The blue light of the round core bounced against the dark granite walls of the broken cellar.
Haoran chuckled. The sound was low and dry, slipping from his throat with an easy, chilling amusement.
His knuckles, which had been frozen in surprise a moment ago, relaxed completely, letting his long fingers rest lightly on the smooth, glowing surface of the sphere.
The little sphere suddenly shuddered violently inside his hand, the blue flame inside its center flickered, shrinking down toward its core like a frightened animal pulling its head into its shell.
It did not have a human heart, but it had lived for billions of years, watching all kinds of men walk upon its soil.
It knew that sound. It was the sound a hunter made when he found a golden beast trapped in a pit, realizing that the prize in front of him was worth ten times more than the meat he had set out to catch.
Haoran looked down at the shaking light, his face as still as ice.
