by Rama Nugraha
“I said stop!” Nymeria screamed. “I can take care of myself! If you stick your nose too much, you’ll ruin my plan!”
Ciriel starred at Nymeria, blinking oddly. Then, he scoffed, puffing hot steam from his nose. He shrunk, turning himself into a tiny horned lizard, crawling with four scaly legs toward Nymeria.
Nymeria squatted, allowing the lizard to climb onto her hand. “Sorry, Ciriel.”
“I hate you, Missus.”
“But you’ll forgive me, won’t you?” Nymeria asked hopefully.
“Yeah… you exploit my kindness again.”
Nymeria smiled. She placed Ciriel on her shoulder, then she moved.
Datan gasped for air, leaning on his left arm which ached in the wrist area, trying to lean onto the wall of the cave. Ciriel’s attack was so hard that it had him almost unconscious. Datan closed his eyes, regulating his breath, trying to control himself. His sanity slowly came back to him. Ciriel somehow shed off his blinding rage.
Datan was sure Ciriel’s kick was just as strong as Ferid’s. Even so, he realized that he was no longer surprised at a hit that hard. His body was adapting.
Father once told him that it was one of the advantages of being an Ingran. At some point, the entire muscles in their body would get stronger the more they used it. Still, the process was painful.
Father…
Nymeria walked lightly towards him. She squatted in front of Datan and leaned her head slightly. “You alright, Datan?” she asked, truly looked concern.
“Stop trying to act nice, Nay,” Datan opened his eyes, showing a cold yet empty glare. “You just killed my father.”
“Yeah, get used to it. That was actually a backup plan. You made me do it.”
“I’ve given you the Zu.”
“You made me angry. I was hurt.”
“I’ll surely kill you, Nay. I don’t care—”
Nymeria frowned as Datan chocked on his words. She did not do anything. Datan forgot his anger and pain. Something warm roamed on his body, something smelt foul.
“Oh,” Nymeria hummed, taking the creature crawling in Datan’s neck. “I forgot you are afraid of cockroaches. In a dingy place like this, there are plenty of them obviously.”
Datan’s face flushed, ashamed and angry. “I’m disgusted,” he defended himself. “Not scared.”
Ciriel giggled mockingly.
Datan looked away. He closed his eyes to control his rage, breathing heavily. In silence, he could feel the state of his entire body. He measured his durability against pain and how much energy he had left. Datan had to break the promise he made with himself. His willpower got stronger. Datan would avenge Father’s death.
Datan wanted to stab Nymeria. He wanted to rip apart that woman’s neck until he left a gaping hole. While the Anag? Datan was still thinking about the way to get rid of it.
“I want to tell you a story, Datan.”
“Oh, right! This is the best time to tell stories!”
“I want you to get to know me a little more.”
Datan chortled, insulting her, even if it made him cough painfully. But then, Nymeria looked so serious that his laugh faded. That woman was still, unmoving. She looked at Datan closely, anticipating. Datan looked away.
Datan thought he should stab Nymeria while covering her eyes with his other hand. Because looking at those eyes felt wrong. Nymeria almost resembled Irirana. They both had a sharp gaze that was so intense it would waver great willpower. Those eyes could move the heart of whomever they saw. Something about them was just unarguable. It was like an absolute reassurance.
Datan clicked his tongue. “You think I want to listen to you?”
Nymeria was stunned like an oily mask. She changed her position, sitting cross-legged. She did not seem interested to gain Datan’s agreement. “You know, Datan? I also loved stealing since I was a kid,” she started. “Just like you. Even worse, because I steal to survive. Aside from that, I also kill.”
Datan’s face showed how much he didn’t care. But Nymeria beat him even at that. She kept talking like she was sure that at some point Datan would listen to him.
“My father, Datan, he is a coal miner. It was a position inherited in his family,” Nymeria’s voice turned lower and sadder. “And my mother, she was just a regular housewife. She laughed a lot and she weaved the fabrics used to make Nimta. I think our life was perfect until Father cheated on my mother with another woman.
