Unlike Phei's Void-Ice, which belonged to the Dragon deeply enough that he could command it with frightening instinct, Danton still required his essence to reach the Flames of Beginning and drag their primordial fire into the world.
Without essence, his greatest weapon existed behind a sealed gate.
Danton closed his eyes and turned his consciousness inward.
Danton could feel the Flames of Beginning far below the surface of his soul, the primordial gold stirred.
Heat spread.
The beginning of fire awakened.
Danton reached for it and the necklace responded.
Its tiny blue stones brightened; the suppression surrounding his throat descended into his soul with terrifying exactness, sealing his meridians, compressing bloodline power and severing the flow of essence before it could connect him properly to the fire.
The transparent sphere drank everything he had gathered and the Flames retreated.
Danton opened his eyes.
The ocean outside had grown darker.
