The classroom felt wrong.
Not simply quiet.
Empty.
Rows of desks stretched behind them, untouched and abandoned, as though the school day had ended while something else had quietly begun.
Only four people remained.
Arga. Sinta. Bimo. And Bu Rini.
She stood near the teacher's desk, calm and motionless, studying them.
Not like a teacher.
Like someone trying to confirm a suspicion.
The evening breeze drifted through the open windows.
Curtains swayed softly.
But the air inside the room felt strangely heavy.
"I'll ask one more time," Bu Rini said.
Her voice was gentle.
Too gentle.
"Is there anything unusual about the MBG meals?"
Silence.
Bimo glanced at Arga.
Sinta did the same.
Arga felt the familiar tightness in his chest.
He wanted to tell the truth.
The problem was—
he didn't understand the truth himself.
"...It tasted better," he finally said.
Bimo nodded quickly.
"Yeah. Really good."
"And it gave us a lot of energy," Sinta added carefully.
Bu Rini remained silent.
Watching.
Thinking.
Then she slowly exhaled.
"...So you've already reached that stage."
The room froze.
"...What?" Bimo asked.
Bu Rini stepped forward.
Slow.
Certain.
"There is no need to pretend anymore."
Something in her voice changed.
Lower.
Sharper.
"You've felt it, haven't you?"
Arga's heartbeat quickened.
"The warmth."
Sinta stiffened.
"The speed."
Bimo's breath caught.
"The strength."
No one answered.
They didn't need to.
Bu Rini nodded.
"I thought so."
BANG!
The sound shattered the moment.
Everyone turned.
Pak Damar rushed past the doorway, panic written across his face.
"Bu Rini!"
She reacted instantly.
"What happened?"
"The box—"
"What about it?"
Pak Damar stopped to catch his breath.
Then said the words that made the room go cold.
"...It's gone."
Silence.
Not shock.
Something worse.
Understanding.
The lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then dimmed.
Shadows stretched unnaturally across the floor.
Bimo edged closer to the others.
"...I really don't like this."
Sinta lowered her voice.
"...We're not alone."
Bu Rini turned sharply toward the door.
"Stay here."
She moved immediately.
But Arga felt it.
The energy inside him.
Stronger than before.
Faster.
Focused.
Calling.
He stood up.
"I'm going."
"Arga—"
Too late.
He was already moving.
Sinta followed without hesitation.
Bimo stared after them.
Then groaned.
"...One day this is going to kill us."
He ran after them anyway.
The Office
The hallway felt wrong.
Too quiet.
Their footsteps echoed louder than they should have.
Every sound felt distorted.
As if the school itself were listening.
They reached the office.
The door was already open.
Pak Damar pushed it wider.
"Principal?"
No answer.
The room was empty.
But one thing was obvious.
The box was gone.
Bu Rini stepped inside.
For the first time, her composure slipped.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
"...They're faster than I expected."
Arga frowned.
"Who?"
Sinta looked at her.
"Who took it?"
Bu Rini remained silent for several seconds.
Then she turned toward them.
"...People who know about the program."
The tension in the room tightened.
Bimo swallowed.
"What program?"
A pause.
Heavy.
Deliberate.
Then Bu Rini spoke.
"The MBG program..."
Her voice dropped.
"...was never just about food."
Everything inside Arga went still.
"...What do you mean?"
Bu Rini stepped closer.
"Those meals were designed."
Her eyes locked onto his.
"To awaken something."
Silence pressed in from every side.
Sinta spoke first.
Barely above a whisper.
"...Awaken what?"
Bu Rini looked at all three of them.
"Your bodies."
The words sank deeper than any shout.
"Some children can process it."
"Most cannot."
Bimo's voice trembled.
"...And the ones who can?"
Bu Rini's eyes sharpened.
"They become something else."
A long silence followed.
Long enough to change everything.
"We call them—"
The lights flickered again.
Then—
THUD.
Something landed outside.
Fast.
Close.
Arga spun toward the window.
A shadow vaulted over the school fence.
Gone in an instant.
"They're here."
Bu Rini's expression hardened.
"...Too soon."
The Call
The lunch box in Arga's hands pulsed.
Bright.
Alive.
Then—
Go.
Arga froze.
The word wasn't loud.
It wasn't even a voice.
It felt more like a feeling translated into language.
Go.
The message echoed through him.
Not from outside.
Not from anyone in the room.
From somewhere deeper.
Somewhere connected to the symbol.
He looked down.
The mark inside the lunch box glowed brighter than ever.
No longer just light.
Direction.
Purpose.
A target.
He lifted his head.
"We have to stop them."
Sinta nodded immediately.
"Yeah."
Bimo stared at both of them.
Then sighed.
Long and dramatic.
"...We're really doing this."
Arga didn't hesitate.
"If we don't..."
He looked toward the darkening sky beyond the window.
"...they'll come back."
Silence.
Then a choice.
"I'm in," Sinta said.
Bimo rubbed his face.
"...Fine."
Another sigh.
"I'm in too."
The Name
They turned and ran.
Out of the school.
Toward something they barely understood.
Bu Rini didn't stop them.
Didn't call after them.
She simply watched.
Pak Damar looked at her.
"You're letting them go?"
Bu Rini stared at the doorway long after they disappeared.
Then she exhaled.
Slowly.
"...We don't have a choice anymore."
Her eyes lifted toward the darkening sky.
"They've already awakened."
Pak Damar remained silent.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Bu Rini said the name.
The name she had hoped she would never need to use again.
"...Nutrition Guardians."
Outside, the wind rushed past.
Night settled over the city.
People continued their lives.
Unaware.
Arga ran at the front, the symbol inside his lunch box pulsing like a second heartbeat.
Guiding him.
Pulling him.
Leading him toward something waiting in the darkness.
For the first time, they weren't reacting.
They weren't surviving.
They were choosing.
Choosing to move forward.
Into a hidden world where food could become power.
And power always demanded a price.
Far ahead—
beyond the city lights—
someone was already waiting for them.