Alicia Crimsonmane's eyes flickered open, wrenched from slumber by the heated debate raging nearby. At first, she wondered if some calamity had befallen the sun, for the air was suffused with an intense heat that stung her skin, and all she could discern from her shut eyes was a bright red emptiness. But as her gaze adjusted to the warm glow of the eastern horizon, she realised that the day had simply turned anew, and she was still sprawled upon the vast expanse of the courtyard.

Upon her abdomen already lay her waist bag. Alicia quickly unfurled its contents and exhaled a sigh of solace as she beheld their unblemished state. Her attention then turned to the sole peculiarity on the waist strap: a skein of desiccated roots meticulously stitching together the once-severed halves of the belt. As for the winding, it bore no semblance of amateur craftsmanship, and the roots were tough when pulled.

A moment later, Alicia could hear someone arguing. The argument was coming from behind the altar, where a figure of Wisesa, looked up to his waist, berated with cutting words. "You can't do it? Are you mocking me? You're as old as Earth! How can you not have the Knowledge to get out of my body? What kind of dumb ass cat are you?"

A high-pitched voice retorted the youth's tirade. "You're the dumb ass one here! Of course I have ways to get out of this body. Who in their right mind would want to stay in a body as hot as the midsummer sun, boiling over with temper, anyway? Unfortunately, all the methods I can think of involve your death."

"What the—I’m this temperamental because of you! And on top of that, my brain is burning because I still can't believe why you haven't thought of a way to extricate yourself without killing me in the process!”

"This isn't my Knowledge, alright? It belongs to Mrajapati! It was created to seal one of us in case of betrayal, but the power the traitor holds can still benefit us and the world. The only way to break the seal is to seek the blessings of the remaining Aspects or the Key Holders who guard their pure voices if they're not available."

Wisesa rubbed his face with frustration. He let out a shout into his hands before clasping them behind his head. Almost, He was almost free from a shackle that made his life miserable. Yet, he knew such a dream was mere folly. He was only nineteen years old. A solitary existence, far from the madding crowd, was a dream reserved for those who had endured the cruelties of fate for far too long. No, life demanded that he suffer a while longer, lest it be deemed unfair to others.

"So... I'm stuck with you again, at least until death? Great, just great!"

"Yes, great indeed! We can insult each other until you die. I don't mind waiting," repeated the high-pitched voice. "Seriously, do you really want to squander your youth on petty quarrels with me? You are still young. Why don't you spend your time exploring the world of thaumaturgy and seeking out the other three Aspects? Besides, I know the whereabouts of the last two aspects, Anggapati and Banaspati. The replacement for Mrajapati can come later. Just calm yourself, lest your anger infects me."

Wisesa pointed his left index finger down. "You... I hate you. You sound just like her—"

"Wisesa...? Who are you talking to?"

The lad immediately turned to the sound of the gentle, sleepy voice. Alicia stood on the Altar's steps, her weak eyes half-closed. Orb was nestled between her body and the folds of her hands.

"You know who I'm talking to," Wisesa replied.

Alicia's brows furrowed in confusion. There was no one else with the lad. Perhaps he was conversing with Bujang, Ki Semar's farm pig, whom he had a habit of chatting with daily. But it was impossible for Bujang, a mere livestock animal, to speak, let alone transport himself to a forgotten temple deep in the heart of the jungle. Alicia believed that even if it was some sort of magical entity, they would not deign to subsist on a diet of bran.

So the lass asked again for confirmation, "Do you mean Barong—"

"So you’re the one!" A tiny creature leapt onto the altar, startling Alicia to tumble down the steps!

"Oh, shit, oh no!" Naturally, Wisesa vaulted over the altar in panic. "Barong, you madcap creature! I have no elixir to mend broken bones, do you hear me?"

"Barong? Is that Barong?" Alicia interjected once more, now seated thanks to Orb's protective energy. The lass promptly got up, her eyes narrowed at the diminutive creature who displayed such grandiosity on the altar.

"Ah, am I Barong? I don't know, Miss, do you need more 'eyes'?" Barong stretched like a kitten. "What has changed about me, hm?"

"W-what..."

The words disappeared from Alicia's mind. Yes, she was still dumbfounded. Mini Barong was just as fierce as the giant version, with all its stripes, armour, and accessories intact. The only difference was its puffy, cotton candy-like fur and blaring golden body. It looked like an obese kitten—its behaviour matched it too. Indeed, the saying "size does matter" was true, because its cute, blinking eyes were adorable when it was mini Barong, compared to its giant counterpart where its glaring gaze could make people wet themselves.

