Shadow & Storm

The Trace

The professor continued speaking.

But Ananya could no longer hear him properly.

Her eyes remained on the message.

YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO IS HIDING A SECRET.

What did that mean?

Was the hacker talking about Arjun?

Or was it simply another attempt to frighten her?

She slowly turned her phone face down on the desk.

Then she looked toward Arjun again.

He was still looking at his phone.

His expression was different now.

He looked calm.

But there was something in his eyes.

Something serious.

Ananya wondered what message he had received.

She wanted to ask him.

But she had no reason to.

They were not close enough for her to suddenly ask:

Did a hacker just threaten you?

So she remained silent.

A few minutes later, the class ended.

The professor closed his book.

"That's all for today. You can leave."

The students immediately began packing their things.

Ananya quickly picked up her bag.

She wanted to leave before she received another message.

But before she could stand up—

Her phone vibrated again.

She looked down.

This time, it was not from the unknown number.

It was a message from her roommate.

Roommate: Are you coming back directly?

Ananya stared at the screen for a moment.

Then she quickly replied.

Ananya: Yes.

She put her phone away.

For a moment, she thought the hacker had stopped.

Maybe the previous message had been the last one.

Maybe they were only trying to scare her.

She took a deep breath.

Then she walked out of the classroom.

Arjun remained behind for a few seconds.

He waited until most of the students had left.

Then he looked down at his phone again.

The message he had received was still open.

I KNOW YOU ARE TRYING TO FIND ME.

Arjun's eyes narrowed.

The hacker had sent the message at the exact same time as Ananya had received hers.

That was not a coincidence.

The hacker had been watching both of them.

And somehow...

They knew that Arjun was already trying to trace them.

Arjun quickly typed:

Arjun: Who are you?

The message was delivered.

For a few seconds, nothing happened.

Then the message was seen.

No reply.

Arjun waited.

Still nothing.

His expression became colder.

The hacker was deliberately ignoring him.

He put his phone away and walked out of the classroom.

By the time Arjun reached the university parking area, he had already made up his mind.

He needed to go to the office.

There were only two people he trusted enough to handle this.

Vijay.

And Ashok.

They were his closest friends.

They were also among the best hackers he knew.

And both of them worked for him at his startup.

Arjun got into his car.

Before starting the engine, he looked at his phone one last time.

No new messages.

He started the car.

IN TECH

Arjun's startup office was located in one of the busiest parts of the city.

Employees moved through the open workspace.

Developers sat in front of multiple screens.

The office was filled with the sounds of keyboards and conversations.

But Arjun walked directly toward the secured room at the back.

He opened the door.

Vijay was sitting in front of three monitors.

Ashok was examining a long line of code on another screen.

The moment Vijay saw Arjun, he leaned back.

"Finally."

Arjun looked at him.

"Don't start, Vijay."

Vijay smiled.

"Why? You disappeared after the tournament."

Ashok turned around.

"Not just disappeared."

Arjun looked at him.

Ashok grinned.

"He got married."

Arjun stopped.

Vijay slowly turned toward him.

"Wait."

Ashok pointed at Arjun.

"That's right."

Vijay stared at him.

"You're married?"

Arjun's expression remained calm.

"In the game."

There was a moment of silence.

Then both Vijay and Ashok burst out laughing.

Arjun looked at them.

"What?"

Vijay tried to control his laughter.

"Nothing."

Ashok shook his head.

"Absolutely nothing."

Vijay leaned forward.

"Arjun, you disappeared for one night and came back married."

"It's not a real marriage."

"That's not what you said."

Arjun frowned.

"What did I say?"

"You said you got married."

"In the game."

"That part came later."

Arjun ignored them.

"Are you both finished?"

Their laughter slowly faded.

Vijay looked at him.

"Fine. Tell us everything."

Arjun remained silent for a moment.

Then he said:

"ShadowFlame is Ananya."

The room became silent.

Vijay and Ashok looked at each other.

Ashok slowly turned back toward Arjun.

"You're sure?"

"I saw her."

"How?"

"Her gaming ID. Her hand movements. Her playing style."

Arjun paused.

"Everything matched."

Vijay stared at him.

"So the legendary ShadowFlame is actually Ananya?"

Arjun nodded.

"Yes."

Ashok leaned back.

"That's unexpected."

"That's not all."

Both of them looked at him.

Arjun continued.

"I'm StormKnight."

Vijay's eyes widened.

Ashok stared at him.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then Vijay slowly pointed at Arjun.

"You?"

Arjun frowned.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I thought StormKnight was some mysterious player who never spoke to anyone."

Ashok nodded.

"Same."

Arjun crossed his arms.

"And?"

Vijay looked at him.

"You're sitting here drinking coffee like a normal person."

"I am a normal person."

Neither Vijay nor Ashok looked convinced.

Arjun took out his phone.

His expression became serious.

"There is more."

The two men stopped joking.

Arjun placed his phone on the desk.

"The hacker who attacked the university tournament knows about ShadowFlame."

