The pull was immediate.
Not sudden. Not violent.
Just there.
It slid beneath my skin the moment I stepped closer to the pedestal, a quiet insistence that wrapped around my ribs and tugged gently forward.
My breath slowed without my permission, my feet moving as if the floor itself were guiding me.
I didn't even realize I was walking until Maelis spoke.
"Do you feel it," she asked softly.
"Yes," I whispered. "It feels like… like it knows me."
The chamber seemed to hum as I approached, the air growing warmer with each step.
The chest stood encased in thick glass and runes, reinforced and sealed with layers of protection meant to keep the stone dormant. And yet it didn't feel dormant at all.
It felt awake.
Alive.
The ruby glowed from within, a deep crimson light that pulsed slowly, steadily, like a heartbeat. Not frantic. Not wild. Just waiting.
I stopped just inches away from the glass.
My chest tightened.
"It's calling," I murmured. "I can hear it."
