The steel door slid fully open.
A burst of white light spilled into the corridor.
Too bright.
Too clean.
Too... inhuman.
And from within—
they stepped out.
Three teenagers.
Three pairs of golden eyes.
Calm.
Empty.
Perfect.
Something felt wrong.
Their energy wasn't wild.
It didn't explode outward.
It didn't leak.
It flowed smoothly.
Cold.
Like something that had been carefully refined.
Arga felt it immediately.
His lunch box trembled in his hand.
The ten rice grains inside glowed brighter.
But this wasn't a normal reaction.
It felt as though they were being pulled.
"...They're connected," he whispered.
Sinta stepped forward slightly.
"Be careful."
Bimo let out a slow breath.
"Yeah... these definitely aren't the trial versions."
Kai stared at them.
His expression changed.
"...I know them."
Rani looked at him.
"Your friends?"
Kai slowly shook his head.
"...The ones who didn't survive."
Silence fell.
Without warning, the first prototype raised a hand.
Energy gathered instantly.
Dense.
Heavy.
BOOM!
The floor shattered.
A shockwave tore through the corridor.
The air itself seemed to explode outward.
Bimo barely dodged.
Dika grabbed his arm.
"Focus!"
Rani shoved a metal cart forward.
CLANG!
The cart was thrown away like paper.
"...They're on a different level," she muttered.
Farhan stared at his screen.
"Their energy is perfectly stable."
Lila's voice was quieter.
"...And it's evolving."
Sinta narrowed her eyes.
"They're learning."
Those words felt more dangerous than the attack itself.
"Formation!" Sinta ordered.
Bimo and Dika moved first.
Fast.
Unpredictable.
Short attacks.
Constant pressure.
Breaking their rhythm.
Rani and Nisa secured the corridor.
Tono vanished above them.
Everyone moved in sync.
But—
it wasn't enough.
The second prototype didn't panic.
It adapted.
Faster.
Sharper.
Its attacks changed instantly.
More efficient.
More precise.
Bimo barely avoided a direct hit.
"OKAY—THAT'S NOT NORMAL!"
The second prototype turned toward Kai.
Without hesitation.
Golden energy stretched from its arm like a blade.
SHRAAAK!
Kai blocked it.
CRACK!
The two energies collided.
Light burst through the corridor.
"You don't have to obey them!" Kai shouted.
The prototype stared back.
Empty.
"Our purpose is clear."
"...You have deviated."
Kai slowly shook his head.
Firmly.
"I made a choice."
For the first time—
his energy changed.
Not wild.
Not cold.
Alive.
Across the corridor, Arga suddenly froze.
His lunch box glowed too brightly.
The ten rice grains pulsed violently.
Faster.
Harder.
As if they refused to remain under control.
Farhan glanced at him.
"...Arga?"
But Arga didn't answer.
For a split second—
he felt something else.
Something that wasn't his.
Not from his team.
From them.
"NOW!" Lila shouted.
CLICK.
The lights turned green.
The control room door opened.
Inside, rows of servers glowed quietly.
Calm.
But deadly.
Sinta turned around.
"We're going in!"
Bimo stepped back.
"And them?"
Sinta answered without hesitation.
"We hold them off."
Everyone knew exactly what that meant.
The first prototype leaped.
High.
Far too high.
BOOOOM!
The floor cracked.
Lights exploded overhead.
The entire corridor shook.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Everyone nearly lost their balance.
Then, for the first time—
Arga stepped forward without hesitation.
His lunch box opened.
The ten rice grains blazed with light.
Radiant.
Powerful.
But this time—
sharper.
Harder.
"...Enough."
His voice had changed.
Deeper.
Colder.
Kai turned toward him.
"...Arga?"
Arga stood at the front.
Warm light surrounded him.
Yet it felt heavy.
Kai stood beside him.
Golden energy flowed around him.
Alive.
Two energies.
Different.
Yet perfectly aligned.
Behind them—
the control room stood open.
Ahead—
three perfect weapons waited.
Between them stood two boys who refused to be controlled.
Kai had chosen to remain human.
But Arga—
was beginning to become something else.
And in the middle of that battlefield, no one knew which was more dangerous:
the enemies standing before them...
or the power awakening inside Arga.