MINUTES AFTER THE encounter, Asceia, who was sitting in the backseat beside Troy, kept looking back to check if they were followed. They were currently blending with the light traffic, trying to get far as possible.

"Troy, there is a laptop under your seat." Fatima handed the cellular phone she snatched earlier while looking at him through the rearview mirror. "Try to get some information in it."

Troy took the phone and reached for the laptop. Asceia, on the other hand, heard something in the air. She looked behind and confirmed her suspicions. There was a team of men riding a motorbike piercing through the traffic.

"Go left! Take the bridge," Asceia telepathically said to Fatima the moment they reached an intersection.

Fatima steered the wheel and went left. Not long, they arrived and took the long bridge where only a few vehicles were with them. The riders were still tailing them and the road allowed them to draw out their guns and point at their car. In a blink of an eye, shots were fired, and that put holes in the back of the car and also broke the glass of the rear windscreen. Troy, in fear, instantly lie down on the floor, while the glass shards rained on him. He quickly closed the laptop and put it right back under the seat, and slid the phone into his pocket. Whereas Fatima, drove the car left and right of the road, disturbing and causing a mess to the other vehicles, just to dodge the bullets.

Asceia, on the other hand, lie down in the backseat and just ignored the sharp pieces of glasses falling on her. She closed her eyes and hummed, singing the Song. While she was trying to connect herself with the nearby source of water, Troy and Fatima who heard her sing felt were easily enchanted. The noise of the environment was canceled and only the beautiful voice of Asceia lingered in their ears. The fear they felt from the men gunning them faded, it melted away and they just felt complete bliss right that moment.

Asceia started swaying her hands, her fingers moved like she was strumming the strings of the guitar. At that moment, the water under the bridge was shaken, then a pillar of water rose to both sides of the bridge. She opened her eyes and sat back up, there she manipulated the pillars of water and swept the men off the road. They fell to the water under the bridge, sank, and never floated again.

"We are clear," she telepathically said while getting rid of the pieces of broken glass on her clothes and hair.

Troy looked at her with so much amusement. "That was fucking cool, Asceia!"

She smiled.

••°°••

AFTER MINUTES OF a silent and safe ride, they finally arrived at the small private airport. Asceia stepped outside and looked at the beautiful white jet waiting for them. Seeing Fatima head to the plane, she immediately followed her and Troy. Inside, she sat next to a window. Troy sat behind her whereas Fatima stayed in the cockpit.

Minutes later, while flying in the sea of clouds, Asceia opened her mind and searched for her people. She established telepathic links with several serceans on land and sea. She jumped from one mind to another. But as she kept visiting and tapping into their senses, it was getting darker and harder for her. She was starting to suffocate, her breaths became deeper and deeper as she gathered more information from their minds.

She was about to detach and sever the link when all of sudden, she felt an extreme headache. She screamed in pain but no voice came out of her mouth. She was lost in the depths of a sercean mind, it was so dark that she couldn't see, hear, or feel anything. Until she felt the force wrapping her neck and body, restricting her from moving and breathing comfortably.

"Asceia of Sirencean..." From the darkness, there emerged Yrevia. She was not wearing her mother's body, she was in her true form.

"Yrevia...what are you doing? You said you will not engage in war!"

"I did...this is not a war. I am just giving them warnings that we are not the kind to be messed with. We have been living in this world for thousands of years but we never ruled it because we gave way to those species below us. They should be worshipping us. And now, look at what they have done. They are destroying the ocean that's giving them life! They were never thankful!"

"I understand you are angry, but this is not the way to settle this."

"Angry? No, I'm not angry. I am happy that for the first time, our kind made a move to make things clear...that we are destined to rule not just the ocean, but also this planet."

"What about the innocent lives?"

"No one is innocent, Asceia. One day, the world will change and only the fittest will survive. What I am doing is just speeding up the process." She grinned. "So, here is what's going to happen. I will give you two options: give me the Song and I will flood this planet or refuse and I will unleash the creatures of the trench. Either way, all humans will perish."

A strong force threw Asceia out. In a snap, she found herself back in her chair. She gasped for air, looked around, and held on to the armrest. "Troy..." she telepathically called in while catching her breath.

"Asceia, what happened?" She heard Troy's worried voice from behind and his hand tapping on her shoulder.

"Go get Fatima."

Troy immediately stood and went into the cockpit, whereas Asceia, remained in her seat. She took a deep breath and shifted her attention to Fatima who approached her.

"What is wrong, Asceia?"

"I now know what Yrevia is up to," she said to their minds, "she wanted my powers. If I will not give it to her, she will unleash the beasts that will prey on all terrestrial life forms. But if I will, she will flood the world."

Fear was written all over Fatima's face. She was dumbfounded for a second. "That is...That's not good." She let out a sigh. "This is far worse than what I expected. She n...needs to be stopped."

"We can't stop her without an ally, that's why I need the Philippine Army on my side."

"And what if they don't want to help?"

"Then, I will make them."