The wind carried the faint scent of ash and salt remnants of the battle that had scarred the Tashi plains.
Khael stood with his blade lowered, his breath steady but his eyes locked on the one man before him.
"Master Vince… the Shard of Flesh, where is it?"
Vince's single arm trembled slightly as he reached into his robe. His movements were slow, deliberate, carrying the weight of someone who had seen too much. Then from a hidden pouch, he revealed it.
A fragment.
Small. Pale. Beating faintly like a heart.
The very air seemed to bend around it the Shard of Flesh, one of the Seven Forbidden Organs. Its pulse synchronized with the rhythm of the world, making everyone feel their own heartbeat echo in their chests.
Vince looked at Khael and the others Juno, Andromeda, Matthew, Ceyla all eyes drawn to that faint, grotesque light.
"Here is the shard," Vince said quietly. His voice carried neither pride nor fear, only acceptance.
