Lucia laid out a collection of maps on the table. "If I'm right, the attack from the mountains is just a distraction. There's going to be another attack, most likely here." She circled a location on the map with a marker. "He's going to barge in here from behind us." Velvet came into the room wearing a cloak with a hood over her head. "Have you gotten Cornlelius's location?" Lucia nodded. "I'll be meeting him shortly. You think he has a trap planned for us?"
"Definitely. I'll try to keep an eye on you from a distance. If he tries anything, I'll pounce on that bastard."
"Thank you, Velvet. Karna, as I said, we're going to be attacked in another direction. Find the army and keep them busy." Karna nodded, and the three left the room.
Out on the battlefield, soldiers clashed, slashing each other with swords or stabbing them with spears. The smell of blood thickened in the atmosphere, and gongs could be heard, signaling to get ready for an attack. Karna hovered in the sky as he watched people fall to the ground, gasping their last breath before their death. "This is just awful." A cloud of black smoke began to form in the air. It started small but expanded with every dying soldier. Karna saw numerous Kegare emerge. Although he had already seen it, the sight still horrified him. That Kegare were once human beings, that they were turned into such malevolent creatures because of their own desires. "Matahari!" Flaring yellow arrows rained down on the Kegare, and they turned back into humans again. Karna offered them a quick prayer. "May those who died here today or were turned into Kegare due to someone's evil will find peace in the world after."
"Well, your Highness, I've come to your little meeting." Cornelius sniggered as soldiers surrounded Lucia, cutting off any means of escape. "So, Princess, what have you called me for?"
"Cornelius, tell me, do you intend to continue this war?"
"But of course. Should we win, the Khotoma River will be in our hands. Sobloeze's prosperity will increase exponentially."
"You desire to enrich your own self even knowing that hundreds of thousands may die?" Cornelius cackled. "Princess, you're as naive as you are idealistic. A ruler needs to be cold and ambitious. He must be willing to do whatever it takes to benefit his country."
"Benefit his country? Last I checked, you're the one involved in shady business deals and numerous scandals, including stealing money from the treasury. Those are taxpayer dollars you're stealing."
"So what? The money in the treasury belongs to the government. If there is any leftover after the year, why shouldn't we take it for ourselves? We're the ones who work to ensure their well-being; we deserve their money. After all, we are giving it to them."
"But most of the money ends up in your pocket, and the government has had to cut its funding and budget for multiple social programs. The people won't benefit from that."
"Oh, please. As long as the people are well-off, nobody will do or say anything for fear of losing everything. For those who aren't scared, well, somebody invented hush payments for a reason. But that's enough." He motioned to his soldiers. "We're taking her into captivity." To his shock, one of the soldiers pressed him on the floor. "What is the meaning of this?" His eyes narrowed on Lucia's smug smile. "What did you do?"
"You see, I had a good friend to replace your soldiers with mine. Before you came in here, she made them fall into the ground, and then have my soldiers act as yours without you noticing."
"I see, so that snide woman is with you. I should have expected this." Lucia shook her head. "Velvet actually isn't here right now. She ran off to her boyfriend. More importantly, Cornelius, you are under arrest for your numerous crimes."
"There you are, Karna!" Velvet caught her breath. She had run all over the battlefield looking for him. "Would it hurt to be easier to find next time?" She saw his face and stopped talking. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was set in a hard line. She could tell something was very worrying to him. "Karna, what's wrong?"
Karna clenched his fist. A massive swirl of black smoke was coming from a Kegare, the likes of which he never saw before. Its head, which had a collection of tentacles on its face, touched the clouds. It had long, scaly wings and sharp claws on its arms and legs. Spikes protruded out its body, which was as black as the night sky. "Visavi, what is that?" Visavi did not respond. "I see, so that's Yami, the lord of darkness."
The Kegare approached Karna, catching a glimpse of the spear he was holding. "You're the new Cahaya?" Karna nodded. "You're Yami, right?" The Kegare howled. "No, human. I am Rangda, queen of the Kegare." Karna saw hundreds of ghost-like figures circle Rangda. "You willingly corrupt the hearts of innocent people and cause chaos and bloodshed, and it doesn't bother you?" Rangda laughed. "My, the Cahaya still is as amusing as ever. Child, your kind is nothing but disposable to us. They only exist to be sacrificed for our cause, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't mind. After all, many of them can't do anything about it." Karna's jaw clenched. "And what would this cause of yours be, exactly?"
"For millennia, we remembered the humiliation cast upon us when we were kicked out of the sky by the stars and forced to abide here; our lord has now arisen, and he intends to elevate the darkness back to our former glory! And our triumphant victory over the Kami will start with your head, Cahaya!" Karna grabbed Velvet's arm as he flew away from Rangda's fist. "Thanks, Karna."
Velvet caused pillars of rock to rise from the ground and jumped from one to another as Rangda kicked them one by one. She hurled and flung boulders at Rangda, which the Kegare slapped away. "It's going to take a lot more than that to kill me!" Arrows rained down on Rangda from above, puncturing her eye and ripping some tentacles off her face. "Damm you!" The ghosts surrounding Rangda encircled Karna, who slashed and hacked at them with his spear. Karna charged at Rangda, who flicked him several meters into the ground.
