Once the possibility of gift integration was spoken out loud, everything changed.
It was no longer just about stopping extractions.
It was about stopping something far worse from taking root.
"This is a worst case scenario," Master Corinne said during the next Assembly discussion. Her voice was calm, but there was weight behind it. "If this organization succeeds, they will redefine how gifts function in our world."
No one argued with that.
Because deep down, they all understood.
If gifts could be transferred, then they could be controlled. Bought. Hoarded.
People would stop being valued for who they were born as.
They would become sources.
Resources.
And that thought alone was enough to make the room feel colder.
"We need to find them," Aria said. "Before they complete whatever they are building."
The investigation intensified after that.
Not just tracking extractors anymore, but following money, influence, connections.
