Enigma of Sin

While Kayn was having a massive feast of all sorts of dishes that he prepared, several individuals were sitting around a table frowning. They were currently at a secret black site that functioned as a research and development workshop. Another section of the same black site was dedicated to information tracking and analysis.

The current gathered group of people were some of the best minds of each division who had come together when they were able to discover a rare material which was used in the device Dr Elaine was using, they called it the Seed.

They only had a singular small amount of this material, so they were only able to create the one device, but the device itself could power up other sensors and track them while sharing the information with the command center.

The Seed was entrusted to Dr Elaine as she was one of the main developers and knew it best, not to mention she was guarded 24/7 by a team hidden in the shadows as well as some that weren't.

When they heard the news that the Seed had been stolen from her grasp, they almost couldn't believe it! None of the team they had watching her had a good explanation for what happened, they equated the blinding incident to staring straight at a nuclear warhead detonation. Most of them were surprised they weren't permanently blinded.

However, what made every individual in the room frown was the fact that not even an hour after they were alerted, the entire system shut down.

That meant that one of two things happened. Either the device was completely destroyed, including the rare unique material used to make it, or that the one who stole it managed to somehow break through all of the security protocols and take over the device for themselves.

Most of those present thought that the latter option was what had actually happened. They had tested the material that was present inside of the device, and nothing they tried could harm it in the least. 

They couldn't even alter the appearance or mold it to a better shape, they had to build the device around the core material. It was rather unlikely that it had been destroyed, which left them desperate to get it back.

"Tell me, do we need to enact emergency protocols and enter into the nuclear phase of this war?" A stern looking man with a thick mustache spoke. He was dressed in a fancy uniform with medals and ribbons adorned upon his chest.

"No, we don't General. A nuclear response isn't necessary in this case. While the material that was stolen was one of a kind, nothing we were able to discern from it or the information it revealed told us it was a viable energy source. Even if it ends up in the hands of our enemies, I doubt they would discover any more than we did." 

The people sitting around the table nodded their heads in agreement to the lead researcher's deduction, however, the general didn't seem too pleased.

"Is there no way for you people to track it or shut it down remotely? Did you not install any fail-safe mechanisms?" The general asked the group surrounding him. While they might not think that it had the possibility to be turned into a weapon, he was of the opposite mind, even with all of their research backing them.

His proof? That material led them to putting more effort into finding out what was happening at these newly discovered temples. And these temples were lethal to those who entered with very few exceptions.

If they could somehow harness the powers that were able to inflict various gruesome deaths upon the people that entered the temples, they would have a massive advantage in this war. They didn't just want it, they needed it, and the Seed as they decided to call the unique material was the key to everything.

"No sir, we were unable to create anything that could track that material, it was impossible. We did implement a few different fail safes into the actual electronics of the device though. Whoever has it shouldn't be able to access the data we already gathered or even turn it on.

"If they try to forcefully hack into the system the entire system will fry itself and all they will be left with is the Seed core. Their research will have to start from the beginning no matter what, so we have time, as long as we can get it back."

The general nodded to this as this was the only positive in this situation. "And Dr Elaine? What is she doing now?"

"Dr Elaine is currently traveling to one of the other temple sites located in Egypt with the team you sent. Their goal is to secure the beacons we call Roots. Once they can ensure that the Root is safe and collect it, they will move onto the other sites they've set up in the last few years in order to collect every Root."

"Aside from keeping the Root technology out of enemy hands, will we be able to gather any data already collected or progress our own research?" The general questioned as his main focus was and always will be military power.

"I'm not sure General. The initial reports and data we've been able to collect from the Roots were all relayed through the Seed device. We have people here who can recover the data from the Roots once they arrive, but I don't think it will get us anywhere as far as developing technology based upon the energy the temples radiate."

The lead researcher couldn't help but lament the fact they had lost the Seed. However, he honestly believed that it was better if it was destroyed than falling into the wrong hands. He himself wanted to see this new energy used to power the world with a sustainable resource, not create weapons from it.

