The slopes of the valley of skulls they had just left behind felt like a gateway from hell to a deeper nightmare, waist-high wild grass swaying gently in the afternoon breeze that carried the pungent smell of dried blood from the collapsed cave behind them. The tropical sun burned their skin, covered in wounds and mud, but a thin mist from the valley still crept up like ghostly fingers clutching at their feet, hiding the thorny root traps and wet holes left behind by yesterday's flash flood. The group of 15 survivors—after Lina was seriously injured in her leg—sat huddled under a giant banyan tree with roots dangling like ropes, breathing heavily mixed with tears. Bima's wound gaped open on his chest, Fahri was feverish to the point of hallucinating, Lina was unconscious from blood loss, while the others checked their wet weapons and dwindling ammunition. The fractured factional conflict was temporarily forgotten after Rangga saved them again, but new tension arose from the faint screams still echoing from the valley—the curse of the skull cult whose murder ritual they had witnessed, the white masks with empty eyes and the blood-stained machetes thirsty for the souls of outsiders like them.
Rizal stood firmly in the center of the circle, his SS1 wiped clean of the cultists' blood, his voice booming through the wind and gripping the air. "We survived the valley massacre—15 of us! But the cult isn't over. The screams of the soldiers from the village earlier... they said 'the cult took their souls'. The faction has resolved the conflict—Rangga is completely free now. Sari, tend to Lina's wounds. Dito, check your radio signal, while Tono and Maya examine the map to see the eastern mountain route—avoiding the valley again. We move in 30 minutes, before nightfall and the cult catches up!"
Fauzan, whose machete was still wet with blood, sat next to Bima, who was grimacing in pain, his gaze a mixture of gratitude and doubt toward Rangga. "Alright, Riz... you saved Lina earlier, Rangga. Our faction... was wrong to accuse you. But your bone pendant resembles the cult's mask—explain what it is before we fully believe you!" His voice was tense, but no longer threatening.
Rangga remained as cold as a statue, sitting while rhythmically sharpening his dagger under the banyan tree roots, his eyes sweeping the mist in the valley as if he knew the forest's secrets. "The pendant was my grandfather's—he was a guardian of the forest and fought against the skull cult. They seek outsiders as sacrifices to 'awaken the spirit of the valley,' taking souls for ritual power. Their motive: the forest is 'hungry' after our plane crashed. I know because my grandfather died fighting them. If I were a traitor, you would already be sacrifices on the altar."
Sari, bandaging Bima's wounds with torn cloth as tears fell from her eyes, nodded slowly, trembling. "Fahri is still stable thanks to your potion... but his screams were like a nightmare. Lina is awake—she says her legs are numb. I believe you now, but the cult... they have modern boots. That means they're not entirely from a wild tribe."
Lina, regaining consciousness in Reza's lap, grimaced as she held her bleeding leg. "The poison is in their machetes... It feels like it's burning my veins. Bima too—he got infected quickly. We need medicine from the village, but Mr. Karto has refused us. Reza, Andi—can you help carry me later?"
Reza, the analyst with broken glasses, nodded tensely while holding his gun. "My neutrality is over—I fully support Rizal. Logical motive: the cult has a base nearby. Andi?"
Shy Andi bit his lip while sharing river water with everyone. "I'll... go. I'm afraid to be alone. But listen—there's a rustling sound coming from the fog!"
Maya, ready with her bow, her eagle eyes spotted a faint shadow in the tall grass. "That's not the wind. Tono, Hasan—get your weapons ready! There are more boot prints, coming from the valley."
Tono, holding a worn map, whispered in panic. "The mountain route to the east is about 5 km from here, but it passes through a foggy swamp—a cult trap. Hasan, you're a soldier—what is this?"
Hasan, his old pistol cocked and loaded with bullets, his voice trembling softly. "It's a reconnaissance. The cult sent spies. Did you hear the whispering incantations? They are summoning the spirits of the valley."
Dito tried his radio again, static roared but the signal remained faint. "The signal is weak... Riz, send out a faint 'mayday'! Amira, prepare the torches for tonight?"
Amira, dividing the ammunition, looked at Rizal firmly. "All ready. The faction is solid now—15 people. But the fog is rising quickly, an odd cold air like someone is watching."
Suddenly, the fog parted—three cult assassins emerged from the tall grass, their empty white skull masks grinning, their poisonous, blood-stained machetes slashing wildly. "Sacrifice of the forest! Your souls belong to the skull!" they roared in unison, their chant echoing like thousands of spirits rising.
