Mr. Ringga Purnomo hurried down the stairs to the fifth floor, descending into the control center, one level below the command deck. Behind him, Pandu and Sebastian followed closely, silent but alert. Inside the center, a cool hush filled the room, the low hum of machines and blinking monitors casting a digital glow on the young programmer at the helm.
"Alright, Rudy. What have you found?" Purnomo asked, his voice sharp but calm.
Rudy, just seventeen but already one of their most skilled field coders, didn't take his eyes off the monitor. "I think I found movement from the person we've been tracking, sir."
Purnomo leaned in. "Oh? What kind of movement?"
Mr. Ringga Purnomo stepped closer, his eyes narrowing on the data. Rudy tapped a few keys, his fingers swift and practiced.
"We've been syncing multiple camera feeds, thermal sensors, and using our Cellular Identification Hack system. Everything is finally lining up."
"Can we pinpoint the target's current location?" asked Mr. Ringga, stepping forward.
Rudy entered a final string of code and pressed Enter. "Done. Please take a look, sir."
The screen lit up with streams of data — IP addresses, mobile transaction logs, encrypted conversations, and even deleted files. A glowing icon blinked steadily on the map. "The target's real-time location is now live."
Purnomo nodded in approval. "Pandu, Sebastian, you both see this? Your devices will automatically sync the target data. Time to move."
Sebastian and Pandu each pulled up their notifications. Sebastian read aloud:
Name: Rangga, code-named "Rapid Lions"
Weight: 60 kg
Height: 175 cm
Age: 18 years old
Skill: Fighter – Weapon
Level: Unidentified
Class: Bio Evolution
Pandu glanced at his screen.
Name: Thalia, code-named "Eagles"
Weight: 40 kg
Height: 168 cm
Age: 16 years old
Skill: Fighter - Cure Weapon
Level: Unidentified
Class: Bio Evolution
"They're usually seen together," Rudy added. "Last confirmed location: Island G. A reclaimed island with shopping and entertainment centers, especially the 'GameFighter' zone."
The island was eerily quiet. Still early, stores were shuttered, and only a few cleaners swept through the open plazas.
Pandu scanned the skyline. "Sebastian, I'll take position on that central tower for observation."
"Got it. I'll sweep the perimeter starting from the main gate," Sebastian replied.
Both put in their earpieces for constant communication. As they were about to part ways, both instinctively felt something. Eyes on them.
From a distance, four skater-clad men approached, their body language anything but friendly.
"Looks like someone took a wrong turn," the leader taunted.
Sebastian stiffened. The four men began to glow with a pulsing red energy.
Sebastian moved into a defensive stance but was stopped by Pandu.
"Hold it, Bas. Don't engage yet."
The four skaters launched attacks, wind-punches enhanced by internal force. Red shockwaves zipped through the air. Pandu stood his ground, the blows veering off harmlessly. Then he responded. His body shimmered green, light swirling around him and forming a massive ethereal hand. With one sweeping motion, the hand snatched all four men.
Bound together, the attackers squirmed. Pandu walked over, expression calm but firm.
"Who sent you? Speak."
Suddenly, Sebastian caught a flicker in the sky — a golden-brown streak zipping from rooftop to rooftop.
"Pandu! Look!"
Without hesitation, both scattered in pursuit. The streak darted away, but not before Sebastian spotted a faint trace left behind. He followed it into a darkened underground parking lot.
A low growl echoed.
Standing by a bike with a flat tire was a tall man. His irritable stare turned into a fierce glare. His eyes blazed yellow.
"What do you want?!" the man growled. Without warning, he lunged, throwing a punch.
Sebastian blocked just in time, their arms colliding with a shockwave. The man began to morph — fur, claws, fangs. A lion.
Sebastian quickly adopted a defensive posture. The lion-man attacked, claws flashing. Sebastian blocked again, but the impact left a stinging welt.
His chest burned. A silver light surged through him.
With a roar, Sebastian punched forward. BOOM!
The explosion echoed in the underground. The lion-man staggered, growled louder, then punched the air. White smoke erupted.
Sebastian coughed, dazed. The sheer force of the roar had sent him sliding backward.
"What now?!" he thought frantically.
He focused, his palms glowing yellow. A keris formed in his hand.
The lion-man summoned silver claws.
Both leapt forward, weapons ready to strike.
"Stop!"
A thick green light froze both mid-air.
Sebastian turned. "Pandu..."
The green light receded. Both Sebastian and the lion-man lowered their weapons.
Pandu approached calmly. "We're on the same side."
