Lucien allowed the Lithrens a single night to breathe.
By morning, he gathered the ones who mattered.
Riri came first, steady on her newly restored legs. Rurik followed with eyes still bright with sleepless purpose. The elders arrived last with their faces carved by decades of endurance.
They sat before Lucien like people deciding whether they would gamble their future.
Lucien spoke plainly.
"You won here because the true masters were absent," he said. "The Celestial overseers are not on this world. The Eternals who own the extraction schedule have not returned. That is why this was possible."
The elders exchanged looks. Rurik's fingers tightened around the edge of the table. Riri's jaw held firm but her eyes dimmed slightly.
Lucien continued.
"When they come back, they will notice the missing Alloykins. They will ask questions that cannot be answered without punishment."
One of the older elders spoke carefully.
"We believed the worst was behind us."
