The merged territories had stopped feeling like separate pieces weeks ago. Now they felt like one body with conflicting impulses. The three Heart Nodes pulsed at the center of it all. Central kept its balance, always calculating costs. Eastern dug in its heels, stubborn and closed off.
Western reached out constantly, hungry to pull more people into its fold. Their influences leaked into the districts under them, turning everyday decisions into grinding friction.
Atlas stood in the Central district hall, veins glowing faintly under his skin. The scarred arm itched constantly now, a direct line to the Nodes.
He rubbed it absently while district reps shouted over each other. Eastern districts had hoarded two full shipments of processed stone.
Western ones had expanded their Honesty Circles into mandatory daily sessions, leaving people drained and short-tempered. Central tried to mediate but only managed to annoy both sides.
