Grizzled

Episode 34

The sky that welcomes my gaze every time I open my eyes is still as pitch-black as the first time I got here. There have been many nights in the grey world with all the tragedies. It's not a matter of time to get used to, until whenever I don't want to get used to being stuck here. The time is there that hunts me, forcing me to peel myself the veil of mystery the way out.

I rose up through the dark and desolate IPS eleventh-grade corridor. Honestly, if I may say what a less than pleasant development. Since the first night in this place the instructions for the way out –old books belonging to the twins– have been in my hands, but how slowly I realized the importance of the contents of the book. Then when the Eagle was even able to read and understand the contents, we were both hit by problems alternating, without any pause for us to discuss the instructions.

“Sial, after this what else will happen?” my murmur was soft, I never thought it would echo through the hallway. I kept my mouth shut, but my voice was gone. It doesn't usually happen like this! A pair of orange dots flickered not far in front of me. I slowly retreated, prepared with all the possibilities. Apparently the points are moving away. The torch along the passageway he passed went out, leaving it dark as far as the eye could see. No, Shira, don't follow! No matter how curious, do not act alone without the Eagle or Sakti. So I convinced myself.

With the rest of my vigilance turned around, away from the direction the pair of dots had been moving. The torch around me was also suddenly extinguished. Well, nice, total darkness! Not a single ray of light caught the eye.

“Who's there?” ask a voice echoing in front of me. I recognised.

“You there, Lang?” I asked back.

“Shira?”

“Ya ..”.

I was shocked when the touch on my shoulder came from behind.

“Hey, relax, it's me,” said the Eagle.

“Didn't your voice come from in front of me?”

“Now, the direction of your voice was also different from your position, Shir, but I moved in the opposite direction because your presence was here,” he replied.

“What just happened?”

“Maybe someone deliberately wants to mess us up.”

“Those orange dots are like the eyes of a demon?” my guess.

“You also saw it?”

“Yes, every torch he passed went out, proving that he messed up the energy around him.”

“That explanation makes sense, but I have no idea what exactly the two orange dots were.”

“Hopefully not something harmful,” hope I am anxious.

“Pull looking out?” ask Eagle. Even though I couldn't see it, I could imagine her grinning challenged.

“That's a good idea if there's a light source or at least Sakti with us,” I answer disagree, “for now, find shelter first. Sekti incarnation monsters can appear and attack at any time.”

“Ah, it does not feel exciting if you have to always depend on Sakti!”

Does he think I like to always hope for someone else's hand and be forever helpless? At least the Eagle had fighting ability and a great sword was embedded in his back. While me? What do I have?

“You've met Sakti?” I'm still following the Eagle. So far I believe in his sharper sense of sight than mine.

“Not yet, usually he who first found us ‘kan?”

Also true. So why hasn't Sakti appeared yet? The monster of Sekti. Not that I expected to meet the monster soon, but wasn't it with our voices echoing in the hallway that caught his attention enough? I was worried that he would attack us because of that, but the truth is not. For what reason does this night in the gray world feel strange?

Me and the Eagle walked through the back building, a row of tenth grade MIPA. The torch along the corridor that was still burning was enough to help eyesight even though the gray flames were not as bright as the flashlight, but well, at least this was better.

“We have just taken a detour, Shir,” said Eagle stopped a step before we crossed the page which is a parking area in the real world, “lorong passed by the orange point was tipped on this page. If you're ready, maybe we'll find some hints.”

“Yeah, why not?” my reply.

Eagle smiled satisfied, “Good, I thought you were scared!”

I only glared because of his words. The banyan tree in the middle of the courtyard looked even more sinister than what I used to see in the original world. The roots of his breath hung longer in the wind comb, some even touching my forehead. Feels sticky and uncomfortable. Since when did the roots of the banyan breath become like this. Not to mention the wild grass that grew knee-deep was tickling my elbow legs.

“What are we really looking for, Lang?” I'm starting to not feel at home for long. Here there are no snakes or poisonous insects ‘ right?

“Sial, at least there are traces left behind!” grunts Eagles. My focus downstairs made me see something.

“Lang, land ...”

“Away there!” point at the Eagle when the ground we are on is emitting smoke.

“Why does the ground emit smoke?!” seruku panic.

“This is fog, Shir! Quickly we follow the flickering of the orange dot before losing track again!” exclaiming Eagle immediately pulled my hand towards the high-walled single room with a wide entrance, a sports hall in the real world. The fog immediately filled the room, floating up covered the view as if swallowing us both.

Unlike small and simple classroom rooms with doors that can be closed by wooden boards, this sports hall room is not. As a result, the time system outside and inside mingles, but it should not. When it's out at night, in the room during the day, so is the opposite, but that's not the case in this room. When we got here, we couldn't find anything to close the door, keeping the fog in.

Me and the Eagle remained in their respective positions until the mist thinned. Then the contents of this room are seen. It was really like the inside of a sports building surrounded by stands, we were right in the middle of it.

“This room is just as spacious as its original condition, it took a long time to check the whole,” said Eagle spread his gaze around.

“Before our search was in vain, are you sure you saw those orange dots come in here?” my question remains vigilant.

“Very sure, Shir. Please help me observe every corner of the room!” said Eagle then climbed up the stairs towards the upper tribune. Still flinching in my place, the glint of light from below I looked. The single eye that seemed to be embedded in the ground opened up, gnawing for a while as it emitted light. My reflexes stepped back, a pattern of streaks of light automatically forming over the field where I stood.

The eagle in the upper stands was shocked to hear my screams, hastily descending even slipping, falling slamming to the bottom. Fresh blood seeped from his nose. While I who could not run up to him only realized that my legs sank as much as a calf swallowed by the ground.

*“*White and black will only be gray. White should not be tarnished. The black one should be dark.”

