UMALINGANGAW ang tunog ng textbook sa buong café matapos sampalin ni Adamas ang babae. Napatingin din ang ibang customers sa kanila nang tumilapon sa glass wall si Stacey. Subalit, kahit na kaunting pagsisisi ay walang makikita sa mukha ni Adamas. Nanatili ang galit niyang mga mata sa babae.

"Insolence! How dare you attempt on slapping my face? My Noa never wrote me to be slapped by anyone." Adamas tightened his grip on the textbook.

Hindi nakagalaw ang babae. Pulang-pula ang pisngi nitong sinampal niya. Nang pumasok na sa isipan nito ang ginawa niya, namuo ang mga luha sa gilid ng mga mata nito.

"That's right. Cry and be ashamed, human. You deserve it." He paced towards the woman and raised his hand up, ready to throw another slap. Hindi pa siya nakuntento sa ginawa kanina, lalo na't hindi niya pa nakikita ang pagbabago ng kulay ng emosyon nito. Gusto niya ulit itong saktan.

He wanted her to realize what she did wrong.

"A-Adamas . . ."

He gazed at Gonietta beside him. And the woman was  surrounded with the color of ash. She was nervous. Logan, on the other hand, remained on his seat with his head down. He was also nervous.

As he watched their emotions, displease filled his face.

"Don't stop me." He glared at Gonietta.

"Ayos lang naman kami. Hindi mo na kailangang--"

"Shut up, cowards!" Binagsak niya ang textbook sa lamesa kaya napaigtad sila. What she said made him more agitated. "What nonsense are you trying to spit in your mouth?!"

Hindi nakasagot si Gonietta.

"Why are you letting someone look at your dream so low? Do they not matter to you?!" Adamas screamed at her face. He then looked at Logan and kicked the table to get his attention. The moment he looked up, he immediately shouted at him. "What about you? Do they not matter to you?!"

Adamas tried to control his rage, but the small flame of hope from their emotion pushed him to lash out at them. How could they be so passionate but so little at the same time? How do they had such strong emotion but not towards something they yearned to have? Why were they keeping it?

"Why are you letting them dictate who you should become?!" he shouted at them once more, trying to wake up something inside them.

And he succeeded at letting Gonietta feel through his words.

But it was only the woman. 

"We're not letting them dictate us!" sigaw nito sa kaniya at sinamaan siya ng tingin. "If they did, noon pa sana kami tumigil!"

"Excuse me. Please, do not cause any ruckus inside the café."

Sabay silang napalingon ni Gonietta nang nilapitan sila ng isang staff.

Bago pa sila makasagot, tumayo si Logan at ito ang nagsalita. "I'm sorry. We'll leave now."

Kaagad silang hinila nito palabas ng cafe.

Habang naglalakad sila palabas, hindi niya inalis ang tingin kay Logan na nasa unahan niya. The color of his emotion never changed. It stayed like a stagnant dry color of gray. And it was quite different from Gonietta.

It was aggressive. Like it was trying to devour him.

What's going on with him?

"Hoy, Adamas! Kapag kami nireklamo ni Stacey, ikaw talaga ituturo ko!" Dinuro siya nito.

He looked at Gonietta. "Go on."

Katabi niya ang babae kaya bahagya niya itong tinulak papunta kay Logan. Sinadya niyang magtama ang braso ng dalawa upang mapalingon si Logan sa kaibigan.

"Hmm?"

"Wala. Ito si Adamas nanunulak," sumbong nito. Hinawakan nito ang mukha ni Logan nang mapansing nakasimangot ito. "Anong nangyari sa 'yo? Ba't parang ikaw pa ang nagmukhang sinampal ni Adamas?"

Adamas chuckled while listening to them. Unti-unti nang nawawala ang kakaibang emosyong lumalamon kay Logan. But not totally. It was still there. But because of the woman's presence, it concealed those by replacing it with another strong emotion.

One strong emotion he was most familiar with.

