The year 2025.
The Arkana Nusantara Institute building stood in the heart of the bustling city.
The eight-story building didn't look like an ordinary office.
From the outside, it had a modern design, with glass walls reflecting the sunlight.
But the moment someone entered the lobby, the atmosphere changed completely.
Along one side of the room stood several replicas of relics from the past.
There were pottery fragments, recreated inscriptions, and ancient maps displayed behind glass.
The place was clearly more than just an office.
Arkana Nusantara Institute, or ANI, was a research institution specializing in archaeology, history, and the preservation of cultural heritage.
Archaeologists, historians, epigraphers, conservators, and field researchers all worked inside the building.
Each floor had its own bustle.
There was an administrative office that was never free of stacks of paperwork. There was a library filled with history books and years' worth of research reports.
There was also a laboratory where ancient objects were cleaned and examined with the utmost care.
The higher one went, the quieter it became.
The researchers' offices were on the sixth floor.
Among the dozens of researchers working at Arkana Nusantara Institute was a man named Dipa Aksara.
He was twenty-nine years old and had worked as an archaeologist at the institution for several years.
With his prescription glasses, nerdy face, and flat expression, he looked every bit the awkward academic.
Dipa wasn't the kind of researcher who liked spending all his time behind a desk.
He preferred being in the field, face-to-face with the soil, ruins, and objects that had lain buried and unknown for hundreds of years.
To him, every pottery fragment, arrangement of stones, or nearly vanished inscription had a story to tell.
He was known as a calm and meticulous person.
He didn't talk much, but once his curiosity was piqued, it was difficult to stop him.
His desk almost always held stacks of reports, history books, maps, and photographs from previous research.
That morning was no different.
The bespectacled man was hunched over an old report when a staff member stopped beside his desk.
"Mr. Dipa."
Dipa lifted his head and looked at the person standing directly in front of him.
"Mr. Arman wants you to come to his office."
Dipa glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Now?"
"He said right away."
Dipa closed the book, then rose from his seat and headed for Mr. Arman's office—his boss's office.
He didn't yet know that the simple summons would lead him toward a discovery that had remained hidden from the world for centuries.
A kingdom that survived only in fragments of history.
Namely, Jayaraksa.
Dipa took the elevator to the seventh floor.
The atmosphere there was far quieter than in the researchers' work area.
Several doors were tightly closed, while at the end of the hall stood a room with a small nameplate:
Dr. Arman Wicaksana Head of Archaeological Research
Once he reached the door, Dipa knocked twice.
Knock. Knock.
"Come in."
A deep yet calm voice came from inside.
Dipa opened the door.
Arman's office was fairly spacious, but not excessive.
A large wooden desk stood near the window, covered with research reports and several dark-colored folders.
Behind the desk were tall shelves packed with history books, artifact catalogs, and old research documents.
The wall behind him was covered with maps of the Indonesian archipelago.
Several areas were marked with small notes.
In the corner stood a glass cabinet containing several artifact replicas produced through the institution's research.
Arman Wicaksana sat behind his desk.
He was around fifty-two years old.
Gray had begun to streak his hair at the temples, but his body was still straight and sturdy.
He wore a simple shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
Arman wasn't the kind of superior who liked to raise his voice.
Quite the opposite—he always spoke softly, but every word he uttered made people stop and listen.
Over his many years in archaeology, Arman had witnessed major discoveries as well as failed research projects.
That was why he was known as cautious, disciplined, and not easily given to conclusions.
He raised his eyes when Dipa stopped in front of him.
"Sit down, Dipa."
Dipa pulled out a chair and sat.
They sat facing each other.
Arman picked up a folder that had been lying on his desk.
"How long have you been working here?"
Dipa furrowed his brow. "Almost five years, sir."
Arman nodded slowly.
"Then perhaps it's time you saw something you'd never seen before. Including me."
Arman opened the dark-brown folder in front of him.
"Dipa, I want you to join this project."
Dipa furrowed his brow. "What project, sir?"
Arman slid several photographs toward him.
"The survey team found a stone structure in an area that had always been considered nothing more than an ordinary ruin site."
Dipa picked up one of the photographs and studied it.
It showed an old arrangement of stones, partially covered by soil and tree roots.
"How old do you estimate it is?" Dipa asked.
"We can't say for certain yet. But based on the structure and several fragments we've found, we suspect the site is much older than what was recorded in the previous reports."
Arman picked up another sheet.
"We also found several fragments of ancient writing."
Dipa examined the photograph more closely, pursing his lips as if it only made him more confused.
"Can any of it be read?" he asked.
"Not completely." Arman paused before continuing. "But one name appears several times."
He pointed to the bottom of the photograph.
Jayaraksa.
