The time for planning was over.
Jonah's room was a quiet, safe place, but the silence felt tense. Vanessa stood at the door, watching. She looked both nervous and very focused.
The Primordial Beast Skull sat in the center of the floor, its wild energy making the air feel heavy.
To either side of it, Jonah had placed two small crystals from his desk - temporary vessels into which he had channeled the essences he would need. One crystal pulsed with the furious red light of the Raging Boar. The other held the deep, grounding brown of the Armored Crag-Bear
"You're sure about this?" Vanessa asked, her voice barely a whisper. "Combining two essences at once... all the texts say it's exponentially more difficult. The energies will fight each other."
Jonah looked at the components, then at his own two hands. Shard and Nyx were watching from a corner of the room, their antennae twitching with curiosity. He would never risk them like this. This was different. This was creation from the ground up, his most ambitious project yet. He needed a pure combat unit, something to stand against the brute force of someone like Draven.
"I'm sure," Jonah said, his voice steady. "To build something this strong, you need a strong foundation."
He closed his eyes and sank into his Workshop.
The familiar darkness wrapped around him.
He first willed the Primordial Beast Skull into the void, where it appeared as a ghostly, tusked cranium. Then, he drew forth the two essences. The furious red orb of the Boar and the stable brown orb of the Bear appeared, circling each other like wary predators. Their psychic energies immediately began to clash - the Boar's blind rage pushing against the Bear's immovable defense.
This was the challenge: not just weaving, but forcing a violent peace. He had to infuse both strength and fury, both defense and aggression, into a single form.
A system prompt flared, its warning more severe than any he'd seen before.
[Begin Grade-3 Synthesis?]
Genesis Core: Primordial Beast Skull (Terrestrial, Savage)
Essences: [Raging Boar] + [Armored Crag-Bear]
WARNING: Multi-Essence Synthesis detected. High probability of psychic backlash and Core rejection. Proceed?
Core rejection.
The words sent a chill through him. If the Core couldn't handle the strain, it would shatter, and both powerful essences would be lost forever. He hesitated for a long second, the weight of the decision pressing down on him.
He thought of Draven's sneer, of Seraph's expectant gaze, of the hungry beasts in The Preserve. Staying the same wasn't an option.
Growth always came with risk.
Proceed.
The moment he gave the command, the real battle began.
It was a brutal mental war. He had to act as a psychic mediator between two warring energies. He tried to weave the Bear's 'Defense' into the Core first, to build a stable container. But the Boar's 'Fury' trait lashed out, a chaotic energy that resisted order and tried to corrupt the stable foundation.
The strain was immense. He felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his temples. He gritted his teeth, pouring his own mental energy into the synthesis, acting as the bridge. But they were too strong, too opposed. The Skull in his Workshop began to vibrate violently, cracks of red energy appearing across its surface.
The synthesis was failing. The Core was about to shatter.
"Jonah!"
Vanessa's voice cut through the fog of his pain. He felt a hand on his back, firm and warm.
Back in the real world, Vanessa saw Jonah's body slump, his face pale and sweaty. She knew immediately that the synthesis was going wrong. She didn't hesitate. Acting on pure instinct, she placed her hand on his back and did the only thing she could think of to help.
She pushed her own mana into him.
Not a spell, not a complex weave, just a steady stream of her own pure energy. It was the magical equivalent of a blood transfusion.
In the Workshop, Jonah felt the rush of new energy like a cool stream of water on a scorching day. It was clean and untainted by the Boar's rage. It was Vanessa's energy. It flooded his empty reserves, giving him the final push he needed.
With a final, desperate roar of effort (both mental and spoken), Jonah took control. He wove the Bear's defense into the Core's structure, then wrapped the Boar's strength and fury around it like a second skin of pure power
He had done it.
The two essences finally merged, their opposing natures forced into a violent, but stable union.
A new cocoon appeared. It was huge, bigger than Nyx had been. It wasn't made of rock or light. It was an ugly, round ball of pulsing flesh, glowing with a fierce red light.. It looked less like an egg and more like a giant, angry heart.
A final prompt appeared, its text a promise and a warning.
[Incubation Time: 12 Hours]
Jonah collapsed back into his own consciousness. The world swam back into focus. He was slumped on the floor of his room, completely drained of energy. Every muscle ached, and his mind felt like a bruised fruit.
Vanessa was kneeling beside him, her hand still on his back, her face showing concern.
"Did it work?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
Jonah managed a weak grin. "I think so," he rasped. "But we won't know for sure for another twelve hours."
He looked at the empty space where the skull and crystals had been. Shard and Aegis cautiously approached him, nudging his hand. He hadn't sacrificed a thing. He had built something new.
He looked at the empty space where the skull and crystals had been. Shard and Aegis cautiously approached him, nudging his hand. He hadn't sacrificed a thing. He had built something new.