Alex turned to the girl who seemed more at home in the dark than the light.
— "Luna, take us where they can't see us. Use the 'fringe'."
Luna didn't smile, but the air around her seemed to grow heavy, like a physical weight. "A wise choice, Alex. The light here is too revealing. Follow the shadows I leave behind."
🌑 Into the Fringe
The group moved toward the service elevator, but Luna bypassed it, leading them instead toward a maintenance hatch hidden behind a cooling vent. As they descended a rusted spiral staircase, the neon glow of the city died away, replaced by a flickering, unnatural violet hue that only Alex and Luna seemed to fully perceive.
[System Status: Stealth Protocol Active] Visual Distortion: 85% Luna Nightshade Synchronicity: Rising
"This isn't just a basement," Jess whispered, her hand instinctively reaching for the heavy wrench she kept in her gear bag. "The geometry... it feels wrong."
"It's the overlap," Luna murmured without looking back. "Where the System's code bleeds into the physical architecture of the university. To Denton, we've vanished from the cameras. To the world, we don't exist right now."
🧩 The Hidden Junction
They emerged into a vast, subterranean chamber filled with humming servers and ancient copper piping. This was the "Fringe"—the literal underbelly of the university's data network.
Maya stopped, her eyes wide as she looked at a terminal flickering with familiar code. "Alex... this is the same encryption I saw in your files. But it's coming from here. The school isn't just hosting the System; it's powered by it."
Suddenly, the violet light surged. A holographic interface projected itself into the center of the room, displaying a real-time map of the campus. Five red dots—Denton extraction teams—were converging on the rooftop café they had just vacated.
[Warning: Proximity Alert] A 'Gardener' has detected the breach.
🌹 The Price of the Shadows
Luna stumbled, her face turning ashen. Using the Fringe was draining her. She leaned against Alex, her cold hand gripping his jacket.
"I can't... hold the veil much longer," she breathed. "The System is demanding a 'Data Tithe' to keep us hidden."
[System Prompt] The Veil is failing. To maintain stealth, you must sacrifice a Connection Link.
Option A: Sever a portion of Maya's trust (Rose Affection -15%).
Option B: Dampen Jess's tactical awareness (Thistle Sync -20%).
Option C: Feed the System your own 'Probability' (User Luck Reset to 0 for 24 hours).
Sophie stepped closer, looking between the flickering hologram and the pale Luna. "Alex, you're the one at the wheel. If Luna drops the veil now, we're trapped in a basement with five heavily armed 'gardeners' who think we're prize roses."
Alex looked at the System prompt. It was asking him to hurt one of them—or himself—to keep the others safe.