Mutagen

Day 150 - 3:21 PM - School Plaza, Panganiban Central Elementary School, Bagong Bayan, Municipality of Panganiban, Catanduanes

Aliya gleefully told the story that came from the heritage of her ancestors. 

Back in the past, there was barely any variety of things that people did to pass their time. For men, they hunted animals and participated in contests to prove their strength. As for women and children, most of them felt content with just telling and listening to stories.

Aliya, who came from a tribe in the past and served as their tribe's shaman, telling stories she learned from their elders was her hobby.

Seeing her grandchildren intently listening to her story made her happy and enthusiastic.

On the other hand, Mark was having quite a headache. Before, he thought that this ability was a byproduct of his high level of [Emphatic Abilities]. The possibility was not zero, after all. It was considering that it affects the mind of those he touched, albeit positively. Now, however, it was actually not the case.

"Gege, your ancestry is getting richer and richer as time went by."

Mei remarked, considering the things she knew about Mark.

"It's getting weirder and weirder if you ask me."

Mark replied with a shrug.

Nonetheless, this kind of thing was not impossible to happen. Even with human families, there was a possibility for their ancestry to have different human races mixed in. It was even more plausible in this country. After all, Phillippines fell into the hands of several countries.  Furthermore, it had connections to many countries around it even before Spain came to conquer.

And now, the existence of magical beings got revealed. Some of them appearing in human ancestries was not impossible too.

It was even more plausible because Mark's ancestry was unusual, to begin with, with one of their ancestors being a Blood Demon.

"Grandmother," Mark turned to Aliya. "How did that Diwata's powers got passed on to their descendants? I'm pretty sure that Diwatas that became human by punishment were entirely stripped of their magical capabilities."

Mark's question made Aliya smile.

"That detail is not passed down in the tribe," Aliya said. "However, I knew that was supposed to be the case. The Diwata in the story, our ancestor, lost all her magical powers and lived as a common human woman. Both she and her husband died of old age after leading the tribe to prosperity. It was only after a few generations that the first case of this ability appeared. Among the descendants known to have this ability, I am the third, and I'm among the sixth generation of descendants after the story started."

"Furthermore," Aliya added. "Among the past and following descendants, I'm the only one to awaken to this level. The others were far weaker. Some of them were able to release light from their hands but rather than being thick and milky, theirs were rather thin."

Looking at Mark, Aliya continued.

"Actually, your uncle is one of us, having this ability. But unlike all the others, you are the second person that attained the level closest to our ancestor when she was still a Diwata."

Because of Aliya's words, Mark fell into deep thought. He remembered that his uncle, Roy, had a warm hand. It was not literally warm. Instead, he was able to relieve pain, fatigue, and other things with his massages using herbal oil. His services were even sought by some people who knew, bringing their sick children to him for some healing.

But then, Mark noticed something. At first, Aliya said that it was a story passed down in her tribe. However, it was noticeable that her story was too accurate for a story that was passed down. It was almost at the level of first-hand knowledge. If not, how was it possible that Aliya knew that her ability was close to their ancestor when she was still a Diwata.

"Say, Grandmother," Mark decided to ask directly. "You seem to know a lot for a story Generations older than you. It was like you were there to see it first hand."

"Hahaha." Aliya laughed. "Did I really sound like that? Then it's good!"

Mark and the girls were confused.

"This is how stories are told in our tribe before," Aliya explained. "We tell it like we were present when everything happened to the extent of fabricating things. I thought I'm getting rusty but I'm still capable. Actually, the story passed down in the tribe is incomplete that those that told the story after had to add a few things here and there. It did not take long and the story became more and more exaggerated and far from what really happened."

"Then..."

Mei was about to spoke, thinking that what Aliya told them was not the truth.

"Oh, don't worry." Aliya smiled. "What I told just now is the real story, not those that had been passed down the tribe."

Mark and Mei paused. Even the little girls were confused.

"It's like this," Aliya explained further. "The story I told you came from someone that witnessed it all."

Aliya then turned to Mark.

"You met her already."

"Diwata Iraya."

Mark answered the only possible person in his mind.

"You are right." Aliya nodded. "The Diwata who became our ancestor, Diwata Arilaya, she is Diwata Iraya's... what do you call that again? Student? No... more like an apprentice, I think. It was also Diwata Iraya that punished her to become human."

That explained it. With Diwata Iraya being the superior of Arilaya, there was no doubt that she witnessed everything first-hand. She would have the most correct and most accurate version of the story.

"As for why Diwata Arilaya's ability appeared in her descendants, even Diwata Iraya doesn't know why." Aliya continued. "What we had in mind was that it had something to do with why people in our family could awaken magical abilities. But of course, that is not a proven answer."

Mark fell silent for a bit. While Diwata Iraya and his Grandmother could not prove the reason, he had a hunch that it had to do with their bloodline as [Blood Demons]. It was a unique bloodline, after all.

And as for why all these kinds of abilities from his ancestry were appearing on Mark, he could not help but stare at his right arm. There was only one thing that made his world turn around.

It was the [Psycrystal] that was now embedded on his arm.

Although it was Keeper that created the [Psycrystal], it was still a magical crystal created from [PsyPathogen].

[PsyPathogen], the very same pathogen that awakened psychic abilities in creatures from the planet Eriellis. It had some similar properties as [Mutagen], like mutating people using their genes.