Alicia and Orb looked at the little cat and his friend. Isn't it cute when it's free from Khaos? Orb remarked.

Mini Barong then ran towards them, placing its front legs on Orb's surface without fear of getting electrocuted. Alicia could not take it seriously when Barong wagged its tail because it was indeed cute.

"Cute, you said? Listen here! As a gesture of my gratitude to you and Alicia, I will skip the fight and give you advice instead. I don't care if you're an Arcane, so don't look down on me, Slippery Rock!" Although not in physical form, Alicia could feel Barong's body vibration—a growl! "I keep the entire land intact according to my time, even before you came millennia ago! Technically, I'm your senior, and you treat me as such! Besides, since when does an Arcane might like you have ‘thoughts’?"

Orb replied with a gentle but firm voice, Barong, although I appreciate your peaceful approach, I do not submit to anyone except the One who sent me.

"What did you say? Do you want a second round—"

"Wait, wait! Stop it!" Alicia tried to move Barong away from her lap, but her hand passed through the creature's projection. "How do you understand Orb's words?"

"What's with that admiring look, huh? Do you think I'm cute too?" Barong scolded Alicia. "I am part of Earth, you know! I understand all languages, all meanings of whoever lives on my soil!"

"At least you could be my translator when I snatched Orb back then, instead of whining to take over my body!" Wisesa added with a grumble.

Barong flew straight back to its master. "What? Shut up, kid! Now you can, right? Why force me when I’m under the influence of Khaos? Dumb ass!"

The quarrel between Wisesa and his companion raged on, as Alicia and Orb looked on. If only she had some snacks to munch on, the argument might have been more enjoyable to peer on. Not to mention the fact that their dispositions were similar to each other; the arguments of siblings, or the quarrel of father and son. Watching the irritating yet obnoxious Wisesa fight the irritating but adorable Barong formed a smirk on the lass' face, and a chuckle fled from her lips.

"You two could go on bickering like this for eternity," Alicia interjected. "But I believe you promised to show me around the temples, Wisesa?"

The argument ceased abruptly. "It's not the right time, Alicia," Wisesa replied. "I have to teach this little rascal a lesson!"

"Ho ho ho, you're not seriously backing out of your promise, are you?" Barong interjected.

"That's not it—"

"Come on, that's just like you, always using others for your own benefit," Barong cut off the lad's response. "You give them false hope so you can keep me less intrusive. But you know what? That's just mean, Wisesa. And don't even try to deny it, because I've seen it all before, even when I was under the influence of Khaos. But it doesn't matter, you'll do it eventually. You always cave in when your conscience gets to you, or when she starts crying. Softie boy!"

"Alright, alright! We'll explore every inch of this massive temple complex. We'll take as long as we need to make sure you're happy. It's all for you, Alicia!" Wisesa then pointed towards the miniature Barong hovering in the air. "And you'd better stop bothering me!"

Barong bobbed his head in approval before vanishing from sight. Alicia smiled in approval as well, while Wisesa descended to the ground. "I am delighted that you recall your word." A lengthy hand of triumph was raised. "It is time for a wondrous expedition of Lojitengara!"

***

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

The eight temples stretched up towards the unreachable ceiling with only one floor below. But Alicia's curiosity about the murals and reliefs was insatiable, they ended up spending almost an hour in each temple. Wisesa found himself indulging the young bookworm's thirst for knowledge, or else little Barong would haunt him again with guilt and shame. His mouth grew numb from all the explanations, yet that day, he was as stoic as the temple statues.

A rare feat for him, was it not?

Perhaps it was the sixteen-year-old girl's presence that put him at ease. That day, Alicia was the child who had just been rewarded for her hard work. Her mouth could not stop babbling on about all things magic, her hands never tiring from jotting down Wisesa's words. Her laughter would ring out at times as she and Orb teased him.

A fleeting thought crossed Wisesa's mind: the lass reminded him of a childhood figure who was always tinkering with machines and prattling to him about it whenever he had the chance. Only this one prattled about all things magic and tinkered with his vexation. A sigh escaped, but the thought lingered. After all, Alicia was right beside him, and the thought refused to be dismissed.

