The Pacific Ocean had become hell on Earth.
The sky was crowded with dark silhouettes.
Dozens of Void Beasts circled overhead like a flock of vultures, their roars tearing through the storm.
Their wings blotted out the moon.
Amid the chaos, the Eclipse Devourer hovered motionlessly.
Its four violet eyes remained fixed on the ocean below.
On a single target.
The Heart of the Ocean.
Beneath it, Aethernox stood amid waves as tall as skyscrapers.
Its crystalline body radiated blue light that pierced the darkness.
To its right, Thalorion coiled like a living storm of water.
To its left, Leviathan Thalassa raised its massive head, exposing rows of gleaming fangs.
Three Ocean Guardians.
Against a sky filled with predators.
Bimo stared upward.
"...There are way too many of them."
Dika tightened his grip on the railing.
"If these are just the ocean's Guardians..."
"...we're doomed."
The first Void Beast dived.
Like a living meteor.
Aethernox swung its colossal fin and slammed into the creature.
CRAAAAASH!
The monster's body shattered, its remains plunging into the sea.
But two more immediately descended.
Leviathan unleashed a torrent of oceanic energy.
BOOOOOOOOM!
Water exploded into the sky.
Thalorion seized the third creature's wing in its jaws and hurled it into the raging storm.
The battle consumed the horizon.
Yet more creatures continued pouring through the rift overhead.
Farhan stared at the radar.
His face had gone pale.
"They just keep coming!"
Lila bit her lip.
"That portal has become an invasion gateway..."
The ship lurched violently.
Waves slammed against the hull, making the metal groan under the pressure.
A crew member was thrown off balance.
Bimo rushed forward and caught him before he fell into the sea.
"I'm getting really tired of saving people, I swear."
He managed a smile despite his ragged breathing.
Nearby, the antenna mast began to collapse.
Dika lunged forward and caught the falling structure with his shoulder.
"HEY!"
"If you're going to fall, don't fall on my friends!"
Sinta stood in the middle of the tilted deck.
Her face was pale.
Fear was unmistakable in her eyes.
But her voice remained firm.
"Everyone, stay focused!"
"Crew members, get below deck!"
"Farhan, keep the global radar running!"
"Lila, find a pattern in those portals!"
"Stop staring at the sky and do your jobs!"
Everyone obeyed.
Because even as the world descended into chaos—
Sinta refused to back down.
Farhan typed furiously.
A holographic display of the entire planet appeared above the control panel.
Then he froze.
"Wait..."
Everyone turned toward him.
Several massive energy signatures had appeared across the globe.
They weren't coming from orbit.
They were rising from the Earth itself.
Lila stared at the display.
Her eyes widened.
"Guardian energy..."
"...They're moving."
Kai managed a faint smile.
"They're coming."
The southern horizon blazed red.
The sea began to boil.
The clouds split apart.
From a storm of fire and ash, a colossal magma dragon burst into the sky.
Its wings were made of living lava.
Every beat sent showers of fire raining across the ocean.
IGNIVAR DRACO.
Bimo pointed upward.
"Okay."
"That volcano dragon really knows how to make an entrance."
Suddenly, the air froze.
The waves turned to ice.
White mist swept across the ocean.
A colossal bear emerged onto the frozen sea, walking with deliberate, thunderous steps.
Every footfall raised a new mountain of ice.
Its blue eyes were as sharp as a polar storm.
URSUS GLACIALIS.
The ocean to the west turned green.
Giant roots burst through the water.
Trees rose above the waves, their branches spreading into a vast, living forest.
From within that forest, a massive bear covered in leaves and tangled roots stepped forward.
URSUS VITALIS.
Wherever its claws touched the water—
Flowers bloomed.
The night suddenly brightened as if day had broken.
Sunlight pierced the storm.
A magnificent lion descended through a ring of golden light, its mane blazing like the sun itself.
LEO SOLARIS.
Its roar sent several Void Beasts recoiling.
Then sand appeared across the ocean's surface.
A desert storm swept over the waves.
At its center, a colossal desert dragon rose from a swirling vortex of golden sand.
Its body was as massive as a fortress.
