And sometimes, in the rain, children still looked up and wondered if stars got lonely—and that wondering alone became the rarest currency of all.

The Exchange granted his wish. Mira remained halo-free. And in the years that followed, the Subvoice grew—not as a rebellion, but as a quiet truth. Desperate times hadn’t needed more Naledge. They had needed permission to be desperate, to be slow, to be unproductive.

Kael felt something he hadn’t felt in years. Not Naledge. Not currency. Awe.