Morning at the GDF barracks never changed.
Same concrete corridors. Same faded warning signs bolted to the walls. Same rhythm of boots and hydraulics echoing through the compound like a loop that refused to end.
Bara stood at the edge of the training yard, hands behind his back, watching a Heavy Trooper unit repeat the same formation drill.
"Ulang," again, he said calmly.
The squad reset immediately.
No complaints. No jokes. They knew better.
This place was not officially called a barracks. On paper, it was the Forward Readiness Habitat. Everyone still called it barak (barracks) . Concrete boxes with beds, lockers, and the smell of disinfectant that never fully masked sweat and oil.
Bara checked his slate. Same schedule. Same drills. Same evaluations that changed nothing.
"Bosen,"im bored he muttered.
The sound hit before the sight.
Rotor wash slammed into the compound, scattering dust and loose debris. Conversations died mid-sentence. Soldiers looked up in unison.
A command helicopter descended onto the helipad.
Bara squinted.
"Pasti ribet," this has to be complicated, he said while rolling his eyes.
The ramp lowered.
General Hadi Susanto stepped out first. Straight back. Sharp eyes. Codename YUDHISTIRA.
Behind him came another man.
Smaller frame. Older. Calm in a way that suggested nothing around him mattered unless he decided it did.
General Li Wei.
Codename SUN TZU.
The reaction was immediate and ridiculous.
Troopers rushed forward.
"Pak, tanda tangan—" Sir, autograph—
"Jenderal, foto dikit—" general, lets take a picture
"Sir, selfie boleh—"sir selfie please
Sun Tzu stopped walking.
He looked around slowly.
"Zhè shì jūnduì háishì dòngwùyuán?" is this a military base or a zoo?
No one answered.
A lieutenant shoved a datapad toward him.
Sun Tzu stared at it.
"Kěyǐ yòng lái dǎrén ma?" can this be used to hit people?
The lieutenant froze.
"…No, Sir."
"Na hěn wúláo." then it's useless.
Bara exhaled through his nose.
"Bego," Idiot, he muttered.
Security finally cleared a path.
Inside the briefing room, the door sealed shut and silence fell hard.
Yudhistira turned to Bara.
"Bara," he said. "Langsung aja."
Sun Tzu took a seat without waiting, eyes still studying Bara.
"Nǐ jiù shì Āxiūluó." so you are asura.
"Iya," Yeah Bara replied. "Kenapa?" Why?
Sun Tzu raised an eyebrow.
"Zhēn de?" really?
"Iya," yes Bara repeated. "Mau foto juga?" want a photo too?
Yudhistira pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Cukup,"enough he said. "Kita di sini bukan buat basa-basi."we're not here to chit-chat
The privacy field activated.
Yudhistira straightened.
"Protocol: Mythos sudah aktif. Global." Protocol: Mythos is activated. All around the world.
Bara nodded once.
"Saya udah tebak." i figured
Sun Tzu leaned forward slightly.
"Tā zǎo jiù zhīdào." he already knew.
Yudhistira continued, now switching to English.
"We need you back in active operations. Strategic advisory at minimum. Field authority if required."
"No," Bara said, immediately.
The word hit the room cleanly.
Sun Tzu smiled.
"Hěn gāncuì." very decisive.
Yudhistira frowned. "Bara, listen."
" Saya udah denger ini sebelumnya," I've heard this before, Bara said. "Akhirnya selalu sama." It always ends the same way.
Sun Tzu spoke again.
"Nǐ pà shénme?" what are you afraid of?
Bara looked at him.
"Takut?" Scared? he said. "Enggak." No
He stepped closer to the table.
"Gue capek." I'm tired.
The room stilled.
Sun Tzu studied him longer this time.
"Qíguài," he said softly. interesting.
Yudhistira leaned in.
"This time is different."
Bara laughed once. Short. Flat.
"Different. That's what they said last time!!. " Bara changed his language in frustration.
Silence stretched.
Then Sun Tzu asked, switching to English.
"How many times have you been deployed along the China coast?"
Bara blinked.
Sun Tzu's smile widened.
Bara scratched the back of his head.
"Back then, " he said, tone casual. "a few joint operations. Southern coast. Either Shantou or Xiamen. It's been a while. "
Sun Tzu nodded.
"Tā shuō de shēngdiào bù xiàng xuéshēng." his accent doesn't sound like a student.
"Ya soalnya belajarnya sambil hampir mati," Yeah i learned it in a neardeath experience Bara said. "Denger orang teriak, maki-maki, lama-lama nyantol." Heard people shouting, cursing, eventually learned it.
