After making sure he had everything he needed and that he had packed up all the things he deemed essential, Danny picked up the tablet he had left on top of the bed and started fiddling with it.

In the device he had gathered all kinds of useful information, ranging from books containing elementary knowledge one had to go through during school, to guides on how to properly farm. Danny had stored a wide variety of information, anything he thought might come in handy during the crisis the demon had foretold him then, really, and then some more.

Right now, he was checking the maps he had available of the surrounding areas. However, if the demon’s words were to be trusted then the greater portion of those maps would be outdated already.

If the reason behind the earthquakes that happened on day-one was truly a reshuffling of landmasses, then Danny had no way of knowing what places would have remained the same and what places would have been altered beyond recognition. He could head somewhere nearby thinking he would find a forest only to be faced with an ocean.

Still, having some vague idea of what he might expect was definitely better than rushing ahead blindly.

Danny didn’t notice any changes regarding the position of the sun and the duration of the days, so he figured that his initial location planet-wise shouldn’t have been altered very much at the very least.

It was a shame that he knew nothing about constellations and star gazing though, as that would have been undoubtedly useful in figuring out his geographical position. He also had nothing on the subject stored on his tablet. One could not be prepared for absolutely everything, and Danny simply did not think he would need it either at the time, so that was that.

Luckily, the other two stashes of supplies he had prepared were not too far off from where he was, so Danny thought that the likelihood of them being displaced was fairly low. However, Danny was not worried about this right now. He wouldn’t be heading to any of those two places for now anyway.

Instead, Danny decided to pick a direction and explore the nearby areas while also collecting crystals. He felt it was better course of action to proactively scout his surroundings and assess the nearby dangers than simply wait for them to come to him.

Danny preferred to maintain the initiative and make the first moves himself, facing whatever dangers that he might find on his own terms, rather than handing over the choice of when and where to his possible foes. This way, he would at least keep the element of surprise on his side.

That was the theory anyways.

In any case, Danny could not remain rooted in one single place, given that he had to gather as many crystals as he possibly could.

By exploring the surrounding areas, he would be killing, not two, but three birds with one stone, as he would be scouting the area for potential troubles, charting new and reliable maps, and also taking out zombies and depriving them of their crystals as he went, all at the same time.

Danny thought that this way he could be as efficient as possible with his time, while taking only small and calculated risks.

Speaking of crystals, it had to be said that those shiny little things were truly miraculous.

Danny felt he was way out of his depth trying to understand the curious substance, but that was alright. Even if he couldn’t make any sense of the peculiarities behind all of it, he could always come back to the demon for more clarification. That was one of the points they had settled on their negotiation yesterday.

Although Danny would not be able to make any new inquiries to the demon until he paid off his debt, further explanations about the crystals were not included in this ban. As long as he made sure to keep up with his blood “instalments”, Danny was free to question the demon about the subject. Danny would have to wait until their next meeting if he wished to ask anything, though.

Tutu himself was no specialist on the matter, as he himself had said, and the topic was beyond complex, but Danny had no doubt that the demon would be able to answer any questions he would be able to come up with. There was just too big of a gap between their knowledge after all.

It was like a toddler trying to propose a complicated math question to a high-schooler. Even if the high-schooler was no expert on math, what could the toddler possibly bring forward that would cause the high-schooler to fluster? It was all a matter of background. Danny simply had no foundation to speak with, so anything he could think up for now would seem like child’s play to the demon

Danny tried to recall what he had learned yesterday. Simply put, those crystals were not a natural substance. At least, not in the same sense as any other elements like iron or oxygen. One could not find it normally in nature.

That was not exactly accurate, but that was how the demon explained it in order to simplify things anyway. As a matter of fact, those crystals usually only showed up in places where you could find life. To be more precise, in places where you could find sentient life.

When Tutu previously said that life was the reason why him and the other invaders were here on Earth, that was what he meant. What they were actually interested in were those tiny things you could find inside the walking corpses heads out there on the streets.

Tutu explained that those crystals were made of a magical and ethereal substance that originated from another parallel dimension and only existed there. Apparently, this parallel dimension was different from ours most notably in the sense that things did not have a corporeal form there. In other words, they didn’t have a substantial fixed shape.

