75. Special Chapter : The Chronos Crystal Mission

75. Special Chapter : The Chronos Crystal Mission
Zarek remained fixated on Rose, his compound eyes gleaming with admiration as if he were dissecting her DNA structure through sight alone. However, before he could utter another word, Liuz’s hand moved with lightning speed, covering Zarek’s golden eyes completely.
"She is my wife. Do not stare at her for more than five minutes," Liuz said in a flat, deeply protective tone.
Zarek chuckled, the vibrations in his chest causing Liuz’s hand to tremble slightly. "Wow, I get it, Bro! I suppose jealousy is only natural when you’ve finally found the right wife in this vast galaxy." Zarek raised all four of his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Relax, my eye sensors have already stored the image in short-term memory."
Liuz released his grip, while Rose could only roll her eyes, observing the two cross-species men who seemed remarkably close.
"What about the collaboration on the Chronos Crystals?" Liuz asked, shifting the subject. "I heard there are energy fluctuations at Kaelum’s central core."
Zarek’s expression instantly turned grave. The bioluminescent stripes on his skin dimmed to a deep navy blue. "You’re right. That’s why I desperately need you in the main lab. There’s an anomaly in the crystal’s frequency that our algorithms can't crack. We need the intuition of an Orvantis scientist."
"Then let’s head to the lab now," Liuz urged.
"Let’s go!"
Zarek led the way through glowing crystal corridors, taking them deep into the heart of Kaelum’s central facility. As the massive laboratory doors slid open automatically, the sharp scent of ozone and pure energy filled the air. In the center of the room, a giant, unstable pulsing crystal hovered, surrounded by thousands of holographic displays showing chaotic frequency graphs.
Zarek glanced at Liuz’s three sons, who were beginning to look bored. An idea seemed to strike him, and he beckoned the triplets over.
"Boys! I’m going to borrow your father for a moment to handle this crystal business. If the three of you are bored, you can play with my favorite pet," Zarek said with a friendly grin. He then whistled an ultrasonic pitch that made the air vibrate. "Bughunter! Come here, good boy!"
A moment later, the rapid scuttling of legs echoed from behind a corridor. Srak-srak-srak!
A creature resembling a giant cockroach the size of a Great Dane emerged with incredible speed. Its body possessed an exoskeleton that shined like chrome steel, with thin wings that vibrated loudly, emitting an excited buzzing sound. A pair of antennae, over a meter long, flickered lithely, sweeping the air before the creature leaped and spun around Zarek like a highly pampered puppy.
Rose shuddered violently. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. On Earth, the sight of a thumb-sized cockroach was enough to make her want to move houses; seeing this "monster" was a nightmare. The harsh rasping of its wings sounded like a small chainsaw in her ears.
"This is so cool! Look at the antennae—it can pick up frequency signals!" Bastian exclaimed, running toward the creature without a shred of fear.
Alaric followed with a serious yet enthusiastic expression, observing the creature’s leg structure. "The joint structure is incredibly efficient for traction on slick surfaces. I bet he could run up the walls of this lab without falling," he muttered while attempting to stroke Bughunter’s hard shell.
Meanwhile, Cygnus stood composed with his arms folded, though his eyes gleamed with intense scientific interest. "Fascinating. It has bioluminescent patterns on its thorax that respond to Zarek’s emotions. This creature isn't merely an insect; it is a living organic bio-computer," he concluded in a flat, prideful tone.
To Rose, however, all those scientific explanations meant absolutely nothing. With a face as pale as death and legs that felt like lead, she clung to Liuz’s back, hiding her face behind her husband’s cloak as if facing a minor apocalypse.
"Get me away from that thing, Liuz! Please!"
"Calm down, sweetheart. Come with me to the lab," Liuz urged, immediately wrapping an arm around Rose’s shoulders to make her feel secure.
The three boys eventually became engrossed in playing with Bughunter. Bastian had even managed to sit atop the giant insect’s back, while Alaric and Cygnus were busy observing how the creature’s antennae functioned. Rose, despite the lingering shivers, tried to maintain as much distance as possible while following Liuz and Zarek into the laboratory’s inner core.
In the center of the room, the Chronos Crystal, a three-meter-tall slab of transparent mineral, pulsed unstably. Its light glowed a dim, angry red, emitting a low-frequency hum that was painful to the ears. Thousands of holographic diagrams surrounding it displayed graphs that continued to plummet sharply.
"The problem lies in its resonance frequency," Zarek sighed, clutching his head with two hands while his other two hands were busy swiping through data in the air. "We’ve tried stabilizing it with the most advanced quantum algorithms, but the crystal continues to reject the synchronization. If this persists, Kaelum's entire energy grid will shut down within twenty-four hours."
Liuz stepped closer, his eyes scanning the chaotic flow of energy. "This is strange. Atomically, the crystal is perfect. There are no defects. But why does the energy seem... trapped inside?" Liuz frowned, a rare sight that indicated even he had hit a dead end.
Both men fell silent, lost in high-tech confusion for several moments. The atmosphere grew incredibly tense.
