Kain had barely escaped the shaking section of the relic where the two demigods were fighting, stumbling into a completely different floor after making the decision to remain while sending one of his Vespids to the surface with the broken body of the boy.

The threads of destiny were muted beyond use due to the presence of the demigods, but a quiet faith that something here was meant for him pushed him onward—even if moving through the relic with only two weakened, barely-standing Vespids and a hovering demigod hand that would not shut up was one of the dumbest decisions he'd ever made.

The two Vespids buzzed weakly behind him, their movements unsteady. They were only partially healed by Queen; the injuries caused by the Abyssal demigod were too severe to mend quickly. After carrying him through the collapse of the relic, they barely had the strength to continue. Their stingers were dull, shells cracked, and flight patterns wobbled like drunk bees.

Kain could hear the faint buzz of their wings, the rhythm uneven, almost like a heartbeat struggling to keep beating. It was a pathetic, pitiful symphony of survival, yet somehow comforting in its persistence. Each weak buzz reminded him that even though his contracts were currently incapacitated, they were the most reliable partners, and would not give up in aiding him until their dying breaths..

Kain wasn't doing much better. His ribs hurt every time he breathed. His legs felt like walking on bent nails. His spiritual circuits felt raw, scraped from when he channelled a massive amount of source energy into the attack against the Abyssal demigod.

He should have left the relic.

He had intended to. He even sent the boy's body out with the strongest remaining Vespid guard so it could carry him beyond collapse range.

But perhaps the 'protagonist's spirit' in him made him refuse to leave empty handed. It was like a tug in his chest pulled at him to stay. Insistent. Quiet. Utterly impossible to ignore.

A deep, resonant hum thrummed in his chest as if the relic itself acknowledged him, faintly resonating with his own spiritual signature. His instincts screamed that something awaited him, something meant specifically for him.

And now here he was—weak, weaponless, barely able to stand, travelling into another wing of the relic.

The hand hovered at his shoulder, fingers tapping a nonstop staccato rhythm of annoyance.

"You know…" it began for the twentieth time in only three minutes, "you're a complete idiot. Historic, legendary, textbook-case idiot. Although many of the original inhabitants of this relic seemed to die after it began to collapse, many of the strongest ones are still moving around. Blue-grade threats roam still. Some have even reach indigo-grade. Yet you roam this relic with the combat strength of a soggy paper towel."

Kain grunted. "I got that part the first ten times."

"You didn't," the hand snapped. "If you did, your legs would be moving in the other direction. Do your legs understand directions? Are your legs decorative?"

"I'm following a feeling," Kain muttered.

"Oh great," the hand wailed. "Instinct! Wonderful! Truly, the apex of intelligent decision-making! You are so injurred that you can't even move forward without your contracts' help. And even these contracts can barely fly in a straight line. You have NO abilities functioning properly, and you are STILL GOING."

It kept chattering, words tripping over themselves:

"You're over your head, kid. Don't think that just because I followed you that I have any obligation to protect you. If you are attacked, you are completely ON YOUR OWN."

Kain stopped listening. Mostly. Because something ahead seemed to create a more pronounced draw toward him.

It was subtle at first—a vibration in his abdomen that felt more like indigestion than something 'mystical'. But as his affinity stirred faintly, tugging at his consciousness like a distant echo of recognition, he recognized the source of the feeling. Perhaps his sixth contract was in this relic.

He entered through another portal resembling a crack in space, similar to the one that had initially brought him to the layer of the relic housing the abyssal demigod.

This new level of the relic looked different from the one that he'd first entered, or the one he'd just left. It looked more like an indoor lab than an artifical wilderness like the other levels.

It was pristine and untouched by time. Rows of crystal cylinders reflected the faint fluorescent lighting above light.

Each contained a preserved specimen—creatures long extinct, species that never made it into the modern world, fragments of ecosystems that vanished tens of thousands of years ago.

A crystalline centipede resembling the other crystalline monsters roaming the relic as guards, but far larger in size, twitched inside one of the glass caskets.

