Phase 1: Rise of the Orphan Blade
Chapter 1: The Crimson Vow
Part 4: The Ancestor's Call
I thought I knew what it meant to be chosen—by a blade, by an island, by a vow that burned in my chest. But at sixteen, I was still Rentap Buana, a boy from Blood Island, carrying Taming Jiwa and a heart full of questions that grew heavier with every step. The blood of the mangrove maze, the jade fire of the keris, the kirin's trial—they'd shaped me, but they hadn't prepared me for what was coming. I want to share with you the moment I heard the past speak, not in stories but in whispers that shook my soul, and the day I left the only home I'd ever known. This is the part of my story where the island let me go, but not without a truth that changed everything.
The Trial of the Kirin's Fang was still fresh, its claw-mark scar itching on my arm, a reminder of the beast I'd faced and the keris that had accepted me. Kadir and the mentors—Suri, Rahim, Laila, Tengku—had forged me in their clearing, teaching me Veil Tide, Iron Surge, Star Whisper, and Sky Fang, each Silat form a piece of Taming Jiwa's soul. The mantra, Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim, was my anchor, its rhythm blending with the keris's pulse, jade waves flickering stronger with every strike. I wasn't the boy who'd knelt at Crimson Cliff, but I wasn't whole either—guilt from the pirates' blood, fear of the path ahead, and a vow that felt both mine and bigger than me.
Kadir had said Kerisforge Clan was next, a journey beyond Blood Island's shores, but he'd been vague about when. I woke each morning in my hut, Taming Jiwa across my lap, its glow soft but restless, like it knew something I didn't. The village was quieter now, the whispers of my fight in the maze fading, replaced by cautious glances. Lila, the shaman, had watched me pass one day, her silver braids catching the sun, her eyes heavy with something unspoken. "The island's not done with you, Rentap," she'd said, and I'd felt it—the ley lines humming beneath my feet, the sea's roar sharper, Taming Jiwa's pulse urging me toward something new.
It started with a dream, the night after the trial. I was standing on Crimson Cliff, the sky ablaze with stars, the sea still as glass. My parents' graves glowed, jade light seeping from the coral, and a figure stood there—not Kadir, not Lila, but a man in starlit armor, his face hidden by a kirin helm. He held a keris, its seven waves identical to mine, and when he spoke, his voice was the mantra, Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim, woven with the wind. "You carry our blood," he said, "and our fight. The Sky Nexus waits, but first, you must listen."
I woke, gasping, Taming Jiwa blazing in my hands, its light painting the hut's walls. The rune, now tucked in a pouch at my side, pulsed faintly, as if echoing the dream. I didn't tell Kadir, not yet. The vision felt private, like a secret the keris wanted me to keep. But it stayed with me, the armored man's words looping in my mind, and when Kadir found me at dawn, sharpening Taming Jiwa on a coral stone, he seemed to know.
"You look haunted," he said, his staff planted in the sand, his eyes sharp as ever. "What's stirring, Rentap?"
I hesitated, the keris warm under my hands. "A dream," I admitted. "Someone… something spoke to me. About blood, the Sky Nexus."
Kadir's face didn't change, but his grip on the staff tightened. "The island's ancestors don't speak lightly. Taming Jiwa carries their whispers—Assyafiee's, Eldrin's, your bloodline's. You're ready for the next step. Come."
He led me past the village, through jungle trails where the air grew thick with mysticism, the ley lines humming louder, like a song only Taming Jiwa could hear. We reached a grove, its coral trees twisted into arches, their roots glowing faintly with jade. A stone altar stood at the center, carved with kirin scales and mantra runes, the air shimmering with anime-style energy, faint waves of light dancing like the sea. "The Ancestor's Grove," Kadir said, his voice low. "Here, the past speaks. Kneel, Rentap. Listen."
I knelt, Taming Jiwa in my hands, its pulse syncing with the grove's hum. The mantra came unbidden, Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim, my voice soft but steady. The air thickened, the coral glowing brighter, and a vision hit me, stronger than the dream. I was no longer in the grove—I stood on a battlefield, stars swirling above, the ground cracked with ley lines. The armored man was there, his kirin helm gleaming, but others joined him—warriors in jade and coral, their kerises blazing, chanting mantras that shook the sky. A woman stepped forward, her face like my mother's, though I'd never seen her, her eyes fierce but kind. "Jaya's son," she said, her voice a whisper in my soul. "You carry our strength, our sorrow. Taming Jiwa binds you to the Sky Nexus, to a war older than the seas. Trust it, Rentap. Trust yourself."
