The night was crisp, the kind that carried silence like a secret whispered between stars. Aria's footsteps echoed softly as she crossed the familiar path to the old observatory, a place that had once symbolized discovery, now shadowed with uncertainty.
Every fiber of her mind was alert, weaving through possibilities. This meeting, no sender, no explanation, felt like a pivot, a sharp turn in a game she thought she understood.
Her phone buzzed once, an encrypted message flashing briefly on the screen before vanishing:
"Trust the signals. Not the silence."
Aria swallowed hard. Trust was a currency harder to earn than loyalty.
At the observatory, the air smelled of dust and time. The giant telescope stood silent, an ancient sentinel beneath the dark sky. Inside, the shadows clung to corners where light feared to venture.
She stepped into the central chamber. A figure emerged from the darkness, hands raised in a gesture that was neither threat nor greeting.