If that was the case, it was plausible that it was the cause why Mark awakened abilities present in his ancestry.

At first, Mark only noticed his [Emphatic Abilities] being enhanced by the [Psycrystal]. After all, it was the only ability he had at that time that was active without control. It was possible that at the very same time, his [Clairevoyance] and this [Relieving Hands], were already at development. However, as a shut-in that barely interacted with people, he never had the chance to use these abilities even by accident.

Pushing it further, it might also be the reason that Mark's bloodline as a Blood Demon resurfaced, albeit late.

Now that Mark thought about it, it was also the [Psycrystal] that made him use that crystal that enabled him to mutate further, allowing him to use Miasma.

"By the way..." Aliya suddenly spoke. "We call it [Relieving Hands] in the tribe before since it had such effects. But actually, this ability only had those effects since it was being used on humans."

"So, it's not supposed to be used on humans?"

Mark snapped out of his thoughts and asked.

"I can be used like how we did." Aliya shook her head. "However, think about it. Diwata Arilaya is a Diwata. Although Diwatas could interact with humans under certain conditions, they could not just go and meddle with them. It meant that there was very little chance for her to use it on humans. Then, who was she using her abilities on?"

That came the question. There was no way that a Diwata's unique ability would be used for humans. There was no need to think. The answer immediately entered the minds of Mark, Mei, and Iola.

"Spirits and Elementals."

Mark answered.

"Yes, although there were specific conditions." Aliya nodded. "It also had effects on Demons too under the same conditions."

"And that condition?"

Mark asked.

"Spirits, Elementals, and Demons, whose bodies were created using magical energy," Aliya answered. "If [Relieving Hands] is used on those kinds of creatures, it would have a different effect. And that effect is [Healing]."

Mark was surprised. He never thought about this. In his entourage, only Amihan was the elemental to fit such criterion. However, as Mark prioritized the safety of everyone around him every time, Amihan never got injured while staying by his side. Thus, there was no opportunity for him to discover this usage of this ability.

"Diwata Iraya said that they called this ability [Magical Healing Hands] instead." Aliya continued. "Actually, it's also the reason why Diwata Iraya convinced me to become a Spirit. They lost Diwata Arilaya because she fell in love with a human. As such, when it was discovered that I had almost the same strength as her, all sorts of Spirits, even Demons, approached me."

"And Demons also targeted me to make me one of them, since I had the compatibility to become one."

Aliya added.

As it seemed, her human life was not a peaceful one. Looking at how she looked young, it was likely that she died young before she became a Spirit.

"Then, my uncle could also be targeted, right?"

Mark asked.

"Ah, yes." Aliya nodded. "But his [Magical Healing Hands] are too weak so he's only targeted because of his Magical Compatibility and not a priority. Besides, it was not like just any hostile entity could approach your mother's generation."

"Is it the Spirit Guides?"

Mark asked with a frown.

"Huh?" Aliya was surprised. "How did you know?"

"I just knew." Mark shrugged. "Aunt Gennie's should be that guy in armor, right?"

"Wah?" Aliya was surprised even more. "Seriously, how? No, I won't ask anymore. Hah..."

Aliya gave up. By the looks of it, Mark would not answer. It was not like she wanted to force the answer out of her Grandchild either.

"By the way..." Something entered Mark's mind. "Diwata Iraya is several hundred years old, huh?"

Mark was suddenly distracted by the absurd fact. As it seemed, it was very likely that Aliya came from a tribe way before the Spanish Occupation. 

It meant that Aliya would be at least five-hundred years old.

Then, there came Diwata Iraya, who already had something like an apprentice, generations before Aliya was born.

"Ah, that's right." Aliya nodded. "Diwatas don't really count their age since their appearance barely changes even if hundreds of years passed by. But Diwata Iraya is a Very Very Old Granny."

CRACKLE!

THOOM!

Suddenly, the sound of lightning and thunder was heard from the sky.

Everyone suddenly looked at the sky. Not only Mark's group under the tree but also the others that were minding their own business. Even Geronimo and Padua, who were cleaning their guns inside the office, ran to the windows to look. That was how loud it was.

Odd enough, the sky was clear and blue. There was barely any cloud either.

Mark then smiled.

"So, she's a VERY VERY Old Granny, huh."

CRACKLE!

THOOM!

Another sound of lightning and thunder echoed. This time, it was obvious that the sound came from the tall mountain in the west direction.

"Hahaha!" Aliya laughed. "Right! She's a VERY VERY OLD Granny."

CRACKLE!

THOOM!

CREAK!

Another echo of lightning and thunder creeped out everyone. This time, it was a bit different since a tree in the middle of the schoolyard was hit. However, even though the tree was split into two, it did not catch fire.

The tree was not too far from Mark's group. However, the distance was not too close for them to be affected. Still, the little girls were creeped out. Abbygale transformed and jumped into Mark's lap. Miracle also shook in surprise.

On the other hand, the other members of the group could not help but run in the direction of the ruckus, thinking that it was an enemy attack.

"Gege, Grandmother..." 

Mei stared at the culprits. It was not hard for her to understand what was happening.

On the other hand, Mark and Aliya only smiled at Mei.

This caused Mei to sigh. These two were definitely relatives.