Triggs noticed the lovers’ situation. Out of compassion, he rushed to aid them.
“What happened?”
“She’s wounded,” Michael answered.
“No, I’m… okay… Go save yourselves…” Gwyn insisted out of pride.
“No, Gwyn! I won’t leave you here!”
After seeing the wound, Triggs tore off a piece of his robe and used it to minimize the bleeding.
Zaine saw what Triggs was doing. He was irked by the gesture. “He’s our enemy,” he uttered with disappointment.
“Not anymore,” Triggs responded. Then, he yelled at Lae in the distance. “Lae! We need your help here!”
Already aware of what happened, Lae yelled back, “On my way!”
But just before she could make a step, a group of Sigbins appeared and blocked her way.
“Damn it! I’ve been ganged up!” Lae shouted.
“Shit!” Intending to help Lae break free from the mob of Sigbins, Triggs sprinted at full speed.
“I’m coming, Lae! Just hold…
CHROOK!!
on……..”
Triggs felt something pierced through his gut. His abdomen was warmed by the pooling red liquid on his clothes.
He glanced behind and saw a Sigbin dangerously close to him. At that time, he realized that he was maimed by the creature’s sharp and long claw.
CHROOK!!
The Sigbin pulled out its claw from the abdomen. Blood spurted from Triggs’ mouth.
He dropped to the floor, with only his hands supporting his body.
“Sh… it…” he uttered as blood poured from his wound.
“TRIGGS!!!” Lae screamed after witnessing the horrifying scene.
Slowly succumbing to the realization that he was gravely wounded, Triggs’ eyes started to widen, his pupils dilated, and his heart beat faster.
With the surge of adrenaline kicking in, he grabbed his sword and attacked the Sigbin that wounded him.
SLASH!!!
The Sigbins’ head rolled to the ground as Triggs went straight for the neck.
“GAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!” Triggs roared. Blinded by the hormone, he slaughtered every creature he saw.
It took a whole minute, and 7 dead Sigbins, before Triggs’ body started to crash down. He dropped to the floor, breath heavy and heart still racing.
“You fucking idiot!” Monty shouted with a distressed voice, worried about the fallen Triggs. He dashed through the field of Sigbins, pushing away everything that came his way with brute force.
But his strength was no match for the creatures’ number. 2 or 3 Sigbins he was able to hustle, but when a dozen of them started to pounce at him, his little body started to collapse.
“FUUUUUUCK!!!!” Monty groaned as Sigbins piled above him, rendering him incapacitated.
Triggs was slowly losing blood; his body got colder every second and his eyes started to dim. In his eyes, everything started to darken; all he could see was his allies - as if a spotlight was focused on them while they fought for their lives. One by one, the lights shut for them as they fell amid battle.
Suddenly, he heard a mysterious voice calling his name. “Triggs…”
At this point, Triggs wasn’t sure if he was still holding on to reality. Gradually losing his senses, everything was blurry for him.
“Triggs… heed my call…”
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Using all his remaining energy, Triggs turned his head to see where the voice was coming from. With a fuzzy mind, the only thing he could point to was the lake behind them.
“Say it, Triggs…” the voice from the lake said.
Triggs was too dazed to comprehend what the voice was trying to tell him, but he felt an inner knowing that he was urged to do something.
“Say the Words, Triggs…”
“A… QUA… PRIMAFORMA…”
SLOOOOOSH………….. SWOOSH!!!
A stream of riptide sloshed out of the lake and annihilated a decent number of Sigbins. It was so powerful that it turned the tide of battle; it helped the other fighters break free and recover.
Everyone was surprised by the sudden offensive, even Triggs didn’t understand what truly happened - the voice stopped speaking to him after that.
With all his senses beginning to fail, an image of a young lady appeared in his dying eyes. After that, everything was all hazy.
“Triggs!... are you..... OH NO!! You’re wounded!….… Just hold on still, please… Triggs…”
…
…
…
“Triggs?”
“GAAAAHH!!!” Triggs gasped as he sprung up from slumber.
He looked around and saw himself in an unfamiliar room. The walls and the ceiling were made up of polished bamboo, and the bed underneath him was all-white and fluffy as cotton.
The room was illuminated by a chandelier, adorned with crescent-shaped and elliptical ornaments.
Sitting beside Triggs was Calla, who was greatly relieved that he was awoken.
“Wh… what happened!? Where are the Sigbins!?” Triggs uttered out of bewilderment.
“Don’t worry, Triggs! They’re all gone. We already defeated those pesky monsters,” Calla assured.
“Where are we? Are we back in the Base now?”
“Nope! We’re in the Moon Temple!” Calla answered with sparkling eyes, it seemed like she was excited.
However, Triggs was still in a state of confusion. “Moon Temple? So - Sorry, I’m still feeling a bit fuzzy. What really happened, Calla?”
“Uhm, Lola Vega sent us here so we can tell you something…” Calla answered.
CREEK….
The door opened and Otto entered the room. “Hey, Man! Good to see you fine now.”
