Golden light burst from Arga's lunchbox.
WHOOOOOOMMMMM!
A warm wave swept across the entire forest.
The blackened leaves turned green once more.
Fresh grass sprouted from the cracked earth.
The shattered tree trunks slowly sealed themselves, as if nature were stitching its own wounds back together.
For one brief moment—
the forest lived again.
Arga stood at the center of the light, breathing heavily.
Blood still trickled from his nose.
His hands trembled violently.
Thin cracks spread across the surface of the lunchbox he clutched.
Inside it—
sixteen glowing rice grains slowly revolved.
Yet Arga didn't feel stronger.
He only felt exhausted.
Far too exhausted.
Kai caught him by the shoulder before he collapsed.
"You've pushed your body far beyond its limits."
Arga looked around at the recovering forest.
If this is the price to save them...
I'll gladly pay it again.
Ahead of them—
Ursa Vitalis slowly rose to its feet.
The gigantic guardian stared at Arga for a long moment.
The anger had vanished from its golden eyes.
Only acknowledgment remained.
Then...
it lowered its massive head.
The entire team froze.
Bimo blinked.
"Wait..."
"...did a bear the size of a skyscraper just bow to us?"
Dika slowly shook his head.
"Not to us."
His eyes rested on Arga.
"To him."
But then the sound returned.
WHOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!
The Dominion Generator was still running.
Blue energy cables were still piercing the golden Core beneath the earth.
And with every passing second—
the Core's light grew dimmer.
Farhan glanced at his laptop.
His face instantly turned pale.
"No..."
Lila hurried over.
"What is it now?!"
Farhan swallowed hard.
"The Forest Core is losing stability."
Sinta immediately understood.
"If that generator keeps running?"
Farhan answered quietly.
"It won't just destroy this forest."
He looked at the global energy map.
"...the entire network of World Cores could collapse."
Silence fell.
The threat was bigger than the forest.
Bigger than any of them.
Near the damaged machine, the Dominion Leader stood as calmly as ever.
"You're all still thinking too small."
His eyes locked onto Arga.
"One forest."
"One Core."
"One insignificant victory."
He stretched out his arms as though embracing the entire world.
"I'm building humanity's future."
Sinta stepped forward.
"By murdering life itself?"
A faint smile crossed his face.
"By controlling chaos."
"Enough."
Arga's voice was soft.
Yet everyone turned toward him.
He staggered forward despite his trembling legs.
"You call this the future..."
He looked at the dead leaves scattered across the ground.
"...but everywhere you go, everything ends up broken."
The Dominion Leader stared at him without emotion.
"And everywhere you go..."
His gaze pierced straight through Arga.
"...someone has to clean up your failures."
Arga froze.
Those words struck deeper than any blow.
Kai instinctively stepped forward—
but Arga stopped him with a trembling hand.
No.
This was his battle.
Sinta raised her hand.
"Team!"
"Destroy the generator!"
Bimo grinned while clutching his fractured ribs.
"Now that's what I've been waiting for."
He coughed.
A little blood stained his lips.
Dika looked at him.
"Fall back."
Bimo shook his head.
"If I back down now..."
A tired smile appeared on his face.
"...I'll regret it longer than it'll hurt."
They charged.
WHOOSH!
Tono leaped from the trees onto the roof of the Dominion vehicle.
Rani, Nisa, and Andra attacked from the right flank.
Sinta broke through the front line.
The Dominion soldiers answered with energy fire.
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!
Explosions erupted everywhere.
Bimo took a direct blast to the shoulder—
yet kept moving.
"THAT HURTS LIKE CRAZY!"
He slammed his steel rod into the machine's outer panel.
CRASH!
Dika kicked the energy conduit.
CLANG!
Tono ripped the main cable from the top of the vehicle.
Blue sparks exploded into the air.
At last—
the Dominion Leader moved.
Fast.
Far too fast.
WHAM!
His strike sent Bimo flying.
Bimo rolled across the ground and lay still for several seconds.
"BIMO!" Dika shouted.
The Dominion Leader turned toward Arga.
"See?"
"You've dragged them into destruction for something you were never capable of protecting."
Arga gripped the lunchbox so tightly that blood seeped from his palm.
His entire body trembled.
Anger.
Fear.
Exhaustion.
Everything collided inside him.
Then—
Ursa Vitalis moved.
The gigantic guardian stepped between Arga and the Dominion Leader.
It raised its head toward the heavens.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!!
Its roar shattered the clouds.
The earth shook violently.
Massive roots burst from every direction and wrapped themselves around the Dominion Generator.
CRAAAAACK!
Metal screamed.
The machine began to tear apart.
Farhan shouted,
"NOW! THE CORE IS EXPOSED!"
Lila pointed toward the center.
"The blue chamber! Hit the blue chamber!"
Arga lifted his head.
His body was barely able to stand.
But he ran.
One step.
Two steps.
Three—
Then he leaped.
With every ounce of strength he had left—
he slammed the lunchbox into the generator's exposed Core.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Golden light and blue energy exploded together.
A massive shockwave swept across the forest.
Everyone was thrown backward.
Ursa Vitalis roared.
The generator shattered into a storm of twisted metal.
Its blue lights died instantly.
Silence.
Arga crashed heavily onto the ground.
The lunchbox slipped from his grasp.
The cracks across its surface had spread much farther.
The light inside flickered weakly.
Sinta reached him first.
"Arga!"
Kai knelt beside him and checked his breathing.
Still alive.
But barely.
From the distance, Bimo let out a weak laugh while clutching his chest.
"Heh..."
"If he wakes up before I do..."
"...I'm calling that cheating."
The wind became gentle.
No poison.
No mechanical humming.
The Forest Core pulsed peacefully.
Once.
Twice.
Ursa Vitalis gazed down at Arga's unconscious body.
Then it lowered its head in a deep bow.
The entire forest fell silent.
Within that silence—
Pak Rahmat walked toward the wreckage of the generator.
He placed his palm upon the scorched metal.
The ancient symbol engraved on his hand began to glow.
A tiny light emerged from the twisted remains.
A black data chip.
He picked it up.
The Dominion Leader, already several steps away, narrowed his eyes.
"You're still always one step ahead."
Pak Rahmat didn't even look back.
"No."
He tightened his grip until the chip cracked.
"I've simply seen the world fall once before."
Everyone froze.
Sinta whispered,
"...What do you mean?"
Pak Rahmat gave no answer.
The Dominion Leader retreated into the trees.
But before disappearing, he looked back at Arga.
"You won today."
His smile slowly returned.
"Now watch the world lose tomorrow."
He vanished into the forest with the man in the hat.
Farhan opened the global map.
Then his expression changed completely.
"No..."
Lila hurried to his side.
"What now?"
One golden point appeared.
Then two.
Then ten.
Then hundreds.
Across mountains.
Across deserts.
Deep beneath the oceans.
Inside great cities.
In places no human had ever reached.
The entire world began to shine.
Kai stared at the screen, barely able to breathe.
"Every Core..."
"...has awakened."
Pak Rahmat stared silently at the map.
His voice was low.
Heavy.
More terrifying than any war.
"No."
He slowly turned toward them.
"What has awakened..."
The earth trembled softly.
All around the world—
at the exact same moment.
"...are the Guardians."