The war room of Aetherhold was tense.
The shard from Spire Core Delta floated in the center, projecting streams of decrypted data. Blue holograms displayed charts, historical recordings, and diagrams of human DNA sequences overlapped with draconic identifiers.
Yuna walked forward and spoke calmly, but with fire in her eyes. "This isn't just a war of power. It's a war of truth."
Raon stood beside her, fists clenched. "They lied to every Awakened. To every survivor. We were never chosen—we were tagged. And those who deviated…"
"They became prey," Kira finished grimly.
Han Ji-Woo looked up from her interface. "Then let's show them what's really going on."
> [Objective Added: Global Broadcast – Declassify Project Origin Null]
[Difficulty: S-Rank]
[Reward: Global Trust Impact, Unknown Evolution Triggered, Council Threat Level Raised to CRIMSON]
---
Phase One: Hijacking the Tower
The largest satellite transmitter in the Eastern continent sat atop Skyreach Spire, a former Awakened training academy now overtaken by the Council. Dozens of Executioners guarded it, and worse—rumors spoke of a newly developed Sentinel AI, built to monitor and erase digital resistance in real time.
"We go in hard," Raon said. "No room for stealth. Once we're in, we hold until the broadcast completes."
The team prepared like it was their last mission.
Raon wore his new armor, reinforced with Dragonsteel fibers retrieved from the Observer's remains. Yuna's gauntlets pulsed with violet sparks—enhanced with Resonant Cores. Kira upgraded her blade with phased quantum edge tech, and Ji-Woo had modified a drone swarm unit with adaptive cloaking.
They launched at dawn.
---
Skyreach Spire – The Assault Begins
As the Aetherhold strike team burst into the lower levels of the tower, alarms blared.
Raon led the charge, spiraling through aerial turrets and plasma cannons. His Azure Wings deflected beamfire while he dropped units with precise, brutal strikes.
Kira teleported between shadows, disabling enemy squads before they could even scream.
Yuna was in the control center in under three minutes, hands flying over consoles as fire and code merged in her mind. "Uploading truth core… establishing link with Council frequency…"
> [Warning: Sentinel AI Detected – Counter-Broadcast Initiated]
[Estimated Time to Override: 4 minutes]
"Hold the tower!" Raon shouted. "No matter what comes!"
---
Phase Two: The Sentinel Awakens
The air vibrated. A low tone filled their ears.
Then the Sentinel arrived—not a machine, but a construct of thought and light, a humanoid entity formed of shifting data, like a glitch given shape. It moved without walking, eyes glowing with binary fire.
> "Truth is dangerous. Silence must be preserved."
It attacked with silence—an ability that disrupted system-based skills. Raon's notifications vanished. Yuna's interface blanked out.
They fought blind.
Raon relied on instinct, dodging strikes that bent gravity. He launched a raw Nova Fist, missing—but opening an opening for Ji-Woo to launch a drone bomb into the Sentinel's core.
The explosion knocked it back, temporarily breaking the silence field.
"Now!" Yuna screamed. "One more minute!"
Kira impaled the Sentinel's core, triggering a cascade failure. It began to unravel, screaming in modulated static.
> [Sentinel AI: DESTROYED]
[Connection Unstable… Restored]
---
Phase Three: The Truth Goes Live
Yuna slammed the final command into the console.
> [Broadcast Commencing – Encryption Cracked – Priority Channel Hijacked]
[Viewers: 5,000… 45,000… 1,000,000+]
[Global Viewership: 18%... 34%...]
Aetherhold's emblem filled screens across cities and safe zones. Then Raon's voice echoed.
> "To all Awakened. To all survivors. We bring you the truth."
The broadcast showed data from Project Origin Null. The Dragonseed Protocol. The falsified evolution charts. The erasure of rogue Awakened. The corrupted creation of the Council.
The clip ended with footage of Kael'Rax watching silently from his obsidian throne.
Raon stood before the camera, eyes burning. "You were never weak. You were never failures. They feared your freedom. And now… now we fight for it."
> [World State Shifted – Global Alignment Fragmented]
[New Trait Gained: Voice of Rebellion]
[Resistance Factions Rising: +13]
---
Fallout and Fury
The response was instant.
Some Awakened dropped their badges and defected on the spot. Others broke out from Council camps. Communications exploded with chaos—half the system in denial, the other half furious.
And far above, in the Council's central orbital node, Kael'Rax crushed the crystal viewing shard in his hand.
"The boy just became a symbol."
Behind him, another Observer knelt. "Shall we proceed to Phase Two?"
Kael'Rax turned slowly.
"No. Let him inspire them. Let him think he has a chance. Then we end it—on the battlefield."
> [Phase Two Initiated: Dragonseed War]
[Elite Dragon Hosts Unsealed – Units Awakening in Dormant Zones]
---
At Aetherhold
New allies arrived by the hour—former enemies, exiled clans, rogue Awakened. Some came seeking safety. Others came burning with vengeance.
Raon addressed them all atop the spire's ruined comms tower.
"I'm not your leader," he said. "I'm your equal. But I promise you this—this war will not be won by gods, or systems, or dragons. It will be won by those who refused to kneel."
The crowd erupted.
And deep within Raon's soul, the system stirred once more.
> [Level Up: 16 → 17]
[Skill Evolved: Azure Pulse → Azure Nova]
[Trait Unlocked: Flame of the Fallen – Strength increases as allies rise in number]
Yuna stood beside him, gaze locked to the horizon.
"They'll come for us harder now."
Raon smiled grimly. "Let them."