The flicker in the distance did not behave like the other distortions.
It did not pulse.
It did not lash out.
It did not scramble when balance nodes activated nearby.
It simply existed — vast, dim, patient.
Sarya felt it before she fully saw it.
Not as pressure.
Not as fear.
As attention.
The cooperative net continued intercepting smaller clusters across multiple sectors. Blue spheres flared and dimmed as they worked in synchronized rhythm, cutting connectors, neutralizing nodes, stabilizing cracks. The lattice was no longer defenseless.
Yet that distant presence did not retreat.
It observed.
"New anomaly detected," the balance branch voice confirmed quietly beside her. Its tone carried no emotion, but its processing speed increased sharply.
"I see it," Sarya replied.
