CHAPTER 1: PONTIANAK

Deep within a remote village, an old wooden hut stood alone in the heart of the forest. Outside, the night was silent except for the distant chirping of insects. The moon hung high above the trees, casting pale light across the clearing.

Inside the hut, dozens of candles burned in a circle. Thick incense smoke drifted through the air, carrying a bitter scent that lingered in every corner of the room.

At the center of the circle sat an old man. His weathered face was partially hidden beneath the shadow of a dark headcloth. Deep wrinkles lined his skin, and several wooden charms hung around his neck. In front of him rested a brass bowl filled with ash and burnt herbs.

The old man slowly recited words in a language long forgotten. His voice was low, steady, and ancient.

Without warning, the flames around him flickered.

Once.

Twice.

Then every candle in the room began trembling violently.

The old man’s chanting ceased.

A sudden chill swept through the hut as the temperature dropped sharply. Around him, the incense smoke twisted unnaturally, as though being pulled by an invisible force.

Then a woman’s voice emerged from somewhere beyond the candlelight.

Soft.

Gentle.

Yet unmistakably wrong.

“…Has it begun?”

The old man remained silent for several seconds.

Slowly, he opened his eyes.

The candlelight reflected within them.

“No.”

His voice was calm.

“But it will soon.”

Silence filled the room.

Then the woman laughed.

It sounded soft.

Almost delighted.

Yet something about it made the darkness feel alive.

“I’ve waited so long.”

The flames flickered violently once more.

The woman’s laughter echoed through the hut.

And suddenly, every candle went out.

Darkness swallowed everything.

⸻

Ayish stood in the middle of a village built among enormous trees. Wooden bridges connected one platform to another high above the ground, while the village itself stretched endlessly through the forest canopy. Yet there was no one there. No voices. No movement. Only silence. A cold breeze swept through the empty settlement as Ayish slowly looked around. Something felt wrong. The village felt abandoned, not deserted, as though everyone had left in a hurry and never returned.

Before he could make sense of the feeling, the world around him shifted.

Suddenly, he was standing on a narrow forest path. Towering trees surrounded him from every direction, their branches intertwined overhead and blocking out the sky. The forest was unnaturally quiet. Even the sounds of insects were absent. Only his own footsteps accompanied him as he walked forward along the dirt path.

Then a branch snapped somewhere behind him.

Ayish stopped immediately and turned around.

Nothing.

The forest remained perfectly still.

For several moments, he stood there listening. Waiting. Yet the uneasy feeling lingered. As though something was watching him from beyond the trees.

Then the scenery changed again.

This time, Ayish found himself standing before a vast lake. The water was perfectly calm, its surface smooth as glass. Not a single ripple disturbed it. For a brief moment, everything seemed peaceful.

Then cracks began spreading beneath the water.

Dark lines slowly appeared below the surface, growing larger, wider, and deeper with every passing second. Ayish watched as a massive rift gradually opened beneath the lake. Endless darkness waited below.

His stomach tightened.

Something deep within that abyss seemed to be staring back at him.

Watching.

Waiting.

Before he could react, the world shifted once more.

A mirror stood alone in complete darkness. Nothing surrounded it. No walls. No ground. Only endless blackness stretching in every direction. Ayish approached cautiously and stopped in front of it.

His reflection stared back at him.

For several seconds, neither moved.

Then the reflection smiled.

Ayish did not.

A cold sensation crawled down his spine as the reflection’s smile slowly widened. It raised a hand and pointed behind him.

Ayish spun around.

There was nothing there.

Only darkness.

When he turned back, the mirror shattered.

⸻

Ayish jolted awake.

His heart pounded as he stared at the ceiling of his room. For a moment, he remained frozen in place, trying to shake off the lingering images from his dream.

The empty village.

The dark rift beneath the lake.

The smiling reflection.

Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, bathing the room in a warm glow that felt completely at odds with what he had just experienced.

“What kind of dream was that?”

He rubbed his face and let out a slow breath before reaching for his phone.

The moment the screen lit up, his eyes widened.

