Back at the red line office, the atmosphere was full of different tensions. It's no longer a fear of a sudden attack, but a heavy silence before a storm of information. In the middle of the room, on a metal table that has been coated with locking symbols carved by Bimo, the small energy cage rotates slowly. In it, the lump of dark energy throbbed weakly, like a dying heart.
Riani was fully aware, sitting on the sofa with a blanket on her shoulder, accompanied by Dr. Maya checks her vital signs. Anton watched from his seat, his face was pale but full of determination.
"Is he ... safe?" Riani asked, her voice was still hoarse, staring at the cage.
"For now, yes," Bimo answered. He stood in front of the table, his eyes could not be separated from his prisoner. He looks tired, but there is a new fire that blazes in his view. "This cage is fully isolated. He cannot run away, and cannot communicate with the outside world."
"Then, what are we doing now?" Asked Inspector Budi, who was also present, looked uncomfortable with the existence of the entity.
"We interrogate him," Bimo said in a flat voice. "We dismantle all the secret. Every plan, every human collaborator, every final destination."
"How to?" asked Dr. Maya. "It's not a physical creature. That is pure consciousness. We cannot torture it."
"Not in a conventional way," agreed Bimo. He looked at Riani. "You already feel his mind. You can come in. I need you to come in again, Riani. But this time, I will be with you. I will be your shield."
Riani shivered, recalled the violation he had just experienced. "I ... I don't know if I can."
"You can," Bimo said, his voice convincingly. "He is now weak and trapped. And I will not let him touch you again. I will burn every illusion he created. You just need to focus on finding memory, looking for information."
Riani took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "Fine. I'll do it."
"Anton, Dr. Maya," Bimo ordered. "Monitor Riani's physical condition. If there is something wrong, pull the cable that connects it to me. Inspector, keep the door. Don't let anyone enter."
They all nodded. Riani lay on the sofa. Bimo sat on the floor next to him, putting one hand on the energy cage and another hand on Riani's forehead.
"Don't take long," ordered Dr. Maya.
Bimo nodded. He closed his eyes. "I lead. Follow me, Riani."
Bimo diving. He brought his awareness through contact with the cage, directly to the core of the trapped entity. He felt Riani following him, his warm and familiar presence beside him.
They arrived in a room that was not a space. Everything is dark and cold. The whispering sound did not end in filling the "air".
"Go ... go ..."The voice hissed from all directions.
"This is just an external defense," said Bimo, his voice shining like a torch in the dark. "Show yourself!"
With his command, the darkness shrank, turned into a long corridor whose walls were filled with moving images. That is memory.
"Let's start," Bimo whispered to Riani. They walked along the corridor.
The first memory they saw showed a man with a black robe, hiding in a cave in the Middle Ages. He was drawing the same symbol on the cave wall with his own blood.
"This is one of the worshipers," Bimo commented. "He called him for the first time. But this is not his origin."
They walked further. The next memory shows ancient cities that collapse, disease outbreaks, and war. In every disaster, there is a group of people who secretly perform rituals of worship, worshiping "the switching" as a god of destruction.
"They gave him strength by worshiping him," said Riani, horrified.
"They gave him entrance ," Bimo corrected.
They dive deeper. The corridor becomes darker and cooler. The images began to change. They are no longer about human worship, but about ... starving. A consciousness that is stranded in the inter -dimensional space, feel the light and life of another world, and want it.
"Look," said Bimo stopped in front of a memory that looked like a star explosion. "Here it is. 'The darkness between stars'. He is not a god. He is a parasite. A entity of another dimension that accidentally feels the life energy of our world and becomes addicted."
The memory shows how this entity, which does not have a form, learn to "hear" prayers and human suffering. That is the frequency he can follow. He learned to manipulate their desires, offering strength in the rewards of worship and sacrifice.
"The goal is not to be a god," Bimo nose. "The goal is to * move * come here. To fully colonize our reality, where he can eat all life without obstacles."
"But he needs a strong container," Riani added. "That's why he wants your body."
"More than that," Bimo said, looking closer to the memory. "He needs a 'anchor'. A stable center point to withstand his entirely energy in this world. That is the goal of 'Nexus project'."
