Arga was still standing where he was.
His gaze was fixed on Chirp.
The little bird didn't say a word.
The mountain wind ruffled his blue-green feathers.
Chirp usually always had an answer.
There was always some comment that annoyed Bimo or made Sinta shake her head.
But this time was different.
Chirp was silent.
“So it's true?” Arga asked.
There was no answer.
“You know about my family?”
Chirp lowered his head.
“I know something about Grandpa Mahesa.”
Arga clenched his fists.
“Why didn't you ever tell me?”
“Because Grandpa Mahesa asked me not to tell you.”
“Why?”
Chirp sighed.
“Because some things have to be discovered on your own.”
Arga let out a short laugh.
“Everyone always says that.”
He pointed to the old house in the valley.
“Then what's inside that house?”
Chirp looked at the building.
“Answers.”
“Answers about the Shadow Collector?”
“Some of them.”
“And about me?”
Chirp fell silent.
Arga stared at him.
“Some of those too?”
Chirp nodded.
Sinta then stood beside Arga.
“We won't get any answers if we keep standing here.”
Bimo raised his hand.
“I agree.”
Nala put her sketchbook in her bag.
“Let's go.”
Arga took a deep breath.
Then they began walking down into the valley.
The journey to Mahesa's house took almost an hour.
The path they followed grew more sparsely covered with trees.
The fog began to clear.
The afternoon sun illuminated the valley.
From a distance, the house looked much larger than they had expected.
It was made of stone and wood.
It had two stories.
Its windows were tall.
Its red roof was covered in moss.
In front of the house was a wide yard overgrown with weeds.
But what caught Arga's attention most was a stone statue in front of the door.
It was shaped like a bird.
It looked like Chirp.
Arga approached it.
“Is this you?”
Chirp landed on the statue's head.
“An older version.”
Bimo laughed.
“I think it's uglier.”
Chirp pecked his hair.
“Ow!”
Sinta smiled.
For a moment, the mood lightened.
But Nala didn't laugh with them.
She stood in front of the house's door, staring at her sketchbook.
“There's something inside.”
Arga turned.
“What?”
Nala held up the book.
Its blank page was beginning to fill in.
A drawing of a door.
Behind the door were four shadows.
One shadow was very tall.
One was small.
One looked like a bird.
And the last one…
didn't have a clear shape.
Nala whispered,
“I don't know who the last shadow is.”
Chirp immediately flew closer.
“Don't open the door.”
Arga looked at him.
“Why not?”
“Because this house may still recognize its former owner.”
“And?”
“If it recognizes us as strangers, it might not let us in.”
Bimo looked at the large door.
“Then what do we do?”
Arga took out the compass.
The needle spun.
Once.
Twice.
Then it stopped.
Pointing straight at the door.
Arga stepped closer.
The moment the compass touched the doorknob…
CLICK.
The door opened by itself.
Everyone fell silent.
Bimo swallowed.
“I guess the house recognizes us.”
They went inside.
The first room was enormous.
Bookshelves covered the walls.
Old maps hung everywhere.
There was a map of Java.
Sumatra.
Kalimantan.
Sulawesi.
Papua.
There were even maps of several small islands Arga had never heard of.
In the corner of the room stood a glass cabinet filled with strange objects.
A mask.
A glowing stone.
A large seashell.
A wooden staff.
An old clay jug.
And a glass bottle containing blue light.
Sinta approached the cabinet.
“This is incredible.”
She read the small notes beneath each object.
“Spring Guardian Stone.”
“Shadow-Repelling Mask.”
“Wind-Calling Shell.”
“Giant-Lulling Flute.”
Bimo stared at the bottle of light.
“What about that one?”
Sinta read its label.
“Moon Tears.”
Bimo nodded.
“Obviously.”
Sinta looked at him.
“What?”
“It says Moon Tears.”
“Yes.”
“So they're the moon's tears.”
Sinta sighed.
“Sometimes I wonder how you've made it this far in life.”
Bimo grinned.
Arga wasn't listening to them.
His eyes were fixed on a large table in the middle of the room.
A book lay on top of it.
Its cover was made of brown leather.
The same symbol as the one on the compass was stamped on the front.
Arga approached it.
“This is Grandpa Mahesa's book.”
Chirp flew to the table.
“Don't rush.”
Arga opened the first page.
Handwriting covered the page.
If someone finds this book, it means the Mahesa Compass has chosen its successor.
Arga read on.
They may wonder why I kept secrets.
The answer is simple.
Because these secrets do not belong to me.
Arga turned the page.
The human world and the supernatural world once lived side by side.
The Guardians maintained the balance between them.
But that balance did not always hold.
There were humans who wanted to use the Guardians' power for their own purposes.
Arga stopped.
Sinta read over his shoulder.
“So the Shadow Collector is human?”
Chirp answered,
“He was.”
Arga turned to him.
“He was?”
Chirp didn't answer.
Arga went back to reading.
On the next page was a drawing of a young boy.
He was about twelve years old.
His hair was black.
His face…
Arga felt that strange sensation again.
The boy's face looked remarkably like his own.
A name was written beneath the drawing.
Raka.
Arga read the note below it.
Raka was the first child to discover the Shadow Gate.
He believed the Guardians had taken something from him.
He wanted to take back what he believed was his by right.
Sinta turned the page.
It was blank.
The next page was blank too.
Bimo furrowed his brow.
“Why does the story stop here?”
Nala took the book.
“It isn't finished.”
She pointed to the bottom of the page.
There was some extremely faint ink.
As though the writing had been deliberately erased.
Nala took out a pencil.
She slowly rubbed the side of the pencil over the paper.
