System: Daily login!!, jackpot on the first day!!!

- Back to a few Moments ago.

Taufik and Akh'sha made their way down the dimly lit hallway, the air heavy with an ominous presence.

Every step brought them closer to where Kiara's aura had vanished.

As they walked, the distant echo of footsteps reached Taufik's ears, and he turned just in time to meet the worried gaze of his wives.

Anugerah stood at the front, her brow furrowed, her eyes filled with concern. Beside her was another, equally uneasy, her hand gripping the edge of her dress tightly as she sensed the disturbance in the air.

"... Fik," Anugerah's voice cracked the silence, soft yet laced with a quiet panic, "I can't feel Kiara's presence anymore. What happened to our daughter?"

Taufik paused for a moment, then gave his wife a reassuring smile.

He stepped forward, placing a hand gently on Anugerah's shoulder, his gaze steady yet filled with unspoken reassurance. His eyes, sharp as ever, held no trace of fear.

"... Don't worry, nothing bad will happen to her," He said, his voice calm and unwavering.

"Akh'sha, what happens to your castle? If something happens to our Kiara, you better prepare for the consequences," Rani's voice was low but laced with an unmistakable warning.

Her eyes were sharp, focused on Akh'sha with a stern gaze, her presence commanding the attention of everyone in the hallway. Her protective instincts flared, and though her tone was measured, the threat in her words was clear.

Akh'sha, normally so composed, stood firm, though the tension in his posture was palpable. He met Rani's gaze without flinching, the gravity of his words sinking deep into his mind.

His niece, Kiara's absence from his senses was a disturbance, one that only amplified the worry gnawing at the edges of his calm.

Before he could respond, the sound of another set of footsteps echoed down the hallway, sharp and deliberate, breaking the tension.

"Son, what happened? Why can't I sense Kiara's presence?" The voice of Marzuki, Taufik's father, rang through the corridor, full of concern.

His figure appeared in the dim light, his presence commanding and undeniably protective. Behind him, Linda followed her expression a mirror of worry, her hand resting gently on her husband's arm.

Marzuki's gaze swept across the group, locking onto Taufik as he approached.

His usual calm demeanor was clouded by the same deep concern that had taken hold of the others.

Taufik met his father's gaze, a quiet understanding passing between them. His father's worry was clear, but Taufik's resolve remained unshaken.

"She's fine," Taufik said, his voice firm, though there was a slight edge to it... One that only those who knew him best could detect. "I'll bring her back. Just stay calm"

With Taufik leading the way, the group moved in silence, each footfall echoing in the hallway as they followed the faint, shifting remnants of Kiara's presence.

They walked for what felt like an eternity, the quiet tension only broken by the soft sound of footsteps and the occasional flicker of shadows against the walls.

Finally, they arrived at the end of the corridor, a narrow passageway that seemed endless in the shadows. Standing there, facing a wall, was a familiar figure. Shasha, her back to them, stood motionless, her fingers lightly grazing the wall as if she were searching for something hidden beneath its surface.

Taufik's eyes narrowed, sensing the strange atmosphere around her.

He stepped forward, his voice calm but with an undeniable weight to it.

"... Shasha," He called out, his tone laced with both curiosity and concern.

The others paused behind him, waiting for the answer, the silence stretching between them.

Shasha didn't turn at first, but after a moment, she slowly straightened and turned to face them. Her expression was unreadable, her eyes darkened with something almost too ancient to recognize.

She seemed to have been lost in thought, disconnected from the world around her.

Her lips parted as if to speak, but it was Taufik's question that pulled her back into focus.

"Where's Kiara gone?" Taufik repeated, his voice more urgent now, the tension in his body clear.

His eyes locked onto hers, searching for any sign of an explanation.

Shasha's gaze shifted to her Master and the rest of the family, and for a moment, it felt like she was seeing something beyond the present, her stare distant and unfocused. Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, she spoke.

"She's... Not gone, Master," Shasha said, her voice softer than usual, almost as if she were trying to piece together something she herself didn't fully understand. "But she's... Trapped. Not in the way you think. Something is keeping her from moving freely... But it's not a person. It's a force, something far older than any of us"

Her fingers brushed against the wall again, as if it held the answers, but she shook her head in frustration.

