Rika and Arya finally arrived at the place Nagini had named. Before them, a giant tree stood firm in the middle of a sea of fog. Its trunk was so huge and tall that part of its crown was almost invisible, hidden by the layer of mist hanging among the branches. Its roots spread out in every direction, and some of them rose above the ground, nearly as thick as the trunk itself. The roots twisted around one another and crept outward like giant hands gripping the earth.
The closer they came, the more the air changed. The temperature around the tree slowly dropped, bringing a chill that crept across their skin. The fog, which had once seemed like a thin blanket, now felt thicker, as if it covered the whole area and limited their sight. Arya unconsciously drew his body in a little. He even shivered when a cold breath of air touched the back of his neck.
Unlike Arya, Rika looked thrilled. She gazed at the giant tree with sparkling eyes, as if she were returning to a place she knew very well. There was no hesitation in her steps. With a cheerful face, she hurried ahead, even breaking into a small run toward the huge roots winding around the tree.
"This is my home!" Rika cried joyfully.
She turned to Arya, showing a wide smile she couldn't hide. There was warmth in her expression. But the broad smile slowly faded when her eyes caught something ahead. The joy that had shone in her eyes was suddenly replaced by shock. Her small, eager steps stopped abruptly. Her body went rigid, as if every muscle had frozen in place. For a few moments, Rika could only stare at the sight, as if her mind needed time to understand what was really happening.
In the shadow of the giant tree, a man sat at ease on a large root. His posture was completely relaxed, as if he were enjoying his free time, untroubled by anything around him. But his calm was the opposite of what he was doing. Both of his hands gripped the hair of a woman who hung helplessly below him. Her face was covered in bruises, and parts of her kebaya and batik wrap were torn and in tatters. Her body dangled limply, showing that she was in terrible condition.
The sight created a painful contrast with the scene Rika had imagined. The place she had just introduced as her home now showed her something she never wanted to see. The person she had wanted to meet, together with Arya, was in a pitiful state, while the one who had caused it all looked perfectly calm.
"What took you so long?" the man said.
His tone was casual. He showed no sign of unease at the arrival of Rika and Arya. But beneath the calm of his voice was a pressure that made his words sound like a threat.
"Mama...?" Rika whispered faintly, almost too softly for anyone to hear. Her voice trembled, as if even that simple word took all her strength to say. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the woman hanging helplessly before the man. She was still trying to take in the scene, hoping it was only an illusion. But the longer she looked, the harder it was to deny the truth.
Rika's breath caught. Her chest felt tight, and her body slowly lost its strength. Her legs gave out, and she finally sank to the ground. Her lips parted slightly, her body shook violently, and tears streamed down her cheeks. She still couldn't tear her eyes away from the woman she had always called Mama.
"Quickly, take the jasmine flower from the heart of that tree. If you don't, your time here will run out," the man said.
Arya glared at the mysterious man. His jaw tightened, and his eyes showed how much he disliked him. But before he could respond or do anything more, the man began to chant a spell in Old Javanese. His voice was deep and rhythmic, the pronunciation strange yet heavy with pressure. Each line he spoke seemed to affect the air around them.
The woman in his grip suddenly reacted in an unusual way. Rika's mother's body went stiff, then shook violently. A long, wrenching howl came from her mouth, as if she were enduring unbearable pain. The sound echoed among the trunk and roots of the giant tree, breaking the silence that had held the place. At the same time, a black aura began to rise from her body. At first it was only a thin layer covering part of her, but in a short time the energy grew thicker and spread to the area around her. The fog around them churned, and what had only felt cold now became far more oppressive.
The mysterious man kept chanting, as if he were deliberately letting the phenomenon grow. But before he could finish the spell, something completely unexpected happened.
BOOOOM!
A huge burst of energy suddenly shook the area. The blast of power swept outward, splitting the fog and making the nearby trees shake violently. The man, who had been sitting so casually, staggered backward. His grip came loose, and he struggled to keep from falling. He quickly raised his head and turned toward the source of the explosion. His eyes swept the surroundings, trying to find where the energy that had just struck the place had come from. The relaxed look he had worn vanished completely, replaced by shock and wariness.
"What is this?!" the man hissed.
Arya now stood wrapped in a wildly blazing aura of dark purple energy. Waves of power radiated from him, making the air around him tremble. The aura kept surging, sometimes swelling and sometimes shrinking, as if following the emotions that had taken hold of him. His eyes burned sharply.
A few steps behind Arya, Rika was still sitting on the ground. Her head was slightly bowed, but now and then she tried to look up at the figures in front of her. Shock and grief kept her from fully understanding what was happening. She could only stay where she was, while Arya now stood between her and the mysterious man. Slowly, Arya began to move forward. Each step felt heavy, as if all the anger held inside him were pushing his body toward the man. His eyes never wavered. He stared straight at the one who had hurt the woman Rika thought of as her mother.
