[Manila — Earth — 5:34 p.m. — 2051]
(Earth Feed Rebooted: Flavor Network Broadcast)
The hologram of Arin Sol flashes across Manila again.
"WE'RE BACK! COOKING TO SAVE TASTE ITSELF!"
Every TV, tricycle radio, and sari-sari hologlass flares to life.
Lira facepalms on live broadcast.
Manny is already oiling his gloves like they're frying pans.
And beside them—
a guy no one on Earth has ever seen before, holding a plate with absolute confidence.
Enter: Ewan, the new recruit from the Flavor Network Earth Internship Lottery.
(He didn't apply. His neighbor applied for him.)
Announcer Droid booms:
"ROUND ONE — REPAY THE FLAVOR DEBT.
INGREDIENT TARGET: THE LECHON CORE OF PLANET CHICHARONA.
WARNING: OBJECT IS UNDER ACTIVE ROAST."
THE ASCENT
Their ship approaches a planet shaped exactly like a spinning roasted pig—
an entire world rotating on a spit over magma vents.
Clouds of steam rise from oceans of sarsa.
Lira gags.
"It smells like fiesta and cholesterol."
Arin, glowing:
"So… heaven."
Manny squints.
"Where's the Core?"
Ewan lifts his plate like he's testing the wind.
"Probably inside the crispy part. Just saying."
Lira stares.
"…Who is this guy?"
Arin:
"Oh, he's new. Earth intern. Don't worry, he has enthusiasm."
THE LECHON MOUNTAIN
They land at the base of the mountainous roasted pig.
Fat waterfalls cascade down cliffs.
Rivers of oil shimmer like gold.
A crater mid-slope reveals stratified layers of meat and fossilized skin.
Locals call it Mount Baboy Majora —
the Pig That Wouldn't Stop Celebrating.
They gear up in heat-proof aprons.
Arin straps on the Quantum Knife.
"Okay, team: dig through, grab the Lechon Core, try not to drown in flavor."
Lira:
"That's not a real plan."
Arin:
"It is if you believe in seasoning."
THE MEAT CAVERNS
They enter through a tunnel of pure crispy skin.
The air pops.
The floor oozes gravy.
Every step echoes like someone biting chicharrón in slow motion.
Ewan immediately tears off a corner of the wall and eats it.
Manny smacks him.
"Stop eating the architecture!"
Ewan (mouth full):
"It's… research…"
They descend deeper.
Oil geysers erupt.
Arin slides down a pork ridge yelling:
"Surf's up—sa mantika!"
Finally, they reach a glowing chamber.
At its center spins the Lechon Core—
a molten-gold sphere wrapped in hardened, ancient crispy skin.
THE CRUNCH TRIAL
The cavern rumbles.
Two Lechon Guardians rise—
half-pig, half-chef statue, wielding massive skewers.
"ONLY THE ONE WHO HONORS CRISPNESS MAY CLAIM THE CORE!"
Manny cracks his knuckles.
"I honor crispness with violence."
He punches a guardian so hard it coughs breadcrumbs.
Arin leaps, Quantum Knife humming.
"Vinegar Form — Balat Break Cut!"
The pork skin explodes in a spiral of flavor.
Lira:
"The fat's destabilizing! Pressure rising!"
Arin:
"Then we cook it faster!"
THE COOKING
They haul the Core to the shuttle-kitchen perched on the crater rim.
Arin slices.
Manny pounds it like a boxing bag.
Ewan taste-tests every 10 seconds "for scientific consistency."
Lira shouts temperatures like a drill sergeant.
Oil sprays.
Flames roar.
It looks like chaos, smells like heaven.
Then—silence.
They present the Lechon Core Deluxe:
crispy skin, molten fat, cosmic rice on banana-leaf plating.
THE TASTE TEST
Federation judges appear in hologram form.
One bites.
Immediate tears.
Another faints.
A third whispers,
"It tastes like my grandmother's forgiveness…"
Arin smirks.
"So… ayos ba?"
Judge nods.
"Ayos. Dangerously ayos."
THE AFTERTASTE
The salt-shaker official appears.
"Flavor Debt reduced by 0.0002%. Congratulations."
Lira collapses.
"We're doomed."
Manny punches the air.
"Then we'll just cook harder!"
Ewan burps.
"Worth it."
Arin looks at the molten horizon.
"Next stop… the Volcano of Infinite Miki.
Let's make history—or at least lunch."
The camera pans across the mountain—
and deep inside, something still cooks.
TO BE CONTINUED — Chapter 2: "THE VOLCANO OF INFINITE MIKI."