The Pacific Ocean had yet to settle.
The waters still churned from the lingering impact of the colossal beings. Waves rose and fell like the exhausted chest of a wounded world. Dark clouds hung low overhead, while Terra Ultima's golden radiance shimmered across an ocean scarred by the residual energy of battle.
Above it all—
the Cosmic Leviathan still hovered beyond the atmosphere.
Its colossal body obscured a portion of the stars. Its cosmic tentacles drifted slowly, like the breathing shadows of distant galaxies. Its four violet eyes remained fixed on Earth, their gaze filled with a quiet, insatiable hunger.
But this time—
it wasn't alone.
Farhan stared at the radar screen, barely daring to breathe. His fingers trembled above the keyboard.
"Another energy surge..."
Lila hurried over.
"From where?"
Farhan swallowed hard.
"Orbit."
The holographic display zoomed in.
A red rift appeared in the sky.
Then a second.
Then five.
Then dozens.
The rifts tore open across the atmosphere like fresh wounds carved into the night sky. Violet light spilled from their edges, bathing the clouds in an unnatural glow.
Bimo stared upward, his expression blank.
"...I miss the days when our biggest problem was a school exam."
Dika didn't answer.
His gaze remained locked on the sky.
"This isn't an ordinary attack."
Kai stood at the side of the ship, his soaked coat whipping in the ocean wind. His eyes narrowed.
"They're watching."
Arga turned toward him.
"They?"
Before Kai could answer—
something appeared inside the first rift.
An eye.
Colossal.
Larger than a skyscraper.
It floated within the torn fabric of space.
Its pupil was pitch-black, surrounded by a violet iris that swirled like a living nebula.
And it was staring directly at Earth.
Bimo took a step backward.
"...No. No, absolutely not. I refuse to live in a world where the sky has eyes."
Then the second rift opened completely.
A second eye appeared.
The third rift.
A third eye.
The fourth.
The fifth.
The tenth.
Dozens of enormous eyes now filled the sky in every direction.
Watching.
Unblinking.
Silent.
The ocean fell still.
The wind died.
Even the Guardians grew tense.
Gaia Primordia raised her head.
Ignivar Draco's throat glowed with smoldering embers.
Ursus Glacialis released a low growl.
Aethernox circled Terra Ultima like a living shield.
They all sensed the same thing.
A threat.
Not from a single creature—
but from something far greater.
Farhan stared at the data streaming across his screen.
"Impossible..."
Lila turned sharply.
"What is it now?"
Farhan pointed at the numbers surging wildly across the display.
"Every eye is generating energy on the level of a high-class cosmic entity."
The cramped control room suddenly felt even smaller.
Bimo swallowed.
"So... the sky is full of bosses now?"
Dika answered quietly.
"No."
His eyes lifted toward the countless lights above them.
"...Scouts."
Kai nodded.
"Eyes from beyond the galaxies."
Arga tightened his grip on his MBG Lunchbox.
All thirty glowing grains spun rapidly inside.
But this time, their light was anything but steady.
They trembled.
As if they were afraid.
Arga felt something creeping through his bones.
Eyes.
Thousands of them.
But they weren't looking at Earth.
They weren't looking at Terra Ultima.
They were looking at him.
He forced himself to swallow.
"What... are they looking for?"
Kai stared at the sky without blinking.
"Not what."
He paused.
"Who."
Suddenly—
every eye in the sky moved at once.
Their pupils contracted.
Every single one turned toward the same tiny point in the middle of the Pacific.
The research vessel.
Arga.
Bimo looked around in growing panic.
"Okay. I really don't like it when the entire universe agrees to stare at our friend."
Sinta stepped in front of Arga.
Her hands were trembling—
but she stood firm.
"If they want him, they'll have to get through us first."
Dika took his place on Arga's right.
Bimo stood on his left.
Farhan closed his laptop and stepped forward.
Lila gripped her data tablet as though it were a weapon.
Kai moved to the front.
The members of the Nutrition Guardians formed a small defensive line across the deck of their nearly wrecked vessel.
Small.
Fragile.
But unyielding.
Terra Ultima slowly turned its head.
Its enormous green-gold eyes settled on Arga.
As if waiting for him to make a choice.
The sky pulsed.
The largest eye, suspended within the central rift, began to glow.
Its pupil widened.
Then a voice emerged.
Not from the air.
Not from the ocean.
But directly inside everyone's mind.
A voice that was cold.
Ancient.
And utterly devoid of mercy.
"Arga."
Arga's entire body froze.
The MBG Lunchbox erupted in golden light.
The waves surrounding the vessel surged dozens of meters into the air.
Bimo whispered under his breath.
"...It knows our names."
Kai stared at the sky, his expression more tense than Arga had ever seen before.
"No."
He drew a shaky breath.
"It knows who Arga truly is."
The largest rift in the sky began to widen.
And beyond the thousands of watching eyes—
something began to move.