Chapter 7: Cosmic Soul, Restricted Flesh

They were finally out of the security office, after paying the fine for property destruction.

As Hiraya pushed Lirika’s wheelchair toward Room 110, her scolding showed no signs of stopping. Meanwhile, Suliyao walked off in the opposite direction, heading straight back to Silay’s room. It wasn’t surprising to find it empty now, after all, it had turned into a wreck.

He went to the front desk and showed his phone:

(Where is Silay Manawari transferred?)

The receptionist recognized him instantly and gave the new room number with a smile. Suliyao bowed in gratitude before striding off.

Fortunately, he only needed to pay for the damages, just like Lirika’s aunt had. That’s also why the teenager was still getting an earful. As for Suliyao, he wasn’t jailed. The authorities couldn’t explain nor even see what had truly happened inside that room.

Down a quieter hallway, he finally spotted the room he was looking for. Silay had been transferred to a more private location, though it still had a wide window.

Suliyao stepped inside, blasted by the AC the moment he opened the door. He adjusted it to a more comfortable setting, then turned toward the bed.

Silay was still sound asleep.

He stood beside him, eyes fixed on his peaceful face.

‘You’re finally here.’

That voice echoed again in his head, looping like a melody he couldn’t shake. It sounded like Silay but gentler, yet commanding. As if that presence had waited for him his entire life.

In the past, this phenomenon occurred when a Katalonan’s spirit was overly exposed to potent spiritual energy. Sometimes, the soul splits from the flesh. The gods or beings they pleaded with refused to speak to human forms, forcing the Katalonan to meet them in their most vulnerable state.

In modern times, it was simply called astral projection.

Before the encounter, Suliyao intended to examine the contract etched into Silay’s soul. But then Lirika appeared, her spiritual energy flared, offensive yet unrefined. It carried echoes of old power, but fell short of the former glory wielded by those chosen in ages past. That decline was the cost of faith erased from memory. The Kaluwalhatian no longer gave their gifts so freely.

For a moment, Suliyao wondered if she was the one he’d been searching for all this time.

But when he checked, there was no Tanikala forged into her fate.

Among the ancient Katalonan bloodlines, the Tanikala is a sacred bond, an invisible chain linking mortals to the spirit realm. It is no mere contract but a birthright: passed through blood, sealed in soul. These chains tether guardians, spirits, or even curses to the living, granting power at a cost. Some are chosen. Others inherited. A few... awaken only when the world begins to forget.

And when that unknown soul appeared between Lirika and himself, Suliyao saw the chain; clear as gold, fastened to it.

The forest had not lied.

But once that soul vanished, perhaps fusing again with Silay, the chain dimmed and disappeared. The connection, once radiant like a collar of light, no longer responded.

Silay’s mortal body was in the way. Cursed. Fragile. Yet his soul... was terrifying in its strength. Enigmatic. Enough to freeze Suliyao in place.

There was no doubt now. This wasn’t Silay’s first life. He was caught in a karmic cycle. Reincarnated, repaying a debt yet unpaid. Bound to rise and fall, again and again.

Suliyao lowered his head to Silay’s hand, speaking silently as his voice still refused to return: If you’ve lived more than one life... Why did we only meet today?

He couldn’t awaken the Tanikala. Couldn’t risk it. Lirika had been right, Silay would die if exposed to spiritual energy. His body rejected it. Violently.

This duty was inherited without context. A legacy passed down by his mother. He thought that once he found the human who could make the unseen bow, it would all make sense. Why his mother loved humanity despite being forced to carry one.

Why she was proud of the thing that bound her.

Why does she talk about it more than herself? 

“Suliyao, what are you doing to my hand?”

He straightened immediately, expression wiped clean. Silay was awake, eyes locked on him.

“Nothing. I felt sleepy. Just resting.”

Silay blinked. He could still hear Suliyao’s voice in his mind. Choosing to ignore it, he said, “You were standing.”

The younger man fell silent. 

He has always been silent since that unfortunate day from his long passed youth.

Silay chuckled. “I only picked you up at a mountain’s foot once. Is missing that ride really enough to keep you glued to me now?”

His tone was light again. The version of him that had cried earlier or appeared so hauntingly divine was gone.

He had no memory of past lives.

No knowledge of the sin he was still paying for.

And Suliyao had no idea what that sin was either.

To the world, he was just a doctor.

Just human.

Silay Manawari.

“I want to be friends.” Suliyao’s voice echoed in Silay’s mind.

“If you want to be friends…” Silay turned to him weakly, “then just use your phone when talking to me. Stop speaking inside my head. Or maybe sign language? If you know it, I’ll learn it too. I’ll go crazy if we keep talking like this.”

Suliyao raised one hand and signed: a simple nod of the fist, knuckles facing out, then a fluid motion tracing an arc across his chest: [yes, I'll do that.]

“I don’t get that yet, but just you wait,” Silay murmured, his brown eyes blinking slowly. “I feel so tired all of a sudden, even though I just woke up…”

Still, he kept talking. “What trick are you using? How are you speaking in my head? Are you a magician?”

Suliyao signed: [No.]

“You talk to Itel using a phone.”

“I can only talk to you this way. Not the others.”

“Hah…” Silay sighed at the voice again, untouched lips unmoving. “Now I’m cursed. Maybe you’re cursed too for staying in that forest so long.”

A few days later, Silay had fully recovered, and Itel was finally spared from Lirika’s daily spooky chatter. But on the day Silay was declared well, Hiraya approached him and said, “We’ll be asking for a discharge.”

Silay looked at her, puzzled. “Pardon?”

“Lirika and I decided that since there’s really no cure, it’s better for us to just stay at home,” Hiraya replied firmly. In truth, she could no longer afford the hospital’s daily expenses. The elders had already told them Lirika was incurable.

