Grace looked at the handle of the slingshot to confirm her suspicion.
It's faint but there was an unmistakable stain of blood. John left an activated Maharlika Blood on the small weapon.
She also noticed the same thing when John used his gun for the first time when they fought he Igaaws but that was more of an accident.
John was already bleeding.
The girl she synchronized with knew of the Maharlika Blood Crystals. According to the information she glimpsed from her mind, some people mine it and use it as a trading item in the black market.
She sighed.
She and her race are still killed for their blood.
"Who was that?" asked Elena.
"It was one of those I told you about. His name is John. He told me some good news."
"Oh? What is it?"
"A guardian is on her way here to get us."
"A guardian going out of her way to help? That's new."
"Yeah. I know what you mean and I share some of your skepticism but I believe John."
"Let's wait then. What do you say to a grooming session?"
"Don't call it that. You make me sound like a dog."
"Fine. Let's go comb your hair. It calms me. You know me when I'm on the edge. I bite," Elena said and then she showed her fangs.
"Let's."
_________________________________
Induyan surveyed the riverbanks.
Everything seemed quiet. She waited for a small break in the current - a temporary portal.
The Chained Bride could be in one of those.
It's her third jump today and she felt so tired.
This was supposed to be Lemmeng's job but he declined. Apparently, Tinaw gave him a different mission.
Abagat could not be disturbed either so she had to do it.
She always hated to jump from one thread break to another. She was content to be the watcher of the riverbanks.
She suspected that the Bride was not on one of the random breaks. She was in one of the hidden stories or the lost stories. This was Abagat's domain.
There's no use whining about it now. She saw a slight ripple and she jumped.
It was an empty realm. A random story that meandered here and there. Maybe a bedtime story that had the teller more sleepy than the listener.
It was featureless and almost colorless. Definitely a droning monotone without definite plot.
She left.
She looked for another ripple.
It was a long time before she found another one.
She languidly stepped over the ripple.
She sank to the bottom of another story.
This one is definitely more colorful and vivid. A premium story.
It was highly unlikely that the Bride was kept prisoner here. This one didn't have a martial tone that is so often present in stories used as prison. Then again there were those melancholic ones or the ones that were steeped in madness.
This was neither of those.
The buildings around her are destroyed. Those that weren't saw signs of heavy battle.
She could still hear explosions from afar. Strangely enough, there were sounds of metal on metal too.
She wondered if this was a mixed story. The uniformity of the images told her it was not so.
She prepared to leave but debris landed near her and jumped aside in surprise.
The sounds seemed close and getting closer by the minute.
Her curiosity got the best of her and she waited. She wanted to see who was here.
What she saw scared her greatly.
Laid before her eyes is an impossibility.
The events that were unfolding do not belong here.
They haven't happened yet. Nevertheless, the spectacle felt as real as could be.
Two warriors faced each other.
One was definitely a shadow albeit one that resembled a human so much that made Induyan do a double take.
The two warriors each held a sword. That explained the metal on metal sound she heard earlier.
While it was apparent that the other one is a shadow, the other is a ghoul in Induyan's eyes; one that seemed more strange and frightening than the shadow creature with its protruding razor sharp teeth and misshapen claws.
The shadow picked up a large boulder and threw it effortlessly to his opponent.
The other warrior raised his sword to sweep aside the boulder like it was nothing.
Induyan knew the sword and she knew the one holding it. He was one of the eight foretold questors.
Vince is his name and he is holding the perfect Kampilan.
Vince looked so different yet Induyan knew it was him. The face is a little older and gone are the traces of youthful naivete.
This Vince is full of scars and along with the scars are tattoos that looked so much like Baybayin.
Vince dodged the other boulders thrown at him and moved with lightning speed to attack his opponent.
With every slash, he sent the other one hurtling in the air along with debris that seemed to be sucked by the wake of his sword swing.
The shadow, driven back by the ferocious attack, tried to hurl bigger stones at Vince. One got through and that made Vince fall to his knees.
Triumphant, the shadow went in for the kill.
It bombarded the kneeling Vince with more boulders as it readied its own sword for the finishing blow.
The shadow waited for the dust to settle. Sure that Vince was on his last ounce of his strength, it viciously laughed and raised its sword.
It saw a silhouette and swung at it.
His sword was blocked by the Kampilan, moving on its own.
Vince pushed aside one huge boulder that pinned him on the ground and he uttered two words.
"Blood Compact."
As soon as he said these, the air around him blew strongly and his eyes glowed blue. The markings all over his body turned golden and the Kampilan flew back into his hand.
A blue aura enveloped his whole body and he advanced towards the shadow implacably.
The shadow rained sword strike upon sword strike on Vince which the latter ignored completely.
He lowered the tip of the Kampilan in a strange stance.
When he swung the mighty sword, everything around the shadow was blown away.
He turned to Induyan and raised the sword in salute and then vanished as if he wasn't there.
She turned around and she could see evidence of the fierce battle she just witnessed.
"This hasn't happened yet. I shouldn't have been able to see it," she whispered.
Yet she did see. With a shudder, she left that dimension.
In her mind is the question: "How is a future scenario manifested in one of the ripples in the river of history?"
She would have to ask Tinaw about it.