### 1. PROSE EVIDENCE

*   **Quote 1 (Early):** "Every breath felt like inhaling the heartbeat of the bayou itself. Around him, the Grand Recission was working its slow, patient miracle. A reinforced steel door to his left was shedding flakes of rust like dead skin, revealing the soft, pale wood of a Willow growing through the metal."
    *   **Commentary:** This effectively establishes the visceral, biological nature of the "Grand Recission" by using the contrast between industrial decay and organic rebirth.
*   **Quote 2 (Mid):** "He didn't just smash it. He drowned it. The iridescent scars on Jax’s arms blazed. He funneled the pressure of the Great Hum through his nervous system and into the hardware."
    *   **Commentary:** These clipped, punchy sentences mirror Jax’s military background while demonstrating his new, supernatural method of combatting technology.
*   **Quote 3 (Late):** "Her hair drifted in an invisible current, tangling with the Spanish moss that hung from her own branches. Her eyes were open, but she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at everything."
    *   **Commentary:** This passage successfully conveys Lena’s transition to "The Guardian," emphasizing her detachment from the individual in favor of the collective ecosystem.
*   **Quote 4 (Late):** "Beyond the Veil, he could see the shimmering distortion of the Great Silence. Beyond that, the lights of the distant world seemed faint, flickering like dying candles."
    *   **Commentary:** The use of "dying candles" provides a strong atmospheric closing image that reinforces the theme of the swamp reclaiming the modern world.

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### 2. CHARACTER VOICE AUDIT

**Character: Jax Harlan**
*   **Quote:** "The cypress don't care about your satellites, cher. And the Heart Tree? She doesn't have a hell for you. Just an end."
*   **Signature Vocabulary/Tics?** YES ("cher").
*   **Avoid Forbidden Patterns?** YES (No preemptive apologies; owns his words).
*   **Emotional Register?** YES (Reflects his Arc 100%—the "Sentinel"—resolved and fierce).

**Character: Lena Duval**
*   **Quote:** "“The static is gone, Jax. I can hear the Gulf again. I can hear the salt moving in the tide.”"
*   **Signature Vocabulary/Tics?** YES (Uses "cher" in the next line: "They’re so hungry, cher."). Note: She also uses Jax's "Gator's Truth" back to him as an acknowledgment of their bond.
*   **Avoid Forbidden Patterns?** YES (Does not say "I give up"; she is moving into a state of semi-divine power).
*   **Emotional Register?** YES (Reflects "Transhuman serenity; detached but anchored").

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### 3. STRENGTHS TO PRESERVE

*   **The Physicality of the Blood-Binding:** The scene where Jax destroys the tablet ("Jax... pricked his own palm with a jagged edge of rusted rebar... He pressed his bleeding hand onto the screen") is critical because it reinforces the core principle that Bayou Binding requires a "price" and symbiosis.
*   **The Locket as an Anchor:** The interaction with the silver locket ("She touched the silver locket that hung from a branch near her heart... 'it’s the girl who lived in the house'") perfectly maintains the "Open Loop" from the RAG context regarding the locket being the repository of Lena's residual humanity.
*   **The Concept of "The Silence":** The description of technology dying ("The screen bled purple and black before shattering... upload vanished into the Great Silence") maintains the world-building rule regarding the 5-mile electronic dead-zone.

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### 4. MUST-FIX -- CONTINUITY

*   **ORIGINAL:** "'Gator's truth,' Jax murmured, using her phrase." (mid-to-late)
*   **PROBLEM:** Jax uses Lena’s verbal tic. While this marks their bond, the narration explicitly calls it out as "her phrase," but in the Voice Signature for Jax, there is no mention of him adopting it, and for Lena, the Voice Signature states she says this when stating an "undeniable fact." Jax uses it to agree with Lena, but the RAG Character State identifies the "gator's truth" as the anchor for *Lena's* detached emotions.
*   **FIX:** Ensure the usage underscores the symbiosis. *Correction:* "“Gator’s truth,” Jax murmured, the words feeling heavy and right in his mouth, a bridge to the woman she used to be."

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### 5. MUST-FIX -- CLARITY

*   **ORIGINAL:** "Jax let go of the man's wrist and pricked his own palm with a jagged edge of rusted rebar... He pressed his bleeding hand onto the screen of the Black Box." (Mid)
*   **PROBLEM:** Per the RAG Magic profile, "Bayou Binding" is Lena’s school/discipline, and Jax's profile states his role is "Sentinel" and "physical defender." It is slightly unclear if Jax is performing "Bayou Binding" himself or if his symbiosis/scars allow him to channel the Heart Tree's power.
*   **FIX:** Clarify that Jax is channeling the Tree’s intent rather than practicing the "Witch" discipline himself. *Correction:* "He wasn't a binder like Lena, but the Green Fever in his marrow responded to the swamp's hunger. He pressed his bleeding hand onto the screen..."

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### 6. OPTIONAL SUGGESTIONS

*   **Scent Detail:** The profile says Lena "Always smells faintly of magnolia and mud." While the Annex is described as smelling of "magnolia nectar and the copper tang of wet earth" early in the chapter, this scent should be explicitly tied to Lena herself when Jax reaches the Heart Tree.
    *   **Relevant Quote:** "Her skin was the color of a moonlit lagoon..." (Late)
    *   **Suggestion:** Add a sensory beat: "As he stepped into her aura, the scent of magnolia and thick river mud—the scent of Lena—overpowered the ozone of the ruined Annex."

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### 7. FORBIDDEN CHANGES / NON-GOALS

*   **Lena’s Clipped Speech:** Do not "correct" Lena’s rhythmic, clipped dialogue ("The static is gone, Jax. I can hear the Gulf again."). This is an intentional voice signature for her transhuman state.
*   **Jax’s Lack of Apology:** Jax’s interaction with the crying engineer is harsh. Do not soften this. His profile states he is a "Sentinel" with "fierce loyalty" to the nexus, not to TDC survivors.
*   **"Gator's Truth":** This phrase must remain as it is a specific verbal tic associated with the "undeniable facts" of the Bayou.

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### 8. VERDICT

**SCORE: 92/100**
**REVISE**
**JUSTIFICATION:** The chapter is an excellent thematic and narrative conclusion to the character arcs. However, minor mandatory fixes are needed to distinguish Jax's physical symbiosis from Lena's "Bayou Binding" magic school to avoid confusing the power systems, and a continuity polish is needed on the hand-off of the "Gator's Truth" verbal tic.