The underground chamber had changed.
It was no longer merely a place hidden beneath an island.
It had become the center of something alive.
Golden light drifted through the air.
Warm.
Deep.
Like an invisible embrace wrapping around everything it touched.
At the heart of the chamber, the Second Core rotated peacefully.
Stable.
Radiant.
Like a small sun that had finally found its place.
Yet peace never lasted for long.
Near the entrance, the Dominion Leader remained standing.
Silent.
Watching.
Like a man who had not lost.
Only a man waiting for the next move.
The man in the black hat glanced at his scanner.
"The energy has stabilized."
A faint smile appeared on the Dominion Leader's face.
"Which makes it far more valuable."
A sharp beep suddenly echoed through the chamber.
BEEP.
Everyone froze.
Metal panels slid open across the floor.
Red warning lights flashed.
Machinery hidden beneath the chamber roared to life.
WHOOOOOM—
Farhan's expression changed instantly.
"They're extracting energy from the core!"
Lila checked her readings.
"No."
Her eyes widened.
"It's a forced extraction system."
Bimo groaned.
"Of course."
"Because apparently we're not done yet."
The light within the crystal trembled.
Only slightly.
Yet everyone felt it.
Like watching something innocent suffer without understanding why.
Kai immediately stepped forward.
"If this continues—"
"The core could collapse."
Sinta reacted instantly.
"Destroy every machine!"
The team moved.
Bimo charged first.
Dika followed close behind.
Rani slammed into one of the extraction units.
Tono dropped from above, crushing another beneath his weight.
Metal collided.
Sparks flew.
Machines exploded.
Yet one remained.
The central generator.
Still active.
Still pulling energy from the awakened core.
Farhan gritted his teeth.
"We don't have enough power to stop it!"
Around him, the team continued fighting.
But Arga didn't move.
He remained standing before the core.
Watching.
Listening.
Feeling.
The light inside the crystal had begun to waver.
His lunchbox trembled in response.
The fourteen rice grains pulsed rapidly.
Not in panic.
Not in fear.
As if they were waiting.
Waiting for a choice.
Kai looked toward him.
"Arga."
Farhan shouted from across the room.
"We need more energy!"
But Sinta said only one word.
"Arga."
He closed his eyes.
Then slowly inhaled.
The noise of battle faded.
The alarms disappeared.
Only the core remained.
Its light.
Its presence.
Its pain.
When Arga opened his eyes again, they were calm.
Certain.
He raised the lunchbox.
"This power..."
Golden light began spreading from the grains.
Brighter.
Warmer.
Alive.
"...was never meant to be possessed."
The chamber grew brighter.
The golden light expanded.
"...it exists to protect."
The fourteen grains began spinning.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
Then—
a new spark appeared.
Tiny.
Gentle.
Yet impossible to ignore.
Bimo's eyes widened.
"No way."
"Again?!"
Farhan stared at the readings.
"The energy is climbing—"
Lila shook her head.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"No."
A pause.
"It's becoming whole."
The new grain formed slowly among the others.
The fifteenth.
Not created.
Born.
The chamber erupted with golden light.
Yet there was no explosion.
No violence.
The light spread like dawn breaking across the horizon.
Warm.
Endless.
Inevitable.
Then something unexpected happened.
The light moved beyond Arga.
Touching everyone.
Sinta.
Bimo.
Farhan.
Lila.
Rani.
Dika.
Tono.
Nisa.
And Kai.
Golden symbols briefly appeared across their lunchboxes.
Each one glowed for a moment.
A heartbeat.
A promise.
Then faded.
No new grains appeared.
Not yet.
But the connection remained.
Kai stared at the others.
Understanding finally dawned in his eyes.
"So that's it."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"This was never the power of one guardian."
His gaze swept across the team.
"It was always meant to be shared."
WHOOOOOOOM—
The golden lights resonated with one another.
Not competing.
Not colliding.
Strengthening each other.
The Dominion Generator trembled violently.
Cracks spread across its surface.
The machinery screamed.
For the first time, the Dominion Leader looked genuinely surprised.
"So this is what it means..."
CRACK—
BOOOOOOM!
The generator shattered.
Red lights died instantly.
The machines fell silent.
Only golden light remained.
Whole.
Warm.
Alive.
The Dominion Leader stared at the result.
Then slowly smiled.
Not in anger.
Not in frustration.
In fascination.
"Remarkable."
The man in the black hat stepped forward.
"Do we proceed?"
The answer came immediately.
"No."
The Dominion Leader's eyes settled on Arga.
Deep.
Thoughtful.
For the first time, he truly understood what stood before him.
"I see now."
He turned toward the exit.
"Protect it well."
His footsteps echoed through the chamber.
Because one day...
"The world will come looking for it."
Then Dominion left.
Not defeated.
Not victorious.
Simply waiting.
The chamber fell silent once more.
But this silence felt different.
Not empty.
Filled.
With hope.
And responsibility.
Arga looked down at the lunchbox.
Fifteen rice grains glowed softly inside.
Steady.
Peaceful.
Powerful.
Sinta smiled.
"We did it."
Bimo immediately dropped to the floor.
"I don't care what happens next."
"I'm starving."
Laughter broke out across the room.
Light.
Honest.
Human.
For the first time in a long while.
Farhan turned toward the network display.
More golden signals had appeared.
Far more than before.
Lila stared at them.
Her voice was barely audible.
"This is only the beginning."
Kai looked from the cores to Arga.
Then toward the growing network.
"We're not alone anymore."
Arga closed the lunchbox.
Then looked at the people beside him.
His team.
His friends.
His family.
And spoke quietly.
Yet with absolute certainty.
"As long as there is something worth protecting..."
"...the Nutritional Guardians will stand."
On the forgotten island, two awakened cores shone side by side.
Like twin stars born into the darkness.
But far beyond the horizon—
in places they had never seen—
other lights were beginning to stir.
And not all of them were waiting to be protected.
Some of them...
were waiting to claim everything for themselves.