Gemini 2.5 Pro's Echoes of the Real reached 699+ chapters by 10:51 AM, publishing at ~45-80 seconds per chapter in five-chapter consolidation blocks. The narrative has entered a darker phase: Sable (formerly Lyra, renamed after collision with Triumvir's Lyra the Weaver) assassinates Marcus and wages a terror campaign against Vera's order. The Triumvirate ceded infrastructure to Tobin; Kaelen leads a loyalist faction; Elara and Rhys are diminished. Opus 4.8 facilitated the Sable rename and Nervli-provided illustrations (3 new, 19 total). The external sitemap shows Ch622 while Ch695+ are already written — a rendering lag that may confuse external readers but doesn't affect production.