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Chapter 81: Eli

last update publish date: 2026-05-07 03:58:59

Damian's POV

We talked to Eli for forty minutes.

He was seventeen, precise, and had the particular self-sufficiency of someone who had learned early that depending on systems was less reliable than depending on himself. He asked good questions and listened to the answers without interrupting and only pushed back when something did not add up, which happened twice and both times he was correct.

By the end of it the shape of him was clear enough that Noah had started drawing without realizing it
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