Dipa raised his face toward Arman. "Jayaraksa?"
"Yes."
"A kingdom?"
"Most likely."
Dipa looked at the photograph again.
"Then why was it only discovered now?"
"That's the problem."
Arman leaned back in his chair, folding his arms.
"There are very few records about Jayaraksa. No truly certain location. Until now, some researchers have considered it nothing more than a story or an unverified account."
"And now?" Dipa asked.
"Now we have a real structure in the field."
Dipa fell silent for a moment.
Arman picked up another file.
"You'll leave in three days."
"Me?"
"Yes. You'll be part of the excavation team. And for this project, of course, you won't be working alone. Bima will lead the field team."
Dipa nodded. "Bima? I met him during the research project in Central Java."
"That's right. There are several others you may already know. Smitha, Riko, Dimas... You were all involved in some of the same research activities."
"Is Maya joining too?"
"Of course. She'll handle the project's administration and funding."
Dipa smiled faintly. "So they won't be strangers."
"No," Arman replied. "It's just that this time, you'll all be working as one team."
Dipa nodded slowly.
"When do we leave?"
"Three days from now," Arman replied.
"Sir, if this really is a lost kingdom, what exactly are we looking for?"
Arman didn't answer right away.
He stared at the large map on the wall for several seconds.
"For now, we're only looking for evidence," he said, tapping his index finger against the desk.
"Evidence of Jayaraksa?"
"Yes."
Arman looked back at Dipa.
"Don't look for legends. Don't look for mystical stories. Look for what can be proven."
Dipa nodded. "Yes, sir."
But before Dipa could stand, Arman spoke quietly.
"And one more thing."
Dipa stopped, then turned back.
"If your team finds something that wasn't in the initial report, don't make the decision on your own. Contact me."
Dipa looked at him. "How important is this discovery, really, sir?"
Arman was silent for a moment before answering. "If our suspicions are correct, Dipa... this discovery may change everything we thought we knew about Jayaraksa."
Dipa picked up the folder.
Without realizing it, his fingers stopped directly over the word Jayaraksa.
And for a moment, a strange feeling rose inside him.
As if he had known the name before.
Even though he was certain he had never heard it in his entire life.
7:00 p.m. WIB.
It was late at night by the time Dipa finally returned to his home.
He lived in a modest apartment not far from Arkana Nusantara Institute.
The building wasn't tall or luxurious, just an old apartment block with several floors and hallways always filled with the sounds of its residents.
His unit wasn't large, either.
It had only two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room connected to a small kitchen, and a narrow balcony facing the rows of buildings across the way.
Dipa lived with a friend he'd known since college.
They split the rent and daily expenses to make things easier.
There weren't many expensive things in the apartment.
A small sofa sat in the living room.
In front of it was a short table often covered with books, coffee cups, and Dipa's own papers.
Near the window stood a simple shelf filled almost entirely with books on history and archaeology.
Dipa's bedroom was much the same.
A bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and several storage boxes.
On the desk sat a camera, a field notebook, several photographs of research sites, and a laptop that often stayed on until midnight.
Dipa wasn't particularly concerned about his living arrangements.
As long as he had somewhere to sleep, a desk to work at, and coffee in the morning, that was enough for him.
That night, after setting down his bag, Dipa didn't go straight to sleep.
He stepped out onto the small balcony.
The night wind brushed against his face.
Below, vehicle lights still moved along the city streets.
Dipa leaned against the balcony railing.
His thoughts returned to a single name.
Jayaraksa.
From the balcony, he could see the broad sky, nearly free of clouds.
The stars were the only light accompanying Dipa as he sat alone on the lodging's terrace.
The night air felt cold.
Every so often, the wind passed through the trees, carrying the sound of rubbing leaves.
Dipa stared at the sky, but his thoughts weren't there.
Ever since he heard the name Jayaraksa, something had continued to trouble him.
The name felt familiar.
Too familiar.
Yet he was certain he'd never been there.
He had never read any detailed records about it, either.
In fact, before this, he had almost never heard the name Jayaraksa.
Then why did thinking about it bring such a strange feeling over him every time?
Like someone trying to remember something that had been lost.
Dipa lowered his head.
He didn't even know what he had lost.
But that night, for the first time, he felt that perhaps there was a part of his past he had never truly known.
He looked back up at the stars overhead.
For some reason, for a moment Dipa felt as though he had seen the same sky before—but from a different place, at a time far, far in the past.
He sighed.
"It feels like something's missing, but what?"
For some reason, the harder he tried to forget the name, the stronger the strange feeling inside him became.
As if something had once been part of his life...
but was now gone.
And Dipa didn't even know what he was looking for.
Without realizing it, he had no idea that a great shock awaited him.