The crack didn't stop.
CRAAAAAACK!!
A black fissure spread across the valley's surface, splitting apart the ancient glacier that had slumbered for thousands of years. The sound echoed like the bones of the world being broken apart, inch by inch.
The wind exploded into an even fiercer frenzy.
WHOOOOOSH!!
Snow lashed against their faces like shards of glass. Above the mountains, the sky twisted into darkness as storm clouds spiraled into a colossal vortex, swallowing the last traces of daylight.
At the center of the valley—
the Ice Core Guardian stood directly above the widening crack.
Its towering body blended into the blizzard itself. White fur whipped violently in the wind, while glowing blue fractures pulsed beneath its thick coat like frozen veins.
But this time—
its eyes weren't fixed on the Nutrition Guardians.
They were locked on the abyss beneath its feet.
And for the first time—
a creature as massive as a mountain looked... afraid.
GRRRRRRRR...
Its growl was low.
Not a threat.
A warning.
Bimo swallowed hard.
"Okay..."
He slowly pointed at the enormous beast.
"If a monster that big is scared..."
"...then I think all of us should be terrified too."
No one answered.
Farhan stared at his laptop with trembling hands.
The energy graph on the screen had completely lost its shape.
The numbers surged.
Collapsed.
Then surged again.
"This is wrong..."
he whispered.
"All of these readings are wrong."
Lila stepped closer.
"What do you mean?"
Farhan took a shaky breath.
"That's not the Core waking up."
The air suddenly became even colder.
Sinta turned sharply toward him.
"Explain."
Farhan kept his eyes on the crack as if he were staring into an endless abyss.
"The energy coming from down there..."
"...isn't source energy."
His gaze shifted toward the Ice Guardian.
"It's prison energy."
Silence swallowed the valley.
Kai slowly lifted his head.
Then he looked at the gigantic beast standing in the heart of the storm.
"It's not guarding the Core..."
"...it's the jailer."
Those words struck harder than the raging blizzard.
Arga looked at the Guardian once more.
Suddenly—
everything made sense.
Its rage.
Its endless aggression.
Its refusal to calm down.
Because it wasn't protecting something precious.
It was keeping something buried.
On the opposite side of the valley—
the Dominion generator roared louder.
WHOOOOOMMMMMM!!
Blue energy cables stabbed deep into the frozen fissure like enormous spears, forcibly siphoning the light rising from beneath the earth into the machine.
The Dominion Commander stood before the armored vehicle, his expression calm.
"Remarkable."
He glanced at the data displayed on the device in his hand.
"So the legend was true."
The man beside him lowered his voice.
"Sir... if what's sealed down there is really..."
The Commander smiled faintly.
"Even better."
His gaze shifted toward the Nutrition Guardians.
"Let them witness history."
The Ice Guardian raised its head.
Then it roared.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!!!
The deafening roar shattered the sky.
An avalanche thundered down the mountainside.
CRAAAAASH!!
The glacier beneath their feet cracked apart.
Rani lost her footing and dropped to one knee.
Nisa immediately grabbed her arm and pulled her back up.
Bimo nearly slipped into one of the widening fissures.
"Great!"
he shouted while desperately trying to keep his balance.
"I officially hate every cold place on this planet!"
But the Ice Guardian didn't attack the team.
Instead—
it leaped toward the Dominion generator.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Its colossal body slammed into the armored machine.
Steel crumpled.
Metal panels flew into the air.
The defensive turrets spun wildly.
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!
Bolts of Dominion energy blasted into the Guardian's chest.
Its white fur burned.
Drops of frozen blue blood splattered across the snow.
The giant beast staggered back one step—
then stood firm once again.
Still standing before the crack.
Still shielding the world from whatever lay beneath.
Kai clenched his fists.
"They're torturing it..."
Arga tightened his grip around the MBG Lunchbox until his knuckles turned white.
Inside, the sixteen glowing grains of rice trembled violently.
He could feel something from the Ice Guardian.
Not hatred.
Exhaustion.
Loneliness.
The creature had stood watch alone for longer than humanity could even comprehend.
And now—
it was losing.
Arga stepped forward.
Sinta immediately grabbed his shoulder.
"Don't!"
Arga looked at her.
"If it falls..."
His eyes shifted toward the widening crack.
"...everyone falls with it."
For a brief moment, Sinta hesitated.
Then she slowly let go.
Her eyes trembled.
She knew he was right.
Bimo limped over to Arga's side.
A streak of blood stained the corner of his mouth, while his left hand had begun turning blue from the freezing cold.
Even so, he forced a grin.
"If you're planning some heroic suicide..."
"...at least wait for me to join."
Arga almost smiled.
Almost.
Then—
CRAAAAAAACK!!
The fissure split open again.
Massive slabs of ancient ice collapsed into the abyss.
The light rising from below changed.
Not blue.
Not gold.
A deep bluish-black.
Darkness...
that glowed.
Cold...
that lived.
Farhan instinctively stumbled backward.
His laptop slipped from his hands and crashed onto the ice.
"That's impossible..."
Pak Rahmat, who had remained silent until now, finally stepped forward.
His face was pale.
Paler than the snow itself.
His eyes were fixed upon the widening abyss, filled with a terror he could no longer hide.
"Everyone..."
His voice was low.
"Fall back."
No one moved.
His expression hardened.
Then he shouted—
"NOW!!"
Everyone froze.
Not because of the monster.
But because none of them had ever heard Pak Rahmat raise his voice like that.
From across the valley, the Dominion Commander let out a quiet laugh.
"So..."
"You finally remember its name, Rahmat."
Pak Rahmat slowly turned toward him.
His eyes were colder than the blizzard.
"I never forgot."
The wind stopped.
Even the storm itself seemed to wait.
Lila whispered,
"Mr. Rahmat..."
"...who is he?"
Pak Rahmat didn't answer.
His gaze remained fixed on the abyss as he spoke in a broken voice.
"The first creature..."
"...we failed to kill."
The world seemed to stop turning.
From deep beneath the crack—
a sound echoed upward.
BOOM.
Once.
BOOM.
Again.
It wasn't an earthquake.
It was a heartbeat.
The Ice Guardian slowly stepped backward.
The jailer...
was retreating.
A painful, mournful cry escaped its throat before it lowered its massive head—
as though accepting that its duty had finally come to an end.
Arga opened the MBG Lunchbox.
Brilliant golden light erupted into the air.
But almost instantly—
half of the radiance was extinguished.
Crack.
One glowing grain of rice fractured.
Arga staggered.
A sharp pain pierced through his chest, as though countless shards of ice had been driven straight into his bones.
"Arga!"
Kai rushed toward him.
The energy beneath the valley was overwhelming.
Too ancient.
Too immense.
Too wrong.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The fissure exploded apart.
The entire valley shook violently.
Chunks of ice shot into the sky.
And from the endless darkness below—
a gigantic hand emerged.
Not covered in fur.
Not made of stone.
Not twisted roots.
A skeletal hand.
Black bones encased in ancient ice.
Its enormous fingers gripped the edge of the abyss.
Then—
something pulled itself upward.
Two eyes slowly opened within the darkness.
Not blue.
Not gold.
Red.
Pak Rahmat collapsed to his knees.
The color drained completely from his face.
"No..."
he whispered.
"It was supposed..."
"...to stay dead."