NO FORGIVENESS FOR YOU

Chapter #7 - Flower of Split Lotus

Zakil was shocked. His wet fingers gripped the coca rosary tightly. In his newly opened realm of inner vision, the sky above the horizon of Kampung Kepala Liputra was no longer a bright blue.

It was covered with thick black clouds that swirled violently, bringing with them thousands of ugly winged shadows flying towards their mountain. The creaking and roaring of the black clouds were very disturbing, even though in real life the forest seemed quiet.

"Knock...knock, the demon army is coming. What are we going to do? We have no magic weapons. There are only the three of us!" Zakil's voice rose, filled with the anxiety of a dead man in Zaqur's eyes.

Tok Kelinga did not spread. The blind old man walked calmly towards Zakil with his bamboo flute tucked neatly around his waist. His old, moving hand was placed right on Zakil's chest, right on the young man's heart that was beating fast like the hammer of a war drum.

"Bring it, Zakil. Istighfar. Take a breath and say the name of Allah," Tok Kelinga instructed, his voice level but with the firmness of a father.

"What you see is not a magical power created by humans. It is only jinn, ifrit, and devils from the unseen dark world. Things that have existed around us since the time of Prophet Adam (a.s.). Allah has covered our naked eyes as a mercy so that we do not go crazy seeing their true appearance."

Zakil swallowed, trying to control his breath.

"But Tok... they are too busy. Bomoh Guruh sent an army of jinn to destroy us."

Tok Kelinga smiled thinly, shaking his head slowly.

"Zakil, listen carefully. Open your heart's ears. Never be fooled by movie tricks or coffee shop fairy tales. In the path of Islamic wisdom, there is no such thing as a 'magic weapon' or 'invincible knowledge' or ‘goddess magic’ that can support the sky. Absolute power, from the largest in the sky to the smallest particle, belongs only to Allah S.W.T."

The old man removed his hand from Zakil's chest, then pointed his finger towards the sky which (in Zakil's inner view) was filled with black clouds.

"Kiwaii Gussur is a slave of lust, he uses the infidel jinn through blood worship. He thinks he has power. Basically, he is only deceiving himself. Magic and jinn are weak in nature, Zakil. Allah says in Surah An-Nisa, 'Indeed, the tricks of Satan or any devils are weak'. They are only strong if the human heart is filled with shirk, fear and anxiety. If you are afraid of that black cloud, it means you have made Satan more powerful than God! Those subtle seeds of shirk, Zakil!”

Tok Kelinga's sharp rebuke touched Zakil's heart. It was as if he was removing all the paranoia that was still in him. It was true, all this time he had been too afraid of magic, as if magic had free power comparable to God.

"After that, Master... how will we survive tonight?" Faqur groaned. The young warrior was tying a piece of cloth around his head. Although he did not see the black clouds, his inner senses could begin to smell the very rancid smell of camphor and sulfur carried by the mountain wind.

"We are building a fortress. Not a fortress of wood or stone, but a fortress of Tauhid," Tok Kelinga answered slowly. The old man looked up at the sky, feeling the warmth of the sun's light that was increasingly leaning to the west.

"Asr time is almost over. Go perform ablution at Lake Kautsar. Cleanse your body and soul from impurities. While we take care of our ablution, the angels of mercy will protect our bodies. Go now!"

Zakil and Faqur got along without arguing. The frozen water of the mountain pool was used to perform ablution. As soon as the ablution water touched Zakil's face, arms and legs, he could feel a strange shield of calm enveloping his body. His mental vision of the black clouds in the distance did not disappear, but his fear of the shadows completely disappeared, replaced by a unified faith.

Towards dusk, as the sun set on the western horizon and the Malayan sky turned a deep red, the three of them performed the obligatory Maghrib solemn prayer in congregation on a field covered with banana leaves. Tok Kelinga led the prayer.

The recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah and Surah Al-Baqarah from Tok Kelinga's lips is very melodious, sharp and heart-piercing.

It is not just a recitation on the lips, it is a spiritual echo that vibrates in unity with the nature around us. In Zakil's mind, every time this verse is recited, a very bright wave of white light radiates out from Tok Kelinga's chest, forming a giant magical dome that covers the entire field and old hut.

