Mutagen

Day 206 - 9:15 AM - Base of Mount Madia-as, Central Panay Mountain Range, Panay Island, Philippines

The aura of death paired with the non-blinding light vanished. The beautiful woman in a black dress emerged. Her figure, however, was ghostly. The people could see through her body.

But that was the least of concern at the moment.

Everyone was, without a doubt, surprised when the [Diwata] called the woman that appeared Mother. No one would expect such a development, not even Mark, who called upon the woman.

"Silim." The woman replied to the black-dressed [Diwata]. "I never thought that you were still in this place."

"Mother... You really are Mother..."

The [Diwata] said, filled with respect and longing. If not for the fact she was wary of Mark's group, she would have run towards the woman and kneeled in front of her.

But despite the reunion, there was barely any emotion on the woman's face. Instead, she turned to Mark with an exasperated glare.

"And you... Aren't you a rude one, calling me out without prior notice."

Mark shrugged. He returned the glare with a questioning stare.

"The time you can appear is also limited, right?" Mark asked. "You're not the only one conserving resources here. What I used to call you is something even Bathala deemed precious. In the first place, we came here because of your suggestion. And we are now being blocked by your worshiper. Or maybe, daughter? I don't think any story, legend, or myth about you mentioned anything about her, however."

With Mark's reasoning, the woman could only stare at him silently. As for the last part of what he said, the woman explained.

"It won't be surprising that even if you seem knowledgeable about us, you never heard of Silim. Besides, I only had one daughter, and it is Lidagat. As for Silim, like the [Tamawos], she is one of the creations made under my supervision. But as her entirety is made of my aura and energy, she sees me as her mother. Not like I disliked it considering what happened."

Mark could only give an empathetic stare at the woman. After all, the story of the Visayan Gods was quite chaotic.

This woman with deathly aura was no other than the Visayan Goddess of the Underworld, Magwayen. She was called here using the artifact of the [Tamawos], the [Mark of the King]. After all, it was the only item she left that could connect her to Earth.

Mark borrowed the artifact from Pefile, which the latter did not hesitate to give.

Pefile never wanted this item which determines who the king of his race was. However, since it was their creator's command for him to take it, he brought it with him. Even so, he felt that it was a shackle than a treasure. That was why when Mark asked to borrow it, he gave it immediately.

As for why Mark borrowed it, it was because of their destination, the Kahilwayan. If they needed a guide, the Visayan Goddess of the Underworld would be the best they would be able to find. After all, the ruler of Kahilwayan was her late husband.

Even so, Magwayen did not expect Mark to call her without warning. In the first place, such a thing was supposed to be impossible. Despite being a medium to communicate with her, the [Mark of the King] needed a large amount of energy to function. It needed at least decades of dormancy, and that was why Magwayen could only communicate with the kings of [Tamawos] from time to time.

From the last time that Magwayen used the [Mark of the King] as a medium, only a bit more than a month had passed. It was when Mark and the [Eyes] followed Pefile into the chamber of kings in the ancestral mansion of the [Tamawos].

Yet, here she was, called by Mark.

Well, Mark did spend something. Mark had to use one of the empty [Mental Crystals] he had to fill the [Mark of the King] with enough energy to call the Goddess of the Underworld. And Mark was not wrong with his words. Bathala deemed the smaller [Attributed Mental Crystals] precious, not to mention the larger non-attributed ones. Even Ilia and Chimetrice had the same view towards Mark's crystals. Unfortunately, the [Mark of the King] would not absorb any crystal other than the non-attributed ones.

"Anyway, can you tell them to let us pass?" Mark asked Magwayen. "You're the one who suggested that we should go find Kahilwayan, after all. And yet, a follower of yours is leading the races to block us. You wouldn't want us to fight them, right?"

That request of Mark made Magwayen look at Mark's group. Mark aside, her eyes locked onto Chimetrice and even Mei with a slight frown. It was clear that she could assess Mark's group with one glance, knowing which ones of Mark's group pose the worst threat.

"What a unique combination of people," Magwayen said as she retracted her stare. "But it is indeed better for Silim not to fight with your people."

Magwayen looked at Silim, panning her eyes across the army of magical races. Each member felt cold as the eyes of the goddess fell unto them. It was not even for a whole second, and her gaze only passed them by.

"Silim."

Magwayen called out.

"Yes, Mother."

Silim replied. This time, although she still did not approach Magwayen, she knelt down.

"I believe you heard our conversation. Retreat and let them pass through."

Magwayen commanded.

"But, Mother?!"

Of course, the black-dressed [Diwata] would show some hesitation. After all, Mark's group was mainly composed of Demons. They were the mortal enemies of servants of non-demonic and non-evil gods.

"Do not fret," Magwayen spoke. "I am the one who sent them to seek the remains of Kahilwayan."

"But why, Mother?" Silim asked. "Is it not the abode of the Supreme Sky God? No one has been able to enter it since the Supreme Sky God perished and his Deities vanished. I have been guarding its passage all this time, not letting anyone desecrate the sacred abode. Why would Mother let filthy Demons step inside it?"

