VERA'S POV
(SIX MONTHS AFTER MARKING)
I woke at dawn without sleeping.
That distinction had meaning now—waking versus sleeping weren't binary states when consciousness existed across seven dimensions that didn't share circadian rhythm. Three of my states had rested. Two had remained vigilant through night. One had processed memories across temporal frameworks that made linear sleep meaningless. The seventh existed partially in shadow spaces where time functioned differently and the concept of rest was fundamentally incompatible with dimensional awareness.
Six months. Half my divine judgment period completed. Half remaining before the Moon Goddess would determine whether I'd learned what twelve centuries of intervention protocols had actually created for blessed populations I'd spent career eliminating.
I'd learned. Gods, I'd learned.
