Guardians & Encants: The Heart of Mayon

Chapter 3: Agimat

The door opened to an aged, white-bearded man in a long-sleeved polo shirt. The years of life took a toll on his face, but not his body. His face gave off a respectable feature and his posture reflected power. Wisdom and intelligence twinkled in his eyes and countless laughter outlined his cheeks. The old man held a cup of coffee on a saucer, apparently in the middle of a breakfast coffee cup.

"Saya, what are you doing here?" he spoke with such a powerful voice, the boy felt like kneeling.

"Good morning, Master Bathala. I found him lying unconscious in Scholar Bulan's room being put through a nightmare by Xavier and his friends," she pointed at Gino with her thumb. "He also has a lot of questions and I was hoping you could answer them."

The boy, not knowing what to do, bowed down. Saya looked at him and raised her eyebrows.

Bathala laughed. "Quite a polite boy, I see. Raise your head, young man. What's your name?"

"My name is Gino, sir," he raised his head, "Gino Raymundo."

"His title is Master, Gino," Saya replied, astonished, "and also, we do not use last names here. Everyone is just Saya, the guardian from here, Gino, the guardian from there. Depends on the title really, which is why it is Master Bathala to you."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Master," he bowed again. Saya held back a smile.

"Don't bow down, Gino," Bathala gestured on the couch in the middle of his room. "Why don't we all take a seat first?"

"Oh, I'm actually gonna be late for Scholar Bulan's class, Master. I need to go."

"He is not here yet. Why don't you kill time with us?"

They entered the room and sat on the other ends of the couch. Bathala moved a seat from beside the couch and faced them both. He leaned back on his chair and sat cross legged while holding his cup of coffee. Similar to Bulan's study room, this one had shelves filled with books and a whiteboard behind Bathala's seat. The differences were this room had no additional level, wardrobe, and mirror, instead it had a piano in the middle of the room and a painting behind it so whoever played the piano would see the painting clear as day. It depicted a man with his hands up and a colorful bird above it. The bird encircled the man with its wings, as if protecting it. A violin was also stacked beside the piano and it rested, waiting to be played. The aroma of the coffee embellished the room tenfold: a music room for a classic old man. The room spoke differently from Bulan's homely room.

"Do you want something to drink?" the room hummed with Bathala's words.

"There's no need for that, Master."

"Are you sure? You want something, Gino?"

"No, thank you, Master. I'm alright."

Bathala shrugged. "So, what did you want to ask me?"

Gino sat straight, preparing to bombard a series of questions. Saya waited for Gino to speak but he didn't know where to begin. Saya felt awkward so she broke the silence first, "Is he dead?"

"It seems like it. Do you have any memories?"

"I do. I remember everything. I even remember the car fleeing away after it hit me!"

Bathala nodded and sipped his coffee. "I see. We need to check your spiritual talent."

"What is that? But wait, before that, where am I? I also saw uh, what was that?" he paused while looking at Saya. "Uhm, light magic. Saya did something called light magic."

"Slow down," the old man chuckled, setting his cup aside. "You are in the spirit world: an afterlife for some chosen souls, another home for a number of humans like Saya. Which means Saya here is alive right now in the real world. Her spirit is just detached from her physical body but that does not mean she's dead."