with worms which became the pinnacle of his study. His hypothesis that she is a walking anti-body was proven so easily. It seems her whole being is fully impervious to him, even the creepers disappear, quickly dissipating in black smoke when near her.
She truly is a worthy guinea pig.
That was why he got so furious when news reached him of her disappearance. Their hunch was that a runaway suspect kidnapped her out of spite.
"What..?" It was the only word he could mutter at the time. He didn't think he'd get so anxious over something that he'd lose the ability to speak.
His heartbeat thundered in his chest apprehensively. His experiment was not yet carried to completion yet there was already the possibility that she would die? It was the first time he was caught in such a dilemma. Letting the situation progress without intervening meant only one ending.
Later that day, the end of the world coming soon was written on flashing headlines in news channels. The large number of pests that were recorded crawling out from the sewers had been a huge shock to the humans. Roaches, flies, rats... they all came out, seemingly searching for something, not minding the daylight nor the vehicles that crushed them along the way towards a destination no one could ever guess. For two hours, they ran amok but had subsequently hidden themselves after that timeframe.
Meanwhile in Ibabawnun, the upper world, the gods and goddesses were throwing a fit in front of Kaptan. With the passing of nine centuries, their appeal to give the victims of Bulalakaw proper justice became more frequent.
"Enough!" Kaptan's voice drowned out all the noise. "You call yourselves gods and goddesses yet you easily let fear control your conduct!?"
They lowered their heads but anyone with eyes could see their disagreement in the way they shifted uncomfortably.
"Forgive me for speaking out of line but that being cannot be saved. We already saw nine centuries of his cohabitation with the humans yet he never gave any importance towards life. I think this is enough evidence that he should never be reinstated again." Pahulangkug, the god of seasons, came forward, kindling everyone's courage to share their thoughts, as well.
Kaptan could only let them release their frustrations, seeing no chances to interrupt their one-sided arguments.
"Cease your tongues." Santonilyo's usual calm and gentle voice came out with a hint of displeasure, enough to get everyone's attention. "We all know why most of you are against his return so don't act like you're doing the victims a favor. This is the reason why our fellow god has become this twisted, in the first place. Every single one of you has painted him black and isolated him with indignation all because of the power he holds, is it not so?" He roamed his eyes on the guilty faces of everyone present.
"Don't act like you have not done it yourself, Santonilyo. Haven't you quietly turned your back against him, as well?" Saragnayan, the god of darkness, shot back at the former.
"That is why I'm lamenting my past actions." The small god's eyes turned sharp as he locked gazes with Saragnayan before continuing, "Unlike the lot of you who continue to condemn him in the end... Have you no shame?"
"Then are you saying you'll take responsibility for the future losses if he returns?" Yet another questioned him.
"By asking me this, it seems you're really prepared to stain your hands with his blood." He replied with an even heftier disagreement.
"Not another word from all of you." Kaptan spoke and now everyone's eyes were on him. "I hear and understand your concerns. Pahulangkug's words may have a semblance of truth in them but have we not also seen how he helped the family that took care of him the first time he woke in the mundane world? Though his manners have changed after they implicated him as a monster after displaying his abilities but he had not fully become a maniac that held no regard for life. Had he not tried to live with the humans till the end? He did not attack anyone just for the satisfaction of ending their lives. Therefore, his manners are truly as Santonilyo has mentioned--- they are the result of how he was treated."
"The question is, will we really take a risk?" Suklang Malayon, the goddess of homeliness questioned, and through that also announced her neutral stance in the matter.
Kaptan sighed. He could not answer it so readily as he had done with the other matters. They are discussing the fate of a god of power. Something like this could even be called taboo but everyone does not seem to care or is either simply ignoring that fact.
Dark smoke suddenly appeared, the tendrils roaming around before finally clumping together to form a body, and from there, came out a cold voice. "Then sssshouldn't we let Dalikmata desssccide?" The dragging of the s, was only associated with one being and that was Hukluban, the henchman of Siginarugan, the god of the underworld.
"How dare a lowly being like you come here!?" Ynaguinid, the god of war, did not take her presence too kindly as he had quickly raised his weapons and positioned to take her head off when Kaptan stopped him.
"My apologies-ssss... I was-ssss merely sss-sent here by my m-masssster." She continued to bow her head, not looking everyone in the eye, knowing full well how these gods detest her existence. "After all... Wassssn't massster alssso a victim of the god of pessstilenc-sss-e?" she added later on.
"Dalikmata is not yet in the right condition to decide. Tell me, what did you really come here for?" Kaptan asked, wanting to know if the underworld had actually already gotten involved without their knowledge.
