Several days passed.
The city came back to life.
Trucks rolled through the streets.
Children laughed.
The community kitchen was busy once more.
As if—
nothing had ever happened.
But for them—
everything had changed.
The aroma of freshly cooked rice filled the kitchen.
Warm steam drifted upward.
The sounds of pans, spoons, and hurried footsteps echoed through the room once again.
Bu Maya smiled.
"Complete meal today."
"Rice, vegetables, fish, and fruit."
Pak Rahmat nodded.
"As long as it reaches the children."
Simple words.
Yet now—
they carried a deeper meaning.
Outside in the courtyard, the team sat together.
Just like before.
And yet—
not quite the same.
Bimo opened his lunchbox.
"A peaceful day."
Dika chuckled.
"For now."
Sinta glanced at the tablet in Lila's hands.
"Anything from Dominion?"
Lila nodded.
"No major activity."
Farhan adjusted his glasses.
"And that's exactly what worries me."
Rani folded her arms.
"People like him..."
"...don't just stop."
Silence settled over the group.
Arga opened his lunchbox.
Eleven rice grains glowed softly inside.
Then—
one of them pulsed.
Stronger.
Deeper.
As if—
it was calling to something.
Arga froze.
"...This is different."
Sinta immediately turned toward him.
"What is?"
Arga stared at the glowing grain.
"...It's not coming from us."
Farhan quickly opened his laptop.
Graphs appeared across the screen.
Rising.
Steady.
Then he suddenly fell silent.
"...This is huge."
Lila leaned closer.
"How huge?"
Farhan zoomed in on a map.
A single point appeared.
Far away.
Deep within a remote mountain range.
Blinking slowly.
"Extremely high energy output."
"...and it's completely stable."
Bimo raised an eyebrow.
"A new enemy?"
Farhan shook his head.
"...It doesn't match Dominion's signature."
Kai stared at the screen.
His expression shifted.
"...I can feel it too."
Sinta looked at him.
"What does it feel like?"
Kai hesitated.
Then answered quietly.
"Older."
A pause.
"...deeper than us."
The air suddenly felt different.
Heavier.
Arga tightened his grip on the lunchbox.
The light inside responded.
Not resisting.
Not defending.
Responding.
As if—
two things recognized each other.
"...It's calling us."
Pak Rahmat stared at the map.
"...Those mountains..."
He paused, searching his memory.
"There used to be an early nutrition research facility there."
Bu Maya slowly nodded.
"The first of the original programs."
Farhan looked back at the energy readings.
"If that's true..."
"...then this isn't an ordinary facility."
Lila shook her head.
"Energy on this scale..."
"...couldn't have been created recently."
Rani spoke almost in a whisper.
"...It's something ancient."
A pause.
"...something that just woke up."
Far away, on a balcony overlooking the city, cold wind swept through the night.
Lights shimmered below.
The Dominion Leader stood alone.
A tablet glowed in his hand.
The same location.
The same mountain range.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"So..."
"...it finally awakened."
The man in the hat turned toward him.
"What exactly is it?"
The answer came quietly.
"...Not a result."
A pause.
"...The source."
The air seemed colder after those words.
The Dominion Leader closed the tablet.
Yet his eyes remained sharp.
"If we obtain it..."
"...we'll never need to imitate it again."
Another pause.
"...We'll control it."
Back at the courtyard, Arga closed his lunchbox.
The glow continued to pulse inside.
Stronger.
More alive.
He looked at his team.
"I can't ignore this."
Sinta answered immediately.
"Then we won't."
Bimo stood up and stretched.
"Mysterious mountains?"
A grin spread across his face.
"...I like new problems."
Kai continued staring at the map.
Calm.
Yet something in his eyes had changed.
"...Maybe that's where the answers are."
"...The answers about all of us."
A cool evening breeze swept through the courtyard.
Far beyond the city, the mountain peaks stood against the horizon.
Silent.
Motionless.
Yet somehow—
they felt alive.
As though they had been waiting.
Arga took a step forward.
His voice was quiet.
But certain.
"Nutrition Guardians..."
He looked toward the distant mountains.
"...we're moving out."
And for the first time—
they weren't heading toward a battle.
They weren't rushing to stop an attack.
They were heading toward—
the beginning.
But deep beyond those mountains—
something was already waiting.
Not Dominion.
Not a machine.
Not even a human.
But something that had existed—
long before any of this began.
And perhaps—
something that was never meant to be found.