"The man..." The lady smiled as she carefully combed Chanel's hair.

"What man?" Chanel asked, still not interested.

"The man that you dreamt about." Chanel stopped and looked at the lady.

"Shall we meet him?" The lady asked.

Madaling minulat ni Chanel ang kanyang mata. She was breathless, as if she ran a mile in her dream. Napasuklay siya sa kanyang pawis na pawis na buhok. She was sitting on the grass while leaning at the trunk to sleep. She looked at the scorching sun and sighed. Another dream. Another nightmare. Chanel and Night had been walking for days now. She didn't know where they were going. She never bothered to ask. She didn't want to talk to him after that night. She had so many questions but she remained silent.

They stopped for a while so she could get some rest. She tried to sleep in the day because she was always having a nightmare. But even in the day, that lady always haunted her.

Who the hell is she?

Bakit palagi na lamang na lumalabas ang babaeng 'yon sa panagingip niya? And when she woke up, she was always like this. Breathless and tired. She couldn't get enough sleep. Dahil kahit sa panaginip ay hindi siya tinatantanan ng mga ito.

She looked at Night and caught him staring at her.

"You looked like you saw a ghost."

She licked her lips to wet her dry lips. Maybe a ghost was haunting her in her dreams. Maybe that was it.

"Baka nga," ang tanging kanyang nasagot sa binata.

She was exhausted. She had no energy left. They could only wild fruits from the forest, grill some fishes they caught from the river, some meats if they were lucky to spot some animals which Night told her was safe to eat. Pero dahil sa walang katapusang mga bangungot na 'to tuwing siya ay natutulog, wala siyang makuhang maayos na pahinga.

Hindi na nagsalita pa si Night kaya't nabalot na naman ng katahimikan ang dalawa. It was then Chanel finally decided to speak.

"What happened back there, Night?" She weakly and carefully asked.

Night was silent for a moment, carefully picking the right words to explain everything to her. He hesitated but she needed to know some. Chanel never bothered her for past days about what happened in Rivetia.

"First, the trident," pag-uumpisa ng binata.

"The real trident is with Chersh. Right now, hopefully, it is safe and sound in my house, as well as Chersh."

Tumango si Chanel. That she understood. It was part of their plan C. If everything goes wrong, they would swap the trident with each other. Chersh would get the real one and hid it in Night's house which would be the safest place to hide it. Both Night and Chanel would be decoys to lure the soldiers as well as the Prince away from the real trident.

Unfortunately, the prince didn't bother looking for the trident. Instead, he chased her.

"How did we get the trident? How did we manage to pull it out?"

"Because you are a human," Night answered.

"And you?"

"You cannot do it on your own so I helped you."

"The story said that a person who doesn't have pure heart and soul would not be able to pull the trident from the rock. So how were you able to pull it out?"

"I didn't," Night answered.

"Like I said, I just helped you. It was you who pulled it out."

Chanel chuckled. How come she was able to pull it out? Does she have a pure heart and soul?

"Do I have a pure heart and soul?" tanong ni Chanel sa kanyang sarili.

"Maybe. It was just a story, Chanel," sagot ni Night.

Tumingin siya sa binata dahil sa sinagot nito. "It's true that many have tried to pull the trident out but no one, but you, succeeded. Was it really the only requirement or more than that? We'll never know."

"Then what? A living person? That's what I am right now."

"Maybe."

Huminga muli ng malalim si Chanel. "And the light?"

"That I do not know."

"Any theories?"

"Are you ready for it?" He asked her.

Natahimik si Chanel. "I don't think so."

"Then just forget about it."

How could I forget about it? But Chanel only nodded. She knew that Night didn't want to say the truth. She didn't want to hear it too. She was not ready for that. How coward... She clenched her fist and bit her lower lip.

You are still weak, I see. Chanel could only close her eyes. Indeed, she was.

***

They continued their walk and it took them two days before they finally reached their destination. She was really exhausted. She had to walk under the scorching sun plus nightmares through night and day. They couldn't leave her. Her body and mind couldn't relax. She was under a lot of stress.

Chanel stopped on her tracks and squinted to see if she was seeing right. They were on a cliff and beyond it was a vast blue ocean. Sumunod ulit siya kay Night. Tumingin siya sa ilalim at nakita ang pagsayaw ng alon doon. Nakakatakot ang paghampas nito sa mga bato pati na rin ang lakas ng hangin dito. Muli siyang tumingin kay Night.

"Anong meron dito?" tanong niya.

"We're going to swim," he said.

"Swim?"

Tumango muli si Night.

"Why?"

"So we can get to the waterways. This Is the shortest route going to the third ring."

Oh no, she didn't like the sound of it.

