The sky above the Fire Continent no longer looked like a sky.
It had become a massive vortex.
Red.
Gold.
Black.
Ash clouds swirled like an upside-down ocean suspended in the air.
Red lightning flashed endlessly through the darkness.
The light from the seven Cores pierced the atmosphere like spears of energy.
The entire world was pulsing.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
Every pulse echoed all the way down into the crater.
Volcanoes roared. Lava erupted through cracks in the ground. Massive black rocks collapsed into the fiery abyss.
The island wasn't simply erupting.
It was being forced awake.
At the center of the crater—
the Fire Core floated in midair.
Its light spun wildly, like a sun that had lost control.
Beneath it stood Ignivar Draco.
The magma dragon was gravely wounded.
The cracks across its stone body had widened.
Lava dripped from its chest like burning blood.
Its left wing was nearly torn in half.
One of its horns was broken.
Yet it remained standing.
Guarding the seventh Core.
Legends did not always win.
Sometimes, legends simply chose to remain standing.
Arga dropped to one knee.
THUD.
His hand struck the scorching rock.
The skin of his palm blistered instantly.
He barely reacted.
His breathing was ragged. His vision blurred. The sounds around him seemed distant.
The MBG lunchbox in his hand trembled violently.
Inside—
twenty-three glowing grains of rice spun wildly, like stars colliding in space.
Some dimmed.
Others burned too brightly.
Arga's body could no longer contain them.
He coughed up blood.
COUGH!
Sinta immediately caught his shoulder.
"ARGA!"
Bimo rushed over.
"Hey! Hey! Don't do this now!"
Farhan stared at the data on his laptop.
Then his face fell.
"His organs are beginning to fail…"
Lila covered her mouth.
"The resonance from all seven Cores is tearing his body apart from the inside…"
Kai stood frozen.
His eyes were filled with a fear none of them had ever seen before.
"If he forces himself to take another step…"
He swallowed hard.
"…he'll be gone."
But Arga kept staring at the sky.
Because he could feel it.
Something beyond that vortex.
Ancient.
Hungry.
Impatient.
And aware of him.
On the other side of the crater—
the Dominion Leader was still standing.
But this time, the faint smile on his face had cracked.
The hand holding his control device trembled ever so slightly.
The man in the hat stared at the sky, his face pale.
"Sir…"
"The portal is expanding too quickly…"
"We're losing control!"
The Dominion Leader clenched his jaw.
"Quiet."
But a bead of sweat rolled down his temple.
For the first time—
the Dominion looked afraid of something they had awakened themselves.
Farhan turned his laptop so everyone could see.
The world map lit up.
Seven glowing points pulsed simultaneously:
Southern Island.
Ancient Forest.
Ice Valley.
Savanna.
Himalayas.
North Pole.
Fire Continent.
Lines of energy connected them all.
Like the veins of a planet.
Like the nervous system of the Earth itself.
Farhan whispered,
"These aren't just energy sources…"
Lila finished softly,
"They're the world's life-support system."
Sinta stared at the screen.
"The Earth's heart…"
Pak Rahmat answered from behind them.
"No."
Everyone turned.
He stepped toward the edge of the crater.
His eyes remained fixed on the vortex above.
"This is a chain."
The wind stopped for a moment.
Pak Rahmat continued.
"The seven Cores were never created to provide power."
"They were created to bind something that was buried before humanity existed."
Bimo swallowed.
"And we…"
"…just unlocked it?"
Pak Rahmat didn't answer.
Because the answer was already in the sky.
CRAAAAAAAAACK!
The vortex widened.
The light from the seven Cores was sucked toward its center.
Then—
something descended.
It didn't fall.
It descended calmly.
As though the sky belonged to it.
A massive head emerged first.
Its surface was covered in ancient black-and-gold stone.
Glowing red cracks spread across its face.
Two horns curved upward like inverted mountains.
Then came its shoulders.
Then its chest.
Half of its enormous body emerged from the portal, hanging above the world.
It was large enough to cover the moon.
