CRAAAAAAAAASH!!
The Polar Guardian's massive body slammed into the towering wall of ice.
A deafening explosion erupted.
Snow burst across the valley like a white tidal wave, swallowing everything in its path.
The shockwave hurled everyone backward.
Arga crashed to one knee, gasping for breath.
The frozen ground beneath him cracked from the impact.
Bimo stared in disbelief, his mouth hanging open.
"...Since when could Mr. Rahmat do that?"
No one answered.
Because Pak Rahmat himself looked as though he had turned to stone.
His raised hand trembled violently.
A thin stream of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
His face had gone deathly pale.
He never took his eyes off the Polar Guardian.
Then, almost inaudibly, he whispered—
As if speaking to an old ghost.
"...You're still alive."
Kai heard every word.
His eyes narrowed.
"Pak Rahmat..."
But the old man slowly took a step back.
For the very first time since they had met him—
Fear appeared on his face.
Real fear.
Across the valley, the Dominion Commander smiled faintly.
"Finally."
His gaze shifted toward Pak Rahmat.
"So..."
"You really do know it."
The wind suddenly stopped.
For one impossible second—
The entire valley fell silent.
Sinta turned sharply toward Pak Rahmat.
"You know each other?"
He didn't answer.
His eyes were fixed on the enormous crack spreading across the frozen ground.
The fracture created by the Guardian's leap continued to widen.
Something was glowing deep inside it.
Not blue.
Not gold.
But a dark blue-black light.
Cold.
Bottomless.
Wrong.
Farhan glanced at the readings on his laptop.
The color drained from his face.
"No..."
Lila stepped beside him.
"What is it?"
Farhan slowly backed away.
"That isn't a Core..."
The crack expanded even farther.
CRAAAAAAAAACK!!
The entire frozen valley shook violently.
The Polar Guardian slowly turned toward the abyss.
Then—
For the first time since it had appeared...
The colossal Guardian stepped backward.
It was afraid.
Pak Rahmat's expression changed instantly.
His voice exploded across the valley with a desperation none of them had ever heard before.
"RUN!!"
Something moved beneath the ancient ice.
Something enormous.
Far larger than the Polar Guardian itself.
The frozen earth trembled beneath its presence.
Deep within the darkness—
A single eye slowly opened.
Its pupil was as black as the endless abyss.
Its iris glowed with an eerie blue so dark it seemed to swallow all light around it.
The moment that eye awakened—
The blizzard disappeared.
The howling wind ceased.
The falling snow froze in midair.
Even the mountains seemed to hold their breath.
An impossible silence descended upon the world.
No one moved.
No one dared to breathe.
Even the Guardian of the Polar Core remained frozen in place...
Staring into the darkness below.
As though it had just witnessed the return of a nightmare that should have remained buried forever.