Page 186 - DivineSparkRising II-TheMirrorofSilenceFinal

Divine Spark Rising
“I wanted to make it easy,” she said. “For
everyone.”
“Easy isn’t peace,” Henry said. “It’s a nap.”
“You’re very proud of your suffering,” Sofia
replied, a little cruelty back in the steel.
“Not proud,” Carolina said. “Present.”
The engine dimmed a fraction, not shutting
down, but listening. The tower’s cadence adjusted
by a millisecond to accommodate whatever Sera’s
pulse had taught it. A small concession. A first.
4. The Seal Breaks
The platform jolted. Somewhere deeper,
something low and heavy unlatched. The word
GATE on Carolina’s analyzer blinked twice and
became OPEN.
Jinji crowed. You did it. The engine reclassified
your input from ‘noise’ to ‘collaboration.’ The gate
is opening a maintenance path it didn’t know it
had. You can step through before it changes its
mind.
“Where does it go?” Henry asked.
Beneath the plaza, Jinji said. To the chamber
where Sofia rehearsed the Mirror before she named
it. Her doctrine began there. So did her doubt.
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