A confirmation pulse reached Didi from the sealed western archive while the guards stood beyond the foundation boundary. The inner corridor had closed, and no divine current had followed the body into the stone.
Didi returned to the throne room under her own authority. Grief remained in the tightness around her eyes, though her Shards turned toward the rising shell instead of the passage holding her brother.
She crossed the cleared floor in three measured steps and stopped beside Hajin's protected line. She checked the frozen royal remnant around her sword, then gave the sealed archive one final glance without asking anyone to reopen it.
"The archive has the body, and the shell has no claim on what the guards carried beyond the boundary."
Hajin tightened his grip on the Chain before he answered her. "Then keep the royal remnant away from the hostless core, and let the next movement belong to the battle in front of us."
