Chapter 3: Temple in the Jungle

The jungle groaned with life.

Felicita wiped sweat from her brow as she trudged behind Amihan, who moved effortlessly through the thick undergrowth. Sunlight filtered through towering ferns and ancient trees, casting flickering shadows across the muddy path. Their journey to the Temple of Rajah Sulayman had begun at dawn, and by midday, they were deep in unfamiliar terrain.

The air was thick with humidity. Somewhere above, a monkey shrieked. Below her boots, the ground squelched with each step.

Felicita adjusted the straps of her backpack. It now contained supplies she had bought through the Wondrous Market of All Things: energy bars, a portable water filter, bug spray, a collapsible machete, and—after some convincing from Amihan—a modern compass enchanted to glow in the dark.

“Are you sure we’re not lost?” she called.

Amihan didn’t stop walking. “We are following the river’s spine. The temple lies where it bends into the shape of a serpent’s tongue. We are close.”

Felicita looked down at the wide river flowing beside them. “And what happens when we get there?”

“We find the Shield of Truth—the first relic,” he replied. “But be warned. The temple is cursed. It has swallowed many warriors before us.”

“Great,” she muttered. “Why is it always curses?”

---

By late afternoon, the river took a sharp curve, just as Amihan had said. The shape was unmistakable—a forked split like a serpent’s tongue. Across the bend, half-submerged in vines and moss, rose the temple.

It was massive.

Made of black volcanic stone, the structure seemed to grow from the jungle itself. Ivy draped over its spires. Baybayin inscriptions covered every surface—glowing faintly even in daylight. At the top was a flat terrace, cracked and crumbling, with a weathered statue of Rajah Sulayman standing guard.

Felicita’s breath caught. “It’s beautiful… and terrifying.”

“It’s older than any kingdom,” Amihan said quietly. “And far more dangerous.”

They crossed the river using a fallen tree as a makeshift bridge. The moment Felicita stepped onto the temple’s mossy platform, the necklace around her neck vibrated.

She pulled out her phone.

> THE WONDROUS MARKET OF ALL THINGS

➤ Relic Location Detected

➤ Warning: High Magical Interference

➤ Market access: Temporarily disrupted

“What?” She tapped the screen, but it flickered erratically. “The signal’s gone.”

Amihan glanced at the gem on her necklace. “The temple is protected. Nothing outside these walls can reach us now.”

“No more deliveries?” she asked, dismayed.

“Not until we leave,” he confirmed.

Felicita sighed. “So much for instant noodles.”

---

The entrance was a massive stone arch, sealed shut with three rotating rings carved with baybayin glyphs. At its center was an indentation shaped like a hand.

Amihan stepped forward, examining it. “A puzzle gate.”

Felicita stepped beside him. “Can you read this?”

“I can try,” he said. “The rings are part of a riddle. Look.”

He pointed to a phrase carved above the archway:

"Sa gitna ng kasinungalingan, anong hindi mo maitatago?"

In the midst of lies, what can never be hidden?

Felicita stared at it. “That’s… truth, right?”

Amihan nodded. “Katotohanan.”

They took turns rotating the rings. One glyph at a time, they aligned the letters in baybayin until the word “KATOTOHANAN” formed across the rings.

Then Felicita hesitated.

“I think… I need to place my hand here.”

“Are you sure?”

“No,” she admitted, “but the necklace hasn’t started burning yet, so…”

She placed her palm into the stone impression.

A hum resonated from deep within the temple walls. The rings glowed. With a grinding groan, the doors split open.

Darkness lay beyond.

---

Inside, the air was cool and dry. Dust motes danced in beams of faint magical light that pulsed from the walls like a heartbeat. Felicita and Amihan moved cautiously through a narrow corridor, their footsteps echoing.

Soon they reached a circular chamber.

In its center floated a golden shield—ornate, inlaid with red and blue gemstones, the Shield of Truth. It hovered above a pedestal, untouched by time.

Felicita’s breath caught.

But before she could move closer, a voice boomed through the chamber.

TO CLAIM TRUTH, YOU MUST STAND IN YOUR OWN.

The room changed.

Walls shimmered. The pedestal and the shield vanished. Felicita blinked—and suddenly, she was standing alone. The jungle was gone. Amihan was gone.

She was back in Cebu.

Or at least… a version of it.

Her old school stood in front of her. Students moved around, laughing. It was a memory—familiar and not.

She was in her school uniform. She held a test paper in her hands. Her math quiz. The one she had cheated on.

“No,” she whispered. “This isn’t real.”

The voice returned.

> “Even a white lie stains the soul.”

“No one even got hurt,” she said aloud. “It was one answer. One time.”

> “One time becomes many. Can you face yourself?”

She looked down.

In her hands was not the test paper—but a mirror.

Her reflection stared back at her. And then it spoke.

“You pretend to be perfect. But you hate the pressure. You envy your friends. You wish your family asked less of you.”

“Stop it.”

“You hide behind your grades and your kindness. But you’re afraid. Afraid to fail. Afraid to be ordinary.”

Felicita closed her eyes. “I am afraid. But I’m still trying.”

Silence.

When she opened her eyes, she was back in the chamber. The shield now floated before her again.

Amihan was beside her, panting, wide-eyed.

“You were gone,” he said. “You vanished!”

“I think… I was tested,” she murmured.

She stepped forward and touched the shield.

It was solid, warm. As her fingers closed around it, light filled the chamber. The shield pulsed once, then shrank—transforming into a glowing golden tattoo on her forearm.

The first relic had chosen her.

> RELIC ACQUIRED: Shield of Truth

Increases resistance to deception and illusion. Can reflect magical attacks. Activated by intent and danger.

Her phone buzzed again. The market had returned.

> Welcome back, Felicita Reyes.

➤ Credits: 58 grams gold

➤ New Category Unlocked: Relic Enhancements

---

They exited the temple as dusk settled over the jungle. Felicita glanced back one last time.

“So that’s one down,” she said. “Two more to go.”

Amihan nodded. “And each harder than the last.”

They crossed the river in silence, both thinking of what lay ahead.

“Amihan?” she asked, once they were back on the path.

“Yes?”

“When you said you swore an oath… to protect the realm. Why?”

He hesitated. “Because my father died failing to protect it. From Yla.”

Felicita looked at him. “You’ve met her?”

“I was seven,” he said, voice low. “She came to our village seeking the necklace. We didn’t have it, but my father stood in her way. She turned him to ash. Right in front of me.”

Felicita’s stomach clenched. “I’m sorry.”

“She’ll come again,” he said. “When she learns you’re here, and that you’ve started the relic path.”

“I’m not going to run,” she said firmly.

Amihan gave her a long look, then offered a small, respectful nod. “Good.”

As night fell and the jungle sang its ancient songs, Felicita felt the relic burn softly beneath her skin—a reminder of the truth she had faced, and the long road still ahead.

---

End of Chapter 3

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