They are pushed deeper, entering the core of the awareness of this entity. Here, the picture is clearer. They see a plan that is fully formed.
A diagram appeared, showing Jakarta. Three initial murder rituals formed a triangle. The fourth ritual at zero (Monas) will open "eyes". But that is not the end.
"The fifth ritual ..." whispered Riani, scared.
"Yes," Bimo said, his face was loud. "The fifth ritual. Performed at the first triangle center, using 'eyes' as a guide. This ritual will call all his consciousness to our world. And he has chosen a container for the ritual."
The picture shows a very familiar place for all of them: the red line office itself.
"No ..." hissed Riani. "He wants to use our office?"
"The place is full of psychic energy, history, and is protected by symbols that he can actually turn back to strengthen his call," Bimo explained in a flat voice. "That is his biggest irony. He will use our fort to destroy us."
Then, the last picture appears. This is not a memory, but a future plan. It shows a human. A man they all know. He was kneeling in a ritual circle in the red line office, leading the summon ceremony.
His face was clear.
Budi Inspector.
"NO!" Riani shouted, his consciousness was immediately thrown out of the memory room because of the shock.
Bimo also withdrew, opened his eyes roughly in the real world.
Everyone in the room was surprised. Bimo immediately stood up, staring at Inspector Budi who was still standing near the door in confusion.
"Bimo? What happened?" asked Dr. Maya.
Bimo did not answer. His eyes fixed on Budi. "Since when?" he asked, his voice was cold and dangerous.
Budi frowned. "Since when? What did you see there?"
"You work for him," accused Bimo. The fire began to blaze around his hand. "You are a human collaborator. You always provide information about our movements. You make sure the ritual is not disturbed."
The space became quiet instantly. All eyes are on Budi.
Budi looks really surprised. Then, his expression changed. All wrinkles and fatigue on his face disappeared, replaced by a cold and confident smile. His posture which is usually slightly bent now upright.
"Ah, it's a shame," Budi said, his voice was completely different. Smoother, more dangerous. "I hope you guys don't find that. At least not until tomorrow night."
Anton reflexively reached for his gun, but Budi was faster. He took out his own gun and shot at the ceiling. Not an ordinary bullet, but a cartridge that releases sparkling metal flakes that fill the air.
"Iron particles!" shouted Dr. Maya. "That disrupts psychic energy!"
Bimo felt his strength hampered, his relationship with fire became muffled. Riani screamed in pain, feeling like being attacked by thousands of needles.
"Don't worry, this is just a distraction," Budi said while walking backwards towards the door. "He has told us all about your weaknesses, 'God Dewa'."
He opened the door. Two young policemen whose faces are empty and their eyes are jet black standing outside. They are subordinates.
"The ritual will continue," Budi said with a faint smile. "With or without your prisoners. And now, you don't have friends in the police."
He threw something into the room. A smoke grenade. The room was immediately filled with thick white smoke.
"Do not go anywhere!" shouted Budi before the door was closed and locked from the outside.
Bimo growled, trying to call the fire, but iron particles in the air make it difficult. He crawled at Riani and Dr. Maya.
"Anton! Door!" he shouted.
Anton, who managed to protect his eyes, shot the door lock several times until it was destroyed. He pushed the door opening.
Corridor outside is empty. Budi and his subordinates have disappeared.
They were all silent, panting, surrounded by smoke and betrayal.
"He ... he is one of them," Riani whispered, still shocked.
"During this time," Bimo added, his voice was filled with cold anger. "He is the one who ensures that every step we are always known. He leads us into a trap."
He stood up, staring at the energy cage that was still spinning on the table. The entity in it looks ... satisfied.
"The fifth ritual," Bimo said. "He will do it here. Tomorrow night. And now he knows that we know."
They no longer have a surprise. They no longer have allies in the police. All they have is an office that will be the last battlefield.
Bimo clenched his fist. Iron particles began to fall from the air, burning by his anger that began to overcome obstacles.
"Fine," he said. "He wants a war in our home? He will get it. We will turn this office into a trap for him. We will welcome him with fire and iron."
The battle for Jakarta has shifted once more. This time, the battle line was drawn right in their doorway. And Bimo intends to maintain every inch of it.