A Possible Threat

A young man is facing a woman whose distance is far from him. His dark eyes are calm while gazing upon her, and his upper clothing begins to melt and dark tattoos can be seen appearing on his chest; the tattoo is symbolizing somewhat of a beast-like face.

He opens his lip and speaks unknown words, Afitera begins to move his hand upward.

"Espe-spada: Dark Penance," he swings his hand down, "those who counter darkness shall feel its despair."

Tremendous dark energy comes out from the movement of his hand; wrecking the soil as it's moving toward the woman.

She raises her hand at the incoming dark energy, and speaks, "don't you dare underestimate me, boy."

The tremendous dark energy disappears upon reaching her. The edges of her lip move upward as her eyes mimic a smile. 

"I told you," she said.

For a brief moment, everyone was silent not until blood burst from her fingers up to her wrist; her wrist and fingers burst to pieces.

Her fingers and pieces of her wrist fly everywhere, and her blood flows on the grass.

Her knees begin to shake, and she falls to her knees while holding her dissected wrist. Folds appear on her whole face as her eyes are narrowing while gritting her teeth.

She begins to touch the soil and pushes herself until she's standing on her feet. Dark purple energy flows from her exposed flesh and bone; the dark purple energy multiplies and forms onto a wrist and a hand.

She jumps toward Afitera. Upon reaching him she begins to extend her dark purple hand toward his face yet Afitera begins to fade away in dark particles.

A hand holds her nape, and her eyes widen. She moves her face aside and her eyes behind her.

"You," she speaks lowly, "how dare you hold a being with prosperous blood flowing in her veins?!"

"Foolishness," he tightens his grip on her nape, and holes appear on her nape; blood flows from the holes on her nape, "your prosperous blood cannot be your salvation from your fated death."

He flies toward the ground and slams her on the soil, and a huge, deep crater appears underneath them.

She swings her hands toward his wrists, and then dark energy flows from Afitera's wrists toward her hands.

Hence she swings her hand from his grasp, and immediately turns around and thrusts her foot toward him.

Afitera flies away but he lands on the soil in a standing position. He's gritting his teeth while drifting on the soil.

"I am Chesa Kref, and I will not let a mere human bring me down!" dark energy bursts from her fingertips, "mark this day that your eyes behold my presence–!"

In front of her eyes, Afitera is surrounded by a massive dark energy moving toward the sky. His dark eyes remain to stare straight into her eyes.

Chains are appearing on his wrists and at the same time, dark energy is covering his upper and lower body.

"Espe-spada: Blades of Havoc," he opens his hands, "prepare and feast upon my power."

A large dark energy appears on his palms and the large dark energy manifests onto a sword on each of his palms. 

He holds the dark swords. Afitera bends his forelegs a bit and releases tremendous force which pushes him toward Chesa.

Afitera reaches Chesa and he swings his dark sword toward Chesa but she holds the blade of his sword.

She is pushing him while stepping forward but her feet are being pushed as it's deepening on the soil.

"I-I am beginning to lose," she spoke to herself.

The dark swords disappear and Afitera holds her hands and throws her upwards with great force. 

The eyes of the woman floating while traveling towards the sky are narrowing while it's fixated on Afitera.

Everything in her perspective starts to move slowly whilst Afitera is heading towards her, and his distance is closer to her distance.

"This is too far to be real!" she yelled.

 A man sitting on a throne while staring at her envisions in her mind. Afitera is reaching her neck whilst Chesa's body remains to move towards the sky.

Her fingers begin to bend toward her palm. Grey particles begin to appear around her and then her eyes narrow.

The clouds start to move apart revealing the crescent grey orb shining upon the dark skies.

Afitera's eyes release red fluid which flows to his chin. His eyes are widening while staring at Chesa who has grey wings emerging from her back.

"Mitolo-ake: Lunar Executioner Wings," dark lines are appearing on her face, "it's time to put you in your place… I've been delighted to fight you but I think this will be the best for you."

She opens her hand and a red hammer appears on it, and she grabs it. Chesa flaps her wings and flies toward Afitera.

