Chapter 3: No Records Found

The first thing Ananya noticed that morning was that Shreyas looked terrible.

His hair was a mess.

His eyes had dark circles beneath them.

And he was holding a coffee cup like it was life support.

She sat down across from him in the university cafeteria.

"You didn't sleep."

"I slept."

"No."

"I did."

"For how long?"

Shreyas thought for a moment.

"...Does accidentally passing out count?"

Ananya sighed.

"Workshop?"

"Workshop."

"DOT AETHER?"

"DOT AETHER."

"Of course."

The mysterious Frame had completely taken over his thoughts.

Every spare moment.

Every break between classes.

Every evening.

Every night.

He kept finding things that didn't make sense.

And Shreyas hated things that didn't make sense.

By lunchtime, both of them were sitting in one of the engineering department's computer labs.

Rows of terminals stretched across the room.

Students worked quietly on assignments and simulations.

Meanwhile, Shreyas was attempting to answer a very simple question.

What exactly was DOT AETHER ?

The answer should have been easy.

Every Core Frame ever manufactured was registered.

Every major design was documented.

Every tournament participant was archived.

Finding information should have taken minutes.

Instead...

"Nothing."

Ananya looked over.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

Shreyas refreshed the page.

Again.

Manufacturer Database

NO RECORDS FOUND

He frowned.

"Okay."

Another search.

National Tournament Registry

NO RECORDS FOUND

Another.

Core Frame Archive

NO RECORDS FOUND

Another.

Historical Engineering Database

NO RECORDS FOUND

Ananya slowly blinked.

"That's impossible."

"I know."

"Maybe you're spelling it wrong."

"It's literally engraved on the machine."

"Maybe whoever engraved it spelled it wrong."

"..."

"..."

"That's actually not the worst theory you've had."

Ananya looked offended.

"Wow."

They spent the next two hours searching every database they could access.

Nothing.

Not a single mention.

Not a single image.

Not a single reference.

DOT AETHER simply didn't exist.

Which was impossible.

Because it was currently sitting in Workshop 7.

Eventually, Shreyas pushed himself away from the computer.

"Let's ask Professor Raman."

Ananya immediately nodded.

If anyone knew something...

It would be him.

Professor Raman had taught Core Frame Engineering for nearly thirty years.

Students often joked that he remembered tournament results better than he remembered birthdays.

If a Frame existed...

Professor Raman probably knew about it.

Probably.

The professor's office was buried beneath stacks of books, blueprints, and enough paperwork to qualify as a safety hazard.

The old man barely looked up from his desk.

"What do you want?"

"Good afternoon to you too."

Professor Raman finally glanced up.

"Oh."

"It's you."

"That sounded disappointed."

"It was."

Ananya snorted.

The professor pointed at a chair.

"What did you break this time?"

"I didn't break anything."

Professor Raman raised an eyebrow.

"That narrows it down to approximately zero possibilities."

Fair.

Shreyas placed several photos of DOT AETHER on the desk.

The professor casually reached for them.

Then paused.

His expression changed.

Only slightly.

But enough.

He studied the images.

Longer than expected.

Silence filled the room.

Ananya and Shreyas exchanged a glance.

The professor never spent this long looking at anything.

Finally—

"Interesting."

Shreyas immediately leaned forward.

"You know it?"

The professor looked up.

"No."

The answer somehow felt worse.

"What do you mean no?"

"I mean I don't know it."

He examined another photograph.

"I've never seen this Frame before."

"You're kidding."

"I'm not."

The professor stood.

Now that was concerning.

Professor Raman almost never stood during conversations.

He walked around the desk and studied the images more carefully.

Then his gaze stopped.

Right near the exposed internal frame.

"Where did you find this?"

The question sounded different.

More serious.

Shreyas noticed immediately.

"In the university scrapyard."

The professor remained silent.

For several moments.

Then he pointed toward a small marking inside the frame.

A symbol.

Tiny.

Barely visible.

Neither Shreyas nor Ananya had noticed it before.

It looked like a circle intersected by several geometric lines.

No manufacturer logo.

No university emblem.

Nothing recognizable.

The professor frowned.

"I haven't seen this symbol in a very long time."

Both students immediately straightened.

"You know it?"

"No."

"Then why does that sound important?"

Professor Raman ignored the question.

Instead, he handed back the photos.

"Keep repairing it."

"...That's it?"

"That's it."

"You can't just say that."

"I just did."

Ananya groaned.

"Professors are the worst."

"We know."

The old man returned to his paperwork.

Conversation over.

Or so it seemed.

Just as they reached the door—

"Shreyas."

Both stopped.

The professor still hadn't looked up.

"If you find anything unusual..."

He paused.

"Come tell me."

The room suddenly felt colder.

Because for the first time...

Someone else seemed interested.

And that made DOT AETHER far more dangerous than before.

That evening, Workshop 7 was quiet.

Most students had already left.

The setting sun painted the room orange.

Ananya sat at a computer.

Shreyas worked on DOT AETHER's damaged shoulder assembly.

Hours passed.

Then suddenly—

"Shreyas."

"Hm?"

"Come here."

Her voice sounded strange.

He immediately walked over.

"What happened?"

Ananya stared at the screen.

"I found something."

His heartbeat quickened.

The monitor displayed an old university archive.

One that should have been deleted years ago.

Most of the file was corrupted.

Entire sections were unreadable.

Images missing.

Data erased.

Yet one page remained.

A single page.

At the top:

PROJECT DOT

Shreyas froze.

Below it:

STATUS: TERMINATED

Neither spoke.

The workshop felt impossibly silent.

Then Shreyas scrolled lower.

A final line appeared.

ACCESS RESTRICTED

The rest of the document had been wiped.

Gone.

As if someone had wanted it forgotten.

Slowly...

Very slowly...

Shreyas looked toward DOT AETHER.

The damaged Frame sat quietly on the workbench.

Motionless..

Silent...

Waiting.....

End of Chapter 3

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