The air in the room was thick, suffocating. Lin Han could hear the pounding of his own heartbeat against the silence.
"The Blood Ritual of Batu Caves never ended."
Noya's words rattled in his mind like a relentless echo. He struggled to keep his voice steady, but his fingers felt cold.
"What exactly do you know?" he asked, his tone sharp.
Noya didn't answer immediately. Instead, she walked toward the window, pulling back the curtain just enough to peer outside. The city sprawled before them—towering skyscrapers, neon billboards flashing over the never-ending stream of traffic. A place that never slept. But beneath the dazzling lights, what kind of darkness lurked unseen?
"The Blood Ritual at Batu Caves was never an isolated event," she murmured. "It was just one phase of a much longer ceremony."
Lin Han frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Noya turned back, her gaze piercing.
"Have you ever wondered why you were the only survivor?"
Her words struck like a thunderclap.
His breath caught. Flashes of vanished figures consumed by blood mist resurfaced in his mind. That night, when he awoke—his bindings had been cut.
"You're saying…" Lin Han's throat felt dry. "Someone let me go?"
"No," Noya corrected. "You were chosen."
She stepped closer, her eyes locking onto his right eye, her voice calm but heavy with meaning.
"Your ability—it's not a curse. It's a key."
Lin Han's breath hitched.
A key?
But he was just a bankrupt real estate agent—how could he possibly be connected to ancient rituals and forgotten ceremonies?
Before he could ask, a sudden burst of static interrupted them.
Noya's radio crackled to life, a voice speaking rapid-fire Malay. Her expression darkened immediately.
"It's a CID emergency call," she said, her voice grim.
Lin Han didn't even have to ask. The tension in her jaw told him everything.
Someone had gone missing near Batu Caves.
Lin Han felt a cold shiver crawl down his spine.
It was happening again.
Midnight in Kuala Lumpur. The city streets were still ablaze with lights, and the Bangsar night market buzzed with energy. But for Lin Han, an invisible shadow loomed over everything.
"Who's the missing person?" he asked, voice tense.
Noya checked her radio's briefing, her brows furrowed. "CID says it's a hiker. Name: Hafiz. Last seen near the forest trail by Batu Caves. Then—radio silence."
Lin Han's chest tightened.
Batu Caves. Again.
Since the night of the Blood Ritual, he had avoided that place like a curse. But fate kept dragging him back.
Noya was already moving toward the patrol car when she glanced over her shoulder. "I'm heading to the scene."
Lin Han hesitated for only a second before saying, "Take me with you."
She stopped in her tracks and shot him an incredulous look. "Are you crazy? This is a CID case. You're just a civilian."
"I'm not just a civilian." Lin Han lifted a hand, tapping his right temple. His voice was steady. "I can see things others can't."
For a moment, Noya said nothing. Then, with a sigh, she tossed him a rainproof jacket.
"Get in."
The foothills of Batu Caves were drenched in mist, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and jungle rot. Several police cars lined the entrance to the trail, their flashing lights casting an eerie red glow against the tree line.
Officers were speaking in hushed tones, their flashlights sweeping across the undergrowth.
"The missing man's backpack was found here," a Malay officer reported, pointing to the ground. A military-style bag lay abandoned, soaked from the humidity. A notebook, its pages blurred with water stains, sat half-buried in the dirt.
Lin Han crouched beside it, his fingers brushing the mud—
Warm.
His stomach knotted.
Just then, a sharp pain stabbed through his right eye.
The threads of karma were appearing.
A faint red thread extended from the backpack—leading deep into the jungle.
Lin Han exhaled slowly, straightened, and turned to Noya.
"He's still alive."