The dim glow from Kael's laptop was the only source of light in his apartment. The city outside was quiet, a faint hum of distant traffic barely reaching his ears.
It had been hours since he left Della's café. The smell of coffee and the faint echo of Lira's laughter still lingered in his thoughts, but his focus was elsewhere now.
It was time to test Ardent.
And he already knew the perfect target.
Earlier
"So you built this system, but you've never actually tried it?" Lira asked, tilting her head.
Kael nodded. "Not yet. I wanted to make sure the foundation was solid before risking a live environment."
She leaned back, clearly more relaxed now than during their first few meetings. "That sounds like you're about to do something reckless."
He smiled faintly. "Not reckless. Calculated."
Lira sighed, but the corner of her lips turned upward. "Alright, mister calculated. What are your options?"
Kael raised three fingers. "Three possible tests. First, online competitions — code battles, security challenges. There are forums where experts pit their tools against simulated targets."
"Wouldn't that draw attention?" she asked.
"Exactly why I ruled it out. Too public. Too many curious eyes," he replied, his tone calm but firm.
"Second option?"
"Small company sites. I could run scans on their networks, identify flaws, and fix them before anyone notices. It's safe and good practice."
"That sounds more like community service than a test," she pointed out, half teasing.
"True. But it won't prove anything meaningful. Ardent isn't meant for small leaks — it's designed for digital fortresses."
Lira frowned slightly. "Which brings us to the third option, doesn't it?"
"Right," Kael said. "The largest digital fortress I can think of — NovaNet."
Her eyes widened. "The same NovaNet that handles half the global traffic?"
"The very one," he said. "They have one of the most advanced cybersecurity frameworks in the world. If Ardent finds even a minor crack there, it means I've built something that can rewrite the rules."
Lira folded her arms, studying him. "And what if they find out?"
"They won't."
She raised an eyebrow. "You sound very sure of that."
Kael's smile grew sharper. "Ardent doesn't leave fingerprints. Every trace it makes erases itself the moment it completes a scan. Unless someone's watching in real time — which they won't be — it'll be as if it never happened."
"That's bold," she murmured. "Dangerous too."
"Progress always is," he said simply. "Besides, I'm not stealing anything. I'm identifying flaws. If I prove Ardent's capability, I can approach them directly with the results. Offer a deal — not a threat."
Lira tapped her fingers on the table. "So you'll basically tell them, 'Hey, I found holes in your system, but I come in peace'?"
He laughed quietly. "More or less."
"And if they refuse?"
"Then someone else won't. There's no shortage of corporations who value security over pride."
She shook her head, half in disbelief, half in admiration. "You really think this will work."
"I know it will," Kael said. "It has to."
Now
Kael's fingers hovered over the keyboard.
The icon for Ardent pulsed softly on the screen — a silver circle with a faint blue core. He clicked it, and the interface came to life.
The dashboard was clean, elegant, and intuitive. No clutter, no raw code. Just a single dark panel with clear options.
At the center, an input field displayed the words:
Target Domain
Below it, several toggles appeared:
{
[ ] Passive Scan
[ ] Deep Scan
[X] Adaptive Sequence Mode (Recommended)
}
Kael typed in the address:
www.novanet.com
The terminal responded immediately.
Ardent v1.05Adaptive Sequence Mode: ActivatedTarget: novanet.comStatus: Initializing Modules...
Kael leaned back, his reflection faintly visible on the screen. The lines of data began to roll — quiet, rapid, precise.
The first wave analyzed open ports and digital gateways. The second phase searched for unpatched subdomains and outdated API calls. The third began mapping internal behavior signatures that most systems hid behind encryption.
Within minutes, patterns started forming — inconsistencies, forgotten endpoints, unmonitored backend services.
Kael's lips curved upward.
No matter how strong a fortress appeared, every wall had a loose stone.
Ardent was finding them.
As the data continued streaming across the screen, Kael whispered to himself, voice low and certain,
"Let's see how perfect you really are, NovaNet."