1-1 Batu Pemecah Waktu (The Time-Splitting Stone)
The peak of Mount Dieng was cold and eerie. Towering ancient trees reached for the sky, shrouded in a thin veil of mist. From time to time, bats flitted silently through the darkness.
A young man and woman sat side by side, talking quietly. In front of them, a campfire crackled, driving away the mountain chill.
The woman had a beautiful face with a slightly rounded shape, her long hair flowing down her back. She wore all red, her figure slender and graceful.
Her eyes were sharp, the kind that told you she was no ordinary person.
Her name was Nagini.
The man beside her was handsome, his curly hair falling to his shoulders, and a mischievous grin never far from his lips. He wore all black, a heavy axe tucked at his waist. This was the Kapak Maut Naga Buntung—The Deadly Axe of the Tailless Dragon—lacking the number "21" in its name because it had only a single blade.
His eyes were sharp as well. Clearly, he too was no ordinary man.
His name was Suro Gebleg.
From his name and the way he grinned, you might suspect he wasn't quite right in the head. Perhaps eleven-twelfths of normal. Or maybe just ninety-nine percent.
***
1-2 The War Between Dimensions
Suro: "Nagini, I'm going to the future to help a friend."
Nagini: "Why must you go to the future?"
Suro Gebleg fed another log into the campfire so the flames wouldn't die down. Smoke and small sparks drifted up into the night.
Suro: "In the future I'm going to, a great war is happening."
Nagini: "Isn't war common?"
Suro: "This isn't a war between kingdoms, or humans fighting other humans, Nagini."
Nagini frowned. She wasn't following.
Nagini: "What kind of war do you mean, Suro?"
Suro: "A war against creatures from outer space, Nagini."
Nagini tried to process that.
Nagini: "Are creatures from outer space even real, Suro?"
Suro: "They are, Nagini! At first, I didn't believe it either."
Nagini: "And then?"
Suro: "After seeing it with my own eyes, I had no choice but to believe."
Nagini shook her head. In the 16th century—five hundred years in the past—it was absurd to speak of aliens and interdimensional wars.
Back then, the logic was simple: if a meteor fell, master craftsmen would forge it into a sacred keris dagger.
***
1-3 Crossing Time
Nagini: "You mean you've already been to the future? Far ahead from now?"
Suro Gebleg nodded, brushing a hand through his curls before adding another log to the fire.
Suro: "Nagini, I received a message from a friend in the future. They need powerful warriors from every corner of the world—any time, any place."
Nagini listened closely.
Suro: "We will gather together to face the alien creatures in the future I'm heading to."
Nagini: "What's life like in that future, Suro?"
Suro: "A strange world, Nagini."
Nagini: "Strange how?"
Suro looked straight into her eyes.
Suro: "They have no kingdoms ruled by kings, but kingdoms ruled by… presidents."
Nagini furrowed her brow, struggling to understand.
Nagini: "How will you travel to the future? Is it even possible?"
Suro: "I'll use the Batu Pemecah Waktu—the Time-Splitting Stone."
Nagini: "The Time-Splitting Stone?"
Suro: "Yes."
***
1-4 The Pair of Time-Splitting Stones
Nagini furrowed her brow again, trying to grasp what Suro was saying.
Her heart wavered. Could he really be telling the truth?
It was hard to believe.
Nagini: "If you really go to the future and join a war against creatures from outer space, what if you're injured? Or worse… what if you don't survive?"
Suro rubbed his hands together, grinning that familiar grin. He knew she was worried.
Suro: "I'll be fine, Nagini…"
Nagini's bright eyes fixed on him.
Nagini: "If you don't return soon, how will I find you, Suro?"
Suro: "I'll give you one of these. The Time-Splitting Stones come in a pair."
He reached into his pocket and handed her a small, oddly glowing stone.
Nagini took it, holding it tightly in her palm.
Suro: "With that stone, you can go anywhere you want, Nagini."
Nagini: "Even follow you into the future?"
Suro: "Of course. You can find me there."
They both fell silent, staring at the fire as it began to burn low.
Suro: "Nagini, I'm out of time. I have to leave for the future now…"
Nagini nodded.