Sun Tzu laughed quietly.
"Hěn shíyòng." very practical.
Yudhistira seized the moment.
"We're not asking you to pilot immediately," he said. "We're asking you to lead."
Bara stared at the table.
"Kalau gue setuju," If i agree, he said slowly, "l"ada syarat." there's a few requirements
Sun Tzu's eyes sharpened and he smirked.
"Wǒ jiù zhīdào." I knew it.
Bara looked up.
"Pertama," first he said. "Gue gak mau bohong ke anak buah." i don't want to lie to my subordinates
Yudhistira nodded.
"Kedua," secondly Bara continued. "Kalau gue turun, gue pegang keputusan di lapangan." if i happen to be in a field operation, i hold every decision on the spot.
Sun Tzu nodded again.
"Ketiga," thirdly Bara said, glancing toward the window. "Dua pilot heli tadi. Nathan sama Samuel." That 2 helicopter pilot, nathan & samuel.
Yudhistira blinked.
"Mereka?" Them?
"Potensi mereka kebuang," They're potential is wasted Bara said. "Heavy Trooper terlalu kecil buat mereka." Heavy trooper will be waste of time for them.
Sun Tzu smiled thinly.
"Tā yǒu yǎnjīng." he has good eyes.
Bara finished.
"Mereka ikut gue. Calon agen." They'll be with me. Future agents.
The room went silent.
Yudhistira exhaled.
"This won't be easy." This won't be easy.
Bara shrugged.
"Emang." of course.
Sun Tzu stood.
"Wǒ xǐhuān zhège rén." I like this man.
Bara sighed.
"Waduh." Oh no.
Outside, rotor blades began to spin again.
The rotor blades outside kept spinning, slow and deliberate, like the helicopter itself was reluctant to leave.
Bara didn't move.
He stayed standing at the end of the table, hands relaxed at his sides, posture neutral in a way that fooled people into thinking he wasn't tense. Years ago, someone had told him that stillness was a form of violence. He had learned how to use it well.
General Hadi Susanto broke the silence first.
"Those conditions," he said carefully, "aren't small."
Bara shrugged. "Neither is what you're asking."
Sun Tzu watched the exchange with mild interest, fingers steepled, eyes half-lidded. He looked less like a general and more like someone waiting to see which way a chessboard would fall.
"You're not asking to return," Yudhistira continued. "You're asking to rewrite how authority works."
"I'm asking not to be lied to," Bara replied. "And not to lie."
"That's the same thing in practice," Yudhistira said.
"Exactly."
Sun Tzu chuckled softly. "He understands the system."
Yudhistira ignored him and focused back on Bara. "Let's be clear. This isn't a nostalgia project. We're not digging up relics because we miss the old days."
Bara's eyes flickered. "Good. Because the old days were shit."
A pause.
Yudhistira nodded once. "We're losing ground. Not territory. Initiative. The newer Phalanx units are effective, but they're… rigid."
Sun Tzu leaned forward slightly. "They follow doctrine perfectly," he said in English. "Which means they fail creatively."
Bara snorted. "That's one way to put it."
"They don't think like Abyssals," Sun Tzu continued. "They react. You don't."
Bara's jaw tightened.
"I used to," he said. "That's not a compliment."
"No," Sun Tzu agreed. "It's a liability. But a useful one."
Yudhistira slid a thin data panel across the table. It didn't light up. It didn't need to.
"We're forming a task group," he said. "Small. Flexible. Not public-facing. Officially, it doesn't exist yet."
Bara didn't touch the panel.
"Unofficially?" he asked.
"Unofficially," Yudhistira said, "it's already been approved."
Sun Tzu smiled. "Multiple governments are very nervous right now."
"Good," Bara said flatly. "They should be."
Yudhistira took a breath. "Your role would be command-level. Training, doctrine revision, selective field oversight."
"And when that fails?" Bara asked.
Yudhistira met his eyes. "Then we'll ask more."
Silence settled again.
Bara finally reached out and tapped the panel. It bloomed to life, showing a skeletal organizational structure. No names yet. Just positions. Empty boxes waiting to be filled.
"This thing," Bara said, "will turn ugly."
"Yes," Yudhistira said.
"It'll break people."
"Yes."
"And when it does," Bara continued, "you'll want someone to blame."
Yudhistira didn't flinch. "That's part of leadership."
"No," Bara said. "That's part of cowardice."
