High above, Ethan watched the frantic harvest unfold with his breath held, the numbers in the corner of his vision climbing faster than they had in weeks.
[Faith Points: 134 → 172]
[Ding!]
[New Branch Unlocked: Integration]
[Description: Available through sustained cooperation across distinct, historically opposed populations. Grants access to blessings that ease communal tension and strengthen bonds forged through shared necessity.]
Ethan stared at the new branch, something loosening in his chest that had nothing to do with the saved harvest.
Not conquest, he thought. Not fear. Just people, choosing, again and again, in small, difficult ways to need each other more than they hate each other.
He didn't know if it would be enough, in the long run, against whatever fractured, dangerous politics still churned through the leaderless Leo-kin territories beyond the treeline.
