Detective Jim's face grew grim, "We got another murder."

His eyes calculatingly stared at Mingliang and Somad. At least this time, it wasn't them. He had people watched them all the time. They got a good alibi for the murder this time. It didn't mean that he would so quick to erase them from his suspect list. He turned to Anton, "Anton, take Mingliang and Somad home. Marzuki, you come with me."

They followed Jim's order obediently. Anton took Mingliang and Somad in his car. They didn't talk much, all the way to Mingliang's place. Only once in a while, when Anton needed a direction. Even Somad sat quietly.

"Thanks for the ride.", Mingliang got down, followed by Somad.

"No, problem. Probably someone would pick you up tomorrow.", Anton nodded and waved his hand before he drove his car away.

Mingliang and Somad stood at the roadside and waited until Anton left.

"What should we do now?", Somad turned to Mingliang.

"There's only one thing you need to do. That's sleep.", Mingliang laughed, he opened the gate and entered.

Both one big and one small walked as quietly as possible since everyone else in the house was already asleep. Somad whispered to Mingliang, "Teacher, here's the medal. We surely got some good harvest tonight."

Mingliang accepted the bronze medal from Somad's hand. He checked the energy in the medal and satisfied, "Yea, we surely gained a lot tonight. The police got their nose on those bad guys too."

"Serve them right! If they didn't try to mess with us, then we will be having a hard time making a plan to bait them.", Somad chuckled when he remembered it.

“Now, police will have their eyes on them. Tomorrow police will get their description too. This is great!”, Somad was excited as he kept thinking about it.

Mingliang knocked his head and whispered, "Keep your voice down."

The boy giggled as he put his hand on his mouth. They safely reached Mingliang's room without disturbing anyone. It's almost 3 AM now, other people who lived in that house, still slept soundly. Mingliang waited until Somad slept before he turned on his computer.

Quickly he logged in to the forum and checked on his thread.

He was relieved when he found no one reported strange phenomenon related to his warning. Many members in the forum debated about the thread. Some said Mingliang was using his reputation to scare people and would scam people for money. Mingliang's friends and followers fought back. Mingliang felt grateful, but he chose to see the time passed by without any of his warning came true.

He checked several other threads before he logged out and turned off his old computer. Mingliang missed a post though. Someone posted in his thread, just right after he logged out.

Without knowing about the new post, Mingliang laid down on the floor and closed his eyes. It was a tiring day, and within seconds he fell asleep.

The next day, Mingliang's phone rang and woke them up. Mingliang groggily grabbed his phone. He stared at his phone for a few seconds, trying to make sense these loud vibrating thing in his hand. Slowly his consciousness cleared up. He looked at the number and didn't recognize it.

As soon as he picked up the call, Detective Jim's hoarse voice greeted him, "Get down quick. I'm waiting. We need your help."

All the sleepiness went away with that short call. Mingliang woke Somad up. They quickly got ready and ran down to meet the detective. Mingliang got his sword concealed under his shirt. Somad had the bronze medal on his pocket. Now, it became almost as natural as wearing shirts and pants for them.

Mingliang and Somad found Detective Jim already waiting in his black SUV. He started the car as soon as they closed the door, "You're too slow."

"Sorry.", Mingliang raised his eyebrows.

"Hm..", the detective replied, his eyes didn't leave the road.

There was a depressing silence in the car. Mingliang poked Anton's shoulder who sat on the front seat, next to Jim who drove the car. Anton turned to look at him. Mingliang raised his eyebrows and silently mouthed, "What happened?"

Anton gestured to stay silent and mouthed, "Bad situation. Very bad."

Detective Jim glanced at Anton, and his young partner gingerly closed his mouth. Sighing Jim looked at him and made a gesture toward Anton, "You explain."

After he got permission from Jim, Anton relaxed a bit and started to explain. Just as Mingliang and Somad heard this morning, there was another murder. What they didn't know was the fact that the victim this time was more than one. This time the murderer killed the whole household, husband and wife, two children and a maid.

Runes etched on each of their bodies. The victims laid down in a certain pattern, inside a big array of runes. Anton showed some pictures to Mingliang. Somad wanted to peek, but Mingliang glared at him, and the boy shrunk back to his seat.

The pictures on Anton's phone raised the hairs on Mingliang's back. He involved in homicide case more than once. He even killed a man once. But he had never seen children as victims. The sight was more shocking than he thought it would.

He returned the phone to Anton and sincerely asked, "What do you need from me?"

"I want you to work with us. I want to hire you as our consultant. You'll get paid on case base.", Jim spoke.

"That's a surprise? Back then, you were mad at Dr. Sunyoto for asking my help.", Mingliang spoke thoughtlessly.

Anton rolled his eyes at Mingliang. Jim said nothing for a while and then, "You will understand when you see the scene later."

And then he added, "I know you hid something from me. I can smell it when people lie or hide something from me. But I know you're not involved in this one. You just don't fit the profile. I don't care what you did or doing or done. I just want you to help me to catch this bastard."

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Hm.., I understand.", Mingliang answered, his tone made his statement unquestionable.

"Good.", Jim always had to be the last and shortest.

There was silence as they drove toward the crime scene. The atmosphere in the car was heavy and grim. No one wanted to chat. Mingliang lost his appetite for conversation, as the pictures of the two killed little children haunted his mind. Somad who was sensitive to his teacher's mood sat silently as well.

Several blocks before the house where the crime was committed, Mingliang saw many TV reporters were covering the story. When they arrived and stepped out of the car, one of the reporters recognized Jim. She quickly strode toward them. Soon other reporters followed and gathered around them, just like sharks when they smelled blood.