Is this the human's favorite feeling? He wondered because he had also saw this from her Noa. All the time. From all her dumps.

Adamas paused when he felt a familiar aura lingering around the street. An aura similar to him. 

Kaagad siyang lumingon sa direksyon ng kalsada at hinanap ng mga mata ang kauri niya.

Hindi siya puwedeng magkamali. The aura he felt was from a fictional character like him.

"Adamas?" tawag ni Goniettta sa kaniya pero hindi siya nakinig.

Napako ang mga mata niya sa lalaking nakaluhod sa kabilang bahagi ng kalsada na para bang may kinukuha sa nakabukas na metal bars ng drainage. Nakasuot ito ng laboratory gown at sa katabi nito may bat na nakalagay.

Cretaceous?

Patakbo siyang tumawid sa kalsada upang puntahan ang lalaki. Rinig niya ang tawag ng dalawang kasama pero hindi niya iyon pinansin.

'Go back home. Susunod ako mamaya.' He delivered them a message through his thin threads.

"Cretaceous!" muli niyang tawag sa lalaki nang makasigurong tama nga ang hinala niya.

The man turned to look at him. Pinilig nito ang ulo na para bang nag-iisip kung sino siya. Ilang saglit, napanganga ito at kaagad na sinalubong siya ng yakap.

"Adamas! What a timing! Kailangan kita ngayon!" Humiwalay ito sa yakap at tinuro ang drainage. "There's a Felis catus stranded under that. Will you help me get him out, my dearest species friend? Hindi ko kasi maabot."

"Of course." Ginamit niya ang kaniyang mga sinulid upang kunin ang pusa na nasa ilalim. He lessen the thickness of his threads, like that of his messenger threads, to make it not very visible.

Cretaceous was also one of the villains from the top ten popularity rank. They had quite the similarity when it comes to their murderous side, and that what made them in accordance to the point they became friends.

"Here's your cat." Isang basang pusa ang nakuha ng kaniyang mga sinulid. Inabot niya ito kay Cretaceous na mabilis naman nitong tinanggap. Hindi nito inisip na madudumihan ang maputi nitong gown at niyakap ang pusa.

"Poor you. But no worry, you are in my care now. Simulan nating parusahan ang may gawa sa 'yo nito mamaya after I clean you, okay?" Cretaceous kissed the cat.

He smiled at the man. "I didn't expect to see you here. It seems that I am not the only one who got out from Fictosa."

"Correct! The other villains are here too." Kinuha ni Cretaceous ang baseball bat. "You got a new outfit kaya hindi kita nakilala agad. Where do you get that?"

"From my reader."

"A human, huh?" Napasingkit ang mga mata nito.

"He is not what you think."

"I don't believe you. Humans are all the same. They are cruel and deserving to die." He shrugged. "But anyway, do you want to see them? Looking at you right now, it seemed that you have a lot of confusions."

Cretaceous was right. The moment he stepped into the real dimension, questions flooded him about how he got here and what had happened to the system.  He wanted to confirm his guess.

He also had another thing he wanted to know.

"I'll come with you."

"Great! Let's go!"

Sumama siya kay Cretaceous. Ilang minuto rin silang naglakad hanggang sa makarating sa isang two-storey restaurant na walang kahit ni isang customer. Ang mga katabing building din nito ay parang matagal nang inabandona dahil wala siyang makitang emosyon ng mga tao sa loob. Nangingitim na rin ang pintura at napapalibutan na ng mga dahon ang mga imprastraktura.

Tahimik, kung ilalarawan niya ang paligid.

Pumasok sila at  umakyat sa second floor. Ang maingay na tunog ng kahoy na hagdanan ang nagsilbing realisasyon niya na ito ay luma na.

Napatigil silang dalawa sa harap ng nakasarang pinto.

Nilingon siya ni Cretaceous. "Welcome, Adamas. Ako na lang magsasabi n'yan dahil alam kong walang willing mag-welcome sa 'yo."

