Phase 1: Rise of the Orphan Blade
Chapter 2: The Forge's Heart
Part 3: Vaults and Vipers
Kerisforge Stronghold was a maze of fire and secrets, and I was still finding my way through its shadows. I'm Rentap Buana, sixteen, bound to a vow that started on Blood Island, a keris that pulsed with jade light, and a fight I was only beginning to understand. The Ley Line Ritual had shown me the Sky Nexus's heart, the Shadow Krises' threat, and now Hafiz's betrayal cut deeper than his red-runed blade. I want to share with you what it was like to step into a vault that held the Clan's soul, to face a betrayal that wasn't just personal but tied to the chaos I was born to fight, and to learn that trust is as sharp as any keris. This is the part of my story where the coral depths tested me, and I found a strength I didn't know I had, not in my blade, but in my roots.
The jungle fight with Hafiz, Nadia, and Kamil left me shaken, their Shadow Krises—red-runed, pulsing with chaos—echoing the pirate's blade from the mangrove maze, the visions of my parents' fall in the Ley Line Ritual. Kadir's words, You're not alone, were a lifeline, but the stronghold felt heavier now, its coral halls alive with whispers, its ley lines humming with secrets. Taming Jiwa was my anchor, its jade pulse stronger since the ritual, the coral orb from the altar warm beside Lila's bead, the rune pouch, Suri's dagger, and my rusted kerambit. Training with Master Zainah pushed me harder, Astra-Nusantara Silat forms—Storm Claw, Veil Tide, Iron Surge, Star Whisper, Sky Fang—flowing like the sea, jade waves cracking coral in the arena. But Hafiz's crew was gone, vanished after the jungle, and the novices' stares grew sharper, some awed, others suspicious, like I'd brought the shadows myself.
Kadir was scarce, meeting with elders, their staff taps echoing in the forge halls. Zainah kept me busy, spars and relic hunts filling my days, but the ritual's vision—Assyafiee's warning, my mother's plea to find them—burned in my mind. The Shadow Krises weren't just blades; they were Taring Zenhmaut's echo, a chaos that threatened the Sky Nexus, tied to my parents' deaths. I was a novice, bottom of Kerisforge's hierarchy, but Taming Jiwa's pulse, the mantra Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim, felt like a call to do more than train.
It was late, the stronghold quiet, when Kadir found me in the training yard, Taming Jiwa gleaming under torchlight as I practiced Sky Fang. My cheek's scab had healed, but the kirin's scar on my arm itched, a reminder of the trial. "You don't rest, do you?" Kadir said, his staff tapping coral, his eyes sharp but warm.
"Not when shadows are out there," I said, sheathing the keris, its pulse steady. "Hafiz, the red runes—what are they, Kadir? Why me?"
He leaned on his staff, the jade kirin atop it glinting. "The Shadow Krises are old, Rentap, forged by those who'd break the Nexus for power. Taring Zenhmaut leads them, a blade of chaos to Taming Jiwa's light. Your parents fought them, died for it. You're here because Taming Jiwa sees their blood in you, their fight."
I gripped the coral bead, my mother's face clear from the ritual. "Then why hide it? Why not hunt them now?"
Kadir's face darkened. "Because the shadows are here, in Kerisforge. Hafiz wasn't acting alone. We need proof, and you're not ready to face Taring Zenhmaut's wielders. But you will be. Tomorrow, you'll see the Nexus Vault. It holds answers, maybe for you."
I nodded, Taming Jiwa warm at my side, the weight of his words settling. The Nexus Vault—a sacred place, Zainah had said, where Kerisforge guarded the Sky Nexus's secrets. If it held answers about the Shadow Krises, my parents, I'd find them, novice or not.
The next morning, Zainah led a group of novices—including me, a quiet girl named Aisha with a coral-etched keris, and a wiry boy, Rizwan, whose blade hummed softly—to the stronghold's heart, a coral spire towering over the bay. The air was thick, ley lines pulsing like a storm, anime-style jade light shimmering from the spire's runes. Zainah's armor gleamed, her staff glowing faintly. "The Nexus Vault," she said, her voice low, reverent. "It holds Kerisforge's legacy—relics, records, the Nexus's light. You're here to witness, to learn. Touch nothing, unless the Vault allows it."
We descended a spiral stair, coral walls glowing with mantra runes, the air cool and heavy, like Blood Island's cave where I'd found Taming Jiwa. The Vault was vast, a cavern lit by jade flames, coral pillars carved with kirins, their eyes starlit gems. Relics lined the walls—kerises, staffs, armor, each pulsing with ley line energy, anime-style waves dancing faintly. At the center, a coral dais held a crystal, its light a miniature Sky Nexus, jade and endless, humming with the mantra's rhythm.
I froze, Taming Jiwa blazing, its pulse syncing with the crystal's glow. A vision flickered—Assyafiee, his keris raised, chanting under a cosmic sky, kirins guarding a vault like this one. "Seek the truth," his voice whispered, and I felt my parents, Jaya and Mira, their kerises glowing, pointing to a coral slab, its runes faint but red, not jade.
I stepped forward, Taming Jiwa guiding me, ignoring Zainah's sharp, "Rentap, stay back." The slab hummed, wrong, like Hafiz's blade, and I touched it, the keris flaring. The Vault shook, jade flames dimming, red light seeping from the slab, anime-style chaos waves rippling. A hidden panel opened, revealing a scroll, its parchment etched with red runes, a map of ley lines marked with shadow symbols, and a name—Taring Zenhmaut.
