Terrigen Crystals

"One vicious faction among the Kree genetically modified other creatures' DNA. These modifications can be activated with Terrigen Crystals."

- Vin-Tak

The Terrigen Crystals are a type of crystal that grow from an activated Diviner. These crystals produce the Terrigen Mist.

Four Diviners
With only four Diviners remaining, Jiaying asked scientists among the Inhumans to duplicate the Terrigen Crystals, so that if the Diviners were lost or destroyed, the race would not go extinct. The scientists could only make Crystals with Diviner metal mixed within them.

Theft of Terrigen Crystals
Years ago, Eva Belyakov stole Terrigen Crystals so that her daughter could go through Terrigenesis without Katya having the mental training that Inhumans are desired to receive.

Kree City
"He thinks the Diviner is just a weapon. He has no idea of its true power, of what's inside."

- Calvin Zabo

Calvin Zabo told Phil Coulson that something was inside the Diviner; when Coulson asked if it was similar to the Tesseract, Zabo did not know what that was to compare.

Skye pursued Raina into the temple of the Kree City. While Raina explained that it was their destiny to be together at that moment, in that place, the Diviner left Raina's hand and floated to a pedestal in the center of the room. As Antoine Triplett entered, the temple doors shut and the Diviner opened to reveal the Terrigen Crystals inside. A mist released from the crystals filled the room and Triplett saw the women become petrified. He kicked the crystals, causing them to shatter.

Impure Crystals
Jiaying, leader of the Inhumans who lived in Afterlife, told her people to prepare for the arrival of Humans from the organization S.H.I.E.L.D.; she had a Scientist pack crates with the impure Terrigen Crystals that she had commissioned them to make.

Jiaying, feigning that it was an offering of peace between the Inhumans and S.H.I.E.L.D., offered one of the Crystals to Robert Gonzales. However, before he could accept the "gift", she broke the Crystal on her desk, releasing the Terrigen Mist within. Gonzales was petrified with the Diviner metal mixed inside the synthetic Crystals.

Jiaying later loaded the crystals on board the S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft carrier Iliad, planning to release them to sort out the Inhumans, and exterminate the humans. She used the manufactured crystals to show Anne Weaver what she could do if she did not cooperate. To prove her point, Jiaying locked defenseless S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, including Oliver, in a chamber with the stones, and watched as they were petrified. Weaver then complied. While Gordon tried to kill Phil Coulson, Leo Fitz, and Alphonso Mackenzie, he purposefully dropped a crystal. Coulson dove to catch it before it hit the ground, and the stone began to petrify his arm. Mackenzie acted quickly and chopped off Coulson's arm with an axe before the effects could spread further.

In order to save mankind, Skye caused the Quinjet loaded with Terrigen Crystals to fall into the ocean, instead of allowing Jiaying to keep them. The crystals began to deteriorate in the bottom of the ocean, contaminating the sea life with the Terrigen Mist while the deadly metallic elements sank to the bottom. Some of the affected fish were later caught and manufactured into fish oil tablets, which were distributed out to the world.

Andrew Garner's Exposure
"Now, Jiaying must have rigged it with a Terrigen Crystal to keep out anyone who couldn't survive the mist. Lucky me."

- Andrew Garner

Jiaying had placed a Terrigen Crystal in the ledger that she wrote keeping the genealogy of the Inhumans who lived in Afterlife, so no human could access the book and survive; after the War against the Inhumans, Jiaying's property was turned over to S.H.I.E.L.D. for study. Andrew Garner was given the books in order to create a better profile for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files; he accidentally broke the Crystal, released the Terrigen Mist and, after experiencing Terrigenesis, became the monstrous Lash.