card in Dev's pocket felt heavier with every step he took. It wasn't just the weight of the metal; it was the weight of the Energy accumulating behind it. In the corner of his vision, a golden counter flickered, numbers spinning so fast they became a blur.
[Current Balance: $284,300... $284,400... $284,500...]
Kavi walked beside him, his gait smooth and confident. The old man looked at his own silver wristband, which displayed a steady stream of "Wealth Points."
"Young Master," Kavi whispered, his voice trembling not with age, but with awe. "This power... the air around you. It smells like the temple after a monsoon. Pure. But the city... it reacts to you like a fever."
Dev nodded, his gaze fixed on a gleaming black spire in the distance: The Obsidian Tower, headquarters of the Golden Leaf Corporation. "The city is sick, Kavi. And when you introduce a cure, the infection always fights back."
Inside the penthouse of the Obsidian Tower, a man named Vikram Singh stared at a digital map of the city. Vikram was the face of the "Asuric Cartel" in this sector—a man who had built his fortune by "cleansing" ancient sites to build steel monuments to greed.
"Sir," a technician stammered, pointing at a sensor. "We have a spiritual anomaly in the Grey Quarter. The 'Sattva' levels—the purity frequency—just spiked by 400%. It's like a dead zone suddenly came back to life."
Vikram didn't turn around. He swirled a glass of dark liquid, his eyes cold. "The Aranya Temple forest is the last 'Energy Node' we haven't paved over. If the purity is rising, it means someone is feeding the land. Find them. No one brings light into my city without paying the tax."
Dev stopped in front of a dilapidated, three-story building. It was an old Ayurvedic Dispensary that had been closed for years, covered in "Seized" posters. The wood was rotting, and the spirit of the building felt exhausted.
"This is it," Dev said.
[System Prompt: First Sanctuary Detected.]
[Condition: Abandoned Knowledge Hub.]
[Cost to Purchase & Sanctify: $500,000]
[Bonus: Unlocks 'Earth Union: Recruitment Branch']
"But we only have three hundred thousand," Kavi noted, checking his wristband.
"Wait," Dev said calmly.
He closed his eyes and focused on the connection to the Earth. He felt the millions of people in Astraea—their stress, their debt, their forgotten dreams. He realized the System wasn't just giving him money; it was recycling the world's wasted intent.
[DING! Passive Income Multiplier: 'First Disciple Synergy' active.]
[Balance: $500,000 Reached.]
Dev pressed his palm against the peeling paint of the door.
"Purchase."
A shockwave, invisible to the naked eye but felt by every soul in the district, rippled outward. The rot on the wood vanished, replaced by polished sandalwood. The "Seized" posters disintegrated into gold dust. Above the door, a sign carved itself into the stone in ancient Brahmi script, though anyone who looked at it would instinctively read: EARTH UNION: MISSION ONE.
Inside, the air became cool and fragrant. But as Dev stepped in, he noticed something in the shadows of the basement—a flicker of blue light that didn't belong to his System.
It was a faint, pulsating seal on the floor, ancient and cracked.
[System Warning: Ancient Fragment Detected.]
[Clue: The 'Asuric Cartel' isn't just building offices. They are suppressing something under the city.]
Dev looked at the seal. It felt familiar—like the carvings in the Aranya Temple, but twisted.
"Kavi," Dev said, his eyes narrowing. "The mission is bigger than we thought. They didn't just burn the books. They tried to chain the Earth itself."
Suddenly, the front door burst open. Four men in tactical gear, bearing the Golden Leaf logo, stepped in. They weren't holding guns; they were holding "Energy Nullifiers"—gadgets designed to suppress spiritual power.
"Dev of Aranya?" the lead mercenary sneered. "Mr. Singh would like to discuss your... employment terms."
Dev didn't move. He felt the strength of Kavi—now reinforced by the building's new energy—flowing into his own limbs. He felt the weight of a thousand years of forgotten Dharma behind his fist.
"I don't work for shadows," Dev said.
[Hint for the Future:]The seal in the basement is one of seven. Each one represents a Rishi who was silenced. To unlock the "Diamond Grade" Earth, Dev won't just need money—he will need to break the chains of history.
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