The sky above Jakarta had yet to heal.
The previous rift had barely closed.
Now space was tearing apart once again.
More violently.
More mercilessly.
A colossal eye opened beyond the dimensional tear.
Violet.
Cold.
Ancient.
It stared down at the city as though a human might look at an ant.
Every street below seemed frozen in terror.
Kai lay in Arga's arms.
His body trembled.
His breathing was shallow.
Yet when he saw that eye, he still managed to speak.
"...Don't let it in."
Arga stared at the sky.
"I'll stop it."
Kai weakly gripped his wrist.
"Not alone."
The ground trembled.
The asphalt cracked.
Buildings already damaged by the previous attack began to collapse again.
The eye pressed against reality with nothing more than its gaze.
Farhan checked the remaining data.
"Gravity levels are rising!"
Lila went pale.
"It hasn't even descended yet... and the city is already collapsing."
Bimo tightened his grip on the metal rod.
"Fantastic."
"Now we're being stared to death."
Then the distant ocean began to glow.
Green-gold light pierced through the smoke.
Terra Ultima was rising.
Its colossal form towered above the horizon.
Every step calmed the trembling earth.
Every breath held back the quakes.
The other Guardians bowed their heads as it appeared.
Gaia Primordia spread her wings.
Aethernox let out a low roar.
Even the flames surrounding Ignivar dimmed in reverence.
Terra Ultima's voice echoed.
Not through their ears.
But through their bones.
Through their blood.
"Arga."
The MBG Lunchbox in Arga's hands blazed wildly.
All thirty-one rice grains spun at tremendous speed.
Arga gritted his teeth.
"I hear you."
"The time has come."
Light began flowing from Terra Ultima's colossal body toward Arga.
The wind swirled around him.
Dust rose from the ground, forming a vast circle.
Farhan stared in horror.
"The planet's energy is converging on Arga!"
Kai struggled to lift himself halfway upright.
"...A vessel."
Sinta turned sharply.
"What?"
Kai answered weakly.
"A complete vessel."
Lila's face went pale.
"If all the world's energy enters a human body..."
Farhan finished in a quiet voice.
"...his identity could disappear."
Bimo stared at Arga.
"You mean he could win... but no longer be himself?"
No one answered.
Because that was exactly what it meant.
Arga slowly rose a few inches above the ground.
Green-gold light enveloped his body.
Inside his mind—
he saw oceans being born.
Mountains rising.
The first forests drawing breath.
Ice spreading across the land.
Fire awakening.
Millions of years of Earth's history flooded through him all at once.
Terra Ultima's voice filled his entire being.
"Become me."
"And save them all."
For a moment—
the temptation was real.
There would be no fear.
No doubt.
No failure.
If he surrendered now—
every burden would disappear.
All he had to do was become something greater than human.
But then he heard other voices.
Bimo laughing even when he was terrified.
Dika speaking calmly despite his wounds.
Farhan panicking while continuing to work.
Lila reading ancient texts until her hands trembled.
Sinta shouting orders despite the fear in her eyes.
Kai, who had chosen to die in silence.
Small things.
Human things.
The very things that made the world worth saving.
Arga opened his eyes.
The light surrounding him began to tremble.
He looked at Terra Ultima.
"If I become you..."
The sky fell silent.
"...who will save me?"
The wave of energy stopped for a brief moment.
Everyone held their breath.
Terra Ultima's voice came again.
Deeper.
Older.
"The world needs victory."
Arga nodded.
"You're right."
He tightened his grip on the MBG Lunchbox until blood seeped from his palm.
"But this world is more than stone, oceans, and cores."
He looked at his team.
At the ruined city.
At the people who were still helping one another in the streets.
"This world is made of choices."
The light surrounding his body erupted.
But this time, he wasn't surrendering.
He was resisting.
WHOOOOOMMMMM!
Arga dropped back to the ground, landing firmly on both feet.
Cracks spread across the pavement beneath him.
He stood upright.
Still human.
Still himself.
"I refuse."
His voice wasn't loud.
Yet it shook everything that heard it.
"I won't save the world by disappearing."
He raised the MBG Lunchbox toward the sky.
"I will save this world..."
The light of all thirty-one rice grains converged, forming something like a miniature galaxy.
"...as myself."
The heavens rumbled.
The colossal eye narrowed within the rift.
Terra Ultima fell silent.
The Guardians stared without moving.
For the first time—
a human had rejected absolute power.
Sinta smiled through her tears.
"That's Arga."
Bimo pointed at him, laughing with relief.
"Now that's the friend I know!"
Dika gave a slow nod.
"At least now we know where we're going."
Farhan quickly wiped his eyes.
"I'm not crying. It's the dust."
Lila laughed through her tears.
"Liar."
Kai closed his eyes and allowed himself a faint smile.
"At last..."
Terra Ultima took a step forward.
The entire city trembled.
But its voice had changed.
It was no longer a command.
It was an acknowledgment.
"Then stand..."
"as the heir who is free."
A new rice grain emerged inside the MBG Lunchbox.
Its light was pure gold.
Farhan stared at the energy scan.
"The thirty-second grain!"
Arga's energy surged.
But this time, it remained stable.
Warmer.
More vibrant.
More human.
Then the colossal eye in the sky moved.
The dimensional rift opened wider.
But this time, it wasn't just an eye.
A gigantic hand began emerging from beyond the tear.
Its fingers pressed against the clouds as though they were nothing more than mist.
A voice from beyond space echoed across the entire planet.
"Good."
"I want to devour you at your very best."