Data, Dust, and Detonators

[Location: Nova Academy – Decommissioned Sub-Level Lab | 23:19 PM]

Nova Academy at night resembled a small city that only pretended to sleep.The rotating lights of the watchtowers cut slow arcs across the steel buildings, and the hum of cleaning drones echoed softly through empty hallways.

But deep underground—beneath zones marked "out of service"—a forgotten lab terminal flickered blue.

Lines of code scrolled fast across the screen.An ancient Eidolon interface tore through Nova's layered security like a hot blade through foam.

Deren leaned forward in the dim glow, a stale piece of bread hanging from his mouth.

He typed the final command:

Trace prototype activation – last 48 hours

One red dot blinked to life.

Route: Valdheim Logistics Sector

He groaned.

"Why is it always Valdheim..."

His chair creaked loudly as he slumped back.The kind of creak that sounded more like a last breath.

Then—beep.A new message pinged on his wristband.Not from Nova.Not from Kael.

[Incoming Message: "Your old unit prototype just pinged inside Valdheim's logistics chain. Location: Sector 7-B. —C"]

Clarice.

Which meant... one of his old failed experiments had resurfaced.Uncontrolled. Unsupervised. Unforgiven.

He typed back:

"Track it. Remote shutdown if possible. I'll check the physical site."

He pocketed a Core-energy detector and exited through a hidden panel behind the archive chamber.

[Location: Nova Academy – Public Observation Deck | 23:31 PM]

Ryn sat in a quiet corner, eyes fixed on filtered internal data reports.He was cross-referencing structural resonance scans from the rogue Metavore that attacked two days ago.

What he found wasn't subtle.

"This... isn't a regular Metavore."

Kael entered with two fast food packets in hand.

"You're still up? Even Deren's gone off the grid."

Ryn didn't look up.

"That's why I'm up. He tripped an access flag last night—but none of the sensors recorded his exit from campus."

Kael flopped into a chair and tore into a sandwich.

"Probably used one of his rat tunnels. You know him—he's got escape holes everywhere."

Ryn glanced at him.

"Then why do his tracks always show up when the system breaks down?"

Kael paused, chewing slower.

Ryn's voice dropped.

"I'm starting to see a pattern.And Deren... is right at the center of it."

[Location: Sector 7-B – Abandoned Storage Bay | 00:04 AM]

Deren navigated the old maintenance corridor toward Sector 7-B.It had been sealed last year due to a supposed gas leak—but clearly, someone had bypassed that.

He forced the manual override.The door groaned open.

Dust clung to everything inside.Old Core containment units. Rusted tool cases. Forgotten debris.

But one corner stood out.

A briefcase-sized device connected to a Core conduit and a mechanical trigger.

Deren's eyes narrowed.

"...A Core chain-reaction trigger?Who the hell copied my failed design?"

He knelt beside it and cracked the casing open.It took half a second to confirm—A sloppily built replica of an old Eidolon auto-detonator.

With awful safety protocols.One wrong move, and the entire subfloor would turn into a glowing crater.

"If this thing blows, and people link it to my design...My reputation tanks. And worse—my market value drops."

He said it flatly.But his eyes were sharp now—focused like a surgeon in an emergency room.

He pulled the wires one by one, inserted an emergency override chip, and carefully rerouted the Core feedback.Three minutes passed.

Three brushes with death.Core fluctuations hissed like something alive.

Click.

The system shut down.

Deren exhaled.

"If I find the idiot who stole this blueprint…I swear, I'm invoicing them for royalties."

[Location: Valdheim – Logistics Command Center | Simultaneously]

A young technician frowned at the morning log.

"Why's there a one-minute delay in Sector 7-B's shipment report?"

His supervisor shrugged.

"Scanner lag, probably. Just report it to upper surveillance."

Neither of them noticed the flagged line at the bottom of the log:

External intervention detected. Unidentified source.Energy pattern does not match any official Valdheim devices.

And that signature?It was already tagged in the watchlist...by an entirely different intelligence division now watching Nova Academy.