Its eyes slowly opened.
Two white eyes without pupils.
The entire island fell silent.
Farhan dropped his laptop.
"Impossible…"
Lila stumbled back three steps.
"That… isn't a Guardian…"
Kai whispered—
as if even speaking its name might awaken it completely.
"The First Guardian."
The creature looked down at the world.
Then it looked at Arga.
No sound.
No emotion.
Yet Arga's knees slammed into the ground.
THUD!
Blood ran from his nose.
His body trembled violently.
Sinta wrapped an arm around his shoulders to keep him from collapsing.
"What is it doing to you?!"
Arga struggled to speak.
"Its voice…"
"I can hear its voice…"
Bimo panicked.
"But it isn't even speaking!"
Arga stared blankly at the sky.
"It's calling me…"
Ignivar Draco suddenly roared.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!
The magma dragon leapt into the air.
Its damaged wings forced themselves open.
With every ounce of strength it had left, it charged toward the colossal figure in the sky.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The impact shook the clouds.
Lava erupted from every volcano on the island.
Fire flooded down the slopes.
Bimo stared in disbelief.
"He's attacking that god…"
But when the fiery dust cleared—
the First Guardian hadn't moved an inch.
Its hand slowly rose.
Then it caught Ignivar Draco by the throat.
With one hand.
The entire crater fell silent.
The massive dragon struggled.
Fire burst from its mouth.
Its wings battered the air.
But the grip did not weaken.
Then—
CRAAAAACK!
The stone around Ignivar Draco's neck cracked.
Its scream shook the world.
ROOOOAAAAARGH!
Arga screamed.
"DON'T!"
The First Guardian hurled the dragon toward the mountainside.
BOOOOOOOM!
Half the mountainside collapsed into the sea.
A wave of lava surged into the sky.
Yet seconds later—
Ignivar Draco rose again.
One wing destroyed.
Its neck cracked.
Its body covered in wounds.
Still standing.
Still facing the sky.
Pak Rahmat looked at the dragon.
Then spoke quietly.
"That is why it was chosen."
The Dominion Leader stepped back.
For the first time, he had truly lost his composure.
"This is wrong…"
"It should still be sealed!"
The man in the hat almost shouted.
"Orders, sir?!"
The Dominion Leader looked at Arga.
Then at the First Guardian.
Then whispered, his face pale:
"We're no longer the players."
Pak Rahmat looked at Arga.
His expression hardened.
"I hid this for too long."
Everyone turned toward him.
He spoke quietly—
but every word landed like a hammer.
"I was once part of the old Guardians."
"I helped seal the first gate."
Bimo stared at him.
"Wait… WHAT?!"
Pak Rahmat ignored everyone.
His eyes remained fixed on Arga.
"And only the blood of the next generation of Guardians…"
"…can seal it again."
Arga trembled.
"You mean… I have to…"
Pak Rahmat nodded.
"Enter the portal."
Everyone froze.
Sinta immediately shouted,
"No!"
Kai stepped forward.
"That would be suicide."
Pak Rahmat answered without hesitation.
"Yes."
The sky roared.
The portal widened again.
The First Guardian descended farther.
Its waist began to emerge.
The world would not survive if its entire body crossed through.
Arga stood.
His body nearly collapsed.
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
His hands trembled.
Yet he remained standing.
Bimo grabbed his arm.
"Don't be an idiot."
Arga gave him a weak smile.
"Too late for that."
He pulled his arm free.
Then walked toward the edge of the crater.
Twenty-three glowing grains of rice rose from the lunchbox.
They circled around him like a golden galaxy.
Their light merged.
Every Core in the world pulsed at the same time.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
Pak Rahmat stared at Arga—
and for the first time,
his eyes trembled.
"Forgive me…"
Arga glanced back at him.
Then spoke softly.
"If the world needs a Guardian…"
"…I'll try."
He leapt toward the portal.
Sinta screamed.
"ARGAAAA!"
The instant Arga's body touched the light of the gate—
the First Guardian's eyes turned red.
And the entire world went dark.