The next day, Jakarta once again was cloaked in gray rain. The city's restless rhythm continued—honking horns, flashing billboards, the smell of wet asphalt and fried snacks floating in the air. Yet for Eland'orr, time felt suspended. His thoughts circled endlessly around one name: Freiyah.
He found himself sitting across from her once more, in the riverside café she had chosen. The rain outside traced silver lines down the wide glass windows, while the café hummed with the low sound of jazz music and the clinking of cups.
Freiyah sat with the same quiet poise as the night before, her dark hair framing her pale face, her green eyes calm yet intense. She studied him as if every movement he made was worth noting.
"You look distracted," she said softly, stirring her coffee with absent motions.
"Maybe," Eland'orr admitted. "It's just… you already knew my name, you knew where I usually go. Why?"
Freiyah smiled faintly. Not the playful smile of flirtation, but the kind that carried weight. "Because I've been looking for you, Eland'orr. For a long time."
Her words hung heavy in the air. Eland'orr chuckled nervously, trying to ease the tension. "Looking for me? You make it sound like I'm some kind of missing person."
"In a way, you are." Her voice was steady, her gaze unyielding. "You don't really know who you are, do you?"
Eland'orr frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Freiyah leaned closer, lowering her voice though no one was paying them any attention. "Have you ever felt like something inside you doesn't belong? A strength that flickers when you're pushed to the edge? A hunger for stories of gods and myths, as if they were more than just legends?"
Eland'orr froze. His mind flashed to countless moments: the times he healed faster than normal, the nights when he read myth after myth with a strange sense of familiarity, the dreams of battles and faces he didn't recognize.
"You're not entirely human," Freiyah whispered. "You carry blood that should have been erased thousands of years ago."
The café noise seemed to fade, replaced by the pounding of his heartbeat. "That's… impossible."
Freiyah shook her head gently. "It is the truth. Long ago, before the exile, there was one Futa male who bonded with a human woman. Their child was hidden from the gods' judgment, left behind in the human world when the exile began. That bloodline survived, quietly, for generations."
Her eyes locked onto his, burning green fire. "You are that descendant, Eland'orr."
The words shattered him. He wanted to laugh, to reject it outright. But the certainty in her eyes, the way her voice trembled not with doubt but with truth, unsettled him to his core.
Eland'orr leaned back, running a hand through his damp hair. "You're saying I'm… part of them. Of these… Futa?"
"Yes," Freiyah answered. Her expression softened, almost sorrowful. "And that's why I had to find you. Because you are not just a remnant. You are the key to what comes next."
Eland'orr swallowed hard, his throat dry. "What comes next?"
Freiyah's smile returned, faint and enigmatic. "A choice. Between living as the human you've always known… or awakening into what you were meant to become."
Her words lingered between them, heavy with promise and danger.
Outside, thunder rolled over Jakarta, as if the storm itself bore witness to the truth that had just been spoken.
Eland'orr sat in silence, struggling to process everything she had just said. The storm outside raged on, thunder rolling like a distant drumbeat.
Freiyah reached across the table, her fingers brushing his hand. The touch was deliberate—warm, grounding. "I know it's too much," she said gently. "But you don't have to face it alone. Let me guide you."
Her voice was low, intimate, carrying not just words but a promise. For a brief moment, Eland'orr felt his walls break. The confusion, the fear, the longing to belong—all of it crashed into him at once.
"Why me?" he whispered.
"Because you are the only one left," Freiyah replied, her eyes glistening with something that looked like sorrow… and hope. "And because without you, my purpose means nothing."
They sat like that, hand in hand, until the café's crowd began to thin. The rain softened into drizzle, and the city lights reflected on the wet streets outside like a river of gold.
Freiyah leaned closer, her breath warm against his ear. "Come with me. There's more you need to see."
Eland'orr hesitated. But there was no resistance left in him—only a pull he couldn't deny, an invisible thread binding him to her. He nodded.
Together, they stepped out into the damp Jakarta night. The rain kissed their skin, and the neon lights flickered across their faces as they walked side by side. Freiyah led him through narrow streets, past quiet alleys, until they reached her apartment overlooking the river.