The Puaka's shell snapped shut with a wet thud, its gruesome feast complete, and the barrier shimmered out of existence. Riang lunged, seizing the split-second opening. But the hulking shadow spun with a guttural roar, its red eyes burning like embers in a charnel house with fury, and the cloying stench of death thickened the air. In a heartbeat, it dissolved into the deeper shadows, leaving only the lingering smell and a ringing silence.
"It's fleeing. Split up, Riang! Signal me if you find it," Suria's voice cut sharply, laced with desperate urgency.
"Got it!" Riang's reply was already fading as she vanished into the canopy, a blur of beating wings. She wove through the branches like a phantom sparrow, sharp eyes dissecting every shadow. Below, Suria plunged through the underbrush, a human arrow dodging the grasping roots and low-hanging branches.
The loud, guttural growls of the Rakshasa Puaka startled the old man awake, his heart hammering in his chest.
"Not my newly planted seedlings!" he gasped, throwing off his torn blanket. His bony legs, fueled by desperation, moved with surprising speed as he scrambled outside.
Suria halted mid-stride, a prickle of unease crawling like insects down her spine. The rustling of leaves—too deliberate, too purposeful—was all the warning she got. From the deeper shadows, two dark shapes coalesced, their forms shifting unnaturally like ink swirling in water.
"Well, isn't this unexpected?" one figure sneered, its face contorting grotesquely into a twisted reflection of Suria. One of its eyes was an abyss of unblinking black. "Is she supposed to be me? She doesn't feel like much."
"Test her strength if you're so curious," the second shadowy figure hissed, its spiked silhouette vibrating with malice.
Suria froze, her breath snagging in her throat. A cold sweat broke out across her skin, and her hands trembled. She knew what this was: her Qareen—her shadow self—but corrupted, twisted.
Without hesitation, the doppelgänger lashed out, aiming a thunderous kick at Suria. Suria tried to raise her arms in defense, but the attack was too swift, too brutal. The impact sent her hurtling through the forest, branches whipping at her face and tearing at her cloak. She crashed through a rotten wooden fence, landing with a bone-jarring thud against the wall of an abandoned house.
"Pathetic," the Qareen sneered, brushing off her hands.
"Hey, hey, I said test her, not kill her, Mentari!" the spiky silhouette teased, pointing toward the trail of destruction left by the powerful kick.
"That's how I test," Mentari snarled, "and I'm truly disappointed. We're done here. We've got somewhere else to be."
"Yikes, I thought we were going to watch them fight the Rakshasa Puaka?"
"I've lost interest, Bulan." Mentari muttered, her voice sharp with disdain. "Before we report back to Master, there's something I need to do. I need to understand my past." Her gaze shifted upward, locking onto the bright moon as it began to fade, veiled by encroaching dark clouds.
"Why do you care so much about our past? Just thinking about it gives me a headache…"
"Our past is the key to our power," she answered. "Once I unlock its secrets, I'll be unstoppable. Are you done chatting? Let's go."
Bulan and Mentari dissolved into black ink, swirling and merging before leaping out of the area with incredible speed, leaving Suria alone in the eerie silence.
At the edge of the withered forest, Riang spotted the Puaka—a hulking beast, its pale, armored body gleaming in the moonlight—lumbering relentlessly toward the old man's planting ground. She then saw the old man rushing to protect his precious saplings.
"NO!" she yelled, diving instantly to save him. But the Puaka's tail lashed out first, striking the old man with brutal, bone-crushing force and sending him crashing into a tree.
Riang froze for a moment, stunned by the sudden violence, before fury ignited in her chest. She flew to the old man, gently lowering him to the ground, her hands trembling.
"P-please... save the... p-plants... they're the only... h-hope... for the village..." he whispered, his voice faint and broken.
The Puaka stood motionless, its shell creaking open to reveal a pulsating core of dark energy. A powerful barrier began to envelop the area, visibly siphoning the life force from the surrounding land.
Riang's face hardened with determination, her jaw clenched tight. She turned toward the creature, her eyes blazing with a fierce light. With a powerful slam of her hands against the ground, she summoned her shakti. Four massive stone fists erupted from the earth around the Puaka, striking its barrier with thunderous force. Riang charged forward, her fists now enveloped in tempered stone, and hammered against the shimmering surface that began to crack.
