In the center of the dark nest, Ethan's Amethyst Eyes locked onto a sphere of absolute obsidian. It didn't reflect the dim violet glow of his pupils; it seemed to pull the very air into its center. As his fingers brushed the surface, the viscous, light-eating smog that filled the cavern vanished—violently sucked into the orb.
"Ethan, wait!" Anne shouted, her voice thin in the sudden vacuum.
The moment his skin made contact, the orb superheated. Ethan's eyes flew wide as a searing, agonizing heat surged up his arm. He tried to recoil, to fling the object away, but it was fused to his palm as if part of his own body. A guttural scream ripped from his throat.
Violent arcs of amethyst lightning erupted from his skin, lashing out at the cavern walls. His body began to swell, his muscles bulging under the strain of a power that felt utterly untamed. The black smog didn't just disappear; it began to crawl up his limbs like a living parasite, veiling him in a shroud of darkness.
