"We did. It was only under a certain agreement though as the Dragons are also after something that we have. In exchange, they offer protection to us against any invaders and enemies that would try to s.n.a.t.c.h the treasure away from us." The warm voice replied.

"Treasure?"

"The reason the giant Anuks are here is to get that certain treasure that has been pa.s.sed down to us and had been under our protection ever since the time immemorial."

"And that item is?"

"That is something I do not know." The voice said with a quivering voice. An unsure gist between his words.

"You are not sure?"  Elric asked, confused.

"I am not sure. But we trust and follow the guidance of the spirits and the Babaylan."

"That item remained a mystery to us and even our great ancestors have no idea what it was. We only knew that it was being hidden secretly in one of the Visayan islands and that it was an item brought here by a mysterious foreign named Joseph." The warm voice explained and added,

"And us warriors of the islands are especially born to protect this item. Generations after generations, we protect our land from them, and by doing so, keep our island away from the grasp of the invaders who may have known about its existence and would attempt to have their hands on it. Not to mention, even if they knew about it, not even our great ancestors are to speak a word about its exact name or location. We only know of one thing why those Anuks and other invaders had never seized searching for it here."

"And that is?" Elric asked with utmost curiosity.

Just what kind of item would bring in troubles from extraordinary creatures as the giant Anuks? Not to mention, it seems that these are just one of the numerous legendary battles that have never reached the inks of history! 

"It is said that this item has something to do with G.o.d's essence. An item that can bring forth power beyond measures. Wealth beyond your greed can imagine and knowledge that could shatter the heavens. That is what our great ancestors said." The warm voice of Lapu-Lapu explained.

And the way it was kept a secret obviously has something to do with the works of the Guardians - Elric concluded. And if Elric would like to know what this certain item is, he should get a clue from these elusive Guardians and know its true origin.

"Or could it be that the item is already in the hands of the Guardians? Knowing them, it seems that is a big possibility indeed!" Elric deduced confidently.

"You may have a point son, but I am afraid to say you are wrong. You see, one way to know where that item is hidden is also by using the help of the Anuks."

"By using the Anuks? How so?" Elric asked curiously.

"The Anuks's are descendants from heavenly being - the reasons they are also subject for destruction is because they possess the heavenly essence which is a power not supposed to be existing in this realm.  As for the sake of the mankind, the great flood did try to clear them all out, but in the end, a handful of them managed to survive thanks to the intrusion of the so-called 'Outsiders'." 

"I see. These so-called Outsiders, what else do you know about them?" Elric asked with an even serious tone. It seems the so-called Outsiders has a far deeper mysterious foundation than he had expected. Are they immortals? It seems to be considering they managed to exist and pull some extraordinary job that even dared to fight against the will of nature.

"And the item they are searching for is suspected to become an item from heaven itself. With the Anuks help whose originator is from heaven themselves, they had also inherited the exclusive abilities to sense divine essence." The warm voice added.

"And since it led them here, it means..." Elric said, connecting more dots.

"That's right. That item is hidden somewhere in the Mactan island. Where the last trace of Joseph is known to perish mysteriously according to our Ancestor. But letting the Anuks find that item itself could possibly spill great disaster and our entire human race could also receive retribution from the hands of the Anuks themselves." The voice added, finally connecting the dots.

"We tried every means to find the items ourselves but even Kahayag herself, despite her natural connections to the spirit realm is unable to find the information to the said item herself. She said all the men, spirits and creatures who knew about this item mysteriously vanished without a trace of even a bit of their soul." 

Elric fell into deep thought. It seems that a certain item is indeed powerful and mysterious. But, what does he have to do with all of this?

"So tell me. What is my true purpose that you are showing these." Elric asked seriously. He did not want to push around the bush no more. He wants answers and answers he will get!

"To pa.s.s you the Legacy of our blood and spirits. To finally awaken you to your true purpose. The power of Dragons, the Elementals are already imprinted deep within your blood and soul. Now it is time you obtain the power you should have long ago."

"A power I should have long ago? What do you mean?"

"Yes, the power exclusively only to those who possess the blood of our Ancestors, the guardians of the thousand islands of Maharlika. The power of the natural Spirituals."

