Chapter 64 (As a human being)

Raquella confronts Valya for refusing to attend a reception welcoming Dorotea and the Salusan faction, insisting reconciliation occur before she dies. Valya denounces Dorotea as a traitor, while Raquella warns that only unity can preserve the Sisterhood. The tense gathering begins, with factions quietly aligning behind Valya and Dorotea.

At table, Raquella invokes history and longevity to argue for a long-view unity. Valya and Dorotea trade accusations—computers versus betrayal—until Raquella ends the exchange and departs, initiating a desperate plan. She writes farewell notes declaring no successor and walks alone to the edge of Laojin Cliff to force a decisive response.

As dawn nears, Sisters from both factions rush to the cliff, led by Valya and Dorotea. Both promise to work together to heal the rift. Valya addresses Raquella with a coarse-edged, commanding tone that immobilizes Raquella and compels her to step back—an emergent Voice-like power Raquella recognizes and resists before pausing.

Dorotea adds her pledge and truthsense, and Valya swears an end to their conflict. Hearing her ancestral chorus in Other Memory urging life, Raquella turns from the precipice. She accepts their vows, steps into both women’s embrace, and secures a fragile but vital rapprochement for the Sisterhood.