Kael'thar stood at the center of the great hall.
The Architect had barely spoken in three days. They had only watched. They watched the rebuilding, they watched new connections form, and they felt the bridge-tier network grow stronger with each one.
Their form was stable now. It no longer flickered between possibilities the way it used to. These days it only flickered when something reached them deeply enough to shake them.
Lord sat across from them. Uru stood at his side. Owen leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, watching.
"You've been quiet," Lord said.
"I have been thinking."
"About?"
"About what comes next."
Lord waited.
Kael'thar's form flickered, just once.
"You have built something remarkable. The hybrid zones. The bridge tier. The connections. I did not think it was possible."
"But you still have doubts."
"Yes."
"Tell me."
Kael'thar was silent for a long moment.
