The sky was beginning to brighten.
The thin fog that had hung over the industrial district slowly faded away.
Just hours ago, this place had felt like hell.
Now—
all that remained was a massive building.
Empty.
Silent.
As if nothing had ever happened.
And somehow—
that felt wrong.
The sound of approaching vehicles echoed in the distance.
Getting closer.
Several cars pulled up outside the complex.
Officers.
Rescue teams.
The people who always seemed to arrive after everything was already over.
Pak Rahmat stood waiting for them.
Calm.
But firm.
"This facility was used for human experimentation."
He pointed toward the building.
"And those children..."
A pause.
"...are victims."
No one answered immediately.
Because this was no longer speculation.
No longer a rumor.
It was real.
Inside the facility, the vast hall was filled with people.
Not scientists.
Not soldiers.
Children.
Sitting quietly.
Confused.
Some stared at their own hands as if trying to understand whether they truly belonged to them.
The golden glow remained in their eyes.
But it was faint now.
No longer controlling them.
Only lingering.
Like the final traces of a dream.
Kai moved slowly among them.
Not leading.
Not standing in front.
Simply walking beside them.
Like someone who had once been lost in the same darkness.
"You're safe now."
A young girl looked up at him hesitantly.
"Will Dominion come back?"
Kai stopped.
For the first time, he didn't have an easy answer.
Yet he answered anyway.
"We won't let that happen."
It wasn't a promise made lightly.
It was determination.
The kind that didn't need to be spoken twice.
In the darkened control room, the Nutrition Guardians finally sat down.
Actually sat down.
No alarms.
No running.
No emergency.
Bimo dropped himself onto a desk and groaned.
"...I just realized something."
"...We haven't slept at all."
Dika let out a quiet laugh.
"And somehow we're still alive."
Sinta stood by the window, watching the outside world slowly return to normal.
But her eyes remained sharp.
She knew what everyone else knew.
This wasn't over.
"We stopped something big."
A pause.
"But this isn't the end."
Farhan finally closed his laptop.
"The server is gone."
Lila nodded.
"This facility is finished."
Rani looked toward the rescued children.
"But they're still out there."
Silence followed.
Not fear.
Awareness.
Arga opened the MBG box.
Eleven rice grains glowed softly inside.
Not brighter.
Not stronger.
Just... different.
Deeper.
More connected.
Farhan glanced over.
"...Another one."
Lila smiled faintly.
"Every time we protect someone..."
"...the energy evolves."
Bimo pointed at Arga.
"So basically..."
"...being a good person is overpowered?"
Even Sinta smiled at that.
"It's not about being strong."
Her gaze shifted toward the children.
"It's about what you're protecting."
Kai looked at the glowing rice grains.
His eyes were calm now.
No longer wild.
No longer lost.
"Your energy is alive."
Arga nodded.
"Because it wasn't created."
He looked around the room.
At the children.
At his friends.
At everyone who had chosen to stand together.
"It grows."
Rani folded her arms.
"From small things."
"And from things people usually underestimate," Bimo added.
A few hours later, the news began to spread.
A secret laboratory.
Illegal experiments.
Children rescued from captivity.
The name Dominion appeared across countless reports.
And for the first time—
people began hearing about MBG.
Back at the community kitchen, Bu Maya watched the news on a small screen.
A gentle smile crossed her face.
"People are finally starting to understand."
Pak Rahmat stood beside her.
"That food..."
"...is never something simple."
By evening, the sky had turned orange.
The last rays of sunlight stretched across the Dominion facility.
But it no longer felt threatening.
Only finished.
At least for now.
Kai stood beside Arga, staring at the sunset.
"I never had a future before."
Arga shrugged.
"Now you do."
Silence settled between them.
Then Kai smiled.
Not because someone told him to.
Not because he had learned to imitate it.
But because he genuinely wanted to.
For the first time.
Sinta approached the group.
"We're not done yet."
Bimo immediately groaned.
"Obviously."
"That guy is definitely coming back."
Lila closed her tablet.
"And next time..."
"...they'll be prepared."
Arga shut the MBG box.
The eleven rice grains dimmed.
But their warmth remained.
He looked at his team.
At the people who kept choosing to stand their ground.
Then he spoke quietly.
"As long as there are children..."
"...who still need something as simple as a meal..."
A pause.
"...we can't stop."
The sun finally disappeared beyond the horizon.
Darkness slowly spread across the sky.
And for a brief moment—
everything felt peaceful.
Far away from the laboratory, a screen flickered to life.
Lines of data began scrolling across the display.
Not information about the system.
Not information about the laboratory.
Information about one person.
ARGA
Energy readings.
Synchronization patterns.
Evolution data.
A new status appeared on the screen.
EVOLUTION PHASE — INITIATED
A few seconds later, another line appeared.
SUBJECT: ARGA
The system processed the information.
Calculating.
Analyzing.
Learning.
Then a final message appeared.
ANCHOR STATUS: AWAKENING
The room remained silent.
No voices.
No movement.
Only the glow of the monitor.
Then one final line appeared beneath the others.
PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS: 97.2%
PROBABILITY OF SURVIVAL: UNKNOWN
The screen went dark.
And somewhere in the shadows—
something had already begun.