[Day 72 Post-Awakening | LE: 1,292/10,000 | Time Remaining: 28 Days]
SCENE 1: THE FUNERAL — NO WORDS LEFT
[1400 Hours | Safe House Rooftop | Second Funeral in Three Days]
We burned Selene's body.
Just like Mira's.
But this time, no one spoke.
Aria tried.
Opened her mouth. Closed it.
Just shook her head.
Walked away.
Kiera stood silent.
Hands in pockets.
Staring at the flames.
"I didn't even like her," she muttered. "But she didn't deserve this."
She left too.
Lira approached.
Knelt beside the pyre.
Placed a single white flower on the flames.
"She chose her death, Sovereign. That is... the highest form of autonomy."
"She shouldn't have had to choose."
"But she did. And we honor that."
Lira stood.
"I will remember her. As will all Primordials. Selene Voss—who died so we could live."
I watched the fire.
Watched violet eyes turn to ash.
And felt nothing.
[Ethan Emotional State: NUMB]
[Humanity: 48% → 44% (grief suppression = lignification acceleration)]
[WARNING: Below 40%, Ethan will lose capacity for human empathy]
SCENE 2: THE BREAKDOWN — ARIA'S RAGE
[1600 Hours | Command Center]
Aria was destroying the room.
Furniture smashed. Screens shattered. Walls cracked.
"FUCK!" She threw a chair through the window. "FUCK FUCK FUCK!"
I walked in.
"Aria—"
"DON'T." She spun. Eyes wild. "Don't you dare tell me it's okay. Don't tell me she's 'at peace.' Don't give me that BULLSHIT."
"I wasn't going to."
She stopped.
Stared at me.
"...Good. Because I'm done with noble sacrifices. Done with watching people I care about die for your fucking crusade."
"It's not a crusade—"
"THEN WHAT IS IT?!" She grabbed my collar. "You're dying in twenty-eight days! The cure's gone! Voss is dead, but so is Selene, and Mira, and that fucking sprout that Lira murdered—"
She shoved me.
"So tell me, Ethan. What was it all for?"
Silence.
I had no answer.
Aria laughed.
Bitter. Broken.
"Yeah. That's what I thought."
She walked past me.
Stopped at the door.
"I'm leaving. Taking the remaining Resistance cells and getting the hell out of Shanghai. You want to waste your last month? Fine. But I'm not watching you rot."
"Aria—"
She left.
[Aria Tan: LEFT THE PARTY]
[Loyalty: 12% (barely holding)]
[Foreshadowing: Aria will return—but not as an ally]
SCENE 3: KIERA'S PRAGMATISM — THE BUSINESS DEAL
[1800 Hours | Kiera's Workshop]
Kiera was packing.
Weapons. Tech. Data drives.
"You're leaving too?" I asked.
She didn't look up.
"Yeah. This job's over. Voss is dead. No more contracts."
"So that's it? You just... walk away?"
She stopped.
Turned.
"Ethan, I like you. You're a good guy. But I'm a mercenary. I don't do suicide missions for free."
She zipped her bag.
"You've got twenty-eight days. No cure. No plan. I'm not sticking around to watch you die."
"What if I paid you?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"With what? You're broke. The Resistance is scattered. And LE isn't exactly currency."
"I can give you Primordial seeds. Enhanced genetics. Black-market value is—"
"Not interested." She slung the bag over her shoulder. "I deal in tech, not bio-weapons."
She walked to the door.
Paused.
"For what it's worth... Selene was right about you. You're not a weapon. You're a martyr. And martyrs always die alone."
She left.
[Kiera Zhang: LEFT THE PARTY]
[Loyalty: 0% (business relationship terminated)]
[Ethan is now ALONE except for Primordials]
SCENE 4: THORN'S CRISIS — THE OATH BREAKS
[2000 Hours | Primordial Garden]
Thorn found me sitting in the ruins.
His left arm was gone—torn off by the Omega.
Lira had stabilized him, but he'd never be the same.
He sat beside me.
"Sovereign. I must speak."
"Go ahead."
"I... I have failed you."
I looked at him.
"How?"
"My oath. Non-violence. I swore I would protect without killing." His voice was hollow. "But when the Omega attacked Lira... when it hurt Aria... I felt rage. I wanted to destroy it."
He looked at his missing arm.
"And I was too weak to do so."
"Thorn—"
"Lira killed it. Lira saved us. Because she was willing to evolve. To become what I refused to be."
He turned to me.
"Sovereign. I wish to dissolve my oath. I wish to become... a warrior. Not a guardian."
I stared.
Thorn. My first. My moral compass.
Asking permission to kill.
