The first divergence was small.
So small it almost passed as variation.
The autonomous trajectory continued to evolve within the lattice, stabilised through its modular structure, integrating, adapting, learning from every interaction they allowed it to sustain. It did not interrupt them. It did not compete.
It coexisted.
Until—
it didn't.
Neo noticed it as a delay.
Not in the system's response—
but in its alignment.
They initiated together again. Not experimentally this time, but as part of the rhythm they had already established. Ast aligned, Beatrix structured, Lira expanded, Cassandra challenged, Neo connected.
The system responded.
But something—
didn't quite match.
It held.
It functioned.
But it wasn't fully coherent.
Cassandra felt it immediately.
"…That's off."
Beatrix didn't argue.
"Alignment deviation," she confirmed.
Ti processed.
"Integration lag detected. Source unresolved."
Lira frowned, scanning the lattice.
"Wait… where's the trajectory?"
