Mutagen

<strong>Day 150 - 2:05 PM - Faculty, Damaso D. Salvador Building, Panganiban Central Elementary School, Bagong Bayan, Municipality of Panganiban, Catanduanes</strong>

Inside the office that appeared to be the teacher's faculty, everyone gathered to have lunch. Lining up office tables side by side and taking the non-broken chairs from other rooms, they created a dining area enough for everyone to eat.

Aliya's sudden arrival surprised everyone. None of them expected Mark's ancestor they heard about the other day to appear before them without notice.

The only ones feeling strange were the young soldiers, Geronimo and Padua. After all, they were still new in Mark's group and had not heard about Mark's encounter with Aliya. Furthermore, the two were new to the mysterious things around Mark's group. At first, they could not believe that the young-looking Aliya was not just Mark's Grandmother but his ancestor far in the past. If not for the Black Children with Aliya, the two would not believe that Aliya was not human anymore.

And because of Aliya's presence, the dining table was mostly silent.

It was not like they were uncomfortable with Aliya being there to share lunch with them. Their curiosity was not the issue either. The problem was they could not help but stare at her because she gobbled her food like a hungry ghost.

Aliya did not even bother touching her spoon and fork. She was using her hands to eat instead. It was like how it was back in the past when the people in the Philippines were nothing but primitive tribes.

Of course, there were still people in modern times that preferred to eat using bare hands. It was said to bring out the flavor of some local cuisines.

Nonetheless, the way Aliya ate was like she never really used a spoon and fork before.

"Hmm? Gulp." Aliya paused, noticing that everyone's eyes were on her. "Is something wrong?"

That question made everyone watching her awkward. They did not dare answer that question. Well, aside from someone.

"Grandmother, you looked like someone that hasn't eaten for decades."

Mark said, making everyone turn at him for lacking courtesy.

However, Aliya did not seem to mind.

"Sorry about this." Aliya wiped her lips and smiled. "I haven't really eaten cooked human food for decades. All we had at home are raw fruits, flowers, and vegetables."

Everyone fell silent at Aliya's reply. Who would have thought that Mark's words would be spot on for the most part?

Because of that, everyone went to eat without minding Aliya's behavior. Mark even took out some canned food for his Grandmother to eat. It seemed that she really liked it.

Having their fill, everyone went to do what they could.

First was cleaning a room for Mark's group to stay the night. It did not take long since they only needed to sweep the dust in one of the rooms and add some temporary partitions.

After that, everyone was free to do what they wanted.

Edzel and Pearl decided to look around the school together. The two were both at high school age. The two were reminiscing the time they were still at school.

Pefile, on the other hand, was lazing around. He found an overgrown tree near the entrance of the school. Then, he laid down on its thickest branch to sleep. As it seemed, it was also how he spent the rest of the time while waiting for Mark's group to arrive.

As for Berrak, he decided to summon his weaker pets and groom them. He made sure not to cause too much magical fluctuation and avoided calling unto his stronger pets.

The newest recruits, Geronimo and Padua, were yet to recover from the surprises in Mark's group. However, they knew that they were still not in the position to ask too many questions. Instead, the two decided to borrow some items from Mark. The two went and did some maintenance on their weapons.

Amihan and Emika also decided to look around the school. It was good that Amihan was now able to play with other humans, even if it was just the little girls.

The last ones were Mark's family members. Since it was quite awkward to do during lunch, Mark decided to properly introduce the little girls to their Grandmother.

They set up some chairs and a table outside the building under a tree. It was so that they could take a rest after lunch while enjoying the cold breeze outside.

"This is Iola, Abbygale, and Miracle." Mark introduced the three to Aliya. "Go on, greet your Grandmother."

The first one to step forward was Iola.

"My name is Iola. It's a pleasure to meet you, Grandmother."

It was a perfect introduction. It was too perfect that Aliya was not able to reply immediately and turned to Mark in askance. It was not the type of introduction that you would hear from a child.

"She's pretty mature, you see..."

Mark said with a bitter smile.

"Then, it is my pleasure to meet you too."

Aliya smiled at Iola, patting her head gently.

Next was Miracle who curiously approached Aliya.

"I'm Miracle! Gra-Grandmader!"

Miracle then embraced Aliya. It seemed the little girl was having a hard time pronouncing Grandmother being a long word. Besides, it was already surprising to a seemingly three-year-old to be able to introduce herself.

Aliya returned the embrace and even lifted Miracle up in her arms.

As for the last one...

Abbygale was not stepping forward. She was hiding behind Mark, peeking at Aliya.

"Sorry about this." Mark was also troubled. "Abbygale had a bad experience with her real Grandmother."

Hearing that, Aliya turned to Mark.

"As I thought. They are not your real daughters, right? Little Miracle aside, Iola and Abbygale's ages did not fit your wife's age. I also don't feel the familial attachment at first sight."

To that question, Mark shrugged.

"Yeah, they are not." Mark patted Abbygale's head. "Though rather than me adopting them, it's more like they chose me to be their father."

