The sky of Padang Besar began to change color.
From dusky orange to blood red and all the animals in the village began to scream in unison.
Aina stood outside Tok Halim's hut,
holding a black bead the size of a heart...that was the Heart of the World.
The thing pulsed like a living creature.
Every time it breathed, the shadow on the ground rippled like a black sea.
"Tok..."
"The eclipse has begun, Aina," Tok Halim's voice was hoarse, calm, "The world will make a choice tonight whether to continue to pretend to live in false light, or face the truth in the dark."
Aina gripped the bead tightly.
In her mind, Harith's voice echoed, the voice she had heard from the mirror earlier.
"Don't do it, Aina... The world can still be saved."
---
The Sky Split
Suddenly, a black lightning split the sky.
Not light, but a lightning shadow shaped like a dragon's veins swallowing clouds.
The earth shook.
Every reflection on the surface of the water, the mirror, the phone screen showed a human shadow screaming, like a spirit trapped for too long.
Tok Halim raised his hand.
Around him, ten black candles lit with a bluish flame.
"The ceremony can't stop.
Once the Heart of the World is opened, all shadows will return to their original bodies.
But those who have deceived their shadows…"
He smiled thinly.
"Will burn from the inside."
Aina stared at Tok Halim.
"Including me?"
Tok Halim nodded slowly.
"You are a human without a shadow. You don't belong to any world.
But when you open your heart… one of the two worlds will be destroyed and you will be the bridge."
---
The appearance of Harith
The wind stopped.
And from the darkness of the forest behind the hut, slow footsteps could be heard.
Harith appeared with half a human face, half a thick smoky shadow.
His eyes glowed silver, his voice echoed in two layers.
"Aina… don't."
"I did this because of you," Aina's voice trembled, "I want the world you're fighting against to stop killing people."
"But this world is fake! You heard me, right? The shadow is just a mirror of human sin, if you destroy the mirror, humans will lose who they are!"
Harith stepped forward, but each step left a black mark on the ground, like the earth rotting beneath his feet.
Aina stepped back, tears falling.
"If I have to destroy this world for you to live again… I'm willing."
---
Blood Ritual
Tok Halim began to chant a spell.
The language was ancient, vibrating like two voices mixed together.
Dunia's heart in Aina's hands began to crack, emitting a blinding black light.
Harith screamed.
"Aina! That's not light, that's darkness pretending to be light!"
But he didn't have time to stop it… Aina stabbed the heart with a silver dagger.
THE WORLD BROKE.
Blood red light exploded into the sky.
All the reflections on the earth shattered...glass, mirrors, water and from each fragment emerged a human face screaming, running away from its own shadow.
Tok Halim raised his hands high, his body began to burn to black ash.
"The Eclipse Agreement... is over."
---
After the Explosion
Aina sat down.
The sky went completely black again. No moon, no stars.
Only silence.
In front of her, Harith's shadow stood but this time, without a human body.
His face was blurred, but his smile was the same.
"Aina..."
"Harith? You—"
"I'm no longer Harith. I... all the shadows you've saved."
The shadow reached out, touching Aina's cheek.
Instantly all the colors disappeared, the world became monochrome.
"Now you have to choose, Aina.
The human world... or me."