THE HANDOVER
"Divina, I cannot accept this. This book belongs to your family," Calista said softly. Her eyes were full of grief, watching her friend's hands tremble. Divina looked weary, her heart heavy with the fate of her young son.
"There is no one else in this town who deserves to be the keeper of this knowledge," Divina replied. She turned to her son, Kassius, who was sobbing nearby.
"Kassius, listen to me," Divina said, kneeling to his level. "You don't have to worry. I am only going to visit your Lola and Lolo in a faraway place. While I am gone, your Ate Calista will care for you. I want you to grow up to be just like the two of us—one of the strongest Babaylans of our race. Promise me you will be brave."
"But Mom..." Kassius wailed, his voice breaking.
"Be strong, my son. Help Calista help the others," Divina whispered. Before she could say more, the Datu's guards stepped forward to take her away.
"Divina, I will speak with Datu Isagani immediately. I will seek his advice," Calista called out, trying to offer hope.
"Thank you, Calista," Divina said, offering one last, bittersweet smile before disappearing with the guards.
Calista turned back to the boy. "Don't worry, Kassius. I have to see Datu Isagani now. Stay right here, okay? I'll be right back. Keep this book safe for me."
THE TEMPTATION
As soon as Kassius was alone, a thick black smoke began to swirl around the room. It reached out toward the Book of the Babaylans, but a sudden beam of light struck the mist. Terrified, Kassius watched as the smoke coalesced into a solid form.
"Who are you?" Kassius asked, trembling.
A man appeared, his features shifting until he took the form of a sixteen-year-old youth. "My name is Saesbyeol," he said smoothly. "I am a friend. Your grandparents sent me from the afterlife to guide you on your mission."
"What mission? Why was I chosen?" Kassius asked, wiping his eyes. "I'm not good at Yantok fighting. I haven't even started my training to be a Babaylan like my mother or Teacher Calista. Why me?"
"We chose you because you are strong," Saesbyeol lied, his voice like honey. "You possess the blood of both a mortal and a Diwata. You must find the four sacred artifacts left behind by the Diwatas in the realm of the native-born."
"I don't understand... what artifacts?"
"Why don't you ask the book?" Saesbyeol suggested.
Kassius hesitated, then slowly opened the heavy cover. "Book of Wisdom, show me... what are the four artifacts the Diwatas left behind?"
The pages flipped violently, stopping at a section where letters began to materialize. They were written in ancient Baybayin.
"I can't read this," Kassius sighed. "Only Teacher Calista and my mom can read the old script."
"Seriously? That's ridiculous," Saesbyeol muttered, mocking the boy's education. "Did your mother teach you nothing?"
Suddenly, the letters vanished, replaced by glowing illustrations of four weapons and ornaments.
"Those," Saesbyeol pointed, "are the ancient artifacts left in the mortal realm."
PRESENT DAY: THE HEADQUARTERS
"The Zabbors, the Bituon Sphere, the Bulawang Singsing, and the Kambal na Kampilan," Calista read aloud, her voice tight with tension. She was looking at the notes on the artifacts that Kassius was now trying to reclaim from the White Dove.
"Do we actually have those artifacts here, Miss Calista?" Akihiko asked, leaning over the table.
"I'm not sure," Calista admitted. "I have to be at the headquarters tomorrow. Inspector Red—Cristine—wants to meet our guest."
The "guest" was Raven, whom Cristine intended to train as the first of a new generation of the Sisters of Light. Despite the plan, the room was thick with anxiety over the disappearance of Nana Esther.
"I still don't understand why Jin Ae wants to go back to the past," Jasmine said, her voice small.
"Remember what she said in Santa Barbara?" Catherine reminded her. "She wants to be with her ex-boyfriend. She doesn't realize that changing time will cause a massive disturbance among the Celestial beings."
"She is being manipulated by her grandfather," Nana Amelia added gently. "We must find a way to wake her up before it's too late."
Baekhyun stood up abruptly. "I'm going to talk to her. I'm going back to the mansion."
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Ethan barked, his voice sharper than intended. "I know you're worried about your sister, but we have to think! She is with Saesbyeol now. We know how powerful he is. You stay here until we have a plan. Do you understand?"
"Why are you shouting at me?" Baekhyun snapped back.
The tension between the couple was vibrating through the room. Akihiko and Kaito immediately stepped in to separate them.
