Jihara
Diwata Gonzales is not a believer in magic.
Not in curses, or in mythic gods or bloodlines that have been titled somehow with "carry the sun." She is an archaeologist with a schedule and facts - more at ease carbon-dating ruins than speaking of cosmic destiny.
But when a dig in Maguindanao digs up an ancient dagger that fuses to her hand during a livestream, Diwata's scientific world goes poof - or rather, into golden light.
That's when Adlaw appears.
Handsome, charming and suspiciously glowy, he says he's a celestial warrior fated to her bloodline - as well as to her touch. He is at his most powerful when she's around. His mission? To save her life... and the world from an unthinkable pending doom.
Diwata's problem?
She's too busy for "cosmic destiny." She has grant deadlines, a cat named Artifact and no patience for men who speak in riddles like ancient poetry.
But legends revealed, baybayin symbols light up her skin so she starts to believe in the white stags and golden hawks that haunt her dreams; Adlaw, nosing his way into everything she does, has unleashed a flood of myth and magic on Makiling - and Nina's scientific certainty is weakening.
For in the end, some truths cannot be proved. They can only be believed.