Alfin and Rai began a ritual of fasting and meditation under the guidance of Dukun Rosso. Their goal: to see their own khodams.
With Rosso's supervision, Alfin was the first to succeed. During his meditation, he saw a terrifying figure—humanoid in shape but with massive bull-like horns curling from its head. Its body was blood-red and heavily muscular. Two sharp fangs protruded from its mouth, and a long, flaming tail ended in a blazing spear-like tip.
Startled and frightened, Alfin immediately broke his meditation, drenched in sweat. He quickly described what he had seen to Dukun Rosso.
Rosso calmly nodded.
"That's your khodam," he said. "It's not dangerous—not yet. It's just a spirit body without a soul."
He explained that to bring a khodam to life and control it, one must split their soul—sharing a portion of their life essence with the khodam's body. This process, called soul-linking, was far more painful and difficult than simply seeing the khodam.
Inspired by Alfin's success, Rai continued his ritual and fasting with even more dedication. However, despite his efforts, he was unable to see anything until the second day.
Rosso reassured him, saying that success depended on individual talent. Though discouraged at first, Rai persisted. Finally, on the second day, something appeared to him during his meditation.
He saw a beautiful woman with large white wings. Glowing yellow lights, like fireflies, surrounded her. She had long flowing hair, a well-endowed figure, a flat stomach, wide hips, and flawless, pale legs. Her entire presence radiated a serene, angelic glow.
After the ritual, Rai shared what he saw with Dukun Rosso.
The dukun's face turned serious, even shocked.
"That's rare," Rosso muttered.
"Rare?" Rai asked.
"Yes," Rosso replied. "Khodams can take many forms—human, animal, plant, ghost, monster, even tools or strange unknown entities. But it's extremely rare for a human to have a khodam of a different gender. Usually, a khodam shares the same gender as its caster. It's like having a twin sibling of the opposite sex—highly unusual."
Rosso then showed them a news article on his phone: a woman had been found dead with nails bursting out from her stomach.
"That's the work of a caster with a tool-type khodam," he said. "That's why information is crucial in the supernatural world. If you don't know your enemy's khodam, you're as good as dead."
After the explanation, Rai felt more confident. Though it took longer for him to succeed, it seemed his khodam was something special.
That day, Rai joined Alfin in the next phase—learning how to control their khodams.
After a long training session, Rai grew bored and decided to treat Dukun Rosso and Alfin to a meal.
"Is it really that hard to split the soul?" Rai asked casually while sipping his water.
Dukun Rosso looked at him with a faint smile.
"It's not that hard," he said. "It's like trying to split water with your hands—if you don't know the trick, it seems impossible. But there is a way."
Rai suddenly remembered Kastur—the one with the nail khodam.
"What if you had to share your soul with a nail?" he asked curiously.
Dukun Rosso burst into laughter.
"Just imagine becoming a nail. No arms, no legs, no eyes. Everything you do is driven by the energy of your khodam. You should be grateful your khodams are humanoid."
He leaned forward with a playful grin.
"If either of your khodams were a nail or a spoon, I'd have to give you special training just to function normally."
The image of themselves as a spoon or nail made Alfin and Rai shudder.
Rosso chuckled again.
"But don't worry. People who end up with weird or inanimate khodams—like tools—usually have another living khodam. You can't get those tool-types from fasting and ritual alone. If that ever happened to you..." He paused for effect. "...it would mean your siblings are a spoon and a nail! Hahaha!"
His laughter echoed through the room while Alfin and Rai exchanged horrified glances.
After Rai treated them to a meal, they returned to Dukun Rosso's place. This time, the shaman led them to a hill behind his house. At the top, partially hidden by foliage, was a cave marked with strange symbols.
"This," Dukun Rosso said, "is a place that helps ease the process of soul-splitting."
They entered the cave. Inside, the air was cold and heavy. Animal skulls and bones were scattered about, and the walls were filled with unfamiliar symbols. Rai and Alfin glanced around, clearly intrigued but confused.
Seeing their curiosity, Dukun Rosso grinned and said,
"If you're interested in learning what those symbols mean, I offer a special course. Six million rupiah for the basics of magical symbols."
Rai and Alfin looked at each other in disbelief. The world of the occult was starting to look a lot more expensive than they thought.
Rai said he would think about the course after he gained more power or strengthened his khodam.
Dukun Rosso smiled, pleased to have a student eager to learn.
He often worked as a spiritual advisor and solved supernatural mysteries on the internet. His income came from these activities—unlike other shamans who were willing to kill for money. Because of that, many fellow shamans disliked him. Having new students not only helped ease the pressure from his rivals but also brought in some extra income—something that made him happy.
"I brought you here," Dukun Rosso said, "because I want to offer you a quicker method to split your soul."
"But," he added, "you'll need to pay one million rupiah for five drops of black chicken blood—for the ritual."
Rai and Alfin agreed. Dukun Rosso handed them each five drops of black chicken blood, which was rare—even the chicken itself was hard to find.
They drank the blood and immediately felt their souls grow denser—thicker—making the process of splitting much easier.
Their separated souls then entered their khodams. At the same moment, both of their khodams opened their eyes.
Rai and Alfin were stunned—they now felt as though they had two bodies. They looked back and saw their original bodies still sitting in meditation.
"Now you can split your soul," said Dukun Rosso. "The trick is to thicken the soul using khodam energy. That makes it easier to divide."
Still inside their khodams, Rai and Alfin turned to Dukun Rosso.
"So… how do we get back?" asked Rai, surprised that her voice now sounded like a sweet girl's.
"Yeah… what now?" asked Alfin, equally confused, hearing his voice deep and fierce like a monster.