Rizal fired his SS1, the bullet tearing through one of their chests. "Attack! Protect the wounded!" Fauzan leaped and slashed the second one's machete, blood spattering everywhere. Rangga threw his knife right into the third one's eye, coldly. "They killed three—scouts."
Bima, despite being wounded, fired his pistol. "Thanks again, Rangga... you really are our guardian!"
Maya shot one who managed to run away, but the chanting echoed louder than before. Lina screamed, "My legs are numb! Poison... and panic!"
The cult's screams turned into whispers in the wind: "Souls... hungry... sacrifice..." The banyan tree swayed on its own, its roots moving slowly like living snakes, entangling Andi's legs and almost pulling him to the ground. "The forest is alive! A real curse!" Andi screamed in panic.
Rizal pulled Andi, shooting at the strange roots. "Move now! We're going to the mountain swamp in the east—avoid the fog! The cult is summoning the spirits of the valley!"
They ran hastily, the fog chasing them like living smoke, the whispering chant echoing in their ears: their names were called one by one. Fahri woke up briefly, delirious. "They're coming... Taking souls... one by one..."
Fauzan ran beside Rangga, "Do you know how to fight this curse?!"
Rangga replied coldly, "The protective pendant. Follow me—the cult's base is in the swamp. Destroy the altar, and the curse will die."
Then the group ran into the foggy and dark swamp, where dead trees hung with moss like hanging corpses, and the howling wind mingled with the faint roar of the cult. Night fell quickly, Maya's torch illuminating their own blood trail—the curse had begun, the valley massacre continuing into the living forest thirsty for souls.
***
The misty swamp on the eastern slope of the mountain felt like the foul breath of a dragon, black murky water up to the calves swaying slowly with strange ripples as if invisible hands were stirring it from below, dead trees hung with long gray moss like intestines hanging from the ceiling of hell, and thick fog irritates the eyes like poisonous smoke creeping from moss-covered crevices in the ground. Each step taken by the group of 15 people created piles of sticky mud that ensnared their boots, followed by the hissing of the wind that formed whispers of their names—"Rizal... Fauzan... souls belonging to skulls..."—as if the living forest had fully awakened after the ritual slaughter in the valley. The resin torch Maya held flickered weakly in the unnatural cold wind, illuminating the shadows of trees swaying like masked figures performing a ritual dance, while faint screams from the valley echoed closer, interspersed with the clanging of cult machetes and the roars of wild animals that sounded like a mixture of humans and demons. Bima and Lina's wounds worsened, pus oozing a foul smell mixed with poison from the machete, Fahri deliriously muttered the names of the ritual victims, and the tension between the factions, which had subsided, now rose again like the living dead—all eyes suspicious of Rangga, the faint glow of his bone pendant on his chest like an evil eye watching.
Rizal led the front line with his SS1 raised, mud splattering his pants with every step, his hoarse voice cutting through the eerie whisper of the wind. "Stay close! This swamp is a cult trap—the tree roots move on their own, don't let us get separated! Amira, torch on the left! Dito, check the signal again! Sari, you carry Fahri and Reza, and Lina too, Bima guard the middle! Tono, Maya open the swamp map—avoid the black pools! Faction, shut up with the accusations—the cult is chasing us now!"
Fauzan, the machete in his hand raised high as he pushed mud from his shoes, ran beside Rangga, breathing heavily, his gaze a mixture of gratitude and fear toward the cold figure. "Rizal was right—you know the way to the cult altar, Rangga?! The whispering of our names is your curse? Your pendant glows like the eyes of a demon! Sari, Lina—if he makes a wrong move, cut! Our faction's motive is to protect the wounded before the forest takes their souls!"
Rangga remained calm even though mud entangled his feet, his dagger flashing as it cut through the tree roots that suddenly wrapped around Bima's wrist, cold as ice in the middle of the swamp hell. "I hear the whisper of the skull's curse—they summoned the spirits of the valley after the ritual. The altar is on a small island beyond the swamp ahead—destroy the skull statue, and the curse will die. My grandfather's protective pendant—it shines against evil spirits. My motive is to save you again. If you were traitors, you would have been swallowed by the mud."
