B2A1 - The World of Myths

Chapter 15 : The World of Myth

Chapter 15 : The World of Myth

-Elliot-

            The place looks so old and the village isn’t so big. People are still wearing old Filipino cultural clothing… they’re still wearing camisa de chino and baro’t saya. They all look so busy about something. The houses are still made of wood, bamboo, and coconut leaves. They are called Nipa huts.

            The nipa huts are placed next to each other yet not to close to make it overcrowded. The people are so busy with doing their own businesses. I can hear them talking indistinctively yet I can’t seem to understand what they’re saying no matter how hard I try to recognize even a single word… game props? ahahaha

            We all continued walking as we entered the village. People all around suddenly stopped and stared blankly at us. As in all of them, at once… what’s going on…That’s a weird way to welcome people from other place ahahaha. I get it, we’re all foreign from them… but why do they stare so weird?

            “Uhmmm… Magandang Araw po, can we ask something?” Darxi confidently asked. He was so kind and calm when he asked as if he wasn’t scared not shy at all… /Good Day/. The villagers just looked at us as if they didn’t hear anything, and then they all went back to work. Weird

            “Things are really getting weirder” Avery commented that made me look at him… gosh, he’s right… if we really are in the game then… yea right

            “I think they’re just NPCs… you guys said we’re in the game, right?” I suggested that made them all look at me intently

            “You’re right, NPCs… maybe they weren’t given lines to answer us” Raizen snapped agreeing with me “Or maybe we’re just asking the wrong NPC” he added as he tried looking at every person that he can see around us

            “Wait, what is NPCs?” Vic asked cutting Raizen off

            “NPC… Non Player Character…” Darxi answered him right after he asked. Everyone else nodded their heads especially Avery, Reiven, Enzo, and Scarlett who must not know what it means

            “What’s a Non Player Character?” he asked again following the question he had a while ago

            “Gosh… from the word itself, those are the characters that are not controlled by players… perhaps by the game itself” Darxi answered him again slightly raising his voice

            “Ok sorry I’m just making sure ahahahaha” Vic laughingly said as he raised both his hands as if he’s surrendering, Darxi chuckled with what Vic did, gosh he’s not making sure, he’s just teasing.

            “Let’s look for that NPC that talks” Reiven said calling our attentions

            “Yea right…” I agreed with him. I took a few steps forward entering the village then all of a sudden a force prevented me to take further steps and pushed me backwards. What the heck was that? It’s as if someone is calling me from somewhere or as if someone wanted to talk to me

            “Our Heroes! They’re here!” I heard someone screamed when they looked at us again, he’s one of the villagers who looked at us blankly a while ago… that’s weird. Oh I get it, maybe we just needed to move forward to activate them

            “I guess we don’t have to look for that NPC after all…” Lucy said as she walked towards me. He’s right… the game would just bring us to someone to progress… what’s that called? Storyline, I think.

            “Why didn’t they answer me a while ago?” Darxi asked complaining ahahaha

            “Call Nunong Lino, tell him they’re here” another guy from the villagers spoke asking a child to call the person named Nunong Lino. The little child ran quickly towards a nipa hut nearby.

            “Who’s Nun---“

            “Nunong Lino is the eldest person in our village. He lived for a hundred years, and he knows a lot about this place and our history. You’ll love talking and hearing stories from him” a villager came to us as he spoke those words interrupting Darxi right before he could finish his question

            “How did you know we’re coming?” Raizen asked him as he also walked towards our direction

            “He was already here since he was born, many people from his time moved to another places yet he chose to stay here. He’s going to tell you about things that you need to know” he continued talking without breaking his gaze from me

            “Wow, nice talking with you, sir…” Raizen said mockingly as he chuckled a bit

            “He’s an NPC, he’ll only say what he was assigned to say… he can’t answer any of your questions” Lucy reminded Raizen looking at him in disbelief and annoyance

            “Yea right, I forgot ahahahaha gosh, this is so difficult” he said and backed off

            “Nunong Lino is here!” shouted the little one who was asked to go and get Nunong Lino. As she came out from the Nipa Hut, she was holding Nunong Lino in the hand assisting him to walk near us. He’s so strong for a hundred year old man. Indeed, old times were full of healthy people.

