Later That Evening — Infirmary Wing
Aris sat alone near a pulse screen showing a simplified map of the Tower's upper sectors. A line traced her last mission path in red.
Kael entered quietly and handed her something.
Her baton.
Clean. Repaired.
But unchanged.
She ran her fingers across it.
"Still mine," she said softly.
Kael nodded. "Always was."
She looked up at him.
"What happens now?"
"Now?" he said. "Now we prepare for worse."
She stood slowly, testing her balance. Her limbs still ached. But her resolve was sharper than ever.
"They buried one Sovereign to keep the world quiet," she said. "I'm going to be louder than all of them."
Kael's lips twitched.
"You'll have to be."
Back in the Archive Vault
Renic stared into a flickering memory shard.
It showed Aris.
Fighting.
Winning.
He studied her frame-by-frame.
Then reached into his coat.
Pulled out a small Choir seal.
Pressed it into the table.
And activated a glyph that had not been used in centuries.
