Districts: a third progression layer. Every two ascensions opens a slot for a new district, and its specialization is chosen once and for good: an industrial park raises income, a transit hub shortens cycles, an exchange yields more cores per prestige. District levels have no ceiling, so shards always have somewhere to go. Plus the big balance fix: shard multipliers now count every shard you have ever earned instead of the ones still in your hand, so shopping no longer costs you power.