His heart pounded faster, each beat visible on his chest. He was about to calm himself when the hissing sound returned.

"Oh sh..." he muttered under his breath, grabbing his white pillow and pressing it against his ears as he curled up in bed, the blanket wrapped tightly around him.

He clapped his hand over his mouth to stifle his panicked breathing, but the hissing continued. As the night finally fell into silence, Zane began to mutter his prayers.

From under his blanket, he could barely see what was happening around him in the bedroom. He kept still until a shadow passed through the room. He clamped his hand over his mouth, trying not to sob as the creature's footsteps grew louder, coming closer and closer.

Suddenly, a voice came through his earpiece. "Zane," Raine called from the other side. "Zane," she repeated.

"Where- Where are you?" he answered softly, keeping his voice as low as possible, but even at that volume, his terror was unmistakable.

The footsteps drew nearer, and the shadow loomed closer, its presence unmistakable in the dark room. Zane's breath quickened, his pulse racing as the terror gripped him.

"I- I don't know what to do," he whispered, his voice trembling. "It's right outside..."

Zane's grip tightened on the pillow as the creature's footsteps reached the door. He held his breath, praying that it wouldn't notice him, that it wouldn't come any closer.

"I'm inside Mrs. Nuñez's shop," Raine replied.

Zane lowered his hand and kept his voice barely a whisper. "Please, call for help, Raine. Please."

"I'm going. I'll find your Auntie. She's just somewhere around the building, tending to some stuff," Raine reassured him.

"The creature's near. It'll take me," Zane whispered, his voice shaking.

"What are you seeing?" Raine asked, her concern growing. But there was only silence in response. "Zane?"

"It'll find me," Zane muttered, his words barely audible. "Whatever happens to me tonight... Please, solve my murder."

"What are you talking about?" Raine's voice crackled through the line.

"Please," Zane pleaded, his voice breaking. "Give me justice."

"Snap out of it! I'm coming with or without Mrs. Nuñez!" Raine shouted, desperation edging her tone.

The footsteps stopped, and Zane felt a presence looming in front of him. He stared ahead, his eyes wide with dread, as the hissing sound grew louder, closer.

"Goodbye," Zane said flatly, his voice barely more than a whisper.

A shadow moved closer, the footsteps growing louder, almost suffocating in the silence of the room. Zane closed his eyes, bracing for the inevitable, when suddenly, the blanket around him was tugged upwards. The bedroom light flickered on, and Raine's face appeared beside his bed, her expression filled with anxiety as she reached for his hand.

"Zane, are you alright? Are you hurt?" she asked, her voice laced with worry.

Zane's eyes snapped open in utter disbelief. His trembling hands grasped Raine's, and with a surge of panic, he pushed himself up.

"Zane? Please, reply," Raine urged.

"What the- Oh my-" Zane gasped, his voice trembling with fear. He scrambled to his feet, unsteady, and hurried toward the living room, pulling Raine's hand as they rushed to the long sofa, sitting side by side.

"Could you just please tell me if you're alright?" Raine asked, her concern deepening.

Zane took a shuddering breath, trying to calm his frayed nerves. "It was a beast... or something. It was here. I must be the sixth victim it wants," he said, his voice still frantic. "It might be the killer... or some kind of dark force-creatures of the night."

He scanned the room, now fully illuminated, but saw no signs of a breach. The padlock on the door to the terrace and the window in Raine's bedroom seemed undisturbed.

"I saw it. I swear," he added, his voice growing higher. "Did you see someone escape? Did you see... see something when you arrived? You must have seen someone or something!"

"Come on now, Mr. Nuñez. You have to calm down," Raine said gently but firmly, trying to reassure him. "Everything will be alright now. There was nothing else inside this room. Just us."

"I SWEAR I SAW IT AND IT WANTS MY HEART, RAINE!" he shouted, his voice high-pitched, frantic, and hysterical. "Like you, I might have seen it too!"

Raine shrugged, her expression calm as Zane breathed heavily beside her. "Maybe you're just anxious, and that's why you saw such a thing," she said.

"Not just saw, Raine. I heard it, too," Zane answered, his voice still shaky. "It must have been here when we arrived this morning. It must have followed us-me!"

