Siem Reap, Cambodia – 3:44 PM, the same day
The sun hung low over the jungle canopy, casting long, golden streaks across the moss-covered stones of Angkor Thom. Beneath the silent, smiling faces of ancient kings, groups of weary tourists wandered through the ruins, sweat clinging to their backs. But one figure stood completely still, hidden in the shadows of the Bayon Temple.
He stared at a crumbling wall etched with celestial battles and divine beings.
"Neak Ta," he whispered.(Spirits of the land.)
Rithy Dara, sixteen, was no tourist. A streetwise local guide fluent in four languages, he had a knack for reading faces and avoiding trouble. But even he couldn't explain what he was seeing now: a carving that hadn't been there yesterday.
In a far corner of the temple wall, just beside the image of Indra riding his elephant, was a symbol glowing faintly, an eye encircled by eight rays of light. It pulsed, almost as if it were breathing.
He blinked.
The stone rippled.
"Dara!" a voice called out from the trees. "Still scamming foreigners with fake legends?"
Snapping out of his trance, Dara yelled back, "Keep talking and I'll tell them your mom runs the tourist scam ring!"
Laughter echoed across the ruins, but Dara didn't laugh. His gut churned. The air felt... off. Too still. Too quiet.
Then, just like in his dreams, the wind stopped.
Silence fell.
A blinding pillar of light shot up from the courtyard. Tourists screamed and ran as the glowing symbol flared, erupting into a spinning portal, radiant silver and gold.
From the swirling light, a girl stepped forward barefoot, her body crackling with electric energy. Behind her stumbled a boy in a Bangkok t-shirt and running shoes, looking completely out of place.
"What the hell," Dara muttered, stepping back.
The girl raised a hand, calm and unthreatening.
"We're not here to hurt anyone."
Dara narrowed his eyes.
"That's what people always say before the magic starts flying."
The boy, Mon, looked around, clearly dazed.
"This place... why does it feel familiar?"
"Because it's one of the Seven Crossroads," the girl replied, scanning the ruins. "Sacred nodes that connect the human world to the Celestial Realms. They're hidden in temples across Asia."
She paused.
"And this one is waking up."
Suddenly, the ancient stone beneath their feet began to glow, emitting a soft blue light that spiraled outward in circles, marked with forgotten sigils. Dara took a slow step back.
"Okay, I don't know who you people are," he said, hands raised, "but this is way beyond street scams and temple tours. I'm out."
Mon turned to him.
"You saw the gate open, didn't you? The glowing eye?"
Dara hesitated.
"...Yeah."
"Then you've already been marked."
The girl's voice softened.
"You wouldn't be here if the blood didn't call you. The blood of the old ones."
A gust of wind swept through the temple.
And then, the gate opened again.
This time, it wasn't peaceful.
From the Portal: The Asuras
Three towering figures stepped through the flickering portal. They are tall, armored, and menacing. Their skin was dark and cracked like volcanic stone. Red eyes burned in their skull-like faces. Each held a jagged blade, humming with dark energy.
"Asuras," the girl said under her breath. "Demon warriors."
Mon instinctively stepped in front of her, though he had no idea what was happening.
One of the Asuras spoke in a language older than the stones.
"Return the hybrid. Or perish."
The air thickened with malice.
Dara turned to Mon.
"What did you do?!"
"I don't even know what I am!"
"Don't worry," the girl said, stepping forward. "I do."
Lightning flared in her palms as she shouted:
"Alon ng mga ninuno, gumising ka!"(Waves of the ancestors, awaken!)
Glowing energy surged through the temple walls. Carvings of forgotten gods lit up, and stone faces roared to life. They broke free from the walls, forming a protective circle around the trio.
The Asuras lunged.
Mon grabbed a broken stone blade from a fallen statue. As his fingers closed around it, a jolt shot through his arm, and the blade burst into golden flame.
His eyes widened.
"Okay... okay, what is this?!"
"You're a demigod!" the girl shouted. "And that's your father's weapon!"
"Who is my father?!"
But there was no time for answers.
The battle had begun.
Elsewhere – Tokyo, Japan
In a hidden underground chamber beneath a glass skyscraper, Dr. Kael Yurei watched the energy readings spike on his monitor.
"Two gates opened within an hour," his assistant reported. "Thailand. Cambodia."
Kael's lips curled into a thin, cold smile.
"They're forming alliances. Gathering the halfbloods."
"And if the hybrids find each other before we contain them?"
Kael turned to face a locked vault. Inside was a glass vial glowing with black mist—swirling, alive.
"They'll come to us eventually," he said.
"Especially when their gods start dying."