Bara felt it before the alarm.
Not a sound.
Not a memory.
Just a pressure, faint and misplaced, blooming behind his eyes like something nudging the inside of his skull to see if he was still listening.
He stood in the middle of the training yard, hands behind his back, watching a Military Heavy platoon run formation drills. Jakarta sagged under a low sky, clouds thick and unmoving, the air dense with humidity and exhaust. Hydraulic actuators hissed in rhythm. Boots struck concrete in clean, disciplined lines.
Everything was normal.
Too normal.
Bara narrowed his eyes, then deliberately relaxed his jaw.
He had learned not to chase every sensation his nervous system produced. Instinct had once saved his life. After retirement, it had nearly eaten him alive. There was a line between awareness and paranoia, and he walked it every day with the care of someone who knew exactly how deep the fall was.
The data slate vibrated against his hip.
Once.
Then again.
Priority red.
He stopped.
The slate unfolded into a thin plane of light, seamless and sharp. No buttons. No weight. GDF had abandoned bulky hardware years ago. The slate responded only to authorization, projecting a tactical map directly into his vision.
#The Sunda Strait pulsed amber.#
#Near Mount Krakatau.#
Near fault lines that had been under pressure longer than any human institution cared to remember.
• MULTIPLE CONTACTS DETECTED
• PHENOMENA ORGANISM: BEHEMOTH-• CLASS STATUS: ACTIVE BREACH
Bara exhaled slowly.
"Anjing," damn, he muttered.
Another overlay slid into place.
#GDF INDONESIA — FULL REGIONAL DEPLOYMENT AUTHORIZED OBJECTIVE: DELAY AND CONTAIN#
Delay.
Not eliminate.
That word never lied.
He closed the slate and turned toward the hangar.
Mobilization hit like muscle memory.
Crates snapped open. Armor plates locked into place with dull metallic clicks. Weapons were checked without conversation. Indonesian GDF had been forged by disaster long before Abyssals ever surfaced. Floods, earthquakes, riots, collapses. Chaos was not an anomaly here. It was a condition.
Military Heavy units moved first.
That was Bara's responsibility.
He walked through the staging area, issuing orders with short phrases and hand signals. No speeches. No dramatics.
"Formasi rapat," tight formation.
"Jangan kejar," don't chase.
"Fokus jalur evakuasi," focus on evacuation routes.
They listened.
Not because of his rank.
Because they knew what he used to be.
On the tactical feed, dark shapes broke the ocean surface.
Too many.
Bara pulled up the bestiary overlay, forcing his thoughts into data instead of memory.
-------------------------------------------------------
#GDF BESTIARY — FIELD IDENTIFICATION#
• PO-BHM-01: Pelagolith tectonica
• Codename: DRIFTMAW
A massive organism with semi-lithic dermal layers. Mineral compounds assimilated from tectonic zones reinforced its body, making its hide behave more like compressed stone than flesh.
• Capabilities:
– Tectonic Wake: Movement generates destabilizing pressure waves through water and ground.
– Subdermal Compression Plates: Reduces kinetic penetration effectiveness.
– Sensory Lattice Nodes: Distributed bio-electrical sensors. Vulnerable under sustained fire.
• Field Note:
Does not rush. Does not flee. Moves as if it knows where it needs to be.
-------------------------------------------------------
• PO-BHM-02: Chondrox serratus
• Codename: RIPSAW
Low-profile Behemoth adapted for shallow seabeds and volcanic sand. Cartilaginous frame reinforced with fibrous bio-metallic deposits.
• Capabilities:
– Rotational Mandibular Array: Serrated jaw assembly designed to shear steel and concrete.
– Burst Locomotion: Short-range explosive movement via spiral muscle contraction.
– Pack-Linked Aggression: Behavioral synchronization among nearby units.
-------------------------------------------------------
• PO-BHM-03: Abyssoclypeus resonans
• Codename: NULLBELL
Semi-amorphous organism with internal resonance cavities.
• Capabilities:
– Resonant Pressure Field: Low-frequency waves disrupt balance and communication.
– Localized Vacuum Draw: Pulls personnel and light vehicles inward.
– Signal Noise Emission: Causes HUD latency and targeting errors.
-------------------------------------------------------
Bara closed the overlay.
This wasn't panic behavior.
It was positioning.
The helicopter thundered low over the strait, rotors carving the humid air into violence. Bara sat strapped in, Military Heavy armor humming quietly around him. Thick plates. Reinforced joints. No elegance. No flight.
Predictable.
He checked his loadout.
HG-9 Viper : sidearm.
SG-12 Breachline : combat shotgun.
AR-17 Sentinel : assault rifle.
Ammunition was lighter than standard.
