Mermaid Blues: Beasts, Giants and Spirits

The Ephirmise

Grace, Seline, and Ana are in the conference room in the Marksmen Association. Gaston, Silvia, Kianu, and Wendel are with them. They are discussing the enemies that came to the Horizon Reached. Cielo is the one explaining to them. He is standing at the front. Standing beside him was Gordon.

"You mean that white wolf-like light is a spirit? And it has a host whose name is Mark?" Seline wanted to confirm.

"Yes," Gaston answered. "That white wolf is a spirit. The same as that small sun-like creature you've met."

Ana raised one of her eyebrows. "I fought him before and it is so strong I barely survived. He's got strong powers." Then, she suddenly remembers the conversation they had with Mark in the parking lot yesterday.

"In the legends, spirits possess human beings - becoming one with their hosts," Silvia explained. "In our language, we call the spirits 'anito'."

"'Anito?' Ghosts? You mean the spirits of the dead?" Seline asked. "As in the Igorot word?"

"In this context, we mean not the spirits of the dead," Gaston said.

Then, Silvia explains. "These 'anitos' are beings that cannot be seen by the eyes of people. They are not spirits of the dead but they are creatures that are invisible and alive."

"How do you differentiate Lignodons and...anitos exactly?" Ana asked.

"Lignodons are people who have the genetic ability to transform themselves into wolves, bears, deers, and even tigers. They are inherited and can be passed from generation to generation. It's in their genes to carry another form - a form of some extinct species of mammals passed from generation to generation. In the case of anitos, they tend to possess people to become their host," Gordon explained. "They are similar to the elements or calamities that were given shape. They don't have any anatomy like ours or any creatures we see in this reality. They are inorganic. They are like statues that are given life."

"And what is Mark's spirit?" Seline said.

"According to our database, that white wolf is also known as a Moon Cruiser. They have the ability to bend time and space. As a result, they tend to make a reality separate to ours."

The girls were enlightened a little somehow.

"How about that sun-like thing?" she followed. "What kind of spirit was that?"

"It is a Santelmo, my girl," Silvia answered. "A spirit is known to embody the power of the heavenly bodies. "

"How about Gabriel Sanchez and also that Gabriel Umali?" Grace asked. "Who are they?"

Gordon and Gaston looked at each other. Gaston explains, "This man, Gabriel Umali (displays the picture of Gaddo on screen). He is the so-called Syndicate. We don't know the reason but we don't care. He is the leader of the hunters. The reason why they are after Kianu and Wendel is unclear."

It's Gordon's turn to explain about Gabriel. He displays the image of Gabriel on the projector screen. "This is Gabriel Sanchez. A terrorist. His motive for joining the hunters is not clear. However, he is known by the central intelligence as the adviser of some of the terrorist leaders in the Middle East."

"Such a scary guy," Seline looked away.

"Why? I mean, what are their motives for killing those four people?" Grace finally asked.

"That's why we need your help," Gaston said. "We have this case about the emergence of the two realities of the world. They are aiming to murder all the people who possess the mark of Lumawig. We believe only three of them are left alive. They are all under our surveillance. You are now looking at two of those guys."

"I counted seven of them," Ana responded. "They already killed four?"

"I don't know if I am confident. But I'll try to help. Maybe this mystery can help us solve our never-ending wonder about the place where we always meet too," Grace said. The three girls looked at each other. Then they faced the leaders again.

"What do they want with the other reality?"

"We have no idea," Gaston replied. "We don't even know how to locate it. And since you are here now, you might as well help us since you have been in the other reality before."

"Can you help us with how we got our powers?" Ana wondered.

"Beats me, "Silvia replied. " All we just know is when these 'daughters of Lumawig' who are chosen by the world are dead. It will select other people to become its new daughters to guard it. The other perception of the world might give you the answer," she added.

"Help us..." Gaston told them. "And we'll help you figure out where to find the place where you got chosen."

"But how? We don't even know where to begin. We just learned about realities and the hunters. Moreover, those guys with cursed tattoos, " Seline doubts.

"I believe that place needs you three right now," Kianu chimed in. "I believe you three can help stop the hunters. You will be the ones to set us free from this curse of a tattoo. I believe that the place I went to thirty years ago is the same place you have been in your dreams. The world needs you right now. I doubt the meeting place you talk about won't conceal any secret from you."

