Shadows from Orbit

[Location: Orbit of Galaxy Delta-3 – Veltraxi Coalition Strategic Chamber, Observation Sector E-NX]

The holographic display flickered silently.Rows of energy graphs, fragmented signals, and planetary overlays glowed in a cold, bluish hue—casting faint reflections across the polished obsidian walls of the chamber.

Two figures stood before the projection.

One, clad in the formal black-gold armor of a War Diplomat from a distant star system, stared intently at a single, recurring data stream.

D.E.R.E.N. A.R.K.W.R.I.G.H.T

– Signal Match: 97.3% with Ancient V-Core Resonance Pattern.

"This is the human you call a chaotic variable?"The voice was deep, distorted behind a vocal respirator.

The other figure, younger and sharper in tone, responded with a mix of skepticism and intrigue:

"He's not just a variable.He might be... a bridge."

The data shifted—projecting footage from Earth:A hybrid Metavore attack.Unregistered weaponry that outclassed all known terrestrial tech.And a blurry glimpse of a young man, hood up, jacket oversized, eyes distant.

[AI System Analysis]: Unknown weapon source. Construction pattern: 83.6% match with early-stage Eidolon prototype schematics.

"The Coalition advises we wait.No contact... not yet," said the older one again.

"And if he moves the wrong way?" the younger asked.

A pause. Then—

"...Then we move first."

[Location: Earth – Old Eterna Underground, Black Sector Terminal]

Beneath the decaying neon lights of Eterna's black market, a rusted gear shop locked its doors early.

Inside, a courier carefully placed a small, trembling Core module on the steel table. It pulsed faintly—as if alive.

Next to it: a short note.

"Oblivis – Revision v2.1.Targets seeded at three points. Foreign signal locked."

The woman watching it from the shadows wore an all-black uniform, pristine but functional.Clarice.

Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the remaining chip embedded within the module.

A familiar symbol—faintly etched:

D.A. – V.1.3 Prototype

She exhaled, voice low.

"One of Deren's early designs.But this... has been tampered with."

From the commlink at her wrist, a subordinate's voice came through.

"We detected an anomalous resonance pattern when the module activated.Not from local grids. Possibly... external interference."

Clarice said nothing.

Her gaze shifted—Past the data, past the walls—To the sky beyond the cracked glass of the workshop.

Tonight, it looked darker than usual.

[Location: Nova Academy – Dorm Rooftop, Late Night]

Deren sat curled up on the emergency stairs of the rooftop.Knees hugged to chest.A battered thermos of coffee in his hands.Eyes lost in the artificial starlight above.

The night wind tugged gently at his bangs.Far in the distance, the Academy slept.

Up here… the silence felt too honest.

"...Why does the world keep getting messier?"His voice barely broke the air.

He sipped the now-cold coffee anyway.Eyes fixed on the brightest star in the northern sky—Unaware that, in that very direction, unseen eyes were already watching him.

[Closing Monologue]

Above the still sky,Beyond the static stars,In silent orbits forgotten by history—

Something watches.Something waits.

And among the galaxy's great power-players and war-born monarchs...

A single name—

One that only wanted to sleep through chaos—Has now entered the war rooms of the stars.

Deren Arkwright.

To many… he's just a lazy misfit.

But to others—

He might be the last unpredictable hope…In a galaxy on the brink of collapse.