Sari carried Fahri, who was delirious, repeating, "They're coming... the bloody altar..." while bandaging Lina's wound, whose pus was flowing into the swamp water, screaming in panic as roots wrapped around her legs. "Let go! Fahri said the altar is full of blood—this must be your plan, Rangga! Lina, Bima—hold back the poison! Reza, Andi—help pull these roots, or we'll drown alive!"
Lina, her legs numb from the poison but still clutching her gun with trembling hands, screamed in pain as the mud boiled hot around them. "The poison is burning my nerves—Bima is unconscious! Fahri is hallucinating badly, saying 'the skull is talking'! Reza, lift me up—my motive is to heal everyone before the curse takes hold!"
Bima, regaining consciousness from his unconscious state due to his torn chest, swung his machete at the roots but was too weak. "The roots are alive... the cult is calling! Rangga... you saved me again... but the pendant... it's evil!"
Tono, opening the wet map and clutching it tightly, pointed to a small, faint island near the Maya torch. "The altar is 200 meters away—watch out for that black puddle, it's a trap! Maya, Hasan—get your arrows ready for the roots and cult! Our faction follows Rangga—he knows best!"
Maya shot an arrow from her bow at the roots entangling Andi, the arrow sticking precisely into the tree's joint. "Agreed! Look—there are masked shadows in the fog! Five cultists are chasing us! Hasan, what is this?"
Hasan fired his pistol at the strange mud ripples rising like hands, a faint, trembling sound. "The valley spirits have been awakened by a ritual—the swamp has come alive. The altar is at its center. The cult's motive: our souls strengthen the forest to fight outsiders."
Dito, radio static roared, whispering their names, screaming in panic. "The signal is mixed with a curse—'sacrifice... soul...' Riz! Amira, torch—my faction is covering the rear!"
Amira, raising her torch high to illuminate the boiling mud ripples, saw the shadow of a masked cultist. "Riz, 15 people—3 injured! The faction is solid for now, but these whispers are driving us mad!"
Reza, lifting Lina while carrying Fahri alternately, shouted. "I support Rangga! Andi, pulled by roots!"
Andi screamed in fear as roots wrapped around his neck. "I... I'm dying! There's a whisper calling my name!"
Suddenly, the fog broke—5 cult assassins leaped from the muddy ripples, white skull masks grinning, bloodied and poisoned machetes slashing wildly. "Your souls are sacrifices! Skulls thirst!" they roared in unison, the chant echoing like thousands of ghostly screams.
Rizal fired his SS1, tearing open the chest of one of them. "Fight back!" Fauzan slashed his machete at the second one, blood spattering mixed with mud. Rangga threw a knife into the third one's eye, and coldly slashed the roots to help Sari. Maya shot the fourth one, Hasan shot the fifth one, who fell into the boiling mud and screamed in pain.
But the mud rose quickly, trapping their feet like giant hands. "To the altar! Forward!" Rangga shouted, his pendant shining brightly through the fog. Finally, they reached a small island—an altar made of black stone with a giant skull statue in the center, fresh blood from 10 victims flowing into the crevices, the ritual fire burning eternally despite the rain.
Fauzan slashed the statue, cracking the stone. "This?! Destroy it!" The chanting screams broke, the mud slowly receded, the fog faded, the whispers disappeared.
Rizal collapsed on the altar, gasping for breath. "The curse... dead? 14 survived—Andi drowned earlier! Lina, Bima are still holding on!"
Rangga remained cold, "For now. The cult is very close—they will be back tomorrow." The swamp became calm again, but the wind carried the smell of fresh blood—the curse receded, but the slaughter continued.
***
The small island in the middle of the misty swamp felt like a false oasis in a wet hell. The altar made of black stone was cracked because they had just destroyed it, and it still pulsed with heat like a dying heart. its cracks emitting thin smoke mixed with the smell of fresh blood from the 10 ritual victims whose bones were scattered like broken toys. The eternal flame atop the giant skull statue slowly died out, leaving red embers that glowed like the eyes of demons unwilling to die. The swamp mud receded temporarily after Fauzan's slash, the fog retreating to the edges like a wounded animal, the whispering of their names replaced by a tense silence broken only by the sound of blood dripping from Bima and Lina's wounds, and Fahri's increasingly wild delirium—"living altar... they're back... The skulls are hungry again...". The group of 14 survivors—Andi had been swallowed by the mud—sat collapsed around the cracked altar, their breaths ragged, mixed with Lina's hysterical cries and Bima's moans as he regained consciousness from his unconsciousness due to the worsening infection in his torn chest. Their weapons were wet and their ammunition was running low. while the forest around the swamp rumbled softly like the breath of a giant creature awakened from sleep by the ritual. The tension temporarily subsided after Rangga saved them again, but the horror of the skull cult's curse escalated—they knew the cult's base was very close, and faint screams from the fog promised revenge.