Vijay's smile disappeared.

Ashok straightened.

"How much does he know?"

"Enough."

Arjun showed them the messages.

"He knows that Ananya is ShadowFlame."

Both of them became silent.

"And he knows that I'm StormKnight."

Vijay stared at the phone.

"How?"

"That's what I want to know."

Ashok immediately turned toward his computer.

"Do you have the original messages?"

Arjun nodded.

"Yes."

"Then let's find him."

Vijay cracked his fingers.

"Now this is interesting."

Arjun gave him a look.

"This isn't a game."

Vijay's expression became serious.

"I know."

Ashok opened several security programs.

"We'll start with the messages."

The room slowly became quiet.

The two hackers began working.

Arjun stood behind them, watching.

He wanted answers.

Who was this person?

How did they know Ananya?

How did they discover his identity?

And what did they actually want?

Vijay suddenly stopped typing.

"Wait."

Arjun immediately looked at him.

"What?"

"I found something."

Ashok moved closer to the screen.

"Where?"

Vijay pointed at a series of numbers.

"There is a trace hidden in the connection."

Arjun walked toward the monitor.

"Can you follow it?"

Ashok examined the data.

"It's not a direct connection."

"What does that mean?"

"The hacker used multiple temporary networks to hide their actual location."

Vijay nodded.

"But they made one mistake."

Arjun looked at him.

"What mistake?"

"They connected to the same system more than once."

Ashok smiled.

"Which means we might be able to find the device."

Arjun's eyes narrowed.

"Do it."

The two of them continued working.

The trace moved through several different locations.

One connection.

Then another.

Then another.

The hacker had covered their tracks carefully.

But Vijay and Ashok continued digging deeper.

Finally—

Vijay smiled.

"I found the device."

Arjun immediately turned toward him.

"Where?"

Ashok looked at the screen.

"Not exactly where."

"Then what did you find?"

Vijay pointed at the information.

"A laptop."

Arjun stared at the screen.

The hacker had connected through a specific laptop.

Ashok began tracing it.

"The device is active."

Arjun's expression hardened.

"Can we access it?"

"We can try."

"Do it."

Vijay began working.

The connection was established.

A dark screen appeared.

Then a faint image began loading.

A room.

A desk.

A laptop.

Someone was sitting in front of it.

Arjun took a step closer.

"Can we see the person?"

"Not yet."

The image was still loading.

The person in front of the laptop suddenly stopped typing.

Vijay froze.

"What happened?"

Ashok stared at the screen.

"He knows."

Arjun's expression changed.

"What?"

The person on the screen suddenly turned toward the laptop.

The screen went black.

CONNECTION LOST

Vijay immediately began typing.

"Wait!"

Ashok tried to reconnect.

Nothing happened.

The device had gone completely offline.

The hacker had realized they were being traced.

And they had closed the laptop before Arjun could see their face.

Arjun stared at the black screen.

They had been seconds away.

Only seconds.

But the hacker had escaped.

Again.

Vijay leaned back.

"He knew we were there."

Ashok frowned.

"He didn't just shut down the laptop."

"He destroyed the entire connection."

Arjun remained silent.

Then he finally spoke.

"Find out everything."

Vijay looked at him.

"Everything?"

"I want to know who he is."

Arjun's voice became colder.

"Who he works for."

He paused.

"And what exactly he wants."

Ashok nodded.

"We'll dig deeper."

Arjun looked at the black screen.

The hacker had escaped.

But this time...

They had gotten closer.

Much closer.

And Arjun was not going to stop until he found the person behind the screen.

Arjun looked at the black screen.

The hacker had escaped.

Again.

But this time, Arjun had seen enough to know that the person they were dealing with was not an ordinary hacker.

They had noticed the trace.

They had shut down the laptop.

And they had destroyed the connection before Vijay and Ashok could identify them.

Vijay leaned back in his chair.

"Whoever this is, they are extremely careful."

Ashok continued looking at the data on the screen.

"They didn't just disconnect. They wiped the connection trail."

"Can you recover anything?" Arjun asked.

Ashok shook his head.

"Not immediately."

Arjun's expression darkened.

Vijay looked at him.

"Don't worry. We still have the original trace."

"How much can we find from it?"

"Not enough to identify him yet."

Arjun stared at the screen.

"Then dig deeper."

Ashok looked at him.

"How deep?"

"Everything."

Vijay smiled slightly.

"That's a dangerous word to use with us."

Arjun looked at him.

"I want to know who he is."

Ashok nodded.

"We'll investigate every connection."

"His device, his network, his previous activity. Everything that can lead us to him."

Arjun remained silent.

But one question continued to trouble him.

What did the hacker want?

If the person only wanted to expose them, they could have done it already.

They knew Ananya was ShadowFlame.

They knew Arjun was StormKnight.

They had already threatened to reveal everything.

But they hadn't.

Instead, they kept watching.

They kept sending messages.

And they kept waiting.

That meant there was something else.

Something the hacker wanted.

The room suddenly became quiet.