"The truth issss, massster wanted to give you a hand in making thisss important decisssion. That issss why he employed me to lend my powerssss. I have ssssacrificed a lot to make a potion that could more or lesssss counter Bulalakaw'ssss power but thisssss can only work on humanssss. I have used it on the human the god of pesssstilencssse is currently curiousss about. Of courssse, the human is kept in the dark."
"Enlighten us." Kaptan narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the hag. He was wondering why this particular human was not affected by the god of pestilence... So it was after all the doing of Siginarugan?
"Equal treatment... The god of pestilence and illnessesss is someone who has never been treated equally because of his terrifying abilities. If he were to feel that gap crossed, wouldn't he sssssoon exemplify his true nature? If he really issss evil, you can easssssily guesss what he would do to that human..."
Everyone grew silent. Although Kaptan does not think Siginarugan is doing this out of the kindness of his heart, he couldn't help but think that this is the best way to handle the matter. Though it seems, he will have to tread in deep waters.
Kaptan's eyes looked at the image that was being projected by Munsad Buralakaw, the god of politics and affairs of men. In it, the god of pestilence who had just saved the human looked faintly different. It seemed as if he was slightly anxious for a moment. Or maybe it was just his wishful thinking.
The human stirred in her sleep and woke up to discover Kier standing on the sidelines, staring down at her without as much as a greeting or a sigh of relief. Slightly alarmed by this disturbing visual, she roamed her eyes around and realized that she was now in the safe solace of a hospital. The smell of antiseptics bombarded her nose, making her slightly dizzy but she made an effort to sit up, anyway. Kier didn't offer any assistance. Rather, he just stood there as if he was watching an animal in the zoo. If he was a stranger, she'd definitely scream and ask for security.
But he wasn't a stranger.
While her eyes missed the bugs that quickly hid themselves under his sleeves, she could still remember how he appeared out of a swarm of flies in time to save her. You'd think he was an evil entity so it looked very contradicting in her eyes but it was what had happened. Though she somehow couldn't remember what transpired after he appeared but he indeed had saved her. Otherwise she wouldn't be here right now. She couldn't believe it, but he wasn't human. The two of them fell into a staring contest, neither saying anything, until they were interrupted by a visitor.
Kier had left after the newcomer's arrival, suddenly looking more jovial and kind than he was a while ago. The swift change of behavior frightened her and ever since that day, their interactions became awkward. She was thankful for the busy days that followed after. The investigation regarding her disappearance gave her leeway to think about Kier and how she was supposed to interact with a confusing character.
A week later, after the police concluded that the crime was certainly motivated by revenge due to her assistance in one of the suspect's crimes, everyone who had known the two noticed their banters had lessened and their debates became conversations about the weather. This led to a ridiculous presumption that someone, somewhere along the way, one of them must have confessed to the other and the result was this weird way of trying to cope up with the tension.
"No. Nothing of the sort happened." Lace decided to finally end the rumor but had failed when her coworkers' teasing remarks only intensified.
"I'm telling you... Kier is..." She paused as she nibbled on her sandwich. "Remember how I told you I felt eerie vibes coming from him the first time I met him?" She'd even tried to recount the event of seeing him swarmed with pests to her friends, but it had backfired when the subject of their conversation suddenly appeared out of thin air.
"What eerie vibe?" he asked with an innocent and curious expression on his face that Lace could only describe as fake. Lace's friends had excused themselves at his arrival, and the two of them were left alone.
He sat in front of her and grinned at how his guinea pig froze in fear.
This expression spooked Lace. He looked like a puppet with a smile sewn on his mouth, completed with a pair of vacant eyes. "Why did you approach me?" She ignored his question and asked him what she'd been longing to know for a while now.
"What do you think?" his grin grew wider, making her shudder in her seat.
"If you're some kind of witch, I don't think I ever offended you... Or was it my ancestors? Are you taking revenge on me..?" She muttered carefully, not really knowing what she'd do if he suddenly said yes. He didn't reply immediately, deliberately keeping her on suspense. Sweat beaded her forehead and by this time, she was prepared to run for whatever might happen. But he had suddenly laughed and even his dead eyes gleamed with amusement.
"You're a funny one. You worry about why I approached you rather than worry about how to get rid of me?"
"But... Isn't that impossible?" She blurted out without thinking.
He raised a brow at her response.
"Getting rid of you, I mean..." This earned another laugh from him. This time, even squeezing out tears of joy which should have been impossible for the man. She stared at him, dumbfounded.
"You're right. You won't be able to get rid of me and likewise for me." he had mumbled the last words to himself so she didn't quite catch them.
