"You're the head of a motherfucking secret society?" Ryan let out almost involuntarily after he heard his uncle's words, and Runar slowly nodded his head.

"Yes, I am. Your father was supposed to inherit that position, but before that could happen, he cut contact and moved away to Maidsbury. He became an accountant, met your mom, and... got sick," Runar explained, "He never wanted you to be a part of this whole thing. It was his biggest fear, to be honest. But he asked me to take care of you should you be forced to get involved."

Ryan stared back a bit confused, "What do you mean, 'forced to get involved'? This is about my class, isn't it?"

"Obviously it is. It... your class is a-" Runar started, but the conversation was quickly interrupted as someone, or something, stepped through the door. It was a small and stout, one metre tall figure. Its body was round and its arms and legs were short and stumpy. It was also completely made of stone, except for the large hole in its head that revealed a complete crystal interior.

Ryan immediately stepped between it and his friends, but Runar jumped up a moment later, "Wait, wait, wait!" he tried to stop Ryan, running over to the side of the small stone figure.

"This isn't like a monster or anything, they're called 'Geodes'. They're made of stone and crystals, and they're also very much alive and one of the people that we protect," Runar explained, "Nothing down here is inherently dangerous, alright? So... don't beat anyone up."

The Geode in question slowly looked at Runar. The crystals revealed through the hole in its face began to glow and then dimmed again, in rhythmic patterns, while at the same time a soft whistle like wind chimes sounded out. Runar seemed to be listening and watching intently, slowly nodded his head.

"Hm, okay, thanks for letting me know," Runar sighed lightly, rubbing the bridge of his nose annoyed, "I'll go to talk to him in a bit, alright?"

Seemingly happy with that answer, the Geode turned back around and walked away, without paying attention to Ryan and the others at all.

Modak curiously peered after them as they waddled away, "I've never heard of a 'geode' before... was that it talking just now?"

Runar looked at the orc with a raised brow, "First of all, 'they', not 'it'. Geodes aren't objects, they're people. I know they might not look it, but let's treat them like it, alright? But second, yes, that was them talking. They communicate with light and those small vibrations that make that ringing sound. Took me years to learn how to understand them properly. And then all the different languages... that was a pain, really. But worth it. It's much better than having them all write down messages for me."

"I don't... I don't get it," Ryan slowly let out, "So this place is a 'sanctuary' for people like them? People that don't... look like us?"

"It's not about how they look," Runar replied, "We take care of some people that look just like anyone else, and visually really wouldn't stick out. But... they can't coexist that easily with others for other reasons."

Ryan frowned lightly, "What other reasons?"

Trying to find the right words, Runar ran his hands through his hair, "So... let's take pixies as an example. They're smart, they have sapience, they hit all the official marks for a 'person' that's been established by the World Rights Organization. But they can't speak. They don't have vocal cords, and they're legally deaf as well. However, they can innately sense mana, and manipulate the mana in their bodies to talk to each other. But because they weren't able to communicate with other species, they are officially classified as... animals."

"Wait, really? Weren't there any other ways to check that?" Silvia asked, looking at the spherical nest with a sad frown, "Like having them write, or... or, I don't know, just anything other than assume they're animals?"

"Of course they could have, but why would they? People just assumed pixies aren't intelligent and didn't care to check," Runar walked over to the couches, sitting down on one. He motioned toward the couch across from the small coffee table to have Ryan, Silvia and Modak sit down, as he seemed to prepare himself to continue, "And then, they found out that pixie... pixie blood, flesh, and bone has healing properties. Back in the day, many high quality potions or elixirs were made with them as a prime ingredient. It was better for people to not think about the 'what if'. But at this point, pixies are an endangered species. We're not entirely sure, but we think that we're currently protecting about 90% of all the pixies left."

Ryan's face went pale as his stomach turned upside down at the thought of a person being turned into medicine, "So what, this is what you do every time the store is closed? You go and try to save people in danger?"

"I mean, I don't go out and do it myself, usually. We... have a lot of people working with us. I end up having to do a lot of administrative work. People come and go; my entrance isn't the only one, we have a couple others nearby that might be a bit safer depending on the circumstance. But I had to go myself this time because of the situation that the pixie girl was in," Runar explained, as something that Ryan had never seen from his uncle before appeared on his face, "She was about to be auctioned off as a pet... I managed to bust the auction. We work with the police to some degree, as necessary. They know we're doing something, but they stay out of it as much as possible."

