The Light Beholds Your Beauty

In a wide field of grassland covered by flowers, and trees surrounding the field.

A young man's hands are raised and on his palms, a big round mossy rock can be seen.

Fluids are building on his forehead and some are falling from his chin. His eyes are widening as he is biting his teeth while inhaling and exhaling at a fast rate.

"Afitera, you can do that!" Ija spoke while standing in front of Afitera.

He moves his eyes toward Ija and sees a smile on her lip while she's biting on an apple.

"This damn woman!" he spoke to himself.

"Do you know that I am connected to these flowers?" she moves her hands from side to side, "and your dripping fluids have your thoughts, so when your sweat falls on the grass: I can read what you're thinking."

Afitera closes his eyes as he begins to step from side to side and the large rock from his palms falls on his feet.

His eyes widen as he hops while screaming whilst Ija remains staring at him.

"This kid." she held the temple of her nose; massaging it.

She moves her hand down from her forehead and speaks, "Again, Afitera. Pick the stone and keep it resting on your hands."

"This is frustrating," Afitera picks the stone, "I wish there was some other method for my body to strengthen."

Ija raises her eyebrows at him. "Another method you say? Well, I do have another method."

The corners of his lip curve upward as his eyebrows arise. "Can you kindly educate me about that other method of yours?"

Afterward, Afitera's eyes widen as his lip opens wide whilst Ija is smiling widely while holding her cheeks.

Ija asks, "Can you please do what I request, Afitera? Please."

"I don't know but that seems to be out of touch, Ija," Afitera closes his eyes as he sighs, "getting closer to Celia is tough. Talking to her makes me shiver but just having thought of spending a long minute with her… it's just impossible."

Ija's smile fades from her lip and she raises her shoulders and contracts them. She moves her eyes downward. "No… I'm the one who's carrying the load here. Maybe Celia is just horrible and does not deserve the feeling of having quality time in her life."

Afitera begins to raise his eyebrow at her. "Is it me or are you manipulating the situation here?"

She turns around, raises her hand, and gently waves it. "Just continue what you're doing while I just stare at the sky knowing that Celia won't be able to fulfill–!"

Afitera puts the rock on the grass. He inhales deeply while looking narrowly at Ija. "Cut the drama and just kindly tell me what I am going to do. Just enlighten me if I am going to die while doing this."

Meanwhile, the closed door of the cabin begins to move forward, and Celia peeks through the wide gap between the door and the frame.

Her eyes move up and down. "What have you come here for?"

In front of her eyes, Afitera is standing while wielding two wooden swords. He takes in a large draft of his saliva as he slightly moves his eyes aside.

He moves his eyes toward her eye, and he lifts the other sword. "I-I am just reckoning with this thought of mine that we uhm… we should go and fight with this sword."

Celia blinks as she moves her head a bit backward. "Wait… so you are indeed requesting a sword fight… with me?"

Afitera moves his sword towards his nape; rubbing the blade of the sword on his bare nape. "Oh… yes, you are not mistaken, madam."

"I like that spirit of yours," Celia calmly told him.

Afterward, Afitera is jumping from side to side and crouches avoiding a blade of a sword.

"You are a mad woman!" Afitera yelled.

Celia's eyes begin to narrow as folds appear on her face. She jumps toward Afitera; pushing him down to the ground.

Afitera coughs and his eyes widen upon a blade of a sword pointing at his throat. He moves his eyes toward Celia who's sitting on his abdomen.

"No one calls me crazy! For they die right at the moment of calling me mad!" she yelled at him.

He remains to stare at her eyes as fluid is falling from his forehead. She moves her eyes downward and throws her sword away, and her sword lands on the grassland as its blade is thrust into the soil.

"Please, don't show your face after I walk away," she stands up from his abdomen, "and I am asking for your forgiveness because my temper gets ahead of me."

Afitera touches the soil with his bare hands and pushes himself until he's standing on his feet. 

Hence, he begins to run towards Celia who's walking away from him. Multiple blue fireballs suddenly appear around Afitera whilst Celia is raising her hand.

"Continue to go after me," she glances at him with her colorless eyes, "you'll lose the chance to see the next day."

Afitera inhales deeply and speaks, "Using your power against a mortal! Are you somehow full of fear of facing me?!"

She continues to walk forward as Ija is standing in her position while staring at each one of them.

"I want to know more about you!" Afitera closes his hands, "I want to know more about you, Celia!"

Celia stops walking and begins to turn aside, then she raises her hand as she aims her index finger at him.

"Who are you," her eyes are narrowing while her brows are knitting, "to know who I am! You don't have the privilege to enter my life and know more about me! 

"Because all of the years that I've been living my life, only I know myself and I shall be the one who'll know myself until I die!"

Afitera raises his hands and extends them toward her. "At least let me and Ija treasure your existence. Living for 550 years, you have dealt with much more pain than I do.

"I know it's tough to give your trust but 550 years is too much for you to hide your pain, in some ways, can you lend your trust to us?"

The blue spheres around him begin to disappear from their sight. He looks at his whole body and moves his eyes once again at Celia.

Celia turns toward Afitera and tells him. "I can see why our majesty and Ija trust you. 

"If you want to know more about me then let's not talk through words but through our weapons and strength."

Celia moves her eyes downward and crouches, there she picks the sword from the soil and arises from crouching. 