As for Alicia, oh, she learned a lot! She was astonished at how knowledgeable Wisesa was about the shamanism of Lojitengara. She had thought she knew enough about Calon Arang and the Leyaks from Ki Semar, but Wisesa gave her even more details on how the ancient kingdoms were conquered and how people outside Yawa and Girah referred to the Leyaks by other names such as the Suanggi and so on. They also delved into the sagas of great warriors depicted on the walls of the other temples. Alicia's book was already filled with the stories of Angling Dharma and Siliwangi, who united the kingdoms under the banner of the Lojitengara Union. She had also written about Raden Alit from the State of Salek Alam, whose magic could send a person soaring into the sky and never return. A Knowledge that later became a signature spell of the people of Salek Alam. And then there was a man of magic similar to Wisesa—a prince—named Serunting, who could make living creatures frozen as stones, and their forms would never decay.

As they roamed through the temple adorned with the tales of the Bhumidemang State's shamans, Alicia's mind wandered to the tales of Hang Tuah, the great sea admiral who withstood the onslaught of invading nations who sought to claim the land of Ancient Lojitengara. The sculptures also depicted the greatness of the Limun State's shamans who wielded unique formulas that could ensnare magical entities or carve powerful figures into tattoos. While most of these stories fascinated her, some left her feeling disturbed and repulsed, such as the forbidden incantation of a Bhumidemang black shaman to make his body black and slippery like oil, who had to copulate with forty different women in order for him to become a powerful being. Alicia had initially believed that Wisesa was joking, but he had made the claim with such earnestness that it left her unsettled.

The day had flown by, and before they knew it the dusk had arrived. They approached the last temple—the entrance to the field once entered the day before.

As they strolled, Alicia voiced a theory to Wisesa. "From all the stories you've told me, it seems that Lojitengara's shamans usually master one to three Knowledges, most of which are related to their region of origin," she mused. "Ki Semar and his children mostly utilise superhuman abilities and fly, while the Leyaks are known to shapeshift. And then there are the tales of the shamans in these temples." A moment of interlude before continuing, "But ye seem to use various Knowledges more than anyone else."

"That's the core of shamanistic magic," explained Wisesa. "Our mystic art doesn't follow the same rigid structure as other systematic mystic arts where you need to learn a few basic mantras before advancing to the others. Each Knowledge has its own set of procedures, pacts with various entities, and unique requirements. There's no set order for learning them, so it's possible to learn one of the most advanced spells without any foundation, as long as all the requirements are met."

Wisesa chewed the last piece of jerky from his bag. "That's why each country has its own unique and exclusive spells, in addition to the common magical spells. Not to mention the Ratu of Lojitengara has an agreement with the leaders of the states to restrict the distribution of Knowledges among the shamans in each region."

"Why did they do that?"

"Because...," the lad cocked his head side to side, "we... they have this habit of showing off each other's spells to death when they have nothing else to do. Watching telemedia or playing Realmplay are lame, so might as well we go for the real deal, isn't it?"

A grimace on Alicia's face. "Can't think of anything more productive, can ye? Oh well. Semar's children once told me that too. Och! Och!" The lass raised her hand. "What if I want to learn any Shamanic Knowledge?"

"Foreigners like you? Well, they can go to the relevant state the Knowledge comes from and then obtain permission from the shaman union there. Fortunately, my damn parents sent me to study in many states, and I've picked up a bunch of Knowledges along the way. Not all of them, though."

"Well lucky me! I dinnae have to go to many states!" Alicia glanced at Wisesa, her body leaning forward with both hands behind her back.

Beholding her smirk invited contempt in Wisesa's reaction. "I promised you a temple tour. That's it. You ain't got anymore shit from me," he said, then walked past the girl.

"Oh, come on!"

They stepped into the final temple. The sun had surrendered, and only Orb could provide light in this place. Alicia's eyes were drawn to a golden ink painting, depicting a colossal head with a tail ready to devour a sphere, but the people around it seemed to repel the head.

"Remember the painting I spoke of yesterday?" Alicia pointed to the depiction of a serpentine creature with a man's head. "This! Isn't this Bakunawa? One of the renowned Khaos sorcerers. He made quite the racket worldwide when he bloated his head thrice the size of the moon and craved to gulp it all! Ye ken him for sure. This all went down during the time of Grand Magus Durga, centuries ago!

Wisesa inspected the painting, his expression concealing a sneer when Alicia mentioned the magus' name.

