Seliza's master smith stood staring at the table, his thick hands hovering over the black core Hajin had pulled from the anomaly.
The man was built like a stone pillar, carrying a hammer meant for cracking vaults, but he refused to touch the loot. The core sat perfectly still on the table, radiating a pressure that made the air in the registry feel thin.
"I cannot forge this," the smith said, wiping sweat from his forehead despite the morning chill, "my forge would melt before the core even grew warm."
"It is an Apex core," Hajin said, leaning against the doorframe, "your house works with anomaly materials all the time."
"We work with anomaly shells and lesser cores," the smith corrected, taking a slow step back from the table, "that thing is pulling the ambient mana out of the room just by existing. If I strike it, it will shatter my hammer and probably take my arm with it."
