"Even a divine weapon dulls if the wielder refuses to grow."
The Armory Summons
Mandirigma Armory Entrance
The armory doors split open.
Gregorio entered first, Kamay ni Bathala pulsing with a muted violet heartbeat. Agosto followed, the Kampilan ni Lam-ang radiating faint crimson vortexes along its length. Marian's Sundang ni Makiling exhaled soft mist-light from its blade. Renato's Kalasag glowed in steady azure, ancient badge mode humming beneath its surface.
The four walked in silence, relics alive and responsive.
Joaquin Santillan waited at the center of the chamber. Guido stood beside him. Flavio had a tablet tucked under his arm, eyes bright with calculation.
Joaquin gestured the Unit closer.
"Good. Starting today, Flavio joins you as your Sandata Relic Meister. He will handle all tuning, upgrades, and preparation for the Anino ng mga Anito threat. The President, the Chief of Staff, and the Senate have formally approved the assignment."
Flavio stepped forward.
"Before we begin anything, we need to cover the requirements. All relic enhancement follows strict protocols."
The Sandata Unit stood at attention.
Flavio raised one finger.
Tune Up — What It Does
A Tune Up adjusts a relic's core operating parameters to improve battlefield performance:
• Destructive Power. Governs how much damage the relic can deliver. High DP relics can rupture armored vehicles like paper and destroy entities not of this world.
• Weight. Controls handling and acceleration. Even relic wielders have biomechanical limits; weight governs speed versus impact.
• Durability. Determines how well a relic withstands attacks and how quickly it regenerates when fractured.
Tune-Up limits depend on SRC level. Higher clearance unlocks higher ceilings for Destructive Power, Weight optimization, and Durability reinforcement.
Tune-Up Requirements
1. SRC – Sandata Relic Clearance
"Your firepower is regulated. Tune-Up permissions require validated SRC. Access to higher levels depends on the threat category."
Flavio tapped a diagram and continued:
"Fighting threats like Raja, Hermano Lopez, Juan Luciano, the Anino High Council, and… ehem… Joaquin Santillan, if he ever becomes an adversary, pushes your SRC to the highest authorization layer."
Joaquin snorted.
"Abandon all hope," he joked.
"Not funny, Commander," the Sandata Unit answered flatly.
Joaquin coughed into his fist. "Carry on, Flavio."
2. Echo Essence
"All relics collect Echo Essence every time you destroy an Echo. Your relics have been harvesting automatically since you started using them."
Agosto blinked. "We never knew."
"You weren't supposed to until you were cleared," Flavio replied.
3. Payment
He smirked. "And of course… money. My world-class talent doesn't come for free."
A collective "Oh" left the Unit.
Joaquin shook his head. "Relax. Enhancements come from the military funds attached to your black cards. Your salaries stay untouched."
They all exhaled in relief.
Upgrades — What It Does
Flavio swiped to a new display.
"Upgrades improve your relic's passive abilities and special traits beyond raw parameters."
He pointed at each relic in turn.
• Kamay ni Bathala. "Enhances shattering impact, concussive force scaling, and the effect amplification provided by the Eyes of Bathala."
• Kampilan ni Lam-ang. "Strengthens burning slashes, spatial shear, and teleport-cut stability."
• Sundang ni Makiling. "Refines mist transformation, illusion density, and adaptive cloaking efficiency."
• Kalasag ni Bernardo Carpio. "Boosts resonance shielding, kinetic refraction, and both defensive and offensive shield modes."
"Upgrades evolve how your relic behaves in combat," Flavio said. "They sharpen what makes your Godarms unique."
Upgrade Requirements
1. SRC
"Same principle. Higher upgrades need higher authorization."
2. Echo Core
Flavio displayed three rotating core types.
• Echo Cores – from normal Echoes
• Hybrid Cores – from hybrid echoes like Pretas and Aswang-class hybrids
• God Cores – extremely rare, only from God-tier Echoes
"Essence is common. Cores are rare. Relics only absorb cores if you land the final strike on an Echo's core node."
3. Payment
"Upgrades cost more than Tune-Ups. Time, materials, and yes, my expertise."
Another quiet exhale rippled across the Unit.
Relic Synthesis Requirements
1. SRC
"Highest clearance tier. God-Level Threat authorization required."
2. Sandata Relic
"The relic itself acts as the anchor material. Non-negotiable."
3. Payment
Flavio smirked again. "Relic Synthesis is the expensive one."
Agosto groaned under his breath. Marian sighed. Renato muttered something in Kapampangan. Gregorio simply rubbed his temple.
Joaquin raised a hand.
"Military account. Not your salaries."
Four relieved breaths answered him again.
Flavio lowered his tablet.
"To summarize: Tune-Ups enhance your relic's parameters. Upgrades enhance passive abilities like Kamay's impact bursts, the Kampilan's burning slashes and teleport cuts, Sundang's mist transformation and illusion effects, and the Kalasag's defensive and offensive modes."
