Chapter 68 — Layers of the Unknown
S.C. 1510 — Mid September
Foosha Village — Underground Lab
The underground room was quiet—too quiet. A soft breeze came from the new ventilation shaft, but it did nothing to ease the tension inside Ren's chest.
On the stone table were two small clay bowls:
One filled with a clear greenish liquid
The other with thick, jelly-like residue
Yesterday's extraction left him with both.
Today, he would figure out what made them different.
Zemo lay beside the ladder entrance, pretending to nap but keeping one eye open—a silent promise of protection.
Ren picked up the bowl of clear liquid first.
"…Let's see how you behave on your own."
---
Light Exposure Test
Ren placed the clear liquid bowl under the beam of sunlight entering through the ladder opening.
What happened next made him freeze.
The liquid brightened.
Not glowing—just… becoming clearer.
Like sunlight was cleaning it from the inside.
Ren leaned in, heart racing.
He moved the bowl away from the sunlight.
The brightness faded.
Almost immediately.
Ren's voice shook slightly, whispering:
"You react to light… directly?"
Plants normally changed color slowly—days, not seconds.
This was different.
Fast.
Immediate.
Zemo let out a low warning noise.
Ren wrote quickly:
Clear liquid reacts instantly to sunlight.
Brightness increases under direct light.
Fades without sunlight.
Possible photo-reactive property.
He pushed the bowl aside.
---
Heat Test on the Thick Residue
He turned to the thicker, jelly-like residue. Its surface barely moved when he stirred it with a stick—it clung like sap.
Ren turned on the heating wire connected to the battery. The metal dish warmed up slowly.
He placed a small amount of the residue onto the dish.
At first, it stayed still.
Then—
thrrrp.
It pulled itself inward, shrinking just like yesterday, but more intensely.
It curled into a tight ball.
Ren tapped the dish lightly.
The ball bounced slightly.
Like rubber.
His breath caught.
"…You're stronger."
He leaned closer, eyes shining.
"Same plant… two different extracts… two different behaviors."
Zemo snarled at the moving residue.
Ren moved between the bowl and the fox.
"Hey. Stay back."
Zemo looked offended, but stayed alert.
---
Water Test
Ren dipped a wooden stick into fresh water and touched a droplet to the residue.
The reaction was immediate:
The residue expanded, tripling in size, becoming softer, almost jelly-like again.
Ren nearly dropped the bowl in surprise.
"You absorb water instantly… that's impossible."
Normal plant extracts absorbed water slowly.
This one reacted like a sponge under pressure.
He tapped it again.
This time it didn't bounce—it trembled.
Like it was adjusting its shape.
Ren swallowed.
"This isn't just dense. It's reactive."
---
Separation Into Three Types
Ren repeated the extraction process with new grass blades, carefully controlling:
heat
pressure
water
sunlight
crushing force
After several attempts, he noticed something astonishing:
He consistently obtained three distinct forms from the same grass:
1. Clear Liquid
reacts to sunlight
warms naturally
becomes brighter under direct light
2. Thick Jelly
contracts with heat
expands with water
unnaturally elastic
3. Crystalline Specks
When he dried the jelly longer than usual and added salt—
small greenish specks formed
Barely visible
But different
Ren held the dish up to the sunlight.
The specks refracted the light faintly.
He didn't understand what they were yet.
But they were important.
Very important.
He noted everything carefully:
"Three forms from one plant.
Three behaviors.
Three unknown mechanisms."
He hadn't discovered the final form.
He didn't understand their limits.
He didn't know what any of them truly were.
But this—
This was the foundation of something much larger.
---
Zemo's Warning
Zemo suddenly lifted his head.
A sharp growl rumbled from his throat.
Ren stopped moving.
"What is it?"
Zemo's fur bristled.
He stared toward the ventilation shaft.
Ren moved carefully up the ladder, opening the plank just a crack.
The forest outside was unnaturally still.
A heavy silence.
Like the world holding its breath.
Then—
A shadow passed between two trees.
Large.
Silent.
Smoother than any animal Ren knew.
The same creature.
Still watching.
Always watching.
Ren lowered the plank quietly and climbed back down.
Zemo pressed against him protectively.
Ren placed a hand on his companion's head.
"We need to finish these tests quickly… before it decides to come into the shed."
He gathered the three extracts, his stomach tightening.
The plant was special.
But something else in the forest knew it too.
And that something wasn't going to let him study it in peace.
---
End of Chapter 68