She lifts her sword and points it at Afitera whilst he raises his sword and points it at Celia.

The wind blows over them as the clouds unite. Celia begins to move at full speed toward Afitera.

She swings her sword down once she's closer to his distance, and Afitera lifts his sword; blocking the blade of her sword.

He raises his foot and thrusts it toward her abdomen, and Celia was pushed backward by his kick.

Celia looks at his head down to his toes. "Are you… had you fought an enemy using a sword?"

"Lumina taught me how to fight using a sword," Afitera replied.

She looks down and cracks a smile on her lip, and then she looks once again at Afitera.

Moreover, she begins to move once again toward him and both begin to swing their swords toward each other; their blades clash against each other as the sound of their vigorous struggle echoes everywhere.

Afitera steps aside and evades her kick. He steps toward her and kicks her waist causing her to step aside.

"That's a nice attack," she said.

Afitera swings his sword toward Celia, but she jumps backward and avoids the blade of his sword.

She moves her eyes down to her waist as she sees blood dripping from the deep scratch on her exposed waist.

Afitera opens his hand and drops his sword, he runs toward Celia but she raises her sword toward his neck.

Afitera halts in front of the blade of her sword whilst smoke emerges from her deep scratch; her deep scratch begins to fade away as blood is nowhere to be seen.

"Afitera, the mythological creatures here in the Philippines, some of them adore tricking a human into an endless illusion," Celia swings her sword away from his throat, "be aware of who you are facing because if you continue to act like that then you'll likely to die on a battlefield."

Celia turns around and says, "Our practice here is done. You quite made me remember the one who I was in the past, thank you."

She begins to move forward whilst Afitera remains to stand in his position. He turns beside him and sees the orange hue in the sky as the sun is shrinking down from the horizon.

"Celia," Afitera turns toward the direction of Celia, "let's go to the forest."

She ceases her movements and turns around and faces Afitera. "To the forest? What do you want to do there? Do you want to haunt a wild boar? Or find the house of a duwende?" 

Afitera shakes his head. "No, I don't want to encounter any creatures, but I do want to spend the rest of this night with you. Let's go to the part of the forest where rare glowing flowers grow."

Ija is walking towards the cabin while a wide smile can be seen on her lip.

She speaks to herself. "I trust you Afitera, please do give her the happiness that she needs."

Blue spheres are floating as it glows around Afitera and Celia; they're walking alongside the trees as a few fireflies can be seen above them.

"When I first saw you, I was annoyed by your appearance," Celia spoke.

Afitera shifts his eyes beside him and sees Celia's mug; her toned jawline, her appealing cheeks, and her thin midnight-blue eyes.

"Y-Yes." he moved his eyes away from her as red tints appeared on his cheeks.

She moves her eyes toward Afitera. "Are you fine? We can just go back to the cabin."

"No," he looks back once again at Celia, "it's just overwhelmed by the beauty of your eyes."

Her eyes widen a bit and she looks away from him. She looks down. "D-Don't speak nonsense. These eyes are feared by many for they believe that it can cause misfortune–"

Afitera holds his hands. "I would stare at it every day. No eyes are misfortune because every eye is beautiful no matter what color or form it beholds." 

She moves her eyes aside and her lip starts to curve upward. 

Afitera smiles as a light shines on his face and it also shines on Celia's whole figure. 

They look forward and in front of their eyes, they witness multiple flowers emitting light that shines on the grass, trees, and their figure.

Afitera moves his eyes at Celia who's running towards the flowers. She stops in front of one of the flowers and kneels in front of it.

"You never knew how much I wanted to go to this place," she extends her hand towards the flower in front of her, "I used to dream of this place when I was a little one."

Afitera halts beside her and then he crouches. He moves his eyes toward her mug, ergo, he witnesses the light shining upon her skin as a smile begins to form on her lip.

"You look lovely," he said.

Her eyes widen and she moves her eyes beside her, then her eyes meet his eyes that are locked on her eyes.

Afitera begins to step closer to her until he can feel her breathe. 

He moves his eyes from her eyes down to her lip. "The light truly beholds your hidden beauty. I won't hesitate to gaze at it."

Celia begins to step closer to him, she raises her hand towards his cheek; caressing his cheek and perceiving its texture.

Their lips start to move towards each other as their breath begins to go faster.

Celia stops moving and stands up. She turns around as Afitera arises from crouching.

"T-The majesty, she's in love with you," she rubs her eyes, "I cannot do this–!"

Afitera settles his hands on her shoulder as he walks in front of her eyes.

"But I do love you." he raised his other hand and surrounded his arms on her upper body, furthermore, he deepened himself on her.

All of a sudden, Afitera steps back from her body and stares at the sky only to see a large fireball.

"That's the emergency signal!" Celia yelled and began to run forward.

Meanwhile, Ija is inhaling and exhaling while she's standing in front of a creature.

Blood is oozing from her forehead and wounds. Scratches can be seen on her exposed skin, and her clothing has tears on it.

"Now, tell me," the creature in front of her smiles widely, "where are that rat and that comrade of yours, traitor?"

"Leave them alone, Bene!" Ija yelled at him.

Bene clicks his tongue and grimaces at her. "I don't like that attitude of you! I think I might leave them alone only if I pull your heart from your body!"

"I am not afraid of anything!" Ija roared.