Chapter 44: The Beast Core

The crimson tremor pulsing through the bedrock beneath Sol Haven gradually began to subside, leaving behind a thick cloud of dust. Yet the crystalline structure lodged deep inside the dead mutated wolf continued to glow with an unholy intensity.

Raviah Solomon stared down at the carcass through narrowed, analytical eyes. Although the beast’s vital signs had completely ceased, the internal organ remained hyperactive, throbbing beside its cold heart with a steady, rhythmic cadence.

Each bright flash released a distinct wave of localized atmospheric energy, forcing the digital dials on her handheld medical scanner to climb steadily.

General Rhyder Drakeheir stood beside her, his sharp eyes examining the glowing mass in silence. "Can you safely extract it from the tissue?"

Raviah nodded slowly, her expression solemn. "I believe so. However, we have no empirical data regarding its volatility."

"Then we treat it as a class-four hazardous biological material," Rhyder replied without hesitation.

He turned toward his elite security squad and motioned crisply. "Bring up the heavy containment unit."

Two soldiers immediately hurried forward, carrying a heavily reinforced, lead-lined transport case from the rear of their utility vehicle.

Raviah knelt in the damp soil, carefully examining the exposed crystalline structure. Its surface was unlike any terrestrial mineral or gemstone she had ever encountered in a laboratory.

It was neither completely transparent nor entirely opaque. Deep crimson light seemed to flow beneath its hardened shell, swirling like a living fluid trapped inside glass.

Her mind flashed back to her memories of the future timeline. When the first wave of survivors originally discovered these crystalline nodes inside mutated corpses, they had assumed them to be bizarre tumorous organs.

It was only much later that researchers realized these structures contained immense amounts of pure, concentrated energy. In the ruined world to come, those nodes would become the single most valuable trade currency and strategic power source on the planet.

She had never imagined she would see a fully formed node this early in the timeline.

"General," she murmured quietly, her voice barely carrying above the wind.

Rhyder looked down at her, his brow furrowed in concentration. "What is it?"

"This object may be the most important discovery we have made so far," she said plainly.

His hand rested near his sidearm as he studied her tense posture. "How important?"

Raviah glanced toward Daniel, who was sitting on a folding cot several meters away while medical technicians wrapped his burnt arm. "If my preliminary diagnostic scans are accurate, this crystalline object stores the exact same energy frequency that forcibly activated his Root."

Rhyder’s sharp gaze hardened instantly. "You think the animal’s mutation and the human awakening are directly connected?"

"I am certain they are two branches of the exact same emerging biological system," she replied coldly.

She carefully slid her surgical scalpel deeper into the tough, black muscle surrounding the glowing node.

"Human bodies possess dormant genetic Roots. These mutated creatures develop internal crystalline organs. Both biological systems are evolving to process the same atmospheric energy saturation."

Rhyder crouched beside her in the dirt, watching her precise surgical movements. "So the biological changes occurring in humans and animals are not separate, random events."

"Not in the slightest," Raviah agreed, making a final, clean incision through the charred muscle.

The node came free with a soft squelching sound. It was deceptively dense, weighing far more in her gloved hands than its small physical size suggested.

She lifted the object using heavy titanium tongs and immediately transferred it into the open lead-lined case. The moment the lid clicked shut, her handheld scanner let out a shrill, continuous warning tone.

The screen flashed rapidly:

[CORE ENERGY DENSITY: EXTREME]

[ENERGY CONCENTRATION: 94.7%]

[ENERGY TYPE: UNIDENTIFIED]

[ACTIVE ENERGY STORAGE DETECTED].

Raviah stared at the scrolling data in disbelief. "The energy concentration inside this small node is staggering."

Rhyder leaned over her shoulder, studying the digital numbers on the monitor screen. "Is that energy capable of being harnessed?"

"I cannot answer that with certainty yet," she said softly.

"But you already suspect it can," Rhyder noted, reading the intense focus in her eyes.

