executeCompaction added a transcript Spacer(1) the handoff path never adds; it leaked as an orphan blank line on cancelled/failed compaction (only the OK branch cleared it via rebuildChatFromMessages). Removed it, and on the OK branch the loader is stopped + statusContainer cleared before the rebuild so the live loader no longer composites over the reconciled transcript. The finally block stays as the idempotent cancel/fail safety net.
metaphorics