ADJOINING REALM
MUDHOLES

After the healer left the treatment room, the King approached Darto and Jaka as they were chatting. Without a word he waved his right hand from the front of the door, then turned back and stepped away.

Darto and Jaka immediately stood up from their sitting positions. They immediately stepped in haste to follow the direction of the King's steps.

The king continued to walk without giving direction, Darto and Jaka could only follow in his footsteps without asking. They continued to advance, towards the royal backyard that was still filled with an unusually large tree grove.

They continued to enter the forest without speaking, until finally the King stopped his footsteps while pointing to a waterhole located under the cliff.

There are water droplets that continue to drip between the large roots that penetrate the cliff, from the droplets formed an abstract-shaped puddle but lead to a slightly oval shape.

"Now each one of you must drink the water first" said Raja as he turned to Darto and Jaka, he asked in a slightly pushy tone.

Darto and Jaka immediately sweated, they still remembered the water given by the owner of the hut before doing the test. They were both afraid, if after drinking they would again feel such terrible pain, the same as the last time they felt.

"Why? Do you know what water is?" asked the King when he saw the two men in front of him put on a pale face.

Darto and Jaka immediately shook their heads, they pretended even though it seemed very clear if they were covering something up. The king even scrunched his forehead, after seeing the behavior of the two men in front of him, who looked so strange in his eyes.

"It looks like there's something strange about you guys, what are you really afraid of?" the King continued after not getting an answer from the lips of the two men in front of him.

"I was just scared because the water looked so black" Darto said, trying to create an excuse. While Jaka can only nod to strengthen the reason that Darto uttered.

"You see people slashed in front of your eyes are not afraid, but see the black colored water instantly shriek, ha ha ha ha ha! Look at this, I also drank this water a long time ago, and now it is time for me to drink again" said the King then scooped up water in a puddle, he immediately took a sip of the water stuck in his palm, then turned to Darto and Jaka as he said, "Nothing happened, right?"

After seeing no reaction to the King, Darto and Jaka gradually approached the water then scooped as best as they could then sip the water that was on their palms hesitantly.

Nothing happened after the first gulp went through the throats of Darto and Jaka, but something suddenly shocked them both when it entered the second gulp.

A memory from the previous kings flowed into their brains, and instantly they immediately felt an overwhelming dizzy, feeling like their heads were about to break at that very instant.

Darto and Jaka rolled on the ground, they groaned in pain for quite a long time. Almost half an hour of time was needed, for the dizziness in their heads to subside.

After the dizziness dissipated, the two of them immediately squatted down with tears in their eyes, after seeing a single piece of new memory that was very clear in their minds. They saw how the kingdom was formed, from the original two people to thousands of members.

A process that is truly not worth witnessing, yet must be seen by one who is worthy of being the next King. The water is water that can channel memories, after the founder of the kingdom made a pact with the next creature. The predecessor king requested that his memory be shared with his successors, in return for the bloodshed the King gave.

From that memory, Darto and Jaka immediately knew. The truth about the election competition of the King, in fact, is only a place of slaughter, which aims to pay the rewards, from a treaty made by the King's predecessor.

"You both graduated, for now let me sort out who will be the next king," said the King while looking at Darto and Jaka alternately, "You don't matter, right?" again, this time he asked Darto.

"No problem, as long as we are not asked to kill each other again" said Darto as he wiped the water on his cheek.

"You won't fight anymore, this time I will choose after one of you can finish what I haven't done yet" he replied, staring intently at Darto's eyes.

"Do what?" tanya Darto was brief.

"Just walk north, take all the remaining fighters, and return with the heads of the old men who recently made the kingdom. He challenged blatantly, by creating a new kingdom, even right next to my territory," said the King with a furious face.

Darto and Jaka can only swallow, after knowing the duty of the King is to kill humans. Given that even in the middle of the competition, the two of them did not kill a single man on purpose, even though there were countless powerful men intent on killing them.

Seeing Darto and Jaka confused, the King again said, "This time I will come, I do not want to miss the precious momentum when the wings of Sendang Langit widened."

Darto and Jaka were even more depressed when they heard the King's words. Inevitably they must obey to do his word, so that they can complete the test that is not for what.

For a moment Darto looked at Jaka who was still down, and when Jaka turned to look at Darto, he immediately got a nod from his face-to-face opponent. Finally they nodded simultaneously towards the King, so the King immediately invited them to return to the palace. On his return, the King led the way home with a grinning smile plastered on his face.

A savage expression was instantly present on the King's face, he grinned with very obvious sadistic eyes. While Darto and Jaka, they continue to try to throw the feeling of doubt in their hearts, considering this is not the time.

After returning to the palace, the king gave a room containing two cots. He gave a special room to Darto and Jaka. Before he left Darto and Jaka, he said, "You better go to bed early, tomorrow morning we'll leave."

Darto and Jaka could only nod, then let the King away from their bedroom door. After the King was no longer seen, Darto rushed to close the door of his room.

"Jaka .. it is true that this is just a test, without us killing even all the people who live in this time must have died. But ... are you ready to endure such a cruel memory? Maybe the memory will you bring to our world later," asked Darto while laying down his body. He asked while looking at the ceiling of the room without looking at Jaka.

"So don't want to, Kang," replied Jaka briefly then lowered his head.

"Here I'm the old one, Jak. If indeed one must kill for both of us to return, let me bear the guilt of my entire life later" said Darto as he stood up from his sleep, he sat down and threw a bitter smile at Jaka.

Jaka who heard that was completely moved. He could not answer in words, only a clear circle flowing in the corner of his eye, which could explain how much guilt and gratitude he had for the man in front of him.

Darto, who saw Jaka's tears begin to fall from his chin, immediately felt a little relieved. After seeing the tragedy of the bloody fight with his own eyes, not many people were still able to maintain his sanity. Fortunately Jaka looks fine, not only his sanity, even his conscience is still intact as ever.

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