"Swim until we reach it? Nabaliw ka na talaga ng tuluyan ano? I can swim, but look at waves!" Tinuro niya ito at muling nagpatuloy. "How are we going to survive that?"

"We survived back in Rivetia," he answered.

Chanel scoffed. If only she had the energy to laugh, she would.

"We can't," wika ni Chanel.

"We can," Night insisted.

Nagulat si Chanel nang bigla siyang hawakan ni Night sa kanyang magkabilang braso.

"Stay still," he commanded.

Night then drew a symbol on her forehead using his right thumb. Saglit na lumiwag ang marka sa noo ng dalaga saka ito dahan-dahang nawala.

"What did you do?" tanong ni Chanel saka niya kinapa ang kanyang noo.

The next thing Night did catch Chanel off guard. He pushed her to the edge of the cliffs. Madaling napahawak si Chanel sa braso ng binata.

"Tangina, Night!" takot na takot sigaw ni Chanel habang hawak-hawak ang braso nito ng mahigpit.

"Ito na ba? Papatayin mo na ba ako?!" Takot na takot na tumingin si Chanel sa mata ng binata. Pagkatapos nang mga pinagdaanan nila? Ganito lamang siya papatayin ng gagong 'to? Hindi makapaniwala si Chanel na tinulak siya ni Night. Kung hindi siya nakahawak ay kanina pa siya bumagsak sa dagat, tinangay ng alon, tumama sa bato, at tuluyang namatay.

Night laughed and Chanel was really speechless. How could he laugh?

"Silly. I'll go after you."

"After me? Hindi ba puwedeng sabay?!"

"Okay, okay. Relax."

"Kung ikaw kaya itulak ko bigla, makakapagrelax ka?"

Night took her right hand. Hinawakan ito ng mahigpit ng binata kaya't doon natahimik si Chanel. Lalo siyang kumunot-noo.

"Sabay tayong tatalon."

Muling sumilip si Chanel sa ibaba. Huminga siya ng malalim.

"This is scarier than the cliffs in Rivetia."

"Trust me. That was scarier. Ready?"

Chanel positioned herself facing the cliff. She interlocked her fingers to his and took another deep breath. Night took a glance at her hand tightly holding his hand and looked back at her. Tumingin si Chanel sa binata at tumango.

"Let's do this."

Night smiled at her. They nodded to each other as a cue that they were both ready to jump.

Sabay na tumalon ang dalawa. Chanel closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact. Hindi binitiwan ni Chanel ang pagkakahawak sa kamay ng binata sa takot na siya'y baka tangayin ng malalaking alon. To her surprise, she was floating in the water as if there were no currents. What was more surprising was she could breathe underwater. She looked at Night who swam in front of her and carefully held both of her arms.

"You can talk," wika nito.

"T-talk? I can talk? Huh?" Takang-taka si Chanel sa nangyayari.

"How is this possible?"

"I made it possible," Night simply said.

"Was that what you did earlier?" She asked as she touched her forehead. Tumango lamang ang binata.

"Follow me." Agad na hinawakan ni Chanel ang kamay ng binata na siyang inabot ng binata sa kanya. Sabay na lumangoy ang dalawa. Chanel was silent while Night was leading the way. She was looking around her. The ocean bed was so beautiful. There were big and colorful coral reefs. Various fishes swam around them. Some even hid when they passed through their homes. After the coral reefs, Chanel was scared for a minute when the ocean bed became deeper. There were no coral reefs and as she looked below, there was only darkness.

"I've never thought that the ocean could be this scary," Chanel said.

"It can be scary," Night answered.

"Are there monsters here in this ocean?"

"There are."

"Makakakita ba tayo ng isa?"

"Gusto mo ba?"

Agad na umiling si Chanel kaya't napangiti ang binata. They continued swimming until they finally reached the waterways. Umahon sila sa dagat. Isang malaking tipak ng bato na naman ang kanyang nakita. There was nothing but land. There were no trees but only big rocks. Katulad nang makita niya ang Judgement Field noon. Tinulungan siya ni Night sa pag-ahon at maingat na hinatak upang sila'y makaakyat. Inilalayan siya nito paakyat dahil masukal din ang daan patungo sa itaas.

While they silently climbed up the rock, Chanel was relieved that they didn't encounter some sea monsters on their way here. Hindi na niya alam ang gagawin kung pati 'yon ay may mangyari pa. May mas lalala pa ba sa pagtalon nila sa bangin?

She looked up to Night who shone under the bright sun while his hair was wet. His hair was disheveled but he still looked good. Bumaba ang tingin ng dalaga sa katawan nito na ngayon ay kitang-kita niya dahil sa basang damit nito. Ngayon niya lang napansin ang katawan ng binata. He had a good and sturdy built.

