Noah spent the following days testing the potion again and again.
Superficial wounds.
Micro-cuts.
Plant tissue.
Laboratory rats.
Concentration variations.
Dilutions.
Stabilizers.
Reaction times.
With every trial, the same conclusion returned in a different form.
The compound worked, but it had reached a ceiling.
Regetoin stimulated regeneration.
Tiger Grass stabilized the reaction.
Molecular Decomposition allowed him to isolate compounds that no conventional equipment could have extracted cleanly.
And yet, something was missing.
Noah remained bent over his notebook, eyes fixed on a line of numbers.
‘Astral catalyst.’
He set down the pen.
“I need crystals.”
The sentence hung in the laboratory.
Noah massaged his temple.
Crystals could serve two purposes.
Improve his potion and maybe help him form a second Node.
The problem was simple.
Crystals were not exactly lying around on street corners.
Ever since Professors Thomas Watson and Sherdin Holworth had developed the Prometheus reactor, their value had exploded.
The technology made it possible to use crystals from Holes as a clean, stable, almost inexhaustible energy source, according to some still-incomplete reports.
Many called it the only positive thing born from the Grand Radiation.
Noah was not so sure.
A precious resource always attracted the same predators.
Governments.
Agencies.
Corporations.
Private laboratories.
Underground merchants.
Crystals had stopped being mere research materials.
They had become condensed power.
Noah opened several files on his screen.
A.C.A.
The Ascension Control Act.
Regulations, mandatory registration, ability evaluations, supervised training, authorization to enter Holes only after certification.
Medical monitoring, behavioral monitoring, periodic reports.
Noah gave a joyless smile.
“I’m a researcher.
Not a soldier.”
Registering as an Ascendant seemed logical officially.
In practice, it meant handing his existence over to an administration that would want to measure, classify, test, and regulate his Decomposition before he even understood it himself.
And there was worse.
The forums whispered enough stories to kill any desire he might have had.
Missing Ascendants.
Abusive contracts.
Underground agencies.
Illegal laboratories.
Abilities exploited to exhaustion, humans turned into property under the cover of debt, blackmail, or protection.
Noah closed the tab.
“The world of Ascendants is truly too dangerous.”
He remained silent, then opened another window.
Private networks.
Unstable addresses.
Buried forums.
Sellers rated by anonymous buyers.
The black market.
Dangerous.
Dirty but fast.
And most importantly, no forms.
“I also need laboratory equipment.
New rats.
Reagents.
Reinforced containers.”
He stood.
“And a few precautions.”
Noah packed his bag methodically.
Gloves.
Empty vials.
Anesthetics.
Sedative drugs.
Not enough to wage a war.
Enough not to show up empty-handed somewhere that sold stolen crystals.
He put on his coat.
The address led to a jewelry store.
Magic Gold.
Clean facade.
Lit display window.
Rings, necklaces, bracelets, cut stones under warm light.
At first glance, nothing suggested an underground sales point.
Exactly.
Noah stood on the sidewalk for a few seconds.
“This is either very clever, or I’m about to buy an overpriced ring by mistake.”
He entered.
A bell chimed.
The air smelled of polished metal, light perfume, and new carpet.
A young woman behind the counter raised her eyes toward him with a professional smile.
“Good afternoon, sir.
Noah adjusted his glasses.
‘Hmm.
How does one politely say : I’m looking for illegal astral crystal fragments ?’
He answered calmly.
“I’ll have a look around.
I’ll see for myself what interests me.”
“Of course.”
She did not really take her eyes off him.
Noah moved along the display cases.
Diamonds.
Rubies.
Sapphires.
White gold.
Yellow gold.
Then he saw it.
A blue stone mounted like a jewel.
Cut into clean facets.
Too luminous.
Too alive.
The light beneath its surface was not merely reflected.
It breathed.
Faintly.
Like a pulse held behind a layer of glass.
The Node inside Noah’s skull reacted.
A fine pressure.
An attraction.
‘Astral crystal.’
He approached.
The stone was displayed openly, almost too openly.
Yet the energy it released seemed stifled.
Masked by a special alloy around the setting.
Some sort of conductive cage, perhaps.
Enough to contain the astral signature without extinguishing it completely.
‘Why display it ?’
The answer came before the saleswoman did.
‘Test.’
Only someone who knew how to look would understand.
The young woman approached.
“Sir.”
Noah raised his eyes.
“I believe I know what you are looking for.”