Karna coughed out blood. "Matahari!" Thousands of arrows pierced Rangda's skin, exploding on impact and spreading flames across her arm. She smiled. "My, you're much more fun than your predecessors. I haven't taken a battle this seriously in ages, although to be frank, I'm a little disappointed. I expected more." A black battle-ax appeared in her right arm. "Let me introduce you to Kematian, my ax." She swung it in the air, and a wave of black energy smashed into Karna, blowing upon impact and sending him into the ground once again.
Karna tried to get up, but this time his body would not move. He was too exhausted and battered to keep fighting. Rangda put her foot above his head, ready to stomp on him as a terrified Velvet looked on helplessly. "Karna!"
Karna was shocked to be inside a water bubble, which had moved him away in the nick of time. Karna saw Sora, who breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew, I made it in time." He put Karna down next to him and immediately began a chant to heal him. Karna weakly smiled. "What took you so long?"
"I had to go find a legendary weapon. I thought it would be useful later." Karna felt some strength was rejuvenated back into his body, and got back up on his feet. "Thanks for the healing. You don't look tired."
"As I said, I got a legendary weapon." Sora pulled out a bow. "Meet Pusaran. It improves my powers by a lot." He saw Velvet struggling to avoid Rangda's ax and shot a blue arrow at it. A vortex of water shattered the ax into pieces, which infuriated Rangda. "You god damm mortals!" Sora smirked. "This baby really hits hard, though I bet you've hit on Velvet harder." Karna blushed. "Oh, just shut up." A green staff appeared in Karna's hand, and he now wore a green robe. "Oh yeah, I forgot you fused your soul with Angin. So, you ready to do this?" Karna nodded.
Hurricanes swirled around Rangda as Sora shot arrows at her arms and kegs. Velvet raised jagged pieces of rock from the ground, and they pierced Rangda's feet. Rangda stomped on the ground, and it shook violently. Soldiers were swallowed up into the earth. Karna flew into the sky, with Sora and Velvet hanging on to him. Rangda swung her fist at Karna, sending him, along with Sora and Velvet, crashing into the ground.
Karna struggled to get up. Velvet was unconscious, and Sora's right arm was red with blood. "He won't be shooting any more arrows," Karna thought. Rangda started to walk away. "You've proved yourself to be quite entertaining, Cahaya. Next time we meet, I hope you'll be more fun to play with. I can't wait to see your face when I crush you and your little friends." She disappeared into the swirl of black smoke, and all the Kegare went with her.
Velvet opened her eyes. She saw Karna hovering above her with tears in his eyes. "I thought you were dead for a second," he sniffed. Velvet touched his face. "I'm still here. You look horrible."
"I just woke up not too long ago. Lucia said she found the three of collapsed on the ground. Sora is still unconscious, or he's just sleeping." Velvet smiled. "Is that so? Well, I'm glad we're alive. It would have sucked if my future husband died on me."
"You would have died too, so it wouldn't be that bad."
"Yeah, but I wouldn't be able to marry you then." Karna grabbed Velvet's hand. "Velvet, I know this is sudden, but do you want to be my Peyalan?"
"You mean you want me to be your servant?" Karna nodded. "Yes, although it's more than that. You'll be able to communicate with me telepathically. You'll also be able to use Angin's powers without having to become a barong with him."
"I see you're serious about this. Fine, I'll be your Peyalan." Karna's eyes lit up. "Really?" Velvet nodded. "You informed me before that as the bond between a Peyalan and the Cahaya grows, their strength does too. Sounds romantic, don't you think?" Karna blushed. "I never thought of it like that."
"You mean you wanted me as your slave?"
"Of course not! I would never..." He sighed as Velvet start giggling. "It's so fun to tease you, sorry. But I want to ask, will you take advantage of me?" Karna shook his head. Velvet saw the honesty in his eyes. "Alright, then I'll accept your offer." She took Karna's hand as she stood up. Visavi appeared and began a chant. "Master, before I continue, you must give Velvet a name in the language of the Kami. Have you decided on a name?" Karna nodded. "I think Cantik is a fitting name." Visavi continued with the chant, and a yellow disc appeared around Velvet's hips. When it disappeared, a yellow mark glowed in her right hand. "Um, Karna, why is my hand glowing?"
"That mark indicates you're my Peyalan. It allows you to use Angin's powers freely without consequences and for you to talk to me telepathically."
"What about the name you gave me? What does Cantik mean?"
"It means beautiful. I thought the name I gave you should describe you, so think of it as a tribute to your beauty."
"How pretty do you think I am?" Karna blushed. "Um, very. You're more dazzling than just beautiful, in my opinion." Velvet looked up at him. "Really?"
"Really." Velvet leaned her body towards his. "I appreciate that. I would like to tell you that I think you're cute." Karna's face was scarlet now. "Are you teasing me again?" Velvet smiled. "Yes. But I am happy you think I'm pretty." She brought her lips up to his in a soft, passionate kiss. Karna pulled her towards him as she slipped her fingers under his shirt.
"Rangda, what is your impression of the Cahaya?"
"He is quite formidable compared to the other Cahaya. His companions as well, I think it would be wise to get rid of him before he gets too powerful, my lord."
"I see. I would like to fight the Cahaya myself, but I still have much to do. Watch him closely and let me know of his movements. Also, ask Kegelapan if he has found it."
"Are you referring to the blade known as Tyrfing?"
"Yes. The blade will be quite useful, especially for what comes ahead. Be on your way, Rangda. You have much to do as well.
"As you command, my lord."