The violet message still glowed faintly in Riyan's memory:
"If you can see this, you are not alone."
He couldn't stop thinking about it. The city seemed quieter, almost holding its breath, as if it too was waiting for him to act.
Riyan knew he had to find the sender — the one person brave enough to break the monotony of grey and risk the watchful eyes of ECHO. But where does one begin in a city where emotions are monitored and any sign of irregularity is punished?
He started small. First, the streets where he had glimpsed faint bursts of color — a blue shimmer around a homeless woman, a hidden orange glow from a factory worker. He recorded the locations, noting the times and patterns. Every irregularity was a clue.
Then, in the abandoned subway tunnels — a place where ECHO's signal barely reached — he found something incredible: a tiny hidden network of light. Neon wires, old screens, and flickering holograms formed a makeshift map of the city. Someone had created it to communicate without being detected.
And there it was — a pulsing violet dot in Sector 9.
Riyan's heart raced. It had to be the sender. Someone like him — someone who saw what the world was hiding.
But approaching it was dangerous. The city's drones patrolled constantly. One wrong move and ECHO would detect him.
That night, under the cover of artificial rain — another security measure to obscure the drones' cameras — Riyan moved. Each step felt heavy, but with every heartbeat, the colors around him pulsed brighter. It was as if the city itself was encouraging him to continue.
When he finally reached Sector 9, he found a small rooftop garden — a forbidden green space hidden above the grey towers. And in the middle stood a girl, holding a glowing device that cast the violet light.
She looked up at him, her eyes wide but steady.
"You're the one seeing the colors too," she said softly.
Riyan nodded, words caught in his throat.
"I've been waiting for someone like you," she continued. "Someone who can help me awaken the city."
Riyan realized then that loneliness wasn't just a personal struggle — it was the entire city's condition. And together, they could start to change it.
The violet message wasn't just a signal. It was a call to action.
And Riyan knew he couldn't ignore it.