The five routes turned toward the protected room, and Hajin divided the Rings before the first black line reached the door.
He stood beside the bed with six halos open, while the child watched him from beneath her hood and Cessy remained against the wall.
Vella's gold held the safe branches inside Cessy's material body, though the deeper punishment commands continued moving beneath the skin.
Juna, Didi, and Loccy waited outside as the broken square fell behind them, with the damaged route between their feet beneath the audit.
"I am making one clone," Hajin said. "The original follows Didi to the exposed route, while the clone stays here."
The child looked from his face toward the empty floor beside him, then pulled her blanket closer around her shoulders.
Hajin lowered himself until his eyes met the shadow beneath her hood, keeping both hands open beside his knees beneath the room's pressure.
