Jakarta never truly sleeps. But that night, the city was forced awake into a nightmare that transcended the limits of human sanity. At 9:00 PM WIB, the megapolitan’s heart was still beating at full throttle.Horns blared along Sudirman, and the neon lights of skyscrapers reflected off asphalt still damp from the afternoon rain. However, the usually stifling, humid air suddenly plummeted in temperature. An unnatural chill swept through the streets, freezing breath into vapor and leaving the sensation of ice needles pricking the skin.Inside a TransJakarta bus trapped in the gridlock of Bundaran HI, Satria, a 22-year-old man with dark circles under his hollow eyes, stared blankly out the window. He had just finished a twelve hour overtime shift as a logistics courier. His mind was fixed on only one thing, reaching the restaurant near Grand Indonesia on time.Today was the 12th birthday of Maya, his younger sister. His father and mother were already waiting there, bringing the chocolate

The golden light that usually symbolized sanctity, hope, and divine protection now felt like a nauseating visual mockery in Satria’s eyes. The Jakarta sky, typically choked by pollution, was now clear yet, it was adorned by thousands of "holy" beings who had just turned the city into a slaughterhouse. Satria stood rigid amidst the scorched asphalt. The tremors radiating beneath his feet did not come from an aftershock, but from a thick crimson aura exploding out of every pore of his skin.The gravitational pressure within a five-meter radius around Satria suddenly intensified unnaturally. The asphalt cracked deeper, forming a small crater beneath his feet, while concrete debris and glass shards nearby were crushed into a fine powder by the overwhelming energy pressure. Satria was no longer human, he was an anomaly forced into existence by the Blood Debt System.The Lesser Heavenly Vanguard that had just impaled Satria stood stunned. The creature, which had shown no emotion from the st

"Hey! Calm down! You’re going to kill yourself!"Kirana’s voice shrieked through the sound of cracking concrete and the hiss of thermal steam rising from Satria’s body. Ignoring the fear that nearly paralyzed her nerves, the medical student lunged forward. She threw her arms around Satria as he writhed on the floor, attempting to act as an anchor for his consciousness as it was tossed about by a storm of agony.The touch of Kirana’s cold, trembling hands provided a small spark of light in the darkness swallowing Satria. His breath came in ragged gasps, every lungful of air felt like inhaling shards of glass. Inside his throbbing skull, the raspy baritone of the War Emperor echoed once more, drowning out the sound of Kirana’s sobbing."Debt cannot be paid with tears, boy. The universe knows no mercy, it only knows equivalent exchange," the ancient heart chuckled, a sound like the grinding of gravestones. "Pay your interest on time, or I shall make you the main course at my banquet tabl

"They’ve surrounded us," Satria whispered. His voice was barely audible, yet in the stifling silence of the clinic, the words rang out like a funeral bell.Beyond the shattered iron door and through the cracks in the concrete ceiling, the sounds became clearer. It was no longer just the growl of one or two predators, it was an orchestra of death. The sound of metallic claws scraping against hard surfaces, breaths heavy with static electricity, and a hum of energy that made the hair on his neck stand on end. The Hounds of Light didn't just hunt by scent, they tracked life frequencies.Kirana was deathly pale, the color drained from her face until she resembled a sheet of crumpled white paper. She clutched her medical bag tightly, the only thing connecting her to her former identity as a human who helped others. "We can’t fight that many... there are too many of them. This corridor is narrow; we’re trapped!"Satria didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the system screen floating before

Dawn in the new world brought no hope, it only illuminated the destruction in finer, more agonizing detail. Deep within the Bundaran HI MRT Station, the first light of morning filtered through massive, shattered ventilation shafts. The stale air of the station suddenly hummed with a low frequency that made teeth rattle.Three figures, Guardian Angels, descended with a terrifying grace. These celestial entities stood three meters tall, clad in gold armor that encased them completely, wielding greatswords that radiated the searing heat of the sun. Their very presence seemed to suck the oxygen from the room, leaving the refugees gasping in pure, unadulterated terror."They’re here! They’ve finally come!" Bimo shrieked, his voice pitchy with glee amidst the mass hysteria.The corrupt cop, whose skin now possessed an eerie glow from the 'Light Injection' he had taken earlier, threw himself onto the filthy concrete floor. He knelt before the angels, arms spread wide as if welcoming saviors.