Rizal rose slowly, his SS1 wiped clean of the cultists' blood, his voice hoarse but firm cutting through the tense silence, his eyes scanning the 14 pale faces in the dim dawn light. "We have destroyed the altar—the curse has temporarily receded! 14 have survived, Andi is missing, so forgive us. Lina, treat Bima first—the poison from the machete will kill him quickly! Sari, is Fahri stable? Dito, how's the signal? Tono, Maya, check the cult-based map—avoid the swamp again! The cult will return tomorrow, we're moving tonight to the eastern mountain!"
Fauzan, putting down his machete covered in dried altar blood, helped bandage Bima's chest while staring at Rangga with a mixture of admiration and lingering suspicion, his breath still labored. "Rizal was right—the altar is cracked, the mud receded because of my slash! Rangga, you saved Sari earlier... we believe you completely now. But your pendant glows through the fog—what other secrets does it hold? Are the screams from the edge of the swamp a sign that the cult will seek revenge? Bima, wake up—we have to avenge Andi!"
Rangga remained cold, sitting while checking his bloody dagger, his bone pendant slowly fading like a sleeping eye, his eyes sharp when he heard faint screams from the fog. "The cult's base is 1 km north of the swamp—there's a hidden cave with a backup altar. They took ten victims last night to awaken the spirit of the valley. The pendant is a temporary protection—grandfather said that if the main statue at the new base is destroyed, the curse will die completely. End this before they take your souls. Do you hear the screams? They have found new victims."
Sari hugged Fahri, who was delirious, saying, "The altar is speaking... The skull is calling Andi..." She bandaged Lina's wounds with the last piece of torn cloth, her tears falling into the mud. "Fahri is hallucinating badly—he says Andi is screaming from the mud! Lina, feel the poison burning your legs. Reza, Andi... is gone forever. I will protect Fahri before the cult takes another soul—Rangga, is there really a main statue at the base?"
Lina, whose legs were swollen and covered in black pus from the poison, screamed in pain but still held the gun tightly, her voice breaking. "The poison is spreading quickly—my legs are numb, Bima has a high fever! Sari, the medicine is completely gone. Reza, please carry me—and take care of everyone before the curse takes them one by one!"
Bima regained consciousness after fainting, his chest torn open and festering, moaning weakly. "Andi... I'm sorry... Rangga... the main statue... destroy it... Please avenge our blood..."
Tono opened the wet map he was holding and pointed to the northern fog with a trembling finger. "The cave base is 1 km from here—there are swamps and living root traps again. Maya, Hasan—prepare your weapons tonight! We're going with Rangga—he knows!"
Maya prepared her emergency bow and loaded the last arrow, her eagle eyes spotting a shadow in the fog. "Agreed! There were screams of new victims—the cult had killed ten more people. Hasan, prepare a strategy for tonight?"
Hasan prepared his pistol and loaded five bullets, his quiet voice trembling. "We attack tonight—the cult ritual is blind without torches. My experience: destroy the statue, take the leader's head. Do you hear the roar? They're coming."
Dito, static crackled on the radio, faint screams, panicked cries. "The signal is mixed with screams—'help... Skull...' Riz! Amira, get the spare torch ready—I'll cover the rear tonight!"
Amira, distributing boiled swamp water, stared at Rizal firmly despite her trembling. "Fourteen people—three seriously injured! The screams are driving me crazy. I heard Andi's name whispered again..."
Reza, carrying Lina gently, shouted. "Support Rangga completely! Andi... Screaming from the mud earlier... this curse is real!"
Suddenly, the northern fog parted—10 cult killers leaped from the swamp, white skull masks smeared with fresh blood grinning, poisoned machetes whirring as they slashed while roaring the incantation, "Your souls have been replaced by Andi! The skulls will rise!" Suddenly, behind them, there were new victims—three villagers like Mr. Karto—bound and screaming in pain, dragged in as bait.
