The jungle breathed around them—humid, dense, alive. Shadows stretched long between towering trees, their outlines shifting unnaturally in the dim moonlight. The air reeked of damp earth, rotting leaves, and something else—something burnt, something wrong.
Janu crouched behind a fallen log, breath steady but pulse racing. His fingers brushed against the hilt of the Badik Makassar, the ancestral blade still sealed within its burial cloth. It was warm. Warmer than before.
"We need a plan," he muttered, voice barely above a whisper.
Jantaka's voice hummed through his mind, sharp and edged with amusement. "Oh? So now you're thinking ahead? Not just running your mouth?"
Janu exhaled sharply. "Not the time, ghost."
Beyond their cover, the Tall Pocong stood like a grim monolith in the clearing. It loomed over the smaller pocong, its charred burial shroud hanging in smoldering tatters. The red glow from its exposed skin pulsed, casting eerie, flickering light across the jungle floor. The other pocong—lesser, twitching, bound in tight burial cloth—knelt before it, their heads bobbing in unison. As if waiting. Worshipping.
Janu swallowed hard. "It's like a king of the damned."
"More like a general," Jantaka corrected. "And you're on its warpath."
The Tall Pocong tilted its head suddenly, as if sensing their presence. Janu's grip tightened on the Badik. He didn't dare breathe.
"We can't run, can we?"
"You could," Jantaka mused. "Wouldn't get far, though. It'll chase. The hunt is part of its nature. And running just means you accept your role as prey."
Janu clenched his jaw. "So we change the rules."
"Now you're thinking."
Janu had no illusions of brute strength. He wasn't some mythical warrior. But he understood the land. He'd spent years hiking through mountains, surviving off meager supplies, pushing through exhaustion and injury. He knew how to use the jungle itself as a weapon.
He scanned their surroundings, eyes flicking over the dense brush, the slope of the terrain, the winding riverbed a few meters away. Options. He needed options.
"We lead it somewhere," Janu said. "Somewhere we control."
Jantaka smirked, his voice rich with approval. "Now you sound like someone who's seen their share of fights."
Janu ignored the comment, but his fingers twitched. He wasn't proud of it, but Jantaka wasn't wrong. Fights like the ones he had been in before weren't about honor. They were about survival. About knowing when to swing and when to run. About using anything—broken bottles, chains, even bricks—to make sure you weren't the one left bleeding on the pavement.
"I know a place," he said. "By the river. Narrow space. Rocky ground. If we can get it there—"
"—you force it into a bottleneck," Jantaka finished. "Tight quarters, limited movement. Not bad."
Janu pulled the firestarter block from his bag. "And if that doesn't work… we set the bastard on fire."
Jantaka let out a low chuckle. "Now we're having fun."
Before moving, Janu carefully loosened the lid of the wooden box holding the Badik. He adjusted it in his pack, making sure he could reach it in one smooth motion if needed. No hesitation this time.
They didn't have to wait long.
Janu took a breath, then moved. He didn't run—he let himself be seen. A flicker of movement in the shadows. Just enough.
The Tall Pocong's head snapped toward him. Its red-glowing eyes pulsed once, and the air itself seemed to grow heavier.
Then, it moved.
Fast.
Janu barely had time to register the sheer unnatural speed as it surged forward, lesser pocong swarming behind it like a tide of the damned.
"Shit—JANTAKA!"
"Keep moving!"
Janu ran, weaving through the jungle with practiced ease. The riverbank was close. Just a little more—
A lesser pocong lunged from the side, its bound limbs writhing. Janu pivoted, slamming his foot into its torso. The impact was dull, but the thing reeled back.
"You hesitated," Jantaka scolded.
"I'M STILL PROCESSING THAT I'M FIGHTING FUCKING GHOSTS!"
"Less talking, more running!"
Janu reached the riverbank and skidded to a halt. The terrain was exactly what he needed—rocky, uneven, forcing anything large to slow down.
The Tall Pocong didn't slow down.
It leaped, its massive form blotting out the sky for a fraction of a second.
Janu didn't think—he reacted.
He rolled to the side just as it crashed down, the impact shaking the ground. Stones cracked under its weight. Lesser pocong swarmed, their movements twitchy, erratic, hungry.
"Jantaka! ANY TIME NOW!"
"Fine, fine! Hold the Badik tight! Feel it!"
Janu reached for his bag and yanked the box open in a single motion. The moment his fingers gripped the hilt, a shockwave of cold fire tore through his arm.
His vision blurred. He saw something—someone—in the corner of his mind. A warrior. A duel. Blood on the sand.
The Badik ignited, but not with normal flame. A dark indigo light flared along the blade, twisting and pulsing like something alive.
"Congratulations, kid," Jantaka murmured. "You just woke it up."
