In the Spire, the practical crisis was escalating. Reports flooded the makeshift command center—a converted lab where Sage, Valentine, and Regina worked.
"Sector Four reports reservoir levels dropping. They're on reserves."
"The hospital in Sector Two says their surgical units are offline.They're running on batteries."
"A riot is forming at a distribution hub in the Low-Sector.People think the Vitae is being hoarded."
Regina processed each with chilling efficiency. "Redirect security from Spire perimeter to the distribution hub. Use non-violent dispersal. Announce that ration caches are being converted to unified Vitae compatibility and will be redistributed within twenty-four hours." She didn't know if it was true, but the statement was a pressure valve.
"We need to show progress," Sage insisted, watching the panic scroll by. "We need the Font."
As if summoned, Lysander's report came in—a raw video feed from the Echoing Font. It showed the miraculous, minute transformation. The pool was no longer a solid mass of silver sickness. A quarter of it was now a swirling, opalescent maelstrom of healthy Vitae, slowly, patiently digesting the corruption.
Valentine grabbed the feed. "I'm patching this to every public screen still on backup power. With a narrative."
The video, accompanied by simple text explaining this was the "first healing of the wounded source," flashed across the city. It showed not a weapon, not a tool, but a remedy. It was slow. It was small. But it was undeniable.
The riot at the distribution hub didn't disperse in cheers, but in murmurs. People pointed at the screens, watching the silent, beautiful struggle in the stone cavern. It was a different kind of power—patient, restorative.
Rex Aurelian's voice followed on the broadcast, finding its footing. "Do you see? This is the recalibration! We are not just taking anymore; we are healing! Our first act in this new age is not conquest, but restoration! The future is not scarcity—it is a return to wholeness!"
For the first time, his optimism was tethered to something real.