"Detective Jim! Detective, please give your comment.", several reporters were blocking their way.

Jim's thick eyebrows started to move closer. His face hardened. Mingliang thought he was going to see the detective explode, but to his surprise, The detective handled it calmly. He turned to Anton and making a gesture toward Mingliang, "You guide him."

And then he turned to the reporters and started answering their questions. Anton grabbed Mingliang and Somad, who watched the scene with a shock expressed on their face. They passed several police officers who prevented unauthorized people entering the house. They nodded at each other. Sometimes, Anton stopped and had a small chat with them, before going further.

As they entered the house, Anton explained, "You can't become a captain without dealing with the reporters. He scolded a reporter once in the past. It caused some big scandal. Our superior called him and chewed on him for hours. He almost lost his job. Since that, he had to compromise."

"Hey, you can't eat without working.", Somad grinned, he was happy to know that even the big detective like Jim, still had to bow his head to someone.

"Ouch!", Mingliang knocked his head.

Anton just rolled his eyes, to see their antique. Unlike his older partner, he had no suspicion toward Mingliang and Somad. He was rather curious to see how they would affect the case.

They quickly arrived at the family's room. Anton stopped before the door and turned to Mingliang, "Okay, this is where it all happened. We have taken all the bodies. But..., are you sure you want him to come too?"

Anton nodded his head at Somad direction. Mingliang turned to Somad. They were looking at each other.

"You can feel it right?", Mingliang asked the boy.

Anton didn't know Mingliang as well as Somad. But the boy knew since his teacher entered the house, he acted cautiously. And it didn't need a long time for him to realize the reason. This house was a massive vortex of energy. Several times greater than the other ritual site they had visited before.

Somad nodded his head.

Mingliang was staring at the boy and thinking. Slowly his eyes grew colder, and his expression hardened.

"You can't be a boy forever.", he patted on Somad's shoulder and turned to Anton, "He's coming with us."

Anton didn't say anything, he just nodded his head and opened the door. The metallic smell of blood heavily lingered in the room. Although all the body had been removed, the stain on the floor and wall still there. At some spot, the blood pooled. They had begun coagulated but still had some moistures. At other places, Mingliang and Somad could see bits of skins and meats.

Anton took a glance at Somad. He worried the boy wouldn't be able to deal with the scene in the room. The boy struggled to keep himself to stand on his place with ragged breathing and pale face.

Anton wanted to remind Mingliang of Somad's condition. He turned around and found Mingliang staring at the center of the room. His eyes focused somewhere at the center. His teeth chattered. His whole body was taut and tense. He seemed like a man who was forced to face a wild beast. His expression was so intense that it started to affect Anton.

The young detective felt all the hair on his body raised. He shook his head vigorously to get rid the fear that crept into his head.

What presenced in Anton's mind as a simple psychological phenomenon, was a supra-reality for Mingliang. The moment he entered the room, his eyes pulled toward the center of the room. It wasn't just a crack in the border between two worlds. It was a giant hole, a gate, between two worlds.

But it wasn't the hole that scared him out of his wit. It was the presence behind the hole. A giant eye was looking through the hole. It was so big that Mingliang could only see one of the iris. He couldn't see the owner of the eye, but he sensed it sneered, a colossus whose existence could cover the entire galaxy.

"Submit to me!", It spoke to Mingliang, and he felt it reverberated all over his body. Somad couldn't see nor heard it, but he vaguely felt its terrible presence.

"Submit To Me !!!", once more the colossus spoke. Mingliang felt his strength almost buckled before the pressure. It came like a wave, crushing his body and mind. But he insisted and fought, his knee trembled, but not bent.

Somad could feel the towering presence that attacked his teacher. Fear engulfed him. He wanted to give up and run. But when he saw the back of his teacher, he clenched his jaw and stubbornly stand his ground.

"SUBMIT TO ME !!!!", It spoke for the third time, and this time it shook Mingliang's entire existence, his body, mind, and spirit.

Mingliang felt the pressure broke his whole existence into pieces. Separating his body from his mind, and his mind from his spirit. It blew away all his strength out of his being. His entire body went limp. His knee finally buckled under the weight of his own body. He was falling on all four when suddenly the memories of his father appeared in his mind. He heard the last words of his grandfather on his deathbed.

He caught himself before his hand touched the ground. His body bent but not fall. The memories of his father and grandfather flooded into his mind and heart. Their words rang through his heart and broke the colossus's voice. Their smiling face appeared on his mind and cleared the fog that clouded his judgment. His reverence to them surged upward and straightened his back.

"I am who I am.", said Mingliang to the colossus.

"I am more than I."

"I never stand alone. There's my father before me, my grandfather before him, a long line of men and women. We never bent down by fear."

"There those before me.", his mind saw his father, grandfather, and all the ancestor before them.

"There those after me.", his mind saw Somad who stood his ground, clenching his jaw, shaking but never give up, never left him.

Mingliang felt his strength returned to his body. He stood his ground. His back was straight. His eyes sharply stared against the giant eye who peeped from the whole.

As Mingliang regained his composure, Somad felt his strength returned to his body. As Mingliang straightened his back, he did. As Mingliang stood proudly, he did.

The colossus watched them, teacher and disciple, stood there before him with back straightened and eyes stared at him proudly.

He snorted in disdain and laughed in contempt, "Fool, you'll be sorry."

Slowly he turned his back and disappeared.