The vision shifted—flashes of battles, kirins soaring, a cosmic heart pulsing in a starlit void, the Sky Nexus itself. I saw my parents, not as legends but as people, fighting for Blood Island, their kerises glowing with the same jade fire. "You're not alone," my mother's voice said, and I felt Taming Jiwa's soul, Assyafiee's warmth, wrapping around me like a shield. The grove returned, my knees aching, tears on my face, the keris blazing so bright it lit the coral like dawn.
Kadir was there, his eyes soft but proud. "What did you see?" he asked, though his tone said he already knew.
"My parents," I said, my voice raw. "Ancestors. The Sky Nexus. They… they said I'm part of something bigger."
"You are," Kadir said, helping me stand. "Taming Jiwa chose you because your blood sings with the island's heart, with Eldrin's legacy, Assyafiee's spirit. The Ancestor's Whisper is your bond to them, a truth you'll carry to Kerisforge."
I gripped the keris, its pulse steady, the vision's weight settling in my chest. I wasn't just Rentap anymore—not just an orphan, not just a killer. I was Jaya's son, Mira's heir, tied to a fight I couldn't yet see. The grove's glow faded, but Taming Jiwa's light stayed, a promise of what lay ahead.
The next days were a blur, Kadir preparing me for departure. He didn't say when, only that Kerisforge Clan was across the Malayanlandia seas, a stronghold where Silat masters forged warriors for the Sky Nexus. The mentors—Suri, Rahim, Laila, Tengku—returned to the clearing, refining my skills. Suri sharpened my Veil Tide, making my stealth near-invisible, jade waves cloaked in shadow. Rahim pushed my Iron Surge, my strikes cracking coral, strength born from will. Laila deepened my Star Whisper, the mantra a river in my soul, visions of Assyafiee guiding my strikes. Tengku honed my Sky Fang, turning my feints into traps, jade waves weaving deception.
But the Ancestor's Whisper changed me most. I felt my parents' presence in Taming Jiwa's pulse, their strength in my strikes, their sorrow in my dreams. The kirin visions came clearer, its jade scales a beacon, and I understood—Taming Jiwa wasn't just a blade. It was a bridge, to my blood, to the island, to a war I was only beginning to grasp.
One evening, Lila found me by the sea, Taming Jiwa in my lap, its glow soft against the waves. "You've heard them, haven't you?" she said, her silver braids glinting. "The ancestors."
I nodded, the rune pouch heavy at my side. "They said I'm not alone. But I don't know what I'm supposed to do."
Lila's eyes softened. "You'll learn, Rentap. The island gave you Taming Jiwa, but the Sky Nexus will show you why. Trust the keris. Trust your heart."
Her words stayed with me, a comfort and a weight. I wasn't ready to leave Blood Island, its cliffs and jungles the only home I'd known, but Taming Jiwa's pulse, the ancestors' whispers, Kadir's promise—they were pulling me forward, into a world I couldn't imagine.
The day came at dawn, the sky a blaze of gold and coral. Kadir stood at the village's edge, his staff planted, a skiff waiting at the shore, its sails marked with Kerisforge's kirin emblem. The mentors were there, their faces a mix of pride and warning. Suri tossed me a jade-edged dagger, a parting gift. "Don't get cocky," she said, smirking. Rahim clapped my shoulder, nearly knocking me over. "Stay strong, boy." Laila pressed a coral bead into my hand, its glow warm. "Listen to the spirits." Tengku flicked his fan, eyes glinting. "Think, or die."
I gripped Taming Jiwa, its pulse steady, my old kerambit tucked in my belt, a relic of the maze. The village gathered, their faces softer now, some whispering my name like it meant something. Lila stepped forward, her staff tapping the sand. "Blood Island will always be your root," she said. "Carry it with you, Rentap."
I swallowed, the weight of their eyes heavy. "I will," I said, my voice rough but sure. I turned to Crimson Cliff, distant but clear, where I'd made my vow. "For you," I whispered, to my parents, to the island, to the ancestors' whisper.
Kadir boarded the skiff, gesturing me to follow. I stepped onto the swaying deck, Taming Jiwa at my side, the rune pouch secure. The sea stretched endless, its waves calling, and as the village faded, I felt the island's pulse, the keris's soul, the Sky Nexus waiting. My vow was alive, my fight just beginning, and whatever lay ahead, I'd face it—not alone, but with my blood, my blade, and the whispers of those who'd come before.
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