"E, take it easy," Akihiko whispered to Ethan. "Save that anger for the enemy. Baekhyun is your husband, not your target."
Meanwhile, Kaito pulled Baekhyun aside. "Bro, calm down. He's only shouting because he's terrified for you. He knows how dangerous Saesbyeol is. Let's just breathe for a second."
THE SIXTH POINT OF THE STAR
Calista scanned the ancient text, her fingers tracing the names of the gods. "It's confirmed," she breathed. "These artifacts belong to the four great Diwatas: Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan, Mayari, Tala, and Ynaguinid."
"Mom, we have to do something," Ethan urged. "We have to save Nana Esther."
"Don't worry, Kuya Ethan," Catherine said, her voice steady despite her fear. "I know Jin Ae won't hurt her yet. She needs us—specifically, she needs the Book of the Babaylan and me. I am the only one who can bridge the path to the past."
"The Witch Leader," Baekhyun whispered.
"The Book and the Key," Kaito added, nodding toward Calista and Catherine. Then, his expression darkened. "I'll end this. I'll trade myself to Saesbyeol in exchange for Nana Esther. I'm the one who made this mess; I should be the one to finish it."
"Kaito-sama, no," Calista said firmly. "Saesbyeol planned this from the start. We need you. You are part of the Solomon Star—the union of the Sigbinan, the Gumiho, the Kitsune, the Nogitsune, the Witch, and the Banshee. Tonight, we rest. Tomorrow, we find another way."
Jasmine frowned, counting the points on a diagram in the book. "Wait, Miss Calista... the Star of Solomon has six sides. If we are the definition of the seal, how come there are only five of us? Me, Ethan, Aki, Baekhyun, and Kaito."
"The sixth creature has not yet been revealed in the Book," Calista explained. "Even my visions are clouded."
"There is a riddle about the sixth member," Kaito noted. Calista flipped to the page featuring the hexagram and read the ancient script aloud:
"Si Umaga ay may dugong iniwan, ngunit naiwan niya ito sa lupa."
"What does it mean?" Ethan asked. Calista simply shook her head.
"Look at our origins," Kaito said, pacing. "The Kitsune and Nogitsune are from Japan. The Gumiho is from Korea. The Sigbinan is Filipino. The Witch is universal, and the Banshee is from Ireland and Scotland."
"He's right," Akihiko agreed.
"Wait," Ethan said, his eyes widening. "'Umaga' means morning. In our mythology, Hanan is the Goddess of the Morning. She is the sister of Mayari and Tala."
"Exactly!" Kaito exclaimed. "'May dugong iniwan' means she left her bloodline—a child. And 'naiwan niya ito sa lupa' means the child remained in the human realm. Hanan left a descendant on Earth."
"Hanan's child is the sixth member," Jasmine and Catherine said in unison, scribbling the notes down.
"It makes sense," Baekhyun mused. "The other Diwatas left artifacts; Hanan left a bloodline."
"But who is it?" Akihiko asked.
"That's what we need to find out," Ethan said. "But Mom is right—we need sleep."
"Ethan is right," Nana Amelia added, her eyes drifting toward a dark corner of the room. "And it seems our visitor has finally decided to show herself. You may reveal yourself now."
A shimmering, white, human-shaped mist stepped out from the shadows. The group gasped.
"Jin Ae?" Baekhyun breathed.
"How is this possible?" Jasmine added, clutching her weather pipe.
"Now I understand," Kaito whispered. "Saesbyeol split her soul. What we see here is the 'good' part of Jin Ae's spirit—the part Helga cast out."
Before they could react further, a flickering blue light appeared in the center of the room.
"Miss Cristine?" Calista asked in surprise.
"I'm still at headquarters," the image of Inspector Red said, her form wavering as she maintained the Astral Projection. "Catherine, don't worry—we have a plan to rescue your grandmother."
"Thank you, Miss Cristine!" Catherine cried.
"But we have a problem," Cristine continued, looking at the spirit of Jin Ae. "We must perform the Light Baptism immediately. Jin Ae's soul is fading; she is becoming part of the thin air. If we wait too long, she will vanish forever."
"I've tried to return," Jin Ae's spirit sobbed, her voice faint. "But there is a barrier around my body. Helga is too strong. I can't get in."
"Because your body is occupied by darkness," Cristine explained. "You cannot return until your physical form is purified. We need Raven—she is the key to performing the Light Baptism and breaking Saesbyeol's barrier."
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