"So, you can reason with me, now." Magwayen stared at Silim. "Back then, you would only follow my words without question."

"That is..."

Silim was unable to respond. She indeed respected and worshiped her creator. But it seemed that the passage of time gave her changes that she never realized.

"No, do not feel dejected. It is a good change for you. One reason I did not give any effort to let you come with me after I retreated was that you showed signs of being a failure of a creation. I created you as a being, yet you behaved like nothing but a puppet. Even Bathala could not fathom what went wrong with your creation." Magwayen smiled. "But as it looked like, you only needed time. It might be my mistake for giving up on you."

"No, Mother, it is not your fault."

Silim, despite being abandoned in the past, still did not blame her creator.

"No, it is a fault of mine." Magwayen shook her head. "And as it looked like, I have to fail you one more time by asking you to guide these people to the passage."

Magwayen then glanced at Mark and explained to Silim.

"I sent them to seek Kahilwayan in order to find a method to help kill Sinogo. Or in the least, his empty husk."

Magwayen added.

"Sinogo?" Silim seemed shocked. "He is still alive? Did he break his seal?"

Silim's shock was not surprising. Sinogo's sin was well known in Visayan Myths. If someone like him was imprisoned all this time, who knows what changes could have happened to him after he broke his seal.

At the black-dressed [Diwata's] words, Mark stepped forward.

"Sinogo is dead." Mark declared. "But I believe you know what is happening in this world right now. Just like the humans that turned into undead or soulless beings, Sinogo was the same. Being a Deity, he was already powerful. But he also absorbed the seal that Kaptan made to imprison him. Now, he is using Kaptan's energy to cause destruction."

Silim stared at Mark. She seemed reluctant to let a Demon chime into her conversation with her creator, but she was doing her best to hold back this time.

And that information that Mark gave made Silim falter. The thief among the Deities of the Supreme Sky God was actually dead but turned into those living dead creatures while using the Supreme Sky God's power. For Silim, it sure was something unforgivable.

"Mother." Silim voiced out, making Magwayen's attention focus on her. "Are these Demons trustworthy?"

That question made Magwayen give Mark another glance.

"I have only known them for a short time. Being trustworthy is not what I can confirm. In the least, I can tell you that they are not evil. There is no way that a Demon that helped a [Tamawo] and his abducted wife reunite would be evil."

"What a high evaluation."

Mark murmured.

Silim, on the other hand, was looking at Mark's group, one by one. It was clear that she was skeptical about Mark's group. In the least, she was willing to listen to Magwayen.

"Then, Mother. I will heed your words." Silim said before looking at the magical races standing beside her. "Retreat. But do not let your guards down."

Silim made sure that Mark's group would hear her words as a warning.

,m "She's really cautious, isn't she?"

Mark said as he stepped forward, standing beside the visage of the Visayan Goddess of the Underworld.

"I would say that rather than cautious, she was just being stubborn."

Magwayen replied while watching Silim make her army retreat.

"How can you say so?" Mark asked nonchalantly. "You just said that she was like a puppet when you left."

Mark received another exasperated stare from the Visayan Goddess of the Underworld. And when her stare returned to Silim, it was now filled with dejection.

"Silim was created after Lidagat's death and was shaped with her visage, manner, and behavior. Unfortunately, it only manifested after several thousand years of separation."

Mark gave Magwayen a side glance and did not ask for more. She must have been really sad after her daughter died, enough to make another being resemble her daughter. In any case, Mark heard a piece of rather interesting information just now.

[Diwata's] were Deities of nature as far as Mark knew. However, there were stories that they were servants of Bathala and that was why there was more of them in Luzon, Bathala's territory, than in other parts of the Philippines. And for a [Diwata] as unique as Silim, there was no way that she was someone created by Magwayen alone. In the first place, Magwayen did not have powers over creation. Even the creation of the [Tamawos] required the help of another minor god.

It seemed that Bathala helped Magwayen to create Silim. And knowing that Silim was directly created by the two gods, it was possible that Silim might be the oldest [Diwata] in existence in the current Philippines. After all, the forgotten era of gods ended more than three thousand years ago, with the great flood marking its end.

While Mark was having those thoughts, Silim spoke after having her whole army of magical races retreat.

"Mother, I will let them pass as you ordered."

Silim then turned to Mark's group.

"This way."

And with that, Mark's group gained passage without needing to fight. It was not like they were totally against forceful methods, but it was more important to conserve their strength for now.

It was really good that Mark had his preparations. If he did not borrow the [Mark of the King] from Pefile, they would have no other choice but to waste time and energy just to pass through this mountain.

"Anyway, shouldn't you return already?"

Mark said to Magwayen.

"You really are someone without fear, do you?" Magwayen stared at Mark. "You are already trying to chase me, a Goddess, away right after using me. I don't know what you did but the artifact is still full of energy. I can stay like this for another half day. You do not have to mind me."

Mark's eyebrows could not help but twitch. She was just telling him that she would not hesitate to waste the energy of the [Mental Crystal] that Mark used to charge the [Mark of the King].

Gods sure were willful beings.