章 1: ONE HUNDRED YEAR CYCLE (PROLOGUE)
October 24, 2251
"Mr. Ernaiz?"
"Yes, Doc, how is my wife?" Tears welled up in the man's eyes, his voice trembling with worry. He clasped his hands together while waiting for the doctor's response.
The doctor shook his head, an indication that his wife had indeed passed away.
"I'm sorry, but Mrs. Ernaiz didn't make it. She wasn't able to survive the labor. She lost a lot of blood."
It was as if the world stopped for Rowan. He could hear nothing but the ringing in his own ears. Tears streamed abundantly from his eyes. The future he had envisioned with his whole family would no longer come to life due to the loss of his partner.
"... What about my child?"
"We were able to save the baby; she's in the Neonatal ICU and being observed. Nurse, please get him to his baby."
"Please follow me." The nurse said.
He's struggling to walk, his knees trembling and his shoulders heavy as he moved slowly.
"There's your baby." Pointed the nurse.
He approached the infant inside the incubator. He looked to it's small body. A mix of joy and sadness engulfed the father. He was happy that the baby was safe and he could see his child; yet, he felt sorrow because the baby would never see her mother.
If his understanding of things wasn't broad, he might have blamed the child for the loss of his wife. However, that wasn't the first thought that crossed his mind. He wanted to love and care for the child to the best of his ability; this was the only memory left of his beloved.
"Giana, my love... this is our baby... It's a shame you can't hold her as you always said to me. Don't worry, I'll take care of her. You did well, leave everything to me."
He gently touched the incubator's glass and uttered the baby's name.
"Iris..."
He gazed at the baby's face for a long time until tears threatened to fall again. However, he paused when he saw the baby's right hand. He leaned closer to the glass to get a clearer view of what was there. A small black mark, like a peculiar crescent resembling a moon. A black moon.
He gazed at it for a long time. It seemed like he had seen it somewhere before. He just wasn't sure.
He composed himself and prepared to leave the NICU. He was near the door when he suddenly felt a faint tremor that gradually intensified.
"Earthquake? ... what's happening?"
His first thought was to return to the location of the baby. The place was shaking violently, equipment was falling, and tables and chairs were shifting.
He crouched under a table and tried to reach his child. He needed to save her.
He could also hear the sounds of crashes, screams, and people running in the hospital. He grabbed a record file and placed it over his head. Slowly, he made his way to the incubator.
"Daddy's here now." He carefully pressed the button to lift the cover and took the baby out.
He cradled the baby securely in his arms and bravely ran out of the room.
The trembling didn't stop, and the lights began to flicker. The sound of crumbling concrete started as the earthquake intensifies.
People were in a panic, running to save themselves. They didn't care if they bumped into others as long as they could escape alive.
"Help! Please help me! Please!"
It was an old lady who got trapped under a falling wall and was asking for help. As Rowan walked by, she grabbed onto his pants and held onto his leg tightly.
"Help me, I don't want to die yet! My grandchild is waiting for me, I'm all she has left."
The man was torn whether to help the person in front of him. He didn't want to die either, and he had a baby with him. But ultimately, his kindness prevailed.
When a nurse ran past, he grabbed her arm and handed her the baby.
"Ms. Please, take my baby out of here. I'll just help the old lady. I'll meet you outside to get her, so please wait for me."
The nurse nodded anxiously, took the baby, and ran off again.
The man turned to the old lady and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she wasn't completely trapped. Only the left foot was pinned by the concrete. Perhaps out of extreme fear, the person couldn't move away.
"Grandma, I'll try to lift this then you quickly pull your foot out, okay."
"O... Okay."
"One, two, three!" With all his strength, he lifted the piece of concrete pinning the person's foot. The person was immensely grateful as they were finally able to stand up. He took the her arm and draped it over his shoulder, supporting them quickly but carefully.
After a few moments, they reached the stairs to go down and exit. However, many obstacles blocked their path, such as fallen walls and concrete.
"We're almost there." He supported the old woman, almost carrying her due to her being sluggish.
Many pieces of shattered glass were scattered everywhere, causing the man to injure his foot. He screamed and winced as he felt the shards piercing through his shoes.
Despite the pain from the wound, he still tried to guide the old woman until they reached the exit.