Afitera's eyes return to their original state and Chesa grabs his face. She let go of his face and swings her hammer toward him; the force of the hammer brings Afitera down to the soil.

She flies down to him while Afitera is standing up from the crater he's in. He looks upward while rubbing his head.

"What happened–!" Afitera's eyes broadened.

She appeared in front of him before he even completes his words. Chesa swings her red hammer onward at the shocked young man.

A huge force from her red hammer spreads everywhere, henceforth, a young woman is standing in front of Afitera while wielding a sword; she's pushing her sword against the red hammer.

"Celia?" Afitera said.

Celia is gritting her teeth while her eyes are narrowing as the veins on her hands are appearing. 

She says, "What did I tell you?"

Afitera looks down. "I-I don't know."

Celia swings her sword against the red hammer and Chesa steps backward as her red hammer slips from her grip.

"Afitera, run," Chesa moves her eyes downward, "I'll be a distraction for your safety. So please, just run away!"

"I-I won't leave you!" Afitera yelled at her.

Afitera looks behind her, and there he was witnessing Chesa pointing her index finger at Celia as grey energy is appearing on Chesa's fingertips.

Afitera jumps toward Celia whilst her eyes are widening. Afitera swings his foot on Celia's arm and she flies aside while he's landing on the ground.

He closes his hands and lifts them. "I may be a rat in everyone's eyes! But I am not a coward to sacrifice my life for the greater good!"

The grey energy from Celia's fingertips releases thick grey energy toward the young man. Celia arises and begins to move at full speed toward Afitera however the grey energy strikes the young man.

"Afitera!" Celia's eyes widened as she extended her hand toward him but she couldn't reach him in time.

Chesa's eyes mimic a smile as her lip smiles widely. "I got him. He'll no longer live! What a waste."

Afitera is no longer visible as a large smoke is hurling on his position. The large smoke evaporates bit by bit revealing a young man on his knees while his hands are raised; smoke emerges from his palms as his cooked flesh and bones are exposed.

"I-I yearn to defend those who matter to me, and I will not run away," his trembling whole body moves aside until it hits the ground, "I am pleased."

Chesa moves her index finger towards Celia and from her fingertips: a small dark purple sphere flies toward Celia.

Celia tightens her grip on her sword and so she swings it and its blade hits the small dark purple sphere; multiple cracks are appearing on the blade of her sword as she's pushing her sword against the small dark purple sphere.

The small dark purple sphere breaks the blade of her sword and it hits her throat, the small dark purple sphere penetrates the flesh of her throat until it comes out of her nape.

Her eyes shift to the color white as she falls to the ground.

"Weaklings," Chesa moves her eyes from Celia to Afitera, "your courage pleased me, and as a reward then I will leave you be and your comrades."

She raises her hand and flicks her fingers and dark purple smoke bursts on her position; the purple smoke begins to disappear and she was no longer to be seen.

Celia's eyes begin to move and they open and smoke emerges from her throat. Hence, she moves her eyes from her left and right and sees Afitera laying on the ground with his closed eyes and blood flowing from the exposed flesh and bone of his hands.

She pushes herself and begins to run toward the young man. Consequently, she ceases her movements beside Afitera and kneels.

She holds the back of his head and moves it towards her thighs. Her eyes are widening while fluids are filling every corner of her eyes. 

She speaks, "If I only just prevented you to fight him then none of this would have happened."

She moves her eyes toward his hand, and there she witnesses his bones and burned flesh while blood is flowing from it.

A hand settles on Afitera's hand, and an older woman crouches in front of Celia's eyes.

"Let me heal him," she said.

Celia shakes her head as her eyebrows are beginning to knit. "If you'll do that–!"

"Celia," she speaks calmly, "don't worry about me… I wouldn't waste my life for nothing and you are the one person who is aware of that."

"Ija… you are like a mother to me," fluid falls from Celia's eyes in a gentle stream down to her chin, "I don't want and I am not prepared to lose you."

Ija extends her hands toward his hands; her hands land above his hands and she caresses them.

"Ija… why are you willing to do this?!" Celia shouts at her, "have you lost your mind?! We can still gather herbs or ask for the help of duwende–"

Ija utters a soft laugh, she stops and moves her brown eyes toward Celia whose eyes are fixated on her.