“Kuya Otto…”
“Sorry, we came late,” Otto apologized. “But I guess we were just right on time to save you all from those wacky Sigbins.” Then, he sighed. “Damn those creatures were so hard to deal with, luckily we had help from them.”
Still puzzled, Triggs asked, “From ‘them’? Who are you talking about, Kuya Otto?”
“The masked people!” Calla excitedly answered. “That’s why Lola Vega sent us here, to tell you they are not bad people.”
Triggs softly rubbed his head, trying to grasp everything he was hearing.
“When the Giyas finished Their meeting, Ate Panee told Lola Vega that the masked people were followers of Bulan,” Calla explained further. “We are now in their base - the Moon Temple.”
It started to make sense for Triggs. “So, in the end… it was all just a misunderstanding?”
“Uh-hmm!”
“But who is this ‘Bulan’? Is he a Giya?”
“Yup! Bulan is Ate Panee’s close friend. He was also a member of Their group back then, I just don’t know why He left Them.”
“I see…” Triggs murmured. “About the Sigbins… have you already figured out what’s causing their attacks? It’s still a mystery to me.”
“Yeah, about that…” Otto replied. “Can you move now, Triggs?”
“Uhm…” Triggs looked at his wound, which was already mended finely. He lifted his body out of the bed. A slight prick was felt in the wounded area, but it was not that painful to hinder Triggs.
“I think so…” he answered Otto. “Why? Do we need to go somewhere?”
“Lae and the others are in the courtyard, I think they’re currently discussing it,” Otto said.
“Ok, sure…”
“Are you sure you’re okay now, Triggs?” Calla uttered with a worried expression.
“Yep. I’m fine now…”
“Okie!”
The 3 of them exited the room. As they made their way through the quarters' corridor, Triggs' attention was captivated by the interior design of the building; it seamlessly integrated indigenous design motifs with lunar undertones, featuring crescent-shaped arches symbolizing the moon's phases.
The place gave an illuminating aura; everywhere they went, it felt like the moon was following them.
The end of the corridor led to the courtyard. There, Lae was conversing with a young man. Meanwhile, Zaine was just nonchalantly sitting under a tree, and Monty was enjoying its fruits.
“You’re finally awake,” Lae greeted as Triggs arrived at the place. “How’s your wound?”
“It’s okay now, I think,” Triggs replied. “Did you heal it?”
“Yes. But they also helped me,” Lae answered as she introduced the young man beside her.
“Hey, Man! I’m really sorry about yesterday,” the young man apologized to Triggs. “As you can see, everything is just a big misunderstanding.”
Triggs recognized him as the masked man they fought the day before. “Oh, it’s okay. I understand.”
“By the way, my name is Toby,” the man introduced himself as he shook Triggs’ hands. Then, he leaned closer, whispering to his ear. “Hey, man… Can you help me reconcile with your friend?...”
Toby was referring to Zaine, who was currently staring at them with a serious eye.
“I think he’s still mad at me,” Toby murmured.
“Well, Hehe… I think I can’t do anything about that,” Triggs answered. “But don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll just forget about it.”
“Well, uhm…” Toby cleared his throat as he moved away from Triggs. “I think you already know what's between Gwyn and Michael. Please let me be the one to apologize for any trouble those two lovebirds may have caused.”
“So, just to clarify... you guys are the real culprits behind the townsfolks' looping experience in the forest?” Triggs asked.
“Yes,” Toby replied. “But to our defense, we did it to protect ourselves - to remain hidden. It will be a disaster if those people find out about this place - or the very fact that we exist. We’re already dealing with the Sigbins, we don’t want any more headaches from them..”
“But I’m still curious… Is it really such a big deal if those folks learned about you - about us?” Triggs asked innocently.
“OF COURSE!!” Lae, Toby, and Otto answered in sync.
“Come on, boi! I thought you were supposed to be smart. Why ask such a stupid question!?” Monty mocked Triggs.
“I’m sorry, but why? I just thought it would be better if we work together to eliminate the Sigbins,” Triggs said. “I just irk the idea that we need to hide, when in fact, we could help each other.”
Monty chuckled. “You really are new to this, boi. You’re still naive to think that they would work with us. When will you learn?”
Suddenly, Calla started sobbing.
“Uhm… Are you okay, Calla?” Lae asked with concern.
“Oh? Has hanging out with Claire also made her a crybaby?” Monty joked.
“MONTY!!” Lae scolded him with a strict face.
“Sorry… I just remembered something,” Calla uttered while wiping her tears.
“Are you sure? You can tell us…” Triggs said.
“It’s about my dream again. About my childhood…” Calla replied.
Otto whispered to Triggs, “I think our conversation triggered something about her past…”
Triggs suddenly felt a deep guilt in his chest. “Really, I… I just don’t get it…” he murmured.
“We already explained this to you, Triggs,” Lae said. “I know how you feel. But it’s not about us, it’s about them…”
Toby tapped Triggs’ shoulder. “I believe you’ll understand it more if you meet the elders. Actually, they also wanted to talk with you, they’re just waiting in the Temple Shrine.”
Triggs agreed and together, they moved to the Shrine.