He breathed a sigh of relief when they finally made it out of the hospital. He was astonished to see the extensive damage caused by the earthquake.
He was grateful that the building they came from didn't collapse. Compared to neighboring establishments, it had minimal damage.
He approached the ambulances that were waiting.
"Grandma, you're safe now."
"Thank you... thank you very much, son. If it weren't for you, I might not have seen my grandchild."
"You're welcome." He replied. At that moment, he remembered the baby he gave to the nurse.
He scanned the area nervously, hoping to see the face of the person who received his child.
He felt like he was losing consciousness. His vision was getting blurry. In addition to his dizziness was the fear of not being able to find his child. After a while, his surroundings darkened completely. The noise in his ears also faded away.
He woke up lying on a hospital bed. Beside his bed was his sister, Reya.
"How are you feeling, brother?"
"I'm okay, just sore all over."
"Sorry about your wife."
"Where is she?"
"Her family took care of the funeral. The doctors said you can be discharged now."
"Our child..." Tears that he was trying hard to hold back started to fall.
"He's safe. When they saw you passed out, they put you in the rescue mobile, and the nurse you entrusted the baby to was also there."
A glimmer of hope shone on the man's face upon hearing his sister's words. He had thought he would lose two important people.
News from the television:
Search and rescue operations are still ongoing for those buried and killed in the recent magnitude 7 earthquake in the country, one day after the disaster. The total number of deaths has reached 300 in various parts of Manila, which was also the epicenter of the earthquake.
"I still can't believe what happened."
"Don't think too much for now. Give yourself time to rest."
"Iris seems to be lucky."
"Who? Is that your baby's name? ... cute, but it sounds more like a girl's name?"
"Why? My child is a girl." Rowan asked his sister in confusion.
"Brother? Are you sure? Because the nurse returned a baby boy to you."
"Huh? That's impossible!" The man's breathing quickened, unable to fully understand everything. He knew that he and his wife were expecting a baby girl. How could the nurse give them a baby boy?
"Brother, calm down... Let's check on the baby, okay? Maybe you just saw wrong."
"How could I be wrong? I've been with Giana for every check-up. I saw her ultrasounds and even saw and held our child before the earthquake."
"Ok... Ok... Do you have any distinctive feature of your child that you remember?"
The man recalled the baby's skin.
"Y-yes, he has a black mark on his right hand, almost like a crescent moon."
The sibling approached him and showed him her cellphone.
"Is this it? I took a picture of it. I was surprised."
"I want to see the baby."
They went to the baby in the NICU. Rowan's head felt like it was about to explode when he saw the baby boy in the incubator, the same baby he held before the tragedy. Surprise, wonder, and confusion dominated his mind. How could his child, whom he knew was a girl, suddenly become a boy? Was he being played with?
"But..."
"Brother, maybe you just need some rest. That clearly is your son."
Two weeks had passed, and Rowan's wife was finally laid to rest. He was slowly getting back to normal life with his child. He was packing away his late wife's belongings when the mystery surrounding his child resurfaced in his mind.
He was certain that their child with Giana was a girl. He checked his wife's medical and ultrasound records again. He was taken aback to find out that even in the records, the gender of their child was male.
He took a deep breath and shook his head. Perhaps he was just playing tricks on himself, he thought. Maybe he needed to consult a psychiatrist. Perhaps he was experiencing PTSD from what had happened to him.
But one thing he was sure of... their child was a girl, but he needed to accept that it was different from the reality confronting him now. Perhaps he would bury that idea.
Every hundred years, a child of Sidara, the god of death, is born. It is uncertain whether there is only one living child of the god, but there is one sign in the infant that inherits his power. It is a mark of a black moon that can be found on any part of the baby's body.
Rowan closed his laptop upon hearing the baby cry. He couldn't believe what he read on the internet. He made an effort to find out what mark his child really had, and that's where he found that article.
"Shhh... Daddy's here now. Don't cry." He cradled the baby and then fed him from the bottle. He was starting to get the hang of caring for the baby. If only his wife were by his side, he wouldn't be struggling as much. Fortunately, Reya would come over to their house to take care of Iris from time to time.
"Hey bro, when are you going back to work?" The sibling asked.
