The golden dome covered Jakarta like a second sky.
Beyond it—
the Void fleet circled within the shadows of the cosmic rift.
Beneath it—
people were still alive.
Ambulances raced through the streets.
Fires were being extinguished.
The wounded were evacuated.
Children were crying again like ordinary children, not because they were staring at monsters.
For the first time since the attack began, the city was finally given a moment to breathe.
But deep beneath the ground, inside the emergency headquarters—
another battle was about to begin.
One far more dangerous.
A battle among themselves.
The emergency meeting was held in a damaged museum hall.
A cracked wooden table had been turned into their command center, while a holographic map of the city hovered above it.
Orbital data flashed red.
The cosmic rift continued to widen.
They were running out of time.
And the trust between them was beginning to wear thin.
Arga stood silently in one corner of the room.
Sinta remained close to him.
The others formed an uneven circle.
Kai stood the farthest away.
As usual.
Farhan was the first to speak.
His voice was exhausted, but firm.
"I've cross-referenced the ancient records, Terra Ultima's signals, and the enemy's attack patterns."
He swallowed.
"Everything points to one conclusion."
No one spoke.
Farhan turned his gaze toward Arga.
"They don't want Earth."
He paused.
"They want Arga."
The room fell silent.
Bimo slowly raised his hand.
"Okay, stupid question."
He glanced around at everyone.
"What if we hand Arga over..."
Sinta moved faster than anyone else.
BANG!
Her palm slammed against the table.
The already cracked wood split further.
"Finish that sentence. I dare you."
Bimo fell silent.
For the first time that day, he had no joke to offer.
"I'm not saying I agree," he said quietly.
"I'm saying we need to be brave enough to talk about what everyone else is thinking."
Silence settled over the room.
Because he was right.
No one wanted to say it.
But everyone was thinking about it.
If sacrificing one person could save billions—
what should they choose?
Lila opened the ancient tablet.
Her hands trembled slightly.
"There's a passage in the Book of the World Core that I haven't finished translating."
She swiped across the screen.
Ancient writing appeared.
Lila read it aloud.
"When the Seventh Key is found, the Void shall pursue its bearer."
She paused before continuing.
"If the bearer falls, the world may fall into slumber once more."
Her eyes moved to the next line.
"But if the bearer surrenders, the gate may be sealed... temporarily."
Farhan stared at the text.
"So it's true."
Sinta turned sharply toward Lila.
"What does 'temporarily' mean?"
Lila lowered her head.
"It means the threat will disappear... for a certain period of time."
"How long?"
"I don't know."
Dika, who had remained silent until then, finally spoke.
His voice was hoarse.
"So those are our choices."
He looked at everyone.
"We protect Arga, and the fight continues."
He paused.
"Or..."
His gaze shifted toward Arga.
"...we hand him over and buy ourselves some time."
Arga remained silent in the corner.
As though they were discussing the weather.
As though this had nothing to do with him.
As though they weren't discussing his life.
Sinta stepped in front of him.
"There's nothing to discuss."
"He's not something we can trade."
Kai finally raised his head.
"Emotions won't change the facts."
Everyone turned toward him.
Kai continued.
"I've watched the world fall apart more than once."
"Sometimes, one life really is the price that must be paid."
Sinta stared at him as though her anger could set the entire room ablaze.
"And that's why you've always been alone."
The room fell silent again.
Kai didn't answer.
But something changed in his eyes.
Her words had touched an old wound.
Bimo began pacing back and forth.
"I hate this choice."
He looked at Arga.
"But if millions of people die because we're too sentimental..."
His voice trailed off.
He couldn't bring himself to finish.
Dika cut in.
"And if we sacrifice our own friend and win..."
He looked at each of them in turn.
"...can we still call ourselves a team?"
No one had an answer.
Farhan removed his glasses and rubbed his face.
"I don't want to lose anyone."
He let out a long breath.
"But the data doesn't care what we want."
He pointed toward the orbital display.
"The rift is expanding faster now."
"If this dome falls tomorrow, this city is finished."
Lila whispered.
"I'm scared..."
Not of the monsters.
Not of the Void fleet.
She was afraid of the decision they were being forced to make.
At last, Arga spoke.
Quietly.
But his voice was enough to stop the argument.
"If I leave..."
Everyone turned toward him.
Sinta immediately grabbed his arm.
"Don't start."
But Arga kept his eyes fixed ahead.
"If I leave and this can all be over..."
"No."
Sinta cut him off, her voice sharper this time.
Arga turned to face her.
Their eyes met.
There was anger.
Fear.
And something else neither of them had found the words to name.
"You always do this," Sinta said.
"You always think you have to carry everything on your own."
"I'm just trying to think—"
"Don't make this decision by yourself!"
Sinta's voice cracked.
The room fell silent.
Her eyes glistened with tears.
This time, she didn't bother hiding them.
"We're bleeding here too!"
"We're fighting alongside you too!"
She tightened her grip on his arm.
"You're not some burden we have to throw away to make the world easier to save!"
Arga couldn't answer.
Because for the first time—
someone was angry with him not because he had failed to protect them.
But because he was too willing to disappear for their sake.
Bimo turned his face away.
Dika stared at the floor.
Farhan let out a long sigh.
Lila struggled to hold back her tears.
Kai closed his eyes.
Perhaps remembering someone he had once failed to save.
Suddenly—
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The emergency alarm blared.
Farhan turned toward the screen.
His face went pale.
"New rifts!"
Lila checked the incoming data.
Her hands began to tremble.
"Not above Jakarta..."
She enlarged the display.
"They're appearing at the seven points of the world's energy centers!"
Everyone moved closer.
The Sahara.
The Poles.
The Amazon.
The Continent of Fire.
The Ocean.
The Solar Sky.
The Deepest Core.
All seven locations glowed red.
Kai whispered.
"They're not going to wait for us to make a decision."
At that very moment—
the golden dome above the city shook violently.
BOOOOM!
An explosion thundered overhead.
Dust fell from the museum ceiling.
Bimo tightened his grip on the metal rod.
"So... is the meeting over?"
Dika forced himself to stand, wincing in pain.
"We haven't made a decision."
Sinta raised her weapon.
"We have."
She moved to stand beside Arga.
Her eyes fixed on the entrance.
"We fight."
Farhan stared at the screen.
"And what if we fail?"
No one answered.
Because deep inside each of them—
the cracks had already begun to form.
Not in the sky.
But within the team itself.
Then Terra Ultima's voice shook the foundations of the museum.
"Choose. Quickly."
KRRRRAAAK!
The lights went out.
The holographic map vanished.
The room was swallowed by darkness.
And above the city—
something began pressing down on the golden dome from the outside.
The pressure was immense.
A force unlike anything they had ever felt before.
Not even the Guardians had ever experienced anything like it.