“Father cheated on her as a protest. Father was full of hatred and he was mad, just because he just found out that Mother was learning magic, and that she prayed for Unum. He found my mother disgusting. He thought she was mental. He became ruthless and heartless. Mother’s life became miserable.
“For years, I witnessed and felt it. I often found them fighting, berating each other. Until one day, after my eleventh birthday, they fought. Mother slapped Father and Father kicked her. They fought on the floor,” Nymeria was not crying. It was shown in her eyes that she was repressing her emotion. “Father was like a crazy person.”
“I am burning in desire to kill you right now and you tell me this melancholic tale? Really, Nay?” Datan glared. “You’re insane. What is in your head? You want me to feel sorry?”
Nymeria smiled sadly. “Maybe?”
“That won’t happen. I would never forgive my father’s murderer.”
Nymeria acted as if she was deaf. “I tried to stop Father when they fought that night. Because he started to insult Mother and tried to strangle her. I panicked. I took the fire iron and hit Father with it. He roared angrily. He went after me and that iron—well it impaled him, his heart,” she took a deep breath, looking down. She brushed some of her hair to the back of her ears. She then looked at Datan. “I wonder why he’s so evil.”
Datan frowned. “Your father is not tolerant,” he commented without thinking. “He was narrow-minded.”
“Is that why he cheated?”
“Well, that, you people—I mean Urgut man was known to be like that. They could not stay with only one woman.”
“Nonsense.”
“Whatever you say.”
“I hate those kinds of guys. I hate a guy like Father,” Nymeria stressed. “Luckily, Uncle Mattan isn’t like that. He’s an amazing man. I think you’ll turn to be like him.”
“Yet, you killed him! You wretched woman!” Datan spat, feeling the desire to scratch Nymeria’s face with his growing nails. “You killed the amazing man that is my father!”
Nymeria was taken aback. Datan could not tell what she was thinking.
“Your father was sick, Datan,” Nymeria retorted back. “A terminal illness. Accept it. There’s no hope for him to recover. He knew that, and so do we.”
Datan smirked, “I’m not that good at being pessimistic.”
Nymeria sighed. “Initially I thought,” she sounded confused and regretful. “I helped easing Mother’s misery. Turns out, that wasn’t the case. Mother scolded me. She punished me with blood and death. Ever since that, Mother cried and locked herself in her room more.
“I’ve been to juvenile hall, Datan. I wasn’t there for too long, though. Two years. Because in the eyes of the law, I was defending my mother. I find the life in prison horrifying. Those kids tried to overpower each other. It was a mess. Some people screamed, begging to be released. Some of them just cried all the time. Every day is filled with squabble and screams. The food was bland, sandy. I would often be tied in a windowless narrow room for fighting. I felt… broken.
“For the time I was in prison, my mother only visited me twice. I tried to understand that she must have felt embarrassed to have a daughter like me. I was abandoned. I was lonely. Until the time passed, a month after I get out of prison, something happened in a silent twilight.”
Her gaze turned empty, showing that she was drowned in a bitter memory. “I saw her kill herself in her room,” she sounded sorrowful. “It felt like, my heart was stabbed. I will never forget that day. I didn’t know what to do. I co
uld only cry calling for her. I was terrified because Mother didn’t want to be helped. It was like she wanted to punish me—or herself,” Nymeria shook her head. “I don’t know. But I also feel Mother wanted me to see her die. She did not even leave me any message. I was miserable, sad and confused. I was broken.
“One might say I almost went mad.”
Datan felt the hair on his body rose, yet he refused to show any sympathy.
Nymeria cackled dryly. She turned away, controlling her breathing. It was like she tried to follow her own rule—to not cry over the dead.
“I didn’t have any friends since then,” she continues. “Children my age avoided me. Their parents forbade them to approach me, let alone be my friends. They thought I’ll be a bad influence for them. I was isolated.
“I was thirsty of friendship, Datan. Accepting that I don’t have any friend was really painful. I left home. I began to wander around without any purpose. I survive by stealing. Sometimes I worked as a laundress in motels. I do whatever I could to survive, whether it’s good or bad. The next thing I knew, I was too scared to befriend others because I was ashamed of my past. I lived in solitude. I was lost.”