After a long prayer, wazifah and solat prayer, night finally closes its curtain completely. Absolute darkness envelops the Laputra Forbidden Forest around them. Only a small bonfire lit by Faqur using dry wood as a source of Zahir light.

Tok Kelinga sits cross-legged on a flat rock, the prayer beads in his hands spinning endlessly. He immediately does not hold any weapons.

"Faqur, tonight you are the outer shield. Thunder magic is not just about expelling jinn. These infidel jinn are cunning; if they fail to penetrate the fortress of the verses of the Quran, they will possess wild animals in the Laputra Forbidden Forest to attack them physically.

You are a hero, use your machete to defend the physical boundary. Remember, recite Bismillah before each swing. Make it an act of worship." Tok Kelinga instructed.

Faqur nodded in understanding. He took out his machete. The white iron blade gleamed in the light of the campfire. He stood tall on the edge of the field, on the border between the green grass and the darkness of the wilderness. His eyes were sharp, his hearing was honed to the maximum.

"Zakil, your task tonight is the inner eyes and ears. Faqur cannot see pure supernatural entities. You see where the black energy gathers. Tell Faqur in which direction the possessed animals will come out. And most importantly continue to recite Ayatul Kursi and dhikir without stopping. If your heart is careless for a moment, our light dome fortress will be empty." Tok Kelinga's order to Zakil as well.

"Okay, Tok. I understand," Zakil grasped his prayer beads. He stood next to Tok Kelinga, closing his rough eyes, and fully opening his inner vision.

As soon as Isyak took his time, the weather on the mountaintop suddenly changed. A typhoon suddenly blew hard, slapping the surrounding trees until it sounded like a loud whistle. Their campfire almost went out. The temperature dropped suddenly, causing their breath to emit white steam.

The smell of fresh blood and animal dung permeated the air.

In Zakil's mind, the scene was terrifying. The dome of white light that had been created by their prayers and dhikr was now surrounded by thousands of demonic shadows. Their appearance was very diverse, some had the heads of dogs with three eyes, some resembled giant bats with ugly human faces, some were like thick black smoke with fangs and some cats with three eyes. They hissed, roared, and clawed at the dome of white light from the outside, trying to penetrate it. However, every time their claws or magical bodies came into contact with the dome of dhikir, their bodies burned to dust while they screamed in pain.

"The great power of Allah's word..." Zakil whispered to himself, tears welling up in his eyes at the sight of God's true protection for him. He continued to speed up the rotation of his prayer beads. Allahu la ilaha illa Huwa...Allahu la ilaha illa Huwa…

However, Tok Kelinga's words proved to be true. This devil was very cunning. When they realized they could not penetrate the spiritual fortress directly, the dark forces began to plunge down to the forest floor below.

Suddenly, the ground around the forest border began to shake. The sound of branches breaking violently and the roaring of wild animals could be heard from the four dark corners.

Zakil opened his eyes, focusing his inner gaze towards the dark forest to Faqur's left. He saw three thick plumes of black smoke had seeped into the physical bodies of the forest animals.

"Faqur! Left! Nine o'clock! Three wild boars have been witched!" Zakil shouted, acting as a radar.

As soon as the warning was given, three giant wild boars with glowing red eyes appeared from behind the bushes, stabbing straight at Faqur with the intention of tearing the young man's stomach.

Faqur was undaunted. He rode the Eagle Facing the Wind.

"Allah is Great!" Faqur roared. With the calmness of a hero, Faqur dodged the first boar's thrust to the side, and used the back of his machete to strike right into the animal's spine. Krakk! The first boar fell. The second and third boars pounced simultaneously. Faqur jumped low, unleashed a s***h that severed the veins in the second boar's leg, and kicked the third boar's jaw with all his inner strength.

The wild animal died in the water. In Zakil's mind, he saw the black smoke (jinn) that possessed the animal flying out of the corpse, trying to escape but was immediately struck by the light of their warning dome.

"Behind you, Faqur! Six o'clock! Tiger twig!" Zakil roared again without stopping.

The physical battle continued for over an hour. Faqur fought desperately to fend off attacks from various wild animals, from wild boars, wild dogs, to pythons the size of logs, all of which had been possessed by Gussur's pet jinn solely to break the physical fortress.

