The murmur of the villagers outside the inn blended with the crackle of the hearth to create an almost serene atmosphere. But within the confines of the small room, the weight of impending danger loomed heavily over the group.
Kaelith sat down at the table, her thin fingers tracing the edge of the shard as if trying to draw meaning from its faint pulsations. The black fragment shimmered intermittently, an unnatural glow that seemed to flicker in response to her presence.
Do you think it's alive?" Aris broke the silence, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Her sharp eyes flickered between Kaelith and the shard, wariness etched across her face.
Kaelith didn't even look up. "Alive might not be a good word for it, exactly. It's more. reactive. The Abyss doesn't create life in the way we think of it. But its energy binds, twists, and corrupts. This shard would probably be some kind of sentient remnant, some part of the process.
