CRASH!
The front door was slammed from outside again.
Raka, still in the attic, snapped out of his shock. His breathing quickened as he heard footsteps entering the house.
His mother was downstairs.
Meanwhile, the masked men continued moving closer.
“Raka! Run!” his mother shouted from below.
Raka’s eyes widened.
“Mom!”
“Don’t worry about me! Go now!”
Her voice was filled with a firmness he rarely heard.
Raka gripped the bag containing the map, the journal, and his grandfather’s compass.
His instincts told him those objects were the reason the intruders had come.
If they fell into their hands, something terrible would surely happen.
The footsteps were getting closer.
The attic stairs creaked.
Someone was coming up.
Raka quickly looked around.
There was no way out except through the small window beside the attic.
Without a second thought, he opened it.
The night wind struck his face.
A pile of his neighbor’s hay lay below.
It was about four meters high.
Not exactly safe.
But it was better than getting caught.
CRACK!
The attic door began to splinter under the blows.
Raka didn’t have much time.
With the courage he had left, he jumped.
“Waaaaah!”
His body hung in the air for a moment before landing squarely on the haystack.
THUD!
“Ow...”
His back ached.
But he could still stand.
Raka immediately ran away from the house.
From a distance, he saw several masked figures emerge from the front door.
They noticed him at once.
“There he is!”
“Get him!”
Without waiting any longer, Raka ran with all his strength toward the small forest at the edge of the village.
The full moon shone brightly that night.
But its light also made him easy to spot.
His heart pounded.
He had never experienced anything like this before.
Who were those people?
And how had they learned about the map?
Question after question filled his mind.
But for now, the most important thing was staying alive.
After running a considerable distance, Raka finally reached a small hill overlooking the village.
From there, he could see the villagers’ houses growing quiet.
Strangely, his pursuers were nowhere to be seen.
Raka tried to steady his breathing.
“That was close...”
He sat beneath a large tree.
His hands were still trembling.
His emotions were a tangled mess.
Fear.
Confusion.
Anger.
Everything had blended together.
Slowly, he pulled out his grandfather’s old journal.
Moonlight illuminated the pages.
Raka began reading more carefully.
In the middle of the book was a travel record written decades ago.
Several pages had been damaged by age.
But most of it was still legible.
The first passage to catch his attention read:
“Many people believe the Hundred Sky Gates are nothing more than a legend. But I have seen one with my own eyes.”
Raka swallowed.
He continued reading.
“Each gate contains ancient power passed down by the World Guardians. If all the gates open at the same time, the balance of the world could change forever.”
Raka furrowed his brow.
The balance of the world?
It sounded like something out of a fairy tale.
But after what had happened that night, he was beginning to believe it was all real.
He turned to the next page.
There was a drawing of the same symbol as the one on the map.
A large circle surrounded by a hundred small lines.
Beneath the symbol were the words:
“The First Gate lies in Hutan Kabut Aruna.”
“To find it, follow the blue light that appears during the full moon.”
Raka suddenly remembered something.
Before fleeing the attic, he had seen a blue light appear in the direction of Hutan Kabut Aruna.
Was that what the journal was referring to?
Before he could think any further, footsteps suddenly sounded behind him.
Creak...
Raka sprang to his feet.
His hand reflexively grabbed a long branch as a weapon.
“Who’s there?!”
There was no answer.
The footsteps sounded again.
Closer this time.
Raka braced himself.
If it was one of the masked men, he would have to fight.
But when the figure emerged from behind the bushes, Raka was instantly stunned.
“Dimas?!”
The tall young man let out a long breath.
“Thank goodness I found you.”
Raka lowered the branch.
Dimas Arjuna had been his best friend since childhood.
He was strong and fearless.
He often helped his father work as a lumberjack.
“What are you doing here?” Raka asked.
Dimas came closer.
“The villagers are freaking out. They said your house was attacked by strangers.”
Raka fell silent for a moment.
Then he told him everything that had happened.
Starting with the secret chest.
The ancient map.
His grandfather’s journal.
And finally, the appearance of the masked men.
Dimas listened seriously.
He usually wasn’t very interested in mystery stories.
But this time was different.
“You’re serious?” Dimas asked.
Raka nodded.
Then he showed him the map.
Dimas’s eyes widened.
“Whoa...”
For the first time, he looked genuinely impressed.
“This looks really old.”
“It is.”
“You sure it’s not a treasure map?”
Raka chuckled.
“I kind of hope it is.”
The two of them sat beneath the tree, studying the map.
Not long afterward, another set of footsteps sounded.
This time, there was more than one person.
Dimas immediately stood up.
But a few seconds later, two very familiar figures appeared.
Alya Safira and Nara Windari.
“You two, too?” Raka asked.
Alya nodded.
“We heard the commotion in the village.”
Nara crossed her arms.
“Besides, Dimas was running like a tiger was chasing him.”
“Hey!” Dimas protested.
For a moment, the mood grew lighter.
Even so, worry was still visible on their faces.
Raka eventually explained everything all over again.
This time, to Alya and Nara.
Unlike Dimas, Alya was immediately interested when she saw the symbols on the map.
She was known as the smartest girl in the village.
“I’ve seen symbols like these before,” she said.
“Huh?” Raka asked.
“At the village chief’s old library.”
“Seriously?”
Alya nodded.
“If I remember correctly, they’re connected to the legend of the World Guardians.”
Raka’s eyes widened.
That meant his grandfather’s journal might be telling the truth.
The night grew later.
The mountain wind turned colder.
Suddenly, the silver compass in his bag began to emit a faint light.
Everyone fell silent.
“What’s that?” Nara whispered.
Raka quickly took out the compass.
The needle spun wildly.
Round and round, without direction.
Then it slowly came to a stop.
Pointing in one direction.
Toward Hutan Kabut Aruna.
At the same time, the mysterious blue light appeared in the distance again.
This time, it was brighter than before.
It illuminated the night sky like a gigantic beacon.
The four friends stared at it without blinking.
They could feel something.
Something enormous was waiting there.
The adventure that had existed only in their dreams was slowly becoming reality.
Raka gripped the compass tightly.
Then he looked at his friends.
“I’m going to Hutan Kabut.”
No one answered for several seconds.
Then Dimas smiled.
“I’m coming with you.”
Nara shrugged.
“Me too.”
Alya closed the map and said,
“Then we’ll go together.”
Beneath the full moon, the four friends stood facing the mysterious forest that held a great secret.
They didn’t yet know what dangers awaited them.
They didn’t yet know who the Eternal Shadow truly was.
And they had no idea that their first step toward Hutan Kabut Aruna would change the fate of the world forever.
To be continued in Chapter 3 – The Meeting of Five Friends