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The tunnel to the egg chamber felt hotter than before, or maybe that was his blood. The light rose soft from the walls. The air smelled like clean water and mineral heat and something sweeter beneath that had no name yet. The pool in the center glowed the color of a deep bruise under starlight. Seven cradles ringed it, each one silk and stone, each one heavy with eggs that pulsed faintly, like a field of slow, sleeping hearts.
Kai stood at the lip and set Miryam on a rolled cloak where the warmth would not melt her, then kneeled and touched his palms together and pressed his thumbs to his sternum. He let the room's hum climb into him so the first words would not shake. When he opened the small, private road inside, he did it with a care he didn't give enemies.
"How do I use it?" he asked without moving his mouth. "Tell me the steps. Clean and short."
The answer came cool and exact.
[Ding! Kin Egg Devourer usage protocol:
