The Genesis Council's new base of operations—Codex Spire—rose from the center of the Reclamation Zone like a monument to defiance. Once a husk of rusted alloy and scorched earth, the spire had been transformed into a beacon, powered by living energy drawn from the Helix-integrated flora. Its inner halls pulsed with radiant blue light, veins of memory data running like arteries through the stone.
Inside, Jaden sat before a circular console with Lyra, Kaela, and Zhenari. A hologram of the galaxy hovered before them, the Helix stream glowing like a ghostly river threading between stars.
"We've confirmed three more black tree signatures," Lyra said, gesturing to blinking red points. "Two colonies gone dark. One partially evacuated. Whatever this Exodus is, it's moving fast."
Kaela leaned in. "The corrupted Bloom fragment has adapted. Unlike Genesis, it isn't tethered to a human anchor. It's parasitic—feeding off lost systems and derelict code."
