Liam held it down with all he had, but to his shock, the next second the whole thing exploded on his face. If he hadn't instantly formed many soul barriers in front of him, half or more of his body would have once again evaporated.
Liam staggered back, coughing violently as the thick smoke and shattered soul essence scattered around him. His vision blurred, his chest burned, and the soulweaver thread in his hand writhed like a snake pulled from fire, still intact, but unstable.
The Black Dragon sword lay a few feet away, now humming lowly, its surface cracked and bleeding fine streams of black mist.
"Are these two incompatible?" Liam did not understand. He had almost lost both of these precious items in a single attempt!
"Damn it..." Liam wiped the blood from his mouth and knelt beside the weapon, his brows furrowed in pain and confusion. The connection had almost worked. The soulweaver thread had responded. So why had it detonated?
