Every monster in the training fields inhaled at once.
The Ancient Beasts' expressions changed.
Astraea's eyes glowed with stormlight.
The drop of blood pulsed.
Inside it, Lucien could feel too many things.
The faint echo of all the laws he had touched.
The deeper pressure of his Eternal body.
And beneath it all, the strange, terrifying openness of the Omnigenesis Vessel. A body that could become a beginning for many paths.
The golden drop finally fell.
It touched the innermost blood pool.
The pool did not splash.
It bloomed.
Gold spread through red essence in branching lines, like roots made of light.
The formations around the pool flared.
Astraea moved instantly.
Her hands rose, and a storm formed around the pool to slow the spread.
The other Ancient Beasts acted as well, each one adding restraint, pressure, or rhythm.
For several breaths, the entire small world felt as if it was holding its breath.
Then the pool stabilized.
The red-gold liquid became deeper.
