Chapter 7: Signal Decay
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Location: Sector E – Deep Lab Control Room – 10:28 AM
The control room was dimly lit by failing ceiling panels, their glow flickering like dying stars. A low hum pulsed through the space, not from machinery, but from something more profound—something buried deep within the very walls. It was a sound you didn't hear so much as feel. Like a memory returning without warning.
Yuiri stood motionless before a damaged console, her fingers grazing the cracked surface of a display screen. Corrupted images blinked, some showing static, others brief glimpses of unfamiliar faces screaming in silence. At the center of the screen pulsed a single glowing word: "RESONANCE."
She repeated it under her breath. "Resonance..."
Behind her, Arata leaned against a metal crate, one hand resting on his wounded side. Despite the pain, his posture remained sharp, eyes never resting on one spot for too long. Even in recovery, he was alert—a soldier whose instincts never turned off.
Dr. Kaori Meijin moved fluidly from one control station to another, her lab coat trailing behind her like a faded banner. Her fingers flew over the keys, pulling up archived files and encrypted data with practiced ease.
"The signal is no longer local," she said, her voice calm yet heavy. "It's spread through the abandoned memory relays. What you saw up there was just the edge of the infection."
Yuiri turned. "What do you mean? Infection?"
Kaori looked at her. "The Resonance Signal was meant to harmonize implanted memories with emotional stability. It worked—for a time. But something corrupted the base code. Now, instead of balancing minds... it's unraveling them."
Arata's voice was quiet but firm. "How?"
"By amplifying trauma. It scans synthetic and real memories alike, then enhances the most painful ones. The more emotional damage it finds, the stronger it gets. And now it's broadcasting. Not just in this sector... globally."
Yuiri's breath caught. She took a step back. "You mean... it could be affecting everyone connected to the memory grid?"
Kaori nodded. "Not just users—anyone with linked neural devices, memory augmentation, or residual trace receptors. That's almost 30% of the population in major cities."
The realization hit like ice water.
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Location: Abandoned City Node – Same Time
In a crumbling alleyway on the other side of the city, a teenage boy fell to his knees, clutching his head. Before his eyes played the death of his mother—a memory he never had. The scream that left his mouth wasn't his own.
In a hospital corridor, a nurse collapsed in sobs, seeing her child drown in a lake that didn't exist.
Everywhere, false memories began to bloom. The resonance didn't just echo—it rewrote.
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Back in Deep Lab – 10:42 AM
Yuiri leaned against the console, shaken. "How do we stop it?"
Kaori hesitated. "You don't. Not from here. The control relay was moved years ago."
"Where?"
Kaori walked to the far end of the room and opened a hidden panel. Behind it was a sealed map etched with old security codes and NOKRA stamps.
"They buried it. Deep beneath the lab. It's called the Archive Core. I sealed it five years ago, after the project collapsed. Only I have access."
Arata stepped forward. "Then we go there."
Kaori shook her head. "The path is dangerous. Collapsed tunnels, rogue defense systems, failed test subjects—"
"We don't have a choice," Yuiri interrupted. Her voice was firm. "If it's between danger and letting innocent people lose their minds... then we go."
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Location: Maintenance Shaft – 11:03 AM
The shaft leading to the Archive Core wasn't on any visible map. It was carved behind the foundation of the lab—designed not for transit, but for escape. Arata pried the panel open, revealing a narrow tunnel filled with dust and cobwebs.
"No light, no oxygen filters," he said, pulling out a flashlight and checking his pistol. "We'll go slow."
Yuiri nodded, strapping her knife tightly to her side. Kaori handed them an old NOKRA ID card. "It might still open the vault."
They climbed down a twisted ladder for nearly twenty minutes. The walls changed the deeper they went—metal gave way to rock, then concrete. Signs of life vanished. No cables. No lights. Just age and silence.
Halfway down, Yuiri slipped. Arata caught her with one hand, his arm flexing from the strain.
"You okay?"
She looked up at him, breathless. "Yeah... thanks."
Their hands lingered a moment longer than needed. Then they kept moving.
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Location: Archive Vault – 11:26 AM
At the base of the shaft stood a door unlike any they had seen. Round, steel-plated, and covered in faded warning signs.
Kaori stepped forward. She brushed dust from the biometric panel and placed her hand on it.
The door didn't open at first. Then, with a deep metallic groan, it slowly parted, revealing a chamber bathed in a dim red glow.
Inside were rows of servers stretching up to the ceiling. Thick cables coiled like snakes across the floor. At the center was a pillar of light—softly pulsing.
Yuiri stared. "This is it?"
Kaori nodded. "The Archive Core. It's the last functioning root of the Resonance Signal."
Arata looked around. "How do we shut it down?"
Kaori walked to the central console. She inserted a rusted drive. Lights flickered. Code streamed across the main monitor.
"I wrote a manual override five years ago. It'll disable the broadcast—but only if the core hasn't fully synced to the external grid."
Yuiri moved closer. "And if it has?"
Kaori didn't answer.
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Emergency Trigger – 11:32 AM
A siren wailed suddenly, lights shifting from red to white.
"Unauthorized access detected."
Kaori's eyes widened. "They're overriding the system. Someone else is here."
Arata drew his gun. "Impossible. We would've heard them."
Kaori looked toward the ceiling balcony above the Archive Core.
"Unless they were already inside."
Shadows moved overhead. Four figures stepped into the light. They wore no NOKRA symbols. Their uniforms were black and red, armor smooth and seamless.
One of them spoke. His voice was cold and filtered.
"She has awakened. Phase Eight must begin."
Yuiri stepped back. "Who are they?"
Kaori whispered, trembling. "They're not NOKRA. They're the successors. The ones who hijacked the project."
The lead figure jumped down, landing soundlessly. He faced Yuiri directly.
"You are no longer a failed experiment. You're the key. Come with us."
Arata stepped between them. "Not happening."
The figure raised a hand. A pulse of energy threw Arata back against a wall.
Yuiri screamed. Kaori grabbed the drive from the console, tucking it into Yuiri's coat.
"Run," she whispered. "Don't stop. Don't trust anyone. And don't come back."
Yuiri hesitated, tears in her eyes. Then she turned and ran.
Behind her, Kaori stood alone.
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Chapter 7 ends.