Laz saw a flag erected under a floating plank at the midst of the lake. "Everyone look here."

He pointed the flag. It has the same structure as the one they have found earlier, just different in color. This time, it was blue.

"Are we going to swim?" Sada hesitantly asked. Though it was clear as day, no one could deny that each one of them felt something wrong will happen if they just directly contact the water.

"We couldn't just do that. What if there is beast living under?" Laz sounded.

Sul noticed that the grass was five inches away from the water seemingly avoiding contact. He bent his body and smell the water. He did not dare to touch it.

His group was confused about what he was doing but no one disturbs him.

Sul didn't find any anomaly to its smell or color. He took out a stroke of grass and dripped it. To his and his group surprise, the grass slowly melted!

It took them a minute to absorb the situation.

"How can we get that flag now?" Cite asked doubtfully. If the grass was melted, how could they swim to go there?

Laz, though was surprised to the anomaly of the water, he calmly said, "At least we all now know that no living creature will be hiding under the water."

Yan nodded in agreement. He added, "If we could build a boat made by something hardwood, we can eventually get there."

"Good idea! But it might take time for the trees stood far from the lake." Ali said as she gazed to the trees away from the grass.

Her group could only laugh dispiritedly.

Going back and forth just to gather woods will truly take their time.

"It is just okay. We have the beast of Atu after all. We should start now, time is ticking!" Yan cheered them up.

With the lead of Yan, they all started to move.

..

In a distant place, palace main hall

In the presence of the Datu, the head Babaylan with her three disciples, and six great elders sweat dripped on Habagat's forehead and back.

After he narrated their experience and told the incantation he managed to decipher in the vestige, the Datu let him rest.

"What do you think about the meaning of it?" The Datu glanced at each one of the presents.

His last glanced fell on the Head Babaylan.

The obvious white hair of the Babaylan was braided as her slightly wrinkled face didn't show any emotions. Her white long dress hid her hands and feet.

A necklace made by intricately designed fangs of a lion hung on her neck as earrings with obvious feathers decorating her ears.

Her two disciples wore a simple white dress under knee and white shoes with the same earrings as their Head Babaylan.

The Babaylan deep breathed before she spoke, "I need to confirm it later. For now, I don't have a say."

"That pea-sized golden light that sipped through his forehead, what does it mean?" One of the elders couldn't help to ask. His hair was showing white lines, a sign of getting old.

The others were also perplexed.

"A mark," these two words have a deep meaning than they seemed but the Head Babaylan didn't explain it further.

'A mark?'

'A mark!'

Everyone present in that hall planted those two words in their minds.

"Datu Sub, according to the child, they didn't receive nor feel any anomaly as he recited the incantation except for that pea-sized golden light. Does it mean that the guardians have vanished truly?" Another elder asked. His age was reflected in his pure white hair and wrinkled face.

"Elder Dalakit, I don't have an opinion about it. The fact that the incantation has shown its effectiveness to the young Habagat, there might be a big probability that they are existing until now." The Datu explained.

"And we couldn't just ignore the fact that there is someone who can make her/his incantation last for years, decades or even millennium after their death." Other elder added. Though old, this elder's body was full of muscles.

"I agree to the Datu." The Head Babaylan decided to take part in the discussion. "The white incantation is a message incantation. One the bearer died, it will lose its effectiveness because no one will be able to receive it anymore. Remember, one of the materials needed to make a message incantation is the presence of the bearer himself or the bearer could pass or share the possession to her or his kind."

The Datu hesitantly asked, "Uhm.. Head Babaylan, do you have a way to confirm it?"

The Babaylan solemnly shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't. With my current strength, it's far from possible." She clenched her fists under her sleeves.

..

The group seven finally built a crude boat.

They all decided that Sada will be the one to row it and get the flag.

As they thought, the wood they had gathered was just enough to stand the melting characteristics of the water.

In just three minutes, Sada went back with the flag with the plank. He thought that maybe the next clue was written on it.

His thought was right. The clue was really written on it.

"The flaming tree!"

"What do you think of it?" Sada asked his group.

"I think it means the Cherry bomb tree," Ali answered.

"Might be. The problem right now, is where do we find it?" Dawag asked.

No one knows the answer, even Ali admitted that she didn't know.

"In that case, we need to search it in every corner of this forest," Laz commented.

"I agree. We don't have another choice." Yan stood. "Let's hurry up and move. Time is running."

On their way, Sul noticed they had not bumped into other groups yet. "Everyone, didn't you find it a little bizarre that we hadn't bumped into other groups?"

His voice made his group member be alarmed.

"Everyone, never let your guard down. We didn't know if there's someone hiding in the dark to rob us." Sada commented.

His group member nodded in response.

They continued their way ahead with the dirt rat following behind.

They didn't know how many hours had passed already. They just all felt tired.

They could barely see the light of the sun.

Finally, they find the tree they were searching for. It that was blossoming with fruits.

It is not really that the tree is on fire, but because of its fruit that if one not be careful in handling it, it will explode.

The flag was on top. In order to get it, they need to climb the tree with full of cherry bombs or fly.

Well, they didn't have wings, so the second option is out of the question.

"I'll try to shoot it with my arrow," Sada suggested. As a student in the fighter Hall, he was equipped to be an all-around fighter that is good at long and short-range.

"Are you confident? Remember, if you did not hit it and the Cherry bomb will be touch, the flag will be also destroyed with the tree." Ali commented.

"The next clue may be on the tree too. What should we do?" Atu asked worriedly.

If they will just shoot it, the next clue might not be on the flag directly. And if the shoot wasn't correct, the Cherry bomb will explode that will cause riffles and will set the whole tree on fire, and that will surely burn the flag too.

Laz deep breathed before he parted his lips. "I go to the shooting of Sada. We don't have time anymore." He gazed the hazy orange sky. "It's now or never."

His group member followed his gaze.

"Laz is right. We are running out of time. I go to shooting too." Yan voted.

The sky was already painted with an orange hue. A sign of setting sun.

With no other way, they all decided on shooting.

Sada leaped to a tree 20 meters away from the cherry bomb tree. He took a stance of a marksman as he could his bow and arrow.

He closed his left eye and locked the flag with his right eye.

Slowly taking a breath, he paused and loosened his grip to the arrow.

Swoosh!

His group member also paused from breathing as the watch the arrow flow towards the tree.

The arrow pierced on the flag and continued its momentum with the flag riding its body.

Finally, it struck on a nearby tree.

This sight made the group seven rejoice!