“Seriously?”

Any thoughts about the dream immediately vanished.

He sat upright and checked the time again, hoping he had somehow read it wrong.

No such luck.

Today was his final examination. The last paper. The final hurdle standing between him and a long semester break.

Panic quickly replaced confusion.

Ayish threw off his blanket, scrambled out of bed, and rushed toward the bathroom.

Half an hour later, he was already leaving his apartment with his backpack slung over one shoulder.

The strange dream still lingered at the back of his mind, like a half forgotten memory that refused to disappear. Yet compared to the examination waiting for him, it quickly became the least of his concerns.

For now, surviving the final paper was far more important.

⸻

AYISH

Ayish was a nineteen year old university student with a fascination for Southeast Asian folklore and stories about supernatural beings.

Unlike most people who enjoyed ghost stories for entertainment, his interest went much deeper than that. He was captivated by the cultures, rituals, beliefs, and centuries of traditions surrounding the unseen world. Stories about Pontianak, Penanggalan, Hantu Raya, and countless other creatures had fascinated him for as long as he could remember.

Yet it was never something he talked about openly.

Most people would probably find it strange. Some would laugh. Because of that, Ayish kept the interest to himself.

To everyone else, he was simply another university student trying to survive assignments, examinations, and the endless chaos of campus life.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

At least, that was what most people believed.

The examination passed faster than he expected.

Hours of preparation finally came to an end when the lecturer announced the conclusion of the session.

Relief swept through the hall almost immediately.

Students began packing their belongings while conversations erupted around the room. Some laughed. Some complained. Others looked as though a tremendous burden had finally been lifted from their shoulders.

Ayish leaned back in his chair and released a long breath.

Finally.

Freedom.

The final paper was over.

No assignments.

No projects.

No deadlines waiting for him tomorrow.

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

For the first time in months, he could actually relax.

Gathering his belongings, Ayish left the examination hall and stepped outside into the afternoon sunlight, feeling lighter than he had in weeks.

———

KHAIRIL

Khairil was a twenty six year old martial arts athlete and gym trainer. His life revolved around discipline, training, competition, and routine.

At least, that was how it appeared on the surface.

For the past week, however, something had felt wrong. At first, the sensation had been subtle enough to ignore.

A passing feeling.

A trick of the mind.

Whenever he walked alone, he often felt as though someone was standing directly behind him. Watching. Waiting.

Yet every time he turned around, there was nothing there.

No person.

No shadow.

Nothing.

As the days passed, the unease became harder to ignore.

And tonight, it felt worse than ever.

The constant tension had begun getting under his skin.

Despite this commotion, he had spent more time at the gym than usual, throwing himself into training sessions that lasted long after everyone else had gone home. Punching bags. Sparring. Weightlifting. Anything to distract himself from the frustration building inside him.

It never worked.

The feeling always returned.

After finishing another late training session, Khairil began making his way home.

The city sounds seemed oddly distant beneath the rhythm of his footsteps, and every few moments he caught himself listening for another set of steps behind his own.

Then someone walked past him.

The feeling hit instantly.

Khairil stopped walking.

His pulse quickened, a hard thump against his ribs.

For the first time all week, the sensation felt focused.

As though he had finally stumbled upon the source of whatever had been lingering at the edge of his awareness.

The muscles across his shoulders tightened.

Slowly, he turned around.

A young man was walking away through the crowd.

The strange feeling remained, almost pulling him forward.

Before Khairil could react, the young man entered a nearby convenience store.

For several seconds, he simply stood there staring at the entrance while his heartbeat refused to settle.

Then curiosity got the better of him.

Khairil crossed the street and approached the store.

The automatic doors slid open.

A blast of cold air greeted him.

The cashier briefly glanced up as Khairil entered.

Trying not to draw attention to himself, Khairil casually wandered between the aisles as though he were browsing for something.

The low hum of refrigerators filled the store.

His eyes quickly found the young man.

The boy was standing in front of one of the drink chillers.

A university lanyard hung around his neck.

Student.

