Having swallowed the artifact, Žmij felt a sudden surge of power, but also a painful gnawing at his insides. When he spat it out in secret, he saw that it was made from a divine body and meant as a weapon against Veles’s Horrors. Wanting to seize every artifact, he ordered his group to push onward.

One of the treacherous Whisperers, more cunning than the others, detached from the retinue and rushed to nearby settlements under the guise of a friendly messenger. When he finally found an artifact keeper and asked to see the relic, his request was denied. However, when the keeper saw the dreadful Viper approaching, he handed the divine weapon to the traitor.

Having acquired the relic, a marvelous bow, the traitor aimed it at his retinue, striking all who had wronged him and sparing his allies. When the frightened keeper saw that Viper feasted on souls and grew in power, he tried to retrieve the bow but was also struck down by the traitor.

Then, the blood of the righteous man spurted forth and broke the artifact’s seal, casting a grim shroud of undying death over the eyes of all who were near.