Year of the SUN ██6: Today, under full litany and witness, we acquired sanctioned access to the Soul Fragment. The Sun's fire binds it. Brother Halen stood beside me when the seals were set, whispering that the Sun itself watches. I recorded the measurements. We keep watch as ordered.

  Year of the SUN ██6: No change. Measurements remain consistent since stabilization. Brother Ilya keeps dozing during shifts; I jab him awake with my quill. The orb remains silent. We keep watch.

  Containment Transfer Report:

  Subject is transported from the main site to Hall of Silence, Floor -III, Section III.

  Visual Appearance: Deep, metallic blood-red orb, refracting light in irregular pulses; surface appears both liquid and solid simultaneously.

  Behavioral Notes: Subject exhibits intermittent pulses corresponding to human proximity. Effects do not require contact.

  Radius of Influence: Subject is capable of corrupting in a ███ radius.

  Year of the SUN ██15: The seals were weakened. Brother Lauren insists the phenomenon is measurable. He says degradation implies change that can be understood. Such knowledge may serve the Sun's cause.

  The orb exhibits consistent pulsation. However, a singular anomaly interrupted the established rhythm.

  It called for me.

  Year of the SUN ██: Observations continue. The fragment's pulse grows stronger. We have taken a single shaving from its shell.

  No change.

  Year of the SUN ██28: New Executioner has been appointed in the Cathedral. Number unknown to me. The records are amended without notice. Brother Halen claims the previous Executioner's eyes turned white before death. I have no proof, because he likes to tell exaggerated stories.

  Year of the SUN ███: The fragment becomes unstable when too much is drawn from it. Brother Lauren collapsed during recalibration. He claims it was heat exhaustion. I worry for him. I have requested immediate suspension of extraction rites and reinforcement of the primary seals.

  No response has been returned.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Year of the SUN ███: More corruption is released in Floor -III, Section III since then. I hesitate to write that word. Symptoms worsen with proximity of individuals present near the subject. They smell things that are not there. They smell copper.

  Individuals have reported the below listed symptoms:

  Heart arrhythmia

  Olfactory hallucinations

  Vision impairment escalating to complete blindness

  Motor function impairment (no complete paralysis reported)

  Cognitive dysfunction

  Acute onset of cephalalgia

  Memory loss

  Death

  Solution presented: periodic offerings.

  Year of the SUN ██45: New shaving taken from the core. The Hall of Silence approved the procedure in advance and has now authorized continued study. Their seal arrived promptly this time. Access restrictions have been revised so only senior researchers may enter the radius. Brother Ilya is not among them. He has begun forgetting his own name.

  I found him today standing outside the upper floor. When I greeted him, he smiled politely and asked who I was. A moment later, he apologized. I escorted him back to the dormitory. He asked if he had ever worked in the Cathedral too. He must have forgotten me again. I told him yes. That was the truth.

  Year of the SUN ███: Executioner number 45 core experiment successful, continue observation. I cannot recall the Executioner's face.

  Year of the SUN ███: I dreamed of Brother Ilya. He stood in the chamber where the offerings are made, holding a ledger upside down. When I asked him his name, he opened his mouth and red light spilled out. I woke with blood in my nose and the distinct certainty that the dream had not been entirely mine.

  I checked the records. Brother Ilya is ████

  Year of the SUN ███: Brother Ilya is gone.

  Year of the SUN ███: The Hall of Silence praised my diligence today. Someone clasped my shoulder. I startled so badly I nearly struck him. I apologized profusely. He laughed. I do not remember his face either.

  Faces are becoming difficult.

  Year of the SUN ███: I cannot write everyday.

  Year of the SUN ███: The fragment spoke. It told me of █████ █ ███ ███ ██ █— I do not remember

  Year of the SUN ██91: Executioner has gone █erserk

  offering is not enough

  not enough

  not enough

  ██████ is whispering in my left ear he has been dead for years but he is whispering he says we should have never shaved the shell never touched it never looked

  ██████ is standing behind me I think I will not turn. I am afraid. i smell fear i smell sour copper

  the subject is unstable the subject is hunting the subject is singing in the vents the subject is inside the glass the glass is inside my hands its red all around me

  Year—

  Year—

  which year is it the Sun has stopped the Sun is a hole the hole is red the red is breathing

  the orb is no orb is no red no sphere it is an eye it is open

  subject is unstable subject is ██████

  Year of the Sun ██—40

  The time is distorted.