The Signal That Never Dies

[Location: Eidolon Headquarters – Main Research Division]

Beneath the metallic walls of the underground base hidden below the city of Andarell, Clarice stood silently at the center of a room filled with holographic data projections. The room was wide, cold, and nearly soundless—except for the hum of processing machines and the gentle pulse of a continuous signal.Pale blue light from the screens cast sharp shadows across her calm yet calculating face.

In front of her, the main screen displayed a strange signal pattern—an old frequency, one of the most basic protocols that had only ever been used once. Her eyes narrowed."Deren's old network... reactivated," she murmured softly. "But he never connected this system to any public server. It should be dead. Buried."

The data lines pulsed like a freshly awakened heartbeat. Small at first, but slowly spreading across other nodes—slipping past ancient firewalls, touching the academy's system."This can't be a coincidence..."

Clarice tapped a sequence of commands on the tactile keyboard. The analytics terminal opened, revealing the signal's code structure. She recognized the base pattern: Deren's legacy—a prototype frequency system once used to link field experiments to the underworld's network.

But now... something had changed.Additional layers wrapped around the original pattern. Foreign code, different encryption methods—but all rooted in Deren's initial design."This isn't ours. But they're using our pattern."

Her voice was sharper now. Someone was tampering with Deren's legacy—not just copying it, but trying to control and manipulate the foundation of a system that was never meant to be public.

Clarice stood straighter, her lab coat fluttering slightly from the underground ventilation breeze."Contact the tracking unit. Send a sweeper to Nova Academy's west zone. Someone's trying to hijack Eidolon's tech foundations... and we can't allow that."

[Nova Academy – Late Afternoon, Deren's Private Room]

I finally made it back to my room. My tiny little sanctuary welcomed me with the lazy hiss of the automatic door, a perfect match for my mood. The dim lights flickered on gently, creating just the right vibe for a nap.

I threw myself onto the bed with the elegance of a sack of laundry. One hand reached for my now-cold instant noodles. No problem. Cold noodles were still sacred food for a tired soul.

My comm device vibrated.

"Your old signal's active. Someone modified it. Not us. I'm tracking it."

I stared at the screen, expression blank. "Again?"

"The signal's spreading. From the academy zone. From an old access point you used back then."

I looked up at the ceiling. Corners of old memories slowly stirred. I built that system for fun once. To connect my devices to an alternative network path, so I could bypass monitoring.

That system... should've been buried. Useless by now. But..."...unless someone found the debugging toolkit I left in the west wing's vents."

My device buzzed again.

"I need you to check the west zone. But don't be obvious."

I sighed and pulled the blanket up to my chin."Clarice. I'm currently in a spiritual union with my bed."

She typed my name coldly. Always like that when she's serious."...Fine, I'll go look. After food. Or sleep. Or both. But not in reverse order."

[Nova Academy – West Corridor, Hours Later]

Hoodie pulled low, steps slow, and a face full of exhaustion. I snuck through the shadows of the academy's night.The west zone was the older part of Nova's complex. Narrower corridors, dim yellow lights. Rarely visited by regular cadets.

Here, everything felt quiet. Only footsteps and the wind from old vents kept me company. The temperature was cooler—like remnants of a past not quite dead.

Suddenly, my watch buzzed. Interference signal detected—disrupting my HUD's function.I crouched near one of the wall panels. Pulled a small device from my jacket's inner pocket. The screen lit up instantly and displayed—

Code. Not just any code. My design."This... this is my old communication protocol. I only ever used it twice. Never installed it in the academy's system."

I tapped the screen. A series of commands appeared, ending with a local IP address."Whoever's messing with this... knows what they're doing."

Then my internal alarm flared. Fast footsteps from the north. I quickly disabled the device and slipped into a maintenance panel.

Two technicians passed by. Their voices were quiet but clear."...orders from the top. Don't touch that signal yet. Inspector Nayra wants to see it herself."

I held my breath. My back pressed against the cold wall.Nayra. She's already on it.And if she finds out that signal... came from me—

I pulled my comm device slowly, whispered a single sentence into Clarice's private channel:"Clarice... we've got a bigger problem than my nap schedule."