In the destroyed snow village, where flames are brightly lit and the snow is constantly melting, Lars walks away slowly, his feet soaked in blood. Behind him lies a small, broken pool of blood with Atheen's wand and her shattered horn resting in it.
He enters a crumbling house, its roof half-collapsed, walls scorched from the earlier explosions. Amid the wreckage, a cyan orb hovers on a table, pulsing faintly with energy.
Lars approaches it, his steps heavy. He reaches out and touches the orb.
Suddenly, a digital text flickers to life in front of him:
"Hidden Task Completed.
Congratulations—you are the first to slay another Chosen.
Reward: Access to their Powers."
A cold wave of icy magic surges from outside that flows into Lars's body. His wounds begin to seal, skin knitting back together with a glowing frost.
Nearby, Atheen's wand floats into the air, glowing faintly. Lars turns toward it—
—and a single tear slips from his eye.
The cyan orb dissolves completely, its energy also absorbed into his body. His aura now pulses with both his own purple might and the chilling white blue of Atheen's ice magic
He whispers:
"No more…"
Wiping the tear from his face, Lars steps out of the ruins.
The village is silent now.
Bodies lie scattered in the snow.
Smoke rises.
Ash falls like winter dust.
He walks forward, alone into the snow storm.
Meanwhile in Taeo City…
Yuri stands in the middle of the street, helping his people clear debris as large trucks loaded with ore roll by. He wipes the sweat from his brow, his body bandaged from the last battle. Suddenly, a loud hum echoes through the city, and everyone looks up—the city's barrier shimmers back to life, covering the entire city.
A bus screeches to a stop nearby, and Ortis hops out.
"You've done enough cleaning," Ortis calls. "I'm here to pick you guys up—we've hit a huge breakthrough in the Grand Plan! Hurry, before we miss the meeting. Everyone, get on the bus—your cleaning duties are done!"
As the Cyan Sparks people start boarding, Yuri turns to Ortis and smirks.
"You sky people sure know how to put us to work. But hey, it's better than working for Juvia and his lot. At least I'm working with someone I love."
Ortis raises an eyebrow. "Love? You talking about Gaia?"
Yuri leans against the side of the bus, grinning. "Of course—who else? I fell for her at first sight. But I know I'm not the only one."
"Just get on the bus," Ortis mutters, turning slightly red.
Yuri chuckles. "We've still got ten minutes. But I can see it in your eyes—they look just like mine when I think of her."
Blushing more, Ortis replies, "Well… yeah. I've got chemistry with her too. That's why I'm working with her."
Yuri nods. "Rose has those same eyes too whenever she looks at Gaia. I guess we're all in love with her. Isn't she great?"
Ortis gently pushes Yuri onto the bus, and they roll off toward a massive city building. Once they arrive, the crowd disembarks and enters a vast lobby packed with hundreds of Cyan Sparks. Inside, they reunite with Rose and Hopper, who are also wrapped in bandages.
Rose bumps into Ortis, noticing the dark circles under his eyes.
"You look exhausted," she says.
"Of course I am," Ortis replies. "We haven't had much rest since the Disaster Dragon fight."
Hopper walks up beside them. "Well we don't have a choice. If we slow down now, we fall behind on the Grand Plan. We have to be haste—before the ninth day ends."
Suddenly, a glowing portal opens on an upper balcony. Gaia steps out, her presence commanding attention. The crowd erupts in cheers and applause as she raises her hand. The room quiets.
Gaia addresses them with calm authority.
"Your great leader, Taeo, has done an exceptional job. Thanks to him, we're advancing further into our Grand Plan."
She waves her hand, revealing a massive digital screen. Taeo appears on it, working furiously—typing at lightning speed as dozens of magical hands assist him with constructing complex devices.
"After our victory against the dragon," Gaia explains, "we were able to recover its energy core. When Taeo scanned it, he discovered a signal—something the core was calling to. We traced that signal to a deep underground dungeon."
She waves her hand again. The screen now shows glowing images of the dragon's core and a mysterious, sealed gate far beneath the surface.
"We believe this dungeon holds greater resources—high concentrations of natural auras far beyond anything we've seen. If we gather them, we can push the Grand Plan into its final stages at a faster pace."
Another wave of her hand, and the screens now show Gaia and Gilga inside the digital world, working together using magical hands to build towering, metallic machines.
"Gilga and I have constructed giant diggers to help reach the dungeon and to help in gathering faster," she continues. "They await you outside. In order to save this world, we must all work together—every hand matters. Only unity will see us through."
The crowd erupts into cheers. Portals flash open all around the building as massive diggers roll through. As they exit the building, helmets appear digitally on the heads of many of them.
Gaia speaks once more. "Each digger will be led by a captain. You'll stay in contact as we head for the dungeon. Gather as many resources as possible—but stay safe. We the only hope that will save us from this doomed world!"
With salutes and determination in their eyes, Ortis, Yuri, Rose, and Hopper each lead their teams into separate diggers. Engines roar to life, and the diggers roll out of the city
Meanwhile, in the floating village, Nox's golems continue to work tirelessly. Giant earth spheres return to the village, carrying exhausted villagers and Stars who step out to rest. Among them, Tomi, Vel, and a dozen other Stars enter newly formed spheres that lift off and head toward the ocean.
Deep inside the floating village, in Nox's working chamber, a massive core is being forged by an army of golems. On a glowing rune-inscribed worktable, Nox and Kayle stand side by side. Two dragon cores float above them, held in place by the table's levitating magic.
With a focused wave of their hands, Nox and Kayle channel their magic into the cores. The dragon orbs pulse brighter, then shoot beams of energy downward into the earth. Nox summons his floating runes, which project holographic screens showing the energy lines flowing deep into the ocean.
Nox narrows his eyes and says, "Interesting. These cores are guiding us to a location that has better resources for us."
Kayle steps forward, placing her hand against one of the glowing lines. "Yeah, but I can also sense… the planet itself. During our battle with the dragons, I was able to charge my attacks faster thanks to the planet. I heard her voice… she's asking us for help."
Nox touches a nearby rune stone and speaks firmly, "All sphere units, follow the energy line. We'll meet up with you all at the end of the trail."
He then uses his earth magic to lift both himself and Kayle up from the chamber floor, carrying them to the village above. The villagers and Stars watch as Nox creates a giant earth sphere around them. With a wave of his hand, the surrounding runes glow and connect with intricate energy lines, powering the vessel.
Nox dives the sphere straight down into the ocean.
Inside, Kayle lies in an air bubble, gazing up at the glowing interior. "Well, on the way there," she says, "You can start answering my questions. Since you've gotten a lot of help from me and the other Stars."
Nox nods. "Your magic definitely evolved—and it's helped push my plan forward. So sure, ask away. I'll answer as best as I can."
Meanwhile, in the eastern village, inside Boa's building, Boa wakes up to find Prekayda and Jen waiting beside him. Prekayda bows deeply and says,
"Well done, Leader. You saved us from the dragon. We'll do whatever it takes to help you save us all."
Boa slowly sits up and asks,
"Where's Ignis? Without his help, I would've never slain that dragon."
Jen answers,
"He's in the other room, analyzing the dragon's core."
They walk into Ignis's room just as an energy beam shoots out from the dragon's core and goes underground. Ignis looks up and smiles.
"Oh, you're finally awake. Well, guess what—this orb is showing us a path to a location. And this place is connected to that voice we heard during the dragon battle. If she hadn't helped us, we would've died for sure."
Jen's eyes widen.
"A voice? You guys heard it too? It was begging us for help. Based on what I've learned from Crank, I believe it's the planet itself calling to us. She must be at the end of the trail."
Boa becomes curious.
"Crank knows about this?"
Jen nods.
"He does, but... he doesn't understand much of it."
Moments later, they arrive at the farm area where Crank is seated in deep meditation, surrounded by animals. Ignis leans on fence and becomes curious.
"What is he doing?"
Jen explains,
"Since we all have a bit of Boa's power in us, we can tap into this meditative state—kind of like calling to the dead or training spiritually."
Boa watches closely and adds,
"There's more to it. I can see that Crank is connecting with the spirits of the fallen animals. They're merging with him... becoming one."
Crank opens his eyes, and quickly gets up to flex.
"Guess what, Boa? I'm getting stronger! I'll help out more with this kind of power-up. You don't have to fight alone anymore—because I'll do all the fighting!"
He bursts into laughter.
Boa places a hand on his shoulder.
"What do you know about the planet?"
Crank replies,
"Oh... that lady... uhm, well, I know the omega of the old pack protects her. And since I'm the alpha of the new pack, I can sense her connection with the Omega."
Boa nods.
"Come with us. We'll find this lady—maybe she can help us too."
Prekayda steps forward and bows.
"I'll stay behind and keep the village safe. We all trust in you... have a safe journey ."
A moment later, Boa touches the glowing energy line, and it redirects in a new direction.
"Since we can't go straight down," he says, "I'm rerouting the trail to a path we can follow."
Crank suddenly sprints toward the new direction, his laughter echoing behind him.
"Let's gooo!"
Ignis watches him go and chuckles.
"Is he always this excited?"
Jen smirks.
"No. He's starting to grow soft because of us. If you knew him before, you would've been scared of him."
They arrive at the beach, where Crank suddenly stops and says, "Well, that's as far as I can go."
The rest of the group catches up as Boa steps forward, placing his hand over the water. He releases a pulse of magic that sends out deep, resonating sound waves into the ocean.
Suddenly, the massive Melon, the whale, bursts from the waves.
"Whoa! I almost forgot about Melon!" Crank shouts, taking a step back.
"I'm glad you survived, Melon!" Jen says with a smile.
Melon opens his enormous mouth, inviting them inside. One by one, they step in.
As the group enters the warm, glowing interior, Ignis looks around and groans, "Ahhh, we're in another belly again. Boa, I don't like this at all, bad memories."
Boa smirks and replies, "We're fine. Melon will get us there faster."
The soft yellow glow inside pulses in rhythm as Melon dives deep underwater, following the trail of energy guiding them forward.
Moments later, deep within the planet, massive machine diggers burrow steadily through layers of the planet, following the glowing energy line pulsing beneath the surface.
Inside one of the diggers, Yuri grips the controls and speaks into his headset while driving. "We're entering a big opening!"
His digger bursts through a dirt wall and crashes down onto a massive underground path. He looks up, but the ceiling above is swallowed in darkness. The path stretches endlessly in both directions.
Suddenly, more diggers emerge from the surrounding walls, landing on the same path with roaring engines and clanking treads.
A portal opens beside Yuri, and Gaia steps out gracefully. "Let's go. We're almost there," she says firmly.
The convoy of diggers begins moving forward, their headlights cutting through the pitch-black cavern as they follow the trail of energy.
As they drive deeper, a distant glow becomes visible ahead. The light intensifies until they reach the end of the trail—before them stands an enormous gate, towering thousands of feet high, carved into the rock.
Gaia steps out of the lead digger and walks toward the gate. With a motion of her hand, she summons the Robotic Dragon's core. It floats above her palm, pulsing with radiant energy.
The core shines brightly, and in response, the giant gate rumbles and begins to open.
Gaia's eyes widen as they reflect the shimmering lights spilling out from within the dungeon hidden beyond.
They venture deeper into the dungeon, following the twisting underground paths. Along the walls, they discover veins of glowing ores shimmering with strange energy. As the diggers continue mining, the cave is illuminated by the glittering minerals.
Gaia picks up one of the glowing ores, examining it closely. "This is almost like the Nova Crystals back on Isha," she says. "With this much, we can definitely—"
She suddenly stops, her expression sharpening. A faint voice whispers through the air, barely audible.
She turns toward the sound and follows it, stepping through a narrow tunnel that opens into a wide chamber. There, lying in the center, is a sleeping giant bear. Its back is covered in jagged red crystal spikes, pulsing with energy.
The bear stirs, sensing her presence. Its eyes snap open.
Gaia narrows her eyes. "Those crystals on its back… they're even better than the ores from before!" She activates her comms. "Unit Rose, Unit Ortis, and Unit Frostsilver get to my location. We've got a beast to take down."
With a flash of light, her mecha suit materializes around her, locking into place just as the bear rises to its full, towering height. It roars, and the crystal spikes on its back ignite in a blazing red glow.
Gaia braces herself as the beast charges forward, and she unleashes a flurry of laser blasts from her palms, lighting up the chamber in streaks of white-hot energy.