AP. HE. Thermite. Buckshot.
He had left the rest behind.
Mount Krakatau sat on a megathrust. Excessive force here wasn't bravery. It was stupidity.
Across from him sat the helicopter crew.
Nathan and Samuel.
Identical faces, identical eyes. Completely different energy.
Nathan sat rigid, eyes fixed on the tactical feed projected across the cockpit glass. His jaw was set, fingers moving through checklists even as the helicopter vibrated.
Samuel leaned back in his harness, helmet tilted slightly, eyes flicking between the window and the chaos below.
"Masih inget kita?" you still remember us? Samuel asked lightly, forcing a grin.
Bara nodded.
"Inget," I remember, he said.
Nathan didn't smile. "Jalur evakuasi masih aktif," evacuation routes are still holding, he said flatly. "Kalau pola ini konsisten, kita punya enam belas menit sebelum overload." If this patern keeps going, we only have 16 minutes left before overload
Samuel snorted. "Santai aja," relax, he said. "Masih bisa diatur." it's still under controlled
Nathan shot him a look. "Ini bukan latihan," this isn't a drill.
Samuel shrugged. "Justru itu." Thats the point
The helicopter banked.
Below them, DRIFTMAW breached partially, its immense mass forcing the sea aside. Waves slammed into reinforced barriers. Sirens wailed along the coastline.
Boots hit wet concrete.
"Kontak depan!" frontal contact!
AR-17 rifles barked. AP rounds struck Behemoth hide, not killing, but redirecting. This was GDF doctrine.
Buy time.
A RIPSAW erupted from shattered pavement, mandibular array spinning up with a grinding shriek.
Samuel was already moving.
"Masih ada warga!" there are still civilians!
"Nathan, tahan heli!" hold the chopper! he shouted, already sprinting.
"Samuel, kembali!" get back! Nathan snapped. "Itu bukan bagian misi!" that's not our mission
Samuel didn't slow. "Kalau gue lihat mereka, itu udah jadi misi," If I can see them, it's already the mission.
The RIPSAW hit first.
It slammed into a damaged evacuation helicopter, mandibular array locking onto the landing strut. Metal screamed. Samuel was thrown hard, pinned between debris and shadow.
The sound he made didn't finish becoming a word.
Bara moved.
SG-12 up.
Two shots.
Buckshot.
Not center mass.
Joint membranes.
The spread tore into exposed connective tissue between the rotating serrated plates. RIPSAW spasmed, its grip loosening for a fraction of a second.
Enough.
Bara charged.
No hesitation.
No distance.
He slammed into the Behemoth's flank, Military Heavy armor absorbing the impact. He rolled, came up inside its blind zone.
Shotgun empty.
He threw it aside.
The VB-K7 Vibroblade ignited in his hand, a low, violent hum.
"JANGAN LIHAT," don't look, he shouted.
The RIPSAW turned.
Mandibular array swept toward him.
And something inside Bara answered.
Not a voice.
A pull.
Gen-1 instinct.
He stepped into the swing, blade driving into a sensory lattice node. The vibroblade screamed as it cut, vibrations tearing through tissue that resisted like living rubber.
Black fluid sprayed across his visor.
He didn't stop.
He twisted.
Ripped.
The Behemoth convulsed.
One round left.
Bara grabbed the SG-12, pressed the muzzle into the exposed cavity.
HE-slug.
The detonation was ugly and contained.
RIPSAW collapsed.
Bara dropped to one knee, breathing hard.
Three seconds passed.
Then he stood.
He turned to Samuel.
"Lu masih hidup?" you alive? he asked.
Samuel nodded, shaking. "Hidup," alive, he said, trying and failing to smile.
Nathan stood frozen near the helicopter, eyes locked on Bara. Not fear.
Recognition.
Nearby, a civilian lowered a trembling hand.
The camera shook. The focus broke.
Someone whispered a name without knowing why.
The footage would later be mislabeled, cropped, reposted, and dissected.
But the first version captured everything.
The way the monster hesitated.
And the way the man didn't.
Hours later, the footage replayed in a GDF command room.
Codename YUDHISTIRA, head of GDF Indonesia, watched in silence.
"Dia masih hidup," he's still alive, he said.
No one spoke.
"Asura masih hidup." Asura's alive.
Back at the forward base, Bara sat alone, armor half-removed, staring at his hands.
They were steady.
That bothered him more than shaking ever had.
His data slate pulsed.
#PROTOCOL: MYTHOS — AUTHORIZED CLEARANCE#
Bara looked at it.
He already knew what it meant.
Reactivation.
Recall.
No refusal.
He locked the slate and leaned back.
"Bodo amat," whatever, he muttered.
Outside, the sea was quiet again.
For now.