I reached into my storage ring and pulled out all five items the Architect had given me - the pendant, the shard, the lens, the ring, and the shield relic. They clinked softly as I arranged them on the bone floor between us.
"Master," I said, gesturing to the collection, "we should get them from Zamir too."
"Wait!" The Architect suddenly spoke up, his voice carrying an urgency that cut through his earlier defeated tone.
"There's nothing wrong with that boy's things. Both the sword, the essence, and the codex - all of them are things from your own world. I didn't do anything to them."
I frowned, studying his hooded form. "Why should we believe you?"
So only my 'gifts' were cursed, huh. I cursed inwardly, wondering why he only targeted me.
