Jakarta had barely caught its breath.
Fires still burned along the streets.
Buildings continued to crumble.
Ambulances struggled to find their way through the rubble.
Crying could still be heard everywhere.
Yet the sky was already demanding its next victims.
Above the city—
a colossal hand hung from the dimensional rift, suspended among the clouds.
Its fingers were larger than skyscrapers.
The sheer pressure of its presence made the air tremble.
Everyone who looked up felt the same thing:
Small.
Insignificant.
Vulnerable.
Arga stood amid the ruins.
The MBG Lunchbox glowed in his hands.
Thirty-two rice grains revolved around its core of light.
Behind him—
his team stood despite their injuries.
Sinta at his right.
Bimo still covered in ash.
Dika with his shoulder crudely bandaged.
Farhan holding a cracked tablet.
Lila clutching the ancient book.
Kai sat leaning against a stone, barely strong enough to stand.
They were broken.
But they were still together.
The colossal eye in the sky fixed its gaze on Arga.
A voice from beyond the dimension echoed across the entire planet.
"Show me..."
"Just how fiercely this planet refuses to die."
Then the hand began to descend.
WHOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!
The clouds exploded.
A shockwave slammed into the city.
Highways split apart.
The remaining windows in every surviving building shattered at once.
People screamed.
"SHIELD!" Sinta shouted.
Arga raised the MBG Lunchbox.
Golden and emerald light spread outward.
Terra Ultima roared from the ocean.
Gaia Primordia spread her wings.
Every Guardian channeled their energy.
A colossal dome began forming above Jakarta.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The hand struck the dome.
The impact sent tremors across Indonesia.
Yet the dome held.
Cracking.
Shuddering.
But still holding.
Bimo gaped at the sky.
"...We just stopped the sky from slapping us."
Dika kept his eyes on the colossal hand.
"And that was only the greeting."
Farhan activated every surviving satellite relay he could reach.
Screens around the world flickered back to life.
Damaged televisions switched on.
Phones with just enough battery left began receiving an emergency broadcast.
The entire planet was now watching Jakarta's sky.
New York.
Tokyo.
Cairo.
São Paulo.
Lagos.
London.
Small villages.
Ships in the middle of the ocean.
Research stations in the polar regions.
They were all looking at the same screens.
They all saw the colossal hand hanging above Earth.
And they all understood—
this was no longer one city's problem.
Lila stared at the global readings.
The color drained from her face.
"Arga..."
She couldn't bring herself to finish.
Farhan saw it for himself.
"No..."
In Earth's orbit—
the first rift began widening again.
Then a second one appeared on the opposite side of the planet.
A third.
A fourth.
A fifth.
The sky was no longer merely cracking.
It was being torn apart in multiple places.
From each opening—
red, violet, and black light spilled outward.
Shadows of creatures moved behind them.
Not minor soldiers.
Not scouts.
The main fleet.
The Pacific Ocean began to churn.
The Atlantic twisted into a colossal vortex.
The auroras at the poles turned blood-red.
Mountains trembled.
Deserts glowed from beneath the earth.
All seven World Cores responded simultaneously.
The Earth knew war was coming.
Kai forced himself to stand.
His body trembled.
But his voice remained clear.
"At last... they're committing their full forces."
Arga turned toward him.
"Who are they, really?"
Kai stared at the sky, torn open in every direction.
"A predatory civilization."
"They don't conquer planets."
"They harvest life."
The largest rift opened above the Moon.
A colossal vessel slowly emerged.
It was as long as a continent.
Behind it—
thousands of other ships followed.
Some resembled living creatures.
Others looked like floating fortresses.
And some were nothing more than masses of darkness that swallowed light itself.
They filled Earth's orbit like a spreading plague.
On the streets of Jakarta—
people stopped running.
They looked up, tears streaming down their faces.
Across the world—
soldiers, scientists, world leaders, and ordinary citizens stared at the same images.
There was no propaganda.
No national borders.
No arguments.
Only one undeniable truth:
The enemy had arrived.
Bimo swallowed hard.
"...So now we're fighting a galaxy?"
Farhan answered quietly.
"Looks more like the galaxy is fighting us."
Sinta stepped forward.
Her hands were trembling.
Her body was exhausted.
But her gaze remained sharp.
"If the whole world is watching..."
She looked at her team.
"...then we'll be the first to stand."
Dika took his place beside her.
Bimo spun the metal rod in his hand.
Lila closed the ancient book and lifted her head.
Farhan activated every remaining global communication frequency.
Kai was the last to stand, nearly collapsing as he did.
And Arga stood before them all.
He raised the MBG Lunchbox toward the sky.
Thirty-two rice grains shone like a tiny cluster of stars.
Arga's voice was transmitted across the entire planet.
To every screen.
Every bunker.
Every frightened home.
"My name is Arga."
"I don't know if we can win."
Silence spread across the world.
"But if they come to take our homes..."
He looked toward the fleet gathering in orbit.
"...then we'll fight them together."
Across the Earth—
something changed.
Not the sky.
Not the oceans.
Humanity.
Hope, which had nearly died, began to burn once more.
Then global sirens sounded.
The rifts across the planet opened completely.
The main fleet began descending into the atmosphere.
Fire rained from the heavens like the beginning of the apocalypse.
And above it all—
the entity's voice echoed once more.
"The global war begins."