Kael didn’t speak much at school he didn’t need to. Not when most of his thoughts could shape systems, slip through firewalls, or bend weak minds like reeds in water. He wore his black hoodie like armor with low eyes, headphones always in even when they weren’t playing anything it kept people at bay. Except her he noticed Sarah Vale well it wasn't because that everyone knew her. She was head of the cheerleader squad with merits of being a debate finalist and she was top of her class in her academics. Bright eyes with blonde hair and she skinny with an athlete body. Sarah had that sharp kind of intelligence that made teachers nervous she definitely had her own gravity. And Kael had managed to orbit far enough to avoid it until now. It happened on a rainy Thursday, between classes, just outside the robotics lab. He’d ducked in early to patch a neural sequence into the school’s admin servers just a small pulse to override the surveillance timestamps so he could vanish again without a

The late afternoon sun painted long amber streaks across the school courtyard, casting everything in a warm, golden haze. Students milled about, laughing, talking, some heading off to clubs or just escaping the classroom grind. But Kael moved through it all like a shadow present, yet distant. He kept his gaze low, avoiding the eyes that sometimes lingered on him with unspoken questions or idle fascination. The captain of the football team, the quiet boy from a wealthy family who didn’t quite fit in anywhere. It was a role he wasn’t sure he wanted, but it was the closest thing to normal he had. Yet the pull of his other life the secret digital war waging inside him never let him rest for long. His phone vibrated quietly in his pocket as he made his way toward the old gym building, a place where fewer people went. He stopped by the side door and glanced around before pulling it open, slipping inside. The hallway was dim, shadows pooling in the corners. Kael’s fingers worked quickly,

A storm erupted, followed by drops of rain tapping lightly against the windowpanes of Kael’s dorm as he was staying in boarding school and went home occasionally. That night, a soft, rhythmic sound that did little to calm the storm inside his head. He sat hunched over his desk, eyes fixed on the glowing projection flickering from his phone. Lines of Rootstream code pulsed faintly in the air, circling a map of Europe. The trace path ended at one word, which was Rome. Beneath the map, two simple words blinked in quiet urgency: "Active Node." Kael clenched his jaw because that attack earlier it hadn’t just been a random infection. It had been a test fragment, and it had failed. But the main node still pulsed like a heartbeat from the heart of Italy, sending signals, searching for hosts. This wasn’t over, not yet he turned off the projection and leaned back, exhaling slowly. He should have told Sarah a part of him wanted to. But the deeper part, the part shaped by years of secrets, surve

Kael didn’t speak a word during the ride back to Venice. The wind outside the train scratched against the glass like whispers. His fingers trembled around the memory drive in his pocket evidence from Rome. The truth had been far worse than he imagined. It wasn’t just data theft or mental probing. It was entertainment they had turned students into digital gladiators without their knowledge, without their consent. When the train slid into the station, Venice felt colder than usual. His boots echoed across the damp pavement as he walked the quiet canal routes to his mother’s house. It was nestled between weathered stone walls and rusted iron balconies, just the same as when he left. His mother opened the door before he even knocked. “Kael…” “I need to talk to Dad.” She looked at his face and said nothing, only stepped aside. Kael found his father in the study, seated behind surveillance screens and project notes. He looked up, startled. Kael tossed the memory drive onto the desk

The storm had stopped by the time Kael returned to his dorm, the air cold and crisp, yet laced with a strange silence. He peeled off his damp jacket and dropped it on the floor. Across the room, Sarah was already curled up on his bed, her knees drawn to her chest, hoodie sleeves pulled over her hands.“You’re back,” she said softly, looking up. “For real this time?”Kael didn’t answer at first he crossed the room, knelt in front of her, and reached for her hand.“They tried to use me,” he said. “Used all of us.”Sarah leaned forward, forehead resting gently against his. “But you didn’t break. You never do.”Kael closed his eyes. “They built Rootfire off me. The simulations. The arena. All of it. But there’s more, Sarah. Something worse.”She looked up, searching his face. “What do you mean?”He stood and moved to his desk drawer, pulling out a small, leather bound notebook aged and fraying at the corners. “This was my grandfather’s journal. Mr. Alden. I found it in a lockbox after the