"What?" Alicia frowned. "He is a shaman from Biringan, yet he's featured in the Lojitengara's tales. There must be an explanation for that, aye?"

"I don't know, missy," replied the man. "I thought you were the savviest in thaumaturgical lore. Can't you deduce anything?"

Alicia pouted. "You're no fun. Bakunawa hails from Lojitengara. That, aye?"

Wisesa applauded in response. Alicia could not accept that as a compliment. "Bakunawa, Bakuq Sawa, or gods know what else, those were aliases he adopted during his escape from the Magisterium. They're cool, but here, he has a cooler alias—Bathara Kala, Guardian of Time. Now that's a name worth having, even if he cannot control time or anything of the sort."

Alicia jotted down the name in her book.

"By the way," the young man added, "his real name is Wareng Kala. He was a twisted shaman, powerful in his time. He used black magic to slay a god to obtain a new spell—to consume the purest life energy, the souls of babies in the womb and born. He did it to elevate himself to the same level as the gods during his lifetime."

"That's cruel!"

"Oh, he's a Khaos user. What's not cruel about Khaos users...," Wisesa retorted. "Regardless, his magic had one weakness outside of the influence of Kalimasada: it required a black moon, or an eclipse, and he couldn't wait long for the eclipse. The issue was that his plan was exposed, and he was captured in his escape. The court issued by the Biringan branch of Magisterium sentenced him to death by beheading."

"And yet he did not perish by beheading..." The lass' index finger gestured to the picture of Bathara Kala itself.

"And yet he did not perish by beheading," Wisesa confirmed. "His head fled into space, growing to nearly the size of a planet. He once swallowed the moon for three days, and with such a brief time, it was a catastrophe for the world."

"As history recorded. The world's birth rate fell drastically. All babies below one year old perished. There were extreme climate changes and irregular tide movements. Humanity's survival was in jeopardy. I suppose yer race's name is famous not just for its abundance of spices."

Wisesa let out a dry chuckle, his eyes fixed on the horizon. "I guess that's one of the reasons why other races are still sending their troops here. It was really crazy, indeed. Humans were threatened, and all babies suffered because of Kala. If left unchecked, all humans would perish."

Alicia slowly turned to Wisesa with a horrified face. Wisesa did not understand what her expression meant until he too remembered something. Something that might be related to his sayings just now. His eyes widened. Alicia's anxiety only grew when Wisesa's solemn gaze remained.

"Has B-Batara Kala died?" Alicia asked softly. "Please say he's dead."

Wisesa was hesitant to answer. "I... don't know about that—"

"Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but he’s as vile as Calon Arang!!" Barong the Kitten, in spirit form, emerged from Wisesa's belly. "He can't die—or so it seems. His Empathy Curse slayed all the Arcane wielders of the time, so they thought to seal him away instead. And so he was, by your congregation of mages, at least until they've bred more Arcane wielders. But it took decades, and more Khaos threats arose during the vacancy to seemingly forget about the case. He was sure one pesky shaman."

Alicia's hands trembled as she took in the information. All the implications of what she had just learned ran wild in her mind. "The day he lost was the day of Grand Magus Durga's death," she murmured nervously.

Ever the kitten, Barong was as aloof as its host. Also like a kitten, it often hopped from one statue to another in the temple. "It was a stroke of luck...or perhaps fate," it said when stopping on the head of a statue above them. "They said he was sealed alongside Calon Arang!"

Wisesa nodded in agreement with the spirit's words. He raised his hand and began to walk away. "I guess Judgement Day is really near, as you think. And yet, only two prophesied children—maybe one, I am not yet willing to accept such a title, nor to venture further with you. Well, at least, nice to meet you."

Although Alicia herself planted that crazy suggestion to everyone, she now regretted it deeply. "No, no, no. I take back what I said. Perhaps it was all just a coincidence. Maybe those are words commonly spoken as an ultimatum. As crazy as Alas Purwo—as crazy as your father, he would never do that. I mean, the strongest female Grand Magus in the history of the Magisterium died just to seal this scunner!"

"Alicia, are you still that naïve?" Wisesa's voice was low and menacing as he approached Alicia, causing her bones to ache. "The man I once called 'Father' was just as insane as you fear. He imprisoned the Sang Hyang Sukra's Aspect in his eldest son. He slaughtered his own youngest child in a sickening ritual. If Pulomas holds any importance to him, then releasing Bathara Kala and allowing him to devour the moon once more would not be considered madness in his deranged mind..." []