Chapter 5: Connection Established

The streets looked normal again.

Traffic moved along the main road like nothing happened. Streetlights flickered on one by one as the sky darkened. Just a few blocks back, the Veil had dropped—and a Zeron's body was still inside—but no one seemed to notice.

Lucan and Lyra turned onto a smaller lane—one that curved between faded apartments and a row of closed-up shops. This part of Sector G-7 hadn't changed much since Lucan was a kid.

A familiar bark rang out.

Lucan turned just as a large, scrappy dog barreled toward him.

"Drosh—" he muttered, barely sidestepping before the mutt collided into his leg, with a wagging tail.

A voice followed.

"He still thinks you live here, you know."

Lucan looked up. Mr. Kion stood by his doorstep, arms crossed, eyes crinkled behind thick lenses. Beside him, Maenah, maybe sixteen now, leaned against the railing, chewing something bright green.

Lucan scratched the dog's head.

"Been a while."

"Yeah it has." Kion said. "I thought you forgot us. Even your grandpa hasn't been around lately."

Lucan's hand paused mid-pat.

"He's, uh…. been resting more."

Maenah with mouth half-full.

"My dad said your grandpa used to complain about pain in his left leg all the time. Said it never healed right."

Grandpa always complained about his right leg not the left I think.

"Yeah… that sounds like him."

Lyra stepped in smoothly.

"He's been indoors a lot since winter. Docs told him to stay put."

Mr. Kion nodded slowly, but his eyes lingered a second longer on Lucan.

"Give him our regards. And swing by sometime—I'm still waiting on my rematch."

Lucan managed a faint smile.

"I'll try."

Maenah whistled, and Drosh finally peeled off, jogging back like nothing happened. Both of them turned inside, the warm light from their doorway flickering closed behind them.

Lucan and Lyra kept walking.

After a while, he muttered.

"He always talked about his right leg. Never the left."

"Yeah. I noticed."

The silence stretched again, only their footsteps filling the street.

Lucan glanced up. The sun had dipped further, sky shading into deeper orange behind the buildings. A faint breeze tugged at the edge of his shirt.

His stomach dropped.

"Shit. I didn't give Grandpa his meds."

He stopped walking.

"Or lunch."

Without another word, he broke into a sprint.

The quiet pace of his boots pounding down the street. Lyra blinked, caught off guard, then ran after him without hesitation.

"Lucan—" she called out.

He didn't answer.

He was fast. Way too fast.

Lyra pushed harder, catching up alongside him.

"Hey. Hey. Slow down."

Lucan looked at her, steady breath despite the pace.

"Someone might see us. You're running like a damn prototype. Ease up."

He grit his teeth and forced his speed down a notch—not enough to draw attention, but still enough to cut corners.

Lucan yanked open the front door.

The scent of cooked food still lingered faintly in the air—faint garlic, something fried, maybe herbs.

Lucan froze in the doorway.

The dining table had two plates. One was empty, utensils stacked neatly on the side. The other sat untouched—probably his.

Beside the plate, a small silver tray held a few pills still in their foil. The glass of water was half full.

"He already ate…" Lucan muttered.

Lyra stepped in behind him, quietly locking the door.

"I cooked before the alert went off. Didn't get to clean up."

Lucan's eyes moved toward the living room.

His grandfather lay curled up on the recliner, blanket half-covered one shoulder, hand resting on the arm of the chair. His chest rose and fell slowly.

Lucan took a step closer, careful not to make noise.

The blanket looked a little off-center. His hair a bit messier than usual. The tray must've been heavy. The meds weren't easy to pop open with stiff fingers. The water probably sloshed when he tried to sit back down.

Lucan swallowed.

You got up, ate your lunch, took your meds… and I wasn't even here. You're too old to be doing this. I should've been there. I should've helped. You shouldn't have had to do any of it by yourself.

Just stood there for a second, watching his grandfather sleep.

And for the first time that day, he wasn't thinking about Zerons or The Vein or being flagged.

Just the old man—and the guilt sinking in.

Then he felt a light hand settle on his shoulder.

"Come on." she said softly. "He already ate. No use letting the food sit any longer."

She walked past him to the kitchen and began reheating the untouched plate. A moment later, she slid it onto the table beside a fresh one for herself. The clatter was minimal.

Lucan slipped away to the washroom, washed his face, and changed out of the dust-covered shirt. When he came back, the food was waiting, steam curling off the edge of the rice and vegetables.

They sat and ate without a word, utensils tapping softly.

The living room stayed quiet. Lucan could still hear his grandfather's faint breathing, steady and slow. It made him chew slower, more carefully. Like even sound might disturb him.

After the last bite, Lyra stood and began clearing the plates. Lucan joined her, grabbing the sponge before she could stop him.

"I've got this."

She didn't argue. She just wiped the table while he washed.

It felt like the first normal thing they'd done all day.

Later, upstairs in his room, Lucan slumped into the chair near the wall. Lyra sat cross-legged on the bed, arms resting on her knees.

"I should've stayed." Lucan muttered. "Even with everything going on, I could've at least made sure he ate first. Given him his meds."

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"All this crap—Vein, Zerons, power—I wouldn't even have been near that Veil if I hadn't been so damn curious."

Lyra shook her head.

"It wasn't just curiosity. You were trying to understand what was happening to you. That's not a mistake."

He looked up, guilt still pressed behind his eyes.

