Raka was still standing in front of the tomb chamber's doorway. The man's words continued to echo in his mind.
"Do not let them kill you a second time."
Raka then looked at the man.
"A second time?"
The man did not answer immediately. He only stared at Raka with an unreadable expression, as if he were looking at someone who had been lost for a very long time.
Raka pointed at himself.
"Who killed me before?"
Laras immediately stepped forward.
"Raka, don't get too close."
But Raka ignored her.
"Answer me."
The man then looked at the King.
"He hasn't told you anything?"
Raka immediately turned toward the King.
"Your Majesty?"
The King remained silent, causing Raka to frown.
"Seriously? Even now?"
The man gave a faint smile.
"Looks like this kingdom hasn't changed."
The King raised his hand.
"Enough."
The man looked at him coldly.
"Are you still afraid of the truth?"
"Do not bring the past before me."
"Precisely because the past is what's returning."
Suddenly, the golden mark on Raka's hand began to glow again. The light spread throughout his body. Raka immediately grabbed his arm.
"Ah... It's hot!"
Laras quickly approached him.
"Raka!"
From inside the tomb chamber, the whispering voice could be heard once again.
"The heir..."
"The heir..."
"The heir..."
Raka then looked into the chamber. Behind the man stood numerous stone coffins arranged along the walls. Some of them were already cracked. From within the gaps emerged the same golden light as the mark on Raka's hand.
"Who are they?" Raka asked.
The man turned to look behind him.
"They are the people who once protected the heritage of Nusantara."
Raka stared at the coffins.
"The heirs?"
"Not all of them."
"Then who?"
"Guardians. Soldiers. Traitors. And those who died trying to save this world."
Raka fell silent.
The King then stepped forward.
"Do not listen to him."
The man looked at the King.
"Why? Because I'm saying something you don't want to hear?"
The King immediately drew his sword. Laras was startled.
"Your Majesty!"
Raka stepped backward.
"Why is the King drawing his sword?"
The man only smiled.
"Just like a thousand years ago."
The King pointed his sword at him.
"Leave."
"This is no longer your place."
"As long as I remain the King of Arkapura, this place is under my protection."
The man slowly shook his head.
"No. This place does not belong to Arkapura."
He then looked at Raka.
"This place belongs to those who were sacrificed."
Suddenly, one of the stone coffins behind him began to crack.
KRAK!
Raka immediately turned around. From inside the coffin, a white light emerged, slowly taking the shape of a woman. Her face was unclear, but her long hair and ancient clothing could be faintly seen.
Raka suddenly froze.
"Who is that?"
The man did not answer.
The woman's shadow then raised her hand toward Raka.
"The heir..."
Her voice sounded as if it were coming from many places at once. Suddenly, Raka felt a sharp pain in his head again.
"Ah..."
Laras quickly grabbed his shoulder.
"Raka, don't look at her for too long!"
But it was already too late. White light filled Raka's vision. Suddenly, he saw a different place.
The sky was red. Flames consumed the trees. Buildings resembling temples collapsed in the distance. Soldiers ran while carrying weapons. The sounds of screams and clashing swords echoed from every direction.
Raka stood in the middle of a stone courtyard.
But this time, he was not alone. Standing before him was a young man dressed in black and white. In his hand was the same keris as the heirloom in the underground chamber.
The young man looked at Raka.
"Are you ready?"
Raka immediately shook his head.
"Ready for what?"
The young man did not answer. He only stared at the red sky.
"If that gate opens, everything will end."
Raka then looked behind the young man.
Laras was standing there.
But Laras looked different. Her hair was longer, her clothes were covered in bloodstains, and she held a broken sword in her hand.
Raka was shocked.
"Laras?"
Laras looked at him with sorrowful eyes.
"Don't let him open the gate."
Raka then looked at the man standing before him.
"Who is he?"
The man slowly turned around. His face looked remarkably similar to Raka's.
Raka immediately stepped backward.
"That's impossible..."
The man then spoke.
"If you want to save them, you must sacrifice yourself."
Raka shook his head.
"I don't understand!"
Suddenly, the voice of the woman who had been speaking to him all this time came from behind him.
"Raka..."
Raka immediately turned around.
Standing behind him was a woman in a white robe. Her face was hidden by light, but her voice felt strangely familiar.
"Do not trust anyone."
Raka pointed at the man who resembled him.
"Not even him?"
The woman did not answer.
Suddenly, the sky split apart. A massive gate appeared above the temple. Purple light and black mist poured from within it, spreading across the entire sky. The soldiers began to scream. Then, the man who resembled Raka raised his keris.
"Now!"
Raka immediately shouted.
"Don't!"
But the man had already plunged the keris into the ground. Golden light spread rapidly. Suddenly, Laras ran toward Raka.
"Raka, go!"
"No!"
"Go now!"
Then, a tremendous explosion rang out.
DUUUMM!
Raka immediately closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, the entire place had transformed into a sea of flames. The man who resembled him was nowhere to be seen.
Laras lay on the ground. And the woman in the white robe stood before the gate. Raka immediately ran toward her.
"What happened?"
The woman turned around.
"Forgive me."
"Why?"
"Because I couldn't save you."
Raka shook his head.
"What do you mean?"
The woman raised her hand.
White light then enveloped Raka's body.
"Sleep."
"No! Wait!"
But Raka's body began to dissolve into light. Before everything faded into darkness, Raka heard the woman's voice.
"One day, you will return."
The white light suddenly shattered. Raka jolted and returned to the tomb chamber.
"HAH!"
He collapsed onto the floor, and Laras immediately knelt beside him.
"Raka!"
Raka breathed rapidly. Cold sweat covered his face.
"I..."
He stared at his own hand.
"I saw something."
The King immediately looked at him seriously.
"What did you see?"
Raka raised his head.
"A war."
The King fell silent.
"A gate opening. A burning temple. And someone who looked like me."
Laras immediately froze.
Raka then looked at her.
"I also saw you."
"You saw me?"
"You were injured. You told me not to let him open the gate."
Laras did not answer.
Raka slowly stood up, trembling.
"Why didn't you tell me anything?"
Laras only lowered her head.
"Because I don't know whether that was truly your memory."
"Then what was it?"
"It could have been a vision."
"A vision of the past?"
Laras remained silent.
The man inside the tomb chamber then walked toward them.
"That was not merely a vision."
The King immediately raised his sword.
"Stay out of this."
The man looked at Raka.
"That was a memory beginning to return."
Raka immediately turned toward him.
"So I was there?"
The man nodded.
"Yes."
Raka felt his chest tighten.
"Who was the man who looked like me?"
The man did not answer immediately. He then looked at the King.
"Shouldn't you be the one explaining that to him?"
The King tightened his grip on his sword.
"He isn't ready."
Raka immediately shouted.
"Stop saying that I'm not ready!"
His voice echoed through the corridor.
"I've already seen too many impossible things since arriving in this world!"
Raka then pointed at the man.
"He knows me."
Then he pointed at the King.
"You're hiding something."
Finally, he looked at Laras.
"And so are you."
Laras remained silent.
Raka then raised his grandfather's notebook. Its pages opened by themselves again. New writing slowly appeared. The First Heir was not chosen by the Gate. Raka read the sentence in a quiet voice.
"The First Heir was not chosen by the Gate..."
The man then looked at him.
"Because the First Heir was the one who created the Gate."
Raka froze.
The King immediately glared at the man.
"Don't."
But the man continued.
"And the one who created the Nusantara Gate..."
He looked at Raka with an expression filled with sorrow.
"Is the person standing before me now."
Raka could not say a word.
The golden mark on his hand began to shine even brighter. Inside the tomb chamber, all the stone coffins began to tremble.
KREK...
KREK...
KREK...
Laras immediately raised her sword.
"Your Majesty, we have to leave!"
The King was still staring at Raka.
"Take him outside."
"What about you?"
The King did not answer.
The man then tightened his grip on his keris.
"It's already too late."
From inside the stone coffins, the whispers grew clearer.
"The First Heir..."
"Has returned..."
"The Gate will open..."
Raka looked at the King.
"Your Majesty..."
The King finally spoke in a quiet voice.
"Raka, whatever you saw in your memories... never believe that you are a savior."
Raka frowned.
"Then what am I?"
The King looked at him.
"The reason the war is beginning again."
Suddenly, the entire tomb chamber was filled with purple light. And from somewhere in the distance, the woman's voice could be heard once again.
"Raka..."
Raka immediately covered his ears.
"Don't!"
The voice then whispered.
"Do not let them remember who you are."
Then, all the doors to the tomb chamber closed by themselves.
DUM!
Raka, Laras, the King, and the mysterious man were now trapped inside the chamber. And from behind the cracked stone coffins, something began to rise.