Suro Gebleg stood, and she rose with him.
Nagini: "How do I use this stone?"
Suro: "Ask your master—Dewa Arak Tujuh Sungai. In your language, that's the 'Wine God of Seven Rivers.'"
Without another word, Suro vanished southward in a blur, leaving Nagini standing alone in the cold night a top Mount Dieng.
She turned north, intent on finding her master.
***
1-5 Dewa Arak Tujuh Sungai (The Wine God of Seven Rivers)
The slopes of Mount Merapi were cold and silent.
The chirping of crickets and the hoots of owls echoed in the darkness, adding to the mystical air.
The night was pitch black—no stars in sight.
An old man with long white hair and beard sat cross-legged. In front of him sat two earthen jugs, their strong scent of rice wine filling the air.
Across from him sat a young woman in red—Nagini—her gaze full of curiosity. A campfire burned between them.
Nagini: "Master, I want to know about the Time-Splitting Stone. Can you tell me?"
Dewa Arak frowned slightly and took a sip from the jug in his hand. The sharp aroma of fermented rice filled the space between them.
Dewa Arak: "Nagini, the Time-Splitting Stone… it's one of the most powerful objects in the world."
Nagini listened intently.
Dewa Arak: "Only a handful of people possess such a stone. Including that rascal of a lover of yours—Suro Gebleg."
Nagini blushed.
The old man took another sip.
Nagini: "How do I use it, Master?"
***
1-6 The Power of the Time-Splitting Stone
The Wine God shifted the white sash draped over his thin frame. Despite the cold mountain air, it seemed enough to keep him warm.
Dewa Arak: "With the Time-Splitting Stone, you can travel across space and time—back to the past or forward to the future."
Nagini: "How does it work, Master?"
Dewa Arak: "It's simple. Hold the stone, and focus your mind on the place and time you wish to go."
Nagini: "And then?"
Dewa Arak: "The stone will open a portal."
Nagini: "Even to the future?"
Dewa Arak: "Yes."
He took another sip.
Dewa Arak: "You could even travel back to meet your grandmother when she was still young."
Nagini nodded slowly.
Nagini: "So I only have to imagine it?"
Dewa Arak: "Exactly."
Nagini: "And the stone will open a portal?"
Dewa Arak: "Yes."
Nagini: "It's that easy?"
Dewa Arak: "That easy."
She thought for a moment.
Nagini: "Is it dangerous?
Dewa Arak stared into the campfire.
Dewa Arak: "Very dangerous."
Nagini: "What do you mean?"
Dewa Arak: "If you're careless, you could end up trapped in the wrong time."
Nagini: "Wrong time?"
Dewa Arak: "You could even change history."
Nagini: "Change history?"
Dewa Arak: "It's hard to explain… but meddling with the flow of time is something the mind can't fully comprehend."
Nagini nodded again, trying to digest his words.
Dewa Arak: "So you must be careful when using the Time-Splitting Stone, Nagini."
Nagini: "Yes, Master."
It turned out that understanding time portals was far harder than mastering inner energy.
-***
1-7 Nyai Kendit Pitu
Dewa Arak Tujuh Sungai: "And remember, Nagini! Use that stone only in times of true emergency."
Nagini twirled the ends of her hair between her fingers.
Nagini: "Yes, Master. I'll be very careful. Thank you for explaining it to me!"
Dewa Arak: "You're welcome, my disciple."
Nagini: "Oh right, Master… how do you know so much about this stone and how to use it?"
The old hermit only smiled before taking another sip from his clay jar of arak.
Dewa Arak: "You mean, how I know about the Time-Shattering Stone?"
Nagini nodded.
Dewa Arak: "Because I have also been to the future."
Nagini's eyes widened in shock.
Nagini: "You have?"
Dewa Arak: "Long before Suro."
Nagini: "What do you mean, Master?"
Dewa Arak: "I went to the future with Suro's teacher—a fearsome woman known as Nyai Kendit Pitu."
***
1-8 Dewa Arak Crosses Time
Nagini's confusion deepened.
Nagini: "How could you go to the future with Nyai Kendit Pitu?"