Khairil watched him for a moment.

Nothing seemed unusual about him.

Just an ordinary university student buying drinks and snacks. Yet the strange feeling refused to disappear. A faint knot formed in his stomach. Without thinking, Khairil began walking toward him.

Maybe he should say something.

Ask a question.

Anything.

His hand started to rise.

Then hesitation stopped him.

What exactly was he supposed to say?

“Excuse me, I’ve been feeling something strange all week and somehow I think it’s connected to you.”

Ridiculous.

Khairil quietly lowered his hand.

At that exact moment, the student turned around. The two nearly bumped into each other. The boy looked startled to find a large muscular guy standing so close to him. Khairil immediately reached into the chiller beside him.

“Sorry.”

He grabbed a random bottle, the cold plastic slick against his palm.

The student nodded a bit his head to past through Khairil before continuing on his way. A few minutes later, he paid for his items and left the store.

Khairil watched him go. Then he shook his head. Maybe he was overthinking everything.

He turned toward the exit and froze.

Outside convenience store, stood a man wearing a dark hoodie. The hood concealed most of his face.

The man wasn’t looking what have inside but He was looking at the student.

Watching him.

The boy never seemed to notice.

Khairil frowned.

A chill crawled across the back of his neck despite the store’s air conditioning. Something about the man immediately felt wrong. The hooded figure remained motionless for several seconds.

Then, as soon as that boy walk down the street, the man started walking, following him. Khairil watched the distance between them.

Not a friend.

Not family.

The body language was wrong.

A thought crossed his mind.

Maybe it his acquaintance?

Another followed immediately.

What if he didn’t? What if he mean bad intentions toward the boy? Then the news headlines, A missing teenage boy.

Khairil let out a long sigh.

“Troublesome.”

But the word felt hollow.

The pressure that had haunted him all week surged through his chest with sudden intensity.

It was no longer a vague sensation.

It felt like a warning.

His instincts, sharpened by years of competition and training, screamed that if he walked away now, something bad was going to happen.

Maybe to the student.

Maybe to himself.

Maybe both.

The hooded man turned a corner after the student.

Khairil’s jaw clenched.

Enough.

Whatever this was, he needed answers.

Adjusting the strap of his backpack, he stepped out of the store and broke into a brisk pace.

The night air hit him immediately.

Ahead, the gap between all three of them was growing.

Khairil quickened his stride.

One corner.

Then another.

The streets became quieter.

Darker.

Less crowded.

A bad place for someone to be alone.

As he rounded the next turn, he saw the hooded man stop abruptly at the mouth of a narrow alley.

The student was nowhere in sight.

For a heartbeat, the hooded figure stood perfectly still.

Then he slowly turned his head.

Directly toward Khairil.

Even from a distance, Khairil felt it.

The same impossible sensation that had been stalking him for a week.

The hooded man raised one hand and beckoned. Then stepped backward into the darkness of the alley and vanished. Khairil stopped dead.

From somewhere inside the alley came a sharp metallic crash. Followed by a single terrified scream.

——-

Western Food Restaurant

A few hours later, Ayish found himself sitting in a restaurant with several of his classmates.

The atmosphere was lively.

Everyone seemed excited about the semester break.

“I’m heading back to Johor tomorrow morning,” one of them said.

“Lucky. My bus leaves tonight.”

“My family already booked a vacation.”

The conversation continued as everyone shared their plans.

Ayish mostly listened while sipping his drink.

He smiled occasionally, but he said very little.

For most students, semester break meant returning home.

For Ayish, the end of the semester always brought a different kind of problem.

While everyone else talked excitedly about returning home, he found himself wondering where he would spend the next few months.

Whenever the topic came up, he usually offered a vague answer and quickly changed the subject. Most people never paid much attention to it.

Shahrul was one of the few who noticed.

Over the past year, he had picked up on the things Ayish never talked about. He never seemed eager for holidays. He never mentioned family. Whenever a semester break approached, he always looked more worried than excited.

To his credit, Shahrul never pried.

