The blue light from both compasses filled the entire room of the old library.
Raka gripped the compass passed down from his grandfather, while a mysterious young man named Bima Raksa stood several steps in front of him, holding a similar compass.
Both objects trembled softly.
As if recognizing each other.
As if they had been waiting for this moment of meeting for a long time.
Dimas was the first to break the silence.
“I don’t like this.”
Nara glanced at him.
“What don’t you like?”
“Everything.”
Alya sighed.
“That’s not an answer.”
“I mean, a stranger suddenly shows up in the middle of the night, carrying the same compass, and then the thing lights up like a festival lamp. How am I supposed to stay calm?”
Though the situation was tense, Dimas’s words lightened the mood a little.
But Raka’s attention remained fixed on Bima.
“Who are you, really?” he asked.
Bima looked at the compass in his hand before answering.
“I’m looking for someone named Raka Pratama.”
“Why?”
“Because my father asked me to.”
Everyone exchanged glances.
“And how did your father know my name?” Raka asked.
Bima fell silent for a moment.
Then he pulled an old paper scroll from his bag.
“Because my father was your grandfather’s friend.”
Raka’s heart immediately began to race.
“My grandfather?”
Bima nodded.
“Mahesa Pratama and my father traveled together decades ago.”
The village chief, standing near the bookshelves, looked startled.
“So you’re Raksa Adinata’s son?”
“That’s right.”
The old man gave a small smile.
“It’s been a very long time since I last heard that name.”
Bima bowed his head respectfully.
Raka began to realize that all these events were connected.
His grandfather.
Bima’s father.
The map.
The compass.
And the Hundred Sky Gates.
They were all pieces of a great secret he still didn’t fully understand.
“Then,” Alya said, “what do you know about the Sky Gates?”
Bima walked over to the large table in the middle of the library.
He unrolled the paper scroll he had brought.
The map on the paper was different from Raka’s.
But some of the symbols looked the same.
“For years, my father collected information about the Sky Gates.”
“And?” Nara asked.
“The First Gate will open soon.”
Everyone immediately fell silent.
“Are you sure?” the village chief asked.
Bima nodded.
“The ancient symbols are beginning to activate. The explorers’ compasses are beginning to react. That only happens when a gate is about to awaken.”
Raka stared at the compass in his hand.
The blue light was still shining.
Not as brightly as before, but clearly enough to see.
“You know where the First Gate is?” Raka asked.
Bima pointed to a spot on the map.
“Aruna Mist Forest.”
Dimas let out a low whistle.
“So we really have to go in there.”
Just before dawn, the five of them gathered around a large wooden table.
The village chief showed them various ancient records kept in the library.
Most of them contained legendary tales.
But a few pages held important information.
Alya read one of the records carefully.
“According to this passage, every Sky Gate has a unique symbol.”
“A symbol?” Raka asked.
Alya nodded.
“That symbol serves as a key.”
Bima added,
“Without understanding the symbol, no one can open the gate.”
“So we have to find the symbol first?” Nara asked.
“Exactly.”
The village chief then opened another page.
There was a drawing of a sun surrounded by a ring of light.
Ancient writing appeared beneath it.
Alya read slowly.
“‘The First Light will open the path to the heavens.’”
Raka frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know,” Alya replied. “But it’s most likely a clue pointing to the First Gate.”
They continued studying the records until the sun began to rise.
Morning light slowly entered through the library windows.
But before they could continue their discussion, a villager suddenly came running in, panic written across his face.
“Village Chief!”
The old man immediately stood.
“What is it?”
“The village gate guards found something!”
“What?”
The man swallowed.
“Five masked men were found in the forest near the river.”
Raka froze.
“The people who attacked my house?”
The villager nodded.
“But…”
“But what?”
“They’re all unconscious.”
Everyone exchanged glances.
“That’s strange,” Dimas muttered.
“And even stranger,” the villager continued, “a symbol drawn on the ground was found near them.”
Raka felt a bad premonition.
A symbol?
“We don’t know what it means.”
The village chief immediately took his wooden staff.
“Show us.”
Before long, they reached the riverbank not far from the village.
Several villagers had gathered there.
In the middle of the crowd, five masked men lay bound.
They were still unconscious.
But Raka’s attention immediately focused on the ground beside them.
A large symbol had been drawn there in black charcoal.
A circle.
Surrounded by a hundred small lines.
The symbol of a Sky Gate.
But something was different.
At the center of the symbol was an image of a glowing sun.
Alya’s eyes widened.
“That’s the symbol from the book!”
Bima nodded slowly.
“That’s right.”
The village chief grew even more serious.
“This isn’t a coincidence.”
“Who do you think drew it?” Nara asked.
No one could answer.
Because at that very moment, a thunderous rumble sounded from the direction of the mountains.
BOOOOM!
The ground shook.
The river churned violently.
The villagers began to panic.
“What’s happening?!”
“An earthquake?!”
The rumble came again.
BOOOOM!
BOOOOM!
Then something extraordinary happened.
From the direction of Aruna Mist Forest, a gigantic pillar of blue light rose and pierced the sky.
Everyone fell silent.
The light was far larger than the one Raka had seen before.
The morning sky changed color.
The clouds above the forest spun into a colossal vortex.
Strong winds blew in every direction.
Raka and Bima’s compasses lit up again.
This time, they were much brighter.
Their needles spun rapidly before finally pointing straight toward the light.
Bima tightened his grip on his compass.
His expression turned tense.
“It’s begun.”
Raka looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
Bima turned his gaze toward the forest.
His eyes were filled with worry.
“The First Gate is awakening.”
Silence descended over them.
Not a single person spoke.
Because they all knew.
Starting today, their lives would never be the same again.
And deep within Aruna Mist Forest, something that had slept for thousands of years slowly opened its eyes.
To be continued in Chapter 5 – Attack of the Masked Men