Elian gripped the purple crystal core in Vespera's chest. Cracks began to spread, emitting blinding light. But Vespera didn't scream anymore. Her scream stopped abruptly, cut off by laughter. Cold, mechanical, emotionless laughter. Her cracking beautiful face grinned ear to ear, revealing the emptiness behind it. "You think you've won, Auditor?" her voice changed. No longer a majestic woman's voice, but the voice of thousands of overlapping data streams, glitchy and terrifying. "You think this is my real body?" Vespera or the creature claiming to be Vespera grabbed Elian's wrist back. Her strength suddenly surged tenfold. CRACK! The bones in Elian's wrist popped. "I am the Dimension Queen," the creature hissed. "I am not stupid enough to descend directly onto this dirty planet full of mud and bacteria. This body is me

Silence.For the first time in months, Jakarta didn't roar, scream, or moan. All that was heard was the whisper of wind blowing dust over a sea of confused humans and sobs starting to be heard here and there.On the Monas grounds, Vara stood stunned. Her sword hung limply in her hand. Around her, thousands of newly "cured" humans naked, dirty, and trembling sat on the asphalt, staring at their own hands as if they were alien objects."Did we... win?" whispered a soldier beside Colonel Badra.But Vara didn't feel victory. Her eyes were glued to the giant pile of rubble where the Void Sanctum collapsed. Where Elian disappeared."Boss..."Agus's trembling voice broke her trance. The giant stood at the edge of the crater, fists clenched tight, eyes staring at the pile of concrete and shattered crystal."Boss... is still inside."The mental connection established between the Thunder Revenants and Elian suddenly severed. Unit-01 and

Several hours had passed since the pale dawn revealed itself over the sea of confused humans in the Monas courtyard. The sun was now rising higher, baking Jakarta's asphalt, which was covered in dust and leftover black blood. The first emergency meeting of the Cakra Biru Republic's "cabinet" was held in the ruined main lobby of Jakarta's City Hall. There were no plush chairs or mahogany tables. The room was full of holes, the ceiling was wide open to the sky, and the sharp smell of smoke still lingered. Elian limped into the lobby, holding his tightly bandaged left ribs. Every step felt like a rusty needle being shoved into his lungs. He sat down with great difficulty on a pile of collapsed marble pillars. Near his feet, Dito sat hugging his knees, his hands tightly gripping Elian's cashier lanyard. The kid was the only reason Elian hadn't burned this place down yet. Around Elian, his core team gathered. Their faces were

CRASH!The wooden table with only three legs finally gave up. Its surface cracked and split in two as Elian's fist slammed hard into it. Tiny blue electrical sparks crackled from between his fingers, stinging the stuffy air of the City Hall lobby.Silence instantly fell over the room.Dr. Arini, who had just screamed demanding the giant lizard alive, Lina, who was gripping her soup ladle with her chest heaving in anger, Mr. Hendra, who was hugging his leftover forms, and Agus, who was still standing tall waiting for orders, all fell silent, staring at Elian.Elian took a deep breath, trying to calm the twitching veins in his neck. The System in his head kept blinking, displaying error logs due to mental overload."All of you, shut up," Elian's voice was low, yet it echoed with an undeniable authority. His dark eyes locked onto every face in front of him, one by one."Arini wants a lizard to dissect. Lina wants a farm on the roof of Sarinah to feed two million people. Mr. Hendra wants