The Sahara had never truly been silent.
Not even when no humans were around.
Not even when night swallowed the horizon.
Not even when the wind fell still.
Something was always moving beneath the sand.
Something ancient.
Something waiting.
Now, the desert sky had turned crimson.
Cosmic rifts hung above the dunes like colossal eyes newly awakened. Red light spilled from them, washing over the endless sea of sand.
Void pods slammed into the earth one after another.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Each impact carved out enormous craters, sending waves of sand surging as high as buildings.
At an evacuation camp on the edge of the desert, hundreds of civilians rushed toward the emergency bunkers.
Medical tents were torn away by the wind.
Generators exploded.
A father carried his child in his arms while glancing back at the sky.
He whispered a single word.
"Again..."
From the first crater, three Void Ravagers emerged.
Their biomechanical bodies reflected the last rays of sunlight. Six sharp legs pierced the sand, while the red cores inside their chests pulsed like the hearts of killers.
They turned toward the humans.
Then they moved.
But before the first monster could reach the camp—
the ground began to tremble.
Not because of the monsters' footsteps.
Something beneath them was waking up.
RUMMMMMMMMMM...
The sand began swirling into a colossal vortex.
The crimson sky slowly turned gold.
Everyone stopped running.
Even the Void Ravagers fell still.
Then the desert erupted.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The enormous head of a dragon burst through the endless sea of sand.
Its horns resembled ancient stone.
Its eyes burned like the setting sun.
Golden-brown wings unfolded, unleashing a sandstorm that swallowed the horizon.
Aurelion Siroth.
The Guardian of the Sahara.
Its roar shook the continent.
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Vehicle windows shattered.
Sand surged into the sky like a colossal tsunami.
The three Void Ravagers were hurled dozens of meters away by the sheer force of its roar.
Inside a bunker, a little boy stared at the security monitor with wide eyes.
"It's a dragon..."
His mother pulled him close, tears streaming down her face.
"No."
For the first time that day, she smiled.
"That's our home waking up."
Aurelion surged forward.
Its colossal body tore through the sandstorm like a warship cutting through the ocean.
One massive claw struck the first Void Ravager.
CRASH!
The monster was crushed into the crater.
Aurelion opened its jaws—
and unleashed a stream of golden lava.
WHOOOOOMMMMM!
The other two Ravagers melted where they stood.
The surrounding sand fused into glowing glass.
Back in Jakarta, Farhan enlarged the live broadcast from the Sahara.
"Regional Guardian at full activation."
Bimo watched the screen with a grin.
"Now that's an entrance."
Dika remained focused.
"Look behind it."
Behind Aurelion—
not one or two ships,
but dozens of drilling vessels were descending in silence.
They resembled inverted black towers, each equipped with a massive rotating drill beneath its hull.
They weren't attacking the dragon.
They were landing in a formation around the coordinates of the Sahara's energy core.
Lila studied the readings on her ancient tablet.
The color drained from her face.
"They didn't come here to win the war."
Arga turned toward her.
"Then what are they after?"
"They're here to harvest the core."
Kai slowly nodded.
"The invasion is nothing more than a distraction."
In the desert, Aurelion noticed them too.
It turned toward the drilling vessels.
But it was already too late.
The first drill plunged into the sand.
KRRRRRRRRR!
The ground shuddered.
Golden light surged from deep beneath the desert.
The Sahara's World Core had been struck.
Aurelion roared in fury.
It spread its wings, unleashing a colossal sandstorm that swallowed three ships at once.
But the remaining vessels retaliated, firing energy chains toward its body.
CRACK!
Dozens of black chains wrapped around the dragon's wings and neck.
Aurelion pulled with all its might.
Two ships were torn apart.
But five others held their ground.
Beneath the sand—
cracks began spreading toward the core.
The golden light that had once glowed warmly now pulsed erratically.
The entire desert felt the disturbance.
Dunes collapsed.
New sinkholes opened.
Snakes and other desert creatures fled their burrows, scattering in every direction.
At the Jakarta headquarters, Sinta immediately spoke.
"Bimo. Dika. You're heading to the Sahara."
Bimo pointed at himself.
"Me?"
Sinta gave him a sharp look.
"Do you have a problem with that?"
Bimo grabbed his metal rod.
"No. I just need a cool way to make my entrance."
Dika was already on his feet.
"When do we leave?"
Arga stared at the screen, watching Aurelion struggle alone.
"I'm going too."
Kai shook his head.
"No."
Everyone turned toward him.
Kai pointed at the global map.
"If they're targeting all the World Cores, Arga can't be in seven places at once."
Silence fell over the room.
Because Kai was right.
Back in the Sahara—
the sixth drill penetrated even deeper.
KRRRRRRRRR!
The light beneath the sand turned red.
Aurelion let out an even more furious roar.
It burned through the chains wrapped around its body and soared high into the sky.
The desert heavens blazed gold.
For a brief moment—
every enemy vessel looked tiny beneath it.
Then Aurelion descended like a meteor forged from the sun.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Half the drilling fleet vanished in an explosion of sand and fire.
But as the dust settled—
one massive vessel remained.
Its front hatch slowly opened.
Someone emerged.
Walking through the air.
A humanoid figure clad in black armor.
A glowing red spear rested in its hand.
Its eyes were empty, like bottomless wells.
Its energy pressed down upon the entire desert.
Aurelion stopped moving.
For the first time—
the Guardian of the Sahara looked wary.
Back in Jakarta, Kai whispered,
"The African Regional General..."
Lila stared at the readings, trembling.
"Its energy is on par with a Core Guardian."
Bimo slapped his palm with his fist.
"Now that's a target worth taking down."
On the screen—
the armored figure raised its spear toward Aurelion.
The heat above the Sahara distorted the sky.
The sand began melting into glass.
Then the creature spoke for the first time, its voice echoing across the entire desert.
"Surrender the core."
"Or I'll kill its Guardian."