Instead, he occasionally invited Ayish over whenever his family gathered for dinner or celebrated special occasions. His parents were kind people who always welcomed him warmly and treated him like any other guest.

Ayish appreciated their kindness more than he could put into words.

Still, he tried not to rely on it.

Dropping by for dinner was one thing. Staying for a night or two was manageable. Living under someone else’s roof for an entire semester was a different matter altogether.

Problems had always been his to deal with.

This one would be no different.

The others continued chatting, completely unaware of the situation. Just the way Ayish preferred it. The fewer people who knew about his circumstances, the better.

Eventually, the gathering came to an end. Everyone paid their share before leaving the restaurant together.

The night air greeted them as they stepped outside.

Several students headed toward the nearby LRT station that connected to the college area. Some of them had already gone to the bus station.

The group slowly made their way there while continuing their conversations.

As they approached the station entrance, Ayish suddenly stopped.

“I need to buy a few things first.”

Safuan turned toward him.

“Now?”

Ayish nodded.

“Won’t take long.”

Safuan glanced toward the dark street.

“I can come with you if you want.”

Ayish shook his head.

“It’s okay.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Go ahead first.”

Safuan studied him for a moment before shrugging.

“Alright then. Don’t get lost.”

The group laughed. Ayish waved casually before separating from them.

——-

Convenience Store

After paying, Ayish stepped outside. The street was noticeably quieter now, and when he glanced at his watch, his eyes widened.

9:00 PM.

“Seriously?”

A knot of anxiety formed in his stomach. If he wanted to catch the next train, he needed to hurry.

Without wasting any more time, Ayish adjusted his backpack and began walking quickly toward the nearest station. To save time, he turned into a familiar shortcut: the alley behind the row of shops, a route he had used many times before.

At first, everything seemed normal.

Then the silence began to feel wrong.

Ayish slowed slightly. The alley was as narrow as ever, illuminated only by a handful of aging streetlights whose pale yellow glow reflected across the damp pavement and shallow puddles. A cool breeze drifted through the passageway, and for some reason, the temperature felt lower than before.

He shoved both hands into his pockets and continued walking.

The silence was unsettling. Usually, even at night, he could still hear distant traffic from the nearby roads. Tonight there was nothing—no passing vehicles, no voices, no barking dogs.

Nothing.

Only the sound of his own footsteps.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Ayish frowned. Something felt off, as though the entire world had suddenly been muffled beneath a heavy blanket. A faint unease crept into his chest.

Then he heard another set of footsteps behind him.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Ayish stopped.

The footsteps stopped too.

A chill prickled across his skin as he slowly turned around.

The alley was empty.

He stared for several seconds before shaking his head.

“You’re imagining things.”

The reassurance sounded weak even to him.

He turned and continued walking.

A few moments later, the sound returned.

Directly behind him.

Ayish immediately spun around.

Nothing.

The alley remained empty.

A strange chill crawled up his spine, and for the first time that night, he genuinely felt uncomfortable. His pace quickened.

Then something caught his attention.

A woman stood beneath a streetlight at the far end of the alley, motionless. Her long black hair veiled most of her face, and a worn white dress hung loosely from her thin frame.

Ayish frowned. He was fairly certain nobody had been standing there moments ago.

Had she always been there? No, that wasn’t possible.

The woman remained still—not moving, not blinking, not even shifting her posture.

Just standing there.

Watching.

A streetlight overhead flickered.

Once.

Twice.

Ayish instinctively glanced upward.

When he looked forward again, his heart skipped a beat.

The woman was closer.

Much closer.

He froze. The distance between them had somehow shortened by several meters. A surge of alarm shot through him.

Maybe she had started walking. Maybe he simply hadn’t noticed.

That had to be it.

It had to be.

The streetlight flickered again.

The woman was closer still.

His stomach tightened as the uneasy feeling from earlier returned with full force.

This time, the woman began moving.

Slowly.

Each step jerked unnaturally, as though invisible strings were pulling her limbs into place.

Ayish swallowed. His mouth had suddenly gone dry.

