Night had fallen over the mountains.
Cold winds swept across the peaks.
The world above was quiet.
But deep beneath the earth, the golden core continued to shine.
Unchanging.
Patient.
Like something that had never truly slept.
Arga stood before it, unable to move away.
The connection was becoming stronger.
Stronger than he wanted to admit.
The thirteen rice grains inside his lunchbox pulsed with a soft golden glow.
Yet the feeling tugging at him wasn't coming from the core.
It was coming from somewhere else.
Somewhere far away.
Like an invisible thread stretching across the world.
Calling his name.
Pulling him toward something unseen.
Arga frowned.
"I can feel it again."
Farhan was still studying the network map projected above his laptop.
"The resonance network is stable..."
Suddenly, he stopped.
His eyes narrowed.
"Wait."
Lila immediately stepped closer.
"What is it?"
Farhan pointed at a tiny blinking signal near the edge of the map.
Unlike the others, this one pulsed differently.
Almost like a heartbeat.
Sinta moved beside them.
"Location?"
The map zoomed in.
A coastline appeared.
Then open ocean.
Miles and miles of empty sea.
Finally—
a small island emerged.
Isolated.
Forgotten.
Farhan scanned the information.
"No major population."
"No recorded activity."
"No strategic facilities."
Bimo folded his arms.
"Which usually means it's important."
"Very important."
Nobody argued.
Kai stared at the blinking point.
His expression grew serious.
"...I can feel it too."
Arga nodded.
The lunchbox in his hands had already begun to vibrate.
"It's another core."
Silence spread through the chamber.
Pak Rahmat looked toward the map.
"If it's part of the network..."
"...Dominion has already seen it."
Lila nodded immediately.
"A resonance this powerful can't stay hidden."
Farhan sighed.
"They've probably detected it already."
Bimo groaned.
"So it's another race."
Sinta crossed her arms.
"Then we make sure we win."
Arga turned toward the mountain core.
The golden sphere pulsed softly.
Almost as if it understood the conversation.
Then the voice returned.
Clearer than before.
"Guardian..."
Arga froze.
The world around him faded.
Cold wind brushed against his skin.
He heard crashing waves.
The roar of the ocean.
Dark clouds.
A lonely island standing against an endless sea.
Then he saw it.
Deep beneath the island.
A faint golden light.
Silent.
Dormant.
Waiting.
The vision vanished.
Arga opened his eyes.
His heart was racing.
"The southern core..."
Everyone looked at him.
"It hasn't awakened yet."
Lila frowned.
"You mean it's inactive?"
Arga shook his head.
"Not inactive."
He looked toward the map.
"Asleep."
Kai slowly nodded.
"And untouched."
Hope spread through the room.
For the first time since discovering the network, they had an advantage.
Bimo immediately stood.
"Perfect."
"That means we're still ahead."
Dika smiled.
"As long as we get there first."
Rani glanced at the blinking signal.
"And as long as Dominion doesn't."
Pak Rahmat studied the map.
"The island isn't easy to reach."
"It's far from normal shipping routes."
Bu Maya folded the old documents.
"Then we leave as soon as possible."
Nobody disagreed.
The decision had already been made.
Every eye turned toward Arga.
The thirteen rice grains glowed warmly inside the box.
This time, the sensation was unmistakable.
They weren't simply reacting.
They were guiding him.
Pointing south.
Toward the sleeping core.
Toward whatever was waiting beneath the island.
Arga took a deep breath.
"We're going."
No hesitation.
No uncertainty.
Only determination.
Hundreds of kilometers away—
inside a dark command room overlooking a sea of city lights—
the same map floated above a massive display.
The southern signal blinked steadily.
The Dominion leader stood in silence.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then he smiled.
"So it finally appeared."
The man in the black hat stepped forward.
"Orders?"
"Deploy a team."
The screen changed.
Several ships appeared.
Already moving toward the southern sea.
"And the Guardians?"
The Dominion leader didn't answer immediately.
His eyes remained fixed on the island.
Then his smile widened.
"Leave them."
The man frowned.
"What?"
"A remote island."
A pause.
"The perfect place..."
"...for something to end."
Back in the mountains, Arga closed the lunchbox.
The light dimmed but never disappeared.
He looked at his team.
"If that core awakens..."
"...we need to be there."
Bimo grinned.
"The Nutritional Guardians."
He pointed toward the map.
"Ocean Expansion Pack."
Dika laughed.
"That sounds ridiculous."
Sinta sighed.
"That sounds dangerous."
Kai glanced toward the southern sea displayed on the screen.
"Both."
For a moment, everyone smiled.
Then the feeling returned.
That strange feeling.
The sense that something was waiting for them.
Far beyond the mountains.
Far beyond the ocean.
Beneath a forgotten island no one cared about.
The sea shifted.
Slowly.
Almost imperceptibly.
The wind changed direction.
And deep beneath the island—
something stirred.
Not awake.
Not yet.
But no longer sleeping.
And this time, the question wasn't who would protect the core.
The question was—
what would awaken when they arrived?