diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index cd64d88f..f4867f53 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,17 @@
 
 All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file. See [standard-version](https://github.com/conventional-changelog/standard-version) for commit guidelines.
 
+### [10.4.0-rc.2](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraft/brainy/compare/v10.4.0-rc.1...v10.4.0-rc.2) (2026-08-25)
+
+- test(readiness): the report helper's clock freezes — two independently-built reports compared across a millisecond tick made the plant lane red (39b916a3)
+- feat(repair): a heal:'repair' verdict routes to the provider's own incremental repair() (553e0d97)
+- fix(storage): an unknown nested storage config can never silently land on the shared default root (ddd5e719)
+- docs(release): the 10.4.0 entry, the index-health concept doc, and the API surfaces — written from the tree, not the plan (8cced871)
+- fix(plugins): the silent-degrade doors close — a broken accelerator install can never read as absent (b9ba50fb)
+- feat(recovery): the catchup verdict is consumed; verb rows go live; the metadata rebuild goes online (18f172e0)
+- feat(health): the gate reads the named report — reads refuse loudly, never rebuild; open serves before it returns; the ceremony door (f8f64780)
+
+
 ### [10.4.0-rc.1](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraft/brainy/compare/v10.3.1...v10.4.0-rc.1) (2026-08-24)
 
 - ci(publish): the home dist-tag follows the version — a prerelease publishes under 'rc' and never moves 'latest' (a1376e4a)
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 8cee0038..b0120559 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "@soulcraft/brainy",
-  "version": "10.4.0-rc.1",
+  "version": "10.4.0-rc.2",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "@soulcraft/brainy",
-      "version": "10.4.0-rc.1",
+      "version": "10.4.0-rc.2",
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
         "@msgpack/msgpack": "^3.1.2",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index ef803c11..6bc4207c 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@soulcraft/brainy",
-  "version": "10.4.0-rc.1",
+  "version": "10.4.0-rc.2",
   "description": "Universal Knowledge Protocol™ - World's first Triple Intelligence database unifying vector, graph, and document search in one API. Stage 3 CANONICAL: 42 nouns × 127 verbs covering 96-97% of all human knowledge.",
   "main": "dist/index.js",
   "module": "dist/index.js",