Heat descended upon the savannah like a punishment.
The air shimmered.
The ground cracked.
The grass turned black before the flames even touched it.
The sky changed color.
Gold.
Red.
Blinding white.
As if the real sun itself were falling closer and closer to the earth.
In the middle of the vast plain—
Solaris Lion stood like a living volcano.
Its colossal body glowed red from within.
Cracks spread across its black, stone-like hide, pouring out streams of molten light.
Its mane blazed wildly, forming a storm of fire around its massive body.
Every breath it took made the air scream.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!!!
Its roar shook the savannah.
Acacia trees burst into flames instantly.
The red dust became a cloud of burning embers.
Yet—
the Dominion reactor was still running.
WHOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
The massive machine was embedded in the ground like an iron spear.
Its energy pipes ruthlessly siphoned golden light from beneath the earth.
New cracks split across the ground.
CRAAAAAAAAACK!
Farhan stared at his laptop.
His face was pale.
"The Core is almost completely breaking free!"
Lila enlarged the graph.
Her hands trembled.
"The reactor is actually accelerating the collapse!"
Kai stared at Solaris Lion.
His eyes narrowed.
"He isn't angry…"
His voice was barely a whisper.
"He's dying."
Everyone fell silent.
Arga turned sharply.
"What?"
Kai looked at the giant lion.
"Every bit of energy being drained from the Core…"
"…is being paid for with the Guardian's body."
Solaris Lion roared again.
But this time—
Arga heard something else.
Not rage.
Pain.
A cry far too immense to be contained in an ordinary voice.
Sinta immediately shouted,
"Bimo! Destroy that machine now!"
"With pleasure!"
Bimo charged forward.
Dika ran beside him.
WHOOSH!
They tore through the burning grassland.
Dominion turrets rose.
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!
Explosions struck the ground in front of them.
Bimo leaped through the flames, laughing wildly.
"Harder! Come on!"
CRASH!
His metal staff smashed through one of the turrets.
Dika spun and kicked a second vehicle.
BOOOOM!
The steel folded inward.
Tono dropped from a massive rock like a shadow.
CRACK!
The third turret snapped and crashed to the ground.
But the main reactor was still standing.
And in front of it—
the Dominion leader waited.
His black coat whipped through the heat storm.
His expression was calm.
Almost frighteningly so.
He looked at Bimo as if he were nothing more than an annoying insect.
"You're too late."
He pressed the device in his hand.
WHOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
The reactor's absorption rate doubled.
The savannah exploded.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A pillar of golden light shot into the sky.
Solaris Lion raised its head.
Its eyes turned brilliant white.
Its mane erupted outward.
Flames swept across the land in every direction.
Bimo braced himself against the blast.
"Damn…"
Kai whispered,
"The transformation has begun."
Farhan stared at the screen.
His trembling voice was barely audible.
"Solar Avatar…"
Lila turned toward him.
"What is that?"
Farhan swallowed hard.
"The final form of a Guardian that has lost its Core."
"If that thing is born…"
"…the entire continent will burn."
Arga tightened his grip on the MBG lunchbox.
The eighteen glowing grains of rice inside spun wildly.
He could feel the Core beneath the earth.
Hot.
Wounded.
Being forcibly torn from its own home.
And behind it—
Solaris Lion.
Alone for thousands of years.
Guarding the savannah by itself.
Watching life come and go.
Enduring humanity's greed again and again.
And now—
it was being forced to die for a machine.
Tears fell from Arga's eyes.
"It's not a monster…"
He stared at Solaris Lion.
"It's a Guardian being killed."
Sinta looked at him.
"Arga!"
But Arga had already stepped forward.
Kai immediately realized what he was about to do.
"Don't."
Arga didn't stop.
The MBG lunchbox in his hand began to crack under the pressure of the energy.
Golden light leaked through the seams.
Farhan stared at the screen and froze.
"No…"
Lila panicked.
"What now?!"
Farhan looked at Arga.
"His body can't withstand a nineteenth grain."
Everyone fell silent.
Kai clenched his fists.
"If he forces it…"
"…it won't be just the lunchbox that breaks."
Arga kept walking.
His knees trembled with every step.
Blood trickled from his nose.
His hands shook violently.
But he continued toward Solaris Lion.
Sinta shouted,
"Enough!"
Arga answered without turning around.
"If I stop…"
"…he dies."
He opened the MBG lunchbox completely.
WHOOOOOOOOOM!!!
An explosion of golden light swept across the savannah.
The flames covering the grass went out.
The scorching air receded.
The dust settled.
Everyone turned.
Within the golden light—
the nineteenth grain of rice was born.
Small.
Pure.
Glowing like a miniature sun.
But the moment it appeared—
Arga screamed.
"AAARGH!!"
Cracks of light spread across his arm.
His skin seemed to split from within.
He collapsed to his knees.
Blood stained the earth.
Kai rushed forward.
"Arga!"
But Arga raised a trembling hand.
He was still shaking.
Still barely standing.
Yet he looked directly at Solaris Lion.
"We… didn't come… to take…"
His breathing came in broken gasps.
"…we came… to protect."
Solaris Lion stopped.
The flames in its eyes trembled.
Its colossal body shook as though it were holding back something far too powerful.
Then—
for the first time—
it lowered its head.
The entire savannah fell silent.
But the sound of slow applause shattered the silence.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
The Dominion leader smiled.
"Touching."
He looked at Arga.
"Now I understand why he chose you."
Sinta turned toward him.
"He?"
The man looked past the team.
Toward Pak Rahmat.
"Still hiding behind that name?"
Every eye turned.
Pak Rahmat stood silently beside the aircraft.
Calm.
Still.
Not a drop of sweat touched him, even though the world around them was burning.
Wild flames raced toward him—
then split apart before they could touch his shoes.
Bimo took half a step backward.
"…What?"
Kai stared at Pak Rahmat without blinking.
For the first time—
his expression was filled with genuine tension.
The Dominion leader gave a quiet laugh.
"How long are you planning to keep pretending to be a driver?"
Pak Rahmat finally raised his head.
His eyes were cold.
And when he spoke—
even the scorching wind seemed to stop.
"Leave."
One word.
That was all.
Yet the entire Dominion force instinctively stepped backward.
As if their bodies had moved on their own.
Bimo whispered,
"Who… is he?"
No one answered.
Because at that moment—
Solaris Lion lifted its head toward the sky.
Its body began glowing brighter than ever before.
Farhan stared at his screen.
Then screamed.
"No!"
Lila panicked.
"What now?!"
Farhan pointed toward the sky.
Above the savannah—
the massive sphere of fire that had formed earlier suddenly split in two.
Two suns hung in the sky.
One red.
One white.
Kai stared upward.
His face went pale.
"Not the Solar Avatar…"
"This is worse."
The ground began to melt.
Animals fled in panic in every direction.
Sinta stared at the sky in horror.
"If those things fall…"
Farhan finished the sentence in a broken voice.
"…Africa will disappear from the map."
Solaris Lion roared.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!!!
And the two suns hanging in the sky—
began to descend.