A thought crossed Modak's mind. He felt horrible about asking this the moment after Runar spoke about illegal auctions, but since he had ties to the police, he just had to come out with it, "Do you think you can help my friend? She... she's clearly going to get in trouble because of everything that happened today..."

Runar looked at Modak with a slightly confused frown, "I mean, I try not to get involved with legalities for unrelated matters, you know? I'm sorry about your friend, but..."

"It... is related," Ryan replied, glancing over at Modak before turning back to his uncle. He started filling him in on the events of the day. Runar listened intently but nervously, finally understanding the source of the 'corruption' that had latched itself onto Ryan's chest.

He leaned back in his seat and sighed, "So that's what happened," he muttered, turning to Modak while pulling out his phone, "I'll tell my people and have them take care of this Vanda girl, alright? You don't need to worry, she'll be fine."

"You have reception down here?" Silvia asked, pulling out her phone to check, but Runar shook his head, pulling off his phone's case. On its inside, arrays of runes were revealed.

"You guys won't, but I'm transmitting the signal from my phone to a point upstairs," he explained, starting to write up a text while glancing back up at Ryan, "Now, you have the second fragment? That's good, that makes things a lot easier. Even those guys can't hide the last one if we have more than half."

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Ryan frowned, leaning forward. Clearly, Runar knew more about the spirit cores than he wanted to admit before. But now, he wasn't in a situation where he could hide that any more, "Alright, you have some stuff to explain to me. What is my class?"

Runar, still typing the message to his 'people', started to explain. Though, he seemed to be using it as an excuse not to look at Ryan directly, "The 'Spirit Keeper' has always held a special position within our family. The first 'Aglecard', the one who founded our family, was a Spirit Keeper. Since then, it's been passed down, but only after the death of the last Spirit Keeper. There's only one at a time. Though, it wasn't always the family head. Actually, the Spirit Keeper hasn't been the family head for... five hundred years? Your father would have been the first one in a while."

Taken aback, Ryan looked at his uncle, "Wait, but... my class has never been registered before, if my dad was one, then how…?"

"Well... The identity of the current Spirit Keeper has always been kept a secret, until you. It's always been safer that way. Again, the Spirit Keeper class is a bit special. Or rather, it holds a special meaning for those in our circles," Runar explained, "Like a symbol; a beacon for those that need help."

Ryan slowly averted his gaze. He looked inwardly at Maximus, once more trying to pull him out. This time, he didn't resist. The knight appeared on the table between the two couches. Looking at him, Ryan asked him something that he had already asked him a few times. He just hoped that he would be able to remember this time, "So? Do you have anything to tell me now? You knew about all of this too, right?"

Maximus stood there, clearly not sure how to respond. But Runar quickly responded for the spirit, "I... I actually don't think so," he pointed out, and Ryan glanced at his uncle again.

"What do you mean?"

"I knew Maximus before. He was one of the spirits that Hayden protected, and was at the forefront of any battles. Of course, I only saw him a couple of times, I was just a kid, after all," Runar explained, "But... when your father... when he cut off his connection to the system, that stopped. He was the keeper of many spirits, but their cores were completely scattered. Most of them were injured in some way, whether it was by fragmenting or even irreversibly shattering. We haven't been able to wake up the few that we managed to find, but we've always assumed that the process led to irreversible mental damages. Honestly? Amnesia seems to be a light consequence. His personality is still the same, it seems."

Ryan was trying to follow along. He felt bad for doubting Maximus, especially since he was clearly a victim here.

"My father cut his connection to the system? What... what's that supposed to mean?" he asked, though Ryan already knew. He clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white as his fingernails dug into his palm.

Modak and Silvia had been trying their best to stay silent while this conversation was going on, not wanting to interrupt something as heavy as what was being revealed right now. But that didn't mean that they weren't there to support Ryan. Modak patted his friend's back, while Silvia placed her hand onto Ryan's clenched fist, trying to get him to relax.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Seeing that, Runar carefully responded.

"It means that he reversed his awakening," Runar looked down at Maximus, with a bitter, regretful expression, "And in the process, he hurt a lot of spirits that only deserved to be protected."

