Chapter 5: Echoes Beneath the Surface

  Jin’s steps echoed down the alley as the system shimmered back into crity. The world no longer looked like a digital construct—Echelon breathed like a second skin, alive with yers of code and personality he could almost feel beneath the surface.

  His body moved with an unfamiliar lightness, but his mind carried the weight of questions. The Cheat Module had gone quiet after that first activation, but he could still sense its dormant presence, like a pulse waiting to beat again.

  He didn’t know what kind of deal he’d just walked into—but for now, he was inside.

  He wandered through District 0, past floating market stalls run by avatars with glowing eyes and synthetic voices, their wares flickering with meta-tags and interactive scripts. The deeper he walked, the more the city’s illusion of beauty peeled back.

  Graffiti glitched across a wall, repeating the same phrase in different nguages:

  “This isn’t real. But the pain is.”

  He paused.

  A girl with a translucent coat and short silver braids stood beside the wall, arms crossed. She eyed him—not like a stranger, but like she already knew him.

  “You’re new,” she said. “Not just to the city. To this yer.”

  Jin hesitated. “How can you tell?”

  She stepped closer, her voice quieter. “Because Echelon doesn’t just show you the world. It reveals what you hide. Most people forget that. But you—you haven’t forgotten anything. That makes you dangerous.”

  “Who are you?”

  “Kael,” she said. “Information broker. Sometimes guide. Sometimes watcher.”

  He blinked. “What are you watching me for?”

  Kael tilted her head. “Because I see threads. And yours just lit up like a fre.”

  Before Jin could respond, a loud crack split the air. A disturbance pulsed through the system—notifications burst open in the corner of his vision.

  ALERT: Distortion Detected – Zone 7B

  Civilian Dispcement – High

  Enforcement Response: Pending

  Kael sighed. “Perfect timing.”

  She grabbed Jin by the wrist. “Come on. If you want to survive here, you better learn fast. And tonight? Tonight’s a good lesson.”