Chasing Dreams (Discontinued)

Chapter 219: Cycle

Sige. Okay, let's start from the beginning.

Ren's arrival wasn't as eventful as he expected. As soon as they landed, Diwa instructed warriors to take Ren away while she disappeared with Manasa. He attempted to put up a fight, but it didn't go as smoothly as he would've hoped.

The Inosanto warriors beat the shit out of him.

Ren didn't recall the warriors standing out in any sort of way. None of them seemed abnormally strong or uniquely skilled. He only lost because of the itum poison in his system. The pollen of the itum plant weakens the muscles and nerves of those who inhale it. So, despite Ren's impressive healing factor, his body couldn't adapt quick enough to resist it. Knowing this, Diwa instructed the guards to douse Ren in it daily to keep his power suppressed.

The following day Ren woke up to a light rambling. He saw the Inosanto warriors stomping into his dark prison heavy-footed wearing expansive grins.

"Where is Manasa..." Ren groaned. His body moved like a chunk of lead. Ren couldn't even stand without assistance. The warriors dragged him to his knees and carried him to the center of the room.

"Isang regalo." One of the warriors sneered. Ren saw the other warrior walk to the corner of the cell and grab a large bucket. At first, Ren wasn't sure what was in the bucket. He heard whatever was inside of it slosh, so he knew it was a liquid. He feared for the worst and came up with plenty of viable options.

"Piss? Shit? Maybe even acid." Ren concluded, expecting the worst.

However, when the bucket was brought closer, Ren got a whiff of what was inside and started screaming. He yanked his right arm, felt it stop, and heard a clang. His eyes darted to the right and saw thick silver chains. Ren did the same with his left arm and realized all four limbs were in the same situation.

"Shit." Ren heard the warriors laughing. Both smiling from ear to ear. "You don't have to do this." He pleaded. "I understand that you're angry, but so am I. I'm not happy about what Ikumi did either, and I'm not proud of my father's mistakes, but there is still time to rectify things. Let me free and I'll make things better I promise."

Ren read their facial expressions. They continued to smile, although with uncertainty. Ren saw curiosity and confusion in their eyes. Almost like a child stumbling across an object for the first time.

"You don't understand me do you?" Ren concluded. But the warriors didn't respond. They continued smiling and laughing, allowing their rough voices to scratch the walls of the cell. "Is Diwa the only one here who speaks English?" Ren asked.

Once again, the warriors ignored him.

Ren frowned and took a deep breath. He knew they were speaking Tagalog. Ren was familiar enough with the language to understand it. But saying it came with its fair share of problems.

"Pakawalan mo ako" Ren repeated his initial question. Unlike the warriors, Ren didn't possess a fiery accent when he spoke Tagalog. He sounded strange, filtered, unrefined, and untrained. Compared to the other Fujiwaran tongues, Tagalog came the easiest to him. He wondered if he had Mei to thank for that.

"Bakit?" The warrior tilted his head.

Ren stared in shock. He wasn't sure how much Diwa told them.

"Do you know who I am?" Ren asked. "I am the Garuda of Creation, the undying. I am the one destined to save all of you. Is this how you treat your saviors, your heroes? You should release me because I am your king."

The two warriors looked at each other. One of them stroked his beard while the other lightly nodded his head and widened his grin. "Water for a king."

He held Ren down while the other warrior picked up the bucket and poured it over Ren's head.