Tonight, the task wasn't to build.
It was to disappear.
He started from the most vulnerable point—his family who didn't live under the same roof.
His grandparents, living on the outskirts of the city, in a place so quiet it didn't even have a CCTV camera outside.
His uncle and aunt, who lived in another town, never really cared much for the digital world even though they still used social media accounts without proper security layers.
None of them knew that having the name "Alaric" in their contact list could be dangerous.
"Linking protocol initiated,"
A voice came from his system, beginning to scan the social links across every online platform he had ever connected to.
Familiar names started appearing.
Yunia Merly, maternal grandmother – 12 interactions detected in the last two months.
Rifaldy Satrio, paternal cousin – 5 search records found in private browser.
Kayla Evette, high school friend – 37 archived private messages.
Alaric scrolled down. All of these people were once close to him.
But now, closeness could mean weakness.
He began marking the names, one by one. Then issued the command to the system.
"Anonymize relationship data."
"Erase social interaction links from public systems."
"Terminate IP mapping to all personal nodes."
Each time he hit Enter, a soft sound came from the CPU, confirming that the system was processing the command. One by one, the digital threads that had once tied him to these people vanished from search records.
He even deleted call logs linked to their numbers and wiped all location metadata from visits he'd made to them.
"You're not doing the wrong thing, are you, Ric?" a small voice inside him asked.
He paused for a moment. His gaze fell on a small photo on his desk. A moment from childhood, standing with his family in front of his grandmother's house. Their smiles were pure. Her arm wrapped warmly around his shoulder.
"If they knew I was erasing all traces of them... would they be disappointed?"
But Alaric knew. This wasn't about hurting them, or cutting ties.
This was about protection done in a way they might never understand.
"Better they know nothing and stay safe," he whispered softly.
Once he was done with his extended family, he moved on to securing data related to his friends.
A long list appeared on the system:
Leonard, college friend – still stores an old collaboration email.
Tasha, former design project teammate – still linked through an old group chat.
Clarissa, ex-girlfriend – still has personal contact info.
Alaric typed a special line into the system terminal:
plaintext
delete_connection("user:Alaric", target:"public_social_nodes")
mask_identity("user:Alaric", except:["system_core"])
Clean. As if he'd never existed in their digital lives.
He paused for a moment. Closed his eyes. Let out a deep breath.
His thoughts turned to the family still living with him under the same roof.
His parents. His younger sibling. The house that had been tightly secured ever since the major asset transfer case that made their family name headline news.
Their security was much tighter. Hidden bodyguards, multi-layered surveillance systems, even a small bunker in the basement as a contingency for emergencies.
But that didn't mean he could let his guard down.
"Re-verify home perimeter."
"Scan real-time protection systems."
The system responded calmly:
"All systems secure. No anomalies detected in the past 24 hours."
"All visitor and movement data monitored. Emergency evacuation routes active."
Alaric closed his eyes for a moment.
At least tonight, he could sleep without fear.
—
Back at his desk, he opened the final folder: Hidden Social Bridge.
There, every name that had ever mentioned him in posts, tags, or comments was stored. Even those no longer on his friends list—traces still remained.
One by one, he deleted them. He even changed his old username on a private email account once used for personal chats.
All of it, for one purpose.
To make sure no one else could ever be used as bait. To prevent the people he cared about from becoming a weakness someone could exploit.
A new notification popped up on the system.
[Social trace: 97% successfully erased or masked]
[Remaining 3% locked due to third-party encryption. Recommended to forget gradually.]
[Detected emotional analysis: mild guilt. But system confirms your actions fall under: Heroic Preventative Measures.]
Alaric smiled faintly.
"Heroic Preventative Measures."
Maybe it was true. Real protection wasn't just about standing in front of others.
Sometimes, it meant building a wall so big, the threat never even came close enough to knock.
That night ended in quiet.
Everything that mattered had been secured.
