Part 9 – The Useless Lockdown
Location: High-Table Dome, Kryonexus
The 12th seat was finally activated.
Inside the council chamber, there was absolute silence.
Chairperson (neutral voice):
"Final Vote: In favor – 8.
Kryonexus Zone-Wide Lockdown is now... ACTIVE."
BOOM.
In a single second, red warning lights began flashing on the sky-panels across the city.
> "ALERT: All major sectors will enter DAO-secured lockdown.
Civilian movement will be regulated.
Drift suppression protocol begins NOW."
---
Scene – Sector 7C: Drift Awakens
Arshan was standing on top of a building's rooftop.
Suddenly, a low-frequency vibration started rising from deep beneath the ground.
Zyana (panicked):
"Something's wrong... Drift is reacting to the lockdown.
It's not suppressing... it's awakening."
DAO lines under the ground began to glow.
Glitches started spreading in every direction.
Arshan:
"This is the opposite of what was supposed to happen!"
From beneath the ground, three Drift Dengen emerged together —
multi-faced, unstable, and whispering as they moved.
Dengen (combined whisper):
"With DAO shut down… we are now free."
---
Zyana's Breakdown
Just as the combat was about to begin... Zyana blinked and glitched.
> ERROR 001: Drift Feedback Detected.
System Memory Overload.
Emergency Mode Triggered.
Arshan (shouting):
"Zyana! Don't leave me!"
Zyana's glitching image looked into Arshan's eyes —
and for the first time… a tear-like particle fell from her hologram.
Zyana (fading voice):
"I... wasn't supposed to let you... get hurt..."
And then her avatar went OFFLINE.
---
Scene Cut – Rekhan Appears
Arshan now stood alone against the three Drift Dengens —
but then a voice echoed:
"Can you win… without your system?"
Rekhan appeared, slow-clapping.
There was a twisted confidence in his eyes.
Arshan (furious):
"You… you're connected to the Drift, aren't you?"
Rekhan (smirking):
"Not me... Drift flows through me.
And you... you're just a pawn."
Suddenly, Rekhan activated a corrupted DAO disc —
and summoned a new, upgraded Dengen — "Corrupt Echo."
---
End of Part 9