"You know…" his voice rasped. "I swore I'd never touch these again." He pointed at the weapons, his eyes clouded with conflict.
Isabel stepped closer, her gaze sharp yet full of empathy. "So it's true, you were a terrorist once. But this time… it's different. Not to destroy. To save."
Raphael clenched his jaw, then slowly reached for the pistol. The cold metal against his palm brought back a thousand memories. But now, something else filled him, resolve.
"I'll save them," he whispered.
Isabel nodded. The man before her wasn't the shadow of his past anymore, but someone ready to fight for the people he loved.
The night wind swept around them, carrying the silence of their decision. They left the villa behind, their steps steadier now, driven by a will that no longer wavered.
Isabel took a deep breath. The cold air stung her lungs. Raphael stood stiffly beside her, his eyes locked on the black box as if it were a gate to old wounds that had never healed.
She knew she couldn't fully understand the burden he carried, but she could feel it. The war inside him, between who he was and who he wanted to be. Raphael gripped the combat knife tightly, a relic of darkness now ready to mark a new battle.
"Kaivan… because of this book, he could predict everything, couldn't he?" Isabel murmured, her voice soft but steady. Her eyes fell on the Tome Omnicent in her hands, searching for answers, or perhaps for the last remaining hope.
Raphael only nodded. His face held questions, but there was no point guessing. Only one choice remained: to move.
Isabel inhaled deeply and opened the book wider. Her fingers trembled as she turned the page, whispering, "What's the next step?"
The ink responded, black letters forming slowly, gripping their hearts: "Your time is running out. They were taken to the Malabar Radio Station. Go there… and return me to Kaivan."
Isabel reread the words, making sure she hadn't misread them. Raphael, hearing that name, fell silent.
"Malabar Radio Station…? Isn't that just a ruin? Why would they take them there?"
Isabel looked at him. She could tell he was piecing together fragments of his past. But now wasn't the time to hesitate.
"Are you ready?" she asked, gentle but firm.
Raphael met her gaze and nodded. "I have to be. This time, for them."
He raised the combat knife, its polished blade reflecting the faint glow of the lamp. In it, he could still see Kaivan's blood, his promise. His breathing deepened, heavy but steady. Not to kill… but to save.
Isabel watched him quietly. She wasn't a soldier, but the world had forced her to stand on the front line. And now, only one path remained, to act.
Carefully, she opened the Tome of Omnicent once more. A soft golden light shimmered as the mystical ink danced across the page, forming new words: "Infiltrate quietly, and take down a few of them in silence."
Inside the car, Raphael drove steadily toward Mount Puntang. The headlights sliced through the darkness, only to be swallowed again by the dense shadows of the trees. The air was thick, the silence heavy, like fog pressing on the chest. Tonight wasn't an ordinary night. It was the night that would decide everything.
Isabel sat beside him, her hand clenched on her lap. Her eyes stayed fixed ahead, though her thoughts wandered into a storm of worry and unanswered questions. After a long pause, she drew a shaky breath and spoke, her voice trembling even as she tried to sound calm.
"So… you really were involved with terrorists?"
Raphael kept his eyes on the road, his jaw tight, faintly lit by the moonlight. He nodded. "Yeah. I was."
That short answer shattered the quiet. Isabel waited, and without her asking, Raphael continued. His words flowed like an old wound finally reopening.
"I was young, angry at the world. They gave me purpose. They taught me tactics, weapons, how to build bombs… And because I could speak well, they made me a recruiter."
Isabel looked at him, reading more than just his words. Raphael took another breath, his voice low and rough.
"We called them 'santri', a sacred word. But they twisted it. We brainwashed them without them even realizing it, turning them into soldiers for a war they didn't understand. And I… I led that process."
Isabel swallowed hard. To her, Raphael wasn't just an ally or a former enemy anymore. He was someone trying to break free from the chains of his past.
Then, the Tome of Omnicent resting on her lap trembled faintly. A strange light shimmered across the pages, revealing new words: