The engineering bay never slept.
By 4:00 a.m. the next morning, the stolen schematic rod had been fully decrypted.
Rin's team worked in shifts—three engineers at a time—cross-referencing the master lattice with the twilight resonance patterns Ren and Aoi had unconsciously imprinted during the theft.
The result: three working prototypes of the hybrid stabilizer seal.
Not mass-producible yet.
Not flawless.
But functional enough to reduce rejection to near-zero on initial tests.
Hana gathered the core group again in the same converted storage bay—same metal table, same flickering holo-map of Chiba now overlaid with red orbital strike markers and projected blast radii.
Tanaka's data-chip sat in the center like a black accusation.
Rin tapped the holo-display.
"Seventy-two hours until the arrays fire. First wave targets the altar directly—suppression pulse to 'neutralize' the Shard's remaining essence. Second wave is full orbital cleansing if the first fails. Civilian evac radius is laughable—they're calling it 'acceptable collateral.'"
Jiro leaned forward—voice rough.
"So we stop it how? Storm the launch site? Sabotage the arrays in orbit? We don't have that kind of reach."
Saya shook her head.
"We don't need to stop the strike. We need to make it irrelevant."
All eyes turned to her.
She pointed at the altar marker on the map.
"We go back. We take the new stabilizers. We perform a partial stabilization ritual on the Shard—enough to drop its decay rate below critical. We broadcast the entire thing—live feed to every underground channel, pirate frequencies, even Order internal comms if we can crack them. Show them twilight working. Show them balance without merge. Show them the third path before they burn it."
Ren felt Aoi's hand find his under the table—squeeze once.
Hana's storm-cloud eyes narrowed.
"You're asking the Shard to trust us again. To let us touch it without demanding full reunion."
Aoi nodded.
"We're asking it to wait with us. Not for us to become it. For us to prove it doesn't have to die alone."
Silence followed—thick, considering.
Rin broke it first.
"Logistics. Small team again. Same conduit we used before—Tanaka's codes should still hold for another day or two. Extraction drone on standby. Broadcast rig prepped on a hijacked satellite uplink—Saya's already got the pirate channels locked. We go in at dusk tomorrow. Ritual at midnight. Live feed starts the moment we make contact."
Jiro rubbed his jaw.
"And if the Order intercepts? If Tanaka changes his mind?"
Hana answered—quiet, certain.
"Then we fight. But we fight to show them. Not to kill them."
Ren looked around the table—meeting each gaze.
"We're not asking anyone to die for this. Volunteers only. If it goes wrong… we pull back. No heroics. No last stands. We live to try again."
Saya smiled—small, fierce.
"I'm in."
Jiro exhaled—long, resigned.
"Yeah. Me too."
Rin nodded once.
"Team's set."
Hana stood—slow, deliberate.
"Then rest. Eat. Prepare your minds. Tomorrow we walk back into the forest that nearly killed us once… and ask it to trust us a second time."
The meeting dissolved.
Ren and Aoi lingered.
Aoi turned to him—voice low.
"You really think the Shard will listen again?"
Ren looked down at their joined hands—twilight shimmer faint but steady between their fingers.
"I think it's tired of being alone. Same way we were."
She leaned her forehead against his.
"Then we show it it's not."
They left the bay together—walking the quiet corridors back to their pod.
No grand declarations.
No desperate embraces.
Just two people—holding hands—walking toward tomorrow.
Outside, the city kept its restless pulse—neon flickering, rain threatening again.
Inside the hub, a handful of people prepared to gamble everything on the quiet hope that balance might still be possible.
Seventy-two hours.
One forest.
One chance.
Essence Level: 10.0
(stable – anticipation resonance building slowly)
Current status: Ritual plan locked – 48 hours to forest return – Broadcast prepared – Final gamble begins
End of Chapter 33