Seline, Ana, and Grace reflect on his encouragement.

"So, it's up to you to decide," Gaston said. " The world needs you right now."

***Blue Water***

The mansion of Gaddo, which serves as a headquarters for the hunters. It is also their secret hideout. It is a house made of stone, smartly designed to blend itself into its surroundings. It is a hideout where their enemies cannot easily be spotted by their naked eyes, either by bird's eye view or just by standing on the ground.

On the terrace located on the mansion's rooftop, Gaddo is there. He is sitting on a wooden chair as he enjoys overlooking the view of the entire village from up there. There was a table standing beside him. On it is a plate of pandesal, and two cups of hot coffee - one for him and one for the person sitting at the opposite side.

Sitting from Gaddo is an old man thirty years older than him. However, he is a veteran when it comes to hunting. He is more experienced than Gaddo himself. His name is Gaspar, the father of Gaddo. He is cursed with having cancer in his lungs. He is in a wheelchair. An oxygen tank beside him. He wears an oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose.

"I heard that Daya came to see you here. Is that true?" Gaspar asked.

"Yes, she is. She was upset and went out of her room," Gaddo replied. "I always told her to stay in her room so that she won't get any worse...but she's stubborn. She wants to see me."

"That girl is one hell of stubborn. She has always been a hard-headed woman ever since she was a little girl," Gaspar gently shook his head.

Gaddo sighed. And then, he took a sip of coffee. "We can't blame her anyway. Right now, she is trying to recover from the pain she experiences."

"Gaddo, dear. There is something I want to tell you," his father said. "I came here to say that I am dying," he nervously said.

Gaddo widened his eyes in horror. He looks at his father in disbelief. "Father, don't say that. You will live. I will make sure that that spirit will die before you die," he insisted believing.

"Calm down now, Gaddo," he said. "Remember the time before your mother died?"

Gaddo shook his head. He doesn't want to hear what he's going to say. He doesn't want to believe whatever he's gonna say. "No. Don't..."

"You know the symbol suddenly appeared like a mark on her stomach before she died?" Gaspar continues. "The symbol resembles the Roman numeral one, right?" Then, he slides his right sleeve up to uncover his forearm.

Gaddo looked at his arm. In fear, he shook his head. "No..." He stood up. "No!" He was looking at the Roman numeral symbol 'I' marked on the back of his forearm.

"This is my last day on Earth, son," Gaspar said. "All because of my sin thirty years ago. This is my price for getting myself involved in things humans should not do. At any cost, for any reason, no one should have to walk through the wall set by God. Now, all my family is also suffering the price."

"There is nothing wrong in hating those creatures who shouldn't exist!" Gaddo yells in desperation. "I will kill the links to Lumawig and make sure to hunt that son of a b***h who did this to us in the other world."

"Hmmm..." his father replies. "But the question is...is he really in that other world. No one knows where he went after the diversion. He might be here, or he might be there."

"What are you trying to say?" Gaddo wrinkles his forehead.

"I am talking about the deaths of many people because of this. The Lycants, and the people who got involved. Now that I am thinking about it, I feel that their lives are wasted because our goals came to nothing."

"There are no lives wasted," Gaddo disagrees. "Whether we are successful or not, I can't ignore the fact that those lycants are monsters. It is our goal to take out their lives. Even the people who try to save them must have to be sacrificed."

"What if it is too late then? I am already dying. What if you can't save Daya, and the rest of the family?"

"No one is going to die on my watch!" he protested. "I will find that son of a b***h and make him taste the 'medicine' he gave to us. I'll make him savor. I'll make him pay! I will kill whoever I want to save us all!"

His father looked at him. He is terrified. He could see Gaddo's eyes burning in desperation, sorrow, and rage. He can see his son's eyes turning red and about to cry.

"I won't let you die either," Gaddo told him. "You won't die."

"If it is my fate, then let it be," his father insisted. "Let Daya and the others live. Just in case I don't make it."

Then, Gabriel came to the scene. He greeted Gaspar with a good morning. Then, he looks at Gaddo with seriousness on his face.

"Let's talk," he said.

::::::::::

Inside Gaddo's office...

"Anyway, I still have no idea about that last link that you want me to find out. The guy is very well hidden. I might have a theory that he might not be here in this country at all. "

"Well, if your theory is correct, then we must have to find another way for us to gain access to the other side, fast."

