The child stopped at the clinic threshold when the frozen foundation block gave its first faint pulse across the courtyard.
Beneath Princess Didi's layer of sapphire frost, the unfinished crimson characters of the imperial audit seal pulsed with persistent malice.
Townspeople and wounded soldiers gathered near the edge of the courtyard, watching the glowing granite block with anxious, hushed murmurs.
Tessa stood beside the communal kitchen doorway with her apron dusted in flour, her hands clasped in quiet prayer for the young refugee.
Without warning, the stone resonated with an acoustic hum that echoed across the open square with mechanical authority.
"Registered subject remains under royal recovery," a harsh, disembodied voice declared directly from the rock.
"Subject Twelve, respond to administrative summons and accept assigned recovery protocols immediately!"
