“The Rainbow Crystal… actually known as the Origin Crystal, was the first and true creation born from both Mother and Arcane.
It was the foundation, the source of everything. The Golden, Silver, Copper, and Blank Crystals you see today? They are merely derivatives of that Original, created solely by Arcane without the Mother’s influence,” The Master said, his voice carrying a weight of deep knowledge as he stood in the middle of the lush garden.
Behind him, Victor stood motionless, absorbing every word in silence.
Victor was slightly taken aback, though he didn’t let it show on his face.
The Master continued, his gaze drifting toward the sky as if recalling memories long lost.
“The energy that belonged to the Mother, known as Clarion energy, began to deplete in ancient times. This led to the disappearance of the Origin Cards. As Arcane energy surged and took over, these mere derivatives—created without the Mother’s essence—started to shine brighter. Over generations… people forgot about the Mother Goddess entirely. Everything became saturated with Arcane energy, and so the true history was lost, buried under the influence of a single force…” He let out a sigh, his expression unreadable.
Victor exhaled softly before speaking, his tone cautious, “I see… so that means you’ve known this truth for a long time. But how exactly do you know all of this? Are you some kind of Ancient being?”
The Master let out a quiet chuckle, shaking his head. “You could say that… but no. It’s not as if I was born with this knowledge. I wasn’t there when it all began,” he admitted, a hint of amusement in his voice. “However, during one of my travels, I came across an endangered Origin Monsters. They were unique, different from any beings I had encountered before. Their blood contained both Arcane and Clarion energy, something I had never seen coexisting before.”
Victor’s brows furrowed slightly. He didn’t like where this was going. “…You mean to say—”
“Yes, Victor,” The Master interrupted before he could finish, his tone carrying a quiet intensity. “We… are the ones. Or rather… I am the one who created those so-called ‘Chosen Ones’ that the Sovereign now has.” His eyes flickered toward Victor’s hand, where he held a suitcase tightly. A slow smirk crept onto his lips as he lifted a hand, “The Creator of the Origin Blood.”
The suitcase in Victor’s grasp trembled violently before slipping from his fingers, floating toward The Master as if drawn by an invisible force.
As The Master unlatched the case and peered inside, his expression darkened. Only a few glass tubes remained. He frowned. “It’s almost empty…”
Victor shrugged, his face unreadable. “That’s all I managed to get when I stole it from the Sovereign,” he said flatly.
The Master’s frown deepened as he thought, ‘So, Dora has already started researching the blood… hmm… she must have gone to Scarlet to investigate.’ He let out a quiet sigh, nodding to himself before muttering under his breath, “Well, I suppose everything is already out of the box now…” With that, he shut the lid with a firm click.
Victor watched him carefully before speaking again, his curiosity evident. “Those documents… what exactly are they about? And…” His eyes narrowed slightly. “If I were to take that blood, could I become as powerful as them?”
The Master leaned back slightly, studying Victor’s expression before shaking his head. “The documents are nothing more than dosage instructions and the corresponding mixture of different blood types,” he said simply.
Victor’s frown deepened. “…Blood types?”
The Master hesitated for a moment, but then, deciding that regaining Victor’s trust was more important than secrecy, he continued, “Yes. You can’t just take the raw blood of Monsters and expect to harness their power. If you do, it leads to monsterization—where the body succumbs to the chaotic nature of the Monster’s blood. The transformation is irreversible. To counteract that, I experimented for years, searching for ways to reduce the monsterization effect.” His voice grew weary as if weighed down by the years of struggle.
Victor narrowed his eyes. “And? Did you ever succeed?”
The Master let out a slow breath. “It wasn’t easy, Victor. It took years of failures, trial after trial. Perfecting even a single dose was a monumental task.” He glanced down at the suitcase before adding, “To be honest, without the help of one of my students, I might never have achieved any success at all.” His voice softened, his mind drifting back to an old memory…
A purple-haired girl, her eyes burning with revenge, standing before him. Unlike the others he had experimented on, she had been different… all it took was a single dose and Rational. Controlled.