"Maybe in a month. Can you help me find someone to look after Iris?"
"Perfect timing! My husband's cousin is looking for a job. She also has experience in taking care of children."
"Alright, have her come over next week so I can talk to her. Thank you."
Rowan talked to the caregiver. Finally, he would be able to return to work.
"Ana, you will be in charge of the baby. I'm usually home by seven in the evening. All his things are in the drawer in the room. In case of an emergency, my number is pinned on the fridge, as well as Reya's."
"Yes, sir." The nanny nodded.
Rowan arrived early at the office when he was suddenly called by their News Assignment Editor.
"Ro, welcome back. I'm sorry about your wife. How's it going?"
"It's okay." He replied curtly.
"Well, do you need a warm-up?" Adele, his colleague handed him a bottle of iced coffee with a smile.
"Yes, I've forgotten how to do my job because of everything that happened." He answered.
"I have news for you to cover. It's about the mysterious death of a man in Bulacan."
"That's a nice welcome for me. Covering a death right away." He said with a smile.
"You have your partner with you. I know you missed him."
"What do you mean by a mysterious death?"
"Well, from my initial scan of the story outline, the man reportedly died without any wounds on his body, but all his internal organs turned to ash."
Rowan shook his head and checked his watch. He nodded and pointed to it, signaling her to send him the details.
"Sent. Go to Andy's cubicle and give him a hi."
"What else did he say about the woman?"
"He said the woman had a black moon mark on her hand."
"A... A black moon mark on her hand?" Rowan couldn't believe what he heard. The mark on his child immediately came to his mind. He almost held his breath, frozen in place.
"Pre? What's happening to you?" His friend nudged him.
"Ah... Nothing, I just remembered something."
"What happened to my husband cannot be solved. I know it's not ordinary. So please... Don't spread it any further. We just want to mourn his loss in peace."
The friends nodded. They noted what they heard based on their agreement with the woman and bid her farewell.
"Alright, we'll leave now. Thank you for your time. Our condolences once again for what happened to your husband."
The woman simply nodded. They walked out and got back into the van. Before Andy started the vehicle, he spoke up.
"We didn't really get much from that interview. They also didn't want to release the story of what happened to her husband to the media. Hey! Are you even listening?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Let's just tell Adele that we can't write it." Rowan replied.
Andy started the vehicle, and Rowan lazily leaned against the window when he suddenly noticed something outside the Asuncion's house. His eyes squinted as he tried to make out the image he saw.
"Hey, do you see that?" He pointed to the house they just came from.
"What?"
"There's a person? Dressed in black? In front of their door!"
"Where? I don't see anyone."
Rowan aggressively opened the car door, got out, and quickly approached the door he pointed to. His friend followed and grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Are you really okay? There's no one there. I didn't see anyone." Andy quickly said. The friend fell silent and walked back to the car. In the last moment, he glanced at the door but there was no one there. Andy also got back in and drove off.
They remained silent until Andy dropped Rowan off at his house.
"Maybe you should get some rest. I should go now, see you tomorrow at the office." His friend bid goodbye.
He just nodded and then walked into the house. As he approached the door, he glanced to his right when he felt he wasn't alone. His suspicion was confirmed as he quickly saw a strange woman in a black hooded cloak standing in front of him.
"W... Who are you?"
"I just want to see the child..."
He firmly gripped the door handle and spoke up.
"What child? There's no child here."
"Don't deny it. I know the truth even if you lie."
The woman raised her left hand, revealing the mark of the black moon.
"That child is just like me. He cannot escape his fate."
Fear and surprise overwhelmed Rowan's entire being, but he tried to gather courage to speak to the woman.
"My child is normal. What are you talking about?"
The woman smiled and said, "It's okay if you don't want to show him to me now. We will meet again inevitably. He will seek me out."
In an instant, the woman disappeared, leaving behind a trace of ash where she stood moments ago.
Rowan was left standing in shock. The woman's words echoed in his mind:
"We will meet again inevitably. He will seek me out."
クリエイターの想い 
BloodMoonCry
BloodMoonCry Hi, I'm a bit struggling in translating this story in English. I'm not that good at it but I'm trying my best. Please bear with me as I edit some parts of this chapter. Thank you.
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