According to the demon, different civilizations and races called both the substance and the dimension by many different names. Even within the demon race, there was not one single name agreed upon. Astral plane, spirit realm, cosmic realm, soul essence, astral crystals, soul gems were some of them just to name a few.

That was not so important since the demon said it would be fairly hard to cause any confusion as pretty much anyone would understand what you meant no matter which name one chooses to call it. Tutu simply referred to both as soul plane and soul gems as his preferred choice respectively.

Danny could not help but raise his eyebrows after hearing those names for the first time. Soul, astral, spirit. It was unquestionable the spiritual connotation that those words carried. Danny wondered if there was any relationship between that and human history, and if so, what would it mean in practical terms.

Danny did not consider himself a religious person, even after witnessing proof of the supernatural at a very early age. Given that he was literally haunted by a shadowy monster, one could expect him to be more spiritually inclined, but that was not the case. Even then, Danny believed that everything should have a rational explanation. Whether he understood it or not was another matter entirely and completely irrelevant to the truth.

That belief was what led him to apply for medical school in the first place, as Danny placed his hopes to find an answer to his plight in science and the study of the human body. He hoped to understand how he was different from everybody around him. What was the reason that he alone was preyed by the shadowy creature, and nobody else? Danny expected to learn what was the thing about himself or his body that attracted the demon, and once he found out the answer, discover a way to get rid of it.

That did not matter anymore though, as everything had changed completely. Never in his wildest dreams he would have imagined that one day he would come to some sort of compromise with his own personal terror, but that he did.

Anyways, getting back on topic, in normal conditions this strange essence that formed the crystals would not cross over to our own dimension naturally, needing a special kind of channel to do so.

The demon explained that whenever a lifeform reached an advanced enough stage of evolution, it would leave a mark in that parallel dimension. In fact, according to the demon, what usually delimited this “stage” was the development of the ability of rational thought.

Tutu said that from this point on, the being would exist in both places. It would have a physical existence in our dimension and a projected, ethereal, existence in the soul plane. Both sides would remain linked and resonating, creating an intersection in between them that connected both dimensions.

Danny felt it all to be quite appropriate, even if very confusing, given the names involved. In his opinion, this did not differ too much from the idea of an immortal soul that many religions preached. There was a corporeal body on Earth and an ethereal one someplace else. It was close enough for Danny to feel in awe.

It was hard to know if someone in the past had guessed correctly or simply had managed to catch a glimpse of the truth. Maybe there had been someone like him that had some sort of connection with a demon or some other kind of mythical creature and ended up divulging what he or she discovered.

All this information was already complicated enough to tie a knot in Danny’s brain, but that was not all. There was more.

So long as he remained alive – or any other human for that matter –, the link or intersection between dimensions would persist, and the substance from which it was comprised would maintain its natural ethereal state.

Since that substance was intangible ordinarily, it would not be perceivable to the naked eye. However, if the individual in question happens to die, the connection between dimensions would then be severed and part of the substance that remained behind in our plane of existence would slowly take up some of its properties and solidify into a crystal, assuming a physical form which it would never take otherwise if it remained on the soul plane.

That was important to know because it alleviated one of Danny’s fears. There was no crystal inside his head as of now.

Tutu had said that this was an oversimplified way of viewing things, but it served well for their purposes. All Danny needed to know was that there was no soul gem inside his head right now, and one would inevitably pop up if he untimely met his demise.

“Well, to sum it up, everyone has two bodies, a physical one in this dimension and a spiritual one in another one, interconnected in some sort of way… kind of…” Danny spoke to no one in particular without confidence.

Danny remembered asking Tutu yesterday how any of this was relevant to their current circumstances with a voice marred with bitterness and impatience plastered on his face for all to see after the demon’s lengthy exposition.

At the time, it was already way too late, so Danny was feeling more than tired. He had to deal with his companions’ betrayal followed by Tutu’s annoying antics without rest that day.

Danny was also feeling overwhelmed by the sheer complexity of the subject and frustrated with his own inability to fully grasp it, so it was understandable why he was losing the reigns over his temper and adding extra sharpness to his tongue, even if that was absolutely not a prudent course of action in the face of a creature that could easily snap him in two with a single thought.

