When Alkan entered the portal, the surrounding he left behind changed. The vast clearing was replaced by tall grasses. Trees had grown on both sides. The path that Alkan followed earlier had disappeared.

  To the eyes of an ordinary person, the heart of the forest, where the portal was located, could no longer be found. Only the beings who lived in the Tribal could see the portal, like Gio, who was now in the air, observing it.

  He shook his head. The portal would only disappear when two descendants crossed through it. And when Alkan crossed, the prophecy about the portal had come true.

  It would never be visible again to ordinary people. Gio didn't waste time and entered it.

  Meanwhile, Alkan froze in place as he stepped through the portal. It had brought him to a dark place. There were no people, but he could feel many eyes watching him in the dark.

  His hair stood on end. He didn’t waste any time and quickly moved forward.

  It was a vast, dark place. There were houses in the distance, but none had lights. It felt like he had gone back to a time before electricity.

  He didn’t know where in the Tribal the portal had brought him. The last time he visited the Tribal, it was a bright place and sparkling with diamonds. This was not like that—it felt like it had been left behind by time.

  "Young man," called a voice from behind him.

  When he turned, he saw a man, a few years older than him. The man wore a cloak made of thin metal. He held a bolo and had a thick mustache.

  "Who are you?" the man asked. He looked at him from head to toe with a furrowed brow. "Are you new here?"

  Alkan swallowed and nodded. "What place is this?"

  The man stared at him for a few seconds before grinning. "What’s your alliance, young man?"

  "Alliance?"

  "Yes, alliance." The man touched his mustache and played with it. "You look clean and smell good. You don’t seem to belong to my tribe, so I know you're not from here. It’s no problem if you're not from here, but..." His eyes narrowed, and he looked at his neck. "You must be allied with the Black Wing Tribe. If you’re allied with the White Wing Tribe, young man..." He grinned widely. "I’ll skin you alive!"

  Alkan was stunned when he heard his words. The smile on the man’s lips wasn’t a real smile, and he knew the man was serious. He would indeed skin him alive if he were an ally of the White Wing Tribe.

  Does that mean he's in the territory of the Black Wing Tribe?

  Alkan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at his situation. He never expected the portal to throw him into the enemy’s territory. Suddenly, he felt regret. Why had he suddenly charged into the enemy's camp?

  "Well? No answer?" The man raised an eyebrow. "You must be allied with the White Wing Tribe."

  He quickly shook his head, but no words came out. He couldn’t say that he was allied with Gio's tribe, but it was his tribe that introduced him to the Tribal.

  The man furrowed his brow and looked at him from head to toe again. His gaze shifted behind him. "Never mind, as long as you're not allied with the White Wing Tribe, you can stay here. If you don’t have a place to stay, go to the center of this town. You’ll find a big factory. Look for a man named Tayon. He'll get you a job there."

  Then the man turned around and began walking away. For a few seconds, Alkan stood frozen in tension, and when the man was out of sight, he let out a relieved breath. Earlier, the man had looked behind him. Because of that, he offered him a job. Alkan turned to look behind him and nearly collapsed in shock.

  The shadow inside him had left his body earlier and had taken the form of a person. It stood behind him and locked eyes with him.

  The shadow had a face. He couldn’t tell if he had seen that face before or not. The manifested shadow wore a black jacket and black pants. At first glance, it looked like a normal person—except for its completely black eyes.

  The shadow looked at him, and he couldn’t handle the fear any longer. He dropped to the dry, dusty ground, mouth agape, and looked up at the shadow.

  This shadow was the same shadow that killed his family.

  It grinned at him. "Are you scared?"

  His muscles went limp, and his teeth chattered. How... how did the shadow that had been following him for the past four years become a person?

  The shadow lowered its gaze to its hand and smiled wider. "It feels so good to be back in the homeland. Doesn’t it, Alkan?"

  "W-Who are you?" he asked, clenching his fist to ease the coldness in his body.

  "Don’t you recognize me?" The shadow laughed softly. "We’ve been friends for years. Don’t you recognize your friend Estong?"

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  "Estong?" His eyes widened. "Impossible," he whispered while studying the shadow’s face.

  As he stared at it, his eyes grew wider as he realized something. That was Estong’s face!

