The absolute silence inside the subterranean vault was heavy, thick with the smell of vaporized gold and the overwhelming, suffocating density of thousands of hoarded monster cores.
Ren knelt perfectly dead center in the massive, multi-colored ocean of evolutionary energy. The heavy, matte-black ballistic canvas of his ruined trench coat spread out over the glowing crystals. His pitch-black, tungsten-sheened Iron Skin absorbed the chaotic, neon light of the room, rendering him as a complete, terrifying void amidst a sea of priceless stars.
He didn't pick up a single core.
The Old World elite had spent billions of dollars and countless human lives extracting this localized harvest, carefully stacking the jagged rubies, smooth emeralds, and glowing sapphires of the apocalyptic ecosystem into a neat, secure pile. The massive mountain of mana had no idea there would be a surprise.
