Parallel World. Indonesia. Temanggung, Central Java.On the slopes of Mount Sumbing, far removed from the roar of heavy traffic and the blinding glare of city lights, a small family lived a quiet, simple life.Their home stood nestled among terraced fields and vegetable gardens that hugged the natural curves of the mountainside. When morning broke, a thin mist would often drift down the slopes, blanketing the roof, the leafy crops, and the dirt paths still slick with morning dew. The air up there was biting, but crisp and pure. Every breath carried the earthy scent of soil and wet grass, mingling with the smell of firewood and the faint, lingering smoke of neighbors cooking their morning rice.The family consisted of four members.A husband and wife, Bejo and Susi; their eldest son, Jaka; and his younger sister, Dina.Bejo and Susi were ordinary folks. They barely had any formal education to speak of, neither having even finished elementary school, as survival had dragged them out of

The very next day, Jaka dove back into the job hunt.He figured it would only take a month or two to land on his feet.Temanggung was crawling with factories, after all, and with a solid year of experience under his belt, he felt his odds were still good.Reality, however, delivered a swift backhand.His first application went unanswered.The second met the same fate.Then the third, the fourth, the fifth, and so on.At first, Jaka tried to stay optimistic. Maybe the timing was off. Maybe the hiring process was just dragging out. But as weeks bled into months, a grim realization settled in: something was very wrong.Nasty rumors were making the rounds among the HR departments.Somehow, his name had been tied to the fire at his previous factory. He had no idea who started the whisper campaign, but the damage was done. Every application vanished into the void. Whenever he showed up in person, he was met with icy professionalism and hollow excuses."We'll be in touch.""The position has

Jaka took a deep breath.The frigid air atop Mount Sumbing pierced his lungs, carrying the scent of damp earth, wild grass, and the thin mist still clinging to the rocks. A gentle night breeze rustled the edge of the tent behind him.Before him, the old man stood in complete ease.Wrinkled face, simple clothes, a frail frame that looked like it could be toppled by a mere shove. But Jaka wasn't stupid. From the moment he laid eyes on him, he knew this old man was no ordinary being.There was something fundamentally bizarre about him.It wasn't just his sudden appearance at the mountain peak, nor his unnervingly placid smile. It was the way his very presence seemed fused with the environment itself.As if the mountain, the wind, the mist, the rocks, the trees, even the ground beneath his feet, were completely under his domain.Jaka steadied his breathing, tracking the old man's every micro-movement. His fists slowly clenched, not out of malice, but because his survival instincts were sc

The crushing weight on his shoulders slowly began to fade.The anger, disappointment, and despair he had harbored for so long didn't vanish entirely, but they finally had room to breathe. For the first time in what felt like forever, the suffocating tightness in Jaka's chest was gone.The energy seeped through his pores, slipping into his bloodstream, weaving through his bones, and pooling in his lower abdomen. Each pulse was gentle, yet undeniably potent. His muscles thrummed. His bones felt as if they were steeped in warm light. Even the minor scrapes and cuts he'd earned from farming began to itch before fading away entirely.The old man observed Jaka for a few seconds without blinking.In his eyes, the cross-legged youth appeared draped in a faint, luminous mist. It was thin, but incredibly pure.A satisfied smile curved the old man's lips."It seems I chose well," he murmured softly.The wind howled.Fog drifted among the craggy rocks.In the next blink, the old man vanished from

"Kyaa! Somebody, help me!"A woman's hysterical scream suddenly shattered the tranquility of the forest.Jaka, who was making his way down the mountain, stopped dead in his tracks. The cold wind blowing gently through the trees seemed to freeze for a split second. He turned toward the sound, eyes narrowing as he tried to pinpoint its source amidst the rustling leaves and the flurry of startled birds taking flight.There was no time to think.Without hesitation, Jaka broke into a sprint.His feet pounded against the damp earth. Gnarled roots jutting out from the dirt nearly tripped him up more than once, but his body, tempered by years of grueling farm work, navigated the rough terrain with practiced agility. His breathing grew heavy, yet his gaze remained razor-sharp.That wasn't an ordinary scream.It was laced with pure, unadulterated terror."Over there!"Jaka pushed himself faster, using his arms to shove aside the low-hanging branches blocking his path. Thorny bushes tore at his