The Dashboard’s light dimmed. The final truth, however, remained etched in her mind. The Dashboard didn’t lie. But it also didn't warn you that the person standing beside you, swearing by its wisdom, was the one sharpening the knife.

Today, Elara had her own question. A silent, unauthorized one.

Her mind raced. The food shipments. The drugs. It wasn’t an external attack. It was a slow, methodical erosion of the Council’s ability to think clearly. A directed gaslighting campaign. And the messenger, the ‘Kerykeion,’ was the one delivering the false gospels.

Elara stumbled back, her hand ripping from the surface. Kael? Her mentor? The man who brought her tea when she worked late? The man who insisted the Dashboard was infallible?