Meanwhile, as crazy things were happening in other places, the maglolo, Lumawig and Lolo Gani are fast asleep. Lumawig has a peaceful look while he is sleeping. It could be from the residual effect of the agimat, or, the hearty meal he ate, or it could also be because of the reassuring words his lolo said to him earlier.

Whatever the reason may be, no form of worry could be seen on the face of the sleeping Lumawig. The same thing could not be said about Lolo Gani, as opposed to Lumawig’s peaceful sleep, struggle could be seen on Lolo Gani’s face instead. Large beads of sweats are forming and rolling down on his wizened face, creases decorated his brows, and he was tossing and turning. Looking at his state, one could easily say that Lolo Gani is having a nightmare.

In his dream, Lolo Gani is seeing a tree, it was the Narra tree where he went to prepare for the final ritual of Lumawig, to either formally induct him into the process of becoming a babaylan, or to become a normal human. However, in this dream, he is just an observer, but what he is seeing is something that made him grimace and turn pale in fright. This was the first time he had a dream like this, a dream that seemed to be like a premonition of bad things to come.

Lolo Gani suddenly woke up from the nightmare, however, he could still vividly recall the events in that dream – he was heaving. Without knowing it, his back has become drenched in sweat and he was shaking, not because of the cool early morning air, but because of intense fear. Nevertheless, Lolo Gani closed his eyes and inhaled deeply; he then touched the agimat on his neck and started to chant, the chant has a calming effect on him, for as soon as he started, his shaking slowly stopped, and his breath also returned to normal. When he opened his eyes after repeating the chant three times, they no longer reflected terror, but of determination. He then slowly turned his head to his beloved apò, a gentle smile appeared on his lips.

“Seems that I have to prepare myself in the coming days.” Spoke the old man to himself.

He then quietly stood up and went to the kitchen to prepare his morning coffee. It was still only four-thirty in the morning, but people are now waking up as was the custom in the rural areas of the country. Even with all the craziness and brutal attacks that happened in the neighboring barangay and town, the cold summer air in the morning appears to not have been disturbed, as many people who have now woken up are just doing their usual routine.

After drinking his coffee, Lolo Gani then went to the balete tree, carrying his sundang, buntot pagi, a jar of salt, and two candles; it seems that he is going to continue with what he and Lumawig was doing yesterday. However, this time he will be nurturing his sundang and buntot pagi simultaneously, though his face appears to be calm, his heart and mind could not help but feel pressured and have a sense of urgency because of the dream he had. After he prepared everything, Lolo Gani then started the arduous ritual of nurturing his weapons.

It was already seven o’clock when Lolo Gani finished his ritual and went back to the house. There, he found Lumawig was already cooking rice, and was also preparing eggs for breakfast. The young man appeared to be energetic and well-rested.

“Good morning lolo!” greeted Lumawig.

“Good morning too, apò. You’re up early.” The old man returned the greeting and smiled.

“Yeah, I thought I would be sleeping until much later, but I somehow feel energetic. This could still be the effect of the agimat’s restorative powers.” Answered Lumawig.

“That’s good then! You will have more energy doing your chores today.” Chuckling, the old man also teased Lumawig.

After breakfast, Lolo Gani told Lumawig to continue with his nurturing of the buntot pagi, and only stop once he feels tired.

“I’ll be doing some farm work today, so I might be back until late afternoon. You do not have to wait for me for lunch.” Said the old man.

“Okay, lolo.” Affirmed Lumawig.

“Also, leave the librito in my baul today. I do not think that you will need it today as well.” Instructed Lolo Gani, to which Lumawig nodded his head in acknowledgement.

The first part of the day went on as usual for the people of Dumadalig. Lumawig, having done his chores, went to the balete tree with his buntot pagi, a jar of salt and two candles to do his ritual of nurturing his weapon.

As Lolo Gani and some people he works with in the field are taking their break, a sudden shout drew their attention.

“HELP! H-HELP ME!” a woman was running towards their group of people.

“HELP ME! MONSTERS! THERE ARE MONSTERS AFTER ME!!” the woman again shouted in between her huffs and panting.

Hearing the shout, Lolo Gani and the other men suddenly became alert, and trained their eyes at the woman. Only when they paid attention to the voice's owner did they notice that a part of her clothes had been ripped, and there were claw marks on her face and hands. The wound from these claw marks seemed to have been inflicted for quite some time already as most of the blood has already dried. The woman, however, has disheveled hair, and her eyes reflect intense terror. She seemed to have not noticed the group of Lolo Gani yet, and her shout was random – trying to get the attention of anyone who could hear them.

One of the men stepped forward and shouted, “OVER HERE!”

Hearing the man’s shout, the woman became happy for a second and then fear immediately took over her expression as she shouted

“RUN! Monsters...are…coming!”