She donned fresh nitrile gloves. Using a micro-syringe, she mixed the CM352 with a deaerated deionized water solution. The liquid was cold, viscous, and smelled faintly of ozone.

She logged her report: “CM352 applied at 2% concentration. Chloride extraction rate: 94%. Long-term stability: Unknown. But for today—the blade sleeps.”

“You used the CM352,” he said.

Elara leaned back. The sword still looked like a wreck. But her handheld resistivity meter told a different story. The corrosion potential had shifted from -650 mV (active corrosion) to +120 mV (passive). The metal was, for the first time in two millennia, quiet .

Javier arrived with coffee at 8:00 AM. He looked at the sword, then at her exhausted, smiling face.