Night in Western City— didn't feel normal.
Streetlights glowed faintly. Yellow reflections shimmered across the wet asphalt.
But at that intersection— everything had stopped.
Cars halted abruptly. One truck— overturned.
Vehicle lights flickered without rhythm.
People slowly backed away.
No one dared to get closer.
Because standing in the middle of the road—
was a teenage boy.
Motionless.
His eyes— golden.
Something That Shouldn't Exist
His fist tightened.
The air around him trembled.
Not hot.
But wrong.
As if— space itself had become unstable.
The streetlights above him flickered. Once. Twice.
Then— violently.
People whispered to each other.
But nobody spoke too loudly.
Because everyone felt the same thing:
this wasn't a normal human anymore.
Data Center
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
Lila's tablet kept ringing nonstop.
"Damage reports are increasing."
Farhan stared at the screen.
The energy graph spiked wildly.
Irregular.
"There's nutritional energy involved…"
Bimo immediately reacted. "A Guardian?"
Farhan shook his head.
"…not like this."
He zoomed in on the data.
"…this energy was forced."
Silence.
Lila whispered softly.
"…artificial energy."
Resonance
Arga opened his lunch box.
Nine rice grains— glowing softly.
But—
one of them pulsed brighter.
Faster.
Like—
it was responding to something.
Arga froze.
"…I can feel him."
Sinta turned quickly. "Who?"
Arga stared at the map.
His eyes changed slightly.
"…him."
A pause.
"…the prototype."
Pak Rahmat stood immediately. "We're going."
Western City
The vehicles stopped.
Police lights flashed in the distance.
People kept backing away— leaving space around the road.
The street wasn't empty.
But it felt like—
nobody was supposed to enter it.
Bimo looked around.
"…he did all this?"
Rani stared at the destroyed vehicles.
"…this wasn't an accident."
Sinta pointed ahead. "There."
The Encounter
The teenage boy was still standing there.
Not attacking. Not moving.
Just…
existing.
Arga stepped forward.
And immediately felt it.
His lunch box— warming up.
The nine rice grains pulsed rapidly.
Not reacting.
Responding.
As if—
they recognized something.
The boy slowly turned.
Directly toward Arga.
The golden light in his eyes grew brighter.
He opened his mouth.
"You…"
His voice cracked.
Unstable.
Like someone—
learning how to speak for the first time.
"…source."
Not a Normal Battle
Arga stepped closer.
Sinta immediately warned him. "Be careful."
The boy stared at the lunch box in Arga's hand.
Golden energy trembled around him.
"…you…"
"…same."
Bimo muttered quietly.
"…okay, yeah, I really don't like where this is going."
No one answered.
Because—
KRAAAAK.
The asphalt beneath the boy's feet cracked apart.
A burst of unstable energy exploded outward.
Farhan looked at the monitor.
"His energy levels are rising!"
Lila panicked. "He's drawing from the network!"
Sinta immediately got ready.
"Everyone, prepare yourselves!"
But—
Arga didn't move.
Something Different
He kept staring at the boy.
Longer.
Deeper.
"…he's unstable."
Bimo looked at him like he was crazy.
"He almost exploded just now!"
Arga answered softly.
"…he doesn't understand."
A Child… or a Weapon
The boy grabbed his head.
"…too much…"
His voice broke apart.
His body trembled violently.
Energy leaked from him— wild and uncontrolled.
Streetlights shut off.
Then flickered back on again.
Wind spiraled around the road.
The air— grew heavy.
Farhan shouted, "He's overloading!"
Sinta tightened her stance. "He could hurt people!"
The Choice
Arga raised his lunch box.
A warm light appeared.
Different.
Not sharp. Not violent.
Calm.
Gentle.
"I'm going to calm him down."
Bimo stared at him. "…you serious?"
Arga kept walking forward slowly.
Carefully.
"This energy…"
He looked directly at the boy.
"…was never meant to destroy."
A pause.
"…it was meant to protect."
Two Worlds
The boy stared back at him.
His golden energy— wild. Chaotic. Uncontrolled.
Meanwhile Arga's light— calm. Stable.
Two energies.
From the same source.
But—
with different meanings.
One— was forced.
One— was given.
At the Edge
The air trembled violently.
The asphalt began to smoke.
Even the sky felt lower somehow.
Everyone held their breath.
Because this wasn't just a battle anymore.
This—
was the first meeting.
Between—
the original.
And the imitation.
The boy took one step forward.
Golden light exploded wildly around him.
And for a single second—
his eyes changed.
Not empty. Not cold.
Afraid.
"…help…"
Then—
the energy exploded again.
And within the collision of light—
nobody knew—
whether Arga would save him…
or—
become the last person the boy ever saw.