The distance between them vanished quickly, and soon they were only a few steps apart.

As they passed one another, Ayish forced a polite smile.

The woman gave no response. She did not even look at him.

Instead, she simply continued walking.

Then the smell hit him.

Rotting flesh. Old blood.

Ayish nearly gagged. His pulse spiked, and his pace immediately increased. Every instinct in his body was telling him to leave fast.

He had barely taken a few more steps when a voice whispered directly beside his ear.

“So… you can see me now?”

Ayish froze.

His entire body locked up.

The voice had been right beside him, close enough that he could feel icy breath against his skin.

Panic surged through him.

Slowly, he turned around.

The woman stood several meters behind him.

Completely still.

This time her face was visible.

And the sight made his blood run cold.

Her skin was corpse-pale, stretched tight over sharp features. Dark veins branched beneath her face and neck like cracks beneath thin ice.

Her eyes were completely black.

Not a trace of white remained.

And she was smiling.

A wide smile.

An impossibly wide smile.

Crack.

A soft sound echoed through the alley.

The woman’s head tilted sideways.

Crack.

Further.

Crack.

Until her neck bent at an angle no human should survive.

Ayish stumbled backward. His breathing became uneven as his mind struggled to process what he was seeing.

“What the hell…?”

The woman slowly raised a hand behind her neck.

Then she pulled something free.

A rusted nail.

The instant it left her flesh, a shriek exploded through the alley. The sound hit Ayish like a physical blow, rattling his bones and making the streetlights flare and stutter.

He clamped his hands over his ears.

The woman convulsed.

Her hair whipped upward, spreading around her head like a living shadow. The blackness in her eyes peeled away, revealing two burning crimson pupils fixed directly on him.

In that moment, Ayish knew exactly what he was looking at.

A Pontianak.

Every warning, every ghost story, every nightmare he had ever heard crashed through his mind.

The creature’s smile widened.

Too wide.

Its jaw stretched, exposing rows of dark, bloodstained teeth.

Then it vanished.

Ayish’s heart stopped.

A blur of white erupted from the darkness in front of him. The Pontianak screamed and lunged straight for his throat.

Ayish threw himself sideways just as the Pontianak’s claws swept toward his neck. The attack missed his throat by a fraction of a second, but one claw still grazed his cheek. Pain flared across his face as he hit the pavement and rolled onto his side, instinctively pressing a hand against the wound. His fingers came away stained with blood.

Several meters ahead of him, the Pontianak landed on all fours in the middle of the alley. Its crimson eyes never left him. Then it laughed. The sound echoed through the narrow passage, bouncing off the walls and seeming to come from every direction at once.

Fear seized him. Every survival instinct screamed the same thing: run.

Ayish pushed himself upright, turned away from the creature, and sprinted down the alley. Behind him, the laughter continued. The Pontianak was following him—or rather, it was playing with him. His lungs burned, and his heartbeat thundered in his ears. The alley seemed endless, and every step felt slower than the last.

Then the laughter stopped.

A chill raced down his spine. Something was wrong.

Without slowing, Ayish glanced over his shoulder. The stretch of alley behind him was empty.

The Pontianak was gone.

Relief flooded through him for a brief moment.

Then a shadow swept across the ground in front of him.

Ayish looked up.

The creature was dropping from the rooftop above, directly into his path. Its claws were extended toward him, and its mouth hung open in a monstrous grin. He was still moving forward, with nowhere to dodge and no time to stop.

A figure burst in from the side and drove a powerful kick into the Pontianak’s ribs before it could reach Ayish. The impact knocked the creature off course, sending it flying across the alley and into a metal shutter.

Ayish stumbled to a stop and turned. The newcomer had landed between him and the Pontianak, standing squarely in the center of the alley. Tall, broad-shouldered, and completely still, the stranger faced the creature without hesitation.

“Get back.”

The voice was calm and firm.

Ayish didn’t need to be told twice. He quickly retreated several steps, putting distance between himself and the fight.

