Cold rain began to patter against the wooden planks of the Gresik pier, mixing with the salty spray of the dark harbor waves. Droplets of water ran down the smooth surface of the golden signet ring held between the assassin's slender fingers. "Where did you get that?" Awan's voice lost all its usual playful warmth, dropping into a low, dangerous register. His hand hovered over the hilt of his hidden blade, his knuckles white with a tension he rarely showed. Slowly, the assassin reached up with her free hand and pulled down her black silk mask. Strands of dark hair fell around her high cheekbones, framing a face that looked terrifyingly familiar. "Look at me, Awan," she said, her voice shaking with an emotion she could not hide. "I am Ratna. Your sister." Awan froze, the world around him fading into a dull roar of wind and crashing waves. Memories he had spent a lifetime burying clawed their way back to the surface of his mind. Her eyes were the exact same shade of deep amber as his own, reflecting the dim orange light of the harbor lanterns. "Sister?" Awan finally spoke, a low, harsh laugh escaping his throat. "I don't have a sister. I don't have a family. Only ghosts." Ratna took a step forward, her hands raised in a desperate gesture of peace. "We had to hide you, Awan. Gajah Wulung's sorcerers were hunting every child of the Sejito bloodline." "So you threw me to the wolves," Awan interrupted, his voice rising in a dangerous, sharp pitch. Anger, hot and volatile, burned away his usual calm, calculating demeanor. "You left a ten-year-old boy to starve in the gutters of a burning city while you fled to safety." "It was the only way to keep the bloodline alive," Ratna pleaded, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "No, it was the easy way," Awan spat, his chest heaving as he stared at her with raw contempt. "I spent years sleeping in mud, eating rats, and fighting in back-alley death matches just to survive." "Now, because Gajah Wulung is at your gates, you come crawling back to the garbage you discarded." "We need you, Awan," Ratna whispered, her posture breaking under the weight of his fury. "Please, the surviving clan elders sent me to bring you home to lead us against his darkness." Awan laughed, a bitter, mocking sound that echoed off the damp warehouse walls. "You didn't want the weak, useless child who couldn't hold a training sword." "But now that I am a master pugilist, a living legend, you want your lost prince back to die for you." Sekar and Banyu watched from behind a stack of shipping crates, their faces pale with shock. Never had they seen the invincible swordsman lose his cool, his charismatic mask completely shattered. Suddenly, a violent tremor shook the entire wooden pier, vibrating through the soles of their boots. Wood splintered and shattered with a deafening roar as a nearby warehouse door exploded outward. Three massive, iron-clad colossi stepped through the ruins, their heavy armor clanking with every step. Iron plates covered them from head to toe, leaving only narrow, glowing red slits for their eyes. Each beast of a man wielded a colossal war hammer, its stone head large enough to crush an ox. "Kill the boy. Bring the girl," the lead colossus rumbled, his voice deep and metallic. Awan's tactical mind kicked in instantly, forcing his personal fury into a tight corner of his brain. "Get behind me!" Awan shouted to Sekar and Banyu, pushing them back toward the edge of the docks. Ratna drew twin silver daggers from her belt, her stance shifting into a defensive crouch. "We fight together, brother," she said, her voice steady despite the monstrous threat. One of the colossi lunged forward, swinging his massive hammer in a wide, devastating arc. Awan ducked beneath the whistling blow, feeling the wind of it graze his hair. He lunged, driving his blade into the gap between the colossus's shoulder and neck armor. Sparks flew as his steel met dark, magically reinforced metal, barely leaving a scratch. "Curse Gajah Wulung's sorcery," Awan muttered, rolling away as another hammer crashed down beside him. Splinters of wood flew into his face, cutting his cheek and drawing a thin line of blood. Ratna leaped onto the back of the second colossus, driving her daggers repeatedly into his helmet seams. Black smoke hissed from the wounds she inflicted, indicating these monsters were barely human anymore. But the emotional turmoil still weighed heavily on Awan, clouding his usually flawless reflexes. He looked over at Ratna, his mind momentarily drifting back to his childhood anger. This tiny lapse in concentration proved dangerous as the third colossus stepped into his blind spot. Awan turned just in time to see a massive shadow looming over him. Wet moss on the wooden deck caused his boot to slip as he tried to leap backward. He fell to one knee, completely exposed as the giant raised his stone-headed hammer for a killing blow. Ratna throws herself in front of a hammer blow meant for Awan, her white silk sarong instantly staining with bright crimson blood.

Chapter 9: The Sister of Ash