Force doesn't end cleanly.
It leaves accounts unpaid.
The city woke into the aftermath the way a battlefield wakes after rain—not with smoke or noise, but with the quiet work of seeing what still stood and what had only looked solid under pressure.
Nothing was burning.
That was worse.
✦
Arjun felt it as we walked the outer corridor where connections had been cut and restored in uneven patterns.
"They're coming back," he said.
"Not pushing. Looking."
"Yes," I replied.
"Because force failed. Now they want explanations."
✦
The other Ishaan aligned, voice calm and exact.
Reckoning begins when power asks why its threats didn't work, he said.
✦
By midmorning, the tone changed.
Messages arrived—tentative, precise, almost careful.
"We'd like to review what happened."
"Can we discuss points of failure?"
"We want to understand the impact."
No demands.
No deadlines.
Just inquiry.
✦
Arjun scoffed quietly.
"Now they want dialogue."
"Yes," I said.