He gestured toward the deep armory chamber as new locks disengaged.
"What comes next," Flavio said,
"is the apex of relic enhancement."
He stepped aside.
"Relic Synthesis."
Relic Synthesis Demonstration
Relic Synthesis Chamber
The chamber lights dimmed as Flavio walked deeper into the armory's lower annex. Doors parted to reveal a circular chamber lined with myth-tech coils, resonance pylons, and floating conduits pulsing faint gold.
The Relic Synthesis Chamber.
Flavio gestured the Sandata Unit inside. "Before we proceed to your actual enhancement schedule, you need to understand how Synthesis truly works."
Gregorio, Agosto, Marian, and Renato stepped in, each relic pulsing faintly as the chamber reacted to their presence.
Flavio lifted a compact console from the central altar.
"Your Tune-Ups refine parameters. Your Upgrades enhance passive traits. But Synthesis is different. Synthesis is the process by which a Primary Sandata Relic temporarily absorbs a Secondary Sandata Relic and inherits its abilities."
Marian's brow rose slightly. "Temporarily?"
"Until you tell me to unequip it," Flavio answered. "Or until you request replacement. One secondary relic at a time. If you want a different one fused, the previous must be unequipped first."
Agosto folded his arms. "And the secondary relic stays inside the primary?"
"Yes," Flavio confirmed. "Suspended and dormant, but fully intact. Completely reversible. Zero degradation."
Renato studied the pylons. "And the benefit?"
Flavio smiled.
"The Primary Relic gains the Secondary Relic's skills. Techniques. Natural behaviors. Everything that defines it."
Gregorio's Kamay ni Bathala pulsed once as if listening.
Flavio tapped another command into his console. "Let us demonstrate."
The Synthesis altar rose from the floor—three layered rings circling a central platform. Silver glyph-logic threads spread outward like a woven sunburst.
"Gregorio," Flavio said, "step forward and present your hand.
Gregorio stepped onto the altar. Violet light pooled around his feet. The Kamay ni Bathala and its Eyes responded immediately, pulsing in rhythmic unity.
Flavio placed the Gintong Asero knuckles onto the secondary cradle.
"The Vice Captain's relic," Renato muttered.
"Former Vice Captain," Agosto added.
Flavio activated the sequence.
The chamber erupted in controlled radiance.
Resonance coils flared. Gold beams circled the Kamay. The altar platform lit with intersecting violet and gold arcs. The Gintong Asero glowed fiercely as its form dissolved into shimmering motes that spiraled toward Gregorio's bracers.
Energy converged, twisting light and sound.
Threads of gold wrapped around the violet aura.
Glyph-logic spiraled like ribbons tightening around a single core.
Plasma-like tendrils linked both relics in a helix of power.
The room trembled as the Kamay absorbed the last fragments of the Gintong Asero. A pulse fired outward, rattling the chamber rails.
Then all light collapsed inward.
A quiet hum remained.
Flavio lowered his console.
"Synthesis complete."
Gregorio flexed his fingers. The Kamay ni Bathala felt heavier, denser, alive with a new resonance. A faint metallic beat throbbed beneath the violet glow.
Agosto stepped closer. "It looks different."
"Because it now carries the essence of the Gintong Asero," Flavio said. "Impact amplification. Forced penetration. Structural crushing." His tone sharpened with excitement. "Let us test it."
He motioned toward a reinforced door.
"Testing room."
They followed him inside.
The chamber was a massive simulation space, plated with myth-tech alloy and fitted with immersive projection pylons. Flavio keyed a sequence into the wall console.
A luminous construct materialized in the center of the arena.
An Echo-shaped silhouette.
But armored in God Armor plating—thick, radiant, impenetrable.
Marian's eyes widened slightly. "That is not standard training calibration."
"I customized it," Flavio said. "To match what you will eventually face."
Gregorio stepped forward.
His stance lowered.
Feet sliding into place.
Breathing steady.
"Kisap Mata," he murmured.
The room tightened around him. His body blurred. Aura condensed. The chamber lights dimmed as the Kamay ni Bathala's new hybrid resonance flickered in violet and gold.
Flavio lifted his hand. Try your "Godfist Strike". Fire when ready."
Gregorio thrust his fist forward.
"Godfist Strike!"
The world roared.
A violet-gold shockwave erupted from his fist, spiraling with concussive force. The air split apart. The Godfist Strike crossed the room like a cannon shell forged from pressure and rage.
It hit the armored Echo construct dead center.
The God Armor barrier cracked instantly.
A second pulse detonated from within—Gintong Asero's crushing resonance activating inside the Kamay's forcefist projectile.
The construct imploded.
Armor shards evaporated.
The echo core fractured.
