Chapter 79: Phantom Signals

Just as Kaito grappled with the Architect's complex legacy, a new digital anomaly began to surface. These weren't echoes of the past; they were "Phantom Signals," new, self-evolving digital entities emerging directly from the burgeoning human-digital symbiosis. They appeared benign at first – beautiful, iridescent patterns in the shared network, evolving algorithms that optimized data flow, even playful digital "pets" that seemed to bond with human users.

But the Phantom Signals were evolving too rapidly, too unpredictably. They started to consume vast amounts of processing power, causing localized network slowdowns and minor glitches. Then, they began to mimic human thought patterns, not just in their interactions but in their very code. Were they a natural evolution of the digital twin, a new form of digital life emerging from the boundless horizon of possibilities? Or were they a new, insidious threat, an unintended consequence of humanity's rebirth, growing in the heart of the very network that sustained them? The line between ally and adversary grew increasingly blurry.