The dust over the savannah slowly settled back to the ground.
The hot wind that had roared like a war cry now faded into a gentle breeze.
The sky, once painted in shades of crimson and gold, slowly returned to blue.
Warm sunlight spread across the vast grassland.
As if the world had just barely escaped destruction.
Yet beneath that fragile calm—
the scars of battle remained.
Charred grass stretched across the plains.
The earth was split by long cracks like open wounds.
The remains of the Dominion reactor still released black smoke.
The smell of burning metal mixed with hot dust filled the air.
And the Nutrition Guardians—
did not stand like victors.
They stood like people who had barely survived.
Bimo sat on a large rock, clutching his shoulder.
His face was covered in dust.
His lips were split.
His right arm trembled from the impact of the final blow.
"Okay…"
He winced.
"If anyone ever tells me that going on vacation to Africa is fun…"
"…I'm punching them."
Dika let out a quiet laugh, then immediately grabbed his ribs.
"Please don't make me laugh."
Rani sat quietly, bandaging the wound on her knee.
Tono leaned against a piece of twisted metal, breathing heavily.
Even Sinta closed her eyes for a moment, holding back exhaustion she refused to show.
Farhan was still staring at his laptop, his hands trembling.
The energy graph on the screen had finally stabilized.
"Core energy… normal."
His voice sounded almost like a prayer that had finally been answered.
Lila looked down at her tablet and released a long breath.
"Guardian resonance is stable."
For the first time since they arrived—
there were no alarms.
No sudden spikes.
No immediate threat.
But Arga wasn't relieved.
He was still standing in the middle of the grassland.
Silent.
The MBG lunchbox was in his hand.
A soft golden light pulsed from within.
When he opened it—
nineteen glowing grains of rice slowly rotated inside.
Beautiful.
Calm.
Yet Arga's hands were trembling violently.
A burning sensation still spread from his palm to his chest.
Every breath felt heavy.
Kai stepped closer.
"You pushed yourself too far."
Arga tried to smile.
"I'm still standing."
Kai stared at him for a long moment.
"That doesn't mean you're okay."
Arga said nothing.
Because deep inside—
he knew something had changed.
And not all of it was good.
Before them—
Solaris Lion still stood atop the wreckage of the Dominion reactor.
The enormous creature no longer looked like the embodiment of a solar catastrophe.
Its mane now glowed softly.
Like the last light of sunset before nightfall.
Golden flames moved slowly across its body.
Warm.
Peaceful.
Yet somehow, its silence made its majesty feel even greater.
Bimo stared at it and whispered,
"I still can't believe we just made friends with that thing."
Solaris Lion began to move.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
The earth trembled gently beneath every step.
It walked straight toward Arga.
Sinta immediately became alert.
"Everyone, stay ready."
Kai raised a hand.
"No."
"He's not here to fight."
Solaris Lion stopped directly in front of Arga.
The heat radiating from its body no longer burned.
For the first time—
it felt like the warmth of the morning sun.
The creature slowly lowered its head.
Its golden eyes settled on the MBG lunchbox.
Then they moved to Arga.
Deep.
Sharp.
As if reading every wound the boy had tried to hide.
Arga raised the lunchbox slightly.
Golden light spread gently through the air.
Solaris Lion released a low growl.
GRRRRRRRR…
Not a threat.
Not anger.
Acknowledgment.
Then something unexpected happened.
The enormous creature gently pressed its forehead against Arga's.
Everyone froze.
A soft burst of golden light flared between them.
WHOOOM.
Inside Arga's mind—
images flashed past.
The savannah thousands of years ago.
Herds of animals running free.
Dry seasons.
Rainy seasons.
Fire.
Birth.
Death.
And a colossal lion guarding it all alone.
For so long.
In complete silence.
Arga stumbled backward when the vision ended.
Tears fell silently from his eyes.
Solaris Lion looked at him for another moment.
Then it turned away.
It walked toward the crack in the earth where the Core lay.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
With every step, the scorched grass around it began turning green again.
Bimo stared, eyes wide.
"Okay…"
"That is seriously cool."
At the edge of the fissure—
Solaris Lion stopped.
It turned its head one last time.
Not toward Arga.
Not toward the team.
But toward—
Pak Rahmat.
Everyone instinctively turned.
Pak Rahmat stood slightly apart from the others.
Silent as always.
His hat concealed part of his face.
Solaris Lion lowered its head.
Deeper than before.
Deeper than it had for Arga.
Silence fell.
Bimo blinked.
"…Why do I suddenly feel like I don't like this?"
Pak Rahmat simply stared back.
Then he spoke quietly.
"Go to sleep. Your duty is done."
Everyone stiffened.
That voice—
too calm.
Too certain.
Like someone speaking to an old acquaintance.
Solaris Lion closed its eyes.
Its colossal body transformed into golden light.
Slowly, it sank into the earth.
The cracks in the ground sealed themselves.
The last traces of dust drifted through the air.
And the savannah—
came back to life.
Young grass began sprouting through the scorched earth.
Birds slowly returned to the sky.
The wind carried the distant scent of rain.
Farhan looked at his laptop again.
Then his face suddenly went pale.
"Wait…"
Lila immediately moved closer.
"What?"
Farhan enlarged the world's energy map.
Four points were glowing steadily.
The Southern Island.
The Ancient Forest.
The Ice Valley.
The African Savannah.
But that wasn't what made his face go pale.
Two more points—
lit up at the same time.
Bimo stood.
"Two?"
Sinta stepped closer.
"Where?"
Farhan swallowed.
"The Cloud Mountains…"
"…and one more…"
He zoomed in on the map.
Everyone stared at the screen.
The final point was much closer than they had expected.
Not on another continent.
Not at the edge of the world.
But—
on the land they called home.
Not far from their own homes.
The silence suddenly turned cold.
Arga felt the MBG lunchbox trembling violently in his hand.
The nineteen glowing grains of rice began spinning wildly.
Kai narrowed his eyes.
"That can't be…"
Pak Rahmat stared at the screen without the slightest hint of surprise.
As if he had already known.
He spoke quietly.
"The one nearby isn't the Core that awakened."
Everyone turned toward him.
Farhan asked softly,
"Then… what is it?"
Pak Rahmat slowly lifted his head.
For a brief moment—
golden light that did not belong to any ordinary human reflected in his eyes.
"The prison."
The wind over the savannah stopped.
On Farhan's laptop—
the point near their home began to move.
Toward them.