Something inside that gem called to him so strongly that he barely even noticed the system's message. He stepped closer, climbed onto the soft bed, and reached out, his fingers stretching toward the glowing stone as he prepared to tear it free.
"Stop!"
The moment Gertrud realized what he was doing, she rushed at him on all fours, her face pale as a sheet.
Yet Max did not listen, not to her voice, not to her cry, not even to the raw terror flooding her eyes. He was too drawn in, too consumed by the unnatural pull of the gem.
"If you touch that, you will die!" She shrieked. "We will all die!" His death itself was not what terrified her most. What she feared was the ancient legend tied to that thing.
Max's fingers stopped only inches away. His gaze dropped to her, and only then did the trance loosen enough for the rest of the system message to force its way into his mind.
[Requires Ancestor-level Wind Dragon bloodline purity, or Progenitor-level purity of any dragon race...]