            There I saw an old man in his barong tagalog, holding his tungkod and slowly walking his way towards us. His skin is tan and his facial features screams that he is a Filipino and that his blood is pure. /tungkod-cane/

            I remember, my grandmother is already having difficulty to walk at the age of sixty. During her fifties, she got so weak that she can’t do certain things anymore. A lot of people nowadays get weak at their forties and fifties… but look at this old man here, he’s still strong despite his very old age.

            They only eat healthy and organic foods anyway. Unlike us… we take a lot of chemicals, eat unhealthy foods, and we do a lot of practices that leads us to shorter lifespan.

            After Nunong Lino arrived to where we are standing he smiled as he looked at us

            “Welcome” he spoke. His voice sounded hoarse due to his age, and his way of speaking is kinda slow and silent “Come to my hut, I have to tell you something”

            Oh gosh, we waited for him to come out here, now he’s asking us to get to his hut… he should’ve just asked us to get there… sometimes, I don’t understand old people… just like my grandmother or my grandfather, yet I love them… they’re just so kind to their grandchildren… the way they take care of me, they never miss showing me how they love me.

            We all followed him towards his hut and entered one by one. The little child who was with him opened the windows silently and sat before Nunong Lino after doing her job.

            “Long ago, our world lived peacefully. People are very happy with their lives receiving so much blessings from Bathala. I was twelve years old at that time and I can vividly remember all of it. Trees and grasses are so green, flowers bloom everywhere, fruits fell from trees, the air is so fresh, and the sun is so bright. The lakes and the rivers are so clean and clear.” /Bathala-God/

            “I was so happy back then. Our world is like a world of paradise. People are blessed by the Bathalas with so much things because of their kindness, faithfulness, and humbleness. The Bathala ng Hangin, who holds the air gem blesses us with fresh air that we inhale everyday” /Bathala ng Hangin-God of Air/

            “The Bathala ng Apoy who holds the fire gem, made the sun shine so bright above us, even the moon and the stars. He even taught us how to use fire for our daily lives. The Bathala ng Tubig who protects the water gem, blessed us with rich bodies of water. Our rivers and lakes are as clear as crystal, our seas are abundant that every fishermen always gets home with a lot of catch. You won’t believe how lucky we are to live in this world” /Bathala ng Apoy-God of Fire; Bathala ng Tubig-God of Water/

            “The Bathala of Lupa who takes care of the earth gem, blessed us with so much things that we need. Food, house, clothing, and many more. And the Bathala ng Liwanag who holds the soul gem balances all nature powers. He gives us clarity and understanding about our world. He made us all pure and true with our intentions and everything” /Bathala ng Lupa-God of Earth; Bathala ng Liwanag-God of light/

            “But not everyone has been lighted up by the Bathala ng Liwanag. Lucio, is a friend of mine who happened to have grown with me since we were born. He was so kind back then, but things changed and he wanted all the gems for himself. No one knew about his plans about taking the five of it and use it for his own gain.”

            “Lucio managed to get all the gems from the Bathalas. The five Bathalas are turned into stone after losing the ownership of the power gems. As we lose the power gems, we also lost the blessings that have been bestowed upon us. Look around you, the trees and grasses aren’t that green anymore.”

            “Flower bloom lifelessly, fruits rarely appear even during their season. The air became polluted, and the sun shone dimly. Some bodies of water are contaminated and we started to have famines and shortages of supplies for almost everything we need. Our world has changed due to Lucio’s doings.”

            “Lucio stopped aging after he grasped the magic gems with his hands. He became strong and undefeatable, none of us can get our hands to him. That’s why I called you here to helps us save our world… with your abilities and skills, you can face him and get back what is not meant to him.”

            “Some say they have been seeing Lucio in the Mountains of Limari, you might want to go and see him there.” He said and sat down to his chair and looked outside his window “Good luck, may the Bathalas help you with your quest…” he added