The icy wind sweeping through the frozen valley erupted into a violent frenzy.
WHOOOOOSH!
Countless snowflakes lashed against their faces like thousands of tiny needles.
The sky, which had been gray only moments before, was now swallowed by darkness.
Massive clouds spiraled above the mountains, forming a colossal vortex that slowly devoured what little light remained.
The cold was so intense that every breath froze before it could fade into the air.
At the center of the valley—
The Guardian of the Polar Core stood motionless.
Its towering body rose like a living cliff.
Thick white fur rippled beneath the raging blizzard.
Beneath that frozen coat, faint blue fissures glowed softly, like rivers of ice flowing through a body carved from stone.
Its eyes—
Two radiant sapphire flames.
They held no rage.
Only a loneliness that had endured for countless ages.
The giant exhaled slowly.
A cloud of white mist poured from its mouth before instantly crystallizing into shimmering shards that rained onto the frozen ground like falling glass.
GRRRRRRRRRR...
Its low growl traveled through the ice beneath their feet.
Bimo instinctively stepped back.
"Okay..."
He swallowed hard.
"Why does every Guardian in this world have to be ridiculously huge?"
No one laughed.
Because on the opposite side of the valley—
The Dominion generator began to activate.
WHOOOOOMMMMM!
Synthetic blue energy spread through the frozen air like liquid poison.
Wherever its light touched the snow, the pure white surface darkened, hardened, then shattered into black crystalline fragments.
The frozen earth screamed.
Hairline cracks spread across the valley in every direction.
Kai stiffened.
"Synthetic energy..."
His eyes remained fixed on the Polar Guardian.
"It recognizes it."
Farhan opened his laptop with trembling hands.
Snow had already begun collecting across the screen.
"The energy spike is insane!"
Numbers flashed wildly across the display.
"This isn't a normal reaction..."
"It's energy trauma."
Lila turned toward him.
"Trauma?"
Farhan stared at the colossal Guardian.
"It has been attacked by this exact energy before."
Silence fell.
Arga looked into the Guardian's glowing blue eyes once more.
Now he understood.
It wasn't simply furious.
It was terrified.
Terrified of something that had nearly destroyed it long ago.
Beside the Dominion transport vehicle—
The Dominion Commander stood calmly beneath the storm.
His black coat fluttered in the icy wind.
He watched the Guardian the way a scientist studied a rare specimen.
"Interesting."
He pressed a device in his hand.
WHOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!
The generator roared louder.
Another surge of synthetic blue light exploded into the sky.
The Polar Guardian slowly raised its head.
Then—
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!!
Its earth-shaking roar shattered the silence of the frozen world.
The surrounding mountains answered with deafening echoes.
Snow cascaded from the cliffs.
CRAAAAASH!
Small avalanches thundered down the mountainsides.
The ground trembled violently.
Cracks raced beneath their feet.
Bimo nearly lost his balance.
"Seriously?!"
he shouted while struggling to stay upright.
"It's just like the forest..."
"...only colder and even more determined to kill us!"
Dika grabbed his arm.
"Focus!"
Sinta stepped forward.
"Defensive formation!"
But before anyone could move—
The Guardian leaped.
BOOOOOOOOM!!
Its massive body slammed into the center of the valley.
A devastating shockwave of ice erupted in every direction.
Towering pillars of snow burst from the frozen earth.
Long fractures spread across the valley like fresh scars carved into the world itself.
CRAAAAACK!
The wind grew even more violent.
The blizzard began circling around the Guardian's enormous body.
Kai watched with a grim expression.
"It isn't merely a Guardian..."
"...it's the source of this storm."
Arga slowly opened the MBG Lunchbox.
The sixteen glowing rice grains revolved peacefully inside.
Warm golden light spread into the freezing air.
The snow around his feet began to melt.
For a single brief moment—
The storm weakened.
The Polar Guardian turned.
Its glowing blue eyes locked onto the golden light.
One second.
Two.
Its gigantic body suddenly trembled.
GRRRRRRRAAAAH!!
Instead of calming down—
The blizzard exploded with even greater fury.
Farhan stared at the monitor.
"It doesn't work!"
"The warm energy is triggering its frozen Core!"
Lila's face turned pale.
"It has lived in the cold for far too long..."
"To it..."
"...warmth feels like a threat."
Arga drew a slow breath.
Then stepped forward.
"We didn't come here to hurt you."
The howling wind swallowed his voice.
Yet the Guardian continued staring at him.
And for the briefest instant—
Arga saw something else reflected within its eyes.
Humans.
Machines.
Blue light.
Explosions.
Screams.
The Guardian had suffered before.
The Dominion wasn't the first to come to this place.
Bimo saw Arga standing far too close.
"Arga! Get back!"
But it was already too late.
The Polar Guardian charged.
BOOOOOOOOM!!
Like a living avalanche, the colossal beast rushed straight toward him.
Sinta sprinted forward.
"ARGA!"
Kai moved at the same time.
But someone was even faster.
Pak Rahmat.
Without warning—
The old man appeared in front of Arga as though he had stepped directly out of the blizzard itself.
He raised one hand.
A faint light shimmered within his aged eyes.
Then—
He pressed his palm toward the empty air.
Instantly, the snow before them surged upward, forming a colossal wall of solid ice.
CRAAAAAAAAASH!!