Zainah snatched the scroll, her face pale. "You've no idea what you've done," she said, but her eyes held awe, not anger. "This is forbidden, tied to the Shadow Krises. The elders must see it."
Aisha and Rizwan stared, Aisha's keris glowing softly, Rizwan's hand tight on his blade. "What is it?" Aisha asked, her voice steady but curious.
"Trouble," I said, Taming Jiwa still pulsing, the vision's weight heavy. The Vault had shown me truth, but at a cost—the red runes, the map, they were proof of shadows in Kerisforge, and I'd stirred them.
Zainah sent Aisha and Rizwan back, keeping me with her as she reported to the elders. The scroll was locked away, but its image burned in my mind—ley lines converging on a coral depth, a place beneath the stronghold, marked with Taring Zenhmaut's rune. Kadir met me that evening, his staff tapping, his face grim. "You've got a knack for trouble, Rentap," he said, but his eyes were proud. "The Vault chose you, like Taming Jiwa did. That scroll—it's a lead, but dangerous. Stay sharp."
I nodded, the coral orb, bead, and rune pouch warm at my belt. "What's in the coral depths?" I asked, Taming Jiwa pulsing, Assyafiee's whisper urging me forward.
Kadir hesitated, then said, "A sanctum, older than Kerisforge, tied to the Nexus. If the Shadow Krises are there, it's no place for a novice. But you're not just a novice, are you?"
I didn't answer, the weight of his trust, the Vault's truth, settling in my chest. That night, I couldn't sleep, Taming Jiwa glowing, visions of red runes and my parents' fall looping. I was a step closer to answers, but the shadows were closer too.
Two days later, Zainah paired me with Aisha and Rizwan for a training mission—a relic hunt in the coral depths, a network of caves beneath the stronghold, where ley lines pulsed strongest. "Stay together," Zainah warned, her staff tapping. "The depths are sacred, but unstable since the Vault. Find the relic, return."
I moved with Veil Tide, Taming Jiwa guiding my steps, Aisha and Rizwan at my side, their kerises glowing faintly. The caves were vast, coral walls shimmering with jade, ley lines humming like a storm. We found the relic—a coral kirin, its eyes starlit—but as I reached for it, shadows moved, not novices but warriors, their kerises red-runed, pulsing with chaos, anime-style crimson waves clashing with the cave's jade light.
Hafiz stepped forward, his scar glinting, his Shadow Kris blazing red, joined by Nadia, Kamil, and three others, their blades wrong, like the Vault's slab. "You shouldn't be here, Blood Island," Hafiz said, his voice cold. "The Nexus is weak, and Taring Zenhmaut will rise. Hand over Taming Jiwa, or die."
I drew my keris, its jade waves flaring, Storm Claw steadying me. "You're betraying Kerisforge," I said, the mantra in my throat. "For what? Chaos?"
Hafiz laughed, red runes pulsing. "For power. The elders cling to relics, but the shadows will rule."
Aisha and Rizwan stood with me, their kerises raised, their eyes sharp but scared. "We're with you," Aisha whispered, her coral-etched blade glowing. I nodded, Taming Jiwa's pulse Assyafiee's strength, my parents' faces clear.
The fight was chaos, red waves clashing with jade, coral walls cracking, ley lines trembling. I fought with Iron Surge, shattering Kamil's guard, Veil Tide cloaking me from Nadia's strikes, Sky Fang feinting Hafiz's blade. Aisha wove graceful Silat, her jade waves tight, Rizwan's strikes fierce but raw. Taming Jiwa blazed, its mantra a roar, jade waves cutting through crimson, but the Shadow Krises were strong, their chaos eating at the ley lines, the cave shaking.
Hafiz aimed for me, his red-runed keris slashing, crimson waves heavy. I countered with Star Whisper, the kirin's vision guiding me, my jade wave breaking his, but he grabbed my wrist, his blade at my throat. "You're nothing," he hissed, red runes flaring.
I whispered the mantra, Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim, and felt Taming Jiwa's soul, my parents' strength. I twisted, Sky Fang disarming him, my jade wave shattering his keris, red runes fading. The others fled, Hafiz's glare promising more, the cave's ley lines stabilizing, the kirin relic glowing in my hand.
Aisha and Rizwan panted, bloodied but alive. "You're not what they say," Rizwan said, his eyes wide. "Taming Jiwa… it's real."
I gripped the keris, its pulse warm, the relic heavy. "It's more than real," I said. "It's my vow."
We returned to Zainah, the relic and Hafiz's betrayal reported. The elders sealed the depths, Kadir's face grim as he took me aside. "You've stirred the shadows, Rentap," he said, his staff tapping. "The Shadow Krises are here, and Hafiz is their pawn. You've allies now—Aisha, Rizwan—but the fight's just begun."
I nodded, Taming Jiwa at my side, the coral orb, bead, and rune pouch my anchors. The Vault, the depths, Hafiz's red runes—they were pieces of a war, my parents' war, my war. Kerisforge was my forge, the Sky Nexus my purpose, and whatever shadows rose, I'd face them, with my blade, my vow, and the light I was learning to claim.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Please do enjoy your reading.
And do you mind to share your thoughts/feedback 🫰
©®Qatadah_Ali