They chose Elias's path. It was the harder road. They established a permanent, remote watch over The Cradle, a quarantine enforced not by aliens, but by themselves. It was a constant, draining burden, a shadow on their future.
But in that choice, they found a new strength. Shard, witnessing their decision, communicated to the Continuity Council. "They have chosen to preserve a threat out of a principle they call 'mercy.' This variable was not in any predictive model. The Dialogist faction grows."
Elias stood once more in the archive, updating the record. He added the story of the Stasisists, of the Clarifier, of Markus's return, and of The Cradle. He did not whitewash their failures or their fears. The chain of memory, of truth, remained unbroken. It was their guide, their burden, and their shield. The war was no longer for the right to remember, but for the wisdom to remember everything—the good, the evil, and the choices that defined the space between. Their story was not ending; it was deepening, becoming a legend for the ages they were determined to build.