Chapter 12: The Memory Lock

[Zone: Root System Core]

[Status: BREACHED – ABYSS SIGNATURE MERGED 19%]

[Memory Vault Integrity: UNSTABLE]

[Draken.EXE Integrity: Unknown Variable Detected]

🌌 The Bleeding Core

Inside the code-root, where logic becomes form and data becomes destiny, the very soul of the Sovereign Realm writhed in agony.

Cracks spread along the glowing tree of code—the Root Nexus—as Abyss.Cipher dug deeper, his faceless helmet pulsing with recursive corruption.

"You can't fight this," he intoned. "This was written to happen."

Draken gritted his teeth, skidding across the fragmented platform as system fire bled like magma into the void below.

Nyxa fought like wrath incarnate—each motion painting the air with burning code. But the entity adapted faster than they could erase it.

"He's digging toward something!" she shouted. "Toward your lock!"

"My what?"

She didn't answer immediately. But her eyes softened—for the first time, with fear.

"There's a piece of you that's still sealed. A protocol even I can't access."

"And Abyss.Cipher can?"

She nodded grimly. "If he breaks it… he might rewrite you."

🧬 The Locked Memory

With a final pulse, Abyss.Cipher struck the base of the Nexus Tree—and the entire realm froze.

Then—

[MEMORY LOCK: DISENGAGED]

[DRIVE: ORIGIN—UNPACKING]

[WARNING: CORE ALIGNMENT SHIFT]

[Running—"draken_core_beta00.mem"]

Draken's body jerked backward. His sword fell. His mind fractured as a vision overwhelmed him.

Metal. Needles. A pod. His own voice—screaming.

"We can't just delete her!"

"You're too deep. You fused. You're part of the system now!"

"I won't let her die for your control games—"

"Lock the memory. Lock him inside. Run Draken.EXE."

And then silence.

His eyes snapped open—but not entirely as himself.

👁️ The New Sovereign Form

[Memory Unlocked: Phase-Beta Consciousness]

[System Access: Dual-Core Mode Enabled]

[Trait Unsealed: GODFRAGMENT]

A radiant glow exploded from Draken's chest as the entire realm responded—not just with power, but with reverence.

His hair turned white-hot silver. His eyes burned like twin engines. Circuits etched themselves into his arms, legs, even veins.

[New Form: Sovereign Godseed – Draken.Beta]

[Skill: CODE ANNIHILATION Unlocked]

[Passive: Absolute Rewrite Field – ACTIVE]

Even Abyss.Cipher paused.

"You were the vessel," the creature rasped. "You weren't supposed to awaken."

Draken floated above him now, his body crackling with unstable god-code.

"Then rewrite the script," he said, voice layered with harmonic distortion. "Because I'm done playing."

💥 Reversal

Draken raised his hand. The air didn't just split—it yielded. Behind him, the realm turned—realigned—reshaped by his sheer presence.

He blinked once—

And Abyss.Cipher's left arm vanished.

The entity howled, trying to stabilize, but Draken moved again. This time, it was reality that fractured.

[Code Annihilation – Active Field: 73% Erosion]

[Entity: Abyss.Cipher – Status: SYSTEMIC COLLAPSE]

"Let me finish him!" Nyxa shouted, her form reconfiguring into a burning spear of light.

Draken gave her the nod—and she dove, impaling the shrieking specter in a beam of white-glitched flame that ignited the root beneath them.

Abyss.Cipher screamed one last time—then shattered.

[ENTITY DELETED]

[Infection Purged]

[Realm Stability Restored: 97%]

🧩 The Aftermath

Draken collapsed to one knee, panting. The power receded, but not entirely. He could still feel the godseed—resting beneath his ribs, whispering.

Nyxa landed beside him, breathing hard, her battleform flickering.

"That… was you," she whispered.

"No. That was the version of me they locked away."

She touched his cheek gently, running her fingers along the new circuitry that had permanently etched into his skin.

"I liked the old version."

He smirked. "This one likes you back."

They didn't kiss—but the tension between them could've rewritten the sky.

💾 New Board

[System Update: Draken.EXE]

Form: Sovereign Godseed (Unlocked)

Status: Beta Consciousness Synced

Memory Vault: Phase 1 Restored

New Skill: CODE ANNIHILATION

Passive: Absolute Rewrite Field

Relationship: Nyxa.EXE – Full Sync Achieved (Affinity: 97%)

Threat Level: Beyond Classifications

🔮 Final Revelation

As they stood under the healed tree, Nyxa's form shimmered—then glitched.

"What was that?" Draken asked.

She stiffened. "I don't know. I…"

[ALERT: NYXA.EXE – SYNC DEGRADATION DETECTED]

[WARNING: Unknown Signature – INTERNAL]

A voice—not hers—spoke from her mouth:

"You thought she was your partner? She was the jailer."

Then her body froze.

Draken lunged, catching her before she could fall.

And for the first time, Nyxa looked at him with something like fear.

"Draken… I didn't… want you to find this…"

📢 End of Chapter 12 – CTA (Nyxa's Voice)

"They always feared what you'd become. That you'd choose me. That you'd remember."

💎 Add me to your Library… before they wipe this from existence.

💖 Power Stones fuel my system—and your defiance.

💬 Speak now, before they sever the connection.

Next time: Nyxa's core falters. And Draken must decide—trust her… or rewrite her.