He extended a hand. "I'm Pandu. This is Sebastian. We're here on behalf of Prof. Rhinno."
The lion-man stared for a moment, then nodded. His bruised arms hung limply.
"Let me help," said Pandu. He placed his palms gently on the wounds. Green jade light glowed, then faded. The injuries vanished.
"Already done."
Sebastian and the lion-man looked at each other, impressed.
"Name's Rangga. Yeah, I was one of Prof. Rhinno's students," he said.
His mixed Euro-Asian features were more visible now.
Pandu handed him a necklace — a tiger claw pendant.
"That brown light earlier," Sebastian said. "Wasn't that the target?"
Pandu shook his head. "No, just a camouflage decoy. I tried to hit it with my bow, but it vanished."
"Actually," Rangga added, "that was Thalia. She's my cousin. She always uses that technique."
"You know where she is now?" Sebastian asked.
"Come to my apartment. It's nearby. I'll explain more."
—
Rangga's apartment had a futuristic aesthetic. Neon blue lights framed the walls, virtual reality gear hung like trophies. It felt like a gamer's dream.
"Wow," said Sebastian, awestruck. "This setup is incredible. VR design, the screens... is it yours?"
"All sponsored," Rangga grinned. "I won the Virtual Reality Martial Arts contest. They gave me the whole rig."
"You want to try it out?" he offered.
Sebastian chuckled. "Maybe next time."
Rangga settled into a chair. "As I said, Thalia's my cousin. Our parents are twins. Mine lives in Germany, but I stayed here. Thalia's unpredictable. Disappears sometimes. But she leaves her energy in those she protects. If something happens, she senses it."
Sebastian nodded slowly. "Impressive."
Then his device buzzed.
New target acquired.
Name: David, code-named "Dragons"
Weight: 65 kg
Height: 168 cm
Age: 20 years old
Skill: Toxic Liquid Weapon
Level: Unidentified
Class: Bio Evolution (Uniq)
Sebastian frowned. "A Unique Class?"
Rangga noticed. "Problem?"
"Yeah," Sebastian replied. "Why hasn't anyone approached this guy before?"
Pandu answered quietly. "Because no one dares."
Sebastian looked up. "Why not?"
Pandu met his eyes. "Because David... isn't just powerful. He's feared, even among the Clusters. And not without reason."
The silence that followed was heavy. Somewhere ahead, danger was waiting — a dragon with secrets of his own.
—
Rangga leaned back, his tone turning somber. "David doesn't pick sides. He's like a force of nature — appears, disappears. One day, he might save you. The next, he'll level an entire warehouse if it threatens the balance."
Sebastian's brows furrowed. "What do you mean by balance?"
Rangga hesitated, then stood and walked to the window. "He's a conservation officer on the surface. But beneath that… there's a story. They say he was born on Komodo Island, carries something called the Crown of the Dragon — some kind of heirloom, or curse, maybe both. It's said to awaken when nature is at risk."
Pandu exchanged a glance with Sebastian. "So he's connected to the islands too."
"Deeply," Rangga said. "Island G, Komodo, even the zones near Kalimantan… he's like a guardian spirit. But get on his bad side?" Rangga shook his head. "You won't get a second warning."
Suddenly, an alert pinged across the room. Rudy's voice buzzed through the comms.
"Heads up, team. New intel. Satellite picked up rapid thermal spikes near Oenrust Island. Could be David. But there's also unusual energy — two signals, one of them unstable."
Pandu stood. "That island is supposed to be sealed off for environmental recovery."
"Then someone's breaking the rules," Sebastian muttered.
Rangga reached into a drawer and tossed a thumb-sized device to Sebastian. "Signal tracker. It'll lock onto Bio Evolution frequencies. Set it to David's class and you'll find him — or whatever's hiding near him."
"Appreciate it," Sebastian said.
"Be careful," Rangga warned. "Thalia's been there before. She felt something ancient, sleeping under that island."
"Let's hope it stays asleep," Pandu replied.
They turned to leave, but Rangga called after them.
"One more thing. If you want David on your side… don't talk. Listen. He won't respond to threats or missions. He'll only act when the island speaks."
—
Outside, as they stepped onto the ferry deck toward Oenrust Island, the wind picked up. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Storm clouds were gathering.
Sebastian adjusted his jacket. "Feels like the storm isn't just weather."
Pandu activated the tracker. It beeped, pointing toward the heart of the island.
"Let's move," he said.
From a distance, a faint roar echoed — not from a lion, not from any known beast.
It was something deeper.
Something awakening.