Before Lucien rested, he checked the Black Mass again.
The barrier had withdrawn farther.
The exposed portion of the supercontinent looked larger than it had that afternoon.
Several Monster Emperor signatures had shifted toward the edges.
Others remained deeper inside.
No Primordial Incarnation had appeared.
That absence bothered Lucien.
The restraint bothered him even more.
If the corrupted monsters were desperate to escape, they should have already rushed outward.
But they had not.
If they were confused by the retreating barrier, some disorder should have been visible.
But there was none.
They were waiting for something.
Perhaps the transformation had not finished.
Perhaps the Black Mass itself had not completed whatever change Aurelia had foreseen.
Perhaps the Primordial Incarnations were waiting deeper inside.
Lucien refused to choose one explanation simply because he disliked uncertainty.
