The server room finally— became quiet.
No vibrations. No alarms.
Only—
WHRRRR…
The sound of cooling fans.
Blue lights blinked softly. Steady. Calm.
As if— nothing had ever happened.
At the center of the room— the Dominion Core stood silent.
Cracked.
Dead.
Like a heart— that had stopped beating.
After the Battle
Bimo stared at the machine with his hands on his waist.
"…that's probably the most expensive thing we've ever destroyed."
Dika smirked slightly.
"And definitely the weirdest."
Rani looked up at the giant screen.
Everything had turned blue again.
Routes restored. System stable.
Farhan let out a long breath.
"The network is stable."
Lila nodded slowly.
"No disruptions detected."
Pak Rahmat closed his eyes for a second.
"…which means…"
"…the lunches still arrive."
Sinta smiled faintly.
"The kids still get to eat."
Such a simple sentence.
Yet somehow— it felt heavy.
Because Something Still Wasn't Over
Arga didn't move.
He was still standing in front of the Dominion Core.
His lunch box felt warm in his hands.
Slowly— he opened it.
Nine grains of rice glowed softly.
Calm.
But—
not the same.
No longer light.
Arga stared at the broken machine.
"…this wasn't just a tool."
Sinta turned toward him.
"What do you mean?"
Arga touched the cracked panel.
Cold.
Far too cold.
"…it learned."
The room went silent instantly.
Lila moved first.
Fast.
Her tablet lit up. Logs appeared. Graphs. Energy records.
Her eyes widened.
"…he's right."
Farhan stepped beside her.
He scanned the data.
A few seconds later— his expression changed completely.
"…they recorded everything."
Bimo frowned.
"Recorded what?"
Farhan answered quietly.
"…our energy."
A pause.
"…especially Arga's."
A Colder Realization Than the Machine Itself
Sinta understood immediately.
"They didn't just want to steal it…"
"…they wanted to copy it."
Rani swallowed slowly.
"…to create their own version."
The air suddenly felt heavier.
Pak Rahmat stared at the machine seriously.
"If they succeed…"
"…they won't need us anymore."
A pause.
"…they'll replace us."
No one spoke.
Because somehow— that felt worse than losing.
Something Already Left
"Wait."
Lila's voice.
Sharper than before.
"There's missing data."
Farhan typed immediately. Faster. More urgently.
Then—
he froze.
His hands stopped moving.
"…they transferred it out."
Sinta stepped closer.
"To where?"
A map appeared on the screen.
One signal moved across the network.
Far away.
Then stopped.
DOMINION RESEARCH LAB
Silence filled the room.
Arga stared at the screen.
"…they already got what they wanted."
Somewhere Else
A white room.
Too clean. Too bright. Without shadows.
Only screens.
And data.
Energy graphs covered the walls.
One name stood at the center:
ARGA
The Dominion Leader stood behind the screens silently.
Watching.
"…so this is him."
A scientist spoke carefully.
"We completed the energy mapping."
"We successfully replicated his energy pattern."
The man in the hat looked over.
"…is it enough?"
The scientist nodded.
"More than enough."
He pressed a button.
A capsule slowly rose from the floor.
Inside—
golden liquid.
Glowing beautifully.
But—
not warm.
Not alive.
The Wrong Version
"The first prototype."
"Synthetic nutritional energy."
The Dominion Leader stepped closer.
Watching the liquid carefully.
"…interesting."
He turned toward Arga's image on the screen.
Silent.
"…that boy…"
A pause.
"…gave us everything."
A faint smile appeared.
"And now…"
"…we don't need him anymore."
The lights in the room seemed brighter now.
Yet somehow— everything felt colder.
Back in the Server Room
Nothing truly felt finished.
The Dominion Core was silent.
But somehow— it still felt active.
Somewhere else.
Arga slowly closed his lunch box.
The nine grains pulsed gently.
"…this isn't over."
Sinta nodded once.
"They're only getting started."
Bimo exhaled deeply.
"…I seriously don't like where this is going."
Pak Rahmat looked at all of them.
"If they succeed…"
"…they won't just attack the system."
A pause.
"…they'll replace it."
Silence.
Heavy. Unavoidable.
Meaning
Arga looked at his team.
Longer than usual.
More deeply.
"If that happens…"
He tightened his grip on the lunch box.
"…then we're not just protecting food anymore."
A pause.
"…we're protecting what it means."
No one answered immediately.
Because everyone— understood.
Inside the laboratory—
the golden liquid moved slightly.
Pulsing.
As if alive.
But not—
truly alive.
And for the first time—
Dominion was no longer trying to destroy.
They were trying—
to become something…
that should never exist.