Chapter 69 — Crystals in the Shadows
S.C. 1510 — Mid September
Foosha Village — Underground Lab
The underground room felt colder today.
Not because of the temperature, but because Ren couldn't shake the feeling that the forest predator was watching him more closely than ever. Its silent presence lingered at the back of his mind like a shadow he couldn't turn around to face.
But he couldn't stop his work now.
Not when he was so close to understanding the strange plant.
Ren sat at his stone table, staring at the tiny green specks collected yesterday. They were so small he could barely see them without placing them under the narrow beam of sunlight coming from the ladder opening.
He used a sharp, flattened nail as a makeshift scraper to lift one speck.
The way it glinted under the light made his breath catch.
"Why do you look like a crystal?"
Plants didn't form crystals—at least not like this.
Not tiny hardened fragments that reflected sunlight.
Not something that felt like mineral but came from organic tissue.
Zemo, lying near the bottom of the ladder, raised his head. He watched the specks as if they were tiny insects he didn't trust.
"Yeah," Ren whispered. "I'm not sure either."
Light Reaction Test
Ren placed three of the greenish crystalline specks onto a flat glass shard. He slowly moved the shard into the sunlight beam.
Nothing happened at first.
Then—
The specks brightened.
Not glowing—but catching the light with an unnatural clarity, almost like polished stones.
Ren leaned closer.
"Your color changes with sunlight too… just like the liquid."
He carefully moved the shard back into shade.
The brightness dulled instantly.
Ren froze.
"…You react instantly?"
Zemo's ears twitched sharply.
Ren scribbled:
**- Crystal specks brighten under sunlight
Darken immediately in shade
Reaction is fast, not delayed**
This wasn't normal plant residue.
This wasn't normal anything.
Heat Reaction
Ren warmed the metal dish with the battery wire again. Then he placed a single speck onto its surface.
As the metal heated—
The speck flattened slightly, softening at the edges.
Not melting.
Not burning.
Just changing shape enough to absorb the heat.
Ren's eyes widened.
"You're absorbing heat… and sunlight…"
This was no ordinary plant byproduct.
He turned off the heat.
Slowly, the speck hardened again—retaking its original shape.
He exhaled sharply.
"This is… new. Very new."
Zemo growled softly, not at the crystal, but at the soundless movement above.
Ren didn't notice at first.
He was too absorbed.
Water Reaction
Ren placed another speck into a small bowl of water.
It sank instantly.
Then—
It began to fizz.
Softly.
Barely visible bubbles.
Ren's heart pounded.
The speck, which had been rigid seconds earlier, now shifted color, becoming lighter green.
He tapped it with a stick.
The speck crumbled.
Not into dust—but into a soft powder, almost like fine flour.
"What… are you doing?"
He strained the powder through a cloth, drying it quickly.
It reformed into a more uniform pale-green layer.
Three states now:
hard crystal
softened under heat
dissolvable powder under water
Ren's hand trembled slightly.
The versatility of this plant was astonishing.
A Third-Level Separation
Ren suddenly realized something.
The grass had given him:
clear liquid
thick jelly
crystal specks
But if the crystals could dissolve and reform into powder…
Then perhaps they were not the final form.
He tried one more test:
A tiny pinch of the powder, placed under sunlight.
At first—nothing.
Then the powder shifted slightly.
Its color sharpened.
Almost like it was aligning with the light.
Ren whispered:
"…You're not just reacting. You're responding."
He sat back.
This wasn't one material.
It was several, all interacting with heat, water, and sunlight.
He still didn't know its purpose.
He didn't know if it was safe.
He didn't know what it could do.
But he knew one thing:
This plant was a biological anomaly.
Something this world had hidden in the forest, unnoticed.
Something creatures probably consumed without understanding.
Something powerful.
Something dangerous.
Something rare.
Zemo's Alarm
Thump.
Ren snapped his head toward the ladder.
Zemo was upright, fur raised, eyes glowing amber.
Another thump echoed above the shed roof.
Close.
Heavy.
Not human.
Not small.
Ren whispered, "Stay calm…"
Zemo's growl deepened—quiet, deadly.
Ren climbed halfway up the ladder and gently lifted the plank by an inch.
He saw it.
A large shadow passing through the forest edge.
Four-legged.
Muscular.
Unnaturally silent.
Watching his shed.
Watching him.
Ren lowered the plank with trembling fingers.
"…It knows."
Zemo pressed against him protectively.
Ren sat back down, staring at the plant extracts in silence.
He was discovering things he wasn't ready to understand.
And something in the forest had noticed.
A Decision
Ren packed the extracts carefully into clay containers.
Tomorrow, the lab had to expand.
He needed better security.
He needed more space.
He needed fire pits.
He needed escape routes.
The predator wasn't waiting for a mistake.
It was waiting for the right moment.
Ren whispered:
"I need to be faster."
Zemo nudged him gently.
"And smarter."
He held the pale-green powder in his fingers—soft, reactive, and filled with untapped secrets.
"I don't know what you are yet," Ren said softly, "but I'll find out."