Ija tells her. "I knew that he was the key for you to be connected to your emotions once again."

She closes her eyes. "When we developed trust and care for each other, you haven't shown me your emotions.

"Until this day, I am still confused if you are happy or sad every time that you achieve something that can grant you joy or sadness."

The flesh on Afitera's hands is beginning to heal and multiply; the flesh is starting to cover his whole hands.

"My life span," Ija coughs, "as I heal him my years of existing in this world are being reduced."

"Stop already!" Celia shouts at Ija, "you've already healed his hands! So, please halt, will you?"

She moves her hands away from Afitera's hands which are back to normal. Ija moves her eyes to Celia and she begins to smile widely.

"Do remember your vitamins and time of training yourself," Ija closes her eyes and her eyes mimic a smile, "I am in deep joy of witnessing your growth… seeing you making choices and standing on your own feet makes my heart joyous."

Ija opens her eyes and chuckles. "That was good isn't it?" 

Celia's eyes begin to narrow as her eyebrows are knitting. "You, mindless woman! How dare you put me into a state of grief!"

Ija rubs her cheek whilst Celia remains glaring at her. Thereafter, the sun begins to arise on the horizon and it replaces the grey sphere in the sky.

Inside a room, a young man is resting on a mattress with his closed eyes and white clothing wrapped around his whole exposed body.

His eyes begin to move as his teeth clench. His eyes open and it moves toward his hands.

He says, "My hands… I can't feel a thing."

The door of the room opens, and Ija steps inward. Her lip immediately forms a smile as her eyes do the same.

She says, "Afitera, you're awake!"

Afitera moves his upper body upward and rests it on the headboard. He moves his hand up to his head and rubs it.

He whispers, "Where am I? What happened to me?"

Ija walks toward him and installs herself on the mattress. She moves her hand towards Afitera's head.

Afitera's whole body moves with a quick, sharp motion as he moves his eyes toward Ija who's sitting in front of him.

She tells him. "Thank you for letting her experience what love is. 

"I heard what happened in the forest and I also heard what you did against the enemy."

She moves her hand from his head whilst Afitera shakes his head as his eyes are looking at her in shock.

"I can't relive the events that occurred last night, Ija," Afitera tells her, "but I somehow saw something last night… I was immobilized while I witnessed a tall dark human fighting against a gigantic beast."

Ija remains looking into his eyes. "Afitera, do you know who your parents are?"

He shakes his head once again. "No… I was abandoned when I was an infant."

"Nevermind," Ija tells him, "but there's one thing that you need to know."

Afitera rubs his hands together. "What is that?"

Ija extends herself a little bit towards Afitera, and she raises her hand and puts it on his shoulder. 

She utters, "Afitera, you must know that after you fought a high-ranking mananggal, you can no longer remain in your ordinary life.

"Hence, you must put in your mind that you are now one of the people listed on their list of possible threats."

Afitera's hands begin to tremble as his eyes are widening while staring at her. "T-Then what will I do from now on? My father, he's waiting for my return."

She closes her eyes and inhales deeply. "You must train with us and travel with us to keep you safe and help you get stronger and more powerful."

"But… I also have my family," Afitera told her.

She moves her hand from his shoulder towards his chest. "Your love for your father may be pure and big, but do remember that once you go home then you might be pursued by the servants of Chesa.

"Her servants are merciless hunters that feed upon the flesh of the people listed on their possible threats."

Afitera holds her hand and fluids fall from his eyes in a gentle stream down to his chin. 

"You're right," Afitera closes his eyes, "I want to get stronger and after that let's rescue your majesty."

Meanwhile, outside of the cabin, Celia can be seen resting her back on the wall beside the closed door.

Her eyes are looking at the skies, ergo, she holds her dark hair and speaks, "My hair is getting longer once again. Now, I wonder, does he truly mean what he did when we were in the forest?"

She moves her hands from her dark hair, therefore, she moves her eyes to her hand and she can see the lines and scars on her palms.

She closes her hands and narrows her eyes. 

She looks up to the skies and begins humming to the tone of a song.