"Power of the natural Spirituals? Could something be an unnatural spiritual? Like fake spirituals?" Elric asked jokingly.

"Spirituals or humans with natural access to their spiritual senses and abilities are called Natural Spirituals. We walk the earth barefooted and are always connected to the earth. We heal extraordinarily fast, we eat no meat from animals with conscious souls. We can see and talk to the souls of the dead like it was an ordinary sight. We have access to supernatural strength by summoning the power of the ancient spiritual warriors of the past."

"Fake Spirituals or the so-called Dark Magic users who had accepted an unfavorable soul contract from Spirituals of the Dark realm to gain access to supernatural power, magic or even fame."

"That sounds like Satan! And those fake spirituals sounds like those modern artists who are suspected to have sold their souls to the devil!"  Elric exclaimed.

"Satan? Devil? You may think what you want, but one thing is for sure though is that they are missing the biggest point of being a Spiritual."

"And that is?" Elric asked with an intense gaze.

Suddenly, the voice of the Babaylan, Kahayag, came from the other side of Elric's ears.

"Let me explain. Why bother earning temporary human power when there is an abundance, or to say, infinite power inside your soul? Being a natural Spiritual is to learn to tap on the infinite energy from your own essence." She said in a wise tone and added,

"When you connect to your soul naturally is the same as you connect to the world naturally and you don't need to grab a hold nor become attached to it because it will become a part of you. You become one and every road leads to you. You don't follow the roads but you are the road. You don't need light because you are made from light itself!" The Babaylan's voice continued to immerse Elric with an unexplainable calmness and fulfillment. His eyes are closed and imagined every words in every construct.

"You do not follow time for time is a construct of a one-sided perception of your physical realm jar. And you are water inside a moving jar. But the truth is that you are the jar, the moving force and the time all at once. Understanding deeper about yourself gives you the freedom to transcend time in your spiritual form." The voice of the wise Babaylan continued.

"That's true. Hearing that actually answers a lot about my existence and...," Elric said as he felt his body suddenly feeling an intense surge of warmth. His head felt warm and relieved and an unexplainable feeling of freedom and stillness overflowed in his soul.

The World Knowledge inside his mind suddenly shone brightly and the pages renewed in clarity and understanding. Elric could now understand more concepts in this seemingly mysterious world of knowledge! It felt like another page of his dictionary are finally readable again!

Elric actually made another spiritual breakthrough by listening to the Babaylan's teaching!

And as Elric finally calmed down, the scene before him has finally reached the last part as well.

Hundreds of Eastern dragons with varying lengths, sizes, and s.h.i.+ning colors had finally descended from the sky and have made their way charging against the towering figures of the giant Anuks. And as quickly as they arrived, their teeth sank deep into the humungous bodies of the giants and another brutal scene came in full display before Elric's eyes.

But with all these distractions before him, Elric's renewed calmness has allowed him to look at the bigger picture and watch the whole battle like an omniscient spectator.

And his gaze landed on a specific spot with a very faint trace of distorted presence and as he focused his gaze, his temple started heating up and he felt a trace of light emerging out of his forehead - it was the same third eye that Lapu-Lapu and the twelve warriors have glowing in their head.

"You finally got it." Said the warm voice of Lapu-Lapu with full gladness. 

"I now welcome you as one of us. Your true ident.i.ty, the Natural Spiritual." added the voice as their true appearance finally revealed beside Elric. Lapu-Lapu looked incredibly old around a hundred and thirty years old! Kahayag on the other side looked exactly the same as he saw her. An ageless Spiritual!

Looking back at the fighting scene before Elric is a different view compared before. He was pretty sure there were only Dragons, native warriors, and giants having a wild mashups before but right now before him is a scene he could never imagine witnessing.

"Angels?! Are those Angels?" Elric muttered in surprise as he looked up at the divine beings with nine wings stretched majestically being them.

Their faces glow in warm mystery and they wore dresses made of light! They were like mini suns except, they have elegant looking wings!

And these Angels are everywhere! They were the distorted presence he was unable to perceive before! This is just one of the benefits of being a Spiritualist, the access to the eyes of truth!