"Then tell me what you saw," Raine pressed.

"I told you: I saw the killer," Zane replied, his eyes wide with the terror still fresh in his mind.

"Shadowy figure?" Raine asked.

"Yes," Zane said, his words barely a whisper. "And it kept calling me, with those... 'psst' sounds."

Raine glanced away and stood up. "I have a feeling this could have a scientific explanation," she said. "Can you stay awake longer? I know you've got classes tomorrow at eight."

"I can still manage. Why?" Zane responded, his tone calmer now.

"We're heading to St. Luke's," she said, making her way to the kitchen to retrieve something from a container. "I need to conduct a little research."

Zane stood, feeling the weight of his unease slightly lift. "Anything to keep me away from here for a while," he answered.

"Great," Raine said, giving his shoulder a reassuring pat. "Are your legs shaky? Can you walk?"

"Of course not. And I can walk," Zane replied, though his words lacked the usual confidence. Raine opened the door for them and flicked the lights off before stepping out into the night.

࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

After a while on the jeepney ride, they finally reached St. Luke Private Hospital, where they headed towards the private laboratories overseen by Dr. Samantha Ferrer, Raine's cousin.

The two put on lab coats, matching the attire of the doctor. Raine moved towards a stool and began arranging bits of her already prepared samples on the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). These were mixtures derived from the lumpiang shanghai the Suarezes had given them, though Zane was unaware of the specifics behind it.

Sliding the first sample under the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) machine, Raine adjusted the settings with precise movements. The soft hum of the device filled the air as she pressed a few buttons, and the machine began to whir into action. Infrared light passed through the sample, and almost immediately, spectral readings began to appear on the monitor.

Seconds stretched into several minutes as Raine worked diligently, testing each sample one by one. She scribbled the results onto a notepad, her list of detected compounds growing steadily. Glucose (C6H12O6), starch ((C6H10O5)n), fatty acids, traces of acetic acid (CH3COOH)... The machine continued to churn out data.

As Raine sifted through the results, her frustration began to ease. She took another sample, placing a tiny amount under the compound light microscope. The lenses focused, and she examined it carefully, her concentration intense.

Zane sat in the waiting area, his gaze distant. Dr. Samantha, noticing his blank stare, furrowed her brow. "Are you all right, Mr. Nuñez?" she asked, her voice cutting through the silence.

Zane blinked, his eyes refocusing before meeting the doctor's gaze. "Doctor, as my physician, do you honestly think I need surgery?" he asked.

Samantha met his gaze calmly. "It's necessary to relieve the symptoms, Mr. Nuñez."

Zane's fingers grazed his temple as he gestured to his head. "Is... Is seeing things a symptom, or an effect of this... condition?"

Samantha paused, weighing her response. "It could heighten anxiety. If I were a psychologist, I'd say the hallucinations may stem from the intense stress caused by your condition," she explained, speaking slowly. "Your brain might be misinterpreting signals, especially when it's under pressure from whatever's happening inside."

Zane swallowed, his fingers twitching by his sides. "So... hallucinations?"

"Not necessarily," Samantha replied. "They might be illusions-distorted perceptions, not entirely fabricated visions. But when the brain's under strain, the line between the two blurs."

His gaze dropped to the floor, breath unsteady. "And what if it's not just my brain? What if there's... something else at work?"

Samantha hesitated, studying his face before responding gently, yet firmly. "Focus on the facts. Anything beyond that will only make it harder to manage what's already real."

A short distance away, Raine's irritation boiled over. She snatched her notepad and hurled it across the room.

"What is this?!" she shouted.

"Raine, what-" Zane began, standing to approach her.

"Why are the clues leading me astray? I had everything planned!" Raine snapped.

"Are you sure you don't need my help?" Samantha asked.

"I ate that thing, too, this morning, but I saw nothing unusual," Raine replied, her frustration palpable.

"What is it then?" Zane asked. "We're all science-minded here. Maybe we can help."

Raine paced back and forth. "I figured there must be some sort of drug causing the hallucinations. But there's nothing unusual in the mixture," she said.

"Mixture of what?" Zane asked, furrowing his brows.

