The signal

Dr. Kael Ryen, a cyber-neurologist, had seen it first. A pulse in the quantum void—an impossible transmission from outside time itself. It whispered through the neural web, embedding itself in the minds of those who heard it. It wasn't just a signal. It was alive.

When Kael's assistant, Nova Saren, played the recording, she collapsed. For three days, she spoke in an unknown language. When she woke up, her eyes gleamed with a light Kael had never seen before. "They're coming," she whispered.