"Mosquitos!" Cana complained, slapping her arm and her thigh. "First the Shade, then the cult. Now these insects want my blood."

  We were hiking up a mountainous path under the canopy of thick trees. Reina was our tour guide. She was leading us up an old, wooden stairway with a few of its steps either missing or ravaged by nature. But nothing too dangerous. We slipped through the gap, we hit solid dirt. But still, she asked us to practice extreme caution. We were going up to the ritual point where I was supposed to get my light back, as was planned last night during dinner.

  "But wouldn't the cult be there?" I asked while slicing my burger steak with a spoon. "You know, have that place surrounded?"

  "That's where Major Coleman comes in," Dr. Yap said. She stopped to refill her glass with red wine. No one rushed her to continue since she was busy with their meal. "The place needs to be secured before the haunteds even set foot anywhere near it. If they manage to get even 1 of them, a new seal will be broken. You all know the damage one seal undone can do."

  "Assuming they got us to open the seal," Darius said. There was no doubt in his voice. But I truly doubt he can back up those words when the situation arises.

  Her sister hit her with the back of her hand. "Idiot," Scarlet said. "You really think those guys are above torture to get what they want?"

  "They don't have to," Reina said. She was wiping her mouth with the napkin. "If Luca really has the knowledge to extract the light from ordinary citizens, why wouldn't the same ritual work with haunteds?"

  The room murmured in agreement.

  "Securing the place should be easy," Dr. Yap said. "The Lucarians are out busy. Some are tasked with the sole purpose of capturing the haunteds alive. They don't know 3 of the haunteds are dead. That's why they are still searching for the haunteds and are not allowed to kill them. The rest are ."

  "They are spread thin," Major Coleman said.

  "Yes," Dr. Yap said. "Her grandfather's loyalists"—then he looked at Indigo—the Rei-dians," Dr. Yap then continued. "Who had no choice but to go along with the new leadership, are to continue their infiltration to various sectors of society or help in the preparation for the city-wide ritual. Which is why I have yet to receive a call from him, despite the events of yesterday. We are all expected to keep playing our parts until we are called. I wouldn't expect a gunfight but there will surely be 1 or 2 cultists surveilling the area."

  "I have the men and the bullets to spare. Should it be necessary," Major Coleman said. "But we will play this the best way we can. Covertly."

  "What do you have in mind?" Reina asked.

  "Movie shooting," Major Coleman said. "It will give us the best excuse to kick out any strangers from the mountain."

  "Kick them out?" Indigo looked confused. "Not kill them?"

  "If we kill them," Major Coleman said. "And Luca called them. They wouldn't be able to answer, now would they?"

  Rustia burped after a swig of his canned beer. "Luca would think something went wrong."

  "Correct," Major Coleman said. "We want them to inform Luca. So that when he hears that a shooting is happening, he will think nothing about it. And we don't want to give him any reason to suspect otherwise."

  Major Coleman turned to us. "We'll come get you once the site is secured."

  We left early the next morning, arriving at the foot of the mountain past 10 o'clock to begin our ascent. The burning in my calves suggested with been hiking for some time now. As we hiked higher, we saw two strangers wearing civilian clothing. One has a very expensive and very huge camcorder on his shoulder. They were going down to meet with Major Coleman. Major Coleman picked up his pace to meet them halfway so I could only assume they were soldiers in disguise.

  Most haunteds took this opportunity to get some quick rest. I popped the flip cover off my water bottle strapped to my wrist and drank. Looking around, it was obvious that my friends were not used to taking on such a strenuous physical activity.

  "Hey priestess," Leo said. "Is hiking part of your daily training?"

  She and the other cultists looked amused. For some reason, they remain standing up.

  "Yeah, you don't even look exhausted like the rest of us," Harmony said. Then she looked at the only haunted that remains standing up. "You and Darius."

  Darius started flexing his biceps. "Yeah, well, jogging every morning," Then he switched to another pose flexing chest. "Gym every other day. Basketball on Sundays."

  "If only there was a workout for your brain," Scarlet said.

  The forest looked alive with laughter. The sudden comment took me by surprise.