Its golden eyes burned with ancient power.
AURELION SIROTH.
Then—
The entire Earth trembled.
Not the ship.
Not the ocean.
The Earth itself.
Golden light split the clouds.
From the heavens descended a colossal winged being, its wings stretching across the sky like continents.
Its body resembled a living mountain.
Its eyes held the weight of ages.
GAIA PRIMORDIA.
Far beyond the Pacific, ancient peaks began to crumble.
The mountains answered the call.
From their depths, HIMAL YAKSHA awakened, its immense form emerging amid avalanches and golden light.
The Guardian's roar rolled across the mountain ranges.
Every Void Beast fell still.
The ocean went silent.
Even the Eclipse Devourer narrowed its eyes.
Bimo could only whisper.
"...Now this is a world war."
Arga stared at the assembled Guardians.
Creatures he had once believed belonged only in legends.
Now they stood before him.
Waiting.
Waiting for him.
His body was still trembling.
Dried blood clung to his lips.
Cracks of energy still glowed along his left arm.
He lowered his voice.
"Why are they looking at me...?"
Kai stood beside him, struggling to keep himself upright.
"Because you're the bridge connecting them."
Arga stared at his trembling hands.
"I can barely stand."
Kai's voice softened.
"You don't have to stand without fear, Arga."
"You just have to keep standing when everything seems impossible."
The Eclipse Devourer raised its head.
Its four violet eyes blazed brighter.
It wasn't afraid.
It was furious.
The creature spread its wings across the horizon.
Darkness poured from its body.
A black storm began to form above the ocean.
Then it unleashed a thunderous roar.
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
The shock wave slammed into every Guardian.
Leviathan was driven backward.
Thalorion was forced away from the battlefield.
Several lesser Void Beasts were torn apart by the sheer force of the blast.
Farhan stared at the readings.
"Its energy is rising again!"
Lila responded immediately.
"It's absorbing energy from the portal!"
Arga opened the MBG Lunchbox.
Twenty-eight glowing grains of rice revolved inside like a golden galaxy.
The Cores across the world responded.
The light of the Sahara.
The flames of the Fire Continent.
The ice of the Poles.
The forests.
The mountains.
The ocean.
The Earth itself.
Their energies began resonating with the lunchbox, flowing toward Arga in a golden current.
But his body could barely withstand it.
Fresh blood spilled from his nose.
His knees buckled.
Sinta caught him by the shoulder.
"Don't push yourself any further!"
Arga managed a weak smile.
"If not now..."
"...then when?"
He took a painful step forward.
His gaze lifted toward the sky.
Toward the living eclipse hanging above the ocean.
Then he spoke.
"If this world is going to survive..."
"...then we'll survive together."
He raised the MBG Lunchbox toward the heavens.
WHOOOOOMMMMM!
Golden light erupted across the Pacific.
Every Guardian roared in unison.
Their combined voices shook the sky.
The final war was drawing closer.
But suddenly, Farhan froze.
His fingers trembled above the keyboard.
"No..."
Lila turned toward him.
"What is it now?!"
Farhan pointed at the radar.
A new energy signature had appeared.
It wasn't moving quickly.
It wasn't fluctuating wildly.
It was just one signal.
Yet the moment the ship's systems detected it, every instrument shut down.
The screens shattered.
The compasses stopped turning.
The engines died.
Kai stared at the sky.
The color drained from his face.
"...Him."
Arga turned toward him.
"Who?"
Kai's voice trembled like that of a child confronting an old nightmare.
"The King of the Void."
The cosmic rift widened.
It no longer resembled a doorway.
It looked as though the universe itself were opening its eye.
From within the darkness—
A colossal head emerged, its size rivaling an entire continent.
Two golden eyes slowly opened.
The Eclipse Devourer bowed its head.
Across the battlefield, every Void Beast plunged into the ocean and fell silent.
Aethernox took a step backward.
Gaia Primordia let out a low, uneasy growl.
Arga could barely breathe.
Kai dropped to his knees.
"That's him..."
The colossal creature moved forward.
And as half its body emerged from the void—
The entire night sky disappeared.
TO BE CONTINUED...