Three days after the aurora faded and the titan avalanche stopped, the territory looked better than it ever had. Crystal veins ran through the soil like thick glass roots, pulsing with soft inner light.
Trees had grown overnight, their trunks wrapped in transparent lattices that caught the sun and split it into sharp colors across the ground.
Buildings stood half-covered in the same growth, walls reinforced, roofs gleaming. Food sprouted in every cleared patch. No one went hungry.
But something was wrong.
Kael walked the main path through what used to be the central square. People moved with calm purpose. They smiled when they saw him, but the smiles never reached their eyes.
A woman knelt by a crystal-veined garden, pulling perfect carrots from soil that had never been this rich. Her hands moved like machines. No dirt under her nails. No complaints about her back.
"Hey," Kael said. "You doing alright?"
She looked up. "Everything is efficient now. No waste."
