Jonah walked back into the workshop, his steps light, his heart full. The Heartwood Seed rested in the palm of his hand. A small, warm weight pulsing with a golden light. It felt like holding a tiny, sleeping sun. He had passed the Treant's trial. He had the final piece he needed for Project Requiem.

He pushed open the heavy door, a triumphant smile on his face, ready to tell Vanessa the good news.

But the words died in his throat. He stopped dead in the doorway, his eyes widening in shock.

The workshop had been completely transformed.

His small couch and personal things had been pushed to the far walls. In the center of the room, dominating the space, was a massive, new piece of equipment. It was a big, round, flat surface, ten feet wide, made of shiny black rock. The whole platform had many glowing lines carved on it. These silver and gold lines crossed each other in very detailed ways, enough to make him feel confused.

Curving over the platform were several large, crystalline conductors, each one aimed at the exact center. They hummed with a contained power, the air around them crackling with a faint, blue energy.

And in the middle of it all stood Vanessa.

She looked even more exhausted than he did. Her hair was a mess, her face was smudged with what looked like silver dust, and her eyes were bloodshot. But they were shining with a brilliant, ecstatic light. She looked at her creation, then at Jonah, and a triumphant smile spread across her face.

"What… is this?" Jonah finally managed to ask, his voice a stunned whisper.

"This," Vanessa declared, her voice filled with a passion that made the crystalline arches hum in sympathy, "is my masterpiece." She pointed to the huge machine with a grand motion. "I call it the Synthesis Loom."

Jonah just stared, his mind struggling to process the sheer scale of the magical engineering before him. "You… you built this? While I was gone?" It had only been a few hours.

Vanessa let out a short laugh. "Gods, no. I've been working on this ever since we got back from the mine. Non-stop." She waved a dismissive hand. "Sleep is for the uninspired."

Jonah walked closer, his awe growing with every step. The runes on the platform were a level of complexity he had only ever seen in the Artificer's data crystal. This wasn't just an enchantment; it was a machine. A complex magical engine.

"But… why?" he asked, still trying to wrap his head around it. "My syntheses are all done in my head, in my Beast Space."

"Not this one," Vanessa said, her expression turning serious. She tapped a finger on one of the crystalline conductors. "Jonah, think about what you're about to do. A Grade-5 synthesis. That's already legendary, something most Arch-Mages only theorize about. But you're not just using five essences. You're using a Nexus-type essence from an ancient, tormented creature, and a *living Genesis Core*."

She started pacing, her energy filling the room. "The amount of chaotic mana and psychic energy that's going to unleash… it's astronomical. It's a psychic hurricane. Your Beast Space, as strong as it is, won't be able to contain it. You'd be torn apart from the inside out."

She stopped and placed a hand on the central platform.

"So, I built you a bigger workshop."

Her eyes shone with a brilliant, scientific light. "The Synthesis Loom will act as an external processor and regulator. When you begin the synthesis, it will draw the excess chaotic energy out of your mind and into these crystalline conductors." She pointed to the arches above them.

"The runic arrays on the platform will filter it, purify it, and strip away the psychic backlash. Then, the Loom will channel the purified mana back into the process, giving you the power you need without the chaos that would kill you."

Jonah was speechless. He was looking at a machine that could stabilize the very process of creating life. It was an act of breathtaking magical engineering, a perfect fusion of ancient theory and modern genius.

Suddenly, the workshop door hissed open.

BEEP-BOOP.

Jax and Titus stood in the doorway, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and concern.

"Seraph sent us to check on you two," Jax said, his eyes scanning the room. "She said you've been cooped up in here for days and wanted to make sure you hadn't accidentally blown yourselves up."

His words trailed off as he saw the massive, humming machine that now filled the room. His jaw went slack.

Titus, the calm fighter, just stared. He forgot how to act like a soldier. His eyes were wide with deep wonder.

"What… in the name of the World Dragon… is that?" Jax finally managed to stammer.

"It's a Synthesis Loom," Vanessa said, puffing out her chest with a well-earned pride. "It's a magical engine for stabilizing high-grade life creation."

Jax and Titus just blinked. They were professional soldiers, men who dealt in the harsh, practical realities of combat. They were looking at a machine that sounded like it had been ripped from the pages of a fairy tale.

"Right," Jax said slowly, as if speaking to a particularly clever but possibly insane child. "A life-creating machine. Of course."

But despite their disbelief, they could feel it. They could feel the immense, controlled power humming from the crystalline arches. They could see the undeniable genius etched into every glowing rune on the platform.

Jonah looked from his stunned teammates to Vanessa, who was practically vibrating with excitement. He looked at the glowing Heartwood Seed in his hand, and then at the magnificent machine she had built for him.

Everything was in place.

He had the core. He had the essences.

And now, thanks to Vanessa, he had the forge.

He stepped onto the platform, the obsidian cool and solid under his boots. He looked at Vanessa, a silent question in his eyes.

She gave him a firm nod, her exhaustion forgotten, her face alight with the thrill of discovery.

They were ready to begin.