Lucien glanced at Marie once more, then hesitated.
She was still working, completely absorbed. Page after page formed without pause.
Finally, he made his decision.
Lucien withdrew from the physical world and entered his divine energy core.
The world shifted. He descended into his inner realm.
The landscape had changed subtly since his last visit. Power flowed more smoothly now, but there was also… pressure. A presence that bent the space around it without effort.
And then he saw it.
The Abyssal Monster.
It was motionless.
A mass of absolute blackness, folded in on itself like a collapsed star at rest. It did not acknowledge Lucien's arrival. It did not react in the slightest.
It was... sleeping.
Lucien did not move closer.
Instinct screamed the warning before reason could catch up. Disturbing it would be the worst possible choice.
There was no hostility radiating from it. No hunger. No malice.
If anything…
It felt content.
As though it found this place acceptable.