Pinihit na nito ang doorknob pabukas. Ang akala niya'y tahimik at luma rin ang magiging loob subalit higit pa ito sa bago. Pag-apak niya sa opisina, doon niya nakita ang laki nito. Sobrang maliwanag din ng buong paligid dahil sa naka-on na mga malalaking ilaw.

Nakaharap sa pintuan ang kulay asul na sofa at may nakaupo roong maputla na lalaki. Hindi man lang siya binigyan ng kahit isang sulyap at nakatutok lang ang mga mata sa binabasang libro. Katabi naman nito ang lalaking masama ang tingin sa kaniya. Kung gaano ka walang paki ang lalaking nagbabasa, ganoon naman kanakakakilabot ang tingin ng isa.

"You look so damn hideous," komento niya bago pinasadahan ng tingin ang ibang nasa loob.

Villains of higher ranks were present.

Dumiretso siya sa bata na nakaupo sa isang swivel chair na abalang magsulat ng kung ano sa office table. Nagmukha itong may-ari ng restaurant.

"Thomas."

Inangat nito ang tingin. "Oh, Riscarte. You're here. Upo ka muna." He gestured his hand for him to seat. Hinintay siya nitong makaupo bago magsalita ulit. "I was right, wasn't it? The Fictosa was totally destroyed by Zero!"

"Are you saying that this was the result of the damages done by that villain?"

"Yes." He nodded. "My assumption is that the Fictosa's restart caused us to be out in the dimension. A malfunction might have happen due to the huge damage they need to cover."

He leaned against the chair. "I see."

His guess was right.

"Lahat ba ng mga karakter ay nandito?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe no or maybe characters from other roles might be here too."

"The system might still be fixing things up." Napalingon siya sa lalaking sumabat at naglakad papalapit sa kanila.

Ito ang lalaking hindi pumansin sa kaniya kanina. His pronunciation made Adamas hissed. It was too precise. Ang linis pakinggan ng mga tunog na kinakilabutan na siya.

His proficiency and intelligence made him caught the reader's attention and be the consistent rank one in the popularity pole.

"Once done, there's a possibility that the system will restore us back to Fictosa." Umupo ito sa upuan na nasa harap niya. He crossed his leg and smiled at him. A smile looking so nice as if he couldn't hurt a fly. "What do you think, Adamas? I assume that you have already found out about what happened to your author. Do you want to go back now?"

"I did. And I don't want to go back." He clenched his fist. "At least not yet."

"Revenge, maybe? Aw . . ." The ranked one villain looked at him with full of sympathy. "Aren't you the sweetest character? For sure, Noa is already smiling in the afterlife now. Does she have a family?"

Adamas frowned after hearing his last words. "Don't start with me, Rasheed."

Mahina lang itong tumawa bilang sagot.

"Do you still have something you want to inquire? Your face is still looking lost."

Napabalik ang atensyon niya nang magsalita si Thomas.

"Well . . ." Sumagi sa isipan ni Adamas ang mensaheng nakuha niya sa kuwarto ni Noa. "I found a note addressed to me, but I didn't receive it from the Dump."

Every message, written or just plainly in thoughts are received by the characters through the Dump. Kaya nagtataka si Adamas kung bakit hindi niya ito natanggap. Bukod sa galit na nararamdaman matapos niyang mabasa ang sulat, umusbong din ang kaniyang pagtataka. Noa's note was written two years ago, so it couldn't be possibly because of the system's malfunction that just recently happened.

Thomas tilted his head. "Maybe it wasn't for you."

"It was for me. My name was carved on it."

"Maybe your author is cheating on you."

He glared at the Rasheed who was still carrying a sweet face. Tumayo na ito at iniwan silang dalawa ni Thomas.

"The system may have prevented you from knowing that because it may trigger your character." Thomas clasped both of his hand. "We can assume that the note you've read can be similar as those comments with censors. They are not messages or thoughts that you, as a fictional character, should know."

Natahimik naman siya. Mayamaya ay bumuntonghininga siya.

Thomas had a point.

"I guess you are right."