“There should be a clear bulkhead without grayish. The crack of light brings home anyone who shouldn't be here. He releases you only if you release the damned soul!”

No way! It can't be today! Sakti says the third full season! I tried to pluck my leg but in vain. The eagle that was several meters away from me was still motionless. His blood dripping onto the ground gave off a white sparkle that awakened another light formation, complicating the pattern of light streaks on the field with me at the center. The now glittering earth sank me to the knees.

“Lang, wake! Lang!” I screamed out loud but it was not good at all.

“Cover away the remains of doubt! Compassion for the soul full of angkara will inculcate the same sin. Let him be forgiven at the expense of his soul for your freedom!”

“Fucking voice! Who are you?!” maki's upset. Suddenly something I saw was different than before. The unconscious eagle changed into another man in white, both curled up with pools of blood around him.

“Last chance or no longer forever, relinquish those devil followers and return to your place!” said that voice again.

Without knowing, I shook my head. The ground that was about to swallow no longer held me. This pair of legs I could pull out and again my movements were completely out of control, approaching the white unraveled figure.

“I cannot exchange my life for my brother's life,” such are the words that come out of my mouth, “as bad as he was, I have forgiven him. If I can be free from this place, I beg him also.”

My hands flipped over the blood-soaked body before me, then everything returned to normal. The white figure disappeared and all I saw was the face of the Eagle.

My head felt pulsating after that. Plus an unpleasant aroma that began to fill the room. Unusual nausea immediately stir the stomach. A pitch-black hand touched my arm. Before realizing what was happening, the Eagle and I vanished into a place, a bright and warm room. The owner of the black hand growled. I held my breath desperately while crawling backwards. For a moment I remembered the monster in front of me as it began to transform into its original form.

“Resist ... The shira! A little more,” said. The large veins around his eyes and forehead slowly disappeared. The surface is back to whiten, as well as the skin that returns to pale.

“Sakti ... you finally showed up too,” I replied then could not bear to vomit my stomach contents anymore. Sakti touched my nape, flowing a warm sensation that made me gradually improve. I accidentally saw a cut open around his neck. I think he just had a hard time, too. What the hell is going on?

“You must be surprised,” Sakti said this time touching the forehead of the Eagle who has not been kissed, “tadi it .. flashback when the slit of light appeared six hundred years ago.”

I was silent, remembering for a moment. Ah, so so it is. What I saw earlier was Sakti's memory and that blood-soaked figure was probably the Sect that should have been sacrificed.

“I was almost crazy for thinking that it was real!” I answered with a tired face.

“The big room was where exactly the crack appeared six hundred years ago. Ah, that's the only room that will forever be intervened by outside influences. I can't access that place at night in a human form. Well, as you saw earlier, I turned into a monster while there,” Sakti said.

“What next slit will appear there again?” my many.

“I don't know. Souls get lost before you never get as far as you and the Eagle do. No one survived until the third full moon season,”, said Sakti Lirih.

“How can it?” my many.

“The story is different, but I hope you and the Eagle do not end up with the same incident. I also cannot guarantee that the gap always appears there. Have you found the bright spot of the note left by Sekti?”

I looked down and then shook my head. The fact that the book was on me while I still knew nothing was truly embarrassing.

“Argh!” Eagle wakes up, stomps his forehead, “what happened?”

“Everything is fine,” I replied.

“I saw you trapped in a strange light formation. What was that exactly?” ask Eagle. Sakti explained again about the flashback of the event of the emergence of the gap.

“Sial! Why did I faint in such crucial moments?!” regret Eagle.

“This is common after lost souls go through the second full moon season. The flashback seemed to give a hint ... also a new problem that I can not help with my intervention,” said Sakti. Me and the Eagle fell silent, listening earnestly. What kind of problem?

Sakti seemed to refrain from saying it, looking at me and the Eagle alternately, “I'm afraid this is happening to you guys ... I don't want the mistakes of previous souls repeated.”

“That's why you should let us know, we want to avoid the same mistake,” I replied. Sakti still lowered her gaze. The eagle was silent as if it knew what Sakti was thinking.

“The problem is with yourself,” Sakti said, “after seeing the flashback, the emotional turmoil and doubt will haunt you. Differences in settlement will lead to disputes. Each of you wants to go your own way, struggling alone when the mystery of the way out of this place will not be found in such a way.”

I don't know why the corner of my eye warms. What Sakti said earlier .. feels very right. Nothing ends well because of division. While all this time I was always silent and did not care, assuming everything would be fine when we obeyed each other's egos. I don't know if I can still save the one-two things I let fall apart?

“That's why, I ask you two to stick together, whatever path you believe in. There is no certainty of whose path is the truest, but as long as we unite forces, the truth will open up by itself. We will fight as hard as we can until the deadline!” utama Sakti's. I nodded steadily.

“Yes! You're right!” seruku enthusiastically.

“No need to cry too, dong! Basic lebai!” ledek Eagle.

“Si ... who is crying, ha?!” pissed me.

“What is the wound on your neck that is fine left like that?” asked the Eagle pointed at the torn scar like a branch of a savage beast on Sakti's neck. Ah, right, I can't figure out how that deep incision doesn't bleed?

“It's okay, it's not what you think it is. I will not die from heavy bleeding or disease seedlings entering through an open wound like this because .. well, I am already dead!” sakti replied smiling. That sounds unpleasant to me.

“Aren't you okay yesterday? How could you get hurt like this?” my many.

“Ah, it seems like today too much bad news,” replied Sakti again reluctant to tell it, but he knew it was impossible to let us not know, “actually we had a guest.”

“Tuest?”

“Really? Who?”

Sakti grinned while whispering quietly, “Devil creator of this place!”

.Seriate.