Divine energy slid out of Lucien in a slow breath, and touched the earth as gently as a fingertip testing water.
The ground answered.
Lines surfaced beneath the ruined field. It was faint at first then it sharpened into a vast, interlocked lattice. Circles within circles. Runes nested inside spirals. A matrix so intricate it looked less like writing and more like the skeleton of a thought.
The Covenant-Breaker's eyes narrowed.
The goblin mage stiffened as if he had smelled something impossible.
Lucien's smile did not reach his blood-red eyes.
He had not used Dominion Circles. He had not used Phantom Ink.
Those methods were goblin skills. The moment he traced the first stroke, their mage would have tasted it and interrupted.
Instead, Lucien had carved the formation through a different skill.
Imprint Manifestation.
He felt the system's warning echo again.
[Ting.]
