Part 14 – God or Rebellion
Location: DAO Border Sector – On the Edge of the Drift Zone
The wind was poisonous.
Red glitch trails danced across the sky — as if lightning had been caught in slow motion.
The moment Arshan and Rayn exited the abandoned tunnel, they entered a restricted Drift buffer zone.
Rayn (catching his breath):
"Bro… we're outside DAO's protection grid now."
Arshan:
"So we're safe?"
Zyana (voice broken, fading):
"Safe… no.
DAO… attempting to… terminate core…"
Zyana's avatar glitched into view in front of Arshan.
Her hologram was half-loaded. Her face was flickering with static.
Zyana:
"DAO… council… executing wipe protocol.
I'm shifting to backup shell.
Data… compromised…"
Her words began to fade.
Arshan (furious):
"No matter what happens… don't leave me."
Zyana gave a weak smile and softly said:
"I am your system… but this time… you're alive because of me."
And then… she vanished.
---
Scene Cut – DAO Council Orders
Location: High-Table Council Core Chamber
A final order flashed on the screen:
> "System Zyana – Targeted Termination.
Reason: Unauthorized Overwrite.
Risk Level: Autonomous Protocol Breach."
Rika:
"She's not just assisting anymore — she's deciding."
Veylan:
"Execute the purge.
Let's see how far that boy can run… without his crutch."
---
Scene – The Drift Zone Begins
Inside the Drift zone, the environment began to shift.
DAO threads on the ground were burning away.
Strange, distorted Dengen figures were floating in the sky.
Rayn (watching, stunned):
"This isn't just a zone… this is a testing ground."
Arshan (stepping forward):
"So now… we've become experiments against DAO itself."
---
Scene – Media Frenzy
A hacked DAO feed had leaked onto SocialNet:
> Footage of Arshan escaping the DAO trap
Zyana's broken voice: "DAO… is eliminating him…"
People watched.
They felt it.
And their anger began to grow.
Comment 1:
"Bro… the system died for him."
Comment 2:
"DAO itself has become the Drift."
Comment 3:
"Arshan = hope. Council = corruption."
Headline:
> "The Boy Who Faced DAO – Public Calls Him Kryonexus's Last Flame."
---
Final Scene – DAO Signal Trembles
After Zyana vanished, Arshan looked at his wrist one last time:
> Zyana Backup Mode: 3% Restored
DAO Zone Sync: Terminated
YOU ARE NOW OFF-GRID
Arshan looked up at the sky — and said just one line:
"I'm no longer a follower of DAO…
I am its judge."
---
End of Part 14