Nagtagal pa siya ng ilang minuto sa loob ng office bago napagpasyahang umalis. Tumayo na siya at nagtungo sa direksyon ng pintuan.

"Ew! Get off me!"

Napatigil siya sa paglalakad nang bumangga si Cretaceous sa kaniya dahil sa pagkakatulak ng isa pang villain. Ang villain na kahit isang beses hindi niya nakasundo dahil lang sa isang rason.

Masiyadong maarte.

"Aalis ka na?"

Tumango siya bilang sagot sa tanong ni Cretaceous at naglakad na ulit.

"Okay. Bye! Oh, before I forget."

He stopped in front of the door to hear his words.

"Your sibling dropped here earlier too."

Zaratras made it out as well, huh?

Tumango lang siya bilang sagot at bumaba na.

He went back to the apartment by following the thread he left that was connected to the apartment building.

It was already dark, and the whole place had now become a city of lights. From the streets to the buildings, Adamas couldn't help but to think that the stars became nearer.

Nasa gilid siya ng kalsada at tahimik na naglalakad.

"The real dimension is beautiful . . ." he whispered. Tinakpan niya ang ilong nang may dumaan na malaking truck. "But suffocating."

The smell of the gases suffocated him. Although the real dimension and his House Spot were similar, there were things that he had not seen. And there were things present but he didn't experience; like walking in the sidewalk, eating in a café, and smelling the ugly smokes from the truck.

He had not experienced it first hand every time he was in the House Spot because all of those were irrelevant from the book. The House Spot or the book's setting only appeared when two characters from the same book see each other. Kaya sa Fictosa, iniiwasan ni Adamas na makita ang main characters at iba pang mga karakter dahil lalabas ang House Spot at maglalaro ang kuwento mula simula hanggang dulo.

Hindi naman sa ayaw niyang maranasan ang kuwento. Sa katunayan, isa ito sa mga paborito niya dahil gustong-gusto niya ang isinulat ni Noa at ang role na ibinigay sa kaniya. Gusto niya lahat ng galing kay Noa. Ngunit dahil sa magkakaibang role, ang pagtrato ng mga karakter sa isa't isa ay nakabase din sa sinulat ni Noa. Wala siyang problema na makita sila pero ang ibang karakter ay may problema sa kaniya.

Because he was the antagonist of the story, all they felt towards him was hatred. They see him as a threat they needed to extinguish. Meanwhile, in his point of view, he was the protector of the gem of treaty, so his first action would be to kill anyone who'd dare stealing it. And this difference of roles made them enemies of each other.

His beloved Noa didn't put some any hate emotion for him to feel for the other characters which was quite odd for a villain like him. He just became the bad guy because the Odds of Tribes wasn't in his perspective.

Napunta ang tingin ni Adamas sa higante at hugis parisukat na telebisyon. Nakakabit ito sa malaki at matayog na poste. May mga imaheng lumalabas doon at maya't mayang nagbabago. Minsan na itong nabanggit sa libro at hula niya'y digital billboard ang tawag doon.

Isang pigura ng lalaki ang inilabas sa billboard. At sa likuran nito ay may apat pa ngunit mga silhouette lamang ang pinakita.

'This is the biggest sport funds the country had ever obtain! The first sponsor for 2024 Olympic, Asnael Laurien, is revealed. Are you ready for the other influential names?' Ang mga katagang nakasulat sa bandang ibaba ng imahe.

"Laurien . . ." Adamas hissed. The guy had the same surname from the one he just punished recently. They might be relatives.

Napatigil siya at napatitig sa mukha ng lalaki. May kulay ng emosyong unti-unting lumalabas sa paligid nito hanggang sa naging usok. Muling nagpakita sa kaniyang isipan ang mga pigurang usok na nakuha niya sa sulat ni Noa.

His beloved Noa's strong feeling lingered on the man from the billboard. So strong like how it was for Aivan.

Isang maliit na tawa ang tumakas sa kaniyang labi.

I found another one, my wordy Noa.