Page 214 - DivineSparkRising II-TheMirrorofSilenceFinal

Divine Spark Rising
a relay forgot its shape and remembered kindness
instead.
Sofia spoke, weary and bare.
“You will make war again.”
“Probably,” Henry said. “But not because you
kept our mouths.”
“You will hurt one another.”
“And forgive,” Carolina said. “Not in speeches.”
“You will die of noise,” Sofia whispered.
Sera’s voice was a hum and a vow. “We will live
of it.”
The image of Serpa faded, not erased, just
placed back where it belonged. The mirror
loosened its hold on the room. The ring of water
stopped pretending to be perfect.
Sofia’s last sentence in the chamber came like
the first promise she had ever broken to herself.
“I hoped to make the world simple enough to
love. I couldn’t.”
Henry nodded. “Love is complicated, Professor.
That’s how we know it’s real.”
The dais shuddered. The gate beyond the
chamber unsealed with a sound like chalk agreeing
to be dust again. Somewhere, the engine accepted
collaboration as a kind of peace.
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