"Damn you! COWARD! Get out here and fight me!" she roared, her voice raw with anger. She unleashed a furious barrage of blows, desperately trying to shatter the barrier and reach the unmoving Puaka.
Shock rippled through the Puaka as its impenetrable shell began to splinter. It retaliated instantly, its shell snapping open wider to unleash an iridescent energy barrier that shimmered like oil on water. It enveloped Riang, trapping her within its confines. The Puaka intensified its siphoning, greedily devouring the life force inside the barrier. The surrounding fauna and flora withered and died in a matter of seconds. Riang staggered, her strength fading as her shakti was absorbed by the Puaka. Her vision blurred, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
The Puaka lowered its guard, preparing to strike the fallen Riang and finish her off. As its shell began to close, granting it freedom of movement, it suddenly detected something in the air. A golden light tore through the night, and a massive bird of pure energy descended like a bolt of lightning.
It was Jentayu. The Puaka growled and snapped its shell open again, desperately seeking protection from the guardian bird's unmatched speed. Jentayu blasted a powerful beam of light from her wings, disrupting the Puaka's defense. With blinding speed, she swooped down, talons outstretched, and seized the Puaka by its arms. Her powerful grip crushed the Puaka's shell, and she slammed the creature into the ground repeatedly, weakening its dark power.
Then, with a mighty toss, she hurled the beast high into the air and unleashed another devastating beam of light, obliterating it into nothingness. The absorbed life force surged back into the land.
"Dare you disturb my mealtime!" the guardian bird growled, her divine radiance bathing the clearing before she landed gracefully on the ground.
"Jentayu…" Suria's voice was a ragged whisper as she emerged from the skeletal trees, clutching her side.
"Summoning me in your condition was reckless," Jentayu said sternly, though her eyes softened with concern.
"I had no choice," Suria choked out, a raw cough escaping her lips. "I couldn't fight with my wounds. The Qareen hit me hard."
"Your friend is safe, but the old man… tend to him first, as his time is short. The longer I stay, the weaker you become." Jentayu inclined her head.
With that, Jentayu soared into the dark skies, her golden light fading into the night.
Suria stumbled towards the old man, falling to her knees beside him. She cradled his frail body in her arms, his breaths shallow and ragged.
"Please… hang on," she pleaded, her voice breaking. "The village needs you."
"Y-you... are a Celestion... I... I heard... about your kind...urgh…" he rasped, coughing weakly. "P-promise me... something… p-protect… the hu...ma…" His words faded, his grip on her hand loosened, and his chest fell still.
Suria buried her face in his shoulder, her body wracked with sobs. The rain fell steadily, washing away the blood and dust, a gentle caress on her aching skin. Beside her, a tiny seedling, a vibrant green shoot with delicate leaves, pushed through the soil—a final gift from the old man to his dying village, a symbol of hope amidst the despair.
Through her tears, Suria gently laid him to rest beside the sprout, marking the grave with a simple stone. She knelt there for a moment, listening to the rhythmic patter of raindrops on the dry earth, each drop a tiny drumbeat in a symphony of grief.
She rose and walked towards Riang, who lay unconscious, her strength drained by the Puaka. Suria removed her torn cloak and draped it over Riang, shielding her from the rain. As she lifted Riang into her arms, she cast one last glance at the grave. The rain continued to pour, weaving a somber melody over the bare forest, slowly breathing life back into the parched land.
"I promise," she murmured, her voice resolute but heavy with sorrow. Each step she took was a battle against the ache in her heart and the sting of her bruises.
Fading into the misty veil of rain, Suria vanished from sight, leaving behind the silent grave and the defiant seedling. Above, lightning tore through the sky, its jagged brilliance mirroring her inner turmoil. The storm raged, a furious symphony of wind and rain threatening to consume all, yet within its chaos, a whisper of hope persisted, carried on the very elements that sought to destroy.
The journey was far from over, but with a heavy heart and unwavering resolve, Suria pressed on, her destiny intertwined with the fate of the world.