Research consumed the following days.
Kim dug through every folklore text she could find. Luningning contacted creature communities worldwide. Even the Department contributed what little they knew.
The Ibwa, they learned, was legendary even among aswangs.
"She's supposed to be the first," Kim explained, spreading documents across the table. "The original Manananggal. According to some stories, she existed before the Spanish arrived—before any records. She's thousands of years old."
"And she turned me? Why?"
"That's the question." Kim pulled up an ancient text. "This mentions a prophecy—similar to the one Lolo Bencio described. About a Manananggal who would unite creatures and humans. But there's another version. A darker version."
She read aloud:
"When the Uniter rises, the First shall fall. Unless the First consumes the Uniter and takes her power for herself."
Glad's blood ran cold. "She wants to eat me."
"Not eat. Consume. Absorb. Take your power, your influence, everything you've built." Kim looked grim. "If she succeeds, she becomes the Uniter instead. But with her nature—ancient, predatory, ruthless—it would be a disaster. She'd unite creatures, yes. To conquer humans."
"A war. She wants to start a war."
"Exactly."
That night, Glad couldn't sleep.
She sat on her balcony, Anino—still in cat form—curled beside her.
"All this time," she whispered, "I thought I was just an accidental celebrity. But I've been marked since 1851. Targeted. Watched."
Anino nuzzled her hand.
"You knew. All these years, you knew."
A nod.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
A long look. Then Anino shifted—not fully, but enough to speak in that rumbling voice.
"Because you weren't ready. Because knowing too early would have consumed you. You would have hidden deeper, run farther. You wouldn't have built what you've built." He paused. "And you needed to build it, Gladys. The community, the alliances, the love. That's what will save you. Not hiding. Not running. Connection."
"But if she's coming—"
"She's coming. But you're not alone anymore." He gestured at the city below. "Look at what you've created. Thousands of creatures who believe in you. Humans who support you. A partner who loves you. That's power, Gladys. That's the power she fears."
Glad looked at Dumaguete—her city, her home, her people.
"Then we fight," she said quietly. "Together."
Anino purred.
Together.