A human who hadn’t lost herself in the process.
That was rare… And with the samples of her blood, he had managed to refine the process further, pushing the success rate beyond a mere 10% and reducing monsterization by almost 50%.
Victor crossed his arms, “But I’ve heard that some of them still turn into monsters. If your method was so effective, then why is that still happening?”
The Master merely shrugged, a knowing look in his eyes. “Come on, Victor… not everyone is the same. Some can handle it. Others can’t.”
Victor processed that for a moment before pressing further. “But why children? Why not use adults instead? Every child I saw had an Arc—no, an Origin Card. But the adults… they had Origin Crystals.”
The Master met Victor’s gaze and nodded slowly. “That’s because, Victor, what I did was nothing more than utilizing the blood of Monsters. The ones injected with it would still retain some of the monstrous side effects. However…” He trailed off, his expression unreadable before finally finishing, “…their offspring?”
Victor frowned as if realizing something unsettling. “You mean…”
“Indeed…” The Master nodded,
“First, they are injected with the Origin Blood. Those who manage to withstand the gruelling evolution process, the ones strong enough to endure, are then allowed to procreate. Their offspring… born without those terrible side effects, will enter this world as the true Chosen Ones, the perfected beings we sought all along.”
Victor remained silent for a moment, digesting the information. His fingers clenched slightly as he exhaled through his nose, “Why are you doing this? I thought your goal was to put an end to the beginning. Just what the hell are you really trying to achieve?”
The Master let out a low chuckle, a smirk playing on his lips, “I’ve already told you more than enough, Victor. Any more, and it would spoil the fun. All I can say now is… you’re going to enjoy yourself far more than you think, as long as you stay by my side.” He extended his hand toward Victor, his eyes glinting with an unreadable expression. “So, what do you say? Will you take my hand?”
Victor stared at the Master’s outstretched hand, his gaze unmoving. He didn’t take it. Instead, he asked, his voice firm, “Will you betray me again?”
The Master sighed, his smirk fading as his expression turned solemn. “To be honest, Victor… it wasn’t me who betrayed you.” His voice dropped slightly, carrying a quiet frustration. “Rather, someone betrayed me.”
“Huh?”
The Master let out a slow, heavy sigh as if carrying the weight of something far more complicated than he could express. “I know… it might seem like I’m just making excuses, but the truth is, there’s a mole among the table members. Someone has infiltrated your empire and is deliberately trying to drive a wedge between us, trying to ensure that we can never truly trust each other again.”
Victor’s gaze darkened further, his expression unreadable. “A problem between us? Why would someone go that far?”
The Master’s expression turned grim, his fingers slightly curling into a fist. “Because, Victor… they wanted me to kill you.”
Victor’s face twisted into a deep scowl, “…Alaric?”
The Master nodded dangerously.
“I’m going to kill that fucking bastard!!”
However—
“Don’t, Victor” Master said with a stern tone, “If I wanted him dead, I could have killed him already. However… the situation is far more complicated than it seems. It’s not just about Alaric… I can’t afford to lose people right now, not when I still need them in play.”
That’s right… Master decided to use Alaric since Victor and Alaric were like water and fire which helped him better!
Victor frowned, “Complicated? What exactly are you trying to do?”
The Master inhaled deeply, closing his eyes for a brief moment before exhaling with a weary expression, “To be honest, the reason I called you there that day was to bait Dora… but Alaric ruined it. No, more than that…” His tone turned bitter, laced with deep disappointment. “He betrayed me.”
Victor’s eyes widened slightly. “Huh?” But inwardly, his thoughts churned. ‘Damn, this guy is really good at this… He’s covering every single hole, leaving me with nothing to question. No matter how I approach it, he makes sure I can’t find a fault in his words. Maybe I should learn a thing or two from him…’