Chapter 166: Forge of Worlds
Vanessa stared at the Primordial Geode, her eyes showing both wonder and excitement. "A perfect, neutral core," she said. "The energy is stable enough. But Jonah, the sheer power... This workshop can’t handle it. The psychic feedback alone would level the entire floor."
"I know," Jonah said. "That’s why we’re not going to use my workshop." He looked at Vanessa, a silent question in his eyes.
A slow smile spread across her face as she understood. "You’re right. We’re going to need a bigger workshop."
***
They moved the operation to a secure room in the Academy. It was the chamber that housed Vanessa’s masterpiece: the Synthesis Loom.
It was a massive platform covered in patterns of glowing, silver runes. Crystalline conductors, like giant glass pillars, surrounded the platform, buzzing with contained power.
The team gathered in the chamber. The door sealed behind them.
"Alright," Seraph said, her voice all business. "What’s the plan?"
Vanessa pointed to the central platform. "Jonah will be there. He’ll act as the conductor, the one who weaves the essences together inside the Geode." She then pointed to the control panels and the surrounding pillars. "I’ll be the engineer. I’ll use the Loom to draw out the excess energy. I’ll direct it safely into the Academy’s core grid."
She looked at Seraph and Draven. "But the first burst of power will be massive. The Loom’s containment wards will need a boost to hold. That’s where you two come in."
Draven cracked his knuckles, a smile spreading across his face. "So you want us to be living batteries? Just stand here and look tough?"
"Essentially, yes," Vanessa said with a small smile. "You’ll need to channel your own energy into the primary warding runes. You’ll be the pillars that hold up the roof while Jonah builds the house."
Seraph nodded, her hand resting on the hilt of her sidearm. "We can do that," she said.
This was it. A true team effort. Every one of them had a critical role to play in this act of creation.
Jonah took a deep breath and walked to the center of the platform. He placed the Primordial Geode on a small, raised spot. Then, he sat in front of it and closed his eyes.
"Ready," he said, his voice calm and steady.
"Wards are active," Seraph called out, placing her hands on two glowing circles on the wall. Draven did the same on the opposite side. A glowing, blue dome of energy appeared, covering the entire Loom.
Vanessa stood at the main console, her fingers prepared to use the controls. She nodded to Jonah one last time, to show support. "Bringing the essences online. The loom is now ready."
Jonah took a deep breath, then put his mind entirely into his Workshop. He first summoned the two legendary essences. On his left was huge, brown light that pulsed with the power of the Titan Turtle. On his right was a furious, burning red energy that swirled like lava, the heart of the Volcanic Wyrm.
The moment they appeared, the room began to shake. A low buzz filled the air, and the Geode on the platform began to glow brightly.
"Here it comes!" Vanessa yelled. "Jonah, begin the synthesis! Now!"
Jonah focused his will, acting as the conductor. He reached out with his mind and grabbed the two energies.
He pushed them toward the Primordial Geode.
The impact was silent, but the release of power was immense. A wave of pure psychic force came out from the platform.
WHOOM!
The blue containment ward flashed violently.
"Hold it!" Seraph said with effort. Her and Draven’s own energy flared came alive, sendung raw power into the runes. The dome stabilized, but it shook from the massive pressure.
"Psychic pressure is critical!" Vanessa shouted, her hands moving fast on the console. "Letting it out now!"
One of the crystalline pillars lit up with a blinding white light. A beam of pure energy shot up from the pillar and into the ceiling, where it was safely absorbed by the Academy’s energy sinks. The shaking in the room lessened slightly.
This was the beginning of tough, long event
For three days and three nights, they remained in the chamber. No one slept. No one left. They were locked in a delicate, violent dance of creation.
Jonah was at the storm’s center. Sweat poured down his face as he fought with the two massive forces. He wasn’t just pushing them together. He was weaving them, thread by thread, into the foundation of the Geode. It was the hardest thing he had ever done.
Vanessa was the tireless engineer. She never looked away from her screens, her eyes looking at endless streams of data. She was constantly adjusting the Loom’s functions, letting out the deadly pressure, and keeping the entire process from blowing up in their faces. She was the only reason they were all still alive.
And Seraph and Draven were the unmoving pillars. They stood their ground, hour after hour, a steady stream of their own life force feeding the wards. It was a different kind of exhaustion, a deep drain on their souls, but they never wavered.
On the fourth day, something shifted.
Jonah felt the two essences finally click into place. The violent struggle lessened, and a new harmony began to resonate within the Geode. The wild energies were now under control.
"It’s stabilizing!" Jonah gasped.
"I see it!" Vanessa yelled back, a triumphant smile on her tired face. "The energy output is smoothing out. It’s almost done!"
Jonah gave one final push of his will, forcing the last threads of power into a balanced union.
The light from the Geode exploded, flooding the room with a blinding flash. Then, just as quickly, it collapsed, pulling all the light and energy with it.
When the light faded, the Geode was gone.
In its place, floating silently above the platform, was a new object. It was a massive cocoon, easily the size of a small car. It had no features, just a smooth, dark shell that seemed to absorb the light around it.
A rhythmic pulse came from within it.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
A wave of intense heat covered the room, the kind of heat that rises from a volcano’s heart.
The synthesis was complete.
Draven let go of the warding rune, stepping back a bit. "Whoa. What is that thing?"
Vanessa leaned against her console, breathing heavily but smiling. "That is a Grade-5 Progeny in the making."
Jonah slowly got to his feet, his legs shaking from the effort. He felt a new, powerful connection in his mind.
A prompt from his own power appeared in his mind.
[Nexus Synthesis Complete. Incubation Time: One Week.]