CHAPTER 250: GENESIS GARDEN (3)

Days of experimentation passed for Adrian. His pristine workshop had transformed into a chaotic laboratory.

Trays of grey soil were scattered across every surface, each one a testament to his numerous failures and incremental successes.

Empty vials and discarded beakers cluttered the floor, remnants of alchemical potions that had fizzled out, destabilized, or reacted in wildly unpredictable ways.

The air was filled with scents of dozens of different herbs, minerals, and magical reagents he had prepared into usable ingredients.

It had been five days since he had begun his work on a solution for their dead world. In that time, the world outside had been moving at a furious pace.

Jeffery had reported via a quick mind-link message that the deconstruction of the twenty-five houses was already underway, the land being cleared and prepared for the great farm.

Charles had successfully organized the entire workforce into efficient, rotating shifts, keeping morale high with the promise of the grand project to come.

Mara had overseen the distribution of the new PADs, and the sector was already buzzing with activity as the people had a new source of information and entertainment.

But Adrian’s focus remained singular: the soil. He had started with basic analyses, using his alchemical tools to break down the grey substrate’s composition.

It was mostly inert silicates and unfamiliar trace minerals, completely devoid of the organic matter and complex microbial life that all living soil possessed.

His first attempts had been straightforward: infusing the soil with various mana catalysts. As he had guessed, this was only a temporary solution; the mana would vitalize the soil for a short time before dissipating.

Next, he tried blending in crushed herbs known for their life-giving properties. Each new mixture showed a flicker of promise in the holographic simulator, where he could accelerate growth cycles to reveal flaws quickly. But permanence eluded him.

The soil would accept the initial burst of life, a seed might even sprout, but then it would revert, the artificial life force leaching away like water through sand. By the end of the first day, he had cataloged over fifty distinct failures.

On the second day, inspiration struck during a particularly frustrating trial. He was watching a carrot seed struggle in a tray laced with powdered phoenix ash, a potent regenerative ingredient.

It was meant to ignite the seed’s life force, but it was too potent and instead it scorched the embryonic root, turning it to ash. It was then that he recalled an obscure alchemical principle: soul-binding catalysis.

It wasn’t just about chemistry or magic; it was about imprinting a soul’s intent onto a mixture, creating a self-replicating, self-sustaining cycle that mimicked the slow, patient process of natural evolution.

Alchemy at this level bordered on the forbidden, tampering with the very core of life’s creation.

The process began with distillation. He set up a complex array of alchemical retorts, heating the grey soil to extract its base mineral essence, a colorless vapor that he captured and condensed.

He then began the painstaking process of introducing rare, vitalizing ingredients, stabilizing the volatile mixture at each stage with his own, precise control over mana.

He tested small batches, planting seeds and accelerating time in the simulator. The first few still failed spectacularly, the catalyst destabilizing and causing the soil to erupt in violent bursts of uncontrolled, cancerous growth that quickly turned to black sludge. But he refined it, adding stabilizers like ground moonflower petals to temper the volatility.

By the fourth day, he had a viable prototype. In the simulator, wheat seeds not only germinated but thrived, their roots delving deep, drawing nutrients from a soil that was now visibly transforming, flecks of rich brown emerging as organic compounds began to self-generate.

When he removed the time acceleration, the effect waned after a simulated week. It was better, but not permanent enough.

He pushed on. He incorporated preserved microbial cultures he had brought from Thanad, awakening them with the catalyst, creating a symbiotic blend of engineered life and magical energy.

Trial eighty-seven: success in the simulator for a full simulated month.

Trial ninety-two: potato tubers forming robustly, with no signs of nutrient depletion in the soil.

On the fifth day, Adrian narrowed it down to a final, perfect formula, tweaking the ratios with mathematical precision. The catalyst would be a liquid, easily scalable, designed to be mixed into the farm’s main irrigation system.

Once applied and activated by his own soul mark, channeled through a central formation he would design, it would propagate, turning the entire, vast expanse of dead dust into living earth.

He prepared the ultimate, real-time test. He took a larger tray and filled it with a kilogram of the grey soil. He added a single, precious drop of the final catalyst: a shimmering, golden liquid that sank into the dust like the first drop of rain on a parched desert.

Then, he planted a variety of seeds: wheat, maize, a carrot, a potato eye. Finally, he initiated the ritual. He placed his hand on the tray, focusing his will, his intent, his very soul mark into the mixture.

The change was immediate. A soft, gentle, green glow began to spread through the soil. In the real-time observation, the seeds swelled right before his very eyes.

A tiny green shoot of wheat pushed its way out of the soil. Then another from the maize. He accelerated a portion of the tray in the hologram, watching as months passed in minutes.

Crops grew tall, were harvested, and new seeds were replanted, and the soil remained vital, its dark, rich color even improving as the microbial life multiplied. No external mana drain was required; it was a self-sustaining, living ecosystem, born from dead dust.

"Yes," Adrian breathed, a triumphant laugh escaping him. "The perfect stuff." He dubbed it the "Genesis Elixir," a name befitting its miraculous nature.

With this, the farm wouldn’t just survive; it would thrive indefinitely. But creation was only half the battle. Scaling it up was next.

He knew the rare ingredients he had used were limited within his [Inventory]. He would need to source more from the Mall or find synthetic substitutes. For now, though, he had enough to treat the entire farm’s soil.

He allowed himself some rest before a new wave of invigorated purpose washed over him. He immediately summoned his core team to the now-cleared construction site.

He arrived to find Mara, Damien, Jeffery, and Charles overseeing the final stages of the area’s reformation.

The twenty-five houses were already gone, stored neatly in his [Inventory], and the vast and was ready. They had the space, but they still had no solution for the dead earth.

Adrian walked into the center of the cleared ground, holding the single, small, glowing vial of the Genesis Elixir.

"The final piece of the puzzle is complete," he announced, his voice ringing with a confidence that drew all eyes to him.

He didn’t just tell them he had succeeded; he showed them. He knelt and, just as he had in the lab, added a single drop of the Elixir to the grey dust at his feet.

They watched in silence as the wave of green light spread, the soil darkened, and the sudden, rich smell of life filled the air. It was a miracle unfolding before their very eyes.

"It’s alive..." Mara whispered. "By the Goddess, it’s truly alive."

"It’s more than that," Adrian explained with a creator’s pride. "This isn’t a temporary enchantment. The Elixir contains a culture of magically-engineered microorganisms. They will spread, they will multiply, and they will turn this entire farm’s sterile substrate into a self-sustaining ecosystem."

The council stared at the small patch of living earth, and they finally understood the true scale of his genius. He wasn’t just a builder of machines; he was a master of life itself.

With the final, critical problem solved, the project began in earnest. For the next three days, the Sparkborns worked with a unity and purpose that was a force of nature.

The massive, transparent roof was erected. The irrigation system was laid. The tons of sterile substrate were tilled and prepared. On the final day, the farm was ready, and the first crops were planted. But Adrian wasn’t done yet.

"The Elixir also acts as a catalyst," he explained to the council, "improving the effects of certain kinds of magic." He turned to Serena. "It’s your turn to shine."

Serena stepped forward. She raised her hands over the newly planted fields, and a gentle, golden light, the essence of her Transcendent healing magic, spread across the entire farm.

Amplified by the Genesis Elixir in the soil, her spell became a wave of accelerated growth. They could see the tiny seeds swelling, the first green shoots already beginning to push their way through the dark, living earth.

With that, the worry of time was gone.