That night, I sat with Davina on the porch of the safehouse.
Hope was inside, sleeping, exhausted from the confrontation. The Bayou was quiet—too quiet, as if nature itself was holding its breath.
"You're going to do it," Davina said. "Stage 5. The final evolution."
"I might have to."
"And what happens to us? To Hope? To me?"
I took her hand. "I don't know. Oracle said I might have to leave. That this reality can't contain what I'll become."
"Then don't do it."
"If I don't, the Collective will come back. Stronger. And I won't be strong enough to stop them."
Davina was quiet for a long moment. Then: "There has to be another way. There's always another way."
"Oracle said balance was possible. A way to exist between forms. To hold the power without losing connection."
"Can you find it?"
I looked at the crystal shard, still warm in my pocket. At the woman beside me, who'd painted herself free and then painted a future for all of us. At the child inside, who'd refused the Collective's offer because she believed in something better.
"I can try."
[DIMENSIONAL BALANCE: ATTEMPTING]
[Stage 5 evolution: INITIATING]
[Process: UNCONVENTIONAL]
[Success chance: UNKNOWN]
[Recommendation: Hold onto what matters]
I closed my eyes and let go.
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