---
"Kill the man, and you kill a body. Kill the idea, and you kill a future."
---
[Scene 1 – The Arrow in the Dark]
Midnight.
Zayden stood atop CoreMed's roof, watching the stars shimmer. The sound of distant music from the village square echoed faintly — laughter, dancing, the joy of life returning.
But behind him…
Silence.
A flick of movement.
A glint of silver.
Then —
TWHIP.
An arrow sliced through the air.
Fast. Precise. Laced with a poison made from midnight roots.
M.A.I.A. shouted:
> "DANGER: High-velocity projectile inbound!"
Zayden turned just in time. Not enough to dodge — only enough to twist.
The arrow sank into his shoulder, not his heart.
Pain flared.
He stumbled. Fell. Rolled behind a solar vent.
The assassin leapt onto the rooftop, a ghost in feathers and metal. Her mask glowed with runes.
> "You should've stayed in your time, boy," she whispered.
Zayden's vision blurred. The poison was burning him from the inside.
> "M.A.I.A… counteragent…"
> "Synthesizing. 22 seconds."
Twenty-two seconds felt like a lifetime when death stood ten feet away.
---
[Scene 2 – G-Rock Hits Back]**
Back in the village square, the crowd was gathered. The lights dimmed. The stage glowed.
G-Rock stepped up with a mic-staff in one hand and electric lute strapped to his back. He tapped his soundpad.
> "This one goes out to the man who cured our kids, fed our people, and dropped beats harder than anvils."
Then the lights hit, the beat dropped, and G-Rock unleashed his newest track:
> 🎵 "Core Anthem – Rise of the Bright" 🎵
It was part folk song, part rebellion. A hook so catchy even monks would hum it. A chorus that turned into a battle cry.
> 🎶 "From sky he came, with light and flame,
The crown may rule, but we rename.
We are the fire, we are the fight —
We follow Core into the night." 🎶
The villagers went wild.
They didn't know it yet, but this anthem would ignite revolutions in three nearby kingdoms. The song would be banned in the capital within days.
G-Rock held up a hand to silence the final notes.
> "Zayden Core ain't just the future. He's our future."
---
[Scene 3 – The Assassin's Choice]
On the rooftop, Vayra drew a second arrow.
Zayden, sweating, clutching his shoulder, smiled.
> "You know… most assassins talk too much. You? You're efficient. I respect that."
She said nothing.
> "Counteragent ready."
A tiny injector popped from Zayden's wrist. He jammed it into his neck.
The poison's grip loosened.
Vayra lunged.
Zayden twisted behind the solar vent, grabbed a dropped glow-spanner, and slammed it toward her mask.
CLANG!
She staggered.
Zayden ripped off her mask.
She was young. Pale. One scar over her brow.
But her eyes… showed confusion. Fear. Even regret.
> "You don't believe in the kill anymore, do you?" Zayden said, panting.
She didn't answer. She vanished into smoke — retreating.
But she left behind her guild seal.
M.A.I.A. scanned it.
> "Assassin Order: The Black Feathers. Contract signed by… Royal Hand of Velgarde."
Zayden's eyes hardened.
> "So the prince made it personal."
---
[Scene 4 – The Anthem Echoes]
The anthem echoed across towns that had never heard of burgers, beats, or bots.
It spread through whispers. Hummed by travelers. Chanted by kids in alleyways.
One noble ripped down a tavern banner with Zayden's face on it… only to find his own daughter wearing a hand-painted Core pin.
In secret meetings, rebels played G-Rock's song like scripture.
> "He heals. He feeds. He inspires. The kings hoard. He gives."
In the capital, Prince Thalon smashed a crystal orb in rage.
> "This future man sings louder than our laws."
Lady Serrin stepped forward.
> "Then perhaps it's time we stop dancing around him."
---
[Scene 5 – The Message from Core]**
At sunrise, Zayden stood in the town square, bandaged but smiling.
He faced the people — bruised, tired, but standing tall.
> "Last night, someone tried to end this enterprise. To silence our sound. To stop our healing."
He held up the broken arrow.
> "This is what fear looks like."
He dropped it.
> "But we're not scared. We're building. Feeding. Singing. Healing. If that terrifies the kings and cowards?"
He stepped forward, voice louder.
> "Then let them be terrified."
The crowd erupted.
G-Rock started the anthem again. Core soldiers banged shields to the beat. Juno fired an arrow straight into the sky.
And Zayden? He raised his fist.
Because this wasn't just a business anymore.
It was a movement.
---
📘 END OF CHAPTER 6
Next up:
Chapter 7 – "The Royal Counterstrike"