'Could it be...?'
He held the shard tightly and brought it closer to the Soul Thread, only to sense that its vibration became more intense.
'It's indeed because of the Soul Thread!', he realized and tightened his grip on the shard as if afraid it would escape.
He was about to test it further when a sudden knock echoed through the room.
"Aaron! It's me!", a familiar voice sounded, "Maria."
Seeing that someone had come, Aaron hurriedly retracted the Soul Thread and was about to open the door when he saw the shard on the table from the corner of his eye.
After some hesitation, he slipped it beneath the mat and only then headed to the door.
When he opened it, he saw a woman standing outside.
Her hair was lush, long, and brown, and although her face possessed traces of time, she still exuded a youthful yet mature aura. She wore a simple dress which, although not grand, didn't belong in this part of the City.
In her dark brown eyes, Aaron noticed a hint of relief as well as a faint trace of worry and guilt.
"Aaron, you're finally back.", Maria said as she stepped over the shards of glass by the doorway, "I came by yesterday and you weren't home."
She looked at the shabby room, a hint of pity flashing in her eyes, and let out a sigh.
"Did you wander the wasteland again? How many times must I tell you that it's dangerous? Do you want to follow in your parents' footsteps?"
Her words were harsh, but Aaron had known her for a long time and understood that she held no ill will. If anything, her words came from a place of concern.
Maria was a few years older than he, and just like him, she had also once been a scavenger.
But just a year ago, she happened to catch the eye of a man from the inner City, and the two quickly got together and married soon after. She then completely left her former life behind.
Since then, Maria had been visiting Aaron almost every other week, trying to persuade him to give up being a scavenger.
Unfortunately, no matter how much she insisted, he always refused.
"What's the point of living a life like this? Constantly on the edge of death?", Maria saw Aaron remain silent and thought that he would refuse again.
"I've already spoken to Vael. He agreed to help you find a job at his company."
The previous Aaron would have refused without hesitation. This was not because he was afraid of Maria screwing him over, but because he didn't want to become a burden.
Yet now, he was a little tempted.
Noticing his hesitation, Maria's eyes flashed with joy, and she decided to strike while the iron was still hot.
"Being a scavenger has no future, Aaron. Haven't you heard about Kevin? They said he found a monster corpse. Everyone was envious when he brought it into the City."
"But yesterday, the buyer accused him of cheating him, claiming that he had stolen some strange shard thing. They called it Essence Shard or something like that."
Although Maria didn't explain any further, her meaning was clear- even if a scavenger was lucky to find something valuable, they would rarely live long enough to enjoy it.
As for the so-called Essence Shard? In her opinion, this was merely an excuse.
However, she didn't notice that when she mentioned this term, Aaron's expression froze.
He recalled the strange shard he had found and its reaction to the Soul Thread, and couldn't help but associate with the term.
He wanted to ask Maria whether she knew anything, but in the end decided against it.
"Aaron, did you hear me?", Maria's voice snapped Aaron back to reality. Seeing her stern face, he pushed the matter aside for now and carefully considered her offer.
'She's right. There's really no reason to refuse, at least from a rational point of view. I've only just become an Ascendant and have yet to become familiar with my abilities, much less turn them into real strength.'
'Until I do so, I need a way to earn money while raising my status. Otherwise, being a scavenger, I'll never come in contact with any meaningful information.'
If he wasn't afraid of revealing his identity as an Ascendant, why would he have refrained from asking about the Essence Shard?
At the end of the day, it was all because of his low status.
Countless thoughts flashed through Aaron's mind, though in reality, less than a second had passed.
Faced with Maria's question, he finally nodded.
"You're right. I'll take the job."
"Really?", Maria initially blinked in disbelief, but she quickly reacted, "That's great. It's good that you've finally woken up."
"I'll come over tomorrow morning to take you to meet Vael. Make sure to be ready."
As if she were afraid that he would change his mind, Maria only said a couple more words before storming off.
The door closed, and silence filled the room once more.
After Aaron made sure that she had left, he walked over to the mat and lifted it, revealing the violet shard beneath.
He reached for the shard and held it in his hands, staring intently at the twisting golden lines on its surface.
"Essence Shard..."