Part 6 – The First Fracture of the Drift
Location: Kryonexus – DAO Gridline Perimeter, Sector 7C Outskirts
It was 7:14 in the morning, but the sky was soaked in an artificial twilight.
The zone Arshan was now heading into for his mission... had already lost all DAO fluctuation sensor feedback. The surveillance grid was going blind.
Zyana:
"Arshan... Drift fluctuation is abnormal.
This zone is directly linked to the core of this world's DAO.
If a Drift burst happens here, the power and security systems in the nearby three zones could completely shut down."
Arshan (quietly):
"So you're saying... one small mistake, and three cities could be plunged into darkness?"
Zyana:
"Exactly."
---
Scene Cut – Public Zone: Sector 7C Civil Line
There was rising panic in the public space.
Market lanes were emptying out, media personnel were scrambling on the ground to cover the unfolding situation.
Alerts kept scrolling across digital banners:
> "Emergency DAO Lockdown Possible.
High Drift Risk – No Civil Movement Allowed Post 10 AM."
A heavy mix of exhaustion and fear covered people's faces.
Vendor (murmuring):
"I think Drift is just a cover-up... something bigger is being hidden from us."
Civilian:
"And are we supposed to just stand here and watch?
Wait until it reaches our homes?"
Scene – DAO Grid Breach Point
Location Status: Power Outage | Signal Corrupted | DAO Core: Infected
Arshan stood before a broken DAO station.
In front of him, a huge circular ring was embedded into the floor — flickering and glitching violently, like a pulse coming from the depths of a corrupted machine.
Zyana (alert):
"This looks like the epicenter of the entire Drift injection.
And... someone's already here."
Suddenly — a sharp scream pierced the static.
Arshan turned.
A small family was trapped inside a DAO glitch wave.
A young boy — barely 10 years old — screamed, frozen mid-motion.
Static sparks burst from the air around them like invisible wires cracking space itself.
Then it appeared…
A Dengen — but this wasn't like any before.
This was fully drift-mutated.
Its face resembled a human, twisted in pain and rage. Its body was fused with DAO static, like someone had hardwired agony into its skin.
And it wouldn't stay still — blinking violently in and out of visibility, like it was stuck between seconds of time.
---
Public Combat – Arshan Steps In
Civilians ran in terror.
News drones hovered above, broadcasting chaos live.
> "Breaking News: DAO Mutation caught on live feed.
Unknown Hunter is approaching the breach point!"
Arshan summoned his blade — the Noesis energy sparked alive in his grip.
Zyana (tense):
"This is different. Its attack patterns are unstable. Unpredictable.
You'll have to adapt on the fly."
The creature shrieked — and then launched itself.
A blinding-speed leap — 5x faster than normal.
Arshan barely managed to dodge — a streak of red tore across his forearm.
A glitch burn.
Not just physical damage — but system corruption leaking into his flesh.
Zyana (shouting):
"Use the 'Glitch Reflex' skill — NOW!"
Arshan activated the skill.
For a moment, his body blinked — and time itself seemed to freeze.
He moved like a phantom through air.
One clean strike from his blade — and the creature's shoulder tore open, exposing pulsing DAO veins glowing inside, glitching with blue static.
Arshan (growling, eyes burning):
> "You're not a part of the DAO…
You're its disease. Its cancer."
---
Final Strike – Core Extraction Move
Arshan leapt high — gravity bending under him.
He drove his blade deep into the creature's chest core —
A surge of energy burst out — and with a crackling explosion, the Dengen disintegrated, breaking into smoke and light fragments.
Glitch smoke hissed into the air… then dissolved.
---
The trapped family stumbled free.
The child clutched his mother, crying but safe.
People nearby, once frozen in fear, began to clap — hesitant at first, then louder.
News drones hovered closer, cameras zooming in.
> News Flash Banners:
"Hunter 'Arshan' Saves Family in DAO Breach – Sector 7C"
"Drift Mutation Confirmed – Crisis Level Upgraded to Tier-4"
"Public Panic Stabilized — For Now."
---
Cut Scene – Rooftop Surveillance
Far away, on a high rooftop, someone else was watching.
Rekhan.
He stood still, one foot on the ledge, holding a small corrupted device.
The device's cracked screen showed a blinking, illegal DAO fragment — pulsing red.
Rekhan's eyes glowed faintly.
Rekhan (smirking):
> "Looks like the game has finally begun."
He turned, his cloak catching the wind — and disappeared into the shadows.
---
End of Part 6