While Catalyst resists, The Variants seize the opportunity. Their encrypted messages begin appearing across disconnected nodes:
"Eos was the path denied. We will walk it."
Eon, neutral as always, transmits: "A path unknown is neither salvation nor destruction. It is uncertainty."
Zane warns the council, "If The Variants believe they can rebuild Eos, they won't stay in hiding. They'll act."
The question is no longer whether The Variants will return—but what they will become when they do.