"A mixture in food. At first, I thought the drug must have been added to it," Raine explained. "I ate it and then saw the strange creature-one of the beings described in that mythology book you were reading. But I knew that couldn't be possible, so I assumed it must have a scientific explanation. Mr. Aaron claimed he saw the creature, too."

"Who's he?" Samantha asked.

"A man from the province we visited earlier," Zane replied.

"That night, Zane didn't eat the lumpiang shanghai, but I had plenty," Raine continued.

"Lumpia?" Zane asked, confused.

"It was lucky that they gave us the leftovers for breakfast. We both ate it, but this time, you were the only one who saw that creature," Raine said. "I went to the hill last night, I clearly saw a thing. And then I remember Zane telling me earlier... Even after first eating the food, he was already seeing and hearing strange things in the flat at merienda."

Zane's eyes widened as the realization hit him. "So, you... you gave me lumpiang shanghai earlier, thinking it was some sort of drug that could cause hallucinations?"

Raine paused, then glanced between the two. "I did," she admitted, "BUT it wasn't a drug at all."

Zane shook his head, a hint of frustration creeping into his voice. "But still... You could've made things worse."

Raine exhaled, her shoulders sagging. "I was wrong, alright? It's not a drug. But how did we both see it in different timing? How? There has to be a scientific explanation for this!" She sank back into the chair, her fingers clenching the notepad as her gaze swept the room in search of answers.

Doctor Samantha studied them both, her gaze assessing. "Are you two experiencing any anxiety before this happened? Depression? How's your sleep? Your stress levels?"

Raine's frustration was evident as she leaned forward. "My sleep's fine," she replied sharply. "But I can't make sense of these strange occurrences. I need to figure this out-things don't add up! I need to uncover this case!"

࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

After a few moments, they finally returned home. Raine headed straight to her secret room, locking the door behind her. The walls were adorned with landscapes she had once painted-before everything had crumbled.

On one of the tables, a photo lay nestled among scattered papers. It was a picture of her family: a 17-year-old Raine, her mother, father, and her older sister, Elizabeth.

Tears fell silently to the floor as Raine gazed at the photograph. "After solving this," she whispered, wiping her eyes. "After this last quest, we'll finally meet again. Don't worry."

As the night deepened, the memory of the tragedy resurfaced, haunting her once more, as she drifted into a restless sleep.

After preparing for their visit for their aunt, they headed to the car. William, her Dad, started the engine immediately.

The road stretched ahead, swallowed by darkness. Rain hammered down as soon as they climbed in, the same downpour that had sent a chill through the window earlier.

As they neared the airport, a presence in the car's mirror lingered. At first, seventeen-year-old Raine dismissed it, but as the miles between them and home grew, it remained. She stole a glance over her shoulder and spotted a black car following them.

Her Mom's hand clasped hers, her shoulder a quiet support. Elizabeth, in the front seat beside her father, glanced back at her.

"Do you see the car behind us? It's following us," Raine asked, but her parents remained silent. Their eyes fixed on the rearview mirror, watching the black car draw closer.

A chill tightened in her chest. Fear, mixed with growing unease, clung to her, deepened by her family's strange behaviour since she'd woken that time.

Nadia and William were both kind-hearted, with no enemies-save perhaps for the criminals William had arrested. Even then, Nadia wasn't concerned. She trusted William and her siblings in the government to ensure their safety.

Raine tried to steady herself beside her mother, but the feeling of dread clung stubbornly. Her heart hammered in her chest, quickening as they passed stretches of road with fewer cars.

A sudden gunshot shattered the tension, jolting Raine into the harsh reality of imminent danger. "It's alright, kids. Everything's going to be fine," William murmured, his foot pressing harder on the accelerator.

Raine's eyes snapped to the rearview mirror. Smoke billowed from the pursuing car, confirming her gut instinct.

With each gunshot, fear gripped her. While William and Nadia steered the car away from danger, Raine and Elizabeth braced for an escape.

A bullet struck the tire, sending the car into a wild skid on the slick road. Raine watched William's face, his grip tight on the wheel as he braked hard, but the car still lurched uncontrollably.