Then, Gabriel immediately took out something in the pocket of the sleeveless jacket he was wearing. They are three small two-by-two ID pictures sealed inside a ziplock. He placed it down on the table.

"Then, I'll give you some," Gabriel said as he put it down.

Gaddo examined the pictures in the ziplock. He looked and he saw a picture of Grace, a picture of Ana, and a picture of Seline.

"You already know Ana Camilo, right?" Gabriel informed. "However, have you met the other two pieces of the nuisance?"

Gaddo looks at him sternly. "Are you saying they are the ones who caused our failure yesterday?"

"It turns out, all three of them are really studying at Horizon Reached University. Even my doggie was struggling to take them down," Gabriel replied.

"Don't tell me, these pictures are those girls?"

"Yes. I have an informant who gave me their student background. I forced him to give me those. Upon further research, and by reading the journal of the first mermaid in your archive. I've pieced together every single evidence I can find from them," he said.

"What did you find out?"

"According to the journal, each guardian has a unique ability. However, they can share the ability to manipulate water. Based on doggie Mark's story, this girl (Poked at Grace's picture), Grace Joy dela Rochaz, has created crystals," he explained. Which in the journal, there is a mermaid who can turn water into solid crystals and all the state of water."

He continues to explain. "This girl, Seline Agyaman, appeared out of nowhere and created a bubble barrier. There's a mermaid who has the same ability as hers in that journal," he explained further.

"So, this Ana who has not revealed her powers, is the telekinetic of the group?" Gaddo added.

"Yep. You got it," Gabriel gladly agreed. "These women are the ones who started it all, right? How about they're going to end it too?"

Gaddo smiled as his eyes filled with hope. He got up from his chair. "Call Agatha. Let's devise a plan to capture them once and for all. I'll make sure that the peace of my family will not be stopped by some college girls."

"And the Santelmo?" Gabriel asked. "Agatha said that there's a spirit with them and it is called a Santelmo."

"No fear," he said. "I have something that can kill it," he said.

:::::::::::::::

Grace was at her three 'o clock class. That class was also the time when Sherdel would be her classmate. As usual, she was sitting on a chair right next to the window in the last row of the fourth column. She was wearing earplugs as she listened to music. She was staring at the place outside the window.

The students were waiting for the teacher to arrive. Moreover, their numbers weren't complete yet. Some are still coming in. Sherdel wasn't in the room either. Moreover, it was still five minutes before class.

Sherdel appeared in the doorway. He stood there for a while so that he could check if the seat next to Grace's was vacant.

"Hi Sherdie!" a gay classmate greeted with a flirting accent. He was sitting at the end of the first column next to the door. "Come, sit next to me" he suggested.

"No thanks," he responded. Then he entered and headed towards the seat near Grace.

"Sherdel. Sit here instead," said a girl.

"No, he's more comfortable here next to me," the other girl said.

Yet, Sherdel silently passed through while ignoring their calls.

Grace looked at her phone to check the time. It was already three. And so, she gently put off her earplugs, coiled them around her palm.

She paused coiling when she saw Sherdel coming towards the spot next to where she is at. She is already aware that he'll be taking the seat beside her.

"Hi," she greeted when he settled down.

He looks at her sternly. She just smiled at him with enthusiasm.

"Woooooooooohhhh!" Gregory yelled as he enters the room. Everyone got startled when they heard him. Everyone's attention was on him. "Congrats!" he pointed to Sherdel.

Everyone's eyes are focused on Sherdel.

"What's this addict's problem now?" Sherdel muttered.

"I see, the reason why these girls are talking to you is that you broke up with Alexa?"

"You are happy because of that?" Sherdel further asked.

"Yeah. You know...you know...?"Gregory irritatingly said.

"You really are crazy," Sherdel creased his forehead, trying to follow what he was trying to say.

"...You are now free. Then, I heard that you have already found a replacement."

The students began to murmur. They were intrigued about the news Gregory had shared.

Sherdel sighed, then he rolled his eyes.

"You really are bugging me, even my personal life. May I ask you which one of us is worse? Is it someone who broke up with his girlfriend before looking for another girl or someone who has three girlfriends at the same time?"

Gregory smirked.

"Just judge yourself before me, okay? So that you are not going to embarrass yourself ."

"Correct," they reacted.