  "There isn't," Darius said with lament in his voice who was now flexing his muscles with Muscle Lady Bea. "I googled it."

  "You don't need brains," Bea said, flexing her triceps. "Why study when you can just hit the problem in the face?"

  "That's really not a saying," Cato said.

  I saw Major Coleman and the two "hikers" coming down to us. "All clear," he said. He turned to Reina. "How much further?"

  "Just a little more," Reina said.

  "Is there any reason why they chose the ritual site so high up in the mountain in the middle of nowhere?" Indigo said. She was huffing and puffing between the roots of a wide tree.

  "Yes, actually," Reina replied. "What we are doing, really, is the procession of the Tala Festival."

  "All right," Major Coleman said. "Let's move out."

  A wave of groan immediately emitted from us. But we had no choice but to follow.

  "Hey Indigo," Darius said. "Let me carry your bag for you."

  We've all had the same bag. It's not that heavy, really. Just food and water for the trip. Considering her injury on the head, and the fact that she is a painter, Darius must have thought that this sudden hiking trip maybe more difficult for her than the rest of us. Meanwhile, the cuts on my hand and neck is so negligible that I already forgot about them if not for the bandages acting as a reminder.

  "Thank you!" Indigo said. She couldn't have given that bag to Darius any quicker, who then proceeded to carry Indigo's bag over his chest.

  "The Tala Festival is a procession of twelve teenagers born of each zodiac sign that ends in deep meditation inside the mountain," she said as we continued our ascent. "It reenacts the events the so-called Celestials took after they banished the Shadow People once and for all."

  Reina then explained that, according to their church teaching, there was only the Void in the beginning, a state of nothingness. But out of the Void, beings of pure darkness formed into existence, the Primordials. They created coldness, darkness, vacuum, and space, creating the universe. But the Void spat out an orb that introduced something foreign to the universe they created: heat.

  The curious Primordials touched the orb but the orb reacted to their energies, causing it to explode, sending pieces of itself across the universe. Some pieces retained the heat from their original body, becoming the stars. Some pieces had the heat die out, becoming the planets, asteroids, our world, and our moon. The intense energy leftover from the explosion cooled down into gases.

  The introduction of matter and heat caused the separation of dimensions: the material and the immaterial. The Primordials, being formless and without substance, found they could no longer exist in the now-material universe. They were forced to go back into the Void. Eons had passed and the heat generated from countless stars created life on empty planets. The birds, the trees, and the first humans came to be in our world.

  Furious that new life took over their creation, the Primordials sought the destruction of all life, creating the shadow people as their physical personification in our world. Our ancestors believed that these shadow people corrupted the hearts of men and nature itself, causing famine and stirring wars, all for the ultimate goal of reducing the universe back to nothingness.

  "We know this now because our ancient ancestors passed down this knowledge to future generations through poems," Reina said. Then she opened her mouth and started reciting:

  When the world was young and life was new,

  And the meadows first glistened with morning dew.

  And Man, joyous and pure of heart,

  Lived in bliss, pursuing music, creating art.

  For the night was not yet understood,

  Of its nameless horror and its spectral brood

  Amorphous, loathsome and strangely hued

  Ululating creatures beyond Humanity's shrewd

  A silhouette not born of Mother Nature

  Defiant of the Natural Order

  They came with the sun's retreat

  When men rested from sifting wheat

  Mothers anguished at the inevitable night

  The young quiver at the dreadful sight

  Where they walk, the greens decay

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  The laws of Creation, they need not obey

  Cattles touched, lows with broken throat

  Their bodies bent, their bellies bloat

  And worse than blight of field or beast—

  The miasmic thoughts that would linger

  For men would feel their reason falter

  Under their accusatory finger.

  Brother against brothers,

  Wives against mothers,

  For the mere sight of the abomination

  Brings forth madness and destruction

  And when daylight breaks,

  and reason returned,

  when wickedness end,

  and the horrors are learned

  Is when the ground erupted

  "Woe to Man, and his existence"

  The strangled voices lamented

  Ten long years, Man had lived in terror

  Ten long years, Life had lost its splendor

  Hope grew thin, like thread unraveled

  At the fields of blood, lie bodies, mangled

  At last, Man at wit's end,

  Looked up to the skies

  And prayed to the heavens

  For salvation seemed no longer in Man's hands,

  The sun, they observed, rebukes the faceless villains

  The heavens answered with a dazzling light

  For twelve descended, blazing bright

  Figures wrought of living starlight,

  Radiant as dawn, pure as white.