Dewa Arak: "We used the Time-Shattering Stone she possessed."
Now Nagini understood how Suro Gebleg came to have such a rare artifact.
Nagini: "So Suro received his stone from his teacher?"
Dewa Arak: "Correct, my disciple."
Nagini fell silent, processing his words, while her master took another slow sip of arak.
Nagini: "Alright, Master. Thank you for explaining."
Dewa Arak: "It is nothing, Nagini."
She looked at her teacher—the hermit's wiry frame was covered only by a strip of white cloth, yet he withstood the freezing wind of Mount Merapi's slopes as if it were nothing.
Nagini thought to herself: His inner strength is truly unmatched, Master.
***
1-9 Nagini Pursues Suro
A year had passed since Nagini parted ways with Suro Gebleg, yet her heart still ached with longing.
Suro had been more than just a friend—he had been someone she could confide in, someone she secretly liked.
A year was far too long to be away from such a person.
Nagini : "Suro… where in the world are you now? Are you still fighting those beings from outer space in the future?"
Her thoughts raced.
Nagini: "Are you hurt? Are you safe?"
Suddenly, a memory struck her.
Nagini: "The Time-Shattering Stone!"
Slowly, she reached into her robe and pulled out the stone Suro had given her.
She studied it carefully—its surface trembled faintly, glowing with a soft blue light.
Nagini: "I will find you, Suro," she whispered in her heart.
Following the instructions of her master, Dewa Arak Tujuh Sungai, Nagini focused her heart and mind on her goal: to find Suro Gebleg.
The stone in her hand began to pulse.
***
1-10 The Time Portal
Suddenly!
In front of Nagini, a small blue dot appeared. Slowly, it began to grow, forming a bright, glowing blue ring.
Inside the ring, Nagini saw a view completely different from her surroundings—a stark contrast between the age of kingdoms and the modern era.
Yes, Nagini had opened a Time Shattering Stone portal!
She peered deeper into the circle, her heart tightening in awe.
Towering buildings rose high into the sky, cars sped along busy roads, and crowds of people bustled about.
Nagini: "Should I go in there? Is Suro Gebleg really in that place?"
Gathering her courage, she took a step forward.
Her right foot landed on tiled pavement, while her left foot still rested on the grassy slopes of Mount Merapi.
The moment both her feet crossed the blue circle, the light began to shrink, returning to a tiny dot, and then vanished without a trace.
Nagini stood frozen on the sidewalk, staring at the strange modern world around her.
***
1-11 The Bustle of Jakarta
When she saw a car, Nagini's astonishment grew.
A cart, which should have been pulled by a horse, now moved on its own with passengers inside.
Nagini (whispering to herself): "What a strange world… a cart that moves by itself."
When she looked up at the towering buildings, she was amazed.
Nagini: "How can people build houses as tall as the towers of a royal palace?"
She steeled her heart and began walking along the sidewalk.
Nagini: "Suro, are you really in this strange world?"
Her heart wavered—could she really find Suro in this modern place?
Nagini: "You said, Suro, that the future world was at war with space creatures… yet here, everything seems fine."
She kept walking, passing by many people. Because of her unusual appearance, many stared at her.
Her bright red 16th-century dress made her look like an actress, or a performer from a wayang orang or ketoprak play.
Beside the sidewalk, traffic was crawling. Horns blared, and people shouted in frustration after a long day's work.
Nagini found the noise overwhelming—so different from the cool mountain air and the morning songs of birds.
She shook her head and gave a wry smile.
It was 5:00 PM. Evening was falling.
Nagini kept walking, trying to understand and adapt to this foreign world.
***
1-12 Nagini's Frustration
Nagini's thoughts churned between doubt, confusion, and amazement.
Nagini: "Suro Gebleg, of all places, you chose to come to somewhere like this."
Her heart hoped she could find Suro soon, and then return quickly to her own world.
Nagini: "Suro, where should I look for you? Have I entered the wrong future world?"
But finally, she steeled herself.
Nagini: "Very well, Suro. I will stay in this future world until I find you."
She continued walking along the sidewalk, ignoring the curious stares from passersby.
End of Chapter 1
To be Continued Chapter 2
***