1 Birth and Death

Above the field of a hill, you can see the sky has been split by lightning. A gust of wind herded over the clouds. That night, the moon was gloomy, the moon face covered in a pile of clouds. Slowly, the drizzle dripped over the ground.

The tigers, buffaloes, and herds of monkeys are silent without a word. They may be shivering under the shade of a broadleaf tree. So quiet that night, completely without the noise of animals. The silence of the animals was a sure sign that there would soon be a thunderstorm of great power hitting Purwa Forest.

It didn't take long, the nuance turned grim. Heavy rain fell from the sky, like millions of small sharp blades belonging to the heavens that pierced the bowels of the earth. The wind blew the wet ground, shook the trees. The sound of thunder seemed to whip the clouds. The flash beam became the only nightlight.

Near the hillside, stands a simple house made of bamboo. Even though the condition of the house looked sad, fortunately the bamboo house was not blown away by the fast wind.

An old man with a long white beard tried to light the stove for lighting, but his efforts were fruitless. The wind that passed through the gaps in the bamboo always extinguished the sparks. Since his efforts were fruitless, he decided to sit in the lotus position and start cultivating.

The old man who was around 1400 years old concentrated on the form of lightning light striking each other in the sky. After that, he absorbed the essence of the light from the lightning, so that his body was immediately enveloped in a yellow color of light. He then opened his eyes, and the darkness that had been unable to be defeated using the furnace turned out to be defeated using the light cultivation method.

"Luckily I have this ability." Said the fat old man.

Outside the bamboo house. From behind the trees and the dark night accompanied by a rainstorm, you can see a shadowy figure that steps limply. The shadow's hand rested several times on the tree trunk.

When the lightning light opened the night sky, it became clear that the shadowy figure belonged to a woman holding a baby. Long black hair hanging loose. Short of breath, her body was covered in blood. Even in a life and death situation, she continued to force herself to walk. The baby in her arms cried violently, for some reason.

The woman's body was soaked, the rain water gradually eroded the color of the blood on her skin, but it could not get rid of the blood spots on the clothes she was wearing. The woman's eyes are fixed on the bamboo house. Her steps were very heavy, finally arriving at the door of the bamboo house.

The woman's gaze began to blur. Her hand was forced to knock on the bamboo door while calling the old man who was in the house.

"Grandpa... Grandpa... Grandpa Semar... Grandpa Semar..."

Not until she finished speaking, the woman fell on her face with the baby still in her arms. The thunderous sound of thunder shocked the universe, coinciding with the fall of the woman.

Grandpa Semar, the old man, felt an air of presence. Besides, his mind seemed to perceive some horror. Immediately Grandpa Semar got down from his cultivation place and opened the door to his house.

"What ?! Ratna?!! Ratna!! "

Grandpa Semar shook the Ratna's body, but there was absolutely no response. Without waiting much, Grandpa Semar lifted Ratna's body, and Grandpa Semar was surprised that Ratna was pressing a baby who had just been born. The baby continued to cry non-stop.

Grandpa Semar carried the baby first, then placed it on the cultivation chair. To silence the baby's crying, Grandpa Semar cast a Sirep spell, a transparent soundproof fence, around the cultivation seat. Then Grandpa Semar carried Ratna, then put her on a lincak, a kind of chair that was about two meters long.

"Ratna... Why are you like this? What happen?"

Grandpa Semar put his left hand on Ratna's forehead, while the index finger of his right hand was pointed towards the sky. Grandpa Semar chanted the Serat Pangrucutan Balik, a top tier spell that allows one to regain consciousness of a person who has been dead for thirty seconds.

Less than a minute, Ratna's body suddenly moved. Her consciousness returned, even if only for thirty seconds. "Grandpa Semar?!" After waking up, Ratna immediately screamed very loudly, but she quickly controlled her emotions.

"Did Grandfather use the Serat Pangrucutan Balik spell on me?" Ratna asked to Grandpa Semar.

"Yes. Forgive your grandfather. But seeing you who came like this, of course Grandpa Semar couldn't let you go without words to Nirvana. What's more, you brought a baby whose origin I have absolutely no clue about. Now tell me what happened to you. You only have a short time. "

Ratna wiped her tears, then began to speak.

"Time is too short, I can't explain everything Grandpa. One thing is for sure, that baby is my baby who just gave birth this afternoon. Not with King Agni, my husband, but with a man named Wisanggeni. After all, I was no longer the empress of the Wilwatikta palace after Grandpa's departure from the palace. I found the place of the grandfather of an assistant who turned out to be grandfather's student. Grandpa, I ask you a favor. Take care of my baby. Raise him like your son. Take care of him and make him a man. I gave him the name Wisanggeni. "

"My student? As far as I can remember, I only appointed a student once. Is that Uma?" Asked Grandpa Semar

Ratna paused for a moment, "Uma? As far as I know her name is Pertiwi... "

"Pertiwi?" Grandpa Semar tried to dig up his memory, but in vain. Because he never appointed a student named Pertiwi. "Or is it Uma who deliberately disguised her own name?" Grandpa Semar asked inwardly.

"There are clues scattered, they will guide Wisanggeni to find the truth. One day, the story I haven't had the chance to tell will reveal itself. "

After saying that, Ratna closed her peaceful eyes. Grandpa Semar let out a long sigh. His mind rumbled holding back his anger at King Agni. The old hand touched Ratna's forehead then said.

"I have considered you as my own child, because you are the son of Mada, my best friend. Ah, I never thought you had a child with Wisanggeni, a forgotten great hero Wilwatikta, and you gave your child the same name as his father. Ratna, I will not forgive Agni's actions towards you. I swear my revenge. One more thing, may you have peace, the next time you are in Nirvana to meet my three children, tell them that I ask them to go to Middle-earth, I need help. "

Grandpa Semar lowered his head for a moment, reciting a prayer to Ratna. This morning, Grandpa Semar plans to bury Ratna's body. After reciting the prayer, Grandpa Semar got up from the chair, then walked over to his cultivation chair which was holding back the sound of the baby's crying.

Wisanggeni has calmed down. Not crying at all. His eyes were wide open, emitting a light, as if he were staring at the spirit of his mother who was riding a carriage dragged by four white horses towards Nirvana.

Grandpa Semar realized something when he saw Wisanggeni, without realizing a smile grew on his lips.

"Great destiny is waiting for you, son ..."

Grandpa Semar stepped slowly to the doorway of the bamboo house. He saw the dark sky that had previously been covered with clouds began to let out a moonlight. The storm is over. Rain has fulfilled its duty to give fertility to the universe.

Every death was the cause of the birth of several lives, each life the cause of several deaths. Ages were shifting, and Grandpa Semar was well aware that he had not been allowed to return to Nirvana by God.

"In the future, that child... Carrying the burden of civilization, both in the future and in the past."