World System's Wrath: Primordial Architect of Taboo Creations

Cyrus stood under the shower, gazing at himself in the mirror as the conversation with Yuna replayed in his mind. His electric blue eyes stared back at him, framed by well-defined muscles reflected in the glass. His drenched black hair cascaded backward, just crossing his shoulders, while the watch remained strapped to his wrist.

His mind was caught in indecision; he had left the shop after their discussion.

***

Yuna explained seriously, "I'll be frank with you. The operation starts in two weeks. Since you've been an Awakened Elite for a while, your Etherion reserve should be complete.

Your best chance of survival is to enter the Temple for the Awakened Trial. Instead of continuing with the trial, you can lurk there for three weeks, as the trial has no time limit. After about three weeks, you can finally complete the trial and come out as an Eminent Elite. That should be feasible with your spatial ring."

Cyrus's pupils dilated at Yuna's last sentence.

"Don't be surprised. It's not Tracy who told me. You hid it well, but I'm just too observant," she waved her hand dismissively upon seeing his expression.

Exhaling, Cyrus eyed her suspiciously and asked, "The watch?" He raised his wrist.

"Bubble can hack it and tamper with it for a while, giving you enough time to reach a Temple."

"Looks like you've calculated this well," Cyrus said sarcastically.

"I've been thinking about it since I saw it," she answered, unfazed by his tone and remark.

"What's in it for you?" Cyrus asked.

Her eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Nothing. And I don't need to explain myself. You don't have much time, so come to our house when you're ready."

Deactivating the cube, she walked away, leaving Cyrus stunned.

***

'That bitch! I don't know her motive. That's why I don't enjoy her presence,' Cyrus cursed under his breath, his knuckles tightening in anger.

He turned off the shower and wiped his face, drying his hair while his thoughts churned for a solution. 

'The first thing is to fill my Etherion reserve. All these thoughts are meaningless without a full Etherion column.'

He swiftly dressed in casual attire, tying his long hair back while allowing a few strands to cascade across the side of his face. He walked to the rocking chair in his living room, sat down, closed his eyes, and sank into his thoughts.

'There must be a faster way to fill my Etherion reserve without hunting. Buying Awakened beast cores from the market is one option, but those often have high impurities. Do I risk hampering my potential for survival? Is that the price for a shortcut?'

Picking up the beast core of the crab, Cyrus raised it into the air, his eyes glued to it as if entranced, rocking the chair in a rhythmic motion.

He stared at the roughly spherical black crystal, its surface smooth and free of impurities. Activating the Eyes of Void, he focused intently, and suddenly, the world around him transformed. He saw numerous black spots affixed to the membrane of a sparkling, translucent glob of liquid.

He rubbed his thumb against the black spots, but they remained untouched, as if they existed in another realm.

'A way to get the black spots off… if I can find a way to destroy this part…'

His eyes widened at the thought, and he abruptly sat up, nearly falling off the rocking chair. He deactivated the Eyes of Void.

Without hesitation, he stood up and made his way to the shop. The night was dark, with only the stars and the arc of the moon illuminating his path. Shadows danced in the cool breeze, and the quietness of the night enveloped him as he navigated the familiar streets. 

Upon arriving at his shop, he opened the door, locked it behind him, and made his way to the basement. Once there, he scanned the area with the Eyes of Void but detected nothing unusual. He then deactivated the ability.

After Yuna's warning, anxiety gnawed at him; waiting for the next day felt unbearable.

He sat down on the floor and stretched out his free hand. Taking a deep breath, he summoned [Nullfire] in his palm, materializing a black fire with twinkling purple speckles.

Knowing it was pointless to use other materials as tongs, he decided to use his hand instead.

'It won't burn me since it's not actually burning my palm, only absorbing Etherion.'

Still, he hesitated, stretching a finger toward the flame. His fingers trembled as they approached, and the tip touched the ravenous fire. Surprisingly, it felt like a cozy embrace.

'Good!'

He pushed his hand forward for further reassurance, but nothing occurred.

'Time to begin.'

Picking up the beast core from the floor, he activated the Eyes of Void again. Positioning the part with the black spots over the fire, he watched as the spots dissolved like snow melting under heat. But that was not all; the ravenous flame consumed the part of the beast core upon touching it. Cyrus quickly turned it over, his focus sharp as he burned the next section.

He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but the flame felt hotter as it dissolved pieces of the beast core.

Like a seasoned chef perfecting a barbecue, he rotated the core until every black spot disappeared. After a grueling struggle, he finally deactivated [Nullfire] and let out a sigh of relief.

Sweat trickled down his face.

When he looked at the beast core again, it had lost its spherical shape; it now resembled a shapeless black lump with numerous pieces smoothly bitten off. The size had shrunk to about one-fourth of its original form, marred with cracks.

Cyrus doubted whether it was still absorbable, but when he checked with the Eyes of Void, he saw it was free from the black spots.

With some trepidation, he closed his eyes and activated the [Extract] skill. The remaining beast core turned to dust.

[+1 Etherion absorbed!]

Cyrus opened his eyes, gleaming in the darkness, and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

'I knew there was a backdoor. Now, it's time to blaze through the ranks and escape this cage.'

His gaze fell on the watch on his wrist.

Suddenly, his expression darkened as he considered the implications of this method.

'My Etherion reserve is 141 now. If I take this route, I'll need about 859 Awakened beast cores to reach a thousand. But getting that bulk amount will be incredibly expensive! An Awakened beast core costs around fifteen thousand credits, so 859 should total about 12.5 to 13.5 million credits.'

Cyrus's eyes widened at the estimated price.

'I only have five million credits. Even if I had the money, I'd need the right channels. I know where to source it, given the right amount of time, but time is what I don't have. Channels… channels…'

Cyrus drummed his fingers on his lap, sifting through his contacts in search of someone with extensive connections.

Then a name flashed in his mind, but it made his eyes flickered with uncertainty. 

"Helen… Vane."