With Calla leading the trek, the 2 ladies used the crevices and branches to climb the rocky cliff.
Waiting for Calla and Lae to reach the top, Triggs tried to start a small talk with Zaine.
“Uhm, Zaine. Mind if I ask? When did you and Claire join the group?”
Zaine replied in his signature monotonous way of speaking, “Years ago.”
First, Triggs didn’t mind the lazy response. “Ah - okay. By the way… Is Claire okay now? I heard her crying when I went to Calla’s Room.”
“Yes.”
Triggs tried again with another topic. “Damn… It’s really heartbreaking to see Isha in that state. If she’s connected with the Domain, then the situation there must be really bad, don’t you think?”
“Maybe.”
After that very moment, Triggs finally thought that it was useless.
He realized that talking to Zaine was like forcing a conversation with someone you matched with in a Dating App who, in reality, just swiped you accidentally; the person purposely kept giving one-word answers to your open-ended questions so you would be the one forced to unmatch her, and she wouldn’t be the one who would suffer the guilt of doing it.
Triggs gave up on the conversation, he just patiently waited for the ladies to climb the cliff.
It didn’t take too long for Lae and Calla to reach the peak.
“We did it! We’re finally here!” Call yelled from the top of the cliff.
“Finally,” Triggs murmured after a sigh of relief.
Without further ado, Lae carefully moved closer to the base of the tree growing perpendicular to the side of the cliff. She placed her palms on the trunk and chanted her Word,
“ACCELERATIO VITAE!”
The tree grew longer and its trunk became wider and bulkier.
“I hope this will be enough to secure the vines,” Lae murmured.
Then she took something out of her belt bag: a seed the size of a corn kernel.
“ACCELERATIO VITAE!” she chanted again.
The seed sprouted and grew into a thick vine. The vine grew longer and longer until both ends reached the ground at the base of the cliff.
After that, Lae bravely crawled through the wide stem of the tree.
With the stem being the fulcrum of the Pulley System, Lae positioned the vine on a spot where she was confident that the load wouldn’t hit something when the boys started pulling.
At the base of the cliff, Triggs and Zaine started tying one end of the vine to the wagon. They tied it in such a way that Isha would still be resting flat on the surface and the wagon would still be positioned parallel to the ground.
“Isha is ready!” Triggs signaled.
“The vine is also secured here!” Lae shouted as she crawled back to the base of the tree.
Slowly and carefully, Triggs and Zaine started pulling the other end of the vine, lifting the wagon in the air.
“It’s working!” Calla happily exclaimed. “Keep it up, Triggs, Zaine!” she cheered.
Meanwhile,
“Shit… I didn’t expect that this would be hard,” Triggs uttered as he struggled to pull the load.
“Tch! B-Basic,” Zaine replied. However, this time, the approach carries a somewhat boastful undertone.
“But seriously, the wagon is damn heavy!” Triggs complained.
“Yo-You’re just weak,” Zaine uttered. He was just trying to hide it, but it was obvious that he was also struggling, evident in his shaky voice.
Triggs didn’t appreciate the arrogance he was hearing. Annoyed, he argued with Zaine,
“If it’s too basic, then why are you sweating!?”
“It’s not sweat.”
“Then what the heck is it!?”
“Seawater.”
“HUH!? How did it even get into your face!?”
“I washed my face on the shore.”
“I didn’t even see you do that!”
“You’re lying.”
“You’re the one who’s lying!”
Their argument continued.
Moments later,
“Just hold on still, guys!” Lae yelled.
The 2 young men didn’t realize that the wagon already reached the top.
Lae grabbed another seed from her bag and turned it into a vine using her Words.
Using the vine, Lae lassoed the wagon to the area where they were standing. Calla also helped secure the wagon.
“Isha is already safe here. Good job, guys!” Calla yelled.
“You can come up here now,” Lae shouted.
The 2 young men heard it.
“You go first,” Zaine urged Triggs.
“Huh? Why?”
“You go first,” Zaine repeated.
Triggs’ stubborn attitude started to act up. A smirk formed on his face as he tried to tease Zaine.
“You know what? Why don’t YOU GO FIRST?”
“???”
“You go first.”
“No.”
And then their argument started again.