  Across the scarred and trembling plains

  They waged a war no tongue could hold—

  Light against the formless void,

  Starlight bright and ancient cold.

  Cast back from whence they came.

  Beyond all time, beyond all name—

  The Primordials, stripped of foothold,

  Barred outside the mortal frame.

  The task is done, the Twelve remained

  They turned to Humanity, Victory proclaimed!

  They led them to a place of great height—

  To impart wisdom, to combat the frightful nights

  There, upon the mountain's crown,

  They taught the words, the seal, the rite—

  How mortal hands could bar the gate

  Against the Primordials' might

  Thus was forged the ancient ritual.

  Thus was closed the hidden seam.

  Thus was barred the creeping influence

  From our waking world and dream.

  "Before the twelve," Reina said after she finished reciting the poem," The Celestials as we call them, returned back to the heavens, they also taught our ancestors to always look up in the skies every night, who accompanied them to the very spot we are going to. There, the Celestials made clusters of stars twinkled brighter than the rest, forming the patterns we now call constellations. Each constellations refers to one of the Celestials. The star beings doesn't have names. Or rather, names are of no use for them. So our ancestors named them and tied their names to the corresponding constellation. They recorded the date when each constellation is brighter than the rest, the shape it made, and prayed to the stars."

  I can't help but think this was exactly what cult leader, Daniel was talking about. The Primordials...if not for the past couple of days, I'd say this is all just fiction, just another creation myth. We continued hiking as Reina moved on to describe the tradition. We've been climbing up for a while now so my shirt was starting to stick to my skin. Good thing we agreed to do this early in the morning.

  "As a sign of gratitude and continued friendship," Reina continued. "Our ancestors started recreating their ascent to the mountain every year at the same date. Overtime, the reenactment became tradition—The Tala Festival."

  "All twelve teenagers born from each zodiac sign must reenact the journey and make their way to the base of the mountain on foot. This procession is accompanied by ritualistic drumming. The twelve teenagers, donning headdresses and ritual costumes representing their zodiac signs, must also have with them—items that symbolize the virtue of each sign," Reina said.

  She said that for mine, Virgo, doesn't mean that I'll have to be a virgin. No. Virgo could also mean fertility, so I could bring grains or stalks of corn. Finally, Reina stopped at the stop.

  "We're here," Reina announced.

  We were in a sort of clearing. The first thing that I saw was a giant strangler fig. I tried looking around. The view up here is spectacular but there was nothing worth noticing.

  "I don't understand," Cana said dropping her supply bag down. "What is "here"?"

  "Look down," Reina said. "You see the stones?"

  Now that she mentioned it, through the overgrowth of vines and weeds, there was a circular structure embedded in the earth. Looks like it was made out of stones. I bent down and used my hands to part away the weeds. There was a familiar image on the flat circle. I knelt down.

  "Hey, Caprice?" I called for her because she knows this stuff. "What symbol is this again?"

  She leaned down besides me. "Oh, that's Virgo. Your sign."

  "Of course, all twelve are here," Reina said. "Surrounding this tree."

  Major Coleman ordered his men to grab the gears needed to clear out the overgrowth.

  "That won't be necessary," Reina said, stopping the soldiers in their tracks. We all watched her as she walked up to the tree and placed her on the trunk. She closed her eyes. Her mouth opened, muttering something I couldn't make out.

  The tree started glowing until the outline of the tree disappeared under the bright light. Then lines of light raced out of the tree, tracing the stone lines on the ground to the stone circle.

  "Whoa!" Leo said, jumping out of the way.

  I was slower to react so the line of light ran between my legs. The place started smelling of burned leaves and grass as they burn up.

  "Look!" Harmony said.

  I looked back at the circle. It was also emitting the same strange light that burned the overgrowth away. But what I don't get is why the light between my legs is not burning me.