"Still. He's the one person who's always been there. And I just… left."

"He's tougher than he looks." she said. "You're not the only one trying to survive."

Lucan leaned back, exhaling.

"Why were we the only ones there today, anyway? What happened to the other awakened?"

Lyra tapped the side of her wristband.

"I sent out a hold notice through my link. Told them I was handling it."

"You can just… do that?"

"In emergency zones? Yeah. If I'm closer, it avoids crowding and interference. Plus, I didn't want any idiots ruining containment."

Lucan nodded slowly.

"And the body?"

"Gone." she said. "Cleanup Division would've cleaned it up while we were talking to Mr. Kion."

"They move that fast?"

"Fast enough. Don't ask where it goes."

There was a beat of silence.

"Thanks for late-lunch." Lucan said.

Lyra smirked faintly.

"I cook. I kill. I clean. A real all-rounder."

"Kind of terrifying."

"I get that a lot."

Lucan leaned his head back against the chair, staring up at the ceiling.

"So… what do we do tomorrow?" he muttered. "I've got a stack of unfinished assignments. Some group project I haven't even touched yet."

Lyra raised an eyebrow.

"You really think we're showing up to class tomorrow?"

She tapped her wristwatch and glanced.

Before she could continue, a soft mechanical whir passed outside the room.

Lucan's eyes darted to the window.

A drone hovered there—dead center, about a meter away. Its circular scanner glowed with the same red tone from earlier. This one was smaller than the ones at the Veil site, but just as precise.

"Uh—Lyra?"

"Yeah." she said casually, glancing over. "Go ahead. Open the window."

"What?"

"Just do it. You'll freak it out if you stall."

Lucan hesitated for half a second, then slid the window open with a faint creak.

The drone shifted position slightly, lining up with his face.

"Retinal scan in progress." it announced in a flat, synthetic voice.

A thin red beam passed over his eyes.

Verification: Confirmed. Delivery: Authorized.

From underneath the drone, a small package dropped gently into Lucan's hands, almost weightless.

Then the drone tilted upward and drifted away, rising until it vanished into a silent formation of others in the sky.

Lucan stared at the box.

It was matte black, unmarked, but cold to the touch.

"Why do I feel like this is going to explode?" he muttered.

Lyra laughed from across the room.

"Just open it. It's not a bomb. I swear."

He gave her a sideways glance, then slowly peeled open the seal.

The lid hissed faintly as it slid back.

Inside was a sleek, thin watch—almost identical to the one Lyra wore. Black band, minimal surface, the kind of design that looked like it didn't care if you understood it.

As soon as he picked it up, the inside surface lit up and scanned his retina again.

User Detected.

Lucan looked over at Lyra.

She grinned.

"Go ahead."

"Tell the Vein to link it?"

"Yep."

He held the device in his palm.

"Vein—establish connection with the device."

A pulse of light swept between his Vein window and the watch—then the new device vibrated softly on his wrist as it attached itself.

[Connection Established]

[Status: Synced]

Lucan stared at it for a second.

"So… am I officially registered now?"

Lyra leaned back.

"You were registered the moment that drone scanned you."

Lucan stared at the device on his wrist, the soft glow from the Vein interface still syncing with it.

"So… what does it actually do?"

Lyra stepped beside him and tapped her own watch.

"Everything. Communication, alerts, scan access, environmental tracking—you name it."

She looked at his watch, then back at him.

"More importantly, anyone wearing one is officially considered part of the awakened network. You're in the system now, even if you don't see the full picture yet."

Lucan's eyebrows pulled together slightly.

"So it's like… a phone?"

"It's a direct link to any awakened user within range." she said. "But that range isn't limited. Not even by planets. These things work anywhere—because they pull power directly from your Vein. Doesn't matter if you're on Nirvenn or floating halfway across the universe."

Lucan blinked.

"Wait, seriously?"

Lyra grinned, tapping her own watch twice against his.

"Told you. Nirvenn's tech is way more advanced than what they let the public see."

The watches glowed faintly where they touched. A soft ping echoed in Lucan's ear, followed by a green flash across the display.

[Contact Added: Lyra Vesryn]

He looked down at the message as it faded.

"So now we can message each other?"

"We can do more than that. Audio, visuals, short-range projection if needed. And don't worry—only the people in your contact list can see your watch's display or hear anything it says."

Lucan tilted the watch toward his face again, the screen now shifting into a minimal interface: location markers, energy levels, sync rates, and one flickering tab marked Dormant Functions.

"This thing is insane." he muttered.

"That's just the surface." Lyra stepped forward, pointing toward a section on the screen. "Right here, you'll be able to manage Veil access codes, if you ever get authorization. And this side—"

Her sentence stopped mid-flow.

Lucan's watch vibrated sharply on his wrist.

A new notification blinked across the screen, tagged in red.

[Message Received: HQ — Classified]

He tapped the alert and the message opened, clean and direct:

[If you want to know the truth about your parents—come.]

[Location Coordinates Attached]

[HQ Access Confirmed]

He looked at Lyra.

She was already staring at her own watch, reading the same thing.

"This isn't a joke, right?" he asked, voice low.

"No." she said, eyes narrowing. "That location? It's not even near any major city zone on Nirvenn."

Lucan stared down at the glowing coordinates, suddenly aware of how quiet the room had become.

"They knows?"

[End of Chapter 5]