The severed line remained above the hall after Vella cut it from the three petitioners, and its dark center still pointed east.
Hajin watched the line pull toward the outer wall and thought, 'It was cut from the people,' resting his hand against the doorframe, 'but not from its sender.'
Aria sealed the petition records while Vella stayed beside the ferry worker, who remembered bells, ropes, and shore without remembering the missing interval.
Taren moved the public board inside and told the remaining workers, "The guild keeps receiving petitions, but nobody leaves the gate alone until Juna confirms the road is clear."
Marrick placed one hand on the ledger and replied, "That's a temporary safety order, not permission to turn the hall into a prison."
The Watcher sat outside with Ash against her side, while Didi kept the Crown seal wrapped and Elina marked the petition as uncertain.