“Hey, guys!? What are you waiting for!? It’s getting dark! We need to hurry up!” Lae shouted.
The 2 young men panicked. Skittishly, they dashed simultaneously, and…
BAM!!
They bumped into each other.
“What the heck are you doing!? You told me to climb first!” Triggs uttered.
“No. I climb first.”
Triggs and Zaine raced to the top of the cliff. Seemed like their beef helped them to reach the peak faster than expected.
“What’s up with you two?” Lae asked the 2 young men.
“No-Nothing,” Triggs replied with a breathy voice.
Just before Triggs and Zaine could catch their breath, Calla called them.
"Come here, guys! Come here!"
Seeing Calla's excitement, Triggs, Zaine, and Lae went to Calla's position.
"You can now see the Lagoon from here," Calla said.
Triggs and Lae were astounded by the breathtaking view.
Even Zaine, who wasn’t a very expressive person, couldn’t help but utter a word of amusement, “SICK!”
Lae commented, “I've already seen it in pictures. But I didn’t expect it to be this… enchanting.”
“Very majestic,” Triggs described.
What they were witnessing was a pool of crystal-clear water, surrounded by the giant limestone cliffs. The serenity of the place was enhanced by the timely ambiance of the dusking atmosphere.
“I think I see it; the water is not clear as usual,” Calla said otherwise.
"You're telling us that the water could be cleaner than it is right now?" Triggs asked.
“Yup. The water is much murkier. It means there’s really a problem,” Calla replied. “Also… I can’t see the Bangus!”
Triggs tried to look closer. “I don’t see them either,” he affirmed.
“Maybe they were just hiding?” Lae speculated.
“Noooo. They’re usually hanging out in the open.”
“Maybe we should continue moving so we can see it better,” Lae suggested.
The other 3 agreed.
The descent was more challenging than the climb. The team had to do the same System over and over again to bring Isha down safely.
After a couple of efforts, they finally got near the surface of the Lagoon. They stood on one of the rocks to completely observe the water.
“Where are you, guys?” Calla murmured as she worriedly searched for the Bangus.
“There!” Triggs uttered. He saw the fish on the far side of the Lagoon.
Quickly, the team navigated around the Lagoon until they reached the edge near the Bangus’ location.
“Oh nooo…” Calla cried when she saw the tragic state of the fish.
One of the Bangus was healthy. However, the other one was already dead and its body was stagnantly floating on the water. The healthy Bangus was swimming unnaturally, encircling the corpse of its fish friend.
Immediately, Calla jumped into the water and swam toward the fish. She examined the dead fish thoroughly, then she noticed that half of the body was already missing.
“Who could’ve done that?” Lae pondered as she watched Calla cradle the corpse of the fish.
Carrying the dead fish, Calla swam back to the edge of the Lagoon, where her friends were.
“This poor fishy…” Calla murmured like a sad child. “We need to go. I’m worried about the other Bangus - and also the Sirenas. I hope nothing bad happens to them yet.”
“Just tell us what to do, Calla,” Lae said.
“Uhm… You can come down here now,” Calla stated. “The water level of the Lagoon always changes. We’re lucky the water is not that deep today.”
Triggs was hesitant at first. “Are you sure, Calla? I heard that this place is sacred for the locals.”
“Don’t worry, we still have our robes; no one will see us. And besides, Ate Panee gave us permission Herself.”
“Okay. If you say so…”
One by one, Triggs, Lae, and Zaine joined Calla in the water. Isha’s wagon floated on the surface like a raft. The dead Bangus was placed beside Isha and was covered by cloth.
Calla suddenly asked Triggs, “Triggs, you’ve been eating Hanziel Fruits like I told you, right?”
“Uhm.. Yes. Why did you ask?”
“Just making sure,” Calla replied. “I know all of you are first-timers here, but you’re the newest in the group.”
Worried, Triggs questioned, “Why? Is that a problem?”
“Nope. Not that much.” Calla explained, “I just need to ask you because there’s a special requirement to enter Ate Panee’s Domain.”
“What is it? Did I pass the requirement?”
“We still don’t know. We’ll find out when we reach the entrance.”
“Uhm… Okay.”
“Just keep on following me, okay?”
Triggs, Lae, and Zaine agreed.
Calla led the way as they traversed through the Lagoon.
