Crumbling dirt slipped through Leo's fingers, leaving a greasy, dark stain on his palm. Yesterday, these sweet potato patches were vibrant green, thriving under the protective aura of the sanctuary. Now, they looked like the charred remains of a forest fire, brittle and dead. Sooty, pitch-black grains clung to his skin, resisting his attempts to brush them off. It wasn't normal dirt; it felt cold, almost hungry, leaching the natural warmth from his fingertips with every second of contact. A sharp, dry cough echoed from the nearby play area, breaking the morning silence and shattering his concentration. Leo spun around, his chest tightening as he saw the children playing near the edge of the main agricultural plot. Seven-year-old Toby stood near the edge of the patch, wiping his nose with a hand coated in that same dark grime. Dark, oily residue smeared the boy’s palms, staining his young skin a sickly, bruised purple that looked like deep internal bleeding. "Don't touch that, Toby," Leo said, his voice dropping to a tense, urgent whisper. He rushed over, grabbing a clean linen rag from his utility belt. "It's itchy, Leo," the boy mumbled, rubbing his eyes with his sleeve, leaving a faint streak of black dust on his cheek. Kneeling in front of the child, Leo gently wiped the boy's hands, but the purple tint underneath didn't fade. His heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird, panic clawing at his throat. "Go back to the dining hall, Toby," Leo instructed, keeping his voice steady despite the cold sweat breaking out on his neck. "Tell Maya to wash your hands with the filtered well water. Do not touch any of the soil on your way there." Watching the boy run off, Leo turned back to the center of the garden, his jaw tightening into a hard line. Resting on a stone pedestal was the Aegis Stone. He had fished it from the Coalition's private lake, thinking it was a miracle artifact that would secure the sanctuary's defense forever. But his system interface now pulsed with a violent, crimson warning that filled his vision. *System Alert: Aegis Stone degradation detected. Artifact is operating in 'Parasitic Mode.'* *Current Drain Rate: 1,000% of local earthen vitality per hour.* *Result: Soil necrosis. Toxic black sand expansion imminent.* Anger, cold and sharp, flooded his veins. He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white and bloodless. This wasn't a random glitch or a natural decay of the magic. The Sovereign Coalition had engineered this artifact to be a poison pill, knowing someone might steal or fish it out of their waters. They wanted to starve his sanctuary out, to turn his safe haven into a graveyard of black sand where nothing could ever grow again. He summoned his cosmic fishing rod, *The Leviathan's Reach*, and cast the line directly at the stone, using his appraisal skill to dig deeper into the item's code. Golden lines of energy wrapped around the dark gem, vibrating violently as they clashed with the corrupt aura leaking from the artifact. *Appraisal Result: The Aegis Stone is linked to a parasitic network designed to feed off active lifeforce. It can only be cleansed by pure holy water from a high-tier divine source.* *Warning: Attempting to forcibly remove the stone will

Chapter 21: The Black Sand's Curse