Grace Joy was trying to hold her laugh. Gregory scanned everyone in the room. He felt a little abashed. He quietly approached the seat next to the teacher's table.

:::::::::::::

It is already twelve o'clock at midnight. The crescent moon is at the peak of the Baguio sky. In the Cordilleran Marksmen Association Mansion...

Kianu is in his room. It is not as wide and grand as a typical guest room, but it's still simple and cozy. The lights are off, so the room is dark. Only the light from the window is piercing through.

There was a black lizard coming through the window. It is not an ordinary lizard. It is made up of ink. And its eyes are red like blood. Its size is compared to the size of Kianu's palm. It came crawling toward the bed. Kianu is fast asleep. He doesn't sense that something is crawling on him. The lizard is on his blanket. It stopped when it arrived on his chest.

Kianu's tattoo on his wrist is shining like coal. In his mind, his dream at that moment is interrupted by a voice.

"Wake up...Wake up..." the voice whispers. "Kianu... wake...up Kianu..."

Kianu opens up his eyes. The lizard on his chest fades quickly into the air. It disappeared without Kianu knowing that it was on his chest. Kianu got up. He could sense that his wrist was acting up again. He raised his wrist below his face to see his lighting tattoo.

Then, someone suddenly spoke. "You are Kianu, right?" he asked while standing in front of him.

Kianu got startled. He looked at the one who had just spoken. However, it is not what he is expecting it to be. He thought it is a person but he was shocked to see a cryptid creature staring at him. Kianu stood up on his bed and he made a defense stance.

He is looking at a creature he has never seen before. However, he recognized it as a spirit. The spirit's head is like that of a snake or a lizard. His body is standing upright like a human. His body resembles that of a human but is broader and buff. He has a tail longer than his feet. He is covered in scales. The most unique feature of him is the lizard tattoos on each of his forearms. Also, his eyes are like those of a monitor lizard.

"Do you remember me?" the spirit asked.

"I...I know you?" Kianu replied in confusion.

"I see. I guess crossing the bubble caused your mind to confuse your reality...your memory, I mean," he said.

"Who are you?" Kianu asked as he got terrified.

"I am nobody," he answers. "Humans call me ephirmise."

"Do I know you?" Kianu wonders.

The snake-head spirit tilts his head to the right as he looks at him blankly. "I came here to see the guy whom Silvia talked about," he replies instead. "Are you the guy who crossed the other reality to here?"

"Yes, I am. Why?"

"I got interested in your story. I got curious when Silvia told me. My condolences to those comrades you have lost in our reality," he said. "However, it made me wonder. Did you really end up in the consciousness of the spirits?"

"Yes. We all ended up in that world," he told him.

"Really?" the lizard was surprised. "I can't believe that we, beings without flesh, can eat flesh. We spirits are made not of the dust. We don't have any anatomy or flesh. For we are concepts only given to have consciousness. We don't get our energy from the flesh of materials."

"What do you mean? I saw how my friends got devoured by creatures primitive to your world perspective with my own eyes. If it is not spirits who devoured my friends, then-- "

"There are no primitive flesh-eating material animals in our reality," the spirit said. "Your mind really got jumbled."

"If there are no human devourers in your reality, then how could you explain us suffering in that hell?"

"You were not taken into the spiritual reality in the first place," the spirit said. "In fact, when a dear friend told me you were lost in the place called Biringan, I got shocked. It immediately made me wonder which reality has Biringan in it."

"What?" Kianu was shocked.

"Are you aware of the third reality other than here and the spiritual reality?"

Kianu didn't respond. He is trying to absorb what he just said.

"I see. You are confused. Other than the material world and the spiritual world, the world also has another reality. A reality so abandoned and so despised even the spirits of knowledge refuse to believe in its existence."

"What do you mean 'third reality'?"

"My knowledge of that reality is limited. I can only tell you that the place you thought was the spirit world is not the spirit world. You and your friends are thrown into the abyss of the world...a place called hell."

The lizard starts to fade away. Its body is turning into ashes. "I have so many things to tell you but my time is limited in conversing with humans. Staying here for too long can kill you."

"Who are you?" Kianu said.

"I can't tell you. You were an investigator back then. I am pretty sure you know something about me and the realities."

"We know each other?" he said.

But before the ephirmise can say something, his body is already turned into ash and flew away into the wind.