Zara called every surviving elder to the assembly hall.
The room still carried cracks from the broken register.
Elder Funmilayo came first.
Elder Adekunle followed.
Others arrived slowly—some ashamed, some angry, some afraid.
Then Zara entered.
Portrait of a Lady moved ahead of her.
But Amouage Guidance lived beneath it now.
The elders noticed.
Several turned toward the door, perhaps expecting Folake to appear behind her.
She did not.
Adisa stood beside Zara.
Gris Charnel was steady again—fig, black tea and warm wood. The scent no longer felt secretive.
Kofi remained near the maps.
Amara sat at the front with Dr. Obi. Babycat rested close to her skin, soft vanilla over the sharp edge of coming visions.
Zara stood where the register had once been.
She told them the full truth.
The stolen destinies.
Taiwo.
The Hollow One.
The gates opening across the world.
“The old Covenant is over,” she said. “It failed the people it claimed to protect.”
Elder Adekunle lowered his head.
“What do you want from us?”
“Not obedience. Courage.”
An elder from Abuja stood.
“You expect us to destroy the very system that protects our chapters?”
Dr. Obi answered before Zara could.
“The system is what opened the Gates.”
Another elder shook his head.
“Without the registers, there will be no order.”
Kofi placed both hands on the table.
“I lost everything the Covenant used to measure me,” he said. “I am still standing.”
The elder looked away.
Zara stepped closer.
The rose around her deepened.
Guidance held beneath it.
“We mistook classification for identity. Rank for worth. Control for protection.”
She ordered every chapter to destroy its register before Taiwo could use it.
Several elders refused.
Elder Funmilayo stood beside Zara.
“Then you stand with Taiwo.”
The room changed.
One by one, the elders agreed.
Kofi spread maps and contact lists across the table.
“I cannot fight as an Elemental.”
“You can still fight,” Zara replied.
Babycat rose sharply.
Amara pointed to seven marked locations.
“These are the Gates Taiwo will try to open first.”
Dr. Obi looked at the elders.
“Every chapter must move at the same time.”
Adisa reached for Zara’s hand.
Gris Charnel met Portrait of a Lady between them.
For the first time, ranked and unranked Covenant members stood in the same room as equals.
Zara placed fresh Portrait of a Lady on her wrists.
Guidance rose with it.
“We close every Gate tonight.”
No one argued.