Unfortunately, this was a time of war. Most efforts were now put towards progressing anything related to military might and power. World War III was shaping up to follow in the Second World War's footsteps as a race to figure out who could create a world destroying weapon first.

He shook his head, hoping that whoever did take the Seed accidentally destroyed it when they were trying to research it, otherwise, humanity might be in trouble.

The war had already claimed over two billion lives since it started. He honestly didn't want to be the reason more lives were claimed, but he didn't have much of a choice in joining this project site.

Indeed though, the person who stole it had completely obliterated it. Once Kayn was able to get the information he desired from the device, he had noticed the unique material during his probe. It was some kind of core stone that had absorptive properties, but wasn't able to hold onto the mana and keep it.

The mana would simply pass through it, which was what was giving the readings for the device. Judging by the size and mana capacity of the stone, Kayn assumed it had once belonged to a rune beast that was probably D-class, C-class at most.

The size of the stone didn't necessarily determine how strong the beast was when it was alive, but he couldn't help but think it wasn't very powerful, no matter how he thought about it. The only issue was, where did it come from and how did the people of Earth get their hands on it? Was it something left over from a bygone era, much like the temples?

Kayn finished up his feast and laid back on a couch with a bloated stomach, completely oblivious to the chaos he had created.

The longer Kayn spent on Talgonoth and the more powerful he became, the more his priorities changed. All of this and with Wrath fully part of him now, his morals and the consideration he had for others had changed.

He would normally still help people if he could, but when he had other priorities, it was much easier to ignore other's plights and focus on his own problems. Kayn would never sacrifice himself or any of his loved ones for strangers.

This also meant not wasting time solving Earth's war problem and he was also told not to do anything that would cause a big shift in the outcome of Earth. It was said in different words, but he knew what he was being told.

One could even consider him spending so much time at the temples as a waste of his precious time, and that every day he spent inside of them was another day his sister and loved ones could be in danger.

Kayn didn't have a choice though. He didn't know how to get home. He was going to look through the treasury after he consolidated and understood how his body changed, just in the case he had something inside that would help him understand how to get back.

Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be easy. Kayn could make basic arrays and formations by now, but he had no understanding of the symbols that went into creating teleportation formations.

He had asked Charlotte about it when he received his scroll, but she told him that even she didn't fully understand it and didn't take the time to study it since she wouldn't be able to do it in the first place with her aptitudes. She did tell him that at a single specific rune was involved though.

Inscribing any rune into an array which was then placed inside of a formation was an incredibly complicated process, not to mention one would need the proper material for the inscription. The specific rune was also a tightly kept secret gained from the study of a rare rune beast that was able to teleport wherever it wanted to.

Even if Kayn did have a way to study this rune and even learn it, he still lacked the materials needed to create the item.

One of the reasons he was visiting the temples was his small hope that one of them would eventually have a clue into an elemental affinity that could help him understand teleportation or realm and world travel. Anything would work, he just needed a hint to get started!

Feeling the pressure of getting back home come back to him, he forcefully calmed himself and emptied his mind. He needed a rest and a distraction. Overworking himself would only harm him and make the progress take longer.

His goal was to use at least the next couple of weeks Earth's time to travel the world and keep his mind off of all of his problems. Once his mind was once again cleared and fully focused on getting home again, he would start visiting more of the temples.

He only had a few more in mind that were listed publicly, but due to seeing the device's map, he was going to visit some of the other locations to see which god the temples belonged to. If it turned out that the temple belonged to a god of space or something similar, he might finally get the clue he needed.

Just the thought made Kayn want to start going to the temples again, but knowing that he wasn't thinking straight at this point and that he hasn't even explored what he already gained, he needed to calm himself and make a plan before continuing.

After examining himself, it would be off to the United States to experience tourism there first and then he would move east around the world until he finally ended up in Japan, where the first couple of the temples he wanted to visit were located.