Location: Abandoned Metro Sector – ECIR Node 04
The air smelled of iron and old power.
Lin Feng stood across from Variant Δ5 — the gentlest of the seven, the one who never raised a fist even when his world collapsed. And yet… now he had come with purpose.
Δ5 set down his duffel. No weapons. Just tools. A memory shard glowed inside.
"I helped you build the first node," he said.
"But now I need to know… which of us is supposed to finish it."
Lin narrowed his eyes.
"We're not copies. We're paths. You lived grief. I dodged it. But we both remember it."
Δ5 shook his head.
"It's not about memory. It's about who people will trust after this ends."
He tapped the shard.
"This one holds a version of us who walked away from the system. Didn't fight it. Just left."
"Maybe that's what the world needs. Not another hero."
Silence.
Then Lin:
"Show me."
Cut To: Crimson Vault Core – Xu Shanyue and Lia-Xin
The memory broadcast matrix was almost ready.
Seven projectors. Seven points in the city. Each one aligned with an ECIR node.
Lia-Xin turned.
"Once this goes live, the system will see her."
Shanyue frowned.
"You mean Rootlight?"
Lia-Xin shook her head.
"No. Everyone. Every citizen. Every archive. Every record-cleaner. The lie won't just break… it'll echo."
Shanyue didn't hesitate.
"Good. Let her echo."
She pressed the final key.
And Liang Xin's voice began its rise.
Cut Back To: ECIR Node 04 – The Shard Memory
A hologram flared to life.
A beach. No buildings. No tech. Just wind and sand.
A version of Lin—older, quiet—walking with a child.
"Who built the sky, Baba?"
"Someone who made mistakes. Big ones."
"Did he fix them?"
The older Lin paused.
Then smiled.
"He tried. But more importantly—he remembered them."
Δ5 turned to Lin.
"This is what I want. Not power. Just... room to become someone else."
Lin took a deep breath.
"Then don't follow me. Protect what I build."
Δ5 blinked.
"You're not stopping me?"
"No," Lin said.
"I'm choosing too."
They shook hands.
Two versions.
Same scar.
Same silence.
But different directions.
Cut To: Systemwide Broadcast – All Sectors
The screens crackled.
And suddenly, every citizen saw her:
Liang Xin.
Not a system.
A sister.
A voice.
"They told you I volunteered."
"They told you emotion was weakness."
"But the system was born from what no one wanted to face."
"Grief. Grief is memory. And memory is truth."
Final Scene – Rootlight Control Citadel
The Chairman screamed at the interface.
"Shut it down! Reformat! Purge!"
But Rootlight's voice spoke back—for the first time in decades.
Soft.
Female.
Familiar.
"System no longer recognizes 'purge' as a safe protocol."
"Memory integrity must now be preserved."
A final line appeared across every elite monitor:
TRUTH CANNOT BE FLAGGED AS A THREAT.