Lucien stood up slowly inside the Origin Core Shrine.
He rolled his shoulders.
Living Creation moved once through his flesh, and the stiffness vanished before it could properly become an inconvenience.
He exhaled.
Then the reports arrived.
The recorders inside the shrine had already prepared summaries.
The Grace System had collected priority messages.
The communication devices had sorted direct reports from branch heads, project leaders, and field supervisors.
Lucien looked at the layers of information unfolding before him and smiled faintly.
He had been gone from the world for a while.
And while he had progressed, Lootwell had progressed too.
Lucien sat down again.
•••
The first report came from the recorders.
The five continents had remained mostly peaceful during his meditation.
Mostly.
That word did a great deal of work.
Conflicts had still occurred.
Small disputes.
Trade arguments.
Route priority complaints.
