Lawang Sigotaka

Chapter 25

The moment stretched into eternity. Dimas felt the ground fall away beneath him, his body plummeting into the abyss. Darkness swallowed him whole, and he could hear nothing but the rush of his own breath and the thundering beat of his heart. The void seemed to pulse with a life of its own, pressing in on him from all sides. For a moment, he wondered if this was death if he had already failed the spirit's test and was now condemned to an endless descent into darkness.

But then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the falling stopped. Dimas found himself suspended in the air, weightless, the darkness around him shifting, writhing like a living thing. The silence was deafening, a void that pressed in on his ears, his mind, his soul. It was as if the world itself had ceased to exist, leaving him alone in the infinite nothingness.

And then he heard it the voice.

It started as a low rumble, a deep, resonant sound that seemed to emanate from the very earth itself. The vibration shook him to his core, making his bones tremble and his teeth chatter. The voice grew louder, more insistent, until it filled the air around him, a chorus of ancient, powerful words that echoed through the void. The sound was overwhelming, a force of nature that seemed to transcend time and space. It was both terrifying and mesmerizing, a primal sound that stirred something deep within him.

"Who dares to seek the Sigotaka?" the voice boomed, each word reverberating through the darkness like a shockwave. "Who dares to challenge the guardian spirit?"

Dimas's breath caught in his throat, his body trembling with fear and awe. He could feel the power of the voice, could feel it vibrating through the air, through his skin, through his very bones. It was a presence unlike anything he had ever encountered a force that was both ancient and eternal, both terrifying and beautiful. It was the voice of the guardian spirit.

"I... I am Dimas," he stammered, his voice barely more than a whisper, lost in the echo of the spirit's words. "I seek the truth... I seek to understand..."

The spirit's laughter filled the void, a low, rumbling sound that seemed to shake the very fabric of reality. "Truth?" the spirit mocked. "Understanding? Foolish mortal. You seek what you cannot comprehend, what you cannot control. The Sigotaka is not for the likes of you."

Dimas felt a surge of anger, a flicker of defiance. "I'm not here to take," he said, his voice stronger now, though it still trembled with fear. "I'm here to learn, to understand the connection between the Sigotaka and Borobudur. To honor the spirit of this place."

The darkness around him seemed to thicken, to grow heavier, pressing down on him like a physical weight. The voice grew quieter, more contemplative. "And what makes you think you are worthy of such knowledge?" it asked, its tone both curious and menacing. "What makes you believe you can withstand the truths that lie beyond the Sigotaka?"

Dimas swallowed hard, his mouth dry. He could feel the spirit's presence, its power, wrapping around him, probing at the edges of his consciousness. It was a force unlike anything he had ever encountered vast and ancient, filled with both wisdom and wrath. He knew he had to be careful, had to tread lightly. "I don't know if I am worthy," he admitted, his voice barely a whisper. "But I am here. I am willing to face whatever trials you set before me, to prove my intentions are pure."

The silence that followed was profound, the weight of it pressing down on him like a physical force. He could feel his heart racing in his chest, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps. He knew he was at a crossroads that the spirit's response would determine the course of his journey from here on out.

For a long moment, there was nothing just the sound of his own breathing, the pounding of his heart. And then, slowly, the darkness began to recede, the shadows peeling away like a shroud. Dimas found himself standing in the clearing once more, the torches around him flickering in the night breeze, their flames casting long, dancing shadows across the ground.