Across the alley, the Pontianak slowly rose from the dented shutter. Its crimson eyes locked onto the stranger. A low hiss escaped its throat before it sprang forward.

The creature lunged with terrifying speed, aiming straight for the stranger’s chest. At the last moment, the stranger shifted aside and drove a punch into its ribs as it rushed past.

The blow knocked the creature sideways, and it skidded backward across the pavement before regaining its footing.

For a brief moment, everything became still.

Then it laughed again, and the sound made Ayish’s skin crawl.

Suddenly, the Pontianak vanished.

Ayish’s eyes widened. A blur raced up the alley wall to the stranger’s left. Using the bricks as a foothold, the creature launched itself back toward him from above, claws descending toward his head.

The stranger raised his forearm and caught the strike. The force drove him back a step and cracked the concrete wall behind him.

Before the Pontianak could pull away, he seized its wrist, pivoted, and hurled it across the alley.

The creature slammed into another shutter hard enough to leave a visible dent.

Ayish stared in disbelief.

No normal human should have been capable of that.

The Pontianak dropped to the ground on all fours, still smiling.

Then it charged again.

This time the fight swept across the alley. The Pontianak attacked with a relentless barrage of claws, and the stranger met it head-on. Ayish could barely follow their movements. He caught only flashes—a kick that sent the creature into a wall, claws slicing through empty air, a pipe shattering from a missed strike, another shutter buckling under a heavy impact.

Amid the chaos, he noticed something impossible.

The stranger’s eyes were glowing purple.

Not reflecting light. Actually glowing.

What was this man?

Moments later, the stranger finally gained the upper hand. After deflecting another swipe, he stepped inside the Pontianak’s guard and clamped a hand around its throat.

The creature hissed.

Then, instead of struggling, it leaned closer. Its lips moved, whispering something only he could hear.

For the first time, the stranger froze.

Only for a fraction of a second, but Ayish noticed.

The Pontianak smiled.

The stranger’s expression darkened—not with fear, but with anger.

Cold anger.

His grip tightened.

Still holding the creature by the throat, he drove it backward into the wall. Concrete fractured behind it.

Before the Pontianak could recover, he slammed an elbow into its face.

The creature staggered away from the wall.

The stranger followed immediately, closing the distance in a single step and driving a devastating punch into its chest.

The force launched the Pontianak across the alley. It crashed onto the pavement, black blood splattering across the ground.

Yet it continued laughing.

The sound echoed through the darkness like a broken recording.

Ayish struggled to control his breathing. A Pontianak. A man with glowing purple eyes. None of it made sense.

“What the hell is going on…?”

The words had barely left Ayish’s mouth when a sharp pain exploded behind his eyes. He staggered as the alley around him seemed to vibrate. His vision blurred, and for a moment the walls stretched and twisted as though reality itself had become unstable. A wave of nausea hit him so suddenly that he nearly lost his balance.

“What…?”

The pain intensified.

Then everything snapped.

The pressure inside his skull vanished instantly. Ayish lurched forward and nearly lost his footing. For a split second, the world seemed to skip. Not spin. Not blur. Skip. Like a missing frame in a video. His stomach twisted violently, and when he blinked, the spot where he had been standing moments ago was now several meters behind him.

His breath caught in his throat.

“What just happened?”

Ayish turned around in disbelief. The fight was still unfolding behind him. The Pontianak was still laughing. The stranger was still standing in the middle of the alley. Nothing appeared different.

Except him.

He hadn’t run. He hadn’t moved. One moment he had been standing there. The next, he was here. As though a piece of the space between those two points had simply vanished.

His mind struggled to make sense of it.

Then something on the ground caught his attention.

A rusted nail.

The same nail the Pontianak had pulled from its neck.

For some reason, the instant he saw it, a strange certainty surfaced within him. As though some forgotten instinct was urging him to act.

Without thinking, he snatched the nail from the ground.

“Hey!”

The stranger glanced toward him. Acting purely on instinct, Ayish threw it. The nail spun through the air. The stranger caught it effortlessly.

For a brief moment, surprise flashed across his face. Then understanding followed.

