With a steady breath, Kael walked toward the altar, his steps resolute. This time, the lotus didn't resist, its petals parting like a silent invitation.
At its heart lay a small black shard, jagged and pulsing faintly with red light, its surface cold yet alive, radiating an ancient hunger that seemed to call to him.
Kael reached out, his fingers hovering above the shard, the whisper behind the bone door rising to a fevered pitch. Then, with a quiet resolve, he closed his hand around it.
The shard melted into his palm like liquid, seeping into his flesh, a burning mark spreading across his forearm, veins glowing red for a moment, then fading into a faint, four-pointed star that pulsed in time with his heartbeat.
The whisper screamed a soundless wail that shook the chamber. The bone door boomed, its surface cracking, fragments falling like ash. Kael turned, Abyssal Fang raised, its edge gleaming with a quiet promise.