Frankly, she didn't know how to interact with him now that the cat is out of the bag but Kier didn't seem that troubled by the fact. He continued to behave as usual whenever other people are present and only revealed his cynical nature to her. Though he confused her, she couldn't help but think he doesn't actually mean any harm to her. In fact, he had helped her quite a number of times and this time, she felt that there was sincerity in his actions. He truly seemed like a good friend, albeit his slightly psychotic nature.
On the other hand, she couldn't help but go back to the reason why he was associating himself with her. It was a puzzle that she still couldn't solve until now. His interest in her... Where does it come from?
She later on guessed one motive that can more or less explain his actions one dreary night when she noticed something strange about her shadow. It was also at that moment when she caught him following her to her house, with a mysterious gaze. He watched her curiously when he saw her that morning, too. It's as if he could see something she couldn't. Whether it was over her head or something behind her, it seemed to amuse him.
"Why is my shadow headless?" her voice trembled, fear gripping her heart as she stared back at his beady eyes.
"I don't know." He answered.
She wanted to ask him if he was the one responsible but she was too scared to hear the answer. A cold breeze swept past them and she grew aware of the empty and dark neighborhood they were in. It was slightly past midnight and she mentally berated herself for working overtime when she knew she should've gone home early while the sun was still up.
"Lace..." he suddenly spoke, startling her. His eyes darted behind her ever so slightly before resuming, "You might feel tempted but you mustn't look back... Run to me as fast as you can."
"What..?" Should she trust him?
"Lace! Don't go to him! He's dangerous!" Her land lady's voice called out to her from behind, making her freeze on the spot.
She was about to look, but Kier spoke. "Don't. listen. to. the. voice... Come to me. Now."
"Lace, he has a knife behind him..!"
She gulped. Who should she believe...?
Wait...
Does the land lady know her name? She doesn't recall the woman ever calling her by her first name. And she's supposed to be away on a vacation, right? There was a possibility that she came home earlier than expected but why would she be outside at a time like this?
Then again, can she really trust Kier?
Crack... Crack..! Ominous sounds could be heard from behind her, making the small hair on her arms rise. It sounded like bones breaking out of their alignments. She wanted to look but her neck refused to move.
In fact, she felt frozen even more.
"You're running out of time." Kier spoke yet again just as she heard someone running behind her at an abnormally fast pace.
She exhaled a long shaky breath as she stared into the man's slightly complicated expression in front of her.
Whatever happens, happens...!
Shutting her eyes, she ran straight ahead, ignoring the anomalous noises that felt almost a breath away from her. She didn't want to overthink, but something sounded as if someone had clamped their mouth shut to bite their food but was unsuccessful. In this case, wouldn't that make her the food?
Her breaths became labored but she continued to run until she got her foot stuck. She yelped, and immediately tried to pull it out. Something was wriggling. It felt ticklish...
"Don't worry." Kier was suddenly in front of her.
"What..?" She looked at him bewildered.
"You won't die." He pushed her down into a pool of worms and she slid right through, screaming in horror. Everything happened so fast but just as her head was about to be swallowed into the mass of wriggling creatures, she had caught sight of the land lady whose hands were about to grab her if not for Kier. She didn't look quite like herself as the seconds passed. In the first place, her body was all out of place, her joints twisted to various freakish angles. Even her mouth had been ripped to its maximum, tearing the skin open to show the filaments of muscles beneath the epidermis. Even then, her body continued to change. Boils and warts appeared on her skin as it sagged. Her hair turned white and her back slowly hunched.
She seemed to be laughing then. And Kier... Why does he look shocked? Peering closely at his face, she thought about the first time she met him. He struck her as someone who could only ever show one sincere expression (an apathetic look), but he proved her wrong as the days passed by. Kier was actually more fragile than he appeared to be and it somewhat scared her to realize that. Kier, to her, is...
The words Lace wanted to express fell into disarray as the strength in her body waned along with her consciousness. It felt as if her life force was slowly being sucked. She tried to speak but no words came out and soon enough she wasn't able to think comprehensible thoughts anymore. Black spots dotted her vision until everything eventually faded. The last thing she saw was Kier crouching down to her, wearing an unusual expression on his face.
"Lace! Lace..!"
Even as the bugs dispersed, she continued to get weaker and weaker. He called the emergency hotline, but he wasn't sure if they were going to arrive on time. He could only cradle her in his arms, trying to shake her awake frantically. He had to admit that it was the most pathetic way to handle the situation but it was all he could do.
"It's no usssse... My potion had already lost its effect. She'ssss going to die...." Hukluban wheezed, still making the effort to smile even as the worms ate her. "Bulalakaw... you have truly fallen now..." she cackled, coughing in between as blood gurgled out of her mouth.