"I don't fully understand it yet, but it's connected to this place"

Hearing this, Taufik stepped forward, moving past Shasha and approaching the mysterious wall ahead.

[DING]

[...Master, I detect a distortion of space-time ahead]

Taufik acknowledged the system's explanation with a brief nod.

He could already feel the distortion in the air, and without a word, he drew his Katana from the Inventory.

The moment the blade was unsheathed, a dark aura emanated from it, distorting the very fabric of space around the weapon. The air seemed to ripple as though reality itself recoiled from the sword's presence.

'...SwordMagic: Dark form - Dimensional Slash!'

With a swift motion, Taufik swung the Katana, releasing an arc of dark energy that sliced through the air.

The space before him tore open, creating a jagged wound in the very fabric of reality itself.

The cut began as a narrow, slanted line, but it quickly widened, and it continued to widen until it revealed a dark void now stretching before them.

Taufik's gaze remained focused as he addressed Akh'sha, his voice firm and resolute.

"Akh'sha, you come with me," He then looked toward the rest of his family, his expression calm but determined. "You guys wait here. Don't worry, I'll bring Kiara back"

His words left no room for doubt. With the Katana blade still humming with dark energy, Taufik stepped forward, his eyes locked on the portal he had created.

Akh'sha nodded and followed without hesitation.

Behind them, the rest of the group watched silently, their faces a mixture of concern and trust. The tension in the air was thick, but Taufik's confidence gave them a sense of reassurance. The rift pulsed ominously as they prepared to step into the unknown.

--------

Taufik and Akh'sha's vision went dark for a fleeting moment as they crossed the dimensional rift. When sight returned, the scene before them stopped them in their tracks.

A chilling silence hung in the air.

Before them stood three towering figures... Frozen as if time itself had come to a halt. Encased in shimmering ice, like statues carved by an otherworldly artist, were one Dragonlin and two full-grown Dragons. Their stances were each unique, one mid-roar, another shielding something with its wing, and the last crouched low as if ready to strike but all three wore the same haunting expression:

Fear.

"This... So they were here," Akh'sha said softly, his voice tinged with sorrow as recognition dawned in his eyes.

He knew who these three frozen figures were.

Taufik glanced at him briefly but didn't stop. "C'mon, let's keep moving. I can feel Kiara's presence up ahead. We'll handle this later"

His tone was steady, but there was urgency behind it. He stepped forward, walking deeper into this unknown Realm.

Akh'sha lingered for a moment, his gaze lingering on the Dragonlin and the two Dragons, now trapped in stillness as if time itself had abandoned them.

He took a slow, deep breath, and then with one last look, he turned away and followed behind Taufik. Right now, his niece's safety mattered more than this.

As they continued walking forward, the dim light ahead revealed a scene that made both of them pause.

From a distance, they saw Kiara, her small frame tense and trembling. She stood frozen, confronted by a tall, imposing figure cloaked in shadows.

The air around them seemed to hum with ancient power.

The closer Taufik and Akh'sha approached, the clearer the voice became, low, resonant, and soaked in time.

"The time has come… I have waited… so long. So long for the one who is worthy to come," The figure intoned, its voice echoing as if pulled from a forgotten past.

"Now that you are here… Let us be one. Fulfill your obligations… As one of my descendants"

At those words, something inside Taufik snapped.

His eyes narrowed, the warmth draining from them, replaced by a piercing cold. His steps grew heavier, each one striking the ground with deliberate weight.

His presence darkened the air.

The Concept within him stirred restlessly, mirroring his fury.

Behind him, Akh'sha's expression twisted into something primal, equal parts rage and disgust. His shadow twitched, reacting to his emotions.

A low giggle escaped from Taufik's lips, sharp and mocking. The sound cut through the heavy atmosphere like a blade, drawing attention.

The air shifted. Power pulsed.

With a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, Taufik locked eyes with the shadowy figure standing before Kiara. His voice came out playful, but laced with venom.

"'Let's be one'? That sounds so lewd, you know?"

He tilted his head, tone darkening.

"What are you, some kind of pervert ancestor or something? You can't say that you know? Not to my daughter especially"

His cold gaze bore into the figure, daring him to respond.

....

...

..

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