The caravan was already loading crates when an interruption came.Two figures appeared at the library gates—messengers from Medellín, their clothes marked with flame insignias. They carried a bundle wrapped in crimson cloth.Sophia unwrapped it carefully. Inside lay a fragment of tile, still pulsing
Chapter 188: Splinters of the CovenantNews of Córdoba spread faster than anyone in EmberRoots could control.Within days, EmberNet feeds were flooded with streams from the plaza: Ignacio’s face contorted in rage as the Monument broke free of his grip, Sophia’s words ringing across the crowd, the mo
“The only way to break control is to flood it,” Sophia said. “We need raw human resonance—unprogrammed, untamed. Stories, laughter, even grief—but freely given.”Elise hesitated. “And if the Monument resists? If it collapses like Maracay nearly did?”Sophia met her eyes. “Then at least it falls free
Chapter 180: The Covenant TestedThe vow of Maracay rippled outward faster than Sophia or anyone else in EmberRoots could have imagined.By the time the caravan reached Caracas, messages from across the continent were already pouring in. In Quito, neighbors gathered in candlelit plazas to recite the
She jerked back, gasping. Amina caught her arm. “What did you hear?”“They know,” Sophia whispered. “The echoes know. They want release—even if it destroys the Monument.”Raven’s eyes darkened. “If it collapses here, the resonance wave could spread through every city tied into the lattice. It won’t
Chapter 179: Fractures in the LatticeThe warning came at dawn.Raven’s tablet pulsed crimson as data from Maracay surged across EmberNet. Lines of resonance that had been steady just hours before now spiked into violent peaks, jagged as broken glass. He shoved the device into Sophia’s hands.“It’s