The Sahara had finally fallen silent.
The violent winds that had ravaged the desert only moments ago were fading away.
The sandstorm collapsed.
The golden light surrounding Aurelion Siroth slowly dimmed.
For a brief moment, it seemed as though everything had returned to normal.
Then—
The wind stopped.
Completely.
The Desert Colossus froze.
Even the drifting sand seemed to hang motionless in the air.
The sunlight above the ancient city suddenly weakened.
A strange darkness spread across the sky.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Even the Guardians seemed to sense something approaching.
Farhan stared at the readings on his laptop.
His face slowly turned pale.
"That's impossible…"
Sinta immediately looked at him.
"What is it?"
Farhan's fingers trembled as he enlarged the energy graph.
"Something just entered Earth's atmosphere."
Kai turned toward the sky.
"How powerful?"
Farhan swallowed hard.
"It's…"
He looked at the rapidly rising numbers.
"It's larger than the Abyss Devourer."
Everyone fell silent.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!
A black object tore through the atmosphere.
It looked like a meteor.
But it was moving with intelligence.
Dark flames surrounded its body as it descended toward the Sahara.
The sky itself seemed to crack around it.
CRAAAAASH!
The impact shook the entire desert.
A massive crater opened in the sand.
Black dust exploded into the air.
The ancient city trembled.
Arga struggled to remain standing.
His body was still badly injured.
"What's happening…?"
No one answered.
Something was moving inside the crater.
Slowly—
A gigantic black figure rose from the smoke.
Four massive legs emerged first.
Then a long, armored body.
Two enormous wings unfolded behind it.
Broken horns curved from its head.
Its scales were darker than the night sky.
And its eyes—
Were a deep, blood-red.
The creature raised its head.
A low growl rolled across the desert.
GRRRRRRRRROOOOAAAAAR!
The sound shook the ancient ruins.
Kai's eyes widened.
"Void Tyrant…"
Sinta stared at the creature.
"What is that?"
Kai didn't take his eyes off it.
"A predator."
The Void Tyrant slowly spread its enormous wings.
The sunlight disappeared behind its body.
The shadow covered the ancient city.
The Desert Colossus instinctively stepped backward.
Even the ancient Guardian seemed to recognize the danger.
Aurelion Siroth rose.
Golden energy erupted from its body.
Its ancient eyes locked onto the creature from the sky.
One had been born from the earth.
The other had come to devour it.
Aurelion Siroth attacked first.
BOOOOM!
A massive wave of golden energy tore across the desert.
The Void Tyrant twisted its body.
The attack barely missed.
The creature immediately countered.
Its enormous claws slammed into the ground.
KRAAAASH!
The Desert Colossus charged from the side.
Its massive body wrapped around the Void Tyrant, trying to restrain it.
But—
The Void Tyrant roared.
Its wings exploded outward.
BOOOOM!
The Desert Colossus was thrown away.
Before it could recover, the Void Tyrant lunged.
Its claws tore through the Guardian's massive body.
Golden energy burst from the wound.
"NO!"
Sinta shouted.
Aurelion Siroth released another devastating blast.
WHOOOOOM!
The golden attack struck the Void Tyrant directly.
The creature was thrown across the desert.
It crashed through several ancient structures.
For a moment—
Everything was silent.
Then the rubble moved.
The Void Tyrant stood again.
The wounds across its body began to close.
Slowly.
Naturally.
As though its body had never been damaged.
Lila stared at her tablet.
"It's regenerating…"
Farhan looked at his readings.
"No."
He zoomed in on the energy patterns.
"It's absorbing something."
Kai immediately understood.
"The sky."
Everyone looked upward.
Above the Sahara, a dark rift had appeared in the atmosphere.
Black energy was pouring through it.
Like rain.
The Void Tyrant opened its wings.
The black energy flowed directly into its body.
Its aura grew stronger.
Lila's face tightened.
"If we let it continue…"
Farhan finished her sentence.
"It could become stronger than every Guardian on Earth."
Arga looked toward the creature.
His breathing was heavy.
His entire body was already at its limit.
Twenty-five glowing rice grains remained inside the MBG Lunchbox.
The power they contained was enormous.
But so was the price Arga had already paid.
Sinta grabbed his arm.
"Don't move."
Arga looked at her.
"I can still fight."
"You can barely stand."
Bimo stepped forward.
"She's right. For once, Arga, listen to her."
Arga looked at the Void Tyrant.
The creature was already turning toward the Heart of the Sahara.
If it reached the Core—
Everything would be over.
Arga clenched his fists.
"If we do nothing…"
He looked at his friends.
"…everyone dies."
Dika stepped beside him.
"Then don't die alone."
Arga looked at him.
Dika gave a small smile.
"We're coming with you."
Bimo sighed.
"Of course you are."
He tightened his fists.
"You're all completely insane."
Sinta stepped forward.
"Then we're all insane together."
One by one, the others joined them.
Kai.
Lila.
Farhan.
Rani.
Nisa.
Tono.
And Dika.
They stood beside Arga.
The Void Tyrant suddenly turned its head.
Its red eyes locked directly onto them.
Kai's expression changed.
"It sees us."
The creature opened its jaws.
A massive sphere of black energy began forming between its teeth.
Farhan shouted.
"Everyone, move!"
The sphere grew larger.
Larger.
And larger.
Dark energy twisted around it like a collapsing galaxy.
Sinta raised her weapon.
"That's too much power!"
Kai shouted—
"Arga!"
Arga stepped forward.
His legs were shaking.
His wounds were still bleeding.
But he refused to retreat.
He reached for the MBG Lunchbox.
The moment his hand touched it—
GLOW.
The twenty-five rice grains inside the Lunchbox illuminated one after another.
Golden light spread across the desert.
Arga raised the Lunchbox.
The Void Tyrant released its attack.
WHOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A gigantic wave of black energy surged toward them.
The ground shattered beneath their feet.
The ancient city trembled.
Arga braced himself.
He knew he couldn't stop it alone.
But he wasn't alone anymore.
The black energy was only moments away.
Then—
A hand suddenly grabbed Arga's shoulder.
Arga froze.
A familiar voice spoke from behind him.
Calm.
Cold.
Ancient.
"Now…"
A golden light began to spread across the desert.
"…it's my turn."
Arga's eyes widened.
He knew that voice.
Slowly, a figure stepped past him.
Pak Rahmat.
He stood between Arga and the approaching darkness.
His expression was completely calm.
He raised one hand.
An ancient symbol appeared in the center of his palm.
BOOOOOOM!
Golden light erupted from his body.
The sand beneath his feet split apart.
The darkness approaching them stopped.
For the first time—
The Void Tyrant hesitated.
Its blood-red eyes narrowed.
It took one step backward.
Pak Rahmat looked directly at it.
The golden symbol in his palm burned brighter.
And somewhere beneath the Sahara—
Something ancient awakened.