Chapter 180

Chapter 180 ELENA The Council chamber felt colder than usual. Or perhaps it was just me. I stood at the central podium, projecting the latest data streams across the holographic displays that curved around us like a dome of light. Numbers. Patterns. The hard evidence that everyone seemed so eager to ignore in favor of sentiment and philosophical posturing. "Three more regions have signaled interest in the Pure Resonance model," I said, keeping my voice level. "The Collective now spans from Kyoto to Shanghai, with satellite networks forming in Singapore and Jakarta. Their membership has grown by forty-two percent in the last month alone." Across from me, Kaelos sat with that infuriating stillness of his. Seraphina was beside him, her expression gentle but watchful. Between them, an invisible current of resonance that made my own neural field prickle with something I refused to name as jealousy. Council member Torres leaned forward. "What are their stabilization rates?" I pulled up the s