Demon Cave

The spirit cave is located on the outskirts of the sea, often referred to as the South Beach. It is situated southeast of the city of Daha, Kediri. Far away from the village and its residents, it is a place that no one would ever dare to touch due to the eternal darkness that always envelops the area.

The husband and wife, Sabrang Panuluh and his wife Nyai Rasmi, finally arrived after a difficult and treacherous journey because they had to pass through a steep and rugged gorge before reaching the Spirit Cave.

Before reaching the gorge, there was a damp rainforest with natural traps like quicksand and sinking sand. However, all of that was meant for newcomers who didn't know the entrance to the Demon Cave.

Nyai Rasmi knew the secret path to reach the Demon Cave without having to go through the forest. And now they were faced with the gorge. Far below, their destination could be seen.

"I really wanted to see the forest earlier, my dear wife. The place where fate brought us together."

"Darling, you still have time to think about that. Now the most important thing is for us to hide until the situation is safe again. Let's descend now, my dear."

Sabrang Panuluh, the former military commander of Kediri, whose fate was now drastically different from when he held his position. He used to have dozens of district heads (Panewu) and hundreds of village heads (Bekel) under his command, along with thousands of soldiers ready to follow his orders.

The same goes for his wife, Nyai Rasmi, whose full name is Rasmi Wardani. In the past, dozens of servants were always at her beck and call, assisting with household matters. Her hands would never get dirty to take care of the flower gardens in their home. But now her skin was as rough as the rocks in the gorge they were currently facing.

Under normal circumstances, this husband and wife might have easily crossed the gorge with a single leap from one rock to another. However, their strength had not fully recovered to do so after one of the palace servants had poisoned their food.

It was unclear who had placed the poison. Several names of district heads crossed Sabrang's mind as possible culprits, but the political intrigues within the palace were intense ever since Jayakatwang brought down Singosari.

Sabrang Panuluh himself still held the position of a Senopati when leading the invasion operation from the southeast direction of the Singosari palace. He was appointed as Rakryan Tumenggung because his troops managed to enter the palace and besiege the residence of King Prabu Kertanegara.

Many district heads were envious and considered Sabrang a flatterer and two-faced due to his strong ties with Majapahit. Some of his village heads even decided to cross over to Majapahit due to their loyalty to Singosari.

That's why, during the Mongol and Majapahit invasion, one of his village heads who had become an Arya informed him about the attack. It was an assault that Kediri couldn't defend, let alone win.

The village head's name was Mandana. He was Sabrang's loyal disciple who informed him that the attack was just the first step to restoring Singosari's glory.

Sabrang found himself in a dilemma, torn between choosing Kediri and Majapahit. In the midst of his indecision, time seemed to fly by quickly. Prior to the attack, for some unknown reason, he was suddenly poisoned by someone, and at the same time, two district heads (Panewu) were planning to capture him on charges of treason.

The accusation against Sabrang was that he had sided with Majapahit.

Panggito and Sawito were the names of the two district heads, and he was certain that there were other influential figures behind them.

"My dear husband, we have arrived. From now on, this is our home," Nyai Rasmi said, standing in front of the tightly sealed entrance of the cave, covered by dense tree roots and shrubs.

"For now, my wife. Only for now," Sabrang replied, raising his head to look up the cliff and surveying the surroundings, which were not much different from the last time he set foot in this place.

The cave was indeed located beneath the towering cliff in its current position. As a former military commander, this place was not particularly strategic for defense, as archers could easily target them from above.

However, it would require archers with special abilities to reach this place due to the strong winds up there. The arrows would immediately deviate from their target. It would be a different story if the besiegers had weapons like the Mongols, the fireballs.

Sabrang tried to calm himself and think rationally about the situation he was facing.

True to its name, this cave was not easily found. It was like a supernatural being existing within its own absence. Visible but untouchable, felt but elusive to the eyes.

That was exactly how he felt when entering the Demon Cave. Sharp, jagged rocks adorned its ceiling. The walls were covered in moss, and the surface was rough to the touch.

He discovered this cave while pursuing a band of robbers who were causing unrest among the people. At that time, he was a low-ranking soldier in Kediri, still under the rule of Singosari.

The final battle was fierce, which led to his fall into the gorge. When he opened his eyes for the first time, a beautiful woman awakened him with the most enchanting smile he had ever seen in all of Java.

That woman was Rasmi Wardani, who initially kept her background a secret. During his recovery in the cave, she would frequently appear and disappear suddenly, bringing food and supplies for Sabrang.