The hidden writing began to appear.
Raka did not become the Shadow Collector for power.
They all fell silent.
Nala continued.
He became the Shadow Collector because he lost someone.
Arga furrowed his brow.
“Who?”
The next line slowly appeared.
His younger sister.
A loud noise suddenly came from the second floor.
CRASH!
They all jumped.
Bimo raised his flashlight.
“There's someone upstairs.”
Chirp took flight.
“Don't go up.”
Arga was already on his feet.
“We have to find out who it is.”
“Arga!”
But Arga ran toward the stairs.
Sinta, Bimo, and Nala followed him.
The old wooden stairs creaked with every step.
The second floor was dark.
A long hallway stretched ahead, lined with several doors.
One of the doors stood open.
Arga walked closer.
The sound of breathing came from inside.
Slow.
Steady.
Someone was in there.
Arga pushed the door open.
“Who's there?”
There was no answer.
He went inside.
It was a study.
A small table stood in the center.
A photograph lay on top of it.
Arga picked it up.
A photograph of Grandpa Mahesa.
A young boy stood beside him.
Raka.
But there was someone else too.
A little girl.
Arga turned the photograph over.
Written on the back were the words:
Mahesa, Raka, and Rani.
“Rani…”
Nala suddenly appeared behind him.
“I've seen that face before.”
Arga turned.
“Where?”
Nala pointed to the photograph.
“In my drawing.”
She opened her sketchbook.
The page that had been blank before now contained a drawing of a little girl.
Her hair was long.
She wore a leaf-shaped bracelet.
And she stood in front of a banyan tree.
Beneath the drawing were the words:
THE FIRST GUARDIAN.
Sinta took the photograph.
“Wait.”
She examined the girl's bracelet.
“That isn't a bracelet.”
“What is it?”
“It's a fragment of the Seal.”
The hair on the back of Arga's neck stood up.
“So Rani was one of the Guardians?”
Chirp flew in through the window.
“Yes.”
“And Raka was her older brother?”
“Yes.”
“Rani disappeared?”
Chirp nodded.
Arga began to understand.
“So the Shadow Collector is searching for the Guardians because he wants to find his sister.”
Chirp looked at him.
“That is what he believes.”
“Believes?”
“Rani didn't disappear because of the Guardians.”
“Then who took her?”
Chirp didn't answer.
Before Arga could press him…
a sound came from downstairs.
BOOM!
The house shook.
Then all the oil lamps lit up by themselves.
One after another.
Their flames were purple.
Bimo whispered,
“He's here.”
The Shadow Collector.
But this time there wasn't just one lantern.
Through the window, dozens of floating purple lights could be seen in the air.
Like fireflies.
But their color was dark.
Chirp shouted at once.
“Everyone, downstairs!”
They ran toward the stairs.
As soon as they reached the first floor…
the front door opened.
A black-robed figure stood in the yard.
The Shadow Collector.
He didn't come inside.
He simply stood outside.
Arga stepped forward.
“Raka!”
The figure fell silent.
For the first time, he looked surprised.
Arga raised the photograph.
“You're Raka, aren't you?”
The wind suddenly stopped.
The flame of the lantern in his hand shrank.
“Who told you that name?”
“Grandpa Mahesa.”
The Shadow Collector clenched his fist.
“Mahesa…”
His voice changed.
It no longer sounded like the voice of a mysterious being.
This time it sounded like the voice of someone who was furious.
“He took Rani from me.”
Arga shook his head.
“He didn't take her.”
“You don't know anything!”
The purple lantern flared.
The shadows around the house moved like living creatures.
Bimo stepped back.
Sinta grabbed Nala's hand.
Chirp stood in front of Arga.
“Raka, listen!”
The Shadow Collector raised his hand.
The shadows shot toward them.
WHOOSH!
But before they could touch them…
the trees around the house began to move.
Massive roots burst from the ground.
Forming a wall.
The shadows slammed into the roots.
BOOM!
The Shadow Collector stumbled back.
Arga stared at the yard.
A woman in a white dress emerged from among the roots.
Her hair was long.
A crown of banyan leaves adorned her head.
The Banyan Guardian Kuntilanak.
She looked at Raka.
“You can't take them yet.”
Raka fell silent.
“Why not?”
“Because they don't know the truth yet.”
The kuntilanak turned to Arga.
“And when the time comes…”
Her eyes glowed green.
“…they will find Rani.”
Raka raised his lantern.
“You're lying!”
The purple flame grew larger.
But before he could attack, the sky above the mountain suddenly lit up.
A single black spot appeared among the clouds.
Then a rumble echoed through the air.
Chirp stared at the sky in fear.
“The second Seal…”
Arga looked at him.
“What?”
Chirp whispered,
“It has broken.”
At once, the green light in Arga's compass went out.
And from far away came a long scream.
It wasn't a human scream.
Nor was it the cry of an animal.
It sounded like the entire forest was crying.
The Banyan Guardian Kuntilanak looked toward the sky.
“The next Guardian has fallen.”
Raka lowered his lantern.
Then he smiled faintly.
“Then…”
He turned away.
“…our game has just begun.”
His body transformed into shadow.
He disappeared along with the purple lantern.
Arga was still standing there, holding the photograph of Rani.
Behind him, Chirp said softly,
“We have to find the next Guardian before he does.”
Arga looked at his friends.
“Where?”
Chirp pointed east.
“In a forest that humans must never find.”
Sinta asked,
“What is it called?”
Chirp answered in a quiet voice.
“The Forbidden Forest.”
And deep inside the forest that appeared on no map…
a pair of eyes slowly opened.