"Every system leaves something behind when it evolves—scraps, failures, concepts that couldn't survive the shift. But not everything forgotten stays gone."
—Kessie, Entry 902: Forbidden Trade Constructs
Fragments in the Void
It started with a ripple.
Not in space—but in value.
A sector-wide fluctuation in the Galactic Index of Equilibrium, without any trade movement.
Kairos stared at the readings in silence.
"Value can't just vanish," he murmured. "Something took it."
Kessie appeared beside him, her form flickering.
"No entity in our system triggered the loss. We're facing a value siphon from outside the logic net."
T'rana ran diagnostics. "What does that mean?"
"It means we're being drained... by something that doesn't obey economics."
A Broken Signature
Hours later, a merchant vessel from the outer edge of the Gravan Expanse limped into port.
Its crew were incoherent—eyes hollow, systems corrupted. Their inventory manifest was scrambled.
