Mythical Warden

Tari's Revelation

The six of them gathered in the living room, silent after seeing Amanda's drawing. Tari came downstairs and sat next to Amanda, looking at the drawing. Tari immediately blurted out a question:

"Excuse me, everyone, but... who are you all, actually?" Tari asked.

Indra, Amanda, Alex, Nara, Diaz, and Fani immediately turned to look at Tari, who was sitting next to Amanda and looking at the drawing in Amanda's sketchbook. Then Tari also said that she had seen Nara and Alex fighting the creature in the classroom earlier that afternoon. The six of them exchanged glances, and finally, Amanda told Tari everything, which completely shocked Tari.

"So, you're all the ones who went viral in various regions, right?" Tari asked.

"Honestly, I didn't even know I went viral, but yeah, it's true," Indra replied.

"Don't be too surprised, Tari. We're a bunch of weirdos, a circus act, basically..." Nara added.

"Yup, we've got a walking skeleton, a half-man, half-tiger, a fruit bat, and a flying head..." Diaz chimed in.

"But it's probably best if we don't show you all that..." Fani added.

"Yeah, definitely not. You won't be able to sleep, especially if you see this one..." Alex said, pointing at Fani's head, who was sitting next to him.

"Hey! Don't you dare!" Fani protested.

"I understand, everyone... I believe all of you," Tari said.

"Listen, Tari, there's something I need to talk to you about," Amanda began.

Amanda explained that next week, Tari would be staying with Mr. Fadli temporarily because Amanda and the others had to attend orientation week and a camping trip at Batu Raden. Initially, the six of them didn't plan to go, but after seeing the drawing Amanda made, they all wanted to go because they wanted to know what was really happening there. Besides that, Amanda explained everything in her sketchbook to Tari, from when she first had a vision about the attack on Jakarta city to seeing Shin at Batu Raden. Tari understood and agreed to stay with Fadli temporarily. She even thanked the six of them for still thinking about her, as she herself felt like she was being a bother to them.

Since Tari had agreed, Amanda sent a message to Fadli, and Fadli immediately replied "ok." After that, Amanda and the others started asking Tari about her father's actual job and what kind of institute was located in the Thousand Islands. Tari explained that her father was a geophysics scientist working with a professor who was looking for new energy sources to solve the world's fuel problems. There were also many foreign scientists at the institute, which was located on one of the islands in the Thousand Islands. Tari also said that when her father came home, he brought a shoe box containing crystals and gems, as well as a locket, which were put into the shoe box before the box was placed in a safe. According to her father, he got the box and the locket from the institute building, given to him by a young businessman named Harris Rahman.

"Hmm, Harris Rahman, the businessman who often appears on TV. He's also a politician, right?" Indra asked.

"Yeah, that's right. He's also a party founder. His company is in the entertainment business," Amanda said.

"But how did my locket end up with him? There's no way he came back to Jakarta by ferry, someone of his class would definitely take a plane," Nara mumbled thoughtfully.

"I don't think we need to discuss that right now. What we know is that he has your locket. It's possible he bought it from the person who brought the locket to Jakarta, or maybe it was one of his subordinates. We don't know how your locket ended up in his hands," Diaz said.

"That's true. The question is, where's the gem? Does he still have it?" Alex asked.

"It's also possible he got it, and the gem was already missing," Fani replied.

"Look, let's not talk about how he got the locket or where the gem is. What I know is he's still alive, and if he gave that locket and the shoe box we saw to Tari's dad, he must know what happened, or he might even be the mastermind," Indra said.

"So you mean Harris is suspicious?" Nara asked.

"Yeah, I agree with Indra. Just look at the facts: he's still alive, and Tari's dad isn't... even though they met at that institute. The proof is the box Tari's dad brought home and your locket, Nara," Amanda replied.

"Why are you so sure he's still alive?" Diaz asked.

"Someone as famous as him, even a minor scratch would become the news, let alone dying, right? We haven't heard anything. Even if the police kept it secret, some journalist would surely break through and it'd become a social media issue, especially since he also works in entertainment and owns a TV station," Amanda answered.

"But we still can't be sure if he's involved, right?" Fani said.

"Well, no, we can't be sure of anything right now, unless we go directly to him," Alex said.

"Whoa, that's impossible. If we're wrong, it'll just cause trouble. I'm more inclined for us to go to the institute on that island and investigate," Indra said.

"That's a huge risk, bro. First, we don't know what island that institute is on. We can't just check the islands one by one, right? Second, we don't have access there. We can't ask Mr. Fadli for permission; he'd suspect us of all sorts of things with his team," Diaz said.

"So, are we just going to sit here doing nothing?" Indra asked.

"For now, let's wait for updates from Mr. Fadli, and don't forget my drawing earlier. For some reason, I want us to go there before the camping trip. There's something bothering me, but I don't know what," Amanda said.

"How about we go there tomorrow? We have a car, right?" Alex asked, turning to Diaz.

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea. Why wait for camping? Let's just go there first," Diaz said.

"Let's just take Tari, and we don't have to attend orientation. It's fine, right? We're in college not to make friends or play it safe from senior bullies..." Nara added.

"Yeah, exactly! So Tari doesn't need to go to Mr. Fadli's place either, right, Tari?" Fani asked, turning to Tari.

"Yes, sis," Tari replied.

"Tell Mr. Fadli, Manda... tell him we're going to Batu Raden tomorrow," Indra said.

"Okay, I'll call Mr. Fadli," Amanda replied.

Amanda immediately grabbed her smartphone and walked out of the boarding house for a moment to call Fadli. Diaz and Indra also left the boarding house to check Diaz's car and went out briefly to get gas and buy supplies for their trip tomorrow. Alex, Nara, Fani, and Tari started getting ready, packing whatever they wanted to bring tomorrow.

Shin's Observation

Meanwhile, at the campsite, several senior students surveying the location stood in the middle of the camp. From behind the bushes, something was peering at them.

"It's time. Amanda should realize I'm here now... I hope she can force the others to come here before they come with their campus... because if they come here with their campus, then it will be too late... Tari must not fall into that person's hands," Shin murmured to himself, observing the students surveying the location.