The Twilight glides over the waters that serve as the veil between the world of the living and the realm of the dead. The crew of the ethereal ship offered roses to the fallen crew members, and photos of Greg Robles and Mario Martinez were displayed at the bow. The entire crew wore their formal uniforms and stood in formation. Trumpets and bugles playing 'Taps' on the side.
Chief Officer Bustamante led the procession; he was the first to offer a rose to the fallen. The waters of the Kasanaan River eagerly accepted the tributes; the waves looked like hands gently catching the roses, taking them within themselves. Chris did not join the tribute; he watched everything from the observation deck, his black captain's jacket swaying wildly with the wind.
Cecilia was miraculously recovering from her injuries. After offering a rose, she looked up and saw Chris standing stoically, observing everything. Despite the distance, she could see his hands trembling as he held on to the rails.
Without thinking, she made her way to the observation deck. When she reached the top, she gently approached him. She held his hand and gently leaned on his shoulders. "Are you okay?"
What he said broke her heart: "It's my fault they're gone." His voice trembled; it was threatening to break. "Had I been a better Captain, they would still have the chance to reincarnate, to be born again, to live again."
"It's not your fault…Captain," she tried to console the stern heart, "If it wasn't for you, if it wasn't for your leadership…more souls would have been lost."
"She's right, you know," Triple-A said, interrupting the two. "It is not your fault, and rest assured, we appreciate all you did to save these souls."
"Well, I could have done more!" Chris charged at the angel, "I didn't want to save a lot of souls…I wanted to save all of them!"
"Chris, there is nothing more we could do for Martinez and the other," Triple-A began to explain, "But for this poor soul, you can help her. You can make a difference."
"A mission? You are giving me a mission?" Chris could not believe the audacity of the angel, of all the times to present him with a task, why would it be now? "We had barely enough time to mourn those we had lost, and now you are giving me a mission?"
"This poor soul is running out of time, Chris, if we don't help it soon, I fear it will be too late," Triple-A explained. He then turned to Cecilia. "My dear, this poor soul is running out of time; she was bound to Balete Drive almost thirteen years ago, and her essence is being slowly absorbed by the demon that dwells in that area. If we delay any longer, there will be nothing left of her to save."
Cecilia turns to Chris to plead with his humanity, with his compassion, "You heard him, Captain, we need to help this ghost, before she ebbs away."
"Us?" he rushes to Cecilia, frightening her. "All you care about is herding these spirits so you can feel better about yourself! It's not my fault, everyone in your family died!"
Cecilia's anger bubbled over; she gritted her teeth, she glared at Chris, and in one fluid motion, she slapped him. His face sharply whipped from the force of her hand, and he turned towards her, but his glare vanished when he saw the tears flowing from her eyes. "How dare you? Just when I thought you had a heart, it is clear to me now, it turned to dust long ago. Don't you ever dare come near me again."
Cecilia ran away sobbing. Triple-A glared at Chris. "How could you break her heart? After all she's been through," The archangel then followed the crying human. Chris rubbed the cheek that Cecilia had hit and followed her with his eyes.
Triple-A found Cecilia at the ship's aft, huddled in a corner, crying, "Are you alright, child?" He sat beside the human, wanting to console her. "I hope you don't take what Chris said to heart; he is actually a good person."
"Why does he have to be such an asshole?" Cecilia said in between sobs. "Why did I ever think someone like him could ever learn something as basic as kindness? Who he was when I first met him is his true self."
"What he said was harsh and hurtful, but please don't judge him so harshly, child. If you walked the path he walked, lost those he lost, and experienced the pain he had to endure, you might not think differently than him." The angel explained to the human.
Cecilia turns to Triple-A. "May I ask you, why did he end up as the captain of the Twilight?"
The archangel sighed, "I guess it is only right that you know the origin of his curse." Triple-A stood up, leaned on the rails, and glanced at the Kasanaan. Cecilia followed suit. "It was in these very waters that the curse was cast."
"Pelagius was a fisherman from ancient Greece all those centuries ago. He lived most of his life alone and in poverty. Then one day he fell in love with a merchant's daughter, the girl loved him back, and they married. For a while, Pelagius had all he wanted in life: a family and riches." He paused and looked at Cecilia. "But life was not kind to him. On the eve of his child's birth, A storm hits the fishing coasts and he died at sea."
"Pelagius grieved for the death of the happiness he had only held for a while and eventually lost. Aboard the raft of Charon, the ferryman, they arrived in the Elysian fields, or what is known in your culture as Kaginhawaan. He was about to disembark when he noticed Charon was distracted. He took advantage of the distraction and pushed Charon overboard. He braved the waters of the River Styx and paddled back to the mortal realm. Styx, that was the old name of the Kasanaan," Triple-A paused to pick up a rose and offered it to the river.
"But the moment he stepped into the land of the living, angels, the guardians of cosmic balance, caught him. They bound his hands and feet to the raft, and as punishment, he was tasked to carry the souls of the dead to the world of the dead for two hundred years."
"Pelagius had to endure the pain of ferrying his wife, his child, and all those he loved. But at the end of his sentence, he showed no remorse for what he had done. Thus, he angered the old gods and incurred their judgment. They let the barge consume his soul, and then, they cursed his bloodline. Every two hundred years, one of his male descendants would follow in his fate; they would serve and be judged. Freedom or Damnation, that's what awaits the captain of the barge of the dead."
"For twenty millennia, Chris's ancestors traveled the seven continents in hopes they would find a haven where the curse would not follow them. But they forgot that where there is life, there is death, and thus the barge of the dead will always find them and claim it's new captain." Triple-A concluded.