Rose, who had been observing from behind Liuz’s shoulder, suddenly stepped forward slightly. She studied the blinking circular graphs on the main screen, then shifted her gaze to the pulsing light of the crystal.
"You're focusing too much on its digital frequency," Rose interjected suddenly.
Liuz and Zarek turned in unison. "What do you mean, Rose?" Liuz asked.
"Look at the pulsing pattern," Rose pointed toward the center of the crystal. "You’re trying to force it to sync with a machine, but this crystal is an organic mineral, isn't it? On Earth, minerals with this kind of structure don't react to linear commands. They react to... rhythm."
Rose took another step closer. "You’re feeding it energy in rigid, flat waves. That’s why it’s rejecting it. This crystal doesn't need calibration; it needs 'breathing room.' Try using the Fibonacci sequence or a natural geometric series. Let the energy flow in a spiral pattern, not a straight shot."
Zarek was stunned. His compound eyes blinked rapidly. "A spiral pattern? The Golden Ratio of the universe?"
"Exactly," Rose continued with confidence. "On Earth, nature always uses that pattern to distribute energy most efficiently. Try changing the energy input to a ratio of 1.618. Stop commanding it, and start following it."
Zarek and Liuz exchanged glances for a few seconds. Without wasting a moment, Zarek moved all four of his hands with incredible speed, adjusting the machine's parameters according to Rose’s suggestion.
Instantly, the agonizing hum ceased. The tense red glow gradually transformed into a calm, clear blue. The previously chaotic graphs suddenly formed a perfect, stable spiral pattern.
"It worked..." Zarek whispered in disbelief. "The energy is stable! The frequency is now perfectly in sync with the planet's core!"
Zarek gazed at Rose as if she had just descended from the heavens. "Liuz! Your wife... she solved a problem that has plagued our council of scientists for months with just a single observation?"
A faint smile played on Liuz’s lips, an irrepressible glint of pride shining in his eyes. He drew Rose into a firm embrace. "She is an Earth researcher! I am beyond proud to have a wife as brilliant as her," Liuz declared boastfully.
Rose offered a shy smile, but her heart skipped a beat when she heard a loud buzzing sound from behind. Bughunter had somehow escaped supervision and scuttled into the lab to find its master. The creature flew directly over Rose’s head; startled, she fainted on the spot.
"Good heavens! My darling!" Liuz reacted instantly, catching Rose’s limp body before she could even touch the laboratory floor.
Rose slowly drifted awake on a warm bed, tucked under a silver-colored cloth that felt far softer than any Earthly silk. She blinked, staring at the ceiling’s organic, curved architecture, entirely different from any room she had ever known on Earth.
"Are you awake, sweetheart?" Liuz’s deep voice greeted her as he approached the bedside.
"Where am I? I saw... I saw that monster! It was horrifying," Rose murmured, the memory of Bughunter sending a fresh shiver down her spine.
"Rest easy, it’s gone," Liuz explained gently, stroking Rose’s forehead. "Zarek only just realized you have a phobia of the Bughunter species. He feels terribly guilty and has invited us to stay at his private, most secure residence."
"Where are the boys?" Rose asked anxiously.
"They’re still busy playing with the creature in the lower garden. You stay here with me; it’s much safer," Liuz answered with a calm, reassuring smile.
Rose let out a long sigh. "Goodness... how can they possibly like such a terrifying creature?"
"In truth, Rose, there are far more terrifying beings in this universe," Liuz said honestly.
"Don't you dare ever take me to meet anything like that again!" Rose grumbled half-threateningly.
"I won't, love. Here, come here," Liuz said, opening his arms. Without protest, Rose leaned in for a needy embrace, hiding her face against Liuz’s broad chest.
"My poor, beautiful wife," Liuz whispered. "Wait, I want to show you something you might actually like."
Liuz took a small device resembling a crystal remote and aimed it at the ceiling. Instantly, the overhead material turned perfectly transparent, revealing a magnificent celestial view. Clusters of stars glowed brilliantly against a magical, violet-hued sky.
"Wow... what a beautiful night sky," Rose remarked in awe, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at the nebulae above.
"It is beautiful," Liuz replied briefly. "But it’s actually still mid-day, sweetheart."
Rose chuckled softly. "Oh, Kaelum really is a strange planet."
A comfortable silence enveloped them for a moment before Liuz asked in a suddenly serious tone, "Are you happy being my wife? Or... have you begun to regret following a strange alien like me across the galaxy?"
Rose smiled sincerely, tightening her embrace. "I might be fussy and nag you often, but I have never once regretted having you in my life, Liuz," she said sweetly.
Liuz’s eyes flashed with excitement at her words. "Does that mean... my request for a baby girl is granted? Let’s make it happen now!"
"No baby girls! Liuz! Stop, that tickles!" Rose protested, laughing as Liuz began to tease her.
"Three more baby girls, I beg of you! Mini versions of your fussy self!" Liuz pleaded with a playful, yet adorable pout.
Rose finally laughed in surrender. "Alright, alright!"
"I love you, Rose," Liuz whispered directly into her ear, closing the day’s adventure with a warmth that surpassed the coldness of outer space.

THE END