Chapter 64 - Chapter 63: The First Fracture

The strain of the perpetual watch began to fracture First Hope's unity. A new group, the "Pragmatists," gained influence. They argued that Elias's mercy was a sentimental luxury they couldn't afford. "We are spending resources, time, and lives guarding our own executioners!" a Pragmatist leader declared. "The Architects won't show us mercy. Elara's solution from the Uncharted Shore was the correct one. It's not murder; it's pest control." The old rift from the Stasisist debate reopened, this time framed not as a philosophical choice, but a survival one. The city was dividing into the "Preservationists," who backed Elias, and the Pragmatists.