Several days after the northern blizzard finally came to an end—
a small cargo aircraft cut across the brilliant blue skies above Africa.
Below them, the world had completely changed.
There was no snow.
No frozen mist.
No silent white mountains.
Only an endless stretch of golden savanna.
Tall grass swayed beneath waves of scorching wind.
Scattered acacia trees stood like ancient sentinels upon the crimson earth.
The air shimmered beneath the blazing sun.
Yet the breathtaking landscape brought no sense of peace.
Something was buried beneath this land.
Something alive.
Something...
waiting.
Inside the aircraft, the Nutrition Guardians gathered around the holographic display projected from Farhan's laptop.
A rotating map of the world's energy cores floated in the air.
Three points glowed steadily.
The Southern Island.
The Ancient Forest.
The Frozen Valley.
And one new point—
pulsed violently at the heart of Africa.
Bimo unzipped his heavy winter jacket and tossed it onto a nearby seat.
"Finally."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"A place that isn't trying to freeze my organs."
Dika chuckled.
"Give it another two hours."
"You'll be begging to go back to the snow."
No one truly laughed.
Because Arga was trembling.
He sat beside the window, gripping the MBG lunchbox tightly with both hands.
Sweat covered his palms.
His breathing had become uneven.
Kai noticed immediately.
"Arga."
"What's wrong?"
Arga lowered his head.
Inside the lunchbox—
the eighteen glowing grains of rice were spinning faster.
Far too fast.
Their golden light pulsed like a frantic heartbeat.
"...It's hot..."
Arga's voice was hoarse.
"This Core..."
"...is different."
Suddenly—
a flood of visions crashed into his mind.
Burning grasslands.
A blood-red sky.
A roar powerful enough to split the earth apart.
A colossal shadow walking through an ocean of flames.
Arga squeezed his eyes shut.
"UGH!"
Kai immediately grabbed his shoulder.
"He's receiving another resonance."
Farhan glanced at the data on his screen.
"Arga's energy output is spiking."
Lila froze.
"It's even stronger than when the Ice Core awakened."
Sinta looked at Arga with concern.
"Can you hold on?"
Arga slowly opened his eyes.
Golden light flickered within his pupils.
"I..."
"...have to."
From the cockpit, Pak Rahmat's calm voice echoed through the cabin.
"We're almost there."
The aircraft began its descent.
Ahead of them stretched a vast crimson plain that looked untouched by time.
A herd of zebras raced across the grasslands.
Giraffes stood silently beneath the endless sky.
Birds circled low overhead, restless for reasons they couldn't understand.
The aircraft touched down.
ROOOOOOM!
A cloud of red dust exploded beneath its wheels.
As the rear cargo door opened—
a wave of scorching air rushed inside like a wall of fire.
WHOOOOSH!
Bimo instinctively stepped back.
"Okay..."
He stared at the blazing sky.
"This isn't heat."
"It's personal."
They stepped out one by one.
The savanna stretched endlessly before them.
The ground was dry and cracked beneath their boots.
The wind carried the scent of dust...
wild grass...
and something else.
Something that smelled like scorched metal.
Farhan opened his laptop.
The energy scanner immediately screamed.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"The Core is close!"
He pointed toward the west.
"Only five kilometers away!"
But Kai wasn't looking at the screen.
His eyes were fixed on the distant horizon.
"There's something else."
Everyone turned.
Far away—
a massive wall of crimson dust was racing across the savanna.
Dozens of heavy vehicles rolled through the grasslands.
Gigantic drilling machines.
Armored transports.
Combat drones.
And painted across every vehicle—
the black emblem of Dominion.
Bimo let out a weary sigh.
"Great."
"They've upgraded again."
Sinta clenched her fists.
"They came prepared for war."
Pak Rahmat was the last to step off the aircraft.
The brim of his hat shaded most of his face.
He looked at the advancing fleet...
without surprise.
Without fear.
Then he spoke quietly.
"They're thirteen minutes late."
Everyone turned toward him.
Farhan frowned.
"You know their schedule?"
Pak Rahmat didn't answer.
Instead, he stared at the cracked earth beneath his feet.
Then whispered—
so softly it was almost swallowed by the wind.
"If it's already awake..."
"...thirteen minutes could mean thousands of lives."
Silence.
Bimo glanced at Dika.
"Okay..."
"Now I'm officially creeped out."
Suddenly—
the ground trembled.
RUMMMMMBLE...
Everyone froze.
A massive crack tore across the earth several hundred meters ahead.
CRAAAAACK!!
Birds exploded into the sky.
The zebras bolted in every direction.
Even the giraffes fled in panic.
The scorching wind...
stopped.
The entire world seemed to hold its breath.
The MBG lunchbox in Arga's hands erupted with golden light.
WHOOOOOM!!
All eighteen glowing grains spun wildly.
Arga collapsed to one knee.
"AAAGH!"
He clutched his chest.
"I..."
"...I can hear it..."
Kai knelt beside him.
"What do you hear?"
Arga slowly lifted his head.
His face had gone completely pale.
"It's not..."
"...a sound."
"It's..."
"...rage."
The crack widened.
CRAAAAACK!!
Golden light burst from beneath the earth.
Crimson dust erupted into the sky like a living storm.
Then—
something emerged.
Not a head.
Not a hand.
A colossal black horn pierced through the ground.
Then—
a second horn.
Moments later—
two golden eyes opened within the swirling dust.
They weren't the eyes of a beast.
They were the eyes...
of a king.
BOOOOOOOM!!
A colossal creature rose from beneath the savanna.
Its body was as massive as a small mountain.
Its hide was as dark as volcanic stone.
A blazing crimson mane flowed around its neck.
Two enormous horns curved toward the heavens.
Every breath it released shimmered with scorching heat.
It took a single step.
BOOM!
The earth split beneath its feet.
The creature slowly raised its head—
and roared.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!!!
The roar shattered the silence of the savanna.
The aircraft's windows exploded into fragments.
Dominion drones fell from the sky.
Several armored vehicles overturned from the force of the sound alone.
Farhan stared at his screen.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"Its energy..."
"...is even greater than the Ice Core's!"
Lila instinctively stepped backward.
"That's impossible..."
Kai whispered, his face tense.
"The Guardian of the Savanna..."
Pak Rahmat never took his eyes off the colossal creature.
Then he spoke a single sentence—
one that froze the blood in everyone's veins.
"No."
"That's only the gate."
Everyone turned toward him.
"What do you mean?!" Sinta shouted.
Pak Rahmat looked toward the enormous crack that still split the earth open.
Deep beneath the Savanna Guardian—
more golden eyes slowly opened in the darkness.
One.
Two.
Three.
Dozens.
Arga froze.
The lunchbox in his hands trembled violently.
And from deep beneath the earth—
the footsteps of another colossal being began to echo.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
The African Arc...
had only just begun.