From it Kain could sense a draw from his affinity, although it was extremely weak. Out of curiosity he stepped closer to the casket to get a better view inside.

Kain froze.

From the abdomen of the of the centipede a thin pale stalk with a bulbus head grew. Similar to a mushroom.

Tap Tap

A faint scrape—a crystalline leg tapping against glass.

The Vespids trembled behind him.

The hand did the equivalent of rolling its nonexistent eyes by rolling its thumb in a circle instead. "Relax. It's dead. That weird thing growing out of its stomach seems to be controlling its body. Also I can tell that it's not completely mature, meaning that no spores have been produced. Unless its current host dies it shouldn't be trying to kill you yet. Emphasis on yet."

'It knows about spores? Earlier, when they were travelling and it was chattering away, it'd also called Chewy a 'mushroom bacteria' now that I think about it. Technically, it wasn't 100% correct, but it shows that this hand, and likely the demigod behind him aren't completely ignorant of the 'microscopic world'. Even if their information is flawed.'

Kain stepped around it. The centipede twitched again.

The hand made a dismissive flick. A pale ripple of demigod pressure washed through the air, light, thin, but still powerful enough that Kain staggered.

The crystalline centipede shattered inside its casing. Every shard dissolved to dust.

Kain blinked. "…Thanks."

The hand rotated lazily, performing what might have been a shrug—or maybe a weird aerial somersault. "Don't thank me. I'm not helping you because I care. I only keep you alive because my main body is suspicious of you. You have value for future questioning, not for me."

Kain raised an eyebrow. "You're staying awfully close for someone who keeps calling me suspicious."

"I said the main body is suspicious," the hand corrected primly. "Me? I am curious. Curiosity implies mild entertainment. Suspicion implies effort. I don't do effort."

"…You're helping me," Kain concluded.

The hand let out a scandalized hiss. "I am ensuring your stupid little weakened body does not get permanently deleted before someone asks the questions it wants answered. Don't ruin it by dying."

It floated ahead again, still muttering.

As Kain followed, every cradle they passed reacted. They didn't glow for the hand. They didn't react to the Vespids. But they seemed to awaken whenever he walked by. Some brightened. Some pulsed. Some shifted faintly in their solution.

The hand groaned. "Oh yes, this is EXACTLY what I needed today as it zipped and zoomed around to quickly kill the rousing creatures before they could leave their chambers and attack Kain. Why couldn't you just leave wheh I'd asked you nicely?"

'Did you ever ask nicely? All I remember is the numerous times you called me stupid'

Kain ignored it.

Because the draw was getting stronger.

Leading him to a cradle set atop a high, ornate platform, clearly meant to denote its unique and revered status within the relic. Crystal veins snaked across its surface, faintly pulsating, as if alive, and the air around it thrummed with subtle energy.

The light refracted through the frost and crystal, casting ethereal patterns across the chamber. Inside the cradle, curled tight like a seed, was an embryo made of crystal, radiating a gentle warmth that tugged at Kain's chest. His affinity stirred violently, an instinctual recognition that sent shivers through his spiritual circuits. He stepped closer, heart syncing with the hum of the cradle. Once. Twice. Then perfectly, a bond forming even before he had touched it.

"…Oh no," the hand whispered. "Oh no, oh no, absolutely not—do NOT touch that—"

Kain touched it.

The hand shrieked.

A light rose from the pod, hovered, inspected him like a confused cat… and sank into his palm. Warmth spread outward. Recognition. Acceptance.

Kain had a feeling that this pod was why he'd needed to come here.

The hand went silent. Which was alarming.

"—intruder detected—"

Every light in the corridor flared. The Vespids buzzed in panic.

The hand spun in frantic circles. "NOPE. ABSOLUTELY NOT. THIS IS ABOVE MY PAY GRADE—"

"—unlocking remaining seals—"

The corridor plunged into darkness. Only the embryo's glow remained. Kain felt something ancient reach toward him.

The hand whispered, horrified:

"Kid… what did you just do?"

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