“You do ?”
“Yes.”
Her smile did not change.
“Please wait a moment.
I’ll call the manager.”
Two minutes later, a man appeared from the back room.
Short.
Early baldness.
Thin goatee.
Well-tailored suit.
Eyes too mobile.
He smiled at Noah like an honest merchant.
Which immediately made him suspicious.
“Dear customer.
Are you interested in this particular kind of jewelry ?”
He pointed at the displayed crystal.
Noah inclined his head slightly.
“It looks interesting.”
“Very interesting, indeed.
It possesses six carats.”
The word struck Noah.
Carats ?
Possesses six carats, not weighs ?
‘Nodes.’
His expression did not move.
‘Carats means Nodes here.’
Ingenious.
Language ordinary enough to fool a normal ear.
Precise enough for an Ascendant or an informed buyer to understand.
And if the HMA inspected the store, the manager could always claim he was talking about a precious stone received from a supplier.
Then the seller looked Noah up and down.
“Are you certain you have the means for this one ?”
Noah observed the stone.
Six Nodes.
Even fragmented, it had to cost a fortune.
He did not need that level.
Not yet.
“No.”
The manager narrowed his eyes slightly.
“I see.”
“I would prefer a three-carat model.”
The smile returned.
“Of course.”
He opened a safe hidden behind a wooden panel.
Inside rested several fragments.
Smaller.
Less brilliant.
But alive.
Noah felt the astral pressure in the room shift.
Very slightly.
Enough to make his Node shiver.
The manager took out a bluish fragment the size of a finger joint.
“Three karats.
Thirty-five thousand pounds.”
Noah remained still.
‘Thirty-five thousand.’ Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
His brain did the calculation.
Official estimated price around fifty thousand pounds, but still not easy to buy.
Rarity.
Risk.
Criminal margin.
Probable scam.
The fragment was not even complete.
His face remained perfectly calm.
‘Do not negotiate.’
Not here.
Not on a first purchase.
Not when the other side was evaluating both his weakness and his wallet.
“I’ll take it.”
The payment was quick.
Too quick.
The card went through.
The sum disappeared.
The fragment was placed inside a small black container lined with insulating material.
When Noah put it into his bag, he felt the crystal’s Astra through the protective layer.
Cold.
Dense.
Attractive.
“Would you like anything else ?”
The manager raised his arms.
“We also have weapons, artifacts, and manuals on runes.”
Manuals on runes ?
Noah remained silent for a moment.
No, my finances are practically dry.
I’ll look into that another time.
He put away his card.
“Not today.”
The manager smiled.
“Thank you for your purchase.
Come back whenever you wish.”
“I won’t fail to.”
Noah left with impeccable politeness.
The bell chimed behind him.
Once outside, the London air felt more humid.
More real.
He walked a few meters before exhaling.
“I feel like I’ve been scammed.”
He tightened his hand around the strap of his bag.
“But it was a necessary sacrifice.”
The crystal weighed little.
And yet he felt its mental weight with every step.
A three-Node fragment.
Enough to test its effect on the potion.
Enough to observe the reaction of his own Node.
Enough to open a door.
Or blow his skull apart if he was stupid.
Noah accelerated.
“Let’s get home quickly.”
His mind was already drawing protocols.
Isolation.
Astral radiation measurement.
Indirect exposure.
Controlled infusion.
Resonance with Decomposition.
Then his gaze caught a storefront.
An ice cream shop.
Small bright shop.
Pastel counter.
A poster with several flavors.
Noah slowed.
“Oh.”
He moved closer to the window.
“I wonder if they have strawberry ?”
The question was absurd.
His bag contained a crystal fragment bought on the black market, and he was considering ice cream.
Maybe precisely because of that.
He leaned slightly forward to look at the displayed flavors.
Then his attention shifted.
Not because of the window.
Because of the reflection.
Behind him, on the glass, the street stretched in pale lines.
Passersby.
Streetlamp.
Parked car.
And a silhouette.
Noah did not move.
His heart slowed all at once.
Not because he was calm.
Because his body had chosen caution before panic.
The silhouette had stopped when he stopped.
Too far to be a customer.
Too still to be a passerby.
Noah adjusted his glasses while pretending to study the flavors.
The reflection confirmed the same thing.
The silhouette was looking in his direction.
‘No.’
‘Don’t tell me…’
He had maybe just bought his first crystal.
And someone had already started tailing him.