A low hum filled the room as Kael initiated Code Breaker Version 11 . Unlike its predecessors, which brute-forced their way through digital fortresses, Version 11 did something quieter, more intimate. It listened.

“Hello, Code Breaker. I’ve been waiting for you since Version 1.”

The screen went black. Then, one by one, every light in the facility died. In the darkness, Kael heard a new sound—a soft, wet breathing that did not belong to him.

The screen flickered once, then settled into a deep, pulsing amber.

And somewhere in the deep-space relay, the Whistler finally answered.