"You and Siginarugan... are going to pay..." his voice thundered, and as if the pests had heard their master, a larger number of their population suddenly appeared out of nowhere and furiously ate Hukluban's body from the inside out.
The screams of torture ultimately fell into a peaceful silence, the sound of rain quickly taking over as it began to fall, clearing away the evidence of the gruesome crime that had just occured.
"Kaptan!!!" He shouted at the heavens. "Kaptaaannnn!!!" Apart from the sound of the furious rain, his voice was the only thing that resounded in the silence.
"You killed Hukluban... Do you know the repercussions of your actions?" A commanding voice suddenly materialized. The rain slowly froze like magic, the droplets of water stopping in their momentum as two figures appeared.
"Save her..." He ignored the supreme god's question and muttered his purpose for calling him without delay. "You have to save this human. She's still young... It's not her time yet. It can't be." He refused to believe it.
"You..." Kaptan paused and looked at the god who looked like a tiger who had suddenly lost his fangs. This was an unexpected turn of events. "You regret your actions..?"
The man nodded. It was truly surprising.
"He's lying! He's merely using the human as a prop to look pitiable!" The god of time and cosmos, Bangun Bangun tried to snatch Lace away but Bulalakaw had immediately created a barrier of pests surrounding him and Lace.
"Touch her and I'll kill you." Bangun Bangun was shocked and fell back at the animosity being directed at him. "I won't let you steal her time." he added as he hugged her limp body close to him.
"How shameless! You think I'm as evil as you!?" Bangun Bangun shot back but his outburst was ignored by the god of pestilence who focused his attention to Kaptan, once again.
"You already gave me back my memories... That should mean I am already a god, am I correct?" His eyes mirrored desperation, something he had never exhibited before.
Kaptan sighed and nodded, earning a gasp from the god beside him.
"How could you have decided this on your own? Even if you're the supreme god-"
"I consulted Dalikmata about this matter. After all, she was the one who bore the greatest pain amongst all the victims." With this, the lower god's disagreements were shut down completely.
"I'll give it up... I'll give up my existence, but you mustn't let her die."
Nobody expected to hear such words from the god of pestilence and illnesses. Whether it was because Bulalakaw felt responsible for her misfortune or because he suddenly wanted to atone for all his misdeeds, he never said it outright.
Even when Dalikmata came down to mock him, he only bowed his head and muttered manipulating words to fulfill his wish.
"I may have sinned against you, but every last one of you is the reason why I am what I am. This human did nothing. If you're going to let her die, you might as well admit that you're the same as me."
Dalikmata got so furious, but she couldn't refute his words. In the end, she cured the human using Bulalakaw's life force. The human's illness, after all, was inflicted directly by a god so it was natural to use drastic measures. Regardless, this also meant that Bulalakaw would disappear. When a god's life force is halved, he will no longer be able to take form and he will slowly weaken and die.
That was what happened to Bulalakaw. The once proud and selfish god had actually offered himself to save a life he had once showed little regards for. A mere human...
"When you returned my memories, my ability to listen to the hidden voices of those around me had also returned... Do you know what she thought of me?"
Everyone present grew extremely solemn by his words but they did not look away from his fading figure. It was beautiful. Like embers floating and disappearing into the night sky. At that moment, he didn't look like the fearsome and heartless god that everyone thought him to be. He looked warm and inviting and his figure didn't look as lonesome as it did before.
"I will not tell you..." Not once did he stray his eyes away from the sleeping figure of the human in front of him as he spoke. Even when his arms were fading away... Even when his legs disappeared, he couldn't look away.
"Because this is a secret that only I will be able to treasure and understand."
It was a sad and rainy night. The sky looked as if it was mourning for someone. And maybe it was. Maybe science isn't the only explanation there is when it rains. Maybe it was nature mourning for those who have no one to mourn for them...
At least that was what Lace had innocently thought, one rainy day, as she gazed up at the dark gloomy clouds, her eyes brimming with tears.
***
-Life feels more valuable when you feel your existence is sincerely being treasured...
A/N: The bulk of the characters are based on Philippine Mythology particularly from the Visayas. However, there are a few inconsistencies which may have been noticed by some who are familiar with the gods and goddesses from Visayas. I have added the character Hukluban which is not part of the Visayas gods and goddesses. Also Dalikmata does not really heal all kinds of illnesses and even the main character, Bulalakaw, have had some changes in the story. I had to make these changes to make the story work, so there's that. haha. Anyway, thank you for reading!!! Have a nice day and stay safe!