WHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR—
The sound of the Dominion Core shook the entire server room.
It no longer sounded like a machine.
It sounded like— something alive.
Red lights flashed wildly along the massive cables spreading across the room. Servers roared loudly. The air felt hot— and freezing at the same time.
On the main screen— the MBG distribution routes kept changing faster and faster.
Red. Red. Red.
One city lost its route. Then another. Then dozens more.
Farhan stared at his laptop, barely breathing.
"…seventy percent."
No one answered.
Because everyone knew— the system was close to total collapse.
At the center of the room— Arga stood directly in front of the Dominion Core.
The lunch box in his hand glowed brightly.
Nine grains of rice spun rapidly.
Too rapidly.
Energy poured out of his body like a forcefully opened floodgate.
Sinta noticed immediately.
"…Arga."
But Arga didn't look back.
His eyes stayed locked on the machine's core.
The Dominion Core pulsed.
WHRRRRRRRRRRRRRR—
And with every pulse— it pulled something out of him.
Not just energy.
Something deeper.
As if the machine was trying to rip away a part of him no one could see.
Farhan looked at the rising graph.
His eyes widened instantly.
"The pull is increasing!"
Lila typed frantically.
"…it's draining all of Arga's output!"
Bimo stepped forward.
"If this keeps going, he's gonna collapse!"
But—
Arga stayed where he was.
Sweat dripped from his temple. His breathing became uneven. His hand trembled slightly.
Yet he still didn't move back.
"…not finished yet."
Suddenly— the Dominion Core changed.
Its red light turned white.
Too bright.
WARNING
ENERGY OVERLOAD
The words appeared across every screen.
The servers began shaking violently.
The thick cables lifted from the floor like living serpents.
The man in the hat stared at the scene— and for the first time—
his smile disappeared.
"…impossible."
Arga finally understood.
This machine wasn't just stealing energy.
It was consuming connections.
Consuming nutrition.
Consuming everyone connected to the MBG network.
And now—
it was choking on it.
Sinta moved quickly.
"Arga, stop!"
Arga closed his eyes for a second.
And in that single moment— he saw them.
Children in distant cities.
Lunch boxes growing dim.
Teachers trying to stay calm.
Food lines no longer moving.
Hunger.
Fear.
Hope.
Everything— connected.
Arga opened his eyes again.
Sharp.
Certain.
"If I stop…"
His breath faltered.
"…they're the ones who fall."
Silence.
That sentence hit harder than any explosion.
Farhan suddenly pointed at the screen.
"Wait—!"
Everyone turned.
The red points on the map— started changing.
One by one.
Red became blue.
Distribution routes returned to normal.
Dead servers— came back online.
Lila stared in disbelief.
"…their synchronization is breaking."
The Dominion Core screamed.
WHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR—
Cracks spread across its surface.
Electric sparks exploded everywhere.
PRAK!
PRAK!
PRAK!
The entire room shook violently.
Bimo stepped back slightly.
"…okay, this thing is seriously about to explode."
But Arga kept moving forward.
One more step.
And the pull slammed into him instantly.
Hard.
His vision blurred.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Sinta grabbed him immediately.
"ARGA!"
But Arga gently pushed her hand away.
Still standing.
Still fighting.
His lunch box now shone like a small sun.
The nine grains pulsed wildly.
Energy poured out endlessly.
No longer like power.
More like— a storm.
The man in the hat stared at Arga coldly.
"You're not stopping it…"
The machine roared louder.
Servers flashed uncontrollably.
"…you're destroying it."
Arga looked back at him.
His eyes never shook.
"This energy…"
He slowly raised his lunch box.
"…was never meant to be taken."
Light flooded the room.
"…it was meant to be shared."
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—
A massive white light consumed the entire server room.
No sound.
No time.
Only—
white.
Then—
darkness.
Silence.
Complete silence.
The Dominion Core— was dead.
The server lights stabilized.
The alarms stopped.
The MBG map slowly turned fully blue again.
Farhan stared at the screen with trembling breath.
"…the routes are back."
Lila nodded slowly.
"…we did it."
Bimo immediately raised both hands.
"YESSS—"
His voice stopped.
Because Arga was still standing— but barely.
Sinta caught him before he collapsed.
"Arga!"
Arga breathed heavily.
His eyes struggled to focus.
The light from his lunch box slowly dimmed.
The nine grains of rice calmed once more.
But something— felt different.
Deeper.
Darker.
Arga stared at the destroyed Dominion Core.
And for the first time—
he didn't feel victorious.
"…this isn't over."
Far away—
inside a dimly lit room—
a single screen still glowed.
DOMINION CORE — OFFLINE
The man in the hat stood silently.
Behind him— the leader of Dominion smiled faintly.
Not angry.
Not disappointed.
Interested.
"…interesting."
He enlarged Arga's data on the screen.
ENERGY SPIKE DETECTED
STABILITY: CRITICAL
"Now we know…"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"…the limit of his body."
The room slowly faded into darkness.
And before everything went black—
his final words echoed softly.
"…next time…"
"…we'll force him beyond it."