The Soldier's Hymn

Callum reveals translations showing the world had many gods, the church monotheism is political strategy, and boneglass is a vast living network whose demons are a healing response to a wound. Ren admits his boneglass sensitivity and the fused demon encounter.

Ren takes command of twelve scouts, introducing guild-inspired survival-first philosophy and equipping each with alchemy kits. The first patrol achieves perfect return rate versus Jorel 72 percent.

Ren gives a selective debriefing to Intelligence Officer Kael, omitting the fused demon speech to avoid heresy charges. Hierophant Lethane confronts him about a 7-minute gap and promotes him to lead scout with expanded alchemy authorization.

Ren and Dael emerge from the underground and watch the cathedral burn from a hillside. They walk through the battlefield acknowledging the dead, then reach camp where Ren reports to Nella. He learns the found family all survived.

Ren, Jorel, and Dael confront a fused demon guardian in the boneglass heart chamber. The demon speaks to Ren, recognizing him as one who can hear boneglass. Jorel kills it using a severing technique.

The team reaches the cathedral's underground heart chamber — a vast natural space where boneglass columns rise thirty feet tall, pulsing with green-white light in sync with the heart's rhythm. Human bodies are fused within the columns, preserved and serene.

The infiltration team enters the cathedral's underground through a collapsed limestone opening. Ren navigates using boneglass proximity powder and thief's spatial instincts, choosing lateral passages to bypass demon patrols.

Pre-mission farewells the night before the cathedral infiltration. Ren visits each member of his found family: Nella gives a flat 'come back' with a hard grip that conveys what her branded voice cannot; Harsk gives him a forge-mark iron token; Fossick provides stolen officer rations and an...

Lethane approves Ren's plan to infiltrate the cathedral underground with a three-person team: Ren for navigation and alchemy, Captain Jorel for combat, Sister Dael for channeling. Ren presents detailed geological intelligence from his scouting.