They returned to the planet the gargoyles had claimed.
For a moment, none of them spoke.
The sky above was neither bright nor dim. It held a muted luster.
Lucien stood still.
His eyes, still faintly red, fixed on a single point in the distance.
The execution circle.
It was... complete.
Astraea noticed his gaze.
"That was the Regent's final gamble," she said. "He completed it. But he never owned its conclusion."
Lucien looked at her.
She continued, unhurried.
"The Serpentile shed the foundation it was written upon. The circle bloomed into a lie. Every rune remained true, yet none of them touched each other in the same layer. Kharzun struck the final stroke, and the world answered with silence."
Lucien exhaled softly.
"The Law of Molting," he said. "It is more than escape. It is structural sabotage."
Velun scratched the back of his head. "I just made it… not be where it thought it was."
Lucien let out a slow breath. The Law of Molting is more formidable than he thought.