  "It's not even hot," I said."

  A second later, the lights died down, leaving no trace of the vegetation it burned. Not even ashes. With the place cleared of any obstructions, we got a clearer picture of what we were standing on. I followed the stone lines on the earth. Each of them connects a stone circle to another image surrounding the tree. Since my vision was blocked by the tree to get a whole picture, I asked Reina for an explanation.

  "At the altar of the Celestials," Reina said. "The procession ends here, with the Star Children, or what we call now haunteds, place their tokens on each of the twelve stone circles surrounding the tree. According to oral traditions, the heavens will send out a massive beam of light capable of encompassing this entire area. When the light's gone, their items should have gone as well. After that, they go home."

  A collective "Whoaaa" escaped us.

  "Gone?" Indigo said. He could barely control the excitement in his voice. "Like taken away? By the light?"

  "That was what was written."

  "And when does this tradition occur?" Major Coleman asked.

  "Every first day of October," Reina answered.

  "Day one," I said. "When did they catch Daniel again, when he was performing the ritual?"

  "October 1st." Major Coleman said.

  Leo whistled. "Daniel really knows what he's doing."

  "And ever since then, we've been haunted by the Shade every October starting the first day," Cana said.

  "Why did the festival stopped in the first place?" Cato asked.

  "The ritual's true meaning and purpose was lost over the years. The ritual simply became just another tradition and the encounter a myth to tell the kids. So no one really misses it when it was gone," Reina said. "Especially teenagers."

  "So how does this help us?" Major Coleman asked.

  "This place also served another purpose," Reina said. "One of our ancient ancestors' custom was to make this journey to ask for guidance. Be it for their business problems, relationship woes, and such. And we had epics stating that these people actually received inspiration on how to deal with their problems."

  "This led my father to believe that this tree is more than just an altar for the Celestials. He believed this place is an active gateway. An access point to communicate with the Celestials. That inspiration they get from praying?" Reina said. "I think its direct communication they've experienced with the Celestials. Telepathically or some other ways, he wasn't certain. But he was certain that they were communicating."

  "I hope you didn't bring us up here to pray," Major Coleman said.

  "What is praying but communicating with a higher power?" Reina countered. "And yes, that's exactly why we are here."

  "If anyone would know how to restore Vergil's light," Reina said. "Then who better than the one who gave it to him in the first place?"

  "Hmm," Major Coleman said. "Very well. What do you need?"

  "Not much, actually," Reina said. "We've had one written account wherein the local tribesman, not a Star Child, mind you, journeyed to this place seeking guidance."

  Reina gestured to the huge cavity in the middle of the tree. "According to our records, he said he spent at least an hour inside this hole, reciting his questions using Talarian, the language of the Star Beings. The same language we use in the Church, to communicate with Azgarmoth.

  "Wait," I said. "You want me to go inside that muddy, probably worm-filled hole inside that Sleepy-Hollow-looking tree?"

  "Well, it's that or the end of the world," Reina said.

  Major Coleman had his men check the hole first, for anything that might cause injuries and harm. Like snakes.

  "All clear, sir," his men reported.

  Major Coleman turned to Reina. "And you won't need all twelve to make this work?"

  "Well, the ritual our founder, Daniel, originally enacted required the 12. But they were stopped, right?" Reina said. "And yet, that gave birth to the Shade."

  "You're experimenting?" Major Coleman said.

  "Yes, but as I've said," Reina said. "We've had first-hand accounts of non-haunteds tribesmen undergoing this ritual and achieving some kind of result. I don't see why the Celestial who chose Vergil would ignore his calls."

  "How do we know it's safe?" Major Coleman said.

  "I have never read anyone suffering any harm or illness during or after prayers," Reina said.

  "Have you tried it yourself then?" Major Coleman followed up. "Surely, it's part of your training as the High Priestess to familiarize yourself with all the rituals."

  "I have," Reina said. "But I wasn't able to make contact. I think that's because I am the High Priestess of their mortal enemy. But with a haunted, I believe things might be better."

  I looked up to Major Coleman in uncertainty. He nodded. Guess he no longer has any doubts about Reina's plan.

