The lights turned red.
ALERT — PROTOTYPE ACTIVATION
The sound of machinery echoed throughout the laboratory.
Deep.
Heavy.
Like something had just awakened.
The capsules began to hiss.
SSSSHHHH—
Blue liquid drained away as the glass chambers opened.
One by one—
golden eyes opened.
Dozens of them.
Silent.
Watching.
Empty.
Too many.
Bimo stared down the corridor.
"...Okay."
A dry laugh escaped him.
"This isn't a mission anymore."
"It's a disaster."
Sinta didn't respond.
Her eyes never left the hallway.
"They're all active."
Rani lowered her voice.
"...There's no way we can hold them back."
No one argued.
Because she was right.
Inside the control room, the Dominion Leader stood calmly before the screens.
Far too calmly.
Dozens of signals lit up across the monitors.
"This project..."
"...is finally alive."
Farhan swallowed.
"...This is what he wanted all along."
Lila studied the data.
"The energy is spreading through the entire system..."
The Dominion Leader turned toward Arga.
"You still talk about feeding people."
A pause.
"...while the world is changing."
Arga didn't move.
Warm light flowed from his hands into the core.
"The world doesn't need this."
A simple answer.
Yet impossible to argue against.
A faint smile appeared on the leader's face.
"The world has always needed power."
The server core trembled.
BZZZZZZ—
Blue and golden energy clashed violently.
The pressure in the room grew heavier.
Farhan nearly shouted.
"The reaction is getting stronger!"
Lila stared at the readings.
"It's becoming unstable!"
Kai stepped forward.
His movements were slow.
Certain.
His eyes fixed on the screens.
Dozens of faces.
Dozens of reflections of himself.
"...They're awake."
Arga glanced at him.
"Then we end this now."
Kai nodded.
The two stood side by side.
Gold.
And warmth.
Different energies.
Yet perfectly aligned.
Kai raised his hand.
Energy flowed from him.
Not wild.
Not forced.
Focused.
CRAAAAACK!
The core shook violently.
Farhan froze.
"...The frequencies..."
Lila whispered.
"...They're merging."
Outside—
countless footsteps echoed through the corridors.
Closer.
Closer.
Bimo's voice rang out.
"ARGA!"
"WE CAN'T HOLD THEM MUCH LONGER!"
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Cracks spread across the walls.
Time was running out.
Kai stared at the monitors.
At the empty faces.
Faces that looked exactly like he once had.
He took a slow breath.
"...I won't let this happen."
He closed his eyes.
Then opened them again.
And for the first time—
he didn't sound like a weapon.
He sounded human.
"You don't have to follow them."
Something changed.
His voice wasn't merely heard.
It traveled through the system.
Through the network.
Through them.
Silence.
Out in the corridors, the prototypes stopped.
Their footsteps halted.
Golden eyes trembled.
Unstable.
No longer empty.
Inside the control room, the Dominion Leader narrowed his eyes.
"...What is this?"
Farhan stared at the screens.
"Their connection is breaking!"
Lila looked up.
"Dominion is losing control!"
Arga raised the MBG box.
The ten rice grains shone at full brightness.
Kai released his energy beside him.
The two lights met.
Not to destroy.
Not to overpower.
But to calm.
BOOOOOOOOM!
A wave of white light consumed everything.
Silence.
No machines.
No alarms.
No system.
Only breathing.
Then—
the lights returned.
Soft.
Stable.
Farhan checked the monitors.
"...It's gone."
Lila nodded slowly.
"Dominion lost control."
Outside, dozens of prototypes stood motionless.
Not attacking.
Not moving.
As if they had only just awakened.
For the first time—
they were free.
The Dominion Leader was no longer smiling.
He looked at Arga.
Then at Kai.
Longer than before.
"...Interesting."
"You didn't just stop us."
A pause.
"...You woke them up."
Arga met his gaze.
"We didn't change who they are."
He looked toward the freed prototypes.
"We simply..."
"...reminded them."
Sinta stepped beside him.
"...that they have a choice."
The laboratory fell silent.
But this silence was different.
Not empty.
Alive.
Dozens of prototypes stood free.
Without commands.
Without control.
Then the Dominion Leader turned away.
His steps remained calm.
As if he hadn't lost at all.
Just before leaving, he stopped.
Without looking back, he said:
"You think this is a victory?"
Silence.
"We've just learned..."
"...how consciousness is created."
He took another step.
"The next version..."
"...won't be given a choice."
Arga tightened his grip on the MBG box.
The ten rice grains pulsed softly.
Yet this time—
he didn't feel stronger.
He felt something else.
That their time...
was beginning to run out.