The next evening, Vicky stood outside SRM's back gate — the quieter one near the empty cricket ground.Kiran tagged along, sipping rose-milk from a plastic cup like this was a normal walk.
"Bro, where are we going at this hour?"Kiran asked, squinting.
"Signal testing," Vicky said.
"What signal? Jio works fine."
"Not Jio."
Kiran frowned."Oh. Your secret gadget signal."
"It's not a gadget," Vicky muttered, clutching the small Beacon in his pocket. "It's… complicated."
Kiran raised an eyebrow."Bro… every time you say 'complicated,' some nonsense happens."
"Nothing will happen today. I'm just checking range."
The Test Field
They reached the open patch behind the hostels — a place dead silent except for crickets.
Vicky exhaled, pulled out the Beacon, and tapped the top.
thummm—ttk… tkkk… tnk.
Tiny lines of light crawled across its surface.
Kiran stepped back."Da… why is it glowing like a Diwali fuljhari?"
"Shh. Wait."
The Beacon hummed — a soft vibration, like a high-tech breath.
Then—
A small panel on one side slid open, revealing a micro-console display.Blue symbols.Strings of data.Network IDs floating like holographic text.
Kiran blinked."Oh my god… bro… that looks expensive."
"It's not even from this world," Vicky muttered, running his thumb across the console.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Vicky's Real Motive
He clicked the console open fully.
Beacon Uplink — Passive ModeScan Nearby Networks? [Y/N]
He tapped Y.
Immediately, a map formed — a mesh of Wi-Fi, telecom, encrypted corporate networks swirling like a blue digital river.
Even the TCS Butterfly building, 1 km away, showed up as a massive hive of signals.
Kiran whistled."Bro… are we hacking the entire city?"
"No. Just observing."
"You're observing too much," Kiran said, crossing himself like a Tamil uncle.
Vicky ignored him.
He opened the search bar.
Typed slowly:
rilu osbo
The console flickered.
"No results," Kiran said.
"No, wait… look."
Two tiny green dots blinked on the edge of the TCS Butterfly building indicator.
PING MATCH x2Location: TCS Digital Block — 6th FloorStatus: ACTIVE
Vicky's breath caught.
"There. Two pings. Same pattern. Same name cluster."
"Bro, what pings? What are we looking at?"
"Just… something," Vicky said, eyes glued.
Kiran pointed at the screen."Why is it blinking?"
As if in answer, both green dots blinked faster—
—then vanished.
Status: NOT FOUNDSignal: LOST
The whole console dimmed.
The Beacon stopped humming.
Silence.
Vicky just stood there.
Confused.Excited.Scared.Mostly confused.
Kiran waved a hand in front of his face."Bro. Hello? Chennai aa? Earth aa?"
"This… shouldn't happen," Vicky finally said.
"What? Ghost Wi-Fi?"
"No. Those pings," Vicky said. "Two identical IDs appearing at the same time? That's… impossible."
"Maybe someone else searched the same weird name?"
"No," Vicky murmured."This was coming from inside a corporate building. Secure network. Hidden ID. Not public."
He pocketed the Beacon.
"Bro," Kiran said carefully, "please tell me we are not breaking into TCS tomorrow."
"No," Vicky said.
Kiran sighed in relief.
"…Not tomorrow."
"DA!"
The First Clue
As they walked back, the Chennai breeze warm against their faces, Vicky's mind was racing.
The dream.The girl.The name.The Beacon's abnormal pings.
Three scattered dots on a blank map.
But now, finally…
A direction.
Not magic.Not madness.Not destiny.
Just data.
Something — or someone — named Rilu Osbo existed.Here.In Chennai.
And she was close enough to ping a Beacon that wasn't even supposed to exist.