Serena stood frozen in front of the *Crux Ignis*, her hand hovering just inches from the cross. The air around her seemed to pulse with energy, the same charged feeling she had experienced with the *Sangreal*—only this time, it was different. The power here felt ancient, heavy with purpose, and darker in a way she couldn't quite explain.
The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor, and within moments, Alexander appeared at the entrance to the circular chamber. His face was tense, his eyes locked on the ornate cross in the center of the room.
"Serena," he said, his voice low. "Step back."
She glanced over her shoulder at him but didn't move.
"Alexander, this is it. This has to be the *Crux Ignis*."
"I know," he replied, stepping closer.
"But we can't touch it. Not yet."
Serena let her hand drop to her side, taking a slow breath as she backed away from the pedestal.
"What did you find?"
Alexander frowned, his eyes scanning the chamber. "Rebecca found something in the monastery's archives—a record of the artifact. The monks who lived here weren't just protecting it. They were guarding it against something."
"What do you mean?" Serena asked, her pulse quickening.
"They believed the *Crux Ignis* had a dual nature—both a blessing and a curse. It was said to hold divine power, yes, but it could also corrupt those who sought to wield it. The monks hid it away after their abbot tried to use it to perform miracles, but something went horribly wrong."
Serena's heart sank.
"So, it's not just some ancient relic. It's dangerous."
Alexander nodded, his expression grim. "More dangerous than Adrian let on. If the monks were right, the *Crux Ignis* doesn't just have the power to heal or protect—it can twist the mind of anyone who tries to control it."
Serena felt a cold chill settle in her chest. Adrian had sent them here, knowing full well the risks, but he hadn't bothered to mention the dark side of the artifact. He'd framed it as just another relic, valuable for its history, but it was clear now that the *Crux Ignis* was something far more powerful—and far more perilous.
"And he didn't tell us," Serena muttered, shaking her head.
"Of course he didn't. He wants it for himself, no matter the cost."
"That's why we can't let him have it," Alexander said, his voice hard. "If the legends are true, and he manages to use the *Crux Ignis*, there's no telling what kind of damage he could do. We need to take this back to Rebecca and figure out a way to neutralize it—just like with the *Sangreal*."
Serena stared at the cross, a sinking feeling in her gut. They had come here to retrieve the artifact as part of a deal, but now they were faced with an impossible choice. If they handed it over to Adrian, they would be giving him an object of immense power, one that could easily be used for harm. But if they didn't, the *Sangreal* would remain unchecked, and its growing instability could pose an even greater threat.
"What do we do?" Serena asked quietly, her mind racing through the options.
"We take it," Alexander said firmly. "But we don't give it to Adrian. We'll tell him we couldn't find it, buy ourselves time to figure out how to deal with both the *Crux Ignis* and the *Sangreal*."
Serena hesitated, torn between the need to neutralize both artifacts and the risk of crossing Adrian. "He's not going to take that well," she warned. "And we still need his help with the *Sangreal*."
"I know," Alexander said, his voice softening. "But we can't let him have this. Not with everything we know now."
Serena took a deep breath, her thoughts swirling. This wasn't how they had planned for things to go, but Alexander was right. They couldn't hand the *Crux Ignis* over to Adrian, not when the risks were this high. But that didn't make the decision any easier.
"Okay," she said finally, her voice steadying. "We take it. But we need to be careful. We don't know how much time we have before Adrian starts asking questions."
Alexander gave her a nod of agreement, then moved toward the pedestal. "We'll need to be quick," he said, pulling a small cloth from his pack and carefully wrapping it around the cross. "If this thing reacts like the *Sangreal*, we don't want to touch it directly."
Serena stood by, her heart pounding as Alexander gingerly lifted the *Crux Ignis* from its resting place. The moment the artifact left the pedestal, the air in the chamber seemed to shift. A faint tremor passed through the floor, and Serena's eyes widened as the ancient stone walls groaned under the pressure.
"Alexander—" she started, but before she could finish, a loud crack echoed through the room.
The pedestal crumbled, and the floor beneath them began to shake violently.
"Move!" Alexander shouted, grabbing Serena's arm and pulling her toward the exit just as chunks of the ceiling began to fall. The chamber was collapsing around them, the monastery's fragile structure unable to withstand the disturbance caused by the removal of the artifact.
Serena stumbled through the debris, her heart pounding in her ears as they raced down the corridor, the walls shuddering with each step. Rebecca's voice crackled through their earpieces.
"What's happening?" she asked, her voice frantic. "The whole place is coming down!"
"We've got the artifact!" Alexander shouted into the earpiece. "Get ready—we're coming back to you now!"
The hallway seemed to stretch on forever as they sprinted through the collapsing monastery, but finally, they burst out into the main hall where Rebecca was waiting, her eyes wide with panic.
"Go! Go!" Serena yelled, pushing Rebecca toward the exit as more debris rained down from above. They barely made it out the front doors before the entire structure gave way, the old stone walls crumbling into a massive cloud of dust and rubble.
Gasping for breath, Serena stumbled to a stop outside, her legs trembling from the adrenaline. She turned to see the monastery now reduced to a pile of debris, the cross still cradled in Alexander's hands.
"That was close," Rebecca muttered, wiping sweat and dust from her brow. "Too close."
Alexander handed the wrapped artifact to Rebecca, his face serious. "We need to get out of here before anyone realizes what just happened. Adrian will send someone to check on us if we don't report in soon."
Serena nodded, still catching her breath. "We need a new plan. There's no way we can give this to him now. We need to keep both the *Crux Ignis* and the *Sangreal* hidden."
Rebecca glanced down at the cross, her expression troubled. "This thing… it's more powerful than we thought. If Adrian even suspects we have it…"
"He can't know," Alexander interrupted. "We keep him in the dark as long as we can."
Serena's heart pounded with the weight of what they had just done. They had come for one artifact, but now they were juggling two, both capable of incredible—and terrible—power. And they had made a powerful enemy in the process.
"Let's go," she said, her voice steady. "We're not safe here."
With the *Crux Ignis* in hand, they hurried back to the car, knowing that every second counted. Adrian would be coming for them, and when he did, they would need to be ready for whatever came next.
The real fight was just beginning.