Janu ducked, narrowly avoiding a clawed swipe. He countered on instinct, slashing across the nearest pocong's chest. The blade sank in deep, and for the first time, the thing screamed.
The Tall Pocong roared, lashing out with a burning linen limb, barely missing Janu as he twisted away. The sheer heat from it singed his arm, the pain sharp and immediate.
Janu didn't stop. He pivoted, driving the Badik through the binding of another pocong, its fabric unraveling like torn silk. He yanked the blade free, kicking the spirit back into the horde.
A cluster of lesser pocong lunged at once. Janu spun low, sweeping the Badik in a wide arc. The dark indigo glow flared, severing ghostly limbs and shrouds. They fell apart, their forms flickering, dissolving into embers.
The Tall Pocong let out a deep, guttural wail, its voice layered with countless suffering souls. It lunged forward with unnatural speed, aiming to crush Janu with sheer force. He barely managed to dive aside, rolling over jagged rocks as heat seared his skin.
Breathing heavily, Janu locked eyes with the towering monstrosity. "Come on, you overgrown corpse," he muttered. "Let's finish this."
The fight wasn't over.
But for the first time since this nightmare started, Janu wasn't just running anymore.
The Tall Pocong roared, its charred, cracked flesh pulsating with eerie energy. Instead of retreating, it did something far worse.
It turned toward the nearest lesser pocong, its grotesque tattered mouth stretched wider, an abyss of darkness lined with smoldering remnants of burial cloth. With a sickening, guttural groan, it latched onto a nearby lesser pocong and devoured it whole. The lesser spirit barely struggled, its form withering into the Tall Pocong's gaping maw, the red glow of its eyes vanishing into nothingness.
Janu watched in horror as the Tall Pocong began to change. Its body contorted, elongating further, its linen writhing like molten tendrils. The red glow beneath its skin flared brighter, veins of black and ember-like cracks spreading across its towering form. The air warped around it as waves of oppressive heat rippled outward.
A ripple of black-red energy coursed through its body. The Tall Pocong shuddered, then grew—its burning linen flaring wildly, the heat intensifying. It let out a distorted, guttural laugh, its elongated form now pulsing with even greater strength.
Jantaka cursed. "Oh, fantastic. Phase two."
Janu tightened his grip on the Badik, heart pounding. "Any more great ideas?"
"Yeah," Jantaka said grimly. "Don't die."
The Tall Pocong lunged—faster than before.
Janu barely had time to raise his Badik before it struck. A clawed limb, burning and wreathed in smoke, slammed down where he stood. He threw himself to the side, tumbling onto the uneven riverbank, stones cutting into his arms. The moment he regained balance, another strike came.
Janu raised the Badik just in time, intercepting the attack. The indigo light around the blade clashed with the ghostly flames of the Tall Pocong, sending a shockwave of force rippling outward. The ground trembled beneath them.
"It's stronger than before!" Janu gritted his teeth as he struggled against the sheer power of the monster. The Badik burned cold in his hands, the blade thrumming with energy, resisting the infernal force pressing down on it.
"Then you better hit harder," Jantaka quipped.
Janu let out a sharp breath and pushed forward, twisting his blade in a sudden arc. The Badik sliced into the Tall Pocong's limb, its cursed flesh hissing violently as the indigo energy seared through it. The creature reeled back, letting out a wretched screech.
But it wasn't done.
The Tall Pocong lifted its massive limb, and three fiery spears of linen shot out, streaking toward Janu like spectral projectiles.
"MOVE!" Jantaka barked.
Janu rolled, barely dodging the first two. The third grazed his shoulder, searing through fabric and skin. Pain exploded through him, but he forced himself to stay standing.
"I'm getting really tired of this," Janu growled. He clutched his wounded shoulder but didn't falter. His breath came ragged, but his eyes burned with determination.
He shifted his stance. This ends now.
Janu dashed forward, weaving through the barrage of burning linen as the Tall Pocong lashed out. Every step was precise, every movement calculated. His survival instincts kicked in, a mix of old brawls and desperate escapes merging into one lethal focus.
"Jantaka! Tell me this thing has a weakness!"
"It's heart, kid!" Jantaka shouted. "Strike the core, buried under all that cursed cloth!"
The Tall Pocong lunged again, but this time, Janu was ready. He feinted left, making it follow his motion. The moment it committed to the attack, Janu dived low, sliding beneath its towering form.
In one fluid motion, he drove the Badik upward.
Janu gritted his teeth as he drove the Badik deeper. The blade shuddered in his grip, as if fighting against something ancient and unwilling to die. The indigo flames spread like veins of lightning, crackling along the cursed linen, searing through the beast's very essence.
The Tall Pocong let out a monstrous, layered scream—a chorus of a thousand tormented souls wailing as one. Its entire body convulsed violently, limbs flailing, its burning shroud splitting apart in jagged, fraying strands.
Janu felt the resistance shift—the Badik was pushing against something more than just flesh. Something deep within, something writhing in agony. Then—
CRACK!
The blade sank fully into its core. A pulse of indigo and crimson energy exploded outward, sending shockwaves across the entire jungle. The earth beneath Janu splintered, trees bent under the force, their leaves scattering into the night. The Tall Pocong's body began to collapse inward, its very existence unraveling like torn fabric caught in a storm.
"It's... breaking apart," Janu muttered, stepping back as the once-massive figure shrieked one last time before imploding into nothing but drifting embers. The flames that had tormented the land flickered and died, leaving only drifting ashes and silence.
The moment the Tall Pocong vanished, Janu staggered backward. His knees buckled, his lungs burned for air. His arms, covered in ash and sweat, shook uncontrollably as the adrenaline began to fade.
The pain caught up to him all at once—the burns on his shoulder, the bruises from dodging, the sheer exhaustion threatening to pull him under.
Janu staggered back, gasping, his entire body trembling with exhaustion. The Badik's glow faded, the blade still warm in his grasp.
"Oi, kid," Jantaka's voice broke through the ringing in his ears. "Breathe."
Janu took in a ragged breath, his body screaming in protest. His vision blurred, black spots dancing at the edges. His fingers, still clenched around the Badik, ached as if the blade had drained something from him.
Janu, still gasping for breath, barely registered the movement around him.
Then, something unexpected happened.
The lesser pocong—those who had once swarmed him, those who had mindlessly obeyed the Tall Pocong's will—were no longer hostile.
Instead, they stood still.
One by one, they turned to face him.
Janu felt a chill run down his spine.
Then, as if bound by some unseen force, they began to bow. Not in worship. Not in fear.
But in gratitude.
Their bodies trembled, their forms flickering like embers in the wind. Some, closer to him, seemed to be murmuring, though their voices were nothing more than echoes in the night.
Thank you.
The words weren't spoken aloud, but Janu felt them.
One by one, the spirits began to fade. They dissolved into wisps of pale light, drifting into the night sky like fireflies returning to the stars.
Janu clenched his fists. These weren't monsters. They had been trapped souls, enslaved by the Tall Pocong's curse.
And he had freed them.
Jantaka let out a slow breath. "Hah… didn't expect that. You set them free.". From the look of it, Jantaka seems really approving. "Not bad, kid. Not bad at all."
Janu swallowed, his throat dry. "Yeah… guess I did."
He wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse.
As the last traces of the Tall Pocong vanished, the jungle seemed lighter. The weight of something ancient and oppressive had been lifted.
Janu exhaled, his grip on the Badik loosening as his fingers trembled. His arms felt like lead, his chest heaving as if he had just sprinted through hell itself.
The nightmare wasn't over.
But at least, for now, he had survived.
And then quietly settled over the battlefield.
Jantaka chuckled. "While we're at it, boy..."
Janu, still catching his breath, groaned. "What now?"
Jantaka laughed—a deep, rolling sound, tinged with something almost fond. "Hahahahaha! Serving your bloodline never ceases to amuse me."
Janu sighed, shaking his head. "Well, thank you, I guess? And could you keep it down? You're ruining the mood here."
"No, really," Jantaka said, his voice serious now, yet carrying a warmth Janu hadn't heard before. "It truly is an honor to serve. And just now, you showed me something spectacular."
Janu blinked. "Huh?"
Jantaka's tone deepened, more solemn than before. "Let me introduce myself again. I am Jantaka, protector of your ancestors from the olden days. I have seen them, I have fought beside them, and never once have they disappointed me. And now—" His voice softened, almost reverent. "—let this humble servant of yours stand by your side once more."
Janu exhaled, staring at the blade still pulsing in his grip. He chuckled dryly. "Aw... you're making me blush." He wiped the sweat from his brow, then smirked. "But really... thanks for having my back through this nightmare."
"Hah, don't get all sentimental on me now," Jantaka teased. Then he added, almost smugly, "Oh, and by the way—you need to work on that superiority complex. Just now, it was leaking through even with you being half-dead."
Janu snorted. "Tch. You serious?"
"Hahahaha! I'll let it slide for now, boy." Jantaka's voice carried a smirk. "But we're not done yet. There's more lurking in the shadows, waiting. Watching."
Janu rolled his shoulders, feeling the bruises but standing tall. He glanced around at the now-silent jungle, the weight of what had just happened still heavy on him.
Then, with a slow nod, he tightened his grip on the Badik. "Then let's keep moving."
And with that, the two pressed forward, deeper into the unknown, knowing the night's horrors were far from over.