Vijay was looking at one of his screens.

"Arjun."

Arjun turned toward him.

"What?"

"I found something."

Arjun immediately walked over.

"What did you find?"

Vijay pointed at the screen.

"There's a pattern."

Ashok moved closer.

"The hacker has been using several different connections."

"How many?"

"Too many to count."

Vijay opened another screen.

"But there is one thing they all have in common."

Arjun stared at the data.

"What?"

"They always appear around the same time."

Arjun frowned.

"During the tournament?"

"Before the tournament. During it. And after it."

Ashok continued.

"They weren't just interested in the university tournament."

Arjun's expression changed.

"What are you saying?"

"The tournament wasn't the main target."

Vijay looked at him.

"It was only the place where the hacker wanted to get your attention."

Arjun became silent.

The tournament.

The message.

ShadowFlame.

StormKnight.

The hacker had planned everything carefully.

But why?

Before Arjun could say anything, his phone began to ring.

The number on the screen was hidden.

PRIVATE NUMBER

The room immediately became silent.

Arjun stared at the screen.

Vijay and Ashok looked at each other.

"Could be him," Ashok said.

Arjun answered the call.

He didn't say anything.

For a few seconds, there was only silence.

Then a voice came through the phone.

"You're fast."

Arjun's expression immediately changed.

He knew that voice.

The hacker.

"Who are you?"

The person on the other end gave a quiet laugh.

"You already know what I can do."

"I asked who you are."

"I know."

Arjun stood up.

"Then answer me."

The hacker remained silent for a moment.

Then he said:

"I know you're trying to trace me."

Arjun glanced toward Vijay and Ashok.

They immediately understood.

The hacker knew.

"You were watching us," Arjun said.

"Of course."

"How?"

"You're not the only one who knows how to use a computer."

Vijay and Ashok exchanged a look.

Arjun's voice became colder.

"What do you want?"

The hacker didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he said:

"You have twenty-four hours."

Arjun's eyes narrowed.

"For what?"

"Trace this number."

Arjun became silent.

The hacker continued.

"If you find me and call me within twenty-four hours, I will tell you everything."

Arjun tightened his grip on the phone.

"Everything?"

"Who I am."

A pause.

"How I found out about you and Ananya."

Another pause.

"And what I want."

Arjun's eyes narrowed.

"And if I don't find you?"

The voice on the other end became quieter.

"Then I will tell everyone about you."

Arjun's expression changed.

The hacker continued.

"And Ananya."

The room became completely silent.

Vijay and Ashok could hear the conversation.

Arjun's voice became dangerously calm.

"Don't involve her."

"She is already involved."

"Leave her out of this."

"You should have thought about that before you hid your identity."

Arjun's fingers tightened around the phone.

"What do you want from me?"

"You'll find out if you find me."

"And if I don't?"

The hacker laughed softly.

"Then everyone will know that StormKnight and ShadowFlame are not just married in the game."

Arjun's expression hardened.

"You're making a mistake."

"Maybe."

The call suddenly became silent.

Then the hacker said:

"Twenty-four hours."

The call ended.

For several seconds, Arjun stood completely still.

Vijay looked at him.

"Did he hang up?"

Arjun slowly lowered the phone.

"Yes."

Ashok immediately moved toward his computer.

"Give me the number."

Arjun gave him the phone.

Ashok began working.

Vijay opened another system.

"We'll trace it."

Arjun stood behind them.

The clock had already started.

23 HOURS AND 59 MINUTES REMAINING.

Ashok's fingers moved quickly across the keyboard.

"He's using a private number."

"Can you trace it?"

"Maybe."

Vijay looked at the data.

"He's routing the call through multiple systems."

Ashok nodded.

"But this time, he stayed on the line longer."

Arjun looked at him.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning we might have a chance."

Arjun looked at the clock.

Twenty-four hours.

He had to find the hacker.

Not only because the person threatened to expose him.

But because Ananya was now involved.

He couldn't allow her identity to be revealed.

Not because he was afraid of losing his own secret.

But because he knew how much her identity meant to her.

She had spent years keeping ShadowFlame separate from her real life.

And now someone was threatening to destroy that boundary.

Arjun looked at Vijay and Ashok.

"Find him."

Vijay nodded.

"We will."

Arjun turned toward the door.

Ashok looked up.

"Where are you going?"

"Home."

Vijay frowned.

"Why?"

Arjun looked back at him.

"I need to make sure Ananya is safe."

Vijay and Ashok exchanged a glance.

Then Vijay smiled.

"Your wife?"

Arjun stared at him.

"In the game."

Ashok nodded seriously.

"Of course."

Arjun ignored them and walked out.

But as he entered the corridor, his phone vibrated again.

He stopped.

A new message had arrived from the same unknown number.

YOU HAVE 24 HOURS.

Arjun stared at the message.

Then another one appeared.

DON'T WASTE THEM.

Arjun slowly put his phone away.

The countdown had begun.

And somewhere in the city...

The hacker was watching.