Dreyden gave Klaus a sharp look as well as pity; he couldn't bear to lock Klaus up for hundreds of years in a place like this. But he also couldn't stand Klaus' ruthless attitude after Djiwa's death.
He did it all not out of pity for humans, but rather out of fear that the vampires out there would find them because Klaus was crazy. And the great war between the werewolf and the vampires may not be avoided anymore. If that happens, then destruction comes their way, and the Viltarins can be completely wiped out by endless wars.
"Klaus, stop loving humans. Humans are different from us. They will die, and if you don't want to love Lynn, there is still Eleanor, or the daughters of the old couple, Nenetl and Aramis, Ederne and Celeste, even though they are not Viltarin. Both are quite worthy of you compared to marrying humans, Klaus.
Klaus laughed mockingly. "Why don't you ask me to fall in love with a vampire? I will have a very powerful child, right? Mixing a baby with werewolf blood and a vampire past will be more profitable, right?"
"I'm just giving you advice!"
Klaus again spat on the floor. "I don't want to take advice from you, Dreyden!"
"In that case, stay in this damned place, Klaus. Djiwa has died, and reincarnation has never existed! All you do is torture yourself with nonsense!" Dreyden again covered his head with a black hood; he was ready to leave Klaus alone again.
"Dreyden!" Klaus shouted after Dreyden and his bodyguard, Michael, left fifteen steps before him. "Reincarnation exists, brother. You see her, don't you? My reborn Djiwa."
Dreyden stopped and turned to look at Klaus with a look of astonishment. "Where did you know Klaus?"
"Because I found it much earlier than you."
"Aha, it must be a dream, she said. I understand why you are so weak now. Klaus concentrated his power on finding that figure among the hundreds of human souls in this country, not on his great and desperate play." Dreyden quipped.
"Just tell Dreyden that you met her. Does she look like my Djiwa?"
"Those of you who read the Mahabharata must know that Srikandi bears a resemblance to Amba, but they are two different people. If Srikandi, at the end of the Mahabharata war, returns to being a man. Then so does the girl I met, Klaus. "She is not reborn to love you, and you will only find empty dreams. So stay here until you gain awareness and prefer your nation to your feelings."
Dreyden then invited Michael to leave. This time he didn't even turn his head, even though Klaus called him over and over again in an increasingly hoarse voice.
****
Aruna.
"There are one hundred and sixty-eight heroes' tombs scattered throughout Indonesia!" Aruna complained as soon as she finished checking the heroes' cemetery at a site managed by the government.
"And if she's a Hindu, then you won't be able to find the grave, Runa's," Randi said.
"Because the corpse will be burned?"
"Yes, so stop looking for something that never existed. With one hundred and sixty-eight tombs inscribed on the government's Web site and all those tombs scattered all over the country from the island of Sumatra to Papua, how long are you going to chase and look for someone in a dream?"
"But what if the dream exists?"
"Even if there is, just ignore it. It would take more than a year just to find someone in a dream, even if she had Aruna. Stop taking your dreams so seriously, Runa."
Aruna didn't answer, her eyes were focused on staring at the rays from the sky that broke through the cloud of excitement. Some people seem to enjoy the rays. Others, like her and Randi, don't care much about the moment because it's too cool to talk, and the beauty of Ancol Beach and the sunshine don't manage to make them appreciate the beauty of nature.
The stunning red moment is so beautiful that I'm not sure how long it will last before it vanishes, to be replaced by a blackened night. For how long was everything seen blushing—including the seawater, rocks, roads, and birds flying in the Jakarta Sea—and perhaps the wind had also turned red, which was incredible. If only anyone could capture the moment.
And it seemed that Aruna's wish was realized; a man carrying a camera came in a huff, and without using a tripod, he photographed every second of that red sky moment. The man seemed to be racing against the clock before the moment he tiptoed to leave the afternoon sky and vanish into the night.
"Runa."
"Hmm."
"Never question your dreams again. You understand, right?"
Aruna, on the other hand, nodded because she was still curious about the outcome of her strange dream.
****
Twelve o'clock in the evening
Aruna, who was still hungry, had just ordered food online when her apartment door was knocked on the second time. Aruna, who thought that the one who was knocking was a courier carrying the pizza she ordered, immediately opened the door without peeking at first.
As soon as the door was opened, Aruna was surprised to see the figure that appeared at her door. There, instead of the courier carrying her ordered food, she found a young woman her age who was very attractive. The woman in front of her has silver-white hair and is blue-eyed.
The woman wore a white a-line dress made of very delicate and soft lace, with fluffy sleeves, her neck covered by turtleneck-style lace, her silver-white hair in the coil, and she wore a hat made of woven bamboo and tied with white lace in the shape of a ribbon on her chin. To complete her look tonight, she used white gloves. The woman looks like an aristocrat, and as soon as she smiles kindly, she looks very scary to Aruna.
"Ghostt!! Argghhh!!!"
With a pale face, Aruna yelled and slammed the door shut. She knew the apartment building she rented was an old building. According to rumors, this apartment building was once a house owned by the Dutch ruler in Batavia2, and because the Indonesian government wanted to build apartments for Jakarta residents, the Dutch people's houses, including old graves and a church, were razed to the ground. Because of all that, there are many rumors of ghosts that appear when they are compromised; often, people see ghosts that resemble the figures of Dutch people in the colonial era.
"Arrghhh!!!" Aruna sat on the floor, her bones feeling like they were melting like wax. She covered her face with both hands and continued to shout with all her might, hoping that a neighbor would hear her voice and make the ghost disappear from her presence.
Unfortunately, none of the neighbors came, although Aruna repeatedly screamed as the woman drew closer to her. The woman smiled, but her smile disappeared from Aruna's eyes, and it was all dark.
1. Batavia: During the Dutch colonial period, another name for Jakarta was "Jakarta," which changed depending on who controlled Jakarta at the time.