Animal blood soaked the edge of the field, Faqur's machete smoked, and the warrior's breathing began to become shallow due to exhaustion. Despite his high knowledge, his body was still that of an ordinary human with limitations.

Kiwaii Gussur, who was meditating to guard his troops from afar at the Laputra Senggara Village Head, realized this weakness. He summoned the greatest jinn commander.

Suddenly, the hurricane stopped immediately. A very heavy and suffocating silence enveloped him. The forest seemed to die. Faqur's campfire completely went out, leaving them in pitch darkness illuminated only by the light of the stars.

Zakil gasped. In his vision, an enormous entity, the size of a hundred-year-old log, descended from the sky and stepped onto the earth right in front of the border of their dome. He was an Ifrit, an ancient pagan jinn with curved horns, a body of black smokeless fire, and eyes the size of craters.

The dome of white light, which had been invulnerable until now, began to shake violently and crack slightly as the giant Ifrit placed both of his fiery hands on the dome. The temperature on the mountaintop turned to scorching heat like that of a cliff.

"Give me those servants, you blind Kelinga. Otherwise, I will tear up this land and bury you alive." Ifrit's voice continued to echo in the minds of the three of them, the sound like the roar of an earthquake that could shatter eardrums.

Zakil began to shiver. The words on his lips were almost lost due to the wave of fear that Ifrit was trying to emit. Faqur also retreated, his machete was immediately useless against the giant supernatural creature.

When the light dome of remembrance was about to crack, Tok Kelinga, who was just sitting there chanting, slowly got up. He stood up straight, adjusting his worn-out hat. His old face was calm, immediately unaffected by the hot air of Ifrit.

"A person who believes in monotheism will never bow to the fire created by God, O enemy of Allah," Tok Kelinga said in a familiar tone of voice, but he was breaking into the supernatural realm.

Tok Kelinga did not recite any long spells. He did not use any magic silat moves. He simply stood facing the Qibla. He raised both hands to ear level.

And in the dark middle of the night, in front of the giant Ifrit who was raging and trying to destroy them, Tok Kelinga chanted the Azan.

"Allah is Great, Allah is Great!"

The old blind man's call to prayer was not as loud as a loudspeaker, but its frequency in the inner world was very strong. As soon as the first takbir was shouted, it was like a giant light bomb exploding on the mountaintop.

In the inner world, Zakil had to close his eyes because he could not bear to see the very white and pure light of monotheism emanating from Tok Kelinga's body.

"Ash-hadu alla ilaha illallah..." The Shahadah echoed. The giant Ifrit let out a terrible roar of torment. The black fire in his body was forcibly cooled. His hands that pressed their dome of light began to melt and shatter like candles placed on red-hot iron. The ancient Ifrit tried to cover his ears, struggling backwards but the echo of the call to prayer tore apart every particle of the unseen in his body.

The other small jinn army in the air that had surrounded them, wandering around like flies sprayed with poison, disappeared into the darkness of the night because they could not hear the call to the majesty of the Almighty.

When Tok Kelinga finished reciting La ilaha illallah, the night was quiet again. The giant Ifrit had become dust blown by the wind. The black clouds on the western horizon parted, allowing the light of the full moon to shine again on the surface of the whole Land of Malaya.

Zakil fell to his knees, sobbing. Not because he was afraid, but because he was moved and amazed by the majesty of the Islamic message. With just ablution, prayer, faith and the call to prayer, the seemingly invincible army of jinn was destroyed in the blink of an eye.

Faqur released his machete, scratched his face while saying Alhamdulillah repeatedly.

Tok Kelinga became dizzy, and sat back on the rock. He smiled softly, his breathing a little shallow.

"Thank God... tonight we were saved by the grace of God. The unseen fortress of Gussur has been destroyed," Tok Kelinga said slowly looking towards the Head of Laputra Senggara Village at the foot of the mountain.

"But Zakil, Faqur don't get too excited early. The jinn attack was just a preview of the enemy. Now, Gussur knows the exact coordinates of our hut in the Laputra Forbidden Forest.

Tomorrow morning, he will not send any more demons or wild animals. He will come alone with hundreds of his human followers who have been possessed by the magic of the Flower of Split Lotus. Prepare for a real blood war." Tok Kelinga took a deep breath.

To be continued….