Chapter 389: Living Forge, World-Breaking Beacon

Sixty-nine days, seven hours, and twenty-one seconds had passed; it was the fifteenth day since Zig officially began his attempt to spark the birth of mana within the realm where all things had burned to ash.

Because the flow of time differed significantly between the two spaces, time for Zig and Noelle moved much faster than for Wang Yu and Avia—roughly equivalent to the third day since the latter two had entered the void.

Wang Yu and Avia continued their exploration, searching for other ways to breach the barrier and attempting to probe the nature of this void, which was under the absolute dominion of that great octopus. For now, limited by time, they had made little progress.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Breathing heavily, Zig, in his human form, was drenched in sweat. Compared to fifteen days ago, he seemed like a different being, his mind and body both plunged into a state of profound exhaustion.

"Brother, this method still doesn't work. No measurable mana has been generated within the constraints of the container."

Noelle’s voice was thick with worry. As she spoke, she crossed out a plan in the notebook on the table before Zig. She appeared much better off than her brother, primarily because, as his assistant, she did not need to constantly circulate power through her body or perform high-intensity operations and calculations.

"Understood. Let’s try another way. We continue."

Zig nodded, replacing the test apparatus on the table to prepare for another experiment. He could feel the heavy burden of urgency pressing down on his shoulders; the weakness emanating from within told him that his time was running out.

The consumption over these fifteen days was perhaps greater than the previous fifty combined. Every time the energy within his body surged, it only accelerated the void’s hunger for his remaining power.

Through ceaseless experimentation, not only did his own energy dissipate, but the magic crystals and food used to replenish his strength were also slowly stripped away. With every passing instant, Zig and Noelle drew closer to total depletion.

"Brother, you need to rest. I know we don't have much time, but it is not just your body that is exhausted, but your spirit as well. If you force yourself to continue like this, missing the correct path will be the most likely outcome."

Taking the mana lens from her brother’s hand, Noelle interrupted the experiment. She could not bear to watch Zig continue in this state; she could hardly imagine what he could possibly achieve while so weak.

"Fine, you’re right. I’m too anxious. But experiments cannot be rushed. I’ll sleep for a while; wake me in two hours."

Zig pressed a hand to his forehead, his fingers kneading his temples. He knew his sister was right; he had to adjust his state to the peak, or he would never complete this creative endeavor.

Recording the data from the final failure, Zig fell into a deep sleep. Two hours was the maximum he allowed himself.

"Where exactly did it go wrong? Brother’s other calculations have been verified so many times. In the final stage, we even successfully produced energy bodies similar to mana, yet the result never changes. How can this be?"

Noelle walked to the side of the sleeping Zig, picked up the notebook, and carefully scrutinized the contents. She traced line after line, yet she could not find a single point of failure.

Zig’s research was not a creation from nothing; it was built upon the studies conducted at the Sky Mechanical City, extrapolated further within this environment capable of verifying the birth of mana.

Previous experiments had proven that their research into the source of mana at the Sky Mechanical City had not been misguided.

Several attempts, involving high-energy collisions of non-mana matter, had produced special properties related to mana, but the energy itself—mana—remained just out of reach.

Having studied alchemy alongside Zig and Avia at the Sky Mechanical City, Noelle possessed a high level of expertise. She had participated in all her brother’s experiments and calculations, assisting in their progress. Because of this, she could not understand why such flawless data failed to yield the expected result.

"Noelle, I understand! I think I finally know why our experiment is always just one step away from completion!"

The voice, ringing out suddenly, startled Noelle. Zig had woken up. Less than an hour had passed, yet his voice carried a rare, frenzied excitement beneath his usual calm. His eyes burned with sudden realization and resolve.

"Everything can deceive us, but the calculation results cannot. The quasi-mana properties we observed cannot be wrong. Our direction is correct; it is just that the conditions for the final birth of mana cannot be met by our current high-energy environment."

Thinking aloud, Zig quickly cleared the table, leaving only the simple, hourglass-shaped container forged from rare metals. It was here that the previous high-energy environments had been created, and where the quasi-mana properties had indeed appeared.

"It’s not enough. If the direction is right, then it’s a matter of intensity. Even with the best materials, even using most of our magic crystals to drive this crude device, it’s not enough. We must change direction and find a better reaction chamber."

Holding the device in his hand and feeling the lingering traces of high-energy reactions, Zig shook his head. This thing was ultimately insufficient, yet a desperate, reckless smile appeared on his face.

They had no time left. As a scholar, he trusted his calculations and was certain that the path he and the Truth Supervision Society had taken regarding super-mana was correct. Whether he was deluding himself or not, he had to see this through to the end.

"A better high-energy environment... I don't need to be restricted to using 'equipment.' Clearly, there is a better choice, isn't there?"

Zig muttered to himself, beginning to gather the materials he needed. Did he have a better high-energy environment?

He did.

He had remained in human form only to reduce energy loss and gain more time for trial and error. Since the direction was confirmed, his own body as a dragon—the high-energy environment he could create within himself—would become the ultimate experimental apparatus.

"Boom!"

A massive red dragon appeared within the area illuminated by the artifact, the Beacon. The surface of its body was covered in dense scars left behind after the living dragon armor had been stripped away—there was no excess energy here for Zig to heal.

"Crackle."

Zig swallowed the reactant materials, precisely controlling his muscles to transport them to a position near his heart. A dragon’s anatomy was peculiar; the heart, as the energy core, was connected to various organs through numerous channels. These materials could reach their new reaction chamber through ingestion.

"Brother..."

Noelle stared, stunned, at Zig in his dragon form. She was also incredibly weak, having consumed almost no energy herself.

At this moment, the dazzling light gradually brightening at Zig’s heart, coupled with the intense heat manifesting in sync, allowed Noelle to feel the energy surging out from within him, even without careful perception.

This was likely not Zig’s intent. The gap between the surging power within the dