6. The Clash of Great Energies

Casildo furrowed his brows upon hearing Kairav's response, clearly reluctant to accept the reality before him. "That's strange," he murmured, puzzled.

"I can't see yours, and you can't see mine... As fellow Astral Conjurers, we should be able to see each other's animal spirits..." He rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

Meanwhile, Kairav remained silent, his mind struggling to process everything Casildo had just said.

That was until Casildo suddenly leaned in and whispered something that immediately snapped him out of his daze. "Be honest. Are you a failed product of your parents...?" he teased, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

Kairav's eyes widened in an instant, a sharp flash of irritation evident in his gaze. "Shut your mouth!"

Casildo rolled his eyes. "Bro, why are you acting like a rabid dog? I was just joking!" he said, waving his hand dismissively.

Kairav pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "The unicorn that your so-called animal spirit sees... what does it look like?" he asked quietly.

"Obviously, like any other unicorn. White with a horn... Wait..." Casildo abruptly stopped speaking, his brows knitting together as he glanced over his shoulder.

He seemed to be listening to something—something unseen, standing behind him. "Why is his horn gold? Shouldn't it be silver?" he muttered, confusion evident in his expression.

Kairav, now faced with yet another unexpected revelation, was once again struck speechless. He was stunned for the second time, unable to grasp the image of the unicorn that he couldn't see.

Casildo crossed his arms, scrutinizing Kairav from head to toe as if searching for abnormalities. "Seriously though. Have you really never seen your spirit unicorn before?" he asked, wanting to be sure.

Kairav's silence gave him the answer he needed. With a long sigh, Casildo continued, "If you really are the host of a unicorn spirit, then you must be from the Pure-Hearted Clan..."

The moment he uttered those words, his face twisted in even deeper confusion. "But that clan was supposed to have gone extinct centuries ago..."

Kairav, completely unaware of such things, grew even more bewildered. 

However, he forced himself to remain calm. "Pure-Hearted Clan? What is that?" he asked. "And about the Astral Conjurers you mentioned earlier—what exactly are they?"

"Astral Conjurers are individuals who can control animal spirits and harness the elements of the universe," Casildo explained. 

"And the Pure-Hearted Clan refers to Astral Conjurers with unicorn blood, direct descendants of the Eternalush Kingdom—"

"Kairav! Kairav! Where are you?!"

Hearing his name being called from afar, Kairav instinctively turned around.

Spotting the flicker of flashlight beams in the distance, he immediately waved his arms. "Guys! I'm over here!" he shouted.

"There he is!" a voice called out.

Moments later, his expedition teammates came running toward him, panting heavily, their faces filled with both panic and frustration.

Without a word, Gavin smacked Kairav on the head, his annoyance clear. "You bastard!"

"What the hell?!" Kairav snapped, rubbing the back of his head where the blow had landed.

"You idiot! Why did you suddenly scream and disappear?! We've been searching everywhere for you!" Gavin fumed.

Kairav was about to hurl insults back, but before he could, another teammate cut in, looking curious. "Kairav, did you see the Uhang Pandak just now? We heard you scream..."

The rest of the group fell silent, waiting for his response with serious expressions. 

Kairav nodded excitedly. "I did! But more than that, I saw something even more amazing! Look, he—"

His expression froze mid-sentence as he turned around, pointing to an empty space. "Eh... Where did he go?" he muttered, blinking.

His teammates exchanged confused glances.

Baron furrowed his brows. "Who are you looking for?"

Realization struck Kairav like a bolt of lightning. "Damn it! That guy ran off!"

He was about to chase after the mysterious man, but before he could move, Gavin grabbed his arm, baffled by his behavior. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he demanded.

Kairav pointed at a massive rock nearby, speaking in rapid-fire sentences. "See that rock? There was a guy who walked out of it! He told me all these crazy things—about unicorn spirit animals, some ancient clan, and something called Astral Conjurers! Even—"

His rant was abruptly cut short when Gavin turned to the local guide and asked, "Sir, is there a legend saying people go insane after encountering the Uhang Pandak?"

"I'M NOT CRAZY!!!"

***

One Day Later

Late at night, beneath the stormy sky, a plane soared through the turbulent darkness. Lightning streaked across the horizon, illuminating the aircraft that trembled violently amidst the howling winds.

The relentless turbulence shook the plane, rousing passengers from their sleep one by one. An air of unease filled the cabin.

One of those passengers was Kairav Pikatan.

Drowsily, he gazed out the window at the endless ocean below, but his thoughts were elsewhere—lingering on the events of the previous day, replaying the strange encounter over and over in his mind.

His quiet contemplation was interrupted by the sound of a grumbling voice beside him.

"Damn it... I got on a plane, not a boat, so why does it feel like I'm being tossed around on a stormy sea?"

The voice was unmistakably familiar. Kairav furrowed his brows, instinctively turning his head.

When the man beside him lowered the magazine covering his face, Kairav's eyes widened in shock. "You!!"

The other man's reaction was just as dramatic. His eyes widened as he blurted out, "Failed product of your parents! Why the hell are you here?!"

"You lunatic! I should be asking you that!" Kairav seethed. "Why did you run off and make me look like an idiot?!"

Casildo waved him off dramatically. "Sorry, but a warrior like me has important duties to attend to."

Kairav was in no mood for his nonsense. "You still owe me a lot of explanations!" he demanded. "Astral Conjurers! The Pure-Hearted Clan—"

"Tsk! Forget about that for now," Casildo interjected. "Don't you see the much bigger problem right in front of us?!"

Kairav frowned. "What problem? The turbulence?"

It was the only issue that made sense to him at the moment. The plane continued to shake violently, and flight attendants were already scrambling to reassure the frightened passengers.

Casildo exhaled sharply, clearly exasperated. "Oh, right. I forgot that you're blind," he said mockingly.

Kairav clenched his fists. "I swear, I'm being generous right now by not knocking your teeth out!"

With a long sigh, Casildo pointed out the window. "Beyond the storm, in the dark sky, I see two animal spirits locked in a fierce battle. A dragon serpent... and a tiger."

Kairav's breath hitched. In Casildo's vision, the raging storm was not the only thing tearing through the night. The skies were being ravaged by an even greater force—an explosive clash of immense energies, unleashed in a devastating battle between two formidable animal spirits.