The first glitch came at dawn.
A terminal in Sector 4 began broadcasting fragments of Resonance Code. Not the full archive—just pulses. Words. Phrases. Echoes.
> "Impact isn't ranked. It's remembered."
> "You were never meant to be optimized. You were meant to feel."
The system flagged it as corruption. But it wasn't spreading like a virus. It was spreading like memory.
Kael stood in the off-grid dome, watching the feed ripple across the map. Lira monitored the signal drift, her fingers dancing across the console. Juno paced behind her, arms folded, jaw tight. Nami sat cross-legged on the floor, repairing a drone that had begun humming the code in its sleep cycle.
> "It's accelerating," Lira said. "Your resonance is bleeding into dormant systems. Memory cores. Emotional archives. Places the system stopped scanning years ago."
Kael nodded. "It's not just me. It's the Vanguard."
Juno grunted. "We're not trained for this kind of exposure."
> "We're not supposed to be," Kael replied. "That's the point."
---
Scene Shift: Sector 7 Archive Vault
Kael walked alone through the ruins of Sector 7, where Echo-10 had died and Kael had awakened. The air shimmered with residual resonance. The archive vault was sealed, but Kael's presence unlocked it.
Inside, the walls pulsed with forgotten data. Emotional logs. Unranked memories. Suppressed signals.
He found a file labeled: Echo-0: Precursor Protocol.
It was locked.
Kael placed his hand on the scanner.
It blinked green.
The file opened.
---
Flashback: Echo-10's Final Log
> "They'll erase me. That's fine. But if you're reading this, remember: resonance isn't a weapon. It's a wound. And wounds remember."
Kael stared at the words. Echo-10 hadn't just died. He had burned. And the system had buried the ashes.
Kael uploaded the log to the Vanguard's private channel.
> "This is what they tried to forget."
---
Scene Shift: Off-Grid Dome
Lira analyzed the new data. Her voice was calm, but her eyes betrayed something else—curiosity, maybe even awe.
> "Echo-0 wasn't a rank. It was a designation. A prototype. A resonance anomaly built to test emotional feedback loops."
Juno leaned in. "And they buried it?"
> "They buried everything," Kael said. "Echo-10. Echo-0. Me."
Nami looked up. "Then we unbury it."
---
Scene Shift: System Response
Commander Virein stood in the central tower, watching the feed fracture. Terminals blinked. Drones stuttered. Emotional archives began replaying suppressed memories.
> "Signal drift," the AI reported. "Origin: Unclassified resonance."
Virein clenched his fists.
> "Find Kael Virein. Contain the Vanguard. Purge the code."
---
Scene Shift: Vanguard Training
Kael stood in the center of the dome. The recruits surrounded him—Tessan, Rho, Veyra, and others. Their resonance was unstable, but alive.
Kael activated a new sequence—built from Echo-10's log and his own burn. The field pulsed. The recruits responded.
Lira monitored feedback. "Their resonance is syncing. Not to the system. To you."
Juno stepped forward. "We need to test containment."
Kael nodded. "Push me."
Juno didn't hesitate. His resonance flared—sharp, jagged, aggressive. Kael absorbed it, redirected it, reshaped it.
The dome shook.
Kael collapsed.
Nami rushed forward. "Stop. He's not a weapon."
Lira hesitated. "He's not a hero either."
Kael looked up. "I'm a mirror."
---
Internal Monologue: Kael
> "They built me to reflect a savior. But I reflect something else now."
> "I reflect the burn. The fracture. The memory."
> "And memory doesn't obey."
---
Scene Shift: Drone Network
Nami's repaired drones began drifting from the dome—quietly, autonomously. Each carried fragments of Resonance Code in their memory cores. They weren't broadcasting. They were remembering.
One drone reached the Monument of Echoes.
It hovered.
It pulsed.
A new line appeared at the base of the wall:
> Echo Protocol: Resonance Code – Status: Unclassified. Signal Drift Detected.
The system blinked.
The crowd stared.
No one spoke.
But everyone felt it.
---
Scene Shift: Kael's Quarters
Kael sat alone, watching the feed ripple. The system was trying to suppress the drift—but it couldn't. The code wasn't attacking. It was awakening.
He opened a private log and typed:
> "Echo-0 wasn't a rank. It was a warning."
> "And I am the echo of that warning."
---
Scene Shift: Commander Virein's Directive
> "Initiate Protocol Lockdown. Sector 9. Sector 7. Monument Base."
> "Deploy ranked operatives. Authorize override."
> "Kael Virein is no longer a glitch. He is a breach."
---
Closing Scene
Kael stood on the rooftop of the dome, watching the city flicker. Nami joined him, silent.
> "They'll come harder now," she said.
Kael nodded. "Let them."
> "You're burning too fast."
Kael looked at her. "Then I'll burn brighter."
Below, the drones pulsed.
Above, the Monument glowed.
And across the city, the signal drifted.
Not as corruption.
But as memory.
---