The climb continued. At that point, Rio was no longer responsive. His eyes darted in every direction, flickering with a restlessness that suggested he was terrified of his surroundings.
The beautiful peak of Mount Lawu eventually welcomed them. Expressions of gratitude escaped their lips repeatedly; Pram and Yono even prostrated in prayer, overwhelmed by the divine beauty before them.
However, Tyas and Bella felt something was amiss. While the "sea of clouds" stretched magnificently before them, the terrain was eerily silent.
The flags fluttered and the wind howled, but Bella sensed a strange void. There wasn't a single soul on the summit besides the five of them. This contradicted what Gibran—a climber they had passed earlier—had told them: that at least ten people were still at the peak.
"Do you feel something's wrong, Bel?" Tyas asked, standing beside her.
"Huh?" Bella replied, blinking.
"What are you daydreaming about? You know Rio is in that condition, and you're still spacing out?" Tyas asked irritably.
Bella scratched the back of her head. Suddenly, the pungent scent of ritual incense struck their senses. Both girls instinctively covered their noses.
The smell was so piercing it made their chests ache with every breath.
A group of people appeared from behind them.
The friends turned around to look. About ten people dressed in ancient Javanese attire were approaching, carrying offerings.
They looked human, led by a man wearing a traditional conical bamboo hat.
Before they could get closer—stopping about five paces away—Pram and Yono locked eyes with the leader.
"Excuse me, Sir, is there something we can help you with?" Pram asked politely.
The man remained silent, his gaze shifting toward Rio, who was sitting slumped against the Lawu gateway.
"That boy took something that belongs to me! That boy must return what is mine!" the man said, his eyes burning with rage at Rio.
Bella swallowed hard. To her eyes, the figures began to shift into faceless entities. Every face vanished except for the leader's.
Her friends, lacking any spiritual sensitivity, saw nothing unusual.
"What is it, Bel?" Tyas asked, feeling Bella grip her hand tightly.
"Tyas, we have to leave now! Enough, this has gone too far!" Bella whispered urgently.
"That girl understands what I am saying! So, Girl, go down now! You and your friends must descend this mountain before dawn!" the man commanded.
He stared intensely at Bella with a cold, expressionless gaze.
Damn it, I'm shivering! Bella cursed inwardly. They locked eyes for a long moment until Tyas shook her shoulder.
"Bel, Bel, Bella!!!" Tyas shouted.
Bella snapped out of her trance just as the procession vanished into thin air. Her friends gasped in disbelief. How could a group of humans disappear so instantly?
"Wait, where did they go?!" Pram exclaimed.
"Bel, what is happening?" Tyas asked, her voice trembling.
Slowly, Bella looked at her companions. Her hands were ice-cold and her skin crawled.
They were high up the mountain, where the veil between dimensions was at its thinnest.
"We have to be down before three in the morning!" Bella told the group.
"But what about Rio?" Pram asked, looking at the boy's empty stare.
Bella looked at Rio with pity. She wanted to help, but her spiritual strength wasn't enough to break whatever hold was on him. The only choice was to follow the entity's warning.
"We aren't leaving him! we will carry him down! We were told we have until three!" Bella insisted.
"But we'll be caught in the twilight, Bel!" Tyas worried. Many climbers feared being on the trail during the transition to night due to the high supernatural activity.
"We push through! We must reach the basecamp before three!" Bella commanded.
There was no more debate. When Bella spoke with such conviction, they trusted her.
Pram and Yono began to carry Rio, whose eyes continued to wander aimlessly throughout the descent.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Cak Dika was sitting with Rachel and Marsya. As they enjoyed their coffee, Dika suddenly went still. One of the spirits following his sister, Bella, had delivered a message.
Dika stood up abruptly, startling Rachel and Marsya. He stared into space, his expression grim.
"We're going to Mount Lawu right now!" Dika announced.
Good grief! Rachel thought. she stood up, looking at Dika with an exhausted expression.
"What now?" Rachel asked.
"Bella is in danger! We have to get there, or she might never come home!" Dika explained.
Bella was family. Hearing this, Rachel stopped arguing; she wanted to help.
"Alright then! Let's go!" Marsya said.
The three of them hurried to Dika's car parked in the yard. The drive to Mount Lawu was long, roughly an hour away. Dika drove fast, his mind racing.
"That girl... I told her not to go climbing mountains! She never listens!" Dika grumbled behind the wheel.
"Bella is just like you, Sister! You're both stubborn!" Marsya added.
"Since when?" Rachel snapped back.
"I'm just telling the truth!" Marsya replied.
Rachel exhaled sharply, refusing to engage further to avoid a heated argument.
She remembered that Mount Lawu was a sacred site. Many climbers had disappeared there. It was the place where King Brawijaya had fled and eventually achieved spiritual liberation.