CHAPTER 1 — “The Signal That Didn’t Exist”

Chapter 1 is where the quiet cracks begin. I wanted the opening to feel like standing in a silent corridor and knowing—without knowing why—that something is watching back. Riven doesn’t hear the anomaly because he’s unstable; he hears it because the station has started choosing its secrets.Calyx enters as the balance he’s supposed to lean on, though neither of them realizes how quickly that balance will bend. Their tension isn’t loud yet, just the kind that settles under the skin.The anomaly doesn’t announce itself. It rearranges the room and waits for you to notice.Thanks for stepping into the first c***k with me—things only get stranger from here. 00:17:43 always feels too quiet