Titan Yakhorn's final words still echoed through the valley.
"You… have finally returned."
Then—
silence.
No one moved.
The snow stopped falling.
The wind seemed to hold its breath.
Even the mountains surrounding them felt as though they were listening.
The Nutrition Guardians stood frozen.
Bimo blinked several times.
"…I really hope I heard that wrong."
Dika swallowed.
"That mountain monster…"
"…just spoke to Pak Rahmat?"
Sinta stared straight ahead.
Her gaze was sharp.
Yet there was something rarely seen on her face—
doubt.
Arga looked at Pak Rahmat, his chest tight.
The Guardian of the forest had recognized him.
The king of the savannah had acknowledged him.
The Cores responded to his lunchbox.
But a creature as massive as a mountain—
had knelt before someone else.
Pak Rahmat simply stood there, calm.
His hat still concealed part of his face.
No pride.
No explanation.
Only silence.
And somehow, his silence was more frightening than any answer.
Titan Yakhorn slowly rose.
The ancient chains around its body clanged loudly.
CLANG.
CLANG.
CLANG.
Now its full form could be seen clearly.
A colossal body as tall as a cliff.
Shoulders as wide as a mountain gate.
Thick white fur mixed with ancient ice.
Beneath it, its skin resembled cracked stone, with blue light flowing through the gaps.
Two massive horns curved backward like crescent moons.
And its eyes—
were far too ancient to belong to an animal.
They were the eyes of something that had watched entire eras pass.
Kai whispered,
"He's not just a Guardian."
Arga turned toward him.
"What do you mean?"
Kai stared at the chains wrapped around the creature.
"He's a jailer."
The silence grew colder.
Farhan opened his laptop with trembling hands.
The energy graph spiked wildly.
"The Core energy directly beneath it…"
Lila stared at the data appearing on the screen.
"No…"
"There isn't just one source."
Everyone turned.
Farhan enlarged the underground map.
Deep beneath the mountain—
two energy signatures pulsed.
One belonged to Titan Yakhorn.
The other—
was far larger.
Locked beneath it.
Bimo took a step backward.
"So…"
"This thing we're looking at is just the gatekeeper?"
No one answered.
Because they already knew the answer.
A mechanical roar suddenly shattered the silence.
WHOOOOOMMMMMM!
Blue light tore across the sky above the valley.
Several Dominion airships descended from behind the clouds.
Their rotors whipped the snow into a white storm.
They landed on the opposite side of the valley.
Metal doors opened.
Armed soldiers poured out.
And from the largest ship—
the Dominion leader stepped down calmly.
His coat billowed in the freezing wind.
He looked at Titan Yakhorn.
Then at Pak Rahmat.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"So the rumor was true."
Bimo snorted.
"Great. Another guy who only talks in riddles."
The Dominion leader raised a hand.
"We didn't come for the Guardian."
He pointed toward the ground beneath Titan Yakhorn.
"We came for what's chained beneath it."
The air seemed to freeze.
Several massive machines were unloaded from the ships.
They weren't the old generators.
They resembled enormous metal spears surrounded by layered energy rings.
Fragments of ice crystal and black metal from previous battles were embedded throughout their frames.
Farhan's face went pale.
"Hybrid technology…"
"They're using data from the Ice Core and the Savannah Core."
Lila whispered,
"That isn't an extraction device."
"It's a seal breaker."
Sinta immediately stepped forward.
"We destroy them now."
But Pak Rahmat raised one hand.
Everyone stopped.
"Don't."
Sinta stared at him sharply.
"If we do nothing, they'll open the mountain."
Pak Rahmat answered quietly,
"If you attack now…"
"…you'll die sooner."
Bimo clenched his fists.
"I really need an explanation."
Pak Rahmat didn't turn around.
"You need to survive."
The Dominion leader gave a signal.
The spear-like machines slammed into the ground.
BOOOOM!
Ice shattered.
The energy rings began spinning.
WHOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!
A blue wave of energy tore through the mountain.
Titan Yakhorn immediately roared.
The sound was like a living avalanche.
MOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
The entire valley trembled.
Snow cascaded from the towering slopes.
Avalanches came crashing down from every direction.
Dika shouted,
"Run!"
The team scattered.
Rock and ice slammed into the ground behind them.
CRAAASH!
BOOOOM!
Titan Yakhorn stepped forward.
Its first step cracked the valley.
Its second sent chunks of cliff crashing down.
Its third shook the Dominion ships.
It slammed one of the metal spears with its horn.
KRAAAAAASH!
The machine was hurled hundreds of meters away.
But the other two remained active.
Their energy waves continued drilling into the depths of the mountain.
Arga fell into the snow.
His chest felt as though it were burning from the inside.
The MBG lunchbox shook violently in his hand.
He opened it.
Nineteen glowing grains of rice spun uncontrollably inside.
One after another, they began emitting sharp flashes of light.
Kai dropped to one knee beside him.
"Your body hasn't recovered."
Arga forced himself back onto his feet.
"If this mountain collapses…"
"…everyone dies."
Kai stared at him for a long moment.
"You're starting to sound like him."
Arga turned toward him.
"Who?"
Kai didn't answer.
Titan Yakhorn roared again.
It raised both forelegs—
then slammed them into the ground.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
A wall of ice erupted from the earth like a gigantic fortress.
It crashed into the Dominion ships.
Two ships were destroyed instantly.
Soldiers were thrown across the snow.
Bimo let out a short whistle.
"Okay."
"I like this goat."
But the Dominion leader didn't panic.
Instead, he smiled.
"Good."
"That will only speed things up."
He pressed a device in his hand.
The three metal spears suddenly glowed red.
Farhan screamed,
"No!"
"They're forcing the second Core to awaken!"
The ground split apart.
A massive crack spread from beneath Titan Yakhorn's feet.
CRAAAAAAAAACK!
The entire valley tilted.
Sinta nearly fell.
Rani grabbed her just in time.
Dark mist erupted from the fissure and surged into the sky.
It wasn't ordinary mist.
It was too dark.
Too heavy.
Like the breath of something that had been asleep for far too long.
Titan Yakhorn stopped attacking.
For the first time—
it stepped backward.
Its blue eyes stared into the fissure.
And within those ancient eyes—
there was something no one had ever seen before.
Fear.
Bimo swallowed hard.
"…If the Guardian is afraid…"
"…how scared should we be?"
Pak Rahmat finally stepped forward.
Slowly.
Without haste.
Without hesitation.
The snow around his feet melted for a moment—
then froze again.
Titan Yakhorn lowered its head as he passed.
Arga stared, barely able to breathe.
"Pak Rahmat…"
The man stopped at the edge of the fissure.
Then he spoke quietly—
as if addressing something deep beneath the mountain.
"I know you're awake."
The entire valley fell silent.
Then—
two red eyes ignited at the bottom of the abyss.
Far below.
So deep that they seemed to belong to another world.
They were enormous.
Far larger than Titan Yakhorn.
Older than the mountains.
Hungrier than the storm.
Farhan dropped his laptop.
Lila instinctively stepped backward.
Kai whispered,
"Impossible…"
From within the fissure—
something began to rise.