The Pontianak saw it too.

For the first time since the battle began, its laughter stopped. A hiss escaped from the creature’s throat. The stranger moved immediately.

The distance between them vanished in an instant. The Pontianak tried to retreat, but it was already too late. The stranger drove the rusted nail into the back of its neck.

The scream that followed was inhuman.

It tore through the alley like shattered glass. The Pontianak convulsed violently as its body twisted and cracked into impossible angles. Dark fissures spread across its pale skin while the crimson glow in its eyes flickered uncontrollably before finally dying out.

Then everything went silent.

The creature collapsed.

Its body dissolved into thick black smoke.

Ayish stared as the smoke lingered close to the ground instead of dispersing. It swirled and twisted unnaturally, almost as though it were alive. The temperature dropped sharply, and white mist escaped from his mouth as he exhaled.

Then came the whispers.

“…you…”

Ayish froze.

The voice had not come from outside.

It came from inside his head.

“…we see you…”

Pain exploded behind his eyes. He grabbed his head as more voices joined the first.

“…the key…”

“…the keeper…”

The whispers multiplied rapidly until dozens of voices were speaking at once. They overlapped and blended together, growing louder with every passing second. It felt as though countless unseen figures were gathering around him, watching from the darkness.

Ayish dropped to one knee.

The voices were everywhere.

Inside him.

Around him.

Watching him.

Waiting.

“Don’t listen.”

The stranger’s voice cut through the noise.

Ayish looked up.

The man was standing beside him. The purple glow in his eyes had vanished.

The whispers continued for several more seconds before gradually fading away. At the same time, the black smoke dispersed into the night air.

Silence returned to the alley.

Yet somehow, the atmosphere felt heavier than before.

Ayish lowered his hands. His head still throbbed.

“What was that?”

The stranger remained silent for several moments.

Ayish stared at him, frustration building inside him. Nothing about tonight made sense. The Pontianak. The whispers. The strange symbol. The impossible thing that had happened to him moments ago.

“What happened back there?” he asked, unable to keep the urgency from his voice. “How did I suddenly move?”

The stranger studied him for a moment before finally speaking.

“Not now.” The man’s gaze shifted toward the darkness beyond the alley, his expression tightening. “Leave this place immediately. It isn’t safe here.”

Ayish followed his gaze but saw nothing.

“What do you mean?”

The stranger looked back at him.

“Leave. Now!”

The force in the man’s voice made Ayish flinch.

Questions burned in his mind, but something in the stranger’s eyes—fear, or perhaps warning—told him this was not an argument he could win.

After a moment, he turned around and hurried away, glancing back once before disappearing into the darkness.

The sound of his footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

The stranger remained where he was.

Only when he was certain the student had safely left the area did he finally relax.

The alley had fallen silent once more.

Yet the feeling of being watched remained.

Slowly, he turned toward the far end of the alley.

A hooded figure stood partially concealed behind the corner of a building.

Watching.

Waiting.

So he was still here.

The stranger’s eyes narrowed.

Without hesitation, he began walking toward the figure.

One step.

Two steps.

The hooded man remained motionless.

Then his foot struck something on the ground.

Tap.

Instinctively, he glanced downward.

A lanyard.

The moment he saw it, he immediately looked back toward the hooded figure.

Gone.

The corner was empty.

No footsteps. No movement. Nothing. Only darkness.

The stranger’s jaw tightened.

“Damn it.”

He bent down and picked up the lanyard.

A student identification card hung from the end.

The photograph immediately caught his attention. His eyes shifted to the name printed beneath the photograph.

Ayish.

For a moment, his heart sank.

The hooded figure had been watching the boy.

Watching them.

And now he had vanished before the stranger could stop him.

The stranger stared at the card, a growing sense of dread settling in his chest. If the enemy knew Ayish’s identity, then sending him away had only bought a little time.

“Ayish…” he muttered.

He slipped the lanyard into his pocket and immediately turned toward the direction the student had gone.

He needed to find him before someone else did.

⸻

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