The next three days blurred together like watercolors in rain. I buried myself in Elsa's ancient notes until those cryptic symbols danced behind my eyelids. The crystal kept calling to me, a siren song that made my skin crawl and my soul ache.
That damn key became my entire world. Bread and water kept me alive. Sleep came in twenty-minute chunks between study sessions that left my brain feeling like scrambled eggs. The magical knowledge seeping into my consciousness? Pure poison.
The activation ritual was a nightmare wrapped in complexity. Precise timing. Specific incantations that made my tongue feel heavy just reading them. Personal sacrifice that turned my stomach when I understood what the ancient texts demanded.
"Blood magic always demands payment," Elsa had warned during one of ou