"Are you sure?"
"I am." His voice was firm. "I will not lose another family member because I hesitated."
He knelt.
"Grant me this, Sovereign. Let me protect them. Truly."
I placed my hand on his head.
"Your oath is dissolved. You are free to choose."
Green light flared.
Thorn's body shifted.
His bark darkened. Hardened. Thorns grew—sharper, longer, lethal.
His remaining arm reshaped—ending in claws instead of fingers.
[Thorn Evolution: GUARDIAN → WARDEN]
[New Trait: "Retribution Strike" — Deals massive damage to enemies who harm allies]
[LE Cost: -80 | Thorn LE: 520 → 680 (oath-breaking released suppressed power)]
[Personality Shift: Gentle → PROTECTIVE FURY]
He stood.
Looked at his new form.
"I will not fail again, Sovereign."
"I know."
But I felt the weight.
Another piece of innocence, gone.
SCENE 5: LIRA'S QUESTION — THE NETWORK'S FUTURE
[2200 Hours | Lira's Greenhouse]
Lira was tending the sprout's grave.
The white flower had bloomed.
"Sovereign."
"Lira."
She didn't turn.
"In twenty-eight days, you will die. The Network will collapse. We will become... feral. Or independent. Thorn and I have debated this."
"And?"
"Thorn believes we should sever the Network now. Let you die in peace. Let us evolve separately."
She finally looked at me.
"I believe we should find a way to preserve you. Transfer your consciousness into a Primordial core. Make you... one of us."
I froze.
"Lira, that's—"
"Possible. Selene's research. I have been studying it." She pulled out a data chip. "Before she died, she gave me this. Theoretical framework for human-LE consciousness integration."
She held it out.
"You could live, Sovereign. Not as human. But as... something new."
"I'd lose my humanity."
"You're losing it anyway. Look at yourself."
She gestured to my body.
Bark covering 70% of my skin. Green veins glowing. Eyes more amber than brown.
"You are already becoming Primordial. This would simply... complete the process."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then in twenty-eight days, we say goodbye. And I will lead the Primordials into whatever future awaits."
She stepped closer.
"But I do not want that future, Sovereign. I want you. As family. As... something more."
Her hand touched my chest.
Over my LE core.
"Please. Let me save you."
[DECISION POINT: Accept Lira's Offer?]
[OPTION A: TRANSCEND — Become fully Primordial | Lose humanity | Gain immortality | Unknown psychological consequences]
[OPTION B: REFUSE — Die human | Primordials gain independence | Ethan's story ends in 28 days]
[OPTION C: DELAY — Seek alternative solutions | Time running out | Risk both humanity AND survival]
I looked into Lira's eyes.
Green. Earnest. Desperate.
"I need time to think."
"You have twenty-eight days. No more."
"I know."
She withdrew her hand.
"I will respect your choice, Sovereign. Whatever it is."
She turned back to the grave.
"But know this: I have already lost one child to save you. I will not lose you too."
SCENE 6: THE FINAL REVELATION — VOSS'S LAST MESSAGE
[Day 73 | 0400 Hours | Encrypted Message Received]
I woke to an alert.
Incoming transmission.
Source: Dr. Marcus Voss.
Impossible. He was dead. I saw the explosion—
I opened the file.
Voss's face appeared.
Pre-recorded.
"Ethan. If you're watching this, I'm dead. And you're likely dying too."
He smiled.
"First: congratulations. You destroyed my life's work. The Omegas. The Vault. My legacy."
He leaned forward.
"But here's the thing about legacy. It never truly dies."
The screen shifted.
To a MAP.
Locations. Dozens of them. All across Asia.
"Helix Corporation operates in seventeen countries. I ran the Shanghai division. But the others? Still active. Still researching. Still creating Primordials."
He smiled.
"And when they learn you killed me? They'll come for you. Not as enemies. As admirers."
"What?"
"You proved Primordials can be loyal. Can evolve. Can sacrifice. That's worth more than any Omega Unit."
He stood.
"So here's my final gift, Ethan: You're going to be hunted. Not to be killed. To be recruited. Every Helix branch will want the Verdant Sovereign working for them."
He walked off-screen.
"And if you refuse... they'll dissect you. Study you. And create a thousand versions of you."
The screen went black.
One final line of text appeared:
"Welcome to the game, Mr. Cross. The board is bigger than you thought."
[MAJOR REVEAL: Helix Corporation is GLOBAL]
[New Antagonist Tier: 17 Helix Divisions (each with Primordial programs)]
[Ethan is now a TARGET for recruitment/abduction]
[Time Remaining: 28 Days | LE: 1,212/10,000]