Mining away

Back at school, I was welcomed by a rather empty campus. Most of the staff had already left and some of the students from other years were away, in their respective countries and homes.

I had already dispersed my clones yesterday, so the clones here in the school already started to work at full power.

The analysis of the IS and everything else will take some time, but I will finish everything before the end of this month due to a tight time window.

At least that is the plan, I did it this way mostly due to the fact that my operation in Luxembourg could go wrong, and if I am discovered, I won't have any peace in this world anymore. So I wouldn't be able to finish other projects. But if everything goes well… Then I will spend the other two months researching and saying my goodbyes.

…

In the first week I finished the analyses of both Akatsubaki and the time crystal

In the second week I produced all of the parts that shall be switched and added to the other IS units.

In the third week I finished all of the IS modifications and fully upgraded my MK-2 with all of my knowledge.

In the fourth week I was ready to leave, so I left the clones doing the heavy work while I spent some time with everyone left, including my parents.

In a hospital somewhere in Tokyo, a shadow jumped out of a window on the fifth floor into a patient room.

In the room there were two middle aged adults, they looked weak but they weren't skinny as many people would become after years in a coma.

The man took something that looked like a syringe and injected its contents into the serum.

After checking that everything was finished the man looked at both of them and disappeared in a flash. The syringe fell on the floor, but it soon turned into dust that was swept by the wind.

…

A girl was eating in her room while reading a book on aerodynamics when her phone suddenly buzzed.

She stopped and looked at the phone with a lack of interest when she suddenly froze.

She started running across the halls to her destination, a warehouse outside of the dormitories.

She slammed the door with her fists, calling the name of however uses that room, but after 10 seconds she lost her patience and blasted the room open.

But there was nothing inside apart from a small box with a letter inside it.

…

In Luxembourg 1 kilometer below the surface…

-This is… Crazy. I said looking at the gargantuan piece of Time crystal in front of me.

The cavern wasn't filled with crystals as I thought. The crystals were agglomerated around bigger crystal pieces. These pieces grew all the way to the ceiling. From my angle, I could see several extending deeper into the cavern.

The cavern was cold, very cold. At least -100 C, so I was using some protective clothing. I approached one of the colossal crystals and looked at its information.

[Time Crystal-Nucleus

The very core of the wonder that is known as the "time crystal". It contains a small proto universe inside. Relatively stable compared to its smaller counterparts, but no less dangerous.

How it came to be is still a mystery to the humans of Earth. Its purpose is still completely unknown, but its dangers have already been noted.

Working as an anchor, this large time crystal impedes the collapse of space due to the decomposition of its many smaller counterparts in the area due to the opening of the cave system that resulted in a disbalance of the environment.

The continued mining of the smaller pieces around it by this world's inhabitants has delayed the inevitable catastrophe.

Sometimes you feel as if you are watched when you look at it, you swear you saw something moving inside it. Images of destruction and birth of Astro bodies can be seen inside some of them at varying speeds, although very rarely. Most of the time one would only see the crystal itself.

It's surprisingly safe to the touch.

Its removal isn't advised due to the singularity below it. Removal of the singularity must be done first.

Energy value according to input statistics: 659.98… Units]

… Did I just see an eldritch being?

{Kinda, it was just a primordial spirit. Don't worry, they can't do much outside of the crystal.}

Stop appearing out of nowhere. But you came right on time

{How could I not. I suddenly felt a wave of energy coming from you and I already knew what was happening.}

But it seems we won't be able to collect it.

{Why? Because of the thing below it? I never said we needed to remove the crystal, just absorb the energy inside it. But we won't be able to absorb everything… Around a tenth to make things stable. As for the smaller ones, there isn't any problem.}

Can't you just remove the thing below it?

{It's harder than you think, it isn't just a "thing". You wouldn't understand. But we already have more than enough, adding the many smaller pieces around it plus the many more deeper in the cavern, we will make thousands in units. Perhaps more if we sell them to the right person.}

...I don't know just how deep I can go, but as long as you can take me out of here if anything happens, I will continue exploring.

{Don't worry, I might have been limited but the energy in my avatar is more than enough to save you from whatever these things can do. Now let's look for a good crystal to make a core with.}

How do we collect it?

{Just go over and touch it, for now, I can only collect it through physical contact, which limits a lot of things, but thankfully we can touch the crystal.}

There are a lot of crystals here…

{So get to work! Oh yeah, you can pick some of the carcasses left behind after I take the energy and give it to your IS. It will be able to grow the space inside it and stabilize it. Making it an even better core.}

… Initially, I only wanted to use this core for a while. But I can't deny I grew attached to it.

…

Just how deep is this? I said after collecting the final fragment on the ground. I had already reaped over 7 Time crystal nucleus, this one being the eighth one.

{This cave system should go several KM underground.}

Just how did this shit come to be anyway?

{A bunch of coincidences and all of that.}

Sigh… Why can't I use my clones again?

{For the last time, I can only collect energy in contact with your main body, the clones are a result of your power... Since we are talking about powers, I noticed the change in your body, care to explain?}

You already know, do you need me to explain?

{I thought you would be better saying it.}

Are you going to explain or not?

{Chill. What is the most basic trait of your body?}

… My adaptation?

{That's right! At the start, I removed a great portion of your, let's say, "bloodline", in order to accomplish your wishes. This resulted in a great reduction in its adaptation factor. But, it doesn't mean it wasnt there.}

{As in the original, the tyrant's main point was its rate of mutation in the face of danger. It even gained invisibility in order to flee from the imperial army. When I modified it to suit your wishes, most of it went into hibernation in order to fuse with your body. This process would take decades to complete but on that day when you suffered enough damage to die, a portion of it awakened, but it wasn't enough to save you.}

{Somehow, you survived. And with it, your body adapted in order to prevent such a situation from happening again. So I must say congratulations, your bloodline is perfectly fused with the tyrant. You are now a tyrant in human form. No matter how much your body evolves, it will always try to maintain this form. But in a life and death situation, it might change your form if necessary. Not like I can't turn you back though.}

… I thought I was already fused with the bloodline though?

{We have to make sacrifices in order to make it cheap… But on the good side, now the bloodline adapted to you and not the other way around.}

...Let's finish this before anything bad happens.

{There is another crystal 15 meters to your left.}

…