Lucien let out a slow breath.
The last memory bubble faded into nothing above the table, and with it, the room finally returned to itself.
He leaned back slightly, but his thoughts did not settle with the silence.
In truth, he was dissatisfied with that battle.
He could have done more.
The others might see impossibility. But Lucien saw the gaps, the unused options, and the paths he chose not to take.
It was not hesitation.
It was restraint.
He had other pieces he could have used.
He simply did not dare.
Slime Beast Mode was one of them.
The Incarnations were far too wary of slimes. That was why they had gone so far as to erase the species from the Big World.
Then there was the Origin Core Fragment.
Using it openly would have guaranteed attention. And if the Incarnations managed to take it from him, the result would not have been his loss alone.
Lucien then shook his head.
There was no use replaying it further.
He had returned.
That alone decided what mattered next.