Aliya looked at Mark and glanced at the girls.

"Well, they are your daughters now, so they are also my Granddaughters."

Aliya smiled as she approached Mark. She then lowered her body at Abbygale's eye level.

"Do I look scary?"

Aliya asked the little girl.

Abbygale did not speak but shook her head.

"If I'm not scary, then can you give Grandmother a hug?"

Aliya asked another, putting down Miracle and opening her arms at Abbygale.

Abbygale looked at Mark, not knowing what to do. However, when she saw Mark nod, she slowly went out of hiding and approached Aliya.

The little girl was still hesitating. It was when Aliya took the initiative and caught Abbygale in her arms.

"Caught you!"

Aliya laughed.

Abbygale was surprised and was about to try to escape. But then, a familiar sense of comfort began to calm her. The little girl could not help but calm down and turn at Mark in confusion.

Mark shrugged. Aliya was being sly. Since it seemed that it would be hard for Abbygale to open up, she just went and used it. The very same ability he had. It was the nameless ability that caused the little girls to ask him for hugs or head pats at any given opportunity.

As Aliya showed before lunch, she had the same ability that he had.

With the introductions done and Abbygale calming down, they sat around the table.

Unfortunately for Abbygale, Aliya was not letting go of her. That was why she was now sitting on her Grandmother's lap, getting some gentle head pats.

"It looks like you have a good family."

Aliya said to Mark, satisfied with the family that her Grandchild had.

Still, there was something that bothers her.

"But how come that all of you were Demons with the same aura..."

"There are some unique circumstances," Mark replied. "I possible, don't ask for now."

"Then, I won't ask." Aliya smiled. "But be sure to tell me in the future."

"By the way, Grandmother," Mark spoke. "You also had this ability. But what is it?"

Mark then let his hand get covered with white, milky light.

Looking at Mark's hand, Aliya had a nostalgic expression in her eyes.

"It is a power present in our tribe," Aliya replied. "Back then, we call it [Relieving Light]."

Aliya then began to tell the story.

It was a story that circulated in the tribe even before Aliya was born.

Tribes had a reason for existing. Some were families large enough to form a tribe. There were also those that gathered under the same banner in order to survive.

As for the tribe that Aliya was born into, it began from faith.

Apparently, the first tribe leader that Aliya belonged to came from a completely different tribe. Furthermore, the eldest son of the tribe, who was supposed to inherit the position of the Tribe Chief.

However, the eldest son met a woman in the woods while hunting. Both of them started to meet from time to time after the first meeting and ended up falling in love with each other.

Unfortunately, as the eldest son of the tribe and the next Tribe Chief, he was supposed to marry the daughter of the Chief of an allied tribe. That was something that he went against with all his heart.

Nonetheless, the Tribe Chief did not falter and insisted to follow the tradition. What he did not expect... The eldest son decided to abandon the tribe and left for the woman he loved.

Life was harsh at that time.

Angered, the Tribe Chief took his warriors to chase after his son. They needed to take his son back and kill the witch that seduced his son.

It became a harsh fight as the eldest son did his best to protect his beloved woman.

The Tribe Chief and his warriors tried their best not to harm the eldest son. However, one of the warriors, the second son of the Tribe Chief, had another goal. Without hesitation, the second son stabbed his spear at his elder brother, piercing his stomach. It was a fatal wound.

That was when the frightened woman finally removed her disguise, despite the possibility that her existence might not be accepted by her beloved man.

The woman was a young Diwata wearing a disguise of a human.

The Diwata's anger almost killed the Tribe Chief and the warriors.

It was when the dying man called unto her to stop and forgive his tribe, saying that he still loved her even if she was not a human.

The Diwata's anger subsided. In the end, she embraced the man, and enveloped in bright light, the two vanished from the sight of the Tribe Chief and the warriors of the tribe, never to be seen again.

Due to what happened, the second son was exiled from the tribe and ended up dying, accidentally falling into a cliff.

The position of the Tribe Chief was succeeded by the third son, who married the woman that was supposed to be the eldest son's bride.

Unknown to that tribe, the eldest son survived, traveling across the land with his beloved wife. The wife was no other than the Diwata, who was punished to become human after meddling with the mortals.

Being the eldest son of a Tribe Chief, he had the charisma and heart of a warrior. It did not take long, and he managed to gather followers who soon became members of his tribe after they settled down.

The eldest son and the former Diwata lived happily. They had children who were all humans. Soon, they became the future pillars of the tribe.

However, even though the Diwata became human, an odd thing happened to her descendants. Unexpectedly, from generation to generation, someone with the ability to heal would appear among the future children, albeit very rare. It was the unique ability of the Diwata which also caused her husband to fall in love with her.

It was not some absurd ability that could close wounds or save lives. Instead, it had the effect of calming the unsteady mind and relieving the fatigued.

And from the story, they were people who awakened the full extent of this ability could envelop their hands in white, milky light.