Harnessing the power of the sacred trees requires a healthy mind. A brancher whose mind is filled with negativity attracts darkness, turning their aura similar to a demon, and their transformations into an abomination.
"Wait wait wait! Please let me explain." Daniel raised both his hands. "I swear it's not what it looks like. I know my magic seems dark, but I'm in control, a hundred percent! "
"We do not take pleasure in taking lives, brancher." One of the anggitay removes her pendant and commands Daniel to wear it. "That pendant will not let any lies to be spoken. Speak the truth, and we will decide whether you are worthy to leave this forest alive."
Daniel looks down, clearly hesitant to share the truth. It is a past he would rather not look back at, for it is filled with desperation and depression. A time in his past when he was what his father told him to be. However, it is the only way to gain the trust of the anggitays, and go back to his friends. So regardless of how he feels, he tells them the truth.
The pendant proved everything to be true. The anggitays are satisfied and lowered their bows. Their faces that were seething with rages now turned into concern and pity for the brancher. "Please accept our apology, brancher. Know that you are now welcome in our forest, given that you will respect it."
"It's fine, no worries. I mean, I would doubt myself too if I were in your position." He smiled as if nothing happened. "By the way, what would happen if I lied? Cuz the pendant kinda stings." He lightly rubs his chest.
The anggitays smiled, "That pendant is called 'Dead Man's Honesty', Brancher."
"Oookay... that's cool but also scary. So what? I'll die if lie?" Daniel laughs, but the seriousness in the anggitay eyes stops him. "Oh come on! Why would you make me wear something like this?"
"Apologies, brancher. This is to ensure that you will be truthful. In return, we will let you select one item from our hoard."
"Okay, sure! I wasn't even that mad, but I'll take it." Daniel was astonished by how much treasure the anggitays hoarded. A pile of jewelry and precious stones so shiny that it would blind someone just by having a glance at it. "Damn! One piece from this would keep my fridge full for months!" He couldn't think of how he could pick only one thing. Every piece in the pile seems like it would fetch at least 100 thousand pesos. He stared at the pile for a whole 10 minutes before a bracelet caught his attention. It is a simple bracelet, yet for some reason, Daniel feels strange vibes from it. He's not sure how to describe that vibe, but it's far from an ominous vibe, all he's sure about is that there is something special about that bracelet, and that's good enough. He picks it up and realizes that the beads are made of wood—certainly an odd one among shiny jewelry. Nevertheless, Daniel knew the bracelet was what he should take.
"You have good eyes, Brancher. Your woman will definitely love that bracelet." They smiled
"I told you, she's not my lover."
"And yet your eyes are those of a lost fawn searching for its mother."
"Ooookay, let's stop right there. It's time for me to leave."
The anggitays chuckled. "I agree, brancher. A giant's footsteps are heading towards us. If you take this path, It will lead you outside the forest much quicker." The anggitays pointed Daniel on a path different from where they came from.
"Thank you very much, anggitay sisters, hope your hoard is bigger when I come by again!"
"You are welcome brancher, and please send our regards to your brancher friend. The water he offered to us made the tree stronger."
Daniel wondered who the brancher they were referring to, but quickly dismissed the thought. He walks the path the anggitays pointed him to. He turned on his playlist as he walked, the volume was high enough for him to hear, but still low enough to not disturb the local wildlife. He hums and sings along to the music. Although hunting mythics is mostly done in forests, a chance to immerse oneself in nature rarely comes. Distracted by the wild animals he comes across, he stops by to stare at them and take a picture. But then his carelessness caught up to him. There it was standing behind him. A one-eyed giant with tusks and a huge smile reached from ear to ear, holding a tree log. It drools and screams "FOOOOD!!!!" as it swings the log to Daniel. "Oh shi-" Daniel managed to put his arms up, but it still sent him flying toward the nearest tree, causing him to be disoriented. As his vision cleared up, he saw the Bungisngis running towards him, laughing and still screaming. "I'm not a food, man..." The bungisngis swings again, but this time it is caught by a huge dark hand. Daniel turns into a 10-foot-tall humanoid. Although still smaller than the bungisngis, a few precise strikes to the knees and face knock it down. To his surprise, the bungisngis run away while it screams "Bad human! Not like my friend!" Daniel turns back into a human and tears drips down his face. "Damn... My arms hurt..."
Meanwhile, Danica and Raymund are in the hotel lobby waiting for Daniel to return. It's 7 pm, two hours past their agreed meetup time. Of course, Danica got worried since Daniel hadn't messaged or returned any of their calls. Raymund, on the other hand, is playing on his phone.
"Relax, he probably just relaxed too much and fell asleep under a tree or something." Raymund speaks without taking his eyes off his phone.
Danica can't even deny it since it really is possible with Daniel. "That's the problem! He's so carefree! Anything could happen to him."
"I know right? And he's so unlucky sometimes too, I wouldn't even be surprised if he almost died or encountered the bungisngis on the way back." Raymund laughs and continues playing
Danica glares at Raymund, "Instead of playing games, why don't you use that magic of yours to track him?"
"No need to worry, I bet he'll be walking in the front door any minute now."
Just a few seconds after Raymund spoke, Daniel walked in the door and approached them. "Hey wazzup!" Daniel greeted Raymund with a dap, then he turned to Danica, who'd been glaring at him the whole time. "I... I'm sorry... I got sidetracked quite a bit..."
Danica notices blood dripping on Daniel's arms. "What happened?! Why are your arms bleeding? Did you get in a fight? I told you not to get in any fights!" Danica drags Daniel to her room and apply first aid to his wounds.
"I can't help it, the bungisngis snuck up behind me." He explains as Danica treats his wounds.
"Snuck up on you!? A giant mythic like that snuck up on you? While wearing the pendant that alerts you when there is mythic nearby? How can you be so oblivious!"
"I'm sorry, don't be so mean, I'm already injured here, you know? Here, I got something for you." He hands her the bracelet. "I met two anggitays and lots of things happened so they let me pick one item from their treasures."
"I can feel magic from this bracelet, did they tell you where this came from?"
"They said a woman threw it away. Try it on, I'm 100 percent sure it will look pretty good on you." Danica put on the bracelet. "See, it suits you so much! Somehow looks much prettier when you wear it!"
Danica's anger disappeared in an instant. "Th-Thank you... I'll take care of it."
"Glad you like it! Anyways, how did your investigation go? Any useful information?"
Danica let out a sigh, "Aside from what we already know, there's nothing unusual based on the locals. Laughter that follows them, eerie vibes, and a red eye glowing in the dark, just like in the school's archive."
"Alright, seems like we can head to the beach early." Daniel is already planning everything he's going to do at the beach. Although not much of a beach person, his head is filled with ideas on how to relax at the beach.
"Okay stop daydreaming, you can do that when we're done with the mission. Now go get some rest. Tomorrow, make sure to change the bandage, clean your wound so it won't get infected, and..."
As she kept talking, Daniel just stared at her, listening to everything that came out of Danica's mouth. And all of a sudden, he remembered how the anggitays kept on referring to Danica as his lover. Once again, the feeling he's been trying to suppress became too strong to ignore. He avoided looking into her eyes and replied with just a "Yes, ma'am". What should've been a night of rest and personal planning turns into a night of thinking about Danica, and how he's going to distract himself from falling deeper. Hours were spent for what seemed like nonsense until he finally fell asleep.