Crimson Ore

The core of the Heart was like a mythical crystal out of fantasy.

It carried a foggy appearance, along with shades of scarlet and obsidian that spread in beautiful different hues.

The core was losing its warmth, and it was as hard as a rock.

Surrounding, the core, were boney silver branches that acted as a shield around it. Tipped with blood red, these branches had crystal ends.

Azuma was stunned at the mesmerizing treasure this Heart carried.

Haru exclaimed in glee, her eyes were filled with light and she looked at Azuma with a smile that could be barely contained.

"You're going to be so rich!" there was a soft giggle, "Damn, even I never stumbled across a Domain Heart. What are your plans, Azuma-kun?"

He looked at her and tried to smile the same way.

She looked so refreshingly happy, that Azuma wondered if would be feeling the same if he was not a monster.

The refreshingly raw happiness of her smile was so lively and so calming.

And strange.

"I don't know yet," Azuma looked down and took out the disk from his belt.

He should preserve the treasures as soon as possible. The heat of the chasm remained unbearable and he was not going to wear the mask because Haru didn't need it either.

Azuma had to become stronger.

"I heard you could keep any one thing from the Heart," Haru helped him with the disks.

They just need to be twisted clockwise, and then they could be separated into two disks. A glass-like layer would spread and surround the space between two disks.

And thus, a convenient vial was converted.

"As long as the treasure is below A rank," Azuma added, "Do you know what are these?"

Haru shook her head, "They never made details about the Hearts public."

"But there have been rumours," Azuma broke the bones and sealed them one by one.

"Some even claimed to find ancient relics and alien artefacts," he continued, "But those are just rumours. It makes no sense."

Haru was quiet for a while.

There was a soft sigh as a foggy gas filled the vial and sealed it shut.

〙You have found the 'Neron Ore Crust'. +1000 XP! 〘

Azuma was confused. Why such a high XP for just some ore? He would sweat buckets and tire his bones to complete the daily quest and earn much fewer experience points.

〙You have found the 'Neron Ore Crust'. +1000 XP! 〘

The notification popped up again when he sealed another piece of branch.

"Have you heard of any, Neron Ore?" Azuma asked.

She thought for a while and but then, as if she had solved one of the mysteries of the worlds, her eyes widened in understanding.

"The Neron Branch!" she gasped.

It sounded familiar to Azuma but he was not sure.

Haru chuckled, wonder laced in her voice as she continued, "Don't you remember that hacker page? White Ghost?"

"The one who claimed to leak Genesis secrets??"

"Exactly!" Haru looked at the vial in her hand, "But the claims of those articles being Genesis secrets were fan-made. The actual page just fictionalised some of the Abyssal things, and made lores about them."

Azuma's hold around the core of the Heart became firm. He felt a strange sense of deja vu, and he was also a little confused, but Azuma doubted those lores could be completely fictional.

Not when the subjects of those lores actually existed, and they just happened to be related to something Genesis had kept under covers.

"Neron's Branch was called another name in one of the pages I read," Haru sighed, and Azuma realized how easily she could remain happy, and how the smile have not left her.

"The Bloodlust Ore," she added, there was a dreamy look in her eyes as she continued, " 'They say that around a millennia ago, these ores were nurtured by the blood of fallen warriors.' "

Azuma sealed the heart and the same notification came again.

〙You have found the 'Neron Ore Crust'. +3000XP! 〘

It was time for them to leave, Azuma found himself easily immersed in the tale she told. His mind wove images of the lore, and he felt an inexplicable puzzlement.

〙Congratulations! You have completed the Domain Quest: The Devil's Chasm! 〘

Like being lost in a dream.

It was strange.

〙+5000 XP! 〘

〙+6000 Star Fragments! 〘

〙+100 Dark Essence! 〘

"...They were cursed to pay for their sins," Haru said, "Those men had taken countless lives and caused endless misery. And so—"

"On the day of brightest dawn," Azuma muttered, "A star shattered upon Earth. It plunged the lands into an era of darkness and ended the race of those warriors."

〙+1000 Dark Elixir 〘

Haru paused and smiled as she nodded, "Well, I guess you already know. But did you know such lores used to be a norm in older times?"

"In books," Azuma said, "I know."

Haru said something after that but Azuma wasn't listening. His thoughts returned to the story of the stars and blood.

The fallen star is said to have trapped the souls of the tainted men, and their sinful blood caused the 'white' star to turn as dark as blood.

Hatred coursed through the pure heavenly ores, gleaming coldly under the moonlight. And from these ores, were the crystalline branches born.

Even when broken, those branches are said to breathe with a ghostly life. They never pale nor lose their light.

But as Azuma thought more about that, he realized how far from any possible truth this lore was. It made no sense because the Neron Ore was found inside the Abyss.

It was inside the Heart, and the Heart was where the Abyssal energy was highest.

The ore possibly had more relationship to the Abyss instead of Heaven.

Azuma glanced at the vials strapped around his waist.

The scarlet glow carried a mysterious allure.

Must he really trap them?

What if he just lets them out for a little while…

He doesn't even need any treasure. The Abyss was wide and there were countless things he could claim.

"Azuma-kun?" Haru was frowning, "Are you feeling alright?"

She had already climbed over the edge of the wide hole, and Azuma had paused just near the edge for some reason he knew not.

"Uh, y-yeah."

Azuma shook his head and then stiffly nodded.

What was that?

Haru had no time to worry about him anymore, she faltered as soon as she took two steps over the ground. Her breaths were more unsteady than ever.

She fell to her knees and softly panted.

The feel of cold air was comforting after the trip to the chasm.

Haru closed her eyes for a moment and then tried to get up but a firm hand appeared on her shoulder.

Her confused gaze found Azuma looking back at her intently, but his eyes were also distant at the same time.

He placed a hand over her forehead.

"You're burning up."

"I am fine," She replied in a low voice, looking away, "You should focus on your selection."

Azuma laughed a little, why was she denying it when things were so obvious?

"Don't worry, I can carry you."

"What—" her eyes snapped at him, in astonishment, "Why?"

"You helped me too," Azuma shrugged as if it was nothing.

"N-no, no, no! I am fine!"

She got up as if to prove her point but her feet faltered right away. Azuma caught her in time, and Haru's face was burning as she bit back her words.

This time, she didn't say anything but for a few moments to allow her heart to calm down.

Her body was feeling weary and feverish, but her thoughts were the ones messed up.

She lifted her conflicted gaze and looked at Azuma, but there was something odd in his eyes.

Azuma wasn't looking at her, a moment ago he was trying to think how he could help Haru but then, his heartbeats skipped.

His mind wandered back to the chasm, to the Heart and its mysterious core. The lores and tales Haru brought up were something Azuma knew.

But he just realized, he had never been curious about the anonymous writer of these lores. He never visited that site, and he had never read the story.

The Neron Branch.

His gaze dimmed coldly.

No…

There was something very wrong.

Different.

"...Shiro."

+

『 When our eyes met… all my thoughts ceased. The scarlet eyes were darker than blood. It was hard to describe why or how I abruptly felt a frightening sensation across my heart. There was something strange stirring in my guts.

『 It told me to run. 』