“I lost interest, Nay.”
Nymeria smiled, her emotion became harder to guess. “Until I met Lord Ur.” She starred at the brooch of a cracked mask in her chest. She brushed it from dust with her thumb, then she raised her head. “You know. Lord Ur was really nice to me.
“He gave me back my confidence that I could get back on my own feet. I could finally live. Lord Ur accepted me like a sister, a part of his family. He taught me to face the curse my mother left me when it haunts me.
“I know Jasin and Antal through him. There’s Miss Raisa the delicate and Kudja the nice. They all love me. I’m happy to be a part of them. They are my new family. They grant me a new purpose in life… but, just like any other family. It wasn’t perfect.”
Datan starred at her, starting to be able to forget the ache all over his body.
“For years I live with them. I enjoy it, really. Until one day, Lord Ur gave me a task to steal the Zu stone,” Nymeria held the chain, showing Datan the Zu stone. “The truth is, this tiny gemstone is a part of a key. There’s a gate hidden from the world, in the heart of the Abyss. A gate that, in our Bahasa language, is known as The Darkness Gate,” her eye twitched, she scrunched his face tensely. “Alamu Arka had found something that isn’t supposed to be found in the tunnels of Voronya more than three thousand years ago.”
Datan frowned, showing a skeptical expression. Yet, Nymeria threw him a sharp glare that made Datan realized she was being serious. Nymeria put the Zu stone into her pocket, welcoming Datan’s curious gaze. She realized Datan was hooked at last.
“What’s behind the Darkness Gate?”
“An ancient entity, waiting to be released.”
Datan scratched his sideburn. “Alright,” he found it hard to picture what she said. “So, what is Lord Ur true purpose?”
“Revenge, Datan,” Nymeria said. “To all of us—Haedin and Urgut people on the Surface. Lord Ur wanted to rebuild the civilization.”
Datan laughed cynically. “I’m impressed. A tiny group of villains trying to revenge and conquer the world, really? Are you reenacting fairytales?” he mocked. “The world is big, Nay-nay. Tons of heroes and knights out there would rebel against you, rioting against you—oh, and some would compete to have your head!”
Nymeria crooked an eyebrow. “Go ahead. Anyone can try,” she challenged, making Datan feel unsettled. “Quantity won’t make people more significant, Datan. We were untouchable, even more than the League of Royans.”
The sound of erratic breathing and footsteps from the tunnels got louder. Then, Irirana’s voice echoed, piercing the darkness, calling out to Datan. His friends had managed to catch up.
“Missus, they found the mark!” Ciriel shouted. “We must go now!”
“Our talk isn’t done yet,” Nymeria stood hastily, moving away from Datan.
The two Royans came out of the tunnels, panting. Irirana was startled seeing Datan slumped at the eastern end of the field under the light of a torch in the wall of the cave. While Kanas was dumbfounded seeing the magnificence of the looming Osberga Door.
“Datan!”
“I am fine, Irirana!” Datan shouted back, his hands gripped one of his knees and stood up slowly “I really am… it’s just… my father had just jumped from the cliff,” he continued in a whisper, mostly to himself.
The terrifying people of Zuruk who had been waiting moved fast, surrounding Nymeria, protecting her. They formed a row that separated Datan and Nymeria from Irirana and Kanas.
“Kill them my Zuruks,” Nymeria ordered without any greeting.
The tension broke. The atmosphere was burning their lungs and freezing their bones as the husky yell of the Zuruks tore the air. Most of them who faced Kanas and Irirana raised their strong arms, unsheathing their weapons. The ground was shaking as they stomped their feet, and with no hesitancy, they attacked.
“Lady!” Kanas unsheathed his sword.
“Watch out, Kanas! They are the people of Zuruk!”
Chapter 34
Freefall
The battle began.
Swords were lifted and clashed in as they were engaged in combat. The way people of Zuruk fought was different. They constantly chortled, shouted, roaring “Ha! Hu! Woh-woh!” like savages.
