Granis City never truly slept. Even in the dead of night, whispers roamed the streets—broadcasts of danger, fragments of rebellion, and the silent war between shadows. Kael sat on a cracked rooftop ledge, overlooking the city's neon veins pulsing below. The hum of distant hovercars, the faint thump of bass from underground clubs—it all blended into a restless lullaby.
[System Alert: Surveillance Interference Detected] [Source: Unknown Signal – Location: Undetermined]
Kael's eyes narrowed. The system didn't give false alarms.
He turned to Aria, who was cleaning her twin daggers with a cloth soaked in oil. She didn't look up. "We're being watched?"
Kael nodded. "More like... someone's watching everything."
"Then it's either the government," she said, "or someone just as crazy as us."
Rin's voice crackled through Kael's earpiece. "You guys might want to see this."
They returned to the hideout where Rin's monitors flickered with static. One of the main screens showed a strange digital pattern—glitches in the shape of symbols neither Kael nor Aria recognized. Not quite letters, not quite code.
"I picked this up on the metro line surveillance feed," Rin said. "Someone's jamming our signal—but not just ours. They've hijacked every major node in the eastern sector."
Kael studied the screen. "Could it be SPARK?"
Rin shook her head. "No. This is way beyond Spark's chaotic style. This is… clean. Precise. Intentional."
Then came the sound. A low hum that grew in intensity, almost like a voice trying to break through static. Rin muted it quickly.
"Whatever this is," she said, "they're not just watching. They're sending a message."
Kael clenched his fists. "Then let's decode it."
---
[New Mission Unlocked: Phantom Frequencies] [Objective: Trace the Signal and Identify the Sender] [Reward: 3,000 Credits + Rare System Upgrade Chip (??? Type)]
Kael opened the system map. A red pulse blinked in an abandoned broadcast tower on the outskirts of Granis.
He looked at Aria. "You in?"
She grinned. "Always."
---
The tower stood like a forgotten relic, towering above dead fields and rusted fences. Vines crawled up its sides. Its doors were half-buried in dirt, but the lights inside flickered—power still flowing from some unknown source.
Kael and Aria slipped in, silent as shadows. Inside, the air buzzed with energy. Old monitors blinked, showing distorted images of Kael, Aria, and even Spark.
Then the screen changed.
A silhouette appeared—hooded, masked, and still. A voice followed. Filtered. Genderless.
"You've made noise, Kael Riven. The kind that attracts eyes… and enemies."
Kael stepped forward. "Who are you?"
"I go by ECHO," the voice replied. "And I've been watching you long before your system noticed."
Aria's hand twitched near her dagger. "Stalker much?"
Echo chuckled. "I am what your system fears. I'm not bound by its rules."
[System Warning: Unknown Entity Interference Detected] [Access Level: Unclassified]
Kael narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"
"To help," Echo said. "But I don't do trust. I offer trials. If you pass… I'll join you."
"And if we fail?"
"Then your little rebellion ends here."
---
Kael stared at the screen as it faded back to static. A new icon appeared in his system menu:
[Trial of Echo – Countdown: 48 Hours]
He turned to Aria. "Looks like we've got a new mission."
She smiled darkly. "Good. I was getting bored."