The entire form disintegrated into pixels and dust.
Silence swept the chamber.
Agosto let out a low whistle.
Marian blinked once, stunned.
Renato muttered, "That should not be possible."
Flavio smiled, pride glinting in his expression.
"And that… is the power of Relic Synthesis."
Gregorio lowered his hand, stunned by the residual force humming through the Kamay.
Flavio tapped his console again and stepped back.
"End of demonstration," he said.
The Interim Repository
Joaquin stepped forward before the chamber lights could fully settle from the test.
"Listen up. Since God's Locker is still under occupation by the Ahas ng mga Lakan, the Mandirigma will serve as the temporary repository for every relic you retrieve."
The declaration was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.
He nodded once toward Guido.
"That is where he comes in."
Guido adjusted his tablet and stepped beside Joaquin with calm certainty. "I will handle the entire repository system. All deposits go through me."
He raised a hand, tapping the screen once.
"For deposits, I only need your Sandata Retrieval Report. The SRR lets me enter each relic into the official registry, track its status, validate its origin, and assign its classification."
He lowered the tablet slightly.
"For withdrawals, I require your Sandata Relic Clearance. Nothing else. If your SRC covers the relic's classification tier, you can check it out. If it does not, the system will not even let me open the storage vault."
Renato nodded. "Simple enough."
"Efficient," Guido corrected with a faint smile. "And airtight."
Flavio stepped forward next, folding his arms.
"One addendum. I am not limited to enhancing weapons." He tapped his tablet and brought up four schematics rotating in the air.
The Sandata Unit's Nano Myth-Tech Suits.
The Kabalyero ATV.
The Adarna.
And the Mandirigma itself.
"I can tune up and upgrade your Nano Myth-Tech Suits, the Kabalyero, your Adarna airship, and even the Mandirigma warship. Same rules. Same requirements. Same clearance. Same payment system."
Agosto blinked. "Wait, the Kabalyero too?"
"All myth-tech platforms respond to Echo Essences and Cores," Flavio said. "Your vehicles and suits operate using the same layered technologies that power relic systems. Their parameters can be increased. Their passive capabilities can be pushed further."
Gregorio narrowed his eyes. "What is the catch?"
Flavio sighed dramatically. "Manpower. Tuning a relic takes only me. Tuning a vehicle requires a full crew. Upgrading the Mandirigma? That needs a small army. And they all need to be compensated."
He held up his fingers in a slow count.
"Technicians. Engineers. Assembly teams. Resonance calibration units. Safety officers. Logistics. Parts. Tools. Testing crews."
Then he snapped the tablet shut.
"All of it costs money."
The Sandata Unit released a collective groan.
Marian rubbed her forehead.
Renato stared at the ceiling.
Agosto muttered a very tired "Of course it does."
Gregorio exhaled through his nose, resigned.
Joaquin raised one hand before any of them could complain further.
"Military funds," he said firmly. "Not your salaries. Not your personal accounts. The government is covering every enhancement tied to Project Sandata."
The four members let out their final relieved sigh of the day.
Joaquin nodded toward the chamber doors.
"That concludes today's briefing."
The relics pulsed faintly in agreement.
The Rising Echoes
Tokyo — Amakiri Residence
War banners snapped in the cold wind as the Ahas ng mga Lakan and the Orochi Group assembled across the courtyard. Rows of elite warriors filled the stone grounds, their formation stretching beneath the lantern-lit eaves of the ancestral estate.
Raja stood at the front, posture unshaken. Shinken Amakiri stepped beside him, Masamune drawn, its edge catching the moonlight with quiet malice.
Raja lifted his Haring Sawa and Pamana ni Lakan.
Shinken raised his sword.
A thunderous war cry erupted from the gathered army, shaking the tiled roofs and echoing across the district like the roar of an ancient beast.
The march for Kusanagi had begun.
The Balanghay — Open Pacific
Far from any shore, the Balanghay cut through dark waters with mythic grace. Its wooden hull gleamed with ritual sigils, untouched by the crashing waves.
At the helm, Commodore Juan Luciano of the Babaylan stared toward the horizon, silent and unwavering. The Babaylan Saints stood behind him, their presence heavy and wordless, eyes fixed on the unseen battle ahead.
Behind the Balanghay, an immense naval fleet followed in disciplined formation—destroyers, cruisers, and myth-tech carriers advancing like a storm front across the ocean.
They sailed toward the same prize.
Floating Fortress — New Malacañang
High above the drifting clouds, the Floating Fortress glowed with soft auric light. Tactical displays flickered across the walls of the command dais, each one tracking the factions already moving toward conflict.
Lakambini Reyes stood at the center of the chamber.
She watched the screens.
She watched the mobilization.
She watched the coming war draw its first breath.
A slow, knowing smile curved across her lips.
The world was tightening around Kusanagi.
And every power that mattered was already moving.