Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Ashes of Allegiance
Loyalty doesn't disappear.
It burns slow.
Until all that's left is choice.
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### 06:00 — *The Defector's Message*
A former ally, **Tenn Vale**, left a coded message in Neo's old dorm:
> "You taught us how to think."
> "But some of us thought differently."
> "The fire spreads now — without your match."
Attached: maps of three upcoming Storm Cell riots.
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### 10:00 — *The Divide Grows*
Lucid's intel confirmed it:
Two major Storm factions had declared Neo **no longer necessary**.
One idolized him.
The other? Wanted him **erased**.
> "You're too symbolic," Elin warned.
> "They're not seeing the man anymore — just what you threaten."
Neo nodded.
> "Then let the symbol fall."
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### 13:00 — *The Infiltration Begins*
While chaos brewed, Neo moved.
He activated Ghostlight's newest covert op:
**Whisper Vein** — a stealth network of triple agents embedded in both rebel and loyalist cells.
Their mission:
Not to fight.
Not to lead.
But to **record everything**.
> "Truth needs witnesses," Neo said.
> "Even if I'm the villain of the story."
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### 17:00 — *Ashes Rise*
In the South Zone, a rally turned explosive.
Tenn Vale broadcast live:
> "Neo built a cage of thinking — we're just building fire."
But then… the feed glitched.
Ghostlight tapped in.
They aired **unedited clips** of Tenn's private meetings—where he took Whisper bribes.
The revolution he led?
**Scripted.**
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### 22:00 — *Neo's Final Word*
Neo didn't gloat.
He didn't even speak.
He uploaded Tenn's unedited manifesto.
Then left a single line beneath it:
> "I never wanted allegiance."
> "Only awareness."
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### Midnight — *The Line Rewritten*
Tenn