The Living Archive had grown another wing overnight. What used to be a quiet hall of stored memories now opened into a wide amphitheater that could seat hundreds.
The walls were alive with moving panels—each one a live feed from a different node. One showed the iron spires of Kael's training grounds. Another displayed the floating markets of a new coastal settlement.
Bridges and platforms shifted quietly when someone stood to speak, adjusting height and angle based on the volume of voices in the room. No one had designed it that way on purpose. It just happened.
Atlas sat in a simple chair at the center platform. He had made it clear this was not his stage alone. "We're here to set rules that work when I'm not around," he said at the start. "That means listening more than talking."
The first hour tested that promise.
