The sky above the Fire Continent looked like hell had opened its gates.
Ash clouds swirled into a massive vortex.
Red lightning tore through them.
With every flash, they could see an island cracked open and glowing from within.
Lava flowed down the mountain slopes like rivers of blood.
The ground trembled constantly.
RUMMMMMBLE.
As if the entire earth were holding back a scream of pain.
At the center of the massive crater—
Ignivar Draco stood.
The ancient dragon towered above the crater walls.
Its skin was black stone, cracked from within.
Through those cracks, magma flowed like molten blood.
Every breath sent smoke and embers into the air.
FROOOOOOOSH.
Its massive wings spread wide.
Its shadow swallowed the entire crater.
Bimo stared upward, his face blank.
"Okay…"
He wiped away sweat that evaporated instantly.
"If this isn't the end of the world, I don't know what is."
Dika stood beside him.
"I'm starting to agree."
On the other side of the crater—
the Dominion machine was operating at full power.
A massive magma reactor stood on a metal platform, surrounded by energy pipes driven deep into the mountain.
WHOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!
Red energy was being pulled from deep within the earth.
Farhan stared at his laptop, his hands trembling.
"The core energy is going through the roof!"
Lila went pale.
"If they keep forcing it…"
She swallowed hard.
"This volcano won't just erupt."
Everyone turned toward her.
Lila stared at the screen.
"The entire world's volcanic chain will awaken."
Silence fell for a moment.
Sinta immediately shouted,
"Team! Destroy that machine now!"
Bimo ran first.
WHOOSH!
He charged down the scorching rocky slope, dodging bursts of fire.
Dika followed.
Rani, Nisa, and Tono attacked from different sides.
The battle exploded across the volcanic slope.
Explosions.
Splashes of lava.
Screeching metal.
But in the middle of it all—
Arga could barely stand.
He stood at the edge of the crater, breathing heavily.
His face was pale.
The wounds from the North Pole had not yet healed.
The bandages around his hands were scorched by the heat.
Every second on this island felt as though his body were burning from the inside.
The MBG lunchbox in his hand trembled violently.
Inside—
twenty-two glowing rice grains spun chaotically.
Several had begun to crack.
Golden light leaked through the cracks like blood.
Kai placed a hand on Arga's shoulder.
"You don't have to push yourself."
Arga bit his lip.
"I have to."
His voice was hoarse.
"If I fall now…"
He looked toward the trembling mountain.
"…it's all over."
Ignivar Draco turned its head.
Its eyes, like twin fallen suns, settled on Arga.
For a moment, the entire world seemed to stop.
Arga felt something.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Loneliness.
A loneliness so ancient it felt like ash.
In an instant, visions flooded his mind.
Ignivar Draco had stood alone on this island for thousands of years.
It had watched the seas change.
Continents sink.
Civilizations rise and fall.
Alone.
Guarding the final core.
Waiting for someone who never came.
Arga's eyes snapped open.
His breathing trembled.
"He's been… alone all this time."
Kai looked at the ancient dragon.
"The last Guardian always carries the heaviest burden."
Ignivar Draco let out a low growl.
GRRRRRRRRRRRR.
It wasn't a threat.
It was a lament.
But from atop the platform, the Dominion leader let out a quiet laugh.
He was now wearing black armor streaked with glowing red lines.
"Beautiful."
He looked at the ancient dragon as though it were nothing more than an experiment.
"Endless loyalty."
He raised the device in his hand.
"But the old world is over."
He pressed the button.
WHOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!
The magma reactor surged to full power.
Red light pierced the sky.
The mountain shook violently.
Cracks spread across the entire island.
Farhan stared at his screen and froze.
"No…"
Lila turned sharply.
"What?!"
Farhan almost shouted.
"The other six cores are reacting!"
He turned the screen toward them.
Southern Island — active.
Ancient Forest — surging.
Ice Valley — trembling.
Savanna — heating up.
Mountains — stability collapsing.
North Pole — rising rapidly.
Every core in the world was lighting up at once.
Sinta went pale.
"If all seven cores connect…"
Kai finished the thought in a low voice.
"The world will be forcibly transformed."
The ground beneath them split apart.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Lava erupted from hundreds of cracks.
Mountains in the distance began to erupt as well.
The ocean boiled.
The sky burned red.
Arga dropped to his knees.
"Aghhh…!"
Blood dripped from his nose onto the black rock.
The lunchbox in his hand shook even harder.
The twenty-two rice grains spun like a raging storm.
One after another, they began to crack.
Kai dropped to his knees beside him.
"Arga!"
Arga trembled violently.
His vision blurred.
Everyone's voices sounded distant.
Yet he could still hear a single set of footsteps.
Slow.
Calm.
Pak Rahmat walked past them.
Without haste.
Without fear.
The scorching rock melted beneath his shoes—
yet the heat never touched him.
He stopped in front of Ignivar Draco.
The ancient dragon lowered its head slightly.
Bimo, who had been fighting moments earlier, actually stopped.
"…I'm getting really tired of being surprised."
Farhan stared in disbelief.
"Why does every Guardian know him?"
Pak Rahmat stared into Ignivar Draco's eyes.
For a long moment.
As if two ancient beings were silently reading each other's past.
Then he spoke softly—
his voice somehow cutting through even the roar of the erupting volcano.
"You've guarded it long enough."
Ignivar Draco closed its eyes.
For the first time—
the mountain-sized creature looked tired.
Pak Rahmat turned slightly.
"Arga."
Arga forced his head up.
"Wake up."
The MBG lunchbox exploded with light.
WHOOOOOOOOOM!
The twenty-two rice grains stopped spinning.
Then—
they all began to glow at once.
Golden light pierced the red sky.
Pierced the ash.
Pierced the storm.
And in the center of that light—
something was born.
The twenty-third rice grain.
Whole.
Brighter than all the others.
Farhan stared at the screen, which had now gone completely blank.
"The sensors…"
"They're dead."
Lila whispered,
"The energy is too powerful…"
Arga screamed.
His body lifted from the ground.
Cracks of golden light spread across his arms.
It was as though his human body could no longer contain the power inside him.
Sinta ran toward him.
"ARGA!"
Kai fought against the wave of heat sweeping in every direction.
Ignivar Draco spread its wings to their full span.
Then it roared into the sky.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!
The roar shook the planet.
At the same moment—
the other six cores around the world answered.
The roar of the forest.
The rumble of the ice.
The cry of the savanna.
The tremor of the mountains.
The scream of the polar realm.
The thunder of the Southern Sea.
The seven cores connected.
The earth trembled.
The oceans split apart.
Auroras appeared in broad daylight.
Mountains erupted.
The Dominion leader laughed.
"Yes…"
"This is the birth of a new world!"
But his smile vanished when the ground behind him split open.
A massive black fissure appeared in the center of the crater.
Not lava.
Not core energy.
Darkness.
Cold.
Empty.
For the first time, Pak Rahmat stared at the fissure—
and his expression changed.
Serious.
Truly serious.
Kai took a step back.
"No…"
Arga, barely conscious, opened his eyes.
From within the black fissure—
something opened its eyes.
Not red.
Not blue.
Not gold.
Black.
And all seven cores in the world—
suddenly went dark.