The creature came fast.
Too fast.
Wira barely had time to raise his arms before it was already in front of him—its claws slicing through the air where his throat had been a second earlier.
Instinct.
Not thought.
His body moved on its own.
He twisted, barely dodging, feeling the wind of the strike tear past his face.
CRACK—!
Concrete shattered where the claws hit.
Wira stumbled back, breathing hard.
"This… this isn't possible…"
But his body said otherwise.
Everything felt sharper.
Clearer.
He could see every twitch of the creature's muscles.
Hear the wet drip of blood hitting the ground behind it.
Smell—
Everything.
The creature tilted its head, almost curious.
"…not awakened," it muttered, voice distorted, layered—like multiple things speaking at once.
Wira's chest tightened.
"Stay back…" he warned, though his voice trembled.
The creature stepped forward.
Slow.
Confident.
Predatory.
"You carry it," it said. "But you don't understand it."
Another step.
"You don't deserve it."
Then it vanished again.
Wira reacted this time.
He felt it.
A shift in the air.
A killing intent behind him.
He spun—
Too late.
Claws slammed into his side.
Pain exploded through his body.
He was thrown across the street, crashing into a wall hard enough to crack it.
"—ghh!!"
Warm liquid spread under him.
Blood.
His blood.
The creature approached, unhurried.
Like the outcome was already decided.
"Pathetic," it growled.
Wira tried to stand.
His legs shook.
His vision blurred.
So this was it?
He was going to die in some random alley… without even understanding what was happening?
No.
Something inside him refused.
A pulse.
Deep in his chest.
Slow.
Heavy.
Ancient.
BOOM.
The world seemed to pause.
The creature stopped.
Its eyes narrowed.
"…there it is."
Wira's breath deepened.
The pain didn't disappear.
It changed.
Burned.
Spread.
His blood felt like fire running through his veins.
"What… is this…"
His fingers dug into the ground.
Bones shifted.
Snapped.
Reformed.
His spine arched violently as something forced its way out—not physically, but deeper than flesh.
A presence.
A force.
Not wild.
Not chaotic.
Controlled.
Watching.
Judging.
A faint glow flickered in his golden eyes.
The creature took a step back.
For the first time—
Caution.
"No…" it whispered.
"That aura…"
Wira slowly lifted his head.
His expression had changed.
Still human.
But not weak.
Not afraid.
Something else stood behind his eyes now.
Something older than the night itself.
"You…" the creature hissed.
Wira didn't remember deciding to move.
But suddenly—
He was already in front of it.
His claw met its strike.
BOOM—!
The impact shattered the ground beneath them.
The creature's eyes widened.
Impossible.
Wira pushed forward.
Raw strength surged through him, violent and overwhelming—but it didn't consume him.
It obeyed.
For now.
The creature leapt back, landing several meters away.
It stared at him.
Really stared this time.
Then—
It smiled.
Wide.
Excited.
"…so it's true."
Wira's voice came out low.
Not quite his own.
"What are you?"
The creature laughed.
A broken, echoing sound.
"You really don't know?"
Its eyes glowed brighter.
"Good."
Its body twisted, expanding, growing larger, more monstrous.
"Then I'll teach you… the hard way."
The air grew heavier.
The night itself seemed to hold its breath.
Wira lowered his stance.
Claws ready.
Heart steady.
For the first time—
He wasn't trying to run.
The creature lunged.
Wira moved.
And the street of Bali—
became a battlefield.