The public channels did not immediately cheer.
For several breaths, they simply watched.
The neutral sect's recording stone had transmitted everything through the public channels.
The world had heard rumors about Lootwell.
It had seen miracles.
It had seen wealth, roads, branches, shrines, communication devices, and public systems.
But many had never truly seen how Lootwell truly fought.
Now they had.
It was not clean heroism.
It was not ancient seniority.
It was not one sword against one sword beneath a dramatic moon.
It was coordination, testing, and information.
A trap that changed shape after learning the enemy's hands.
Someone in the public channel finally wrote:
[They could have taken all Origin Core fragments whenever they wanted.]
No one answered at first.
Then the sentence spread.
Because everyone had seen it.
Lucien had taken the fragment from a Keeper's hands in the middle of battle.