Sun Tzu laughed, genuinely this time. "I told them you'd say that."
Yudhistira glanced at him. "You didn't tell me he'd be this blunt."
"I implied it."
Bara leaned back against the table, crossing his arms. "You want my name. You want my experience. You want the ghost of Asura without the mess that came with it."
"We want the mess," Sun Tzu said calmly. "We just want it controlled."
Bara's expression hardened. "You can't control it."
Another pause.
Then Yudhistira spoke, quieter now. "That's why we're asking you."
Bara looked away.
Through the reinforced glass, he could see the training yard again. Heavy Troopers moving in clean lines. Young. Focused. Still believing that discipline alone was enough.
"You know what happens to people like me," Bara said. "We don't retire. We rot. Or we get used."
Sun Tzu stood, slowly. "Or you choose how you are used."
Bara scoffed. "You make it sound noble."
"I make it sound inevitable," Sun Tzu replied.
Yudhistira straightened. "About the pilots. Nathan and Samuel."
Bara's eyes returned to him instantly. "What about them."
"They're talented," Yudhistira admitted. "Too talented for Heavy Trooper logistics."
"But?" Bara prompted.
"But they're young. Untested."
"So was everyone," Bara said. "Once."
Sun Tzu nodded. "They survived proximity to a Behemoth event and didn't freeze. That's not common."
"They think differently," Bara added. "One calculates. One improvises. Together, they fill gaps."
"And under you?" Yudhistira asked.
"They'll learn restraint," Bara said. "Or they'll die. Either way, wasting them is worse."
Yudhistira exhaled slowly. "You're asking to pull them out of a stable track."
"There is no such thing as stable track anymore," Bara replied.
Silence.
Finally, Yudhistira nodded. "Conditional approval."
Bara didn't smile.
Sun Tzu clasped his hands behind his back. "You realize what this means."
"Yeah," Bara said. "It means I stop pretending I'm done."
"And the frame?" Yudhistira asked carefully. "The original."
Bara closed his eyes for half a second.
"Asura stays sealed," he said. "For now."
Sun Tzu tilted his head. "For now."
Bara opened his eyes. "Don't push that."
Yudhistira raised his hands slightly. "No one is asking you to pilot. Not today."
Bara nodded once.
"That's all you're getting."
The room's lights dimmed subtly as the privacy field disengaged. Outside, the helicopter's engines ramped up.
Sun Tzu extended a hand.
Bara looked at it for a moment.
Then shook it.
"Welcome back," Sun Tzu said. "Not to the battlefield. To the problem."
Bara released his grip. "Never left."
The helicopter lifted off minutes later, its shadow passing once over the compound before vanishing into the haze.
Bara stood alone in the briefing room after they left.
The data panel was still glowing softly on the table.
Bara stared at it for a long moment before finally reaching out.
The interface responded instantly. Layers unfolded in silence, classified markers sliding aside as his clearance opened corridors that had not been touched in years. Strategic projections. Deep-ocean telemetry. Long-range abyssal surveillance arrays scattered across the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
One indicator pulsed.
Amber.
Then red.
His eyes narrowed.
A radar convergence map bloomed across the surface, lines intersecting over a familiar stretch of ocean floor. Multiple stations. Different nations. Independent systems.
All confirming the same thing.
A massive pressure displacement rising from extreme depth.
Designation appeared last.
-------------------------------------------------
#CALAMITY-CLASS SIGNAL CONFIRMATION
CODENAME: LEVIATHAN#
-------------------------------------------------
Bara felt something cold settle in his chest.
"Of course," he muttered.
Historical overlays auto-loaded without permission. Past engagement data. Structural resonance patterns. Biological signatures that had never truly vanished, only gone quiet.
Leviathan had not been destroyed.
It had been waiting.
The panel pulsed again. This time, a warning icon bloomed at the corner of the display.
-------------------------------------------------
#PROTOCOL: MYTHOS
PRE-ACTIVATION PHASE
MULTI-NATIONAL ALERT STATUS#
-------------------------------------------------
Bara closed the panel.
Hard.
The glow vanished, leaving the room dim and silent once more.
He stood there alone, the hum of the facility pressing in around him, the distant echo of rotor blades fading into nothing.
For a few seconds, he didn't move.
Then he exhaled sharply and rubbed a hand over his.
"They're all f*cking insane," he said to the empty room.
Outside, the world continued as if nothing had changed.
Deep beneath the ocean, something vast shifted its course.
And this time, Bara knew it was not coming back by accident.