Eternal Promise: Fragments Of Us

LEON/LIBULAN

I SNAPPED back to reality when I heard a loud explosion a few meters away from me. Beside me was my crying sister, Lisuga, who clearly tried to shelter me from whatever that was going on around us. When I lifted my head, I saw two figures endlessly attacking each other without a care in the world. The two of them were badly wounded, but none of them gave a damn, not even the people around them.

When I found the strength to speak up, I shouted at the top of my lungs and called out to the man I called ‘beloved’. “Sidapa, please stop this!” But he didn’t even budge or bat an eye on me. He was simply lost in his urge to finish everything with his own hands.

[Why are you doing this, Sidapa? What are you trying to prove by dragging everyone else in our problem? Shouldn’t you talk it out with me instead of acting this way?] I thought to myself while clenching my fists in anger.

“Get away from here, Lisuga,” I told my sister who was trembling by my side. She quickly refused to agree with me.

“No, Libulan! I can’t leave you here. Both Likabutan and Sidapa have no plan on stopping. They will annihilate this place!” she insisted. But my resolution was stronger than hers.

“Go. Take Roark with you. He has nothing to do with all of this,” I said as I slowly stood up. I barely had the strength on my knees because I knew my own powers had no match against the two raging Gods. Compared to them, my body was frail and I couldn’t even use my spear even when I was still a God. Even this body that I got today was in no condition to fight.

“Even if you say that…” Lisuga said softly before she turned her gaze behind her. “Something is going on with that Roark guy.”

“Huh?” I frowned and followed her gazes. “What’s he doing there?” I asked her.

Roark was standing still a few hundred meters away from us. His head was looking down on the ground and he showed no signs of activity. He was physically present with us but his mind was wandering somewhere else.

“You can’t fight Sidapa, Libulan. You will only hurt yourself,” Lisuga tried to discourage me, but it had no effect. I remembered clearly how stubborn Sidapa was. He refused to change his beliefs despite being disliked by everyone else around him. He was always feared by many and no one really understood just how much of a good person he was.

It was only me. I was the only one that saw through him before. All of his weaknesses, good points, shy moments… everything. They all belonged to me, alone.

My last memory of us was when we made love on that Balete tree. It was a magical moment. I could still remember the feeling of his warmth lingering in every corner of my body. I could sense that it was somewhere around here. We exchanged vows of love and I offered my all to him, and he did the same.

But sometimes, I would remember a brief moment of being locked up in a dark place. I subconsciously searched for Sidapa but there was no sign of him ever coming to my aid. I couldn’t tell why I ended up there. Time seemed to stop. All I had was a deafening silence that slowly ate my sanity away. If it was really true that we committed a crime punishable by death and were destined to die, why did Sidapa choose to cheat destiny?

What made him betray his own belief?ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Please step aside, Lisuga,” I told her, and she flinched when she saw me draw out my divine spear. A second ago, it wasn’t there. Maybe she didn’t expect me to draw it out at all because she didn’t have the slightest intention of drawing out her own.

“But, Libulan-!” she halted when I gave her a pained expression. Lisuga clearly refused to fight. I couldn’t understand her reason for insisting but this had to stop.

“Let me stop him,” I said with a faint smile. She quickly knew that I was prepared for the worst, so Lisuga stepped back and didn’t argue with me anymore. After ensuring that she was at a safe distance, I shouted at Likabutan. “Likabutan, keep holding him down like that!” Likabutan didn’t look my way but I could tell that he heard me. He sped up his attacks against Sidapa, giving him no chance of escaping.

I gathered up my powers and flew towards their direction. I was aiming my spear at Sidapa. I was born a warrior but I had never defeated a single God with my spear before, let alone used it for killing someone else. I was the only Moon Deity who disagreed to use violence in solving any problems. And because of that, I became a laughing stock. But I didn’t care. Instead, I averted my attention to other things and that was when I became fond of helping infertile women grant their wishes of having children. I even roamed the mortal world to find something new. I slowly became interested in living and the idea of having a limited life span. And because of the same reason, I became afraid of the idea of dying. I only understood the meaning of it after meeting Sidapa.

He was the exact opposite of me. I brimmed with the passion of living, and he lived a life full of darkness and death. It was like we were meant to meet each other. Through our differences, we learned to appreciate every little moment that happened to us. He taught me how to face my fears. And I gave meaning to his life in return. We were supposed to spend our lives existing for each other, but we were born in the wrong place.

“Finish him, Libulan!” Likabutan yelled as I approached the two of them. He gave way and let me pass through, allowing me to directly stab my spear at Sidapa’s left shoulder.

Sidapa’s eyes widened, but he didn’t try to dodge my obvious attack. I was reluctant to do this in the first place but I had no choice.

“I beg you. Let’s stop this already,” I pleaded as a droplet of tears fell down from my right eye. His stunned expression reflected on my eyes, leaving me feeling guilty for what I did. To my surprise, he grabbed onto the spear’s silver handle before taking a deep breath. “Sidapa?” The next thing that happened was the sound of my spear splitting into two. With its handle still within my grip, Sidapa pushed me away, making me fall freely in slow motion.

For the first time, our eyes met. His eyes had no life. He was looking at me like a dead shell. The end of my spear was still pierced to his shoulder. He took it out with ease and tossed it somewhere. My chest ached when I saw the blood gush out from his wounded shoulder.

I did it. I just deliberately attacked and tried to kill my lover without second thoughts.

“Libulan!” I heard Lisuga shout from below. She knew I was falling, fast.

[Why are you looking at me like that, my beloved? Are you seriously planning to kill me and everyone with your own hands? If so, why let me live up to this day?] I thought as my tears overflowed.