Chapter 2: Prologue (2)
A few minutes later, Jeremy arrived at the lobby. His boss and the rest of the famous scientists were waiting for him, much to his embarrassment yet he couldn't contain his excitement upon meeting them.
The scientists were - Dr. Louis Beau, famous for the successful cloning of velociraptors in France; Dr. Chéng Yi Chén, famous for using the Lotus Flower as an energy source for androids in China; Dr. Matteo Rolando, famous for inventing Nikola and current CEO of NuxShrew Technologies in Italy; and Dr. Anna Althea, famous for successfully inventing automatons in the Philippines.
All of them were gathered from around the world for the unexplained magical crystal. There were some troubles negotiating with them regarding the crystal a few days ago, but they eventually agreed in return for sharing each of their individual works. That’s how important Theos Krustallos was.
“You’re late, Dr. Scott. You need to work on your time schedule. You are a Head Scientist of the Research Division.” Mr. Manfred scolded his employee about his lateness.
“My apologies, Mr. Manfred. I might’ve forgotten to set my alarm clock right.” Jeremy apologizes to him while having an uneasy feeling from the four scientists.
“Hmph. It’s fine, as long as you understand.” Mr. Manfred then pulled his employee over to greet the scientists. “I’m sure you already know them, Dr. Scott. I gave you a brief explanation about them and their achievements a few days ago.”
“Of course!” He then lowered his head respectfully. “It’s an honor to meet you, sirs and ma’ams.”
“Likewise. I’m sure you know I’m Dr. Beau.” Dr. Beau introduced himself via his native language, French.
“Dr. Chén. Pleasure to meet you.” Dr. Chén greeted him as well via Chinese.
“Dr. Rolando. I look forward to working with you.” Dr. Roland greeted him via Italian.
And Dr. Althea greeted him in Tagalog, “Nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine, doctors.” Jeremy said.
The reason why Jeremy and Manfred could understand their language was thanks to a device that is stapled on the side of their forehead to translate languages that aren’t English. It is simply called “Translator”. It was invented by Lian Kimori who unfortunately passed away a few months due to a car crash. She was a brilliant young lady who could’ve shaped the world with her knowledge.
Anyway, they will have no problem with communicating with anyone speaking in different languages as long as the Translator is with them at all times.
“All right, ladies and gentlemen. Let’s proceed to the Testing Chamber.” Mr. Manfred said.
They entered an elevator and pressed the “Sublevel 1” button which is where the chamber is located. Once they entered the Testing Chamber, it was filled with a bunch of scientists sitting behind computers while giant wires attached to a tube that stored a floating seven foot purple crystal - Theos Krustallos.
They observed the crystal closely but avoided getting too close to the tube. They’ve read about what would happen to people who touched it. A bunch of robbers, who stumbled upon it on Dr. Ludwig’s house by accident back in 2023, were burnt and frozen alive at the same time. Dr. Althea was in awe of the power source while the others continued to read the description about the crystal.
“How are we supposed to experiment on this artifact when we can’t even touch it?” Dr. Rolando asked Manfred.
“That is where you come in, doctors. All of you are an expert in defying the impossibilities. You’ll figure out how you’ll proceed with this special assignment.” Mr. Manfred said.
Beau groaned, “Great. This is going to take us forever. I have other businesses to attend to.”
“If you’re giving up so easily, then the door's that way.” Althea pointed at the entrance with a smirk.
Beau scoffed, “And leave this precious thing in your hands? I refuse.”
“Let’s get things started then?” Rolando said.
For the whole entire day, the great scientists were trying all the possibilities on how to experiment on the Theos Krustallos without touching it. All attempts have failed. They used their own respective methods that achieved their success, but it is nothing compared to the magical properties of the crystal. Little by little, the workers were leaving when the sun was setting.
Eventually, the four doctors left one by one as they’ll try to continue the work on their homes. They prefer to work in their area rather than with people with the same unique mind.
“Are you not going home yet, Dr. Scott?” Chén asked after texting her driver.
Jeremy shook his head, “I’m gonna stay here for a bit. My wife knows I usually come home late anyway.”
“Very well then. See you tomorrow, doctor.” Chén said her farewells before exiting the building.
As the lights went out, Jeremy continued to observe the Theos Krustallos closely, trying to figure out how to make physical contact with the magical artifact and find out its capabilities as well as trying to pinpoint the origin of it. Suddenly, one of the computers was lit up. It slightly spooked him because all of the computers were turned off yet one remained active. He walked towards the computer cautiously, finding out that there was a message sent by someone called “Pythia”. He sat down and pressed the unknown message without having to type the password.
Pythia:
Jeremy Scott. That’s you, right?
He was surprised and shocked that somebody knew who he was, meaning that this computer was being hacked. He was going to call the authorities, but then another message was sent.
Pythia:
Don’t bother calling the law enforcers. They won't be able to track me down anyway. This is important, Dr. Scott.
Without any other choice, he decided to leave a message. He wants answers, but he hopes they aren’t terrorists.
Kim_Dash45:
Who are you? How did you hack this computer? This is supposed to be unhackable.
Pythia:
I have my ways. But listen, you need to destroy the crystal.
He widened his eyes from the unexpected comment, “They know about the crystal?”
Kim_Dash45:
What? Why? And how do you know about the crystal?
Pythia:
Because I received a prophecy. You must destroy it unless you want the world to be destroyed.
“What is she talking about?” Jeremy was starting to get confused by their statement.
Kim_Dash45:
I don’t know what you’re on about! If you don’t tell me what you want, I’ll seriously report you to authorities!
Pythia:
Then I’ll have to let you read this.
The mysterious person then sent a file - Old_Gods.srt
Reluctantly, Jeremy pressed the file to find an image of ancient text about the Theos Krustallos. Every word matched the description he had in his dream last night. From the existence of gods to the creation of God Crystal to Ragnarök. He doesn’t know what is going on, but it seemed that this hacker knew everything about Theos Krustallos. He was going to ask them everything related to the crystal until they sent some kind of poem.
Pythia:
A new beginning of gods is coming
The world shall hear the sound of humming
Seven rose against all odds
Peace or destruction, judge by the new gods
He raised his eyebrow in confusion, “The hell?”
Kim_Dash45:
What is this?
Pythia:
The prophecy. I don’t have much time now, doctor. It’s your choice. Either destroy the crystal or let the world overrun with chaos. See you soon.
Kim_Dash45:
Hey! Wait!
Pythia left
It was unexpected. A mysterious hacker who goes by the name of “Pythia” knew about Theos Krustallos and informed him about the destruction of the world if he doesn’t destroy it.
The so-called prophecy that they left behind sound gibberish, ripping straight out of Percy Jackson book series. He doesn’t know how much this person knew about the crystal, but he guaranteed that they are an “otaku” for mythology.
The dream and the file was merely a coincidence. There are no such things as gods or magic. There is only science. Everything has an explanation. Yet after all that, why does he seem so worried about the crystal?
Whatever the person spouted was nothing but a joke.
Jeremy sighed, “On second thought, I should get back home. I need to clear my mind off.”