Raviah did not offer an immediate response. Her thoughts drifted back to the dark, brutal years of her past life.

She remembered desperate survivors carrying small, glowing crystalline stones inside protective leather pouches. She remembered elite soldiers risking their lives in ruined cities to hunt mutated beasts, not merely for meat, but to harvest the precious nodes inside their bodies.

She remembered military scientists spending years developing crude methods to extract that raw power. Eventually, special humans learned to directly absorb that energy into their own bodies to advance their strength.

If the current timeline was accelerating, then the entire apocalyptic power structure was going to manifest far ahead of schedule.

Raviah looked across the field at Daniel, who was nervously pulling at his bandages. His sudden awakening had been the first definitive sign of the changing world.

This crystalline organ was the second. The mutated wolf was undeniable proof that the global biological transformation had officially breached their perimeter.

All three anomalies were bound to the exact same origin.

"The entire power system is arriving," she whispered softly.

Rhyder caught her faint words over the hum of the nearby generators. "What power system?"

Raviah shifted her weight, adjusting the seal on the containment case. She could not reveal the full truth of her rebirth just yet.

Before she could craft a suitable explanation, footsteps crunched against the dry dirt behind them. Daniel had slipped away from the medical team and was standing at the edge of the secured zone.

"Doctor Solomon?" Daniel called out softly, his voice trembling.

Raviah turned her head to look at him. The young farm worker looked deathly pale, but an intense, strange curiosity burned in his eyes.

"What is that thing inside the box?" Daniel asked, pointing a bandage-wrapped hand toward the lead container.

"It is a Beast Core," Raviah answered clearly.

Daniel stared intently at the thick, transparent observation window of the transport case. "It... it feels strange looking at it. It feels familiar."

Raviah’s instincts flared, her medical training instantly putting her on high alert. "Do not come any closer, Daniel."

Daniel paused, taking a hesitant step back. "I’m sorry, Doctor, but I can feel something pulling from inside it."

Rhyder moved smoothly, stepping directly into Daniel’s line of sight to block his view. "Return to the medical station immediately, son."

Daniel swallowed hard, his posture rigid. "I don’t think it’s going to hurt me."

Raviah stood up, her expression turning stern and unyielding. "That exact assumption is precisely why you need to stay away from it."

Yet Daniel’s eyes remained locked onto the sealed box, ignoring the warning.

Without warning, the dark crimson crystal inside the container pulsed with a blinding flash of light. Daniel’s entire body jerked violently as if struck by a high-voltage current.

Raviah’s handheld scanner chimed loudly:

[ROOT ACTIVITY DETECTED].

Her heart sank as she watched his skin turn flush. "Daniel, do not try to interact with it! Hold still!"

"I... I can’t move my legs!" he gasped out, his muscles locking up tightly.

His right palm uncurled instinctively, and a bright orange spark ignited above his skin. Within seconds, the tiny flame flared outward, expanding until it engulfed his whole hand.

"Back away from the containment unit now!" Raviah ordered, reaching into her spatial storage dimension to pull out a heavy suppression blanket.

Daniel gritted his teeth, his eyes wide with rising terror. "I’m trying, Doctor! It won’t let me go!"

The newly awakened Fire Root inside his bloodstream was reacting violently to the proximity of the concentrated energy source.

The Beast Core inside the lead box pulsed a second time, sending a visible ripple of thermal distortion through the glass. A wave of raw, unrefined energy surged through the surrounding air like a localized shockwave.

Daniel threw his head back and screamed in sheer agony as the energy hit him.

The flickering orange flame hovering over his hand snapped violently into a blinding, white-hot blaze.

The diagnostic scanner in Raviah’s grip screeched a high-pitched alarm:

[ROOT ACTIVITY: RAPIDLY INCREASING]

[ENERGY ABSORPTION: UNSTABLE].

Raviah’s breath caught in her throat as she realized the horrifying reality of the situation. The E-Rank Elemental was not merely sensing the presence of the Beast Core.

His newly awakened Root was actively trying to absorb its power.