The desert wind turned into a fury.
The Sahara sky darkened beneath a thick veil of dust.
The sandstorm churned like an ocean suspended in the sky.
In the middle of the chaos—
the Dominion reactor still stood.
WHOOOOOMMMMMM!
The massive metal tower continued drilling deep into the earth, its cold blue light piercing the ground.
Its energy relentlessly drained the desert Core.
Farhan stared at his laptop, his hands trembling.
"Core energy has dropped by forty percent!"
Lila immediately enlarged the graph.
"If it drops past sixty—"
She swallowed hard.
"—the Core could die."
Silence fell for a moment.
Bimo looked at the reactor, then at Arga.
"So?"
He shrugged.
"Do we have a brilliant idea, or are we all dying in the desert?"
Dika spun his staff.
"I'm ready for either."
But Arga didn't answer.
He stood silently at the edge of the crater.
The MBG Lunchbox in his hand was shaking violently.
Twenty-five glowing rice grains spun inside like stars that had lost their orbit.
Sweat ran down his temple.
His breathing was heavy.
His body still hadn't recovered from the battle against the Abyss Devourer.
Kai stared at Arga with a serious expression.
"Don't push yourself."
Arga looked down at the swirling sand.
"I can feel it."
"There's something sleeping…"
"Deeper than the Core."
Kai narrowed his eyes.
"The Heart of the Sahara."
Farhan turned sharply.
"You mean there's a second layer beneath the Core?"
Kai shook his head.
"No."
He stared at the desert beneath them.
"This is the true center of the desert's energy."
Lila's face paled.
"If that wakes up…"
Farhan finished quietly,
"…its energy could destroy the Dominion reactor."
Bimo broke into a wide grin.
"Now you're speaking my language."
Sinta looked at Arga.
"Can you do it?"
Arga didn't answer immediately.
He opened the MBG Lunchbox.
Golden light burst into the air.
WHOOM.
All twenty-five glowing rice grains lit up at once.
But the moment the light appeared—
Arga's knees buckled.
THUD.
He dropped to one knee in the sand.
"ARGA!" Rani shouted.
Bimo moved toward him, but Arga raised a hand, stopping him.
"I'm… still okay."
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Kai's jaw tightened.
"You'll destroy yourself if you keep going."
Arga wiped the blood away.
"If I stop…"
He looked toward the Dominion reactor.
"…everyone gets destroyed anyway."
In the distance—
the Dominion Leader watched from atop his command vehicle.
A faint smile crossed his face.
"Remarkable."
He turned to the operator.
"Increase the absorption."
"Force the Core to open its deepest layer."
The operator looked at him in shock.
"But that could awaken something unstable!"
The Dominion Leader stared into the raging desert storm.
"That is the point."
WHOOOOOOMMMMM!
The reactor suddenly blazed twice as brightly.
Sand exploded into the air.
The pillars of the ancient city cracked.
The golden symbols on the gate began turning red.
Farhan shouted,
"Energy has dropped to fifty-five percent!"
Lila struck the side of her screen in panic.
"He's doing it deliberately!"
Sinta stared at the Dominion forces.
"He didn't come here to take the Core."
Kai spoke quietly.
"He came here to awaken something."
The Desert Colossus roared in fury.
RAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
The massive guardian slammed its body into the reactor.
BOOOOOOOM!
A wave of sand swept across the battlefield, destroying dozens of Dominion vehicles.
Drones fell from the sky like rain made of metal.
Yet the reactor's blue energy shield still held.
The Dominion Leader gave a quiet laugh.
"Good."
"Get angrier."
Arga forced himself to stand.
His entire body trembled.
He raised the MBG Lunchbox toward the sky.
"I call upon all the Cores…"
He closed his eyes.
"Mountains…"
"Forest…"
"Ice…"
"Fire…"
"Sea…"
"Awaken with me."
The Sahara sky changed.
Lights appeared along the distant horizon.
Gold from the Himalayas.
Green from the ancient forest.
White from the polar region.
Red from the Fire Continent.
They all answered.
The energy of the world converged above the desert.
BOOM.
The first pulse came from beneath the earth.
The entire Sahara shook.
BOOM.
The second pulse.
Dunes collapsed like waves.
BOOM.
The third pulse.
Golden cracks spread for thousands of meters across the desert.
Farhan stared at his screen, his eyes widening.
"The Heart of the Sahara is active!"
The Dominion reactor began to shake violently.
BZZZZZZT!
Metal panels shattered.
Energy cables exploded.
The operator screamed.
"Capacity exceeded!"
The Dominion Leader only smiled wider.
"Yes…"
"Wake up."
The ground beneath the crater suddenly collapsed.
CRAAAAACK!
A colossal hole opened directly beneath the reactor.
The metal tower tilted.
Drones plunged into the darkness.
From the bottom of the fissure—
an ancient golden light emerged.
It wasn't ordinary Core energy.
The light felt like a sun buried beneath the earth.
Everyone froze.
Then—
an eye opened.
A colossal eye.
Golden.
Large enough to fill the side of a building.
Bimo took two steps backward.
"Okay…"
"…that is definitely too big."
Sand exploded in every direction.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Something rose from deep within the earth.
Its body resembled a colossal lion covered in desert stone.
Its mane was made of living sandstorms.
Ancient temple ruins rested across its back.
Its claws glowed like molten solar metal.
Every step shook the Sahara.
Kai whispered, his face pale.
"Aurelion Siroth…"
"The true Guardian of the Heart of the Sahara."
The Desert Colossus immediately lowered its massive head.
The colossal guardian of the desert—
bowed.
Bimo swallowed.
"A Guardian…"
"…bowing to another Guardian?"
Farhan checked the readings.
"The energy level of that creature…"
He could barely get the words out.
"It's greater than the Desert Colossus."
Aurelion Siroth raised its head.
Its eyes swept across everyone.
The Dominion.
The Nutrition Guardian team.
The ancient city.
Then—
they stopped on one person.
Pak Rahmat.
The wind stopped.
The sandstorm froze in midair.
Pak Rahmat, who had remained silent near the aircraft, slowly removed his right glove.
On his palm—
an ancient golden symbol began to glow.
The same symbol carved into the gate of the ancient city.
Everyone stared in disbelief.
Sinta whispered,
"Pak Rahmat…?"
The Dominion Leader gave a quiet laugh.
"At last."
He looked at Pak Rahmat with satisfaction.
"The last Founder has finally appeared."
Arga turned toward him, his breathing ragged.
"What…?"
Pak Rahmat stepped forward.
For the first time, his calm face was marked by the weight of old scars.
He stared at Aurelion Siroth.
When the desert creature spoke, its voice shook the sky.
It was an ancient, unfamiliar language…
yet somehow, everyone understood it.
"Traitor."
The sand exploded.
Aurelion Siroth lunged toward Pak Rahmat.
And Arga—
finally collapsed unconscious into the sand.