Eventually, love blossomed between them. Rasmi finally revealed that she was the princess of the kingdom ruling South Beach. She was in the cave when Sabrang fell and needed care.

They could not be together unless Sabrang learned certain techniques from Rasmi's original world. And the burden of those techniques was that they would not have any descendants.

Sabrang accepted the condition because of his deepening love for Rasmi, his savior.

He disappeared from the hustle and bustle of the kingdom and the martial arts world. He studied the techniques given by his wife and transformed into a powerful warrior.

These skills were sufficient to elevate his reputation among his fellow soldiers. He returned, carrying the head of the robber who had once harmed him.

However, at that time, his wife couldn't simply be brought to the house provided by the kingdom due to his promotion. Rasmi insisted that she couldn't accompany him and allowed Sabrang to find another woman or stay with her in the Demon Cave.

From that point, Sabrang finally understood that love, wealth, and position were the three main elements in life that influenced each other. Without Rasmi's love, he would not have been able to obtain wealth and position.

The wealth and position he obtained would be in vain if love did not accompany him in his life.

For years, Sabrang had to travel back and forth between Kediri and the Demon Cave to secretly meet Rasmi. But when his rank was about to be elevated to district head (Panewu), Jayakatwang asked him to get married to be on par with other Panewu. The prospective wife had even been arranged by the kingdom.

Sabrang faced another dilemma. It was impossible for him to bear this position without Rasmi by his side. He once again offered Rasmi to accompany him to Kediri. However, once again, Rasmi refused.

Their argument was so intense that Rasmi decided to return to her palace in South Beach.

Armed with the techniques he had learned, Sabrang daringly followed her to the palace in South Beach to fetch his wife. He fought against dozens of palace soldiers and ended up being captured.

Rasmi, who still had immense love and affection for him, couldn't bear to see Sabrang being captured and tortured. She eventually revealed everything to her family, especially to the queen ruling South Beach, her own mother.

She pleaded desperately and even prostrated herself to release Sabrang and allow her to accompany him to the kingdom of Kediri. Finally, the mother agreed, although she needed a few days to consider the request.

Rasmi was allowed to accompany Sabrang to the human realm on the condition that she would never bring her problems to South Beach. Whatever happened, she had to bear the consequences herself.

Sabrang was prepared for all the risks involved and felt capable of protecting Rasmi from the dangers of the human world. He felt confident with the knowledge and power he had acquired throughout his training.

However, he was not prepared for the competition and politics within the kingdom. Sabrang was still considered too naive and honest to be an official, where conscience had to be set aside in the name of power.

And today, he became a victim once again, and Rasmi saved him by bringing him back to the Demon Cave because they no longer had a place in the land of Java.

"My wife... What if your family finds out that we're in this cave?" Sabrang asked.

"At least my kingdom is no more cruel than yours, Dear. Together, we will face whatever happens here," Rasmi replied.

Sabrang glanced at the wrapped cloth containing two books that Panggito and Sawito coveted.

From the beginning, the two officials were persistent in acquiring these two books after noticing Sabrang's extraordinary abilities, which were different from other techniques.

They tried various methods to obtain the information, and Sabrang suspected that they had infiltrated his wife's servants to gain access to his room.

He knew that Panggito and Sawito worked as book hunters on the side, but he never expected it would happen to him.

He felt that this was karma for his past deeds, or rather, his wife's actions.

Yes, these two books belonged to the ruler of South Beach and were stolen by Rasmi as her additional resources in the human world. However, Rasmi claimed that she had borrowed them directly from the commander of the South Beach palace.

Sabrang didn't pay much attention to her confession because he found a page in the books that was difficult for him to understand. He had to seek the help of his friend, a healer named Ki Wardiman in Tuban.

Even Ki Wardiman gave up, as he couldn't decipher the strange sentence structures that seemed disjointed. In the end, the books became like any other ordinary books, serving only as reading material with no practical use.

After tidying up the cave and lighting a fire, Sabrang prepared to regain his energy by sitting cross-legged in front of his wife. This cave held immense energy for them to absorb.

However, before they could do that, Rasmi issued a warning.

"They will know of our arrival, Dear. Be prepared," she said.

"I am always ready, my wife. Don't worry," Sabrang assured her.

Not long after they closed their eyes and merged their thoughts and feelings, an unusual gust of wind suddenly swept around the cave.

Sabrang didn't want to open his eyes because he knew who had come to visit this place.

"Sabrang Panuluh and Rasmi Wardani, you are summoned to the palace."