The sky above the Fire Continent had become a massive wound.
Red clouds swirled like a vortex of blood.
Black lightning flashed from within the portal.
The light of the seven Cores was still connected across the world, but now the network of energy was shaking violently—
as if the planet itself were convulsing.
Volcanoes roared.
Lava erupted from the slopes.
The ocean surrounding the island rose as though it wanted to swallow the land whole.
The ground cracked from one end to the other.
And in the middle of the sky—
the black portal continued to tear itself open.
Farhan stared at his laptop, his face drained of color.
His hands were trembling so badly that he could barely press the keys.
"The world system's energy is collapsing…"
Lila stared at the data on her tablet.
"That's impossible…"
The graphs on the screen no longer looked like numbers.
They were nothing but black lines swallowing every trace of color.
Sinta turned sharply.
"What is that?"
Farhan swallowed hard.
"That's not energy…"
He stared at the portal.
"…it's the void."
At the center of the crater—
Gaia Primordia raised its head.
The ancient dragon radiated an increasingly intense golden light.
But for the first time—
that light trembled.
A creature as old as the world itself…
was on alert.
It spread its wings wide.
Then roared.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!!
A war cry.
A warning.
The world's final roar.
The other Guardians immediately answered.
Solaris Lion roared, its mane exploding like a sun.
Ursus Glacialis slammed its icy paws into the lava-covered ground, freezing part of the crater.
Himal Yaksha lowered its horns and summoned a mountain of stone from deep within the earth.
Ignivar Draco unleashed a torrent of magma into the sky.
The Forest Guardian sent enormous roots twisting around the cracks in the earth.
All the Guardians stood facing the same direction.
The sky.
On the other side of the crater—
Dominion was beginning to lose control.
One of the reactor towers exploded.
BOOOOM!
Soldiers screamed in panic.
Drones fell from the sky like dead insects.
The man in the hat staggered backward, trembling.
"Sir! The system is unstable!"
But the Dominion leader was still smiling.
Though sweat had begun to trickle down his temple.
"Silence."
He stared at the portal with feverish eyes.
"We've come too far to be afraid now."
Arga stood several meters from the edge of the crater.
Or rather—
he was trying to stand.
His body was nearly destroyed.
Golden cracks of light spread from his neck down his arms.
Blood ran from his ears.
Every breath felt like a knife driven into his lungs.
The MBG Lunchbox in his hand shook violently.
Twenty-three glowing rice grains spun so fast they were almost impossible to see.
Kai gripped his shoulder.
"Enough."
Arga shook his head.
"Not yet…"
His knees nearly gave out.
Sinta caught him.
Her eyes were red.
"Do you want to die?!"
Arga looked toward the sky.
Something beyond the portal was looking back at him.
"I…"
His voice was barely a whisper.
"…have already been chosen."
The portal cracked open wider.
CRAAAAACK!
The sky split from one end to the other.
Then—
a gigantic hand emerged.
Black.
Not the black of night.
A blackness that swallowed the very concept of light.
The hand gripped the edge of the portal.
The volcano collapsed instantly.
Lava surged upward like a wave.
Bimo took a step back.
"Okay…"
He swallowed hard.
"…I hate everything about this."
Dika couldn't even make a joke.
"That…"
He stared at the enormous hand.
"…isn't something we can punch."
Gaia Primordia took flight.
With a single powerful beat of its wings, it slammed into the black hand.
The sky exploded.
DOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A wave of energy hurled everyone to the ground.
But the hand—
didn't move.
Instead, it grabbed Gaia by the neck and hurled the ancient dragon into the crater.
BOOOOOOM!!
The island split in two.
Farhan screamed.
"GAIA!"
All the Guardians attacked at once.
Solaris Lion leaped into the air and sank its teeth into the black arm.
Ursus Glacialis froze half of the creature's body.
Himal Yaksha drove its stone horns into its chest.
Ignivar Draco unleashed magma at point-blank range.
The Forest Guardian drove its roots deep into the portal.
Explosion after explosion shook the sky.
For a moment—
the creature was held back.
Then it moved.
One sweep of its dark wings.
Solaris Lion was hurled into a cliff.
Cracks spread across Ursus Glacialis's entire body.
Himal Yaksha dropped to one knee.
Ignivar Draco crashed into the lava.
The Forest Guardian's roots burned to ash.
One movement.
Five Guardians fell.
Bimo froze.
"No way…"
Kai stared at the sky, his face pale.
"That's why the ancient Guardians sealed it."
Then the creature's head emerged completely.
Broken horns like mountains.
Empty eyes like holes in the universe.
A mouth filled with glowing red cracks.
And when its eyes fully opened—
every light on the island went out.
The aurora vanished.
The lava dimmed.
The flames died.
The world went dark.
Farhan dropped his laptop.
"He's absorbing the light…"
Lila whispered.
"No…"
She trembled.
"…he's feeding on hope."
Pak Rahmat stepped forward.
The hot wind swept through his white hair.
He began unbuttoning his shirt.
On his chest was the same ancient symbol that glowed in his palm.
But this time—
the symbol was cracked.
Bimo stared in disbelief.
"Pak Rahmat… who are you really?"
The old man looked at Arga.
"I was the last Guardian of the first generation."
Everyone fell silent.
Sinta's eyes widened.
Even Kai took half a step back.
Pak Rahmat looked toward the portal.
"My companions and I sealed him once."
His voice cracked.
"And I was the only one who survived."
He turned toward Arga.
"That failure was mine."
He placed a hand on Arga's shoulder.
"His redemption…"
His eyes hardened.
"…is yours."
Arga nearly collapsed.
But he forced himself to stand.
His hands trembled as he raised the MBG Lunchbox.
Blood dripped from his chin.
"I…"
He struggled to breathe.
"…haven't lost yet."
The World Eater turned its head.
For the first time—
it truly looked at Arga.
The portal trembled.
The seven Cores across the world ignited simultaneously.
The Southern Island.
The Ancient Forest.
The Savannah.
The Himalayas.
The North Pole.
The Fire Continent.
And the First Core.
All their energy began flowing toward a single point.
The MBG Lunchbox.
Farhan screamed.
"Global energy is flowing into Arga!"
Lila stared in horror.
"His body won't survive it!"
Arga's skin cracked beneath the overwhelming golden light.
He screamed.
But he remained standing.
The twenty-three rice grains spun faster and faster.
Then—
a crack appeared at the center of the ring of light.
Bimo pointed.
"That…!"
Kai whispered.
"The twenty-fourth grain…"
The World Eater opened its mouth.
Thousands of shadowy hands burst from the darkness, reaching toward Arga.
Sinta ran forward, screaming.
"ARGA!"
Pak Rahmat pushed everyone away.
Gaia Primordia rose once more and took to the sky for the final time.
Arga raised the MBG Lunchbox as high as he could.
Golden light pierced through the darkness.
And just as the twenty-fourth grain was about to be born—
the World Eater spoke a single name in a voice that shook the entire world.
"ARGA… SON OF THE LAST SEALER."
Everything froze.
Arga's eyes widened.
Pak Rahmat closed his eyes.
And the sky—
shattered completely.