Chapter 12: Awakening Protocol

No one slept well that night.Not Tosif.Not Afzal.And definitely not Mustak.By morning, the facility had entered full lockdown.Security levels were raised.Access was restricted.And one phrase echoed through every official channel:Awakening Protocol.Mustak heard it for the first time in a closed meeting room.Tosif stood at the front.Afzal remained silent in the corner.“What is Awakening Protocol?” Mustak asked directly.Tosif didn’t hesitate.“It’s the contingency plan.”“For what?”“For when a fragment reaches irreversible activation.”Silence.Mustak understood.“It’s a kill order,” he said calmly.No one denied it.Hours later, Mustak sat alone in the training hall.The steel plates he once punched were replaced.Stronger.Thicker.He didn’t strike them this time.He just stood there.Thinking.Arman’s words echoed in his mind.Don’t let them cage you.Afzal entered quietly.“They voted,” Afzal said.Mustak didn’t turn.“I assumed.”Afzal crossed his arms.“They’re scared.”“Should they be?”Afzal didn’t answer immediately.“Yes.”Mustak finally looked at him.“If it awakens… do you think I’ll lose myself?”Afzal’s gaze was sharp.“I don’t think you’ll lose yourself.”A pause.“I think you’ll redefine what ‘yourself’ means.”Suddenly, the lights flickered.Not like before.This time, it was everywhere.Across the city.Across multiple sectors.Emergency sirens began howling in the distance.Tosif’s voice came through the internal comm system.“All Destroyers to field deployment immediately. Multiple simultaneous manifestations confirmed.”Afzal looked toward the ceiling.“They’re accelerating.”Mustak felt it too.Not one surge.Dozens.All at once.They deployed into the city center.Chaos was already spreading.Three large Setam manifestations had formed within a five-kilometer radius.And in the sky —Energy distortions spiraled like storm clouds.“This isn’t random,” Tosif said through the communicator.“It’s synchronized.”Afzal’s expression darkened.“He’s testing.”Mustak knew who he meant.Arman.The first creature lunged toward a collapsing building.Mustak intercepted instantly.His movements were sharper now.More precise.He didn’t waste energy.Each strike was deliberate.Calculated.The poison flowed through him smoothly.Controlled.But something was different.He wasn’t forcing it anymore.It was cooperating.Afzal eliminated the second manifestation alone.Clean.Efficient.But even he was breathing heavier than usual.“They’re adapting,” Afzal muttered.Above them, the sky distortion deepened.Then —A voice echoed across the entire area.Not through speakers.Through the air itself.“You cannot delay it.”Arman.His presence wasn’t visible.But it was everywhere.The third manifestation began merging with the others.Energy streams connected across the streets.Buildings cracked.The ground split.Civilians had already evacuated, but the destruction escalated rapidly.Mustak stepped into the center of the merging energy.Tosif’s voice shouted through the comm.“Get out of there!”But Mustak didn’t move.He closed his eyes.And for the first time —He didn’t resist the fragment.Inside his mind, the void appeared again.But this time —He wasn’t dragged there.He walked into it.The violet-eyed presence stood before him.“You are closer,” it said.Mustak stood tall.“You want to return.”“Yes.”“You want destruction.”“Yes.”Mustak’s eyes hardened.“Then we make a deal.”The void trembled slightly.Back in the real world —Purple energy erupted from Mustak’s body.But it wasn’t wild.It wasn’t chaotic.It was compressed.Refined.He raised one hand toward the sky.The merging energy streams froze mid-air.Even Afzal stared.“What is he doing?” Tosif whispered.Mustak opened his eyes.They glowed violet.But clear.Focused.“I won’t let you consume the world,” Mustak said quietly.“But I won’t cage you either.”He clenched his fist.The sky distortion shattered like glass.The three manifestations disintegrated simultaneously.Not violently.Not explosively.Silently.As if erased.The city fell into sudden stillness.Far away, standing atop a ruined structure —Arman watched.For the first time —He didn’t smile.“So you chose balance,” Arman murmured.“Interesting.”Back in the city, Mustak lowered his hand.The glow faded slowly.He remained standing.Stable.In control.Afzal approached carefully.“Did it awaken?” he asked.Mustak shook his head slightly.“No.”A pause.“We reached an understanding.”Afzal studied him carefully.“That’s more dangerous.”Mustak gave a faint, calm smile.“Not if I’m the one setting the terms.”Later that night, the officials postponed Awakening Protocol.Temporarily.But the fear remained.Because something had changed.Not just in Mustak.In the world.The fragment was no longer sleeping.But it wasn’t unleashed either.It was waiting.And now —It was listening.