Bumaba muli ang tingin niya sa kamay nitong kanina pa naghihintay para sa kanya. Inabot niya ang kanyang kamay at hinatak siya papaakyat ng binata. She just realized how big and strong his hands were and how her small and delicate hand fit to his. Night even held his waist to pull her safely. He then caught her in his arms, lifted her easily, and put her down at ease.

Natulala saglit si Chanel sa mga napapansin niyang bagay. Hindi niya maitindihan ang sarili. Normal bai to? Sobrang dami niya ba talagang oras para mapansin pa ang mga bagay na 'to?

"What's wrong?" He asked.

And his voice... It was deep and manly.

"Were you always like this?" Chanel asked. Dito kumunot-noo ang binata.

"Like what?"

Umiling lamang si Chanel. "Wala..." She mumbled to herself and looked at the place where they were now.

When Chanel saw the waterways that Night was talking about, she became pale. This was a lot scarier than jumping on a cliff.

Strong currents of water were gushing at the side going in a big hole.

"We finally reached it," Night said.

"Are we going inside that hole?"

Tumango si Night. "But we have to get to the waterways first before we can go inside the hole."

Hindi makapaniwala si Chanel sa narinig. Kailangan nilang dumaan sa nakamamatay na malalakas na agos ng tubig upang makarating sa gitna kung saan naghihintay sa kanila ang isang malaking butas pailalim. Hindi rin niya alam kung ano ang naghihintay sa kanila sa ilalim.

"Are there monsters below?"

"None."

"How sure are you? Na-try mo na?"

Night looked at the big hole in the middle of this huge land. His face showed no expression, but Chanel felt like he was reminiscing some of his past memories. Kabilang na roon ang lugar na 'to.

"I did, once."

"And now you're here again."

Tumango si Night. "I even said to myself that I won't come here again."

Now that really piqued Chanel's curiosity. What happened to him when he first went here? Why did he go here? How did he survive? She had so many questions but would he answer all of it? Sometimes, she just wanted to bug him with questions but she still respected his privacy. Hindi naman lahat kailangan niyang malaman.

Napangiti si Night nang makita ang itsura ng dalaga. Her face was telling him to give all the answers she wanted.

"Are you not going to ask?"

Umiling si Chanel. "I'm practicing to be patient. As much as possible, pinipigilan ko 'tong bibig ko na magtanong."

"Bakit?"

"I don't want to force you to tell me everything. That's your story to tell, so I'll wait until you're ready to open up."

"Kaya rin ba hindi ka nagtanong sa 'kin no'ng mga nakaraang araw?"

"You were not feeling well. Ayoko makadagdag ng stress."

"Were you always like this?" Ibinalik naman ng binata ang tanong sa kanya.

Ngumiti si Chanel. "Marami ka pang malalaman tungkol sa 'kin, Master Night. At marami pa rin akong malalaman tungkol sa 'yo. But until you erase the line that you drew, I'm not going to cross it."

Night was silent for a while before he spoke again. He just looked at her with regret. At iyon ang hindi maintindihan ni Chanel. Why was he wearing that expression on his face?

"Is it all right for me to erase it?" He then asked.

And Chanel, at that moment, couldn't answer. Umiwas agad ng tingin si Chanel sa binata at huminga ng malalim.

"Ikaw lang makakasagot n'yan. Again, I don't want to force you."

Palakad na sana paalis si Chanel nang pigilan siya ng binata. Hinawakan ni Night ang kanyang kamay at muling nagsalita.

"No. I need your answer."

Chanel was trying her best to calm down. Her heart was beating so fast. She even tried to lie to herself that maybe she was feeling this way because she was scared and nervous because of the hole. But no matter how many times she lied and denied it, she still knew why she felt like her heart would burst at any moment.

"Why?"

"Because I am uncertain."

"Uncertain about what?"

"If you feel the same as I am."

Huminga ng malalim si Chanel.

"And if I do?"

"Is it okay for us to continue?" tanong ng binata sa kanya kaya doon na tuluyang humarap si Chanel sa kanya.

"Why are you asking me that? Do we need validation or approval from someone? If I told you yes, would you continue?"

Huminga ng malalim si Chanel. "I've told you that I will live as if I'm going to die tomorrow. How about you, Night? Are you ready for that?"

"I don't know what you're feeling towards me, but I made myself clear and I know my feelings. So again, until you erased that line, I will never cross it. Kaya huwag ka mag-aalala."

Tinanggal ni Chanel ang kamay ng binata sa kanya.

"There's enough time. Sort it out and think about it carefully. After all..."

Chanel looked at the hole again. "We still need to jump inside that big damn hole."