Chapter 28 · Rust and Relic - Chapter 28: Don't Pick It Up

"Don't touch it."

Liv's voice cut through the ringing in my ears. I was already halfway to the crack in the stone floor, hand stretched out. The obsidian shard in my other hand was burning hot enough to blister skin.

"I mean it, Aiden." She grabbed my shoulder and yanked me back a step. "Look at it."

The crack was glowing. Not like embers. Like someone had poured molten metal into the stone and it was trying to claw its way back out. The air above it shimmered, and I could feel the heat from three feet away.

"That's the fourth shard," I said.

"I know what it is."

"Then you know I need it."

"You need to get us out of here first." She pointed at the survivors huddled against the far wall. Eight of them. Maybe nine. Hard to count when they were all covered in ash and blood. "They can't run if you open that thing."

I looked at the crack again. The progress bar in my vision was flashing red. New quest marker, pulsing like a heartbeat. Fourth shard detected. Retrieve to unlock Phase Two.

Phase Two.