They made the fight infuriating. When their opponent was taken aback, they swung their weapons. They liked to lick the gold coin tied in their palm—as a symbol of luck—with their disgusting black tongue. They even licked their wounds because they believed that licking blood (whether it was their own or their opponents, as long as it was not animal blood) could make them stronger.
They have steel muscle and iron bones, making normal kicks and punch nearly useless for them. Kanas and Irirana knew this fact and had made up their mind to just deliver blows that would end their life right away.
Kanas moved swiftly, slashing and stabbing. He was brutal, showing no sign of compassion. He attacked the vital points in his opponents’ body. He moved as fast as lightning, as wild as a lion. That man was doing the Dance of Death. Kanas slashed his opponent’s wrists so that they would drop their weapons. Following that, he delivered attacks to their necks.
Irirana was just as ferocious. Kalantaka stayed in her back. While in her hold was her sword, swung hard and accurate. She cut through muscled flesh like it was butter, impaling her opponents’ heart with her sword. Irirana’s movements were efficient and graceful. She was unavoidable and her attacks always went through her opponents’ defense and found its target.
At times, she hit her opponents with her left palm, and a bizarre light flashed from there, leaving a gaping hole in her opponents’ stomach.
Datan realized there was a secret weapon in the Kahisar’s hand.
For a moment, Datan tensed, he paled as he watched the battle. He tried to calculate his moves. Although he wavered sometimes, he had to take a step backward because his ears ached to hear the Zuruks stupid yelling. He remained certain that Irirana and Kanas could take care of the entire fifteen mindless people.
Blood was shed, filling the air with the scent of iron. One by one, the opponents fell down. Datan quieted, shivering in fear. That was the first time Kanas and Irirana looked dangerous in his eyes.
Datan looked at Nymeria.
That woman looked agitated watching the battle. Yet, she stayed still. It was as if she was waiting for something while Ciriel moved uneasily on her shoulder. The moment where Father died was replayed in his head, solidifying, taking away his rationale. Datan felt the surge of anger and hatred filling his chest. The feeling took over him. Yes, he would regret it if he did not do it now. It must be now.
Datan must kill Nymeria now.
Datan nodded, taking his knife from the ground. He held it so tight that he felt the leather in the handle wriggled. He stomped, holding back pain and streng
then his leg muscles, and he ran towards Nymeria. He roared, pouring out the anger that had been squeezing his soul.
Nymeria looked at him, startled. She took out one sword. Slashing and dodging happened. Then, Datan kicked Nymeria hard.
“You idiot!” Nymeria was pushed back.
Datan saw red. He pounced on her brutally. The lizard on her shoulder became wide-eyed as he fell of Nymeria’s shoulder.
They all fell.
“Datan!” Irirana screamed, taking out her sword from her opponent’s heart by holding the body with her foot.
Datan and Nymeria fell off a steep uneven terrain. They hit rocks, scrapped by sharp pebbles and kept rolling around like a couple of water barrels freefalling from the top of a mountain. They were thrown to the air for a moment, before crashing onto the ground. They were in a rocky field that connected to other tunnels. Both of them felt dizzy. They squirmed, groaning in pain, unable to breathe.
“We could have died!” Nymeria spat.
“You should die, but I shouldn’t!”
From the corner of his vision, Datan saw a figure laying on the ground with his face down, unmoving. Datan shivered. He knew who that was. “Father!” he shouted, wobbled towards him, kneeling next to him. “Oh, no!”
Father’s body was in one piece, but the bones of his shin were broken. His skin was yellowish pale, black blood oozed from his mouth, nose, and ears. Datan’s eyes widened in horror, shaking his head in disbelief, his teeth clattered. He could not breathe. His heart roared in fury. Why did Father listen to Nymeria? Datan hugged Father’s body, his cheeks were drenched in tears and his whole body trembled.
Hatred toward Nymeria grew bigger inside of him.
Near the slope, Nymeria took off her cloak. She was ready to fight him for real. She waited until Datan placed Father carefully on the ground.
