The first section of Simon's heart softened beneath the Chaos Flame.
It was smaller than his fingernail.
He held his Will around it while the rest of the organ continued beating. With every contraction, the softened patch tried to stretch beyond the shape he allowed.
Pain drove through his chest, and Simon let it.
The Earth engravings were deepest here. He guided Earth-aspected Chaos through them, compressing it until the lines began hardening into narrow black ribs.
The flesh between those ribs changed.
Its red colour deepened. Its surface grew smooth, then gleamed like wet stone.
One portion of his Daemon Heart was no longer flesh.
The next heartbeat nearly broke it.
The unfinished edges pulled against the surrounding muscle, and a thin fracture appeared where the two met.
Simon immediately reduced the pressure. He kept the edges warm while allowing the centre to support itself.
The fracture closed.
He released a careful breath.
"One section. One affinity."