"What are you doing?!" Arya shouted, in a voice full of menace.
His voice echoed around the giant tree. His body seemed to tremble from the great power that kept pouring out of him. The energy was becoming harder to control, and the aura around him kept blazing with no sign of calming. Arya himself didn't seem to fully understand what was happening to his own body. The mysterious man watched the change closely. He narrowed his eyes a little, studying Arya from head to toe. Unlike before, he did not immediately give an order. Instead, his expression showed interest, as if he had just discovered something he had never known.
"Hmmm..." he murmured. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth before he spoke again. "So this is why you were able to enter this world."
As soon as he heard the man's words, Arya shot forward and charged at him in a fury. His fist swung hard, aimed right at the man's face. The punch almost landed, but the mysterious man managed to raise his arm and block it at the last second.
THUD!
A heavy impact rang out as the two forces met. The man was pushed back slightly by the sheer force behind the punch. But he didn't let himself lose his balance. He quickly shifted his stance and prepared for the next attack. Arya threw another punch. This time he attacked again and again, giving his opponent no chance to create distance. Blow after blow came from every direction, with ever more aggressive movements. The energy aura around him surged with every swing of his arm, creating a pressure that made the air around them seem to vibrate.
Several times the man managed to block Arya's attacks, but each clash forced him to use more strength. He even had to shift his footing again and again to stay balanced. Meanwhile, Arya kept attacking without caring about his own body. His movements weren't entirely controlled, but the power behind them made every strike a serious threat.
"If this goes on, he'll die," the man muttered.
Realizing things were getting dangerous, he looked for an opening between Arya's attacks. The moment he found one, he managed to grab one of Arya's hands firmly. He tried to hold the young man still and, at the same time, suppress the energy that kept bursting out of his body.
"Why are you angry at me?!" the man asked.
Arya instead put all his strength into pushing the man away. He yanked his hand free by force, then thrust his body forward until his opponent's grip began to weaken.
"Do you think I can just stay quiet and watch a little girl cry while her mother is treated like that?! Do you have no heart?!"
Arya's voice was loud and full of rage. His breath came fast, and his eyes stayed fixed on the man. To him, there was no reason good enough to justify treating a helpless woman that way, especially when Rika had to watch it all with her own eyes.
"Have you gone mad?! They aren't human. She is only a shadow that deceives you!" the man said, trying to convince Arya.
"Human or not, no one deserves to be treated like that!" Arya shot back loudly. His anger rose even higher, and the energy aura around his body flared up again. Waves of power spread in every direction, creating a pressure that could be felt several meters away. The roots beneath his feet began to crack, with fissures spreading outward from the huge energy he kept releasing.
In the middle of the fight, something happened on the other side. The woman Rika thought of as her mother slowly began to move. Though her body was covered in wounds and looked so weak, she tried to lift herself from the ground. With great effort, the woman began to crawl toward Rika. Every movement seemed to cost her a great deal of strength. Her messy hair hung over part of her face, while her hand kept reaching forward to hold up her barely conscious body. She then stretched out one hand, trying to reach her daughter, who was still sitting not far away. The distance between them grew smaller. Her fingers had almost reached Rika when the mysterious man realized what was happening.
The man quickly turned his attention to her. With swift movements, he raised both hands and formed a series of symbols with his fingers. The movements looked complex and were done in a certain order, as if every hand position had its own meaning. A moment later, a wall of light appeared between the woman and Rika. The light stretched upward, forming a barrier that cut off the path between them. Seeing what the man had done, Arya's anger exploded again. He no longer cared about his opponent's attacks or defenses. Planting both feet firmly on the ground, Arya leaped and shot forward at incredible speed. In an instant, the distance between them shrank drastically.
"Don't block them!" Arya shouted.
His fist swung hard and struck the mysterious man before he could fully prepare for it.
BOOOM!
The blow sent the man staggering backward. His feet slid several steps, and he almost lost his balance from the force that hit him. He tried to keep himself from falling, but this time Arya's attack was strong enough to shake his defense.
"Have you lost your mind?! They are not mother and daughter!" the man snapped.
"What do you mean?" Arya asked, in a tone far more threatening than before.
"Are your eyes failing you? There's no way they're related by blood. Use your head! She's only an illusion, created to deceive you and that girl," the man said sharply.
The man's words echoed in Arya's ears. He tried to understand what he meant, but his mind was clouded by emotion. Meanwhile, Rika, still sitting on the ground and sobbing, heard their conversation. Her eyes were on the figure of her "mother," who kept trying to reach her even though the wall of light blocked the way. Her heart was filled with doubt.
The fight wasn't over, but the truth that had just come out was beginning to shake the beliefs of both Arya and Rika. Rika began to remember her childhood.