The Kadlum clan was practically the Urrutia clan. For so long, decades and generations long, it was the Urrutia that had always kept the tribe safe. When it was time for Alice’s father to take the place of Datu, the circle of the tribes was at its peak of peace and unity. The peak of understanding. Alice could still remember the day he held her hand when she was just a small child, as they went to one of the most important tribal councils in her father’s life. At the time, she had no idea. But she remembered and realized now. That was the day the clans properly agreed on peace and unity. An agreement to halt their own advances and intentions for the throne, and live as equals instead. The gods would live in prosperity and take on different cities and areas around the place to take hold and flourish. And they were going to do this, until a better way would be established to put a god on the throne. They were starting order. But little did poor Alice know: she was one of t

The morning was slowly shattering. Its rays of the sun gradually fading away as it gave way to the moon. The clouds were losing its yellow shade, but the sun was still there. As the cave had slowly lost its radiance, so too did Alice leave the place. She had asked for power. More power, that is. Kadlum did not complain. “Go,” Kadlum said. “Go and make things right for us. We both want the future the path paved for us, Alice. Make it happen.”Alice’s sharp footsteps echoed across the hallway of the gods as the statue platform at the center lost the human presence—now once again confined within the guardian waterfalls and cave darkness that had always been with it. The darkness seemed to follow her, trail and trace her tracks as she walked towards the exit. Or maybe, it was the other way around. As she went for the exit, maybe the light was going out with her, too. Either way, the temple was to be left alone again.As she crossed the s

Miko was leaning back against the only black object within the thick forest: his car. It was a welcome addition to the otherwise lonely and forever-shade of green, though. The morning light shined down on him and his misplaced car in the green forest quite comfortably. It’s the warmest feeling he had had for a while—both physically and mentally. The past few days weren’t that ‘welcoming’ to him. After all, it was only just a week after Alice and Lyle killed Brian. He blocked the shining sun with his hand and grunted. Where are they? He asked himself in his head.Alice and Lyle lied low and hid themselves from the public for seven days. After what happened, Miko couldn’t afford any chances If they just strolled around the city. It was going to be the first time the trio were going to meet since… since Brian Mendoza.The birds chirped around him with the most ignorant of tones, oblivious to the world around them. Miko wondered i

The wind blew louder here, on the upper part of the mountains. As they got closer and closer to their destination, so did the air now feel a little cooler. They could see the evidence in the dancing of the trees and the bending of the shrubbery around them. Steps were taken lightly and slowly, their feet treading on reverent soil that was still—like the temple—familiar to them at least. They would occasionally stop, look ahead of them to see what kind of scenery had now been summoned by the mountains for them.Alice would stay the longest, while Miko and Lyle would walk past here and continue the flow of the breeze towards the village in the mountain. She’d take a few seconds, to breathe it all in while she was in the mountain. It was quite something that she had always been proud of with herself. She’d gone through her titans of sins, and her mistakes have led to the deaths of the innocents. And many have wronged her in the past. But she never failed

Cardona, Rizal.For generations, the Bayi and the Kadlum have been in good terms with each other. Seeing as how close their territories were with each other, they ought to be. But still, there was a time—now only described through stories spoken by the loyal families of the clans—when the two tribes had still drawn a strict line between each other. Between the territories. Between Quezon City and Cavite. When one side would need to meet the other, they used certain places neither clan owned. Islands, mountains, and even small towns. There was a place such as this right at the center of Laguna Lake.Cardona, Rizal. More specifically, Talim Island.And Alice was about to be the first to use it in decades.“Look,” Lyle pointed down at the foot of the hill. “They’re right over there…”Miko tried a spark with his lighter, his lips already pressed together to hold the cigarette stick, but ultimately failed