The great river had not drowned Egypt; it had consecrated it. The Triad's stone ark had held. Deep within the sealed foundations, the air was cool and still.
Isabelle—The Mother—stood with Sebastian and Chloe. "The models were 99.8% accurate," Sebastian stated, observing the global deluge on his screens. "A total systemic reset."
"It's… clean," Chloe murmured, her Envy for the real world soothed by the sterile perfection of their survival.
Then Isabelle spoke, but her voice was layered with a second, colder tone, the echo of her merged Ikannuna passenger. "The reset was necessary. But the experiment requires new controls." She turned her star-flecked gaze to Chloe. "We are not alone in our foresight."
A flicker of surprise, then understanding. We.
"The Lawgiver," Sebastian said, his Lust for data piqued. "His location?"
"He is far to the east," Isabelle's dual-voice replied. "Across the mountains and deserts, in a land of a great, treacherous yellow river. He has found a different clay to mold. Not proud city-builders, but warring tribes, trapped in cycles of clan vengeance and honor."
A holographic image shimmered between them, summoned by the Ikannuna's knowledge—a vision of Julian standing before furious chieftains, holding a scroll of law.
"He does not build with brick, nor command armies. He builds with words. He is giving them the first poison of true law: the idea that justice can be blind, that a life can have a price in grain and labor, that order is more precious than passion. He is the other pillar. The first couple in this new, curated garden." A cruel smile touched Isabelle's lips, not entirely her own. "While you sought a Green Lady, the true powers were forging a chain of a different metal."