### 1. PROSE EVIDENCE
*   "The pulse came from everywhere at once—the throb of sap through xylem, the murmur of mud settling, the heartbeat of ten thousand creatures synchronized into one unbroken chord." (early) - *This effectively establishes the shift from individual consciousness to ecological synthesis through sensory, rhythmic language.*
*   "His eyes, once a human blue, had shifted into something reflective and pale, catching the light like a gator’s in the dark." (mid) - *This simile provides a concrete visual anchor for Jax’s physical arc completion from outsider to apex predator.*
*   "The battery—a toxic little heart—was encased in a protective layer of rapid-growth calcium, neutralized and rendered inert, to be slowly digested over the next century." (late) - *The personification of the battery as a "toxic heart" emphasizes the swamp’s biological dominance and its method of neutralizing technological threats.*
*   "Wait... no... no... no... no... no..." (late) - *This use of the "Imperfection signature" perfectly mirrors the character sheet's requirement for Lena's panic response during the final radio intrusion.*

### 2. CHARACTER VOICE AUDIT
**Lena Duval**
*   "Gator’s truth, we are awake." (Dialogue/Thought)
    *   **Signature Vocabulary/Tics:** YES. Uses "Gator’s truth" as required.
    *   **Avoid Forbidden Patterns:** YES. She does not apologize or say "I give up."
    *   **Emotional Register:** YES. Reflects her "Transcendent serenity" and "Apotheosis manifest" state.
*   "The cypress don't lie, cher—they are the only truth left." (Dialogue/Thought)
    *   **Signature Vocabulary/Tics:** YES. Uses the specific example line and Cajun endearment "cher."

**Jax Harlan**
*   "Close it." (Dialogue)
    *   **Signature Vocabulary/Tics:** YES. Reflects his "clipped" and "inhuman focus."
    *   **Avoid Forbidden Patterns:** YES.
    *   **Emotional Register:** YES. Matches his "soul-bound devotion" and "predatory reflexes."

**Remy LeBlanc**
*   "But the swamp don't fear fire, cher. It just waits for the ashes to cool so it can feed." (Dialogue)
    *   **Signature Vocabulary/Tics:** YES. Uses "cher" as a "nostalgic historian." 
    *   **Avoid Forbidden Patterns:** YES.
    *   **Emotional Register:** YES. Consistent with "Peaceful resignation."

**The Coven**
*   "*Service is the only feast... The Hum provides. The Hum takes. Gator’s truth.*" (Shared Thought)
    *   **Signature Vocabulary/Tics:** YES. Echoes Lena's "Gator's truth" tic, reinforcing the collective hive mind.

### 3. STRENGTHS TO PRESERVE
*   **Biological Integration Imagery:** The description of Aunt Maribelle ("Her torso was nestled into a bed of glowing moss, her lower half integrated into the vascular system of the Siphon") effectively concludes her arc from manipulative matriarch to selfless utility.
*   **The EM Dead Zone Execution:** The mechanical failure of the drone ("The machine faltered... its artificial intelligence unable to calculate the shifting gravity") reinforces the "Great Silence" and "Technological scrap" world-state rules established in the context.
*   **Voice Consistency:** The repetition of Lena's signature line ("The cypress don't lie, cher") across several POV moments binds the collective narrative together under her singular will.

### 4. MUST-FIX -- CONTINUITY
*   **ORIGINAL:** "Jax Harlan stood in the Shallows... He didn't blink. He didn't need to." (mid)
*   **PROBLEM:** While his physiology is "veil-adapted," the character sheet lists "fused with the cypress root system" only for Lena. Jax is the "guardian," but total biological cessation of blinking implies a level of stasis usually reserved for Remy or the Heart Tree.
*   **FIX:** Soften the inhumanity slightly to maintain his role as a mobile agent. "He rarely blinked now, his gaze fixed with the unremitting focus of a predator."

### 5. MUST-FIX -- CLARITY
*   **ORIGINAL:** "Five miles away... Jax Harlan stood in the Shallows." (mid)
*   **PROBLEM:** The transition from Lena’s "We" consciousness to Jax’s POV is slightly jarring because the narrative suggests Lena is everywhere, yet the prose moves into Jax’s internal thoughts in a way that feels like a standard Third Person Limited jump.
*   **FIX:** Smooth the transition by grounding it in Lena's perception first: "Through the fungal threads, she felt him—five miles away at the jagged edge... Jax Harlan stood in the Shallows."

### 6. OPTIONAL SUGGESTIONS
*   **Locket Detail:** (mid) "Jax closed his eyes, feeling the Hum..."
    *   **Suggestion:** Mentioning the absence of the silver locket or a final tactile sensation of it would bridge the "Transition" better, as the character sheet notes she uses it to hide emotions. Since her ego is dissolved, the locket should be notably discarded or grown over.
*   **Scent Recall:** (late) "Wait... no... no... no..."
    *   **Suggestion:** When Lena panics during the drone intrusion, reinforcing her signature scent ("magnolia and mud") would ground the reader in her physical transformation versus the cold "metallic tang" of the drone.

### 7. FORBIDDEN CHANGES / NON-GOALS
*   **Verbal Tics:** Do not remove "Gator's truth" or "cher." These are core voice signatures.
*   **The "We/I" distinction:** The shifting between the singular "Lena" and the collective "swamp" is an intentional reflection of her high Arc percentage (100% apotheosis) and must be preserved.
*   **Biological Horror Elements:** Descriptions of Maribelle as a "vital organ" are necessary to fulfill the "Arc: Redemption via utility" requirement and should not be softened.

### 8. VERDICT: PASS
**SCORE: 94**
**JUSTIFICATION:** The chapter flawlessly integrates complex RAG requirements, including specific dialogue lines, character arcs, and world-state rules (the Great Silence/Veil). The only minor improvements needed were for POV transition clarity and one small continuity nuance regarding Lex's predatory physiology.