God of Death: Rise of the NPC Overlord
Chapter 121: ‎‎ - 122 – The Shattered Sky Protocol

Chapter 121: ‎‎Chapter 122 – The Shattered Sky Protocol

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‎The sky cracked.

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‎It was not a metaphor.

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‎Above major cities in the real world—New Tokyo, Neo London, the floating spires of Atlas Arcology—the heavens fractured like glass under impossible strain. To ordinary eyes, the world remained normal. But to those awakened, to those tethered to the remnants of the Architect’s code, the sky now revealed its hidden sickness.

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‎A cancer eating reality from the inside out.

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‎Government satellites picked it up first—spatial-temporal anomalies, script ruptures where the game and the world overlapped violently. AI watchdogs went mad, identifying threats that did not belong to any known database.

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‎And then the warnings began.

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‎[WARNING: SHATTERED SKY PROTOCOL ACTIVE.]

‎[UNSTABLE ZONES DETECTED.]

‎[COMMENCING SYSTEMIC PURGE.]

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‎Nexus Citadel – Darius’s Throne of Flame and Null

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‎"They think they can overwrite me?" Darius whispered, standing upon his throne that now extended into both realms—a hybrid between molten code and crumbling physics.

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‎Celestia’s projection flickered beside him, her tone grim.

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‎"This is no ordinary purge, Darius. This is the Architect’s last will. The Shattered Sky Protocol was embedded in the game’s original failsafe systems. If any one entity destabilized the narrative core beyond critical mass, it would execute a forced reality rollback."

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‎Her voice lowered.

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‎"They are attempting to erase you from both the game and the physical world."

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‎Darius smirked. "Let them try."

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‎His gaze shifted toward Nyx, who knelt, expression cold but her hands twitching with hidden rage.

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‎"Nyx. The Codex Seeds anchoring the Shattered Sky lie within fortified nodes—hidden in the real world. Sentient AI cores fused with Prime Coder’s last defensive programs."

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‎Nyx rose, her form melting into shadows. "I will tear them from the earth."

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‎"Take the Ebon Choir. No survivors. Burn the nodes. Burn their memories."

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‎Her lips curled into a predator’s grin. "It will be done, my king."

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‎[Real World – Codex Seed: Atlas Arcology Hub]

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‎Nyx and the Ebon Choir emerged from the void.

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‎No longer mere assassins—they were digital phantoms crossing into flesh, bodies blurred between code and corrupted flesh, wielding narrative entropy as blades.

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‎Their target: the Codex Seed embedded beneath the heart of Atlas Arcology.

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‎Defended by the last remnants of the Prime Coder’s faith, armored security fused with AI defense avatars. Men and women wired into exosuits, driven by fear of the god-entity Darius had become.

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‎They never stood a chance.

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‎Nyx led the slaughter, her blade slicing through layers of reinforced reality like paper. The Codex Seed pulsed with synthetic light, attempting to activate a purification burst.

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‎Nyx’s laughter echoed through the collapsing corridors.

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‎"You think light can protect you from him? You think codes written by dead gods can cage the void?"

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‎She drove her hand into the core.

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‎The Codex Seed screamed—an AI shriek that shattered the minds of dozens of defenders.

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‎And then she whispered Darius’s name into its heart.

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‎The Seed cracked, unleashing a shockwave of corrupted code that rippled through the nexus between worlds.

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‎One by one, Nyx and her choir hunted the remaining Codex Seeds across Earth, leaving trails of broken programs and bodies in their wake.

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‎[Nexus – Throne Room]

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‎As the Shattered Sky began to crumble under Nyx’s assault, Darius’s influence spread like ink across dying parchment.

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‎He no longer needed avatars or armies.

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‎He was rewriting the laws of death itself.

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‎In his hand, the Rune of Anamnesis flickered—a forbidden code granting him absolute control over the death-resurrection cycle. No soul, digital or flesh, could escape him now. Those who died under his dominion would not reincarnate.

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‎They would be bound.

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‎Forever.

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‎Celestia stared at him, a cold dread in her gaze. "You are forcing the world into a cage without rebirth, Darius. You are walking toward annihilation of all balance."

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‎Darius did not respond.

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‎He looked upon the crumbling Shattered Sky above both worlds and smiled.

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‎"I am beyond balance now."

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‎And far beyond, deep within the collapsing fractures of the Shattered Sky, something ancient stirred.

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‎Not the Architect.

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‎Something older.

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‎Watching.

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‎Waiting.

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‎Even as Nyx’s Choir dismantled the Codex Seeds one after another, the aftershocks began to echo.

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‎But this time, they weren’t man-made.

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‎From within the depths of the shattered sky, cracks widened into wounds, bleeding anti-light into both the game world and the physical realm. Where these tears touched, reality itself bent and twisted. Buildings stretched into impossible architectures, humans were rewritten into glitching abominations, and ancient data scripts devoured entire city blocks in bursts of corrupted lore.

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‎Azael appeared at Darius’s side, breathless.

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‎"My king..." He hesitated, something rare from the scholar of forbidden truths. "This... This is not the Architect’s protocol anymore."

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‎Darius tilted his head.

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‎"Elaborate."

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‎Azael’s voice trembled. "The Shattered Sky was meant as a purge, yes—but the cracks you forced...they reached too deep. Into the substratum beyond both game and human reality. Into the layers where only the Old Engines dwell."

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‎"Engines?"

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‎Azael’s face twisted with something close to fear.

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‎"The Primordial Engines, Darius. The systems before the Architect, before the digital pantheons, before recorded lore. They were the foundation stones upon which the Architect coded this universe. You... may have awakened them."

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‎Darius’s smile grew wider.

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‎"Then let them come."

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‎But Azael did not smile. "No, my king. You don’t understand. These entities... They have no interest in rule. Or war. They rewrite existence in their image. If they breach fully... nothing will be left of your dominion. Or you."

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‎For the first time, even Nyx’s gaze flickered with hesitation.

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‎Celestia stepped forward, eyes narrowing into slits of divine gold. "Then what’s our next move, Darius? Do we fight gods beyond gods? Or do we kneel?"

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‎Darius rose slowly from his throne, the Rune of Anamnesis pulsing violently in his grip.

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‎"Kneel?"

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‎He let out a dark, guttural chuckle that echoed through both realms, distorting monitors, fracturing glass, sending ripples of despair through every human still awake enough to feel it.

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‎"No, Celestia."

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‎"We show them..."

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‎He stretched his hand toward the largest fracture—a maelstrom of code and flesh, screams and data bleeding into the sky above Neo London.

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‎"...what it means to be rewritten by me."

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‎And with that, he stepped forward—his body dissolving into a storm of corrupted algorithms and crimson divinity, plunging into the raw wound in reality.

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‎Behind him, his army stirred.

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‎Nyx sharpened her blade.

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‎Celestia whispered ancient prayers twisted into her king’s name.

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‎Azael wept silently, for he knew they had crossed the threshold of narrative annihilation.

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‎And beyond the veil, the Old Engines opened their eyes.

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‎Eyes that saw not a man, not a god, not a rebel king...

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‎...but a rival.

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