“A bullet may have shattered your skull, but your ideas in turn crushed and brought down an Empire.”

  —Cecilio Apostol, about Jose Rizal

  The noon sun was brutal, pressing down on me like a final baptism in fire. An eagle soared high above Tundun, wings slicing through thick, dusty air. I wondered if it knew what was about to unfold, did it sense the tension gripping the streets? The things about to happen? The crowd was waiting. Plaza Nuevo, and its dry, dust-choked, road was packed tight with people. Their faces twisted with anticipation, anger, and something that made my gut twist… hatred. These same people who’d once cheered for me, whispered my name with admiration, now spat it out like a curse.

  Boots stomped the ground around me like a grim drumbeat driving me forward to my final destination. Flanked by Iberian soldiers in gleaming uniforms, rifles primed, I walked towards my fate. Fear should’ve gripped me by now, but that feeling had abandoned me days ago, and so instead, my thoughts drifted.

  “Ma-i, my beloved Motherland... my only witness, the only one who knows my innocence.” My voice was soft, lost beneath the roars.

  Hands flung rotten fruit, scraps, some hitting my face, others smacking into my shoulders. But none of that hurt as much as their words.

  “YOU FUCKING MONSTER!”

  “YOU DESERVE THIS!”

  “DIE!”

  I'd once sparked hope within them. My words had set their spirits ablaze, made them dream for a better life, a Ma-I that is not under Iberian yoke. But now… those very words sealed my doom. It wasn't just my writings tho. These colonizers had branded me with something much worse—a crime vile enough that even those who might've defended me now turned away in disgust. They’re framing me with the gruesome murder of five women. The accusations still burned in my chest, but truth didn't matter if faced against an empire's will.

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  The drums behind me kept pounding, each strike an echo the beating in my chest. Like a clock ticking away the last seconds of my life. Through the main street of the Capital city Nilad, carriages rolled by, halting upon seeing my procession, like witnessing a parade during a festival. Among the shouting faces, I spotted them, villagers from the outskirts of Tundun, hands pressed together, eyes brimming with sorrow while flooded with tears. To them, I was still a hero… perhaps the last they'd ever know.

  Upon reaching the heart of Plaza Nuevo, two Agta stood like stone giants, unmoving and silent. Their mere presence quieted the chaos, the crowd instinctively pulling back. A gust swept the plaza, rustling the clouds. A shadow passed, and for a second, I imagined hearing my mother’s voice again. What if I'd listened to her? Stayed quiet, bowed my head like a good dog in front of its masters? What if I just accepted Iberian dominance?

  No… that had never really been a choice.

  Jeers rose louder as soldiers forced back the crowd, muskets aimed and ready for anyone who will try to interfere. Atop the execution platform, the Governor-General stood proud. His pale skin stark against the Tunduvan crowd. Colonel Yizmael Sandoval, the man relishing this moment.

  Rain began softly, cool droplets blending with sweat and dust on my skin. Maybe a blessing… or a dirge.

  “Ma-i… I wanted to see your children stand united as we once did,” I murmured, my voice cracking slightly.

  The wooden steps creaked beneath my feet. The Agta remained to stand like unmoving sentinels. The noose scratched my neck, coarse and harsh. I remembered the night when Kario Sakay, Penumbra’s leader visited me and asked my permission to break me out of prison… what if I agreed with him?

  Sandoval’s voice boomed, hammering through the crowd, breaking my thoughts. “SIMON LARIZ! Enemy of the Empire, rebel, and worst of all... a TERRORIST! Poison corrupting Tundun’s youth!”

  Cheers erupted. His smile widened cruelly. “You threatened Tundun’s peace, its life under our Emperor’s gracious rule! But worse…” mock sorrow dripped from his voice, “you stole five innocent Tunduvan lives, and with them, Tundun’s very future. For this, you will pay!"

  I closed my eyes. Didn't need to hear the rest, the sentence was already set.

  "Kan-Laon," I whispered, barely audible. "If you're there, if mother was right about you... hear this one prayer." Clouds shifted, allowing a sliver ray of sunlight through my face. "Save my motherland… awaken my people. Unite them once more. This is my first prayer, and my last."

  Sandoval nodded and the executioner stepped forward. The lever jerked.

  The floor disappeared.

  Pain surged, crushing my throat. Legs kicking, hands clawing behind my back, my body fought instinctively. I heard them… their cheers, their celebration, their victory chants. I tried to open my eyes… and then I saw her…