The next mission—
felt wrong.
Not tense.
Not urgent.
Just— inevitable.
No one said it.
But everyone knew.
Arga stood with Sinta.
Bimo hesitated—
then chose.
Stayed.
Rani stood apart.
Dika beside her.
Tono above.
Lila—
in between.
For a moment.
Then—
she stepped toward Rani.
That was it.
"You move together."
Pak Rahmat's voice.
Firm.
No one moved.
Silence answered.
"…too late," he said quietly.
The warehouse stood in the distance.
Dark.
Empty.
Waiting.
Multiple signals.
Unstable.
Too many.
"We sweep left."
Arga.
"We stabilize first."
Rani.
Two commands.
Same moment.
Different worlds.
They split.
Arga's side moved like a blade.
Fast.
Clean.
Cold.
Enemies appeared—
and were removed.
Instantly.
No hesitation.
No pause.
No second thought.
Just—
execution.
"…we're not even trying anymore…"
Bimo's voice felt distant.
"…we don't have time."
Arga didn't look back.
"…we don't have room for mistakes."
Sinta added.
That word—
stayed.
Mistakes.
On the other side—
everything was harder.
Messier.
Real.
Three unstable Guardians.
All different.
All breaking.
"I take the closest."
Rani moved first.
Dika intercepted another.
Hard. Direct.
Tono dropped from above—
cutting angles.
Lila tracked—
guiding.
"Right side—energy spike!"
They weren't clean.
They weren't perfect.
But they were saving them.
Barely.
Then—
something changed.
One Guardian stopped reacting.
Stopped panicking.
Stopped breaking.
And started—
thinking.
"…that's not right."
Lila's voice dropped.
Too late.
He turned.
Locked.
Target acquired.
Lila.
She didn't see it.
Not until—
WUSSH—
"LILA—!"
Dika lunged.
Missed.
Tono dropped.
Too far.
Rani turned—
too late.
BOOM!
The impact slammed Lila into the wall.
Hard.
Too hard.
She didn't move.
Silence.
"…no…"
Rani froze.
Not hesitation.
Not fear.
Shock.
The Guardian stepped forward again.
Not wild.
Not unstable.
Precise.
Finishing.
Across the building—
Arga stopped.
Mid-step.
His chest tightened.
"…something's wrong."
Sinta already moved.
"Back side. Now."
Bimo didn't wait.
"THAT'S RANI—!"
They ran.
Fast.
Too fast.
Still—
too late.
The Guardian raised its arm.
Final strike.
Rani moved.
No plan.
No thought.
No hesitation.
Only instinct.
She stepped forward.
Between Lila—
and death.
WHAM!
The impact echoed through the entire structure.
Her body lifted—
then crashed to the ground.
Hard.
Too hard.
Everything stopped.
The Guardian froze.
Energy flickered—
then collapsed.
End.
But not victory.
Arga arrived—
and saw everything.
Lila—
not moving.
Rani—
not responding.
And something inside him—
broke.
"…no…"
Bimo dropped beside Rani.
"HEY—HEY—WAKE UP!"
Nothing.
Sinta checked Lila.
Her hand—
steady.
But her voice—
not.
"…barely breathing."
That word—
barely—
crushed everything.
Arga knelt.
His hands—
shaking.
Not from power.
From memory.
The kitchen.
The boy.
Too late.
Again.
But this time—
it wasn't a stranger.
"…Rani…"
No response.
"Arga."
Sinta.
Sharp.
Controlled.
"…focus."
He inhaled.
Once.
Then again.
His hands stopped shaking.
His eyes—
changed.
"Bimo—carry Lila."
"Sinta—secure exit."
No hesitation.
No emotion.
Only command.
Leader mode.
But inside—
something went silent.
They moved.
Fast.
Clean.
Too clean—
for what they just lost.
The doors burst open.
Medical team rushed in.
Lila—
critical.
Rani—
unconscious.
Still.
Too still.
No one spoke.
Because now—
there was nothing left to argue.
"…this is the cost."
Pak Rahmat.
No one looked at him.
"…this wouldn't have happened…"
Arga started.
He stopped.
Because it wasn't true.
And it was.
"…we weren't a team."
Sinta finished it.
Silence.
Final.
Absolute.
Far away—
a screen flickered.
Two signals.
Both critical.
Rani.
Lila.
The man in the hat watched.
Calm.
Satisfied.
"…first fracture confirmed."
He zoomed in.
Closer.
"…now we escalate."
For the first time—
this wasn't a mistake.
This wasn't failure.
This was—
the moment
they started losing.