A Thousand-Year Old Prophecy

114: Condemned Forest 4

Nyssa placed a wooden pail sa tabi ni Jin.

Maru, who was still busy with her stitchings, looked up to her and at the pail.

"Since he will sleep for a while, his hygiene should be taken care of us."

"Us?"

"Yes. We can alternate in wiping him clean, at least his face and upper body. Just imagine how terrible it will be kapag nagising siya and found himself... very dirty. Jin's very particular with his cleanliness on daily basis. And since he saved me, this should be done by us while he is still unconscious."

"Us?" Maru asked her once again.

"Yes, us. Tayo... Ikaw at ako..."

"Not gonna happen."

"But why?"

"I am not going to wipe someone else's body. If it is you, pwede pa but other people... There is no way it is going to happen."

Nyssa blinked.

Saka niya dinampot ang tela at sinawsaw sa balde.

Then she faked a cough. "Well, if you really do not want to, then I have no choice but to take care of him everyday."

Then with a small smile and twinkling eyes, she started to unrobe Jin.

Naningkit naman ang mga mata ni Maru.

Why does it feel this young lady is very excited to "wipe" Jin's body clean?

Nyssa who had already started cleaning Jin's face suddenly caught of Maru's expression.

"W-what's with your expression?"

"What's with your stuttering?"

Once again, Nyssa faked a cough.

"Don't judge me, Maru. I merely just want to pay back Jin for bringing me here safely. Isa pa, ikaw tong ayaw tumulong. Wala akong choice kundi ang gawin to no." She sounded defensive.

"Wala naman akong sinabi ah."

"But your face says it all."

Maru rolled her eyes.

"Fine."

She stood up and collected her things. Then she started to walk out from the room.

Nakahinga naman ng maluwang si Nyssa and once again, smiled.

But before Maru totally left the room, she turned around and faced her again.

"You don't have to look so excited though just because you are going to wipe clean a young man's body. I know you're a spinster in your old life but think of your reputation in this life time."

Then Maru left.

Nyssa was dumbfounded.

Was she really that obvious?

Agad siyang napailing at inalis iyon sa isipan niya.

Who was excited?! She really just want to take care of Jin due to debt of gratitude. Nothing more!

And who was she calling a spinster in her old life?

She was never a spinster, no!

She died in her late twenties so it wasn't that old yet.

Hmph! That Maru was definitely bullying her again.

***

Anyway, aside from her "taking care" of Jin's body everyday, it also became her daily mission to translate the book given to her by Maru about the Void.

She wad only given a month to translate it by the bird.

Truly cruel, if she must say.

Kaya naman matapos ng mga pang-umaga niyang gawain, iyon naman ang inaatupag niya maghapon hanggang magdamag.

The book was quite thick so she had lots to translate. But then again, as she started to make sense of its content, she couldn't wait to learn it all and start practicing them at once.

Soon, a month passed by and she had already translated the whole book.

"...Void's basic manipulations; Manipulation of Gravity, Manipulation of Time and Manipulation of Space."

Nyssa read out loud.

Maru was sitting across her and was just listening to her.

"You've taught me this Manipulation of Gravity before, right?"

"Yes."

"Then can you also teach me the others?"

"Don't be lazy. Kaya ko nga pinatranslate sayo yang libro na yan. If you cannot learn these uses of Void on your own, then bahala ka na sa sarili mo."

Napasimagot naman si Nyssa dahil sa sinabi ng ibon. So heartless!

A sound of shrieking bird suddenly echoed around the forest.

"It's lunch time!"

That sound, since they arrived there, had been happening twice a day. One around lunch and the other, after sunset.

Nyssa took them as indication of time to eat.

If she only knew the real reason for this shrieking, she wouldn't be that so impolite at all.

Seeing Nyssa standing up and getting ready to eat lunch after hearing the sound, Maru just simply shook her head.

She looked at the sky then sighed to herself.

Then she joined Nyssa.

***

Matapos nilang kumain, Nyssa got back to her training.

She practiced the Manipulation of Gravity first.

This time, she did it normally like breathing air.

By this time, ito pa lang ang Basic Manipulation na wala siyang problemang gawin.

Then she proceeded in studying the Manipulation of Time.

Ayon sa libro na bigay ni Maru, these three basics were most common for Transportation.

With Manipulation of Gravity, she can make people or any object move floatingly. Manipulation of Time allows her to teleport. And lastly, Manipulation of Space gives her skill to create a portal.

And those were just basics!

She continued reading about Manipulation of Time and when she finally understood its concept well, she began practicing it.

Maru simply watched Nyssa practice just like what she told the lady.

She could help her with other things but not with the learning of the uses of the Void.

Anyway, there were only a total of seven Manipulations of Void. But the difficulty of each skill increased a lot with the next level.

Nyssa had to learn them all by herself in order to grow.

The more she personalized her training, the more it would be easier for her to use these manipulations in the future.

***