  "Remember to say this words," Reina said. "Herack Mea, Virgo as the ritual only responds to the ancient celestial language."

  "Hear me, Virgo," I translated.

  The cultists looked surprised.

  "How did you know that?" Rustia said.

  "You weren't there," Dr. Yap said. "But he called on Azgarmoth and met with him, in the flesh."

  Rustia's eyes grew wide. "You went to the threshold? Not even our Priestess could do that," he said, eyes fixed at me in disbelief.

  "Is this true?" Major Coleman asked Reina."

  "Yes," Reina said. "That is why I am confident Virgo will hear Vergil's summon. She has to."

  Major Coleman nodded to the tree. "Off you go then, kid."

  "Good luck," Caprice said.

  "Thanks," I muttered.

  As I head towards the tree, the other haunteds walked with me. Out of curiosity of the tree or concern for my safety, I didn't mind. I welcomed the company.

  "Wanna switch places?" I asked Cato, who was walking besides me.

  "I would if I could," Cato said. "But I'm not a Virgo."

  "I was kidding, man."

  Leo was already at the top of the tree, craning his neck to peer down the hole in the ground. "It's not that deep. You'll be fine even if you fall."

  Well, I have no intention of falling so with both hands I grab hold of the thick and probably 100-year-old roots for support as I descended down the dark and unknown cavity.

  My shoes hit the wet dirt below. It was quite a drop, contradicting Leo's estimates. I rubbed my arms, making sure no creepy crawlies hitched a ride on me when I went down. The very thought of it and this place made the hairs on my arms stand. The place itself is quite cramped, even for a teenager. I don't think an adult is not supposed to stand in here because when I stand on my toes to reach for the entrance, my head already hit the tree.

  Comforted by the fact that I could still reach the tree hole, I knelt down.

  "You okay?" Major Coleman asked.

  "I'm okay," I shouted.

  "Okay," "Reina said. "Anytime you're ready. Repeat these words over and over again."

  "Herack Mea, Virgo," I repeated.

  "We're right outside, okay?" Cana assured me.

  I could hear their voices but it's muffled from down here.

  "We'll be maintaining radio silence," Major Coleman said at the tree hole. "So as not to disturb you. Reina's order. Once you're done, just shout, "Major Coleman is the best."

  That managed to make me smile a bit. "Okay, thanks." I closed my eyes and started repeating the phrase over and over again as instructed. I stayed at the task for what felt like 1 minute. Then 2. Then some time more that the novelty wore off and I was becoming distracted by boredom. Now I wished I asked what to expect when performing this ritual. Like how would I know it worked? Am I supposed to feel something in the air? Hear a voice in my head? Reina did say that the ancient ancestor did get inspiration down here. So far, I'm coming up blank in that. So what am I supposed to experience to confirm that the ritual did indeed succeed?

  In the end, I decided to quiet my mind and trust the process.

  I don't know how many minutes passed. But I was sure it wasn't even half an hour when the tediousness and mindless repetition of the chore became too difficult for me to continue. That's when I noticed that it was a little too quiet outside.

  They are maintaining radio-silence. I told myself. A couple of minutes more until finally, I decided that it was enough. Or rather, I've had enough.

  So I shouted our code, "Major Coleman is the best."

  I waited in silence as the echo carried my voice to the outside world.

  I inhaled.

  I exhaled.

  Nothing.

  I shouted again.

  "MAJOR COLEMAN IS THE BEST!!!!"

  Still, the only thing I could hear was the sound of my own breathing.

  I started breathing through my mouth rapidly. Anxious thoughts permeated my mind. Did they leave me here? With no one to stand guard? Impossible. The only thing that made sense was that if they were attacked.

  My concern for their safety propelled me off the ground. I grabbed the edge of the tree hole and mustered all my strength to pull myself up out of the dark cavern below and into the forest.

  I expected signs of a confrontation with the cultists. Bloodied and dead bodies. My friends captured and gagged. Spent bullets littering the green.

  But what I saw was more frightening and confusing. Because I saw the familiar building situated in the middle of the forest. The identical windows on each of the rooms on the second floor. The U.V. lamps outside and all around the building are all in full effect.

  I was back at Biringan.