The Protocol of Tianxing
Volume 2 – Echoes of the Skyburnt Future
Episode 16: The Tyrant’s Requiem
Location: Earth – Neo-Arkadia City
The skyline of Neo-Arkadia gleams with chrome towers and blue neon veins. But beneath its brilliance, an unease has begun to spread — a ripple through time and space, born from the Ark Protocol’s awakening.
Opening Scene:
Tianxing’s team returns to Earth, landing in the heart of Neo-Arkadia. But something is wrong. Civilians are evacuating. Streets echo with fear.
Yurein (checking his comms):
“The Krell… they’ve sent a message. Not an army — a warning.”
The skies crack open with a low pulse. A holographic transmission spreads across the city.
Zarion Kreel (broadcasting):
“You’ve opened what should have remained sealed. So now I’ll close what you love most — one city at a time.”
Cut to: Central District – Neo-Arkadia
A black obelisk crashes from the sky, embedding into the city center. A dark mist spills out — code-infecting clouds that distort machines and minds alike.
Fight Sequence Begins:
Civilians run. Drones collapse mid-air. Tianxing’s team splits:
Feixue uses chronoshift to evacuate groups of children before a building crumbles.
Shuyin unleashes dream-state illusions to disorient incoming Krell shadows.
Zhenkai charges straight into the chaos with his gravity-core weapon — smashing through corrupted machines.
Mid-Battle Revelation:
Tianxing hears a voice through the storm — a familiar one.
Raelun (through a static channel):
“I warned you. Zarion doesn’t fight with weapons. He breaks stories. Your people will forget why they resist.”
Tianxing closes his eyes — summons the Ark Protocol fragment glowing within him.
Tianxing (quietly):
“Then I’ll write a story louder than his screams.”
Scene Shift: Protocol Uplink Tower – Rooftop
Tianxing and Meili reach the top of a signal spire, planting a resonance beacon. They must counter the Krell distortion with emotional code transmission.
But Zarion appears — not in body, but in memory projection.
Zarion:
“You think love can save you? It’s your anchor. And I… am the tide.”
Cinematic Duel – Memory vs Will:
Zarion hurls mental distortions — scenes of Tianxing’s failures, lost comrades, burned homes.
But Tianxing counters — one by one, with truth:
The moment he forgave himself.
The day Meili held his hand in the snow.
The oath he made to the forgotten.
Each memory pulses as light. Meili channels the Ark Core through him — stabilizing the signal.
Final Burst:
A beam of pure, pulsing resonance shoots into the sky — reversing the Krell fog. The obelisk melts into dust.
Neo-Arkadia survives… but just barely.
Aftermath:
Zarion’s image fades, his voice colder.
Zarion:
“This was just the beginning. You’ve made Earth the battlefield… and I’m already here.”
End Scene:
The team regroups in the ruins. Children cheer. But Meili collapses… her circuits flickering. Something’s wrong inside her. The Protocol is changing her too.
Tianxing (whispers):
“I’ll save you… even if it means losing myself.”
Next Episode Preview:
Episode 17: “Meili.exe” — The woman he loves is evolving into something neither human nor AI… and time is running out.