  He suddenly stood up and glared at the shadow. "Estong? Is that you?"

  The shadow laughed. "I’m not Estong. I just lived in his body for a few years."

  The shadow took a step back. Alkan blinked in confusion. He was confused by what the shadow had said, and when he saw it moving further away, he ran after it.

  In a place he didn’t know, it was better to follow the shadow that had been with him for the past few years. Even though he didn’t trust it, it was better to have someone he's familiar with, than to wander in a place that was new to him.

  Even if this shadow was the reason of his family's bad luck.

  "Estong!" he called. He suddenly became out of breath. He hadn’t realized the shadow could walk so fast.

  The shadow stopped and turned to face him. It raised an eyebrow. "Hurry up!" it said irritably.

  He was taken aback by its words. Why did it feel like the shadow was scolding him?

  He didn’t ask any more questions and hurried his steps. They walked together toward an unknown destination. Occasionally, Alkan glanced at the shadow. Its aura had changed. It now carried a mysterious aura that was familiar to him—the aura of the shadow that had followed him for the past four years.

  He couldn’t hold it in any longer. He coughed and asked, "How... uh, what happened? Why did you become a shadow?"

  For a few seconds, the shadow didn’t answer. It wasn’t until they passed the houses and reached a vast grassy area that it finally spoke.

  "Nena had once consulted a witch. According to the witch, she and her husband would have children. What Nena didn’t know was that she gave birth to two children. One was light, and the other was darkness. The Estong who grew up with Nena was the light. While the darkness remained inside Estong."

  Alkan thought about what it said. "Does that mean you’ve been inside Estong all along?"

  The shadow nodded. "When Nena met Surikong, he gave her a mirror. That mirror was the first step for me to escape Estong’s body. Sometimes, I would take over Estong’s body without him knowing." It grinned widely.

  Alkan’s muscles shivered at its smile, but he forced himself to calm down. "Were you the one who... who made Estong kill someone?"

  The shadow blinked and laughed. "Yes, that was me. No one around us knew. Even Estong didn’t know why he suddenly lost control that time. When he went into the forest, he met Surikong. There, Surikong trapped the real Estong and released me from his body. I took over his body using Surikong’s power, and I went back to Nena’s house and introduced myself as Ambong."

  "Ambong..." Alkan’s eyes widened. "You’re Ambong?!"

  The shadow just grinned. "At first, Nena believed me, but my deception wore off because of Rowena." The shadow’s eyes narrowed. "That beautiful woman... I’ll never forget the woman who ruined my plans. They got help from God, and I had no chance against His power." It exhaled. "But it doesn’t matter. Nena and Rowena are gone from San Roque. I’ll never see them again. And I’m glad you came to the Tribal. This is my true home." The shadow laughed.

  Alkan fell silent, reflecting on what it had said. Help from God? Was that why there was fire surrounding Nena and Rowena back then?

  "Stop thinking about unnecessary things," the shadow warned. "You’re not like those normal people. So don’t dream anymore because I’ll always be in your body."

  His brows furrowed. "Why me?"

  "Because of Surikong." The shadow grinned. "Do you remember when you visited Surikong’s shop? You, Yalke, and Estong? Surikong gave you an incantation, a permission for me to live in your bodies without him knowing. At first, I chose Yalke, but I didn’t like his body. So I moved into yours after finding Estong’s body in the forest."

  "Surikong... What’s your relationship with that witch?"

  "He’s part of the witch tribe. All those who consult him and buy from him pay a price. Sometimes it’s a body, like Nena’s, but most of the time, it’s a soul, like Nena’s husband and Estong’s."

  Alkan stopped walking and stared at the shadow. "What did you say?"

  Ambong laughed when he saw his expression. "A body. Ever since Nena consulted a fortune teller, she made a contract with Surikong. From Nena's body, Surikong’s child will be born, and from the soul of Nena's husband, the soul of Surikong's child will be formed. And using Estong’s soul, Surikong’s child will break free from imprisonment."

  "And you’re that child..." He mumbled in realization.

  Ambong nodded and grinned. Alkan frowned and asked, "Who is Surikong? Why..?"

  "Surikong?" An emotion passed through Ambong’s dark eyes. "He is the king of witches."