Chapter 165: Monster Project

The ASTF-Omega team were in a secure briefing room. A map glowed in the center of the table. It was a map of the Shattered Peaks. Deep in the mountains, a huge building was marked with a blinking red sign.

“So this is it,” Seraph said. “Thorne’s main facility. His safe house.”

Draven moved closer, his arms resting on the table as he stared at the hologram. “That’s not just a safehouse. That’s a bunker built into a mountain. Look at the defense readings Ariana’s people provided. Multiple energy shields, automated turrets… Thorne isn’t just hiding. He’s preparing for a siege.”

“He’s the heir to the dark Artificers,” Jonah said quietly, the weight of Ariana’s words still fresh in his mind. “He’s had centuries of their knowledge to draw from. His defenses will be on a whole other level.”

He knew that his current team of Progeny wasn’t enough for this job. He closed his eyes for a second, thinking of his creations. Maul was a beast of pure fury, but could he smash through a wall designed by an Artificer? Specter was a ghost, a perfect spy, but a spy couldn’t bring down a fortress. Nyx isn’t an option too.

“I don’t have the right tool,” Jonah said, opening his eyes. The others looked at him.

“What do you mean?” Seraph asked.

“My Progeny… they’re fighters, assassins, scouts,” Jonah explained, shaking his head. “This isn’t a fight we can win with a quick strike. We need to break down the front door, and it’s a very strong one. I need… a big hammer. A living tool for breaking things.”

He looked at his team, a strong decision making his face firm. “I need a war engine.”

The room went silent. Vanessa was the first to understand the true meaning of his words. “Jonah, are you talking about creating a new Progeny? You mean… using your fourth slot?”

Every Weaver was born with a limited number of slots, genesis chambers in their soul where they could form a permanent, evolving bond with a creation. Jonah had three: one for Nyx, one for Maul, and one for Specter. His first creation, Shard, had left an empty space, a scar. But now, he had found a way to create a new, fourth chamber. It was his last one. A Progeny created in that slot would be a part of him forever.

Jonah gave a firm nod. “This threat is too big. Thorne is no longer just a scientist working alone in a lab. He leads a very dangerous belief. To end this war, I need to commit everything I have. Including my last slot.”

They suddenly understood each other. Jonah was preparing to change himself, to add a new and vital piece to his own soul for the sake of the war.

Vanessa’s face changed from being surprised to being excited and focused. She pulled her datapad closer, her fingers moving quickly across the screen. “Okay,” she said. “A war engine. What does it need?”

“Defense,” Jonah said immediately. “It has to be able to walk through a storm of enemy fire like it’s nothing. It needs to be a living protection. And it needs great power. A weapon that can break Artificer-level defenses.”

“Defense and offense,” Vanessa said softly, pulling up the Academy’s Essence Archive. “Two legendary-tier essences, then. It’s the only way to get the power level you need.”

Jonah looked over her shoulder, his eyes searching the digital library of countless magical ingredients. He scrolled past essences of griffons, basilisks, and chimeras. He needed something elemental and ancient.

His finger stopped on the first one. “There. The Titan Turtle.”

An image of a massive turtle appeared on the screen. It was the size of a small hill, its shell looking like a solid piece of a mountain. The description read: [Legendary Essence. Possesses near-indestructible shell and immense physical mass. The ultimate living shield.]

“Perfect for defense,” Vanessa agreed. “But what about the weapon? It needs a cannon.”

Jonah scrolled further down the list, past hydras and thunderbirds. His eyes stopped on a red, glowing essence. “This one. The Volcanic Wyrm.”

The image showed a long, serpentine dragon made of lava and dark rock. [Legendary Essence. Capable of absorbing and redirecting huge amounts of thermal and geothermal energy. Can unleash it in a single, focused blast.]

“A walking volcano on top of a living mountain,” Draven said from across the table. “You don’t do things in a small way, do you, kid?”

Vanessa’s fingers moved quickly across her datapad, running the numbers and building a simulation of the synthesis. It was the most ambitious creation Jonah had ever attempted. Combining two legendary essences was almost unheard of.

A tense silence filled the room as they waited for the result.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

A blaring warning flashed on her screen in bright red letters: [CATASTROPHIC FAILURE IMMINENT. GENESIS CORE INTEGRITY: 0%].

“It’s no good,” Vanessa said, her voice filled with frustration. “The simulation fails every time. The combined energy of a Titan Turtle and a Volcanic Wyrm is too much. It’s too violent.”

She looked up at Jonah, her expression turning serious. “A normal Genesis Core would be vaporized, Jonah. It would turn to dust before the synthesis even started. There isn’t a core in the entire archive strong enough to handle it.”

The hope that had filled the room just moments before seemed to drain away. They had the perfect plan, the perfect essences, but it was impossible. The foundation was too weak.

Jonah stood there, his mind moving quickly. He thought of Thorne’s fortress, of the soulless Subject Beta, of the ancient war that had been reborn. There had to be a way.

And then, he remembered.

He remembered a submerged temple. He remembered the final words of a long-dead creator and the prize he had won, a treasure he had kept locked away, waiting for the right moment.

He walked over to a storage locker in the corner of the room. He placed his hand on the scanner and entered a series of codes as the thick metal door unlocked.

He reached inside and pulled out a black case. He placed it on the table in the center of the room and opened it.

The other three moved closer.

Inside, sitting on a bed of black velvet, was a stone. It was about the size of a dragon’s egg. It was a geode, but its inner crystals swirled with all the colors of creation, pulsing with a powerful light. It felt ancient and full of limitless potential. It was his most precious component: the Primordial Geode he had acquired from the Sunken City.

The team looked at it, amazed. They could all feel the huge power coming from it.

Jonah looked at Vanessa with smile on his face.

“Then we won’t use a normal core.”

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