"And how's that even possible?" while Ryan heard and understood what Runar was saying, the idea of someone 'un-awakening' just didn't make sense. In the first place, the way the system really worked and the reasons behind its existence still weren't known even more than a millennium after it first came to be. Reversing an awakening was a ridiculous idea.

And even Runar seemed to agree, "It's insane, I know, but it's what happened. He did it all on his own. I've been trying to look into it since I became the head, but... nothing."

Ryan looked at Maximus. He was abandoned by Ryan's father, clearly without contemplating the consequences of his actions. But there was something that made Ryan even more mad, specifically in regard to the knight, "So my father... doomed a ton of spirits, and then kept Maximus around as a souvenir? Are you fucking with me?"

Runar leaned back in his seat, slowly nodding, "Yeah, that's basically it. Maybe he kept Maximus around for the next Spirit Keeper. But until you awakened, we thought that Hayden got rid of the class altogether, so I really don't know. Clearly, though, it was the right time for the keeper to come back."

Ryan was a bit confused, "What do you mean? 'It was the right time'?"

"Well... the Spirit Keeper isn't usually handed down from parent to child, and you becoming the keeper isn't because you're Hayden's son either. The Spirit Keeper is chosen by... 'fate'? Frankly, most of the time, they weren't directly related to our family, and we found them and took them in after they awakened. It was always people chosen because they deserved the title and the weight behind it, and because they would cherish the spirits."

Ryan scoffed, not particularly happy with the idea, "So... what? 'Fate' brought Maximus to me?"

"Is... fate even real?" Modak asked, deeply sceptical at the idea.

And before Runar could respond, Silvia looked at the orc, "Of course it is! Fate is all around us, constantly! Guiding us, helping us, leading us to where we're supposed to be."

"Yes! Yes, that is true, but..." Runar quickly took over, looking at Modak who clearly still wasn't entirely sure, "...fate isn't forcing you to do anything. It's this complex amalgamation of mood and timing and all these little coincidences that might bring you to the right point in time. It's still your journey, you are the one in control. For example, if Ryan weren't a good person, and didn't actively make the choice to protect and help others when he can, no matter how he does it, he wouldn't have awakened as a Spirit Keeper. Fate isn't some omniscient force either; we've learned that in the past, other people that were candidates to become Spirit Keeper were given the opportunity to awaken by fate, but due to their actions and personality, it didn't happen."

'I guess that's a pro?' Ryan thought to himself. The idea of 'fate' being the only reason he awakened, something beyond him that he couldn't control, felt almost demeaning. But if the reason for his awakening was that the choices that he made in his life were bringing him onto the right path, and that it meant that he could be trusted with the safety of others, despite the mistakes that he has made in the past, that felt... good. Just good.

"This is all... a lot," Ryan pointed out with an awkwardly nervous smile on his face, "So what does that mean? Do I have to fulfil some kind of role now?"

Runar shrugged, "Not if you don't want to. I mean, the family elders might complain a bit, but my word goes above theirs. If you want to help out somehow, we can find a way for you to do that. If you want to not get involved in any of this, I can keep you blacklisted."

"... Blacklisted?"

"Basically, it just means that no member of the family or adjacent groups we work with is allowed to contact you directly. It's usually used more for like... an exile thing? But it came in useful here as well," Runar explained, "I can't justify keeping it up if you get too involved, and once it's removed, I don't think I will be able to reverse it."

"Can I think about that for a bit? I think I need to sort of... digest it all, you know?" Ryan asked, his mind racing with far too many thoughts for him to make such a decision right now. His gut was telling him to just agree, and to see what the hell this new world he didn't know about had to offer him. But at the same time, making such an important decision without considering the consequences? That would be insane. There was clearly something bigger going on, something darker than was obvious right here. Ryan had to consider if that was something he wanted to deal with.

But there was still something else that Ryan needed to know, "So, what's going to happen tomorrow?"

Runar's face immediately dropped as he leaned forward, almost startled, "A-About that... So, there's a species we're currently working on integrating into society. But we can't just do that, you know? So... we're doing a test run. It's this 10 year old kid. He'll go to school, he'll make friends, and hopefully act as a great example that they can live well in society with the tools we're providing."

Surprised, Ryan raised his brows, "Oh... I thought it was going to be a bit... more than that. What's the trouble with that, then? Why were you freaking out so much?"

"Well..." Runar sighed loudly, not sure how to say it. In the end, he chose to just come out with it, "He's going to be living with us."