MAHARLIKA: Warriors of the Orient Seas, Book I The Yama Treasure

CHAPTER II : The Sun and the Moon

Hongdae, Seoul, South Korea - 2:00 a.m.

      On the bustling neigborhood of Hongdae a part of it lies a long lifeless complex - houses, market stalls, and other infrastructures - seemed to crumble each passing year. There two blurred figures wandered in the foggy moonlit night. Wearing black masks, they seemed familiar with the place as they stride recklessly along the corridor of an old abandoned hospital.

The halls - in the shade of pale black and grayish white - complimented the gloomy atmosphere of the building. As they walk, each step sends tiny specs of silver dust dancing in the moonlight as it shine through the tightly shut windows. When they reached the end of the hall, in front of them was a huge steel door - dead cold to the touch, as cold as the winter breeze howling in the night. As they flung the door open, it banged with a sound like thunder rumbling in the middle of a raging storm.

The room was dimly lit by the flashes of a flickering bulb. The two men exchanged grins that turned into smiles as they already knew whats inside the pile of crates - illegal firearms and smuggled drugs - that will be shipped and delivered by sunrise. Unknowingly they are not the only ones who had breached the area. Along the shadows, a silhouette of death quietly ascend towards its prey.

Then a perfect execution has been done. Horror can be seen in their petrified eyes as they saw each others head separating from their necks. As the dawn arrived, nothing remained but the two beheaded bodies bathe in a pool of blood. The illegal items are nowhere to be seen, and so were the heads of the unfortunate souls reigned by tyranny and greed.

Jericho was jogging his way through Hongdae, he just came from the repair shop owned by an acquaintance of the team coach to pick up the archery equipment of their team when he received a call from his best friend. "Hey Eric coach is requesting an emergency meeting for all of us, you must comeback before 7-". It's already 6:35 a.m. and he doesn't want to get scolded by his coach so before the other even finished what he was saying Jericho ended the call.

He searched for a shortcut and found one across an abandoned complex. As he was weaving through the maze of the past he stopped when he heard a loud thud on one of the buildings. Waiting for another commotion he slowly tread backwards. His guts were telling him something was wrong.

Then a symbol glowed silver on his forehead it was a symbol of the moon, the ancient one kind. As he closed his eyes flashes of future scenes flowed into his mind. He has the power of intuition, this power only reacts when danger is near and this power lets him peek into the future 9 seconds before the threat happens. After that he went a few steps backwards, then in a moment an unidentified person shot through a wood covered window into the pavement where he was standing a few seconds ago.

          The guy - based on his body shape and size - was wearing a mask and is still breathing but cannot stand up. Then through the door of the same building came out a middle-aged man wearing a butler uniform with a gold inverted triangle symbol on the left chest. He has shoulder length salt and pepper hair donned in a low ponytail tied with a thin black ribbon.

"I am most sorry for this gruesome sight young boy." said the man in a warm and friendly voice. He reminded Jericho of his grandfather back in the Philippines. It's been a year since he last saw him but couldn't visit often because of his other commitments.

"It's okay sir, luckily I was not harmed. I would not ask questions and would go on now."  he said as he picked up the equipment from the ground. He was waiting for his power to manifest but to his surprise it looks like he is not in danger.

"Take care and don't go to this kind of place again. It's dangerous." said the guy as he picked up the already unconscious man like a bag of cotton.

He just replied with a nod and off he went. 'What a way to start the day, nothing can be much worse than this right?' he asked himself. After the meeting, the athletes went to their respective training sessions and tasks. They were so busys the whole day that he completey forgot what happened that morning.

Later that evening.

"You almost didn't make it earlier, where did you go?" asked Lukas, his best friend.

Lukas Tawan Chakrii  is part Filipino and part Thai and a member of their University Archery Club from the Philippines who are competing for the 2022 All Nation Archery Championship held in South Korea.

"I just went a little overboard from jogging. I almost forgot the errand Mrs. Galang told me to do." he explained not remembering a major part of his early excursion.

"Thank you for accepting Mrs. Galang's offer to be our assistant coach, now I won't spend my time being lonely while preparing for the competition like last year." Lukas and Jericho had been friends since their childhood that they were almost inseparable.

"It's fine, I also want to go here. Traveling kinda makes my mind at ease. You're also here so this feels like a short vacation. It was unfortunate last year because my visa was not approved. But at least I'm here now." Jericho assured him.

"What more could we possibly wish for when we have each other, right?" Asked Lukas

"Right!" Jericho agreed. "Are you sure you don't want to use a new bow? The one you are using might break at any moment now." he asked while pointing the bow with his lips.

"It's okay you know I am used to this bow. I want to win with this bow." Lukas firmly answered. This bow was a gift from his father who suddenly vanished without any trace when he was still young.

"Alright then are you ready to hit the streets of Hongdae?" asked Jericho.

"Let's go. We might not get another chance to visit when the event starts tomorrow." ranted Lukas.

The two went to the convenience store to buy some drinks and headed to the lively streets of Hongdae. While walking they marveled at the music, food and people filled streets and played games that are available. For starters this is the first time that they are enjoying nightlife for the past month since they arrived at Seoul. They are always busy practicing and training at day and must sleep early at night. On their rest days they just do chores like dorm cleaning and laundry then eat something outside at night and head straight to their dorm after.

As they walked their way home Lukas stopped at the place where the small street leading to the abandoned complex is and saw a glinting light, then a surge of warm sensation lingered in his chest. His heart was racing, he doesn't want to go there but his feet were telling him otherwise.

"Hey Lukas, where are you going?" inquired Eric.

'I don't know but something is pulling me towards the light.' he answered confusedly.

As they were both staring at the glowing light the memory of the encounter earlier hit Jericho like a truck.

"Umm, remember when I told you that I went overboard on jogging earlier? I took a shortcut here then something happened. My gift suddenly activated and then someone flew right in front of me." explained Eric.

"What!? Something dangerous happened to you this morning and you are telling this to me only now?" exclaimed Lukas. feeling betrayed.