Xin woke to pain in his chest.
The key was burning through his pocket. Blue light under his skin. He ripped his shirt open. The key had melted into his flesh. Right over his heart.
"Ren!"
Ren ran into the room. Saw the key embedded in Xin's chest. "What happened?"
"I slept. It moved."
"The first lied. The key does not need to be inserted into the gate. It needs to be inserted into a person."
Xin grabbed the key. Tried to pull it out. Pain shot through his entire body. His vision went white.
"Stop," Ren said. "You are hurting yourself."
"I cannot let it stay."
"It is already inside you. Pulling it out might kill you."
Xin let go of the key. The pain stopped. The blue light faded.
"What does it do?" Xin asked.
Ren grabbed his notebook. Flipped pages. "The symbols on the key. I tr