This time she’ll believe them, even if she feels guilty. Money is just really tight right now.

And after everything that happened a few days ago, Hiraya felt compelled to believe her niece did have… something. A connection to the supernatural, maybe. Something unexplainable.

In any case, she had to drop Lirika off at the main Luan House today, the same place those cult-like people had been asking her to return to. On top of that, her paid leave ended. She needed to go back to teaching.

Silay nodded stiffly. “I see. Then please come with me for the paperwork.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Lirika staring at the window, in a trance. She was watching the cars pass by, the city shifting, always moving.

* * *

Luan Main Residence.

At the front gate, Hiraya gripped the wheelchair handles and smoothly pushed it through the old, traditional house. It was spacious and open, the wooden floor polished by time and care. Inside, she helped Lirika off the wheelchair and guided her to the floor, where her grandmother waited not far away.

Lirika reached for her grandmother’s hand and pressed it to her forehead to mano, a gesture of respect.

“Bless you,” the old woman said, smiling faintly. Her gaze then shifted to Hiraya. “Leave us, dear.”

Hiraya’s fingers curled into a fist. Her jaw tightened however she had no choice but to nod and step out, heading toward the room where the other elders were gathered.

Grandmother Luan turned to Lirika. “Well? Have the dreams become real?”

“They did!” Lirika nodded eagerly. “I met the person from my dream. He told me he would cure me!”

“Did he give you his name?”

“No,” she said, eyes still gleaming, “but he’s the soul inside the human doctor. I don’t know if he’s possessing Dr. Silay… but he looked and felt just like the one in the scriptures. Silayan of the Luan Cl—”

A sharp slap cut her off.

For a moment, Lirika couldn’t hear. Her ears rang. Tears welled from the pain.

Grandmother Luan stood and took an agimat, chanting in a low, trembled voice. She murmured an apology to the gods they served and to the anito spirits watching behind the altar.

When her eyes opened again, her voice was cold. “Never speak that name.”

In the Luan Clan, there were two figures everyone remembered. Saniha—their revered ancestor, honored for her legacy. And Silayan—the cursed one, the human who disgraced them. The one who brought ruin to the Katalonans. It was said he succumbed to Sitan’s temptation and was cast out by Bathala, despite once being among the Kaluwalhatian’s favored humans.

“Do not associate with that possessed man. Those dreams were sent by treacherous spirits, not the gods. Go. Purify yourself. Ask for forgiveness.”

Trembling, Lirika crawled to the altar, dragging her body forward in tears. She bowed deeply, in fear of disobedience.

* * *

That night, as his shift ended, Silay came across Itel and Li in the staff lounge, idly chatting. He quietly approached and gave them both a light pat on the back.

“Good work today.”

Startled, Itel spilled some of her soda around her mouth, and Li bumped his head on the window frame.

“Silay!” Itel cried, slapping his shoulder. “You shouldn’t do that!”

Silay chuckled. “What were you two talking about?”

“Just some odd things,” Li replied, rubbing his head, “About what happened to your old room while you were sick.”

“And why it might’ve pushed your patient, Lirika Luan, to go home early,” Itel added. “People say her aunt found you weird or something. The residents and interns were talking about it this afternoon.”

“Hey! I wasn’t even awake when that happened,” Silay protested.

Wow so interns gossip about something else other than fawning over how Li does operations?

“Well, it was strange,” Itel teased. “There were burn marks. Cracks on the window.”

Li straightened, adjusting his glasses. “I reviewed some of the reports and temperature logs. There was a sudden spike in ambient heat localized to one area, too high to be explained by equipment malfunction. Witnesses say the girl had a seizure-like episode, but there were no corresponding physiological markers afterward. And you were unresponsive at the same time.”

He paused thoughtfully. “If I were the guardian, I might’ve opted for a transfer too—unofficially. Hiraya probably chose to make it look like a discharge to avoid further inquiry. Especially with how much attention the case is drawing.”

Silay exhaled. “Whatever. What’s done is done. I can’t meddle in the Luan family’s personal matters, especially since their niece was my patient.” He turned and waved as he walked away. “See you both tomorrow. I need to give someone a ride.”

The two doctors blinked, surprised.

“You’re finally dating?” Itel asked, grinning.

“No. It’s just a promise.”

Li tilted his head, watching Silay reach for the door. “To who?”

“Suliyao Laya.”

With that, the door clicked shut behind him.

Itel raised an eyebrow. “Oh? They seem to have gotten close. Front desk said Silay picked that man up from some mountain in Cavite. Soaked from the rain. But Suliyao said he was a friend of Silay’s.”

“What a bizarre pick-up spot,” Li muttered. “His taste is strange. Anyhow, I should look after this soon. He might get into trouble with some random people again who’s claiming that they’re friends.”

“Oh right, I noticed he didn’t speak. At first, I thought he was just ignoring the staff. Then Silay stepped in, handled the paperwork, and even assigned him a physician himself.”

Li only hummed.

“Then after Suliyao was discharged, he visited Silay a lot when he got sick. And Silay didn’t push him away.” Itel leaned forward, voice dropping. “First time I’ve seen him like that. You were stuck in surgery that week, so you didn’t catch any of it.”

Li hummed again.

“…Jealous?”

“What?”

Author’s Note:

Agimat - refers to a talisman or amulet, often used for good luck, protection, or to ward off evil. 

Anito - refers to ancestor spirits and deities. They are believed to be supernatural beings who can influence the lives of the living. These spirits are revered and appeased, often through offerings, to ensure a harmonious and prosperous life. 

Mano - a common gesture used to greet known as 'mano', often referred to as 'bless' in English. Mano is performed as a sign of respect towards elders and as a way of accepting a blessing from elders.