The seam along the shell did not widen quickly.
It opened with patience.
On the projection wall, it appeared as a thin vertical line of softer distortion cutting across the smooth surface of the chaotic sphere. It did not crack like a wound. It parted like fabric gently pulled aside.
Inside the chamber, no one spoke.
Elira zoomed in slowly.
"It's not destabilizing the shell," she whispered. "The integrity readings are steady."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "So it wants us to see it."
"Yes," Sarya said quietly.
Through the hybrid scar, she could feel the shift clearly. The darker core inside the shell had slowed its rotation. Its previous aggression had faded into something else.
Not surrender.
Attention.
The distortion field pulsed once, deep and heavy. The stabilizing band did not advance toward the seam. It held position, steady and watchful.