Maybe tomorrow, the world wouldn't even realize that someone named Alaric had made that choice.
And behind all the defense protocols and blue screens...
Was just a young man, doing everything he could to let the people he loved keep laughing, without ever knowing how close danger had come to their door.
—
That morning, sunlight slipped gently through the tall glass windows of the Helix family's dining room.
The house was calm. The smell of coffee and freshly toasted bread mingled with cinnamon and the warm scent of a home untouched by tension.
Birds in the garden chirped back and forth, livening up a morning that felt perfectly normal... for everyone except Alaric.
He came downstairs from the second floor, hair still damp, wearing a loose white T-shirt and casual training pants. But his face was sharp. His eyes carried the leftovers of a sleepless night spent protecting the very people now sitting with him at the breakfast table.
His parents were already seated.
His father, in a relaxed batik shirt, was reading a printed newspaper—still part of his morning ritual, even with a tablet right in front of him.
His mother, graceful in a soft pastel blouse, was spreading her homemade strawberry jam over a slice of whole wheat toast.
"Ric, come sit," his mom called with a smile.
"Breakfast is supposed to be special today, right?"
Alaric gave a faint smile and pulled out his chair. On the table was the meal he had cooked earlier, before anyone else woke up: scrambled eggs with truffle mushrooms, fresh fruit salad, and toast with melted cheese and homemade smoked beef.
Just as he lifted his fork, his mom tilted her head and asked casually,
"By the way... how's Clarissa? Haven't seen her around in a while. She used to join us for breakfast, helped me cut fruit too."
Alaric immediately choked.
Not on the food, but the question.
Cough!
A loud sound came from his throat. He quickly grabbed a nearby glass of water and took a long sip.
His dad raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong, Ric? Can't handle spicy sambal now?"
"No, no, just... surprised, that's all, Mom, Dad," he said after settling down.
"Clarissa and I... we're not together anymore."
His mom paused. His dad lowered the newspaper, eyes now focused on his son.
"What? When? You didn't say anything."
Alaric gave a small smile—somewhere between awkward and bittersweet.
"It's been a while. She said... she couldn't be with a 'nerdy guy' like me. Said she wanted someone more mature, more established."
Silence fell over the breakfast table for a few seconds.
His dad looked at him with an unreadable expression. A mix of sympathy, admiration, and maybe just a hint of amusement.
"Come on, Ric. What part of you isn't established?" he finally said, crossing his arms.
Alaric let out a soft laugh, though there was a hint of reflection in it.
"Now, yeah... now I've got my own brand, a team, even won some awards. But back when we were together, I had nothing. Nobody. I couldn't even write a decent business proposal."
His dad nodded slowly and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Not a hard pat, not overly dramatic. Just enough. Like saying, "I get it."
"Anyway," Alaric said, trying to shift the mood.
"Enough about exes. Let's focus on this. Today's breakfast is brought to you by the Helix household's private chef… not Bi Anna, but me!"
His mom laughed softly.
"Wow, what a surprise. What time did you start cooking?"
"Five a.m.," Alaric said proudly.
"Since I hadn't slept yet, figured I might as well cook."
"You didn't sleep last night?"
His mom's concern surfaced right away.
"It's fine, Mom. I got a short nap at dawn. Just had a lot on my mind," he replied with a reassuring smile.
They finally began eating. One bite, then another. And soon, satisfied expressions appeared on his parents' faces.
"This is amazing, Ric."
"You really made this?"
"Bi Anna might want to retire early," his dad said with a wide grin.
"Maybe you should start a catering business, son."
"Don't jinx it, or Mom will sign me up for a live cooking demo on TV," Alaric replied, lifting the toast to his mouth.
For a while, the breakfast table was filled with light laughter and teasing. As if nothing had happened the night before. No hacking, no threats, no shadows chasing them.
And Alaric let the moment flow.
Because maybe in a world so chaotic out there, the only thing that reminded him of who he truly was...
Was this table,