The earthquake finally stopped.

“See? Things will turn around,” Topher said, hopeful.

“Let’s rest for a while in that chamber,” Topher suggested, guiding Benjamin ahead.

The chamber was dim and small, more suited for an intimate gathering.

“I still have a chocolate bar with me. I always bring one for emergencies. Let’s share it,” Topher said, breaking the bar in half and handing a piece to Benjamin.

“Thank you. It’s delicious, but too sweet for my health. You know, blood sugar and cavities. I eat sweets sparingly,” Benjamin said, falling back on his health-conscious habits.

Kuya Benjamin was comfortably expressing himself. That’s good. Topher was happy that he managed to brighten the room.

Suddenly, powder blue sparkling smoke emerged from the ground, surprising Topher and alarming Benjamin. The boy quickly stood up, pulling his younger cousin close to protect him.

“These Luminaries… they look like the ones from the board,” Benjamin immediately noticed, having an eye for small details.

“The prophecy – the Seven Luminaries will seek the Seven Acolytes. That Cosmic Cataclysm, the earthquake, our escape… everything is happening as foretold,” Topher wisely connected the dots.

The two Luminaries began to move rapidly around the cousins.

This is hopeless. We’re cornered, Benjamin thought to himself, acknowledging the harsh reality.

“I’m sorry. I failed to keep my promise… to keep you safe,” Benjamin said, teary-eyed. “But trust these words—I’ll be with you till the end.” He kneeled and hugged Topher tightly.

I still believe in you, my little friend, Topher kept the faith that, despite how dire things seemed, everything happening served a greater, noble purpose.

In a flash, Benjamin’s eyes glowed cyan. He was suspended in midair, thrown back by force. His eyeglasses were dislodged, and the right lens shattered into small shards. Holographic widgets containing data and information from the World Wide Web appeared around him, possibly interactive. Cyan lasers shot out from various angles.

A titanium contraption, partly cobalt blue, began to sprawl around Benjamin, forming from nano-molecules akin to nanotechnology.

Meanwhile, above him, Topher’s head was adorned with a warm white, white-golden halo whose light rays spread in all directions. His eyes glowed warm white, and a pair of large angelic wings grew from his back. A gust of sparkling feathers filled the air. Time seemed to freeze in the cavern, which had only moments ago been a simple chamber room.

3 DAYS LATER

It was morning, and the sun was bright and hot in the fields. Michael lay on the ground, unconscious. On the horizon, rescuers and the families approached.

“There’s a boy,” one rescuer called out.

“That’s Michael!” Uncle Ronald positively identified his nephew.

Ronald led the rescuers to Michael. Grandparents Al and Emily followed closely behind.

“My Apo, what happened to you?” Granny Emily cried, caressing the boy’s face.

Grandpa Al comforted his wife, Emily. Michael’s parents, Martha and Greg, arrived, emotions swelling within them.

“Where are James, Sophie, and Benjamin?” Martha asked, anxiously searching for her other children.

“They may be nearby, in the vicinity,” a rescuer suggested.

Mary clung tenderly to her mother, Martha, gazing worriedly at her older brother, Michael.

“We need to continue the search,” Aunt Ellie urged Martha and Greg. Ansel stood by his wife’s side.

“It’s better if Inay and Itay stay with Michael. They can attend to him, and they’re too old to go much farther,” Ansel suggested a practical solution.

“Anak, stay with Lola and Lolo for a while as we look for your brothers and sister,” Martha instructed Mary.

“Opo, Nanay,” Mary obediently replied.

“I will take care of Mary and watch over Inay, Itay, and Michael,” Ronald assured them, taking charge.

“Let’s go, Martha,” Greg said, gently taking his wife’s hand as they walked forward.

Ellie and Ansel followed, along with the rescuers.

Grandma Emily cradled Michael in her lap, with Grandpa Al beside her on the ground. Uncle Ronald held Mary as they all looked over Michael. Some rescuers stayed behind to stand guard in the field.

“These are faint footprints. The trail is broken, but we can work with it,” the leader of the rescue team examined the path across the grass.

“It’s a miracle, considering the heavy rainstorm a few days ago,” one of the rescuers commented.

The rescuers and families followed the trail, and after some time, they found themselves in front of a cave entrance.

“The kids must have ventured inside,” the team leader informed the parents. “We’ll continue our search inside.”

At the entrance, James was immediately visible to the search party, lying on his stomach with his head turned sideways.

“James, Anak!” Martha cried as she rushed toward her eldest son. Greg followed closely behind.

Martha and Greg were tearfully reunited with their unconscious son.

“Ma’am, do you confirm the identity of this lad?” a rescuer asked.

“Yes, he is my nephew, Jameson Pangilinan,” Ellie answered matter-of-factly.

“Martha, Kuya Greg, you can leave James to us. Ansel and I will take care of him,” Ellie assured the boy’s parents.

“Go on, find your other children—Sophie and Benjamin,” Ansel urged Martha and Greg, reminding them that their search was not yet over.

Martha and Greg rejoined the other families and rescue team, leaving James in the care of Ellie and Ansel, along with a few accompanying rescuers.

“Oh my God, what has happened to you, James? And to your cousins?” Ellie whispered as she cradled the boy on her lap, wondering what they had gone through.

Ansel comforted the visibly distressed Ellie.

The search party soon reached a large cavern where they found three girls.

Sophie was lying on the ground, dirtied, with a smear of dried blood on her right forehead.

“My poor daughter, you’re hurt,” Greg sobbed at the sight of the blood.

Martha knelt by her side, sinking into her own sadness as she held Sophie.

“Your daughter needs immediate medical attention. It looks like she suffered a head injury. It’s been three days since the kids went missing, correct?” the paramedic assessed Sophie’s condition, recommending swift action.

“We’ll transport her to the nearest hospital,” another paramedic informed Greg and Martha.

“It’s alright, Greg. You and Martha should go with Sophie to the hospital. I promise I’ll bring Benjamin back,” Selena volunteered, assuring them she’d continue the search.

“Thank you so much, Ate. My wife and I are forever indebted to you,” Greg said, expressing heartfelt gratitude to his eldest sister.

The paramedics lifted Sophie onto a stretcher, with her parents, Martha and Greg, accompanying her as they left the cavern.

Roanne was discovered atop a large boulder in the middle of the cavern. A rescuer helped Carlota, her mother, climb up, followed by her worried father, Carding. Roel, the eldest son of the Mallari family, trailed behind them.

“Anak, Nanay is here. You don’t have to be alone anymore,” Carlota tearfully called to her unconscious daughter.

“Anak, Tatay is here too, along with Kuya Roel,” Carding gently touched Roanne’s hair.

Roel gazed at his sister’s unconscious form, her shawl still draped over her shoulders. Fighting back tears, he looked away, trying to stay composed.

“Where are you, Allison?” Thalia muttered to herself, fidgeting with growing nervousness as her patience wore thin. She was searching around the large boulder.

“Madam, Allison is there,” Morissette, the Sevillas’ maid, was the first to spot her.

“Where?” Eric immediately asked.

Morissette led Allison’s parents—her mother Thalia and father Eric—around the boulder. Allison was seated, leaning back against a rock, her hair disheveled. She, too, was unconscious, hidden behind a row of boulders near the cavern wall.

“Allison!” Thalia cried as she ran to her daughter.

“What happened to you?” Thalia asked desperately, though knowing her daughter couldn’t respond. “Anak, of all the things you and your cousins could have done, why did it have to be caving?” she questioned tearfully, her tone a mixture of scolding and sadness.

“Allison, stay with me—stay with Dad. This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t been distracted, flirting with that Carlisle,” Eric added, then turned his anger toward Morissette.

“I’m so sorry, Sir. This won’t happen again,” Morissette pleaded, desperately promising to avoid such mistakes in the future.

“There’ll be no next time if Allison doesn’t wake up.” Eric threatened Morissette again, making it clear that her job was on the line.

The Kennedys—patriarch Bill, matriarch Selena, and the family butler Carlisle—along with the rescue team, crossed a shallow stream of groundwater on their search. But the greatest obstacle was still ahead.

“From the looks of these piled-up boulders, it’s safe to say there’s been a cave-in,” the rescue leader observed.

“This is a dead end. We have no other way through or around,” the second-in-command bluntly stated.

“Then we need to find another way. ‘If there’s a will, there’s a way,’ as they say,” the rescue leader responded, not one to give up easily.

The Kennedys and the rescue team returned to the surface. The grasses were as green as hope, but the hope of finding Topher and Benjamin seemed to fade as the winds blew.

On the horizon, a German Shepherd puppy appeared.

“Woof, woof, woof,” the tan-and-black puppy barked.

Selena felt an inexplicable pull toward the dog.

“Just ignore the pup,” the second-in-command muttered dismissively.

“Woof, woof, woof…” The puppy barked again, more insistent.

“We need to follow the dog,” Selena said, trusting her instincts.

“Ma’am, I’m glad we share the same hunch. Team, let’s follow the puppy!” The rescue leader agreed, instructing his men to move.

“But sir, this is ridiculous,” the second-in-command objected.

“No buts! Get moving!” the leader shot back.

The search party followed the puppy until they arrived at a large sinkhole.

“This is it, men. Prepare the ropes—we’re going down,” the rescue leader ordered.

“How did that dog know there was a sinkhole here?” the second-in-command asked, stunned.

A rescuer, tied to a rope, descended into the pit, followed by more men.

“Affirmative, the boys are down here,” one rescuer confirmed over the walkie-talkie.

Topher and Benjamin were both unconscious. Topher’s feet pointed to the left, while Benjamin’s were to the right, their heads meeting in the center.

“Sir, I’ll take the smaller one first—he’ll be easier to lift,” the rescuer radioed.

The rescuer strapped Topher to himself, and the two were pulled back up to the surface. The boy was gently laid on the ground.

“Anak, you’re safe!” Selena rushed to her son, hugging him tightly.

Bill joined them, embracing both his son and wife.

The rescuer went back down for Benjamin, and soon the two were lifted to safety. Benjamin was reunited with his family.

“You had it rough, didn’t you?” Carlisle said to Benjamin. “But it’s all over now, bro,” he added, attending to the lad.