The blizzard swallowed the entire valley.
The wind no longer blew.
It roared.
WHOOOOOSHHHHHH!!
Countless shards of ice lashed against their faces like thousands of tiny knives.
The sky darkened.
Blue lightning tore through the swirling storm clouds.
CRAAAAACK!!
Each flash illuminated a scene that felt impossible.
At the center of the storm—
the Ice Core Manifestation stood like a newborn god of frost.
Its towering body was forged from colossal crystal and pulsating blue light.
Cracks of energy flowed across its form like frozen rivers.
Its eyes blazed brilliantly.
Yet beneath that overwhelming power—
the being trembled.
As though it had been forced awake...
long before its appointed time.
Standing before it—
the Ice Guardian let out a thunderous roar.
ROOOOOOOOOOOAR!!
The massive white beast charged without hesitation.
BOOOOOOOM!!
The two giants collided.
Crystal exploded in every direction.
The glacier beneath their feet fractured for dozens of meters.
Bimo dug his boots into the ice to keep from being thrown backward.
"Okay!"
He pointed toward the battle.
"This isn't a mission anymore!"
"It's the apocalypse—with snow!"
Dika grabbed his arm.
"Focus!"
On the opposite side of the valley—
the Dominion generator continued to roar.
WHOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!!
Blue energy conduits pierced through the storm, siphoning light directly from the Core's fissure.
With every second the light was drained—
the storm grew even more violent.
Farhan stared at his laptop, his hands trembling.
"The Core's energy is dropping fast!"
Lila turned toward him.
"What does that mean?"
Farhan swallowed.
"It isn't attacking..."
"...it's dying."
Silence fell over the team.
Arga looked at the crystalline being.
For the first time—
he didn't see a monster.
He saw a creature that had only just awakened after thousands of years...
only to be tortured the moment it opened its eyes.
The Core Manifestation slowly lifted its head.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!
Its scream pierced straight through everyone's mind.
It wasn't a roar.
It wasn't a threat.
It was a scream of unbearable agony.
Arga clenched the MBG Lunchbox so tightly that his hands began to shake.
"Enough..."
Kai looked at him.
"Arga?"
But Arga couldn't hear him.
His mind flashed back to every Core they had encountered.
Every Guardian humanity had branded as a monster.
Every place that had nearly been destroyed by human greed.
And now—
this being stood before him...
screaming in pain.
"ENOUGH!!"
Arga's voice shattered through the storm.
For a brief moment—
the blizzard itself seemed to pause.
Everyone turned toward him.
The MBG Lunchbox in his hands erupted with brilliant golden light.
The sixteen glowing grains of rice spun wildly inside.
Golden radiance spread across the snow.
The ground trembled.
Kai instinctively took half a step back.
Arga's energy...
had changed.
Sharper.
Fiercer.
Filled with anger.
The Dominion Commander watched from afar.
For the first time—
the faint smile disappeared from his face.
"Interesting..."
Arga stepped forward, walking straight into the storm.
"Arga, stop!"
Sinta shouted.
He never slowed.
The Core Manifestation turned toward him.
Its glowing blue eyes trembled.
Even the Ice Guardian stopped attacking.
It was as if the entire valley...
was waiting.
Arga raised the lunchbox high above his head.
"You're not alone!"
WHOOOOOOMMMMM!!
Golden light exploded outward.
The snow surrounding him instantly evaporated into mist.
The raging blizzard retreated several meters away from his body.
Farhan stared at his monitor, his face deathly pale.
"The Guardian Resonance..."
"...it's skyrocketing!"
Lila whispered,
"This has never happened before..."
The Core Manifestation took one slow step toward Arga.
Then another.
A crack suddenly spread across its crystalline body.
CRACK.
Arga flinched.
Another fracture appeared across its chest.
CRACK.
CRACK.
Farhan shouted,
"No!"
"The Core's body can't withstand the generator's pull!"
The Dominion Commander pressed the device in his hand.
WHOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!
The generator roared with twice its previous intensity.
The blue conduits blazed with savage brilliance.
The Core Manifestation screamed louder than ever before.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!
Its crystalline body began breaking apart—
piece by piece.
Bimo stared in horror.
"If it shatters..."
Kai answered quietly,
"...the entire Core's energy will be unleashed."
Sinta turned to him immediately.
"How much?"
Farhan didn't answer.
Instead, he slowly turned his laptop toward the others.
A simulation spread across the screen.
The storm expanded outward from the valley.
Swallowing the mountains.
Swallowing the northern cities.
Swallowing the sea itself.
Lila's face went pale.
"This storm..."
"...will never stop."
Behind them—
Pak Rahmat had remained silent the entire time.
Wrapped in his heavy coat.
Half of his face hidden beneath the shadows.
His eyes never left the Core Manifestation.
Then, in a voice barely louder than a whisper, he murmured,
"The Third Form..."
Kai turned to him immediately.
"What?"
Pak Rahmat didn't answer.
Instead, he took a slow step forward.
His face had gone pale.
For the first time...
the man who had always remained calm looked genuinely afraid.
"No..."
he whispered.
"If it completes its transformation..."
"...we're already too late."
Arga stared at him.
"You know what it is?"
Pak Rahmat slowly raised his eyes.
Within them was something colder than the endless snow.
"I don't just know."
His gaze shifted toward the fractured Core.
"I was the one who caused it."
Silence.
No one spoke.
Even Bimo had forgotten how to joke.
"W-What...?"
Before anyone could move—
the Core Manifestation looked directly at Arga.
Then—
at Pak Rahmat.
Its glowing blue eyes began to change.
Blue...
became blinding white.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The entire valley convulsed violently.
A massive fissure ripped across the distant mountains.
A colossal avalanche thundered downward like a white tsunami.
Farhan screamed,
"The Core's energy has exceeded the limit!"
Kai's face turned deathly pale.
"It's evolving..."
The Ice Guardian let out a panicked roar and threw itself in front of Arga.
But—
it was already too late.
High above the northern sky—
the swirling storm opened into a colossal void.
And from within the darkness...
something began to descend.
Something far larger than the Core Manifestation itself.
Something...
that even the Ice Guardian feared.
Pak Rahmat's voice broke into a whisper.
"The Eternal Storm..."
"...has been born."