Danny had begun to feel like an idiot by then and already had started to regret wasting so much time bartering with the demon only to receive the confusing metaphysical lesson for his efforts.

To his question, the demon merely laughed and answered: “It is important because it tells you how to get your hands on more.”

Danny didn’t fully understand the wisdom behind the demon’s words at the time, but knowing now what he could do with those crystals, Danny dreaded those words.

He dreaded them because he understood that the glistering object was a pandora’s box in the truest sense of the words. The unlimited potential contained in that diminutive size was enough to unleash terror and carnage upon the land. To be honest, it already did, considering the invasion and all that, but that was not the end of it.

If humankind as a whole learned about its uses and how they could get more of the magical substance by simply killing each other, then the outworlder’s invasion wouldn’t even be necessary to bring about the ruin of modern civilization.

To accumulate more of it, brothers would turn on one another and parents would sell their kids. No bets would be off, and everything and everyone would be fair game.

That was because the crystals opened up a path to power and longevity to any living being. By making use of it, a person could prolong their life indefinitely and get progressively stronger up to ridiculous and unimaginable levels. They could allow a person to control fire, unleash floods and reshape the land. A mortal could become a god.

Of course, the steps needed to climb the stairs of power were paved with blood and the sacrifice of others. For a single person to keep building their power and prolonging their life, thousands had to be sacrificed to nurture their growth and fuel their path. However, the temptation was so great that there was no hope of stopping it.

Even if many wished to put an end to the mad sprint for power, all it took was a few ambitious characters to sweep them under the unstoppable tides of slaughter. After all, how could a group that refused to accumulate strength for themselves resist the onslaught of their stronger power-hungry counterparts? It was merely survival of the fittest, moral quandaries be cast aside. Charles Darwin had already predicted the unavoidable outcome of this conflict long ago.

Just imagine. If the most influential politicians and business tycoons found out that they could extend their lifespan, get stronger, maintain their youth and beauty if they so wished, they could have all of that, and all it took was for them to cause a few deaths here and there, would they be unwilling to do so?

Of course not!

It would be a wonder if democracy could even survive for a decade in that case. Most likely, a small group of elites would establish themselves in power and milk everybody else for all they are worth.

Violent conflict would be the new natural order. Struggle for survival the new everyday routine. You want power and a long life? Just take it!

According to Tutu, most of the planar wars the demons and other factions of the multiverse had and were engaged in, had to do with a dispute for more of the miraculous substance.

Turns out that if the demons and any other invaders wanted to get their hands on more of those soul gems or whatever they decide to call it, the easiest way to do it was to find another world with weaker sentient lifeforms to exploit. And guess what? Earth was a prime location that provided it. Yay! Lucky humanity.

Danny thought that it was not that surprising if all the demon had told him was true. It all boiled down to a competition for resources in the end. No matter how much of the thing was available, how many crystals they could extract, how many worlds they managed to subjugate, it would never be enough.

Who wouldn’t want to live a little longer? To become a little more powerful. Ambition and desire were never-ending.

Even if the revelation about the nature of the crystals caused Danny trepidation, and made him worry for the future of humanity, in the end there was nothing he could do but let go of his anxious fears and accept the new reality.

There was no putting the genie back into the bottle. The invaders were already here and eventually humanity would learn of their purpose and consequently about the soul gems and its uses as well. By then, the impacts that such magical substance would have on human society and the changes it would bring on how people interacted with one another would be the least of their concerns.

If mankind wasn’t already completely enslaved or eradicated by that point, then Danny could start worrying about how differently human relationships would become and how to keep interacting with others at that time.

For now, Danny would have to give in to the temptation of the crystals and make use of all the advantages he could in order to improve his already dismal chances of resisting the planet’s conquest by the demons and other invaders.

Fortunately, he was well positioned to take advantage of the soul gems, since humanity was still in the dark about the fortune hidden inside the shambling corpses, meaning that there was no one competing with him for them yet other than the invaders, obviously.

Danny also estimated that this would remain true for a very long time. After all, how many people had a personal demon available and willing to elucidate them?