Rizal fired an SS1 burst, ripping two people in the chest. "Attack! Protect the victims!" Fauzan jumped in, slashing three people, blood spurting mixed with screams. Rangga threw a knife at the cult leader but missed, and coldly slashed the roots that were entangling Sari again. Maya shot two people in the chest, Hasan shot two people in the head and then fell into the boiling mud.
The cult leader's mask cracked, revealing a human face with empty white eyes, roaring, "The main statue is alive! Your souls will be eternal sacrifices here!" His machete slashed Bima, nearly severing his arm—he fell screaming.
Rizal pulled Bima away, shot at the leader, and missed. "Run to the cave base! Free their bait!" They rushed forward, quickly freeing three villagers who screamed, "The cult has taken Mr. Karto's child... destroy the cave!"
Lina screamed, "Bima is bleeding again! Hurry!" The mud boiled again, trapping Reza's feet—then Rangga slashed with a cold demeanor.
At the mouth of the cult's cave base, the giant skull statue glowed red, blood flowing into a small river. The cult leader jumped, "You are the last victims!"
Fauzan immediately slashed the statue, the stone cracked violently, the fire immediately went out, the chanting screams broke. The cultists fell curled up screaming in pain, the curse finally receded completely—the mud suddenly became still, the fog disappeared, the whispers vanished.
Rizal collapsed, counting. "Thirteen survivors—Reza is missing! We managed to save three villagers. The cult is temporarily destroyed... We'll move to the mountain tomorrow morning."
Rangga was cold, "The main statue is cracked—the curse is weakening. Their base is inside the cave—we go in or they'll be back tomorrow."
The screams of the 3 villagers broke out, "Mr. Karto's son... his spirit is safe now..." Night fell and the situation was safe for the moment, but the dark cave still rumbled softly—the curse was retreating, but the remaining cultists would seek revenge and thirst for blood.
***
The mouth of the skull cult cave gapes like the jaws of a giant ready to chew souls. Its walls were wet with seepage water mixed with dried blood that flowed slowly. Blackish-green poisonous moss crept into every crack in the rocks like the web of a giant living spider, and the pungent smell of decay mixed with ritual smoke stung the nose and made one nauseous. The main skull statue stands inside the cave—3 meters tall, made of obsidian and cracked from Fauzan's recent blow—still pulsing faintly like a dying heart, its empty eyes emitting a faint red light that flickers like the eyes of a demon refusing to die, surrounded by a pile of 20 recent ritual victims: broken bones, peeling skin, and pools of blood forming a circular mantra pattern. The cave rumbled softly like the breath of an underground creature, a cold wind roaring from the depths carrying the whisper of their names again—"Sari... Lina... replace Andi... Skull thirsty..."—even though the curse had temporarily subsided after the altar was cracked. The group of 13 survivors—Reza had been swallowed by the mud—stood tense at the cave's entrance, weapons trembling in their wet, muddy hands. Bima and Lina's wounds were festering and rotting, the poison spreading rapidly. Fahri rambled the victims' names like a broken radio, while the three villagers they had rescued cowered in fear, recounting the cult's secrets. Tension peaked: they would either enter the cave to destroy the remaining ritual or flee to the eastern mountains before nightfall brought the remaining cult's revenge, lurking in the depths.
Rizal stood at the mouth of the cave, his SS1 pointed into the breathing darkness, his voice booming, cutting through the eerie whisper of the wind, sweat mixed with blood from his scratches flowing profusely. "We are at the mouth of the cult's hell now—the statue is cracked, the curse is weakening! Thirteen survivors, Reza, forgive us. Three villagers, tell us about this base—where is the backup altar?! Sari, please treat Bima-Lina quickly, the poison is spreading fast! Dito, check the cave signal? Tono, Maya, prepare the torches and move forward slowly—check the depth! We are united—go in and destroy the rest of tonight's ritual, or the cult will take revenge tomorrow morning!"
Mr. Karto—the village head who turned out to be one of the survivors—cowered in fear, his face pale and covered with old ritual scars, his voice breaking as he whispered in horror. "The Skull Cave... the cult's main base! My son Suroto disappeared here 10 years ago—they sacrificed him to awaken the spirit of the valley. The backup altar in the basement, there's a small statue filled with the blood of 50 souls that creates an eternal curse. The cult leader—the White-Eyed Blind Man—is hiding there, his empty eyes seeing souls! Go in... Everyone will die!"
Fauzan, his machete bloody from slashing the altar as he advanced, slashing the mossy walls, stared at Rangga with a mixture of tension and respect, his breath labored. "Mr. Karto was right—this cave is a den of demons! Rangga, your pendant rejected that whisper—did the leader enter?! I will destroy the backup altar before the poison kills Bima-Lina! Sari, please hold on—we are united now!"
Rangga remained as cold as an obsidian statue, his bone pendant flickering dimly through the cave mist, his blade sharpened rhythmically as a rumble was heard. "The backup altar is 100 meters inside—a room full of blood with a statue with red eyes. The leader of the White Blind Eye cult is very powerful—let's destroy the statue's eyes first. The pendant is a temporary protection; my grandfather died here fighting him. I will end the curse before your souls are taken. Do you hear the rumbling again? They are eating new victims."
Sari bandaged Bima's chest, which was covered in black pus, while holding Fahri, who was delirious, saying, "I'm talking... white eyes..." She screamed in panic as the cave moss crept up her legs like a living snake. "Get this moss off! Fahri said 'White Blind Eye has called Reza'! Lina, how's the poison on your legs? Reza is gone... Right now, I'm going to protect Fahri before the cave takes his soul!"
Lina, her legs swollen and numb from the poison, screamed in pain as she held her gun, her voice hysterical. "The poison is spreading to my chest—Bima is unconscious again, his pus smells rotten! Sari, we're out of bandages! Reza screamed from the mud earlier—please treat him before I kill them one by one!"
Bima regained consciousness with a weak groan, his chest torn and festering, his machete fallen. "I... thirst for blood... Rangga... the statue's eyes... destroy... revenge for Andi-Reza..."
Tono unfolded his wet map and pointed to the lower chamber. With Maya's torch, they advanced slowly, illuminating the moving moss. "The blood-filled chamber is 100 meters away—that living moss is a trap! Maya, Hasan—get your arrows ready! I'm still with Rangga—he knows best!"
Maya, her bow shot at the moss that ensnared Tono, the arrow stuck. "Agreed! The rumbling is near—only 7 cultists left! Hasan, what's the strategy?"
Hasan, preparing his pistol with 3 bullets left, his soft voice trembling. "We attack silently—destroy the statue's eyes, take the Blind One's head. My experience: a blind ritual in the darkness. And whisper your names again..."
Dito, the radio crackled with static, "white eyes... soul..." "A curse signal! Amira, second torch—cover the rear!"
Amira, holding the torch high, saw a masked shadow in the cave. "Riz, 13 people! The moss is moving towards Lina!"
Suddenly, the cave shook violently—the moss exploded like a giant snake and entangled everyone's legs, then dragged them into the depths while roaring, "Sacrifices to replace Reza!" From the lower chamber, the remaining 7 cultists jumped out, their masks cracked with empty white eyes, wielding poisonous machetes and roaring, "Blind ones, call your souls!" The leader of the Blind White Eyes stood behind them, his empty eyes glowing red, his hands raised as he chanted a spell accompanied by the slow rumbling of the collapsing cave.
Rizal fired a burst, ripping through the chests of two cultists. "Attack! Let's go to the room full of blood!" Fauzan slashed three people, blood spurting mixed with moss. Rangga slashed the moss that was entangling Sari again, his knife also nearly hitting the Blind One's eye. Maya shot one person in the chest, Hasan shot one person in the leg and then fell.
Blind roared, "Living statues! Your souls will be eternal!" His machete slashed Bima in the chest again—he fell screaming and fainted. Blind also slashed his weapon at the two subordinates who were always with Fauzan, right at their necks. Lina screamed, "Bima and two others are dead!" but Rangga pulled her away, the glowing pendant resisting the spell.
Mr. Karto screamed, "The statue's eyes! Destroy them!" They stormed into the blood-filled room—a small altar with a statue of glowing red eyes, blood flowing like a river. Fauzan jumped and slashed the statue's eyes, the obsidian cracked and shattered, the light went out, the spell broke, and the screams of the cultists who fell curled up could be heard.
The cave suddenly fell silent, the moss withered, the whispers disappeared. Rizal counted the breaths. "Ten survivors—Mr. Karto died because he was pulled by the moss! Bima and two members did not survive. The cult has been destroyed... We move to the mountain at dawn."
Rangga said coldly, "Finally, the curse is completely dead. The base is empty—let's take their medicine." The cave fell silent, but the wind carried faint screams from the depths—the curse was gone, but the cave's secrets thirsted for answers.