The Crystal Truth

Some secrets are locked away to protect the world.

Others—

To prepare it for what comes next.

---

The war room was dark when Lyle entered.

Quinn stood alone near the center table, a cloth-draped crate at his feet. Moonlight filtered through the slit window behind him, casting pale shadows across his shoulders.

"You're early," Quinn said, not looking up.

"I didn't sleep."

"Good," Quinn muttered. "You'll need that tension."

He pulled back the cloth.

Inside the crate were stones—some dull, others pulsing with inner light. No two looked the same. One was jagged and pulsing like a heartbeat. Another was smooth, black as tar. A third glowed faint green, with a strange rune rotating inside it.

"These," Quinn said, "are crystals. But not the ones the public knows about."

He held one up—blood-red, cracked down the center. "This is a Beast Crystal. Made when high-tier beasts die and their core energy condenses. These are your bread and butter early on. You'll use them to charge weapons, systems, and sometimes even barter."

Lyle leaned closer, curious.

Quinn set it down and picked up another—slimmer, silver-blue, whispering as it flickered.

"God Slayer Crystal. Found only when something that shouldn't be killed is killed. These are rare, for now. Later? They'll become more accessible. But only for those strong enough to go looking."

He moved on.

"This one—" he tapped a smooth black shard "—is a Planetary Crystal. Born when entire worlds fall, or when a planet's lifeforce condenses. Dangerous. Powerful. If you touch it before you're ready, it can rewrite parts of you."

Lyle's fingers itched, but he didn't reach.

"And this," Quinn said, lifting a faintly humming, violet shard shaped like a curled fang, "is a Nest Crystal. From the cores of infected breeding pits left by ancient hybrid races. These are… volatile. You don't want to absorb one unless you're very certain."

He returned it to the crate and then reached into a smaller box inside it.

"These," he said, holding up three identical crystal slivers, "are Active Crystals."

Each shimmered in a different hue—blue, green, gold.

"They're not bound to energy type. Instead, they're coded for function."

He held up the gold one. "Enhancement Crystal. Boosts your body—strength, speed, reaction, regeneration. Temporary, but stackable."

Next, the green. "Storage Crystal. Acts like a secondary Codex bank—useful for carrying rare glyphs, sealed skills, or custom weapons when you're off-grid."

Finally, the blue. "Level-Up Crystal. Not many know these exist. Feed them into your Codex or ring system when you're at a bottleneck. If compatible, they help you break through. If not, they'll explode in your skull."

Lyle blinked. "Seriously?"

Quinn shrugged. "Most things worth doing come with a fuse."

He stepped back, letting Lyle take it all in.

"These aren't things you'll find at school shops," Quinn said. "You'll earn them—through kills, trades, scavenging ruins, or by taking contracts through me."

"Contracts?"

"You want to get stronger. You need stat points. Crystals. Skills. Gear. Then you take missions that push you. Most won't survive the first few unless they already have something backing them."

Quinn nodded toward Lyle's chest. "You have something."

Lyle stepped closer. "What about… stats? System mechanics?"

Quinn grinned. "I wondered when you'd ask."

He walked to a glyph-slate mounted on the far wall and tapped a rune.

A holographic interface shimmered into view—faintly translucent, ancient but modern.

Lyle's name appeared at the top, followed by a new structure.

---

> [System Integration: Vampire – Tier I]

• Strength: 12

• Agility: 15

• Intelligence: 17

• Endurance: 10

• Willpower: 16

• Perception: 13

> Unassigned Points: 3

• Bloodline Traits: Shadow Resilience (Active), Bloodsteel Memory (Locked)

• Passive: Night Eye (I), Shadowstep (I)

• Active: Crimson Thread (I) – Allows user to link vision and minor commands to bonded target for 5 seconds.

• Codex Shop: [Locked – Quinn Access Only]

• Blood Crystal Sync: 37%

• System Stability: 91%

---

Quinn tapped on the shop menu.

"You'll unlock access when you hit Tier II. Until then, I'll help you earn what you need. You'll find stat points through combat, missions, or special events like relic integrations. Some can be bought with rare crystals. Others, only earned."

Lyle studied the numbers.

"I thought I was average," he said.

"You were. Now, you're not."

Quinn held out a crystal pouch and dropped it into Lyle's hands.

"Ten enhancement crystals. Two level-ups. One beast core. Your first earnings."

Lyle stared at him.

"For what?"

"For surviving Blackroot. And for not letting that power eat you."

Quinn turned to leave.

"One more thing," he said.

Lyle looked up.

"There's more to this system than you've seen. Evolutions. Forms. Commands even I haven't mastered yet. But the mask chose you. The Bone Claw followed. And now the system's syncing faster than I expected."

He paused at the door.

"Don't waste it."

Lyle watched him go.

The crystals pulsed in his hands.

A path had opened.

Now he just had to survive walking it.