Divine Apostasy Book 12 - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Ruwen stood in front of his perfect crystal, as the pressure wave surged around his back. Calming harmonies poured from him but he could tell it wouldn’t be enough. With a thought he extended his Void Band, using thousands of points of Energy to force it into the stone.

Snatching the crystal along with the surrounding rock, Ruwen placed it in Inventory.

A moment later the waves passed. The only evidence something had occurred was the small rocks in the ceiling shifting and falling, coating Ruwen in a film of dust. He placed his right hand under his Void Band and removed the crystal from Inventory.

Ruwen Analyzed it.

Target: Black Tourmaline

Quality: 99% Pristine

Ruwen gritted his teeth. Ninety-nine percent should be fine. It was just frustrating because if not for the explosion he’d have a perfect one. Maybe he’d gotten too accustomed to his luck making everything go his way. He didn’t bother cleaning the remaining stone away and returned it to Inventory. If he couldn’t do better, he’d finish cleaning that crystal and call it good.

Survey displayed the next possible cluster of high-quality crystals. Ruwen used Melt to navigate to a natural fissure that extended four hundred feet downward, following an ancient fault line. Using the combination of Melt and Dig he descended rapidly.

At the bottom of the fissure, the air grew noticeably warmer. Ruwen's Perception detected an energy current flowing through the stone. The surrounding rock had a different composition here: darker, denser, with veins of an unfamiliar green mineral threading through the black matrix.

Survey displayed an underground chamber ahead—one that didn't connect to any of the mine's tunnels. The thirty-foot opening appeared natural rather than man-made, possibly formed by an ancient gas pocket or subterranean river long since vanished.

Ruwen approached cautiously, Sixth Sense and Stone Echo analyzing this unusual find. As he entered the chamber, Glow revealed walls that sparkled with embedded crystals—not just tourmaline, but a variety of minerals in a rainbow of colors.

The chamber resembled a natural geode, as if Ruwen had stepped inside a massive crystal. But what immediately captured his attention was a formation at the chamber's center—a cluster of black tourmaline crystals unlike any he'd seen before.

These crystals stood like sentinels, ranging from six inches to nearly three feet in height. Their hexagonal structures were geometrically perfect, their surfaces unmarred by imperfections. But what made them remarkable was the energy they emanated—a deep, resonant pulse that matched the tempo of a slow heartbeat.

When Ruwen hummed the Root chakra's middle "C," the entire cluster vibrated in harmony, the sound amplified and refined until it pierced his newly activated Root chakra.

Ruwen approached the cluster, carefully stepping between the gems covering the floor. He found one crystal in the tourmaline cluster that called to him more than the others—a jet-black specimen three inches tall, its hexagonal form perfect.

Using Harmonic Sight, Ruwen examined it thoroughly, searching for any hidden flaws or occlusions. There were none. The crystal's molecular structure was arranged with such precision it bordered on the supernatural.

Ruwen stood up straight and considered. He glanced around, studying the other crystals and gems that covered the surfaces of the chamber. Harmonic Knowledge displayed the combined harmonies and their arrangements. It became apparent the energies in this cavern enhanced the purity and growth of the gems and crystals.

“Is this natural or constructed?” Ruwen muttered.

Perhaps Ruwen’s mining skill hadn’t advanced enough to detect the clues or maybe it was just a natural occurrence. He spent another twenty seconds searching for any type of trap. The only thing that seemed out of place was the odd green veins that led to and surrounded this cavern. This was a new world though, so he would certainly find tons of things he didn’t recognize. He’d take a sample with him when he left. Bliz could probably identify it with a glance.

This time, Ruwen approached the crystal’s extraction with immense care. Harmonic Sight revealed the golden glow around his hands as he concentrated on his Mining skill. A thin line of stone kept the crystal attached to the mound, but he didn’t immediately activate Scrub, Melt, or Dig.

Instead, Ruwen placed one palm against the crystal and the other on the stone surrounding its base. He closed his eyes and tried to feel his Root chakra better. It glowed a faint red, but he couldn’t make it stretch or expand. He’d hoped using Root energy might make the extraction easier but since he didn’t know how to control it, he tried the next best thing.

Ruwen concentrated all his attention on his Root and tried to communicate with the crystal from the chakra. It was like using his Mental Domain but funneled through the Root chakra. He sensed the mental field entering the cluster’s matrix.

I seek no harm, Ruwen communicated to the stone. Only to borrow this crystal for a purpose that honors its nature.

The stone matrix responded—not with words or thoughts, but with a subtle shift in its structure. Micro-fissures appeared around the crystal's stone base, widening gradually as the rock released its hold. Particles of dust fell away as the separation proceeded with perfect precision.

After three minutes of this gentle communion, the crystal detached from its bed without a single fracture or stress line. It fell into Ruwen's waiting palm, its weight substantial yet balanced.

Analyze provided the details.

Target: Black Tourmaline (Enriched)

Type: Resource – Crystal

Quality: 100% Pristine

Components: Boron Silicate, Iron, Aluminum, Trace Unknown

Health: Energy Resonance (Superior), Structural Resonance (Superior)

Alchemy: Heat Resistant, Earth Stabilizer, Negative Energy Sink, Grounding Catalyst

Uses: Jewelry, Protective Warding, Chakra Resonator, Foundation Anchor, Healing

Ruwen held the crystal in wonder. He’d never seen the “Enriched” designation, and the "Trace Unknown” components confused him. What elements existed that the System couldn't identify? Maybe it was because he didn’t have sufficient knowledge. His Taxonomy skill had reached over one thousand, but he didn’t know how high that skill went. It sounded good to him, but it might mark him as ignorant. It didn’t matter though, because this crystal was far more than he'd hoped to find.

The crystal thrummed in Ruwen’s palm, its energy synchronizing naturally with his Root chakra. When he hummed middle "C" again, the crystal amplified the note, sending the tone rippling from his Root chakra through his entire body. For a moment, he felt completely grounded, connected to the earth in a way he'd never experienced before.

"You know what’s weird," Overlord asked as he appeared next to the cluster and his hand passed through it.

The inhabitants of Ruwen’s mind could now exist in the Material Realm if they stayed within his Mental Domain, but they didn’t have physical forms and appeared like ghosts.

“What?” Ruwen asked.

“This geode didn’t appear with Stone Echo, Sixth Sense, or Survey. I mean it knew there was a concentration of black tourmaline here, but what about all this other stuff?”

Uruziel appeared next to Overlord and she studied the room. “And you were right to focus on the unknown trace elements. That also seems unnatural. As was the unlucky incident with your second harvesting attempt.”

Ruwen carefully placed the pristine tourmaline in his Void Band, feeling a momentary reluctance to separate from it.

Uruziel studied the now empty spot on the cluster. The hole made it appear like it has lost a tooth. “There’s a symbol here.”

Ruwen immediately knelt and studied the area intently. After three seconds he thought he saw something, but even with Harmonic Sight, he couldn’t be sure.

“I think there are etchings there,” Ruwen said, “but if so I can’t read them. Which means they’re from the Outerverse.”

“Or the Creation Realm,” Overlord said. “You couldn’t understand the Destruction Realm until you became a Saraph.”

“Lir?” Ruwen asked.

Lir appeared between Overlord and Uruziel, still wearing his long hooded cloak and silver mask. “This is an odd feeling.”

“Uruziel says its what feeling alive is like,” Overlord said.

Ruwen recalled that event. It had occurred the first time he’d created his Mental Domain. He’d been fighting in the Dark Tower’s first dungeon.

“Interesting,” Lir replied. He shook his head, a very human like gesture, before focusing on Ruwen. “How can I help?”

“You said this planet was odd and likely dangerous. We just found, possibly, some etched characters none of us can read.”

Ruwen stepped back as Lir came over to study the area Ruwen had just removed his crystal from.

Lir turned to Ruwen almost immediately. “I have seen similar deeper in the dungeon.”

“You told me earlier this whole planet is a dungeon,” Ruwen said.

“To be clear, I have not entered the dungeon proper. My friend Persephone is helping a group that is currently in the dungeon. She has interfaced with the local dungeon System, although it reveals nothing but what is necessary. The relevant information is that the dungeon contains many languages. Most are ancient ones from this planet, some are from other planets in our Universe, and three sets are unknown. Your memories of the Destruction Realm have deciphered one of these sets. Based on the similarities to the Destruction Realm characters, I have a seventy-nine precent confidence these are indeed from the Creation Realm.”

Ruwen got an uneasy feeling. He checked his Notifications which contained some Mining and Taxonomy level ups, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Another possibility occurred to Ruwen. He turned to Lir. “Awhile ago Rami, Tarot, and I were fighting this Realm Zipper thing that was separating the Creation and Destruction Realms for the Material Realm. This was shortly after all the changes that occurred after I Fortified to the Divine tier. Specifically, I got a bunch of Outerverse quests and my display options exploded. Rami hid the Luminara and Radiant faction quests along with a bunch of display options. Do you think you can unhide all that? I’m far better prepared to handle that information now that I was back then. In fact, it makes sense to look at the Radiant quests because I’m working on my chakras.”

“Let me look,” Lir said.

Lir’s ghostly avatar went still for three seconds, and then Ruwen’s vision exploded with displays. A glaring red Notification took his attention.

“Oh no,” Ruwen said.