A week had passed within Lucien's inner realm.
He exhaled slowly and opened his eyes.
Frustration lingered beneath his calm.
He had not reached the Ascendant Realm.
No matter how carefully he tried, no matter how precisely he aligned his intent, the result remained the same. His Law responded flawlessly to command, yet refused to condense. The moment he attempted to solidify it, the structure dissolved before it could stabilize.
Lucien rose from his seated position and looked toward the distant sky of his inner world.
"I am still stuck," he said quietly.
He reviewed the conditions once more.
The first requirement was Law Saturation.
The Law must no longer resist its wielder. There could be no delay between intent and manifestation, no distortion, and no friction between will and principle.
Lucien had already crossed this threshold.
The Law of Creation answered him immediately. It shaped matter, structure, and rule with precision. There was no instability in its response.
