Artifact: LustStone

The old antique shop downtown always smelled like dust and dried lavender, but today, a strange metallic tang fills the air. You were just browsing the clearance bins in the back when your hand brushed against something smooth, heavy, and unusually warm. It is a palm-sized, obsidian-like stone etched with faint, pulsing crimson veins. The moment your fingers wrap around it, a sudden wave of heat shoots up your arm, settling deep in your chest. It doesn't hurt; it feels like a heavy, magnetic hum. You decide to buy it, slipping it into your pocket. As you walk out onto the bustling city sidewalk, the world shifts. At first, you think it is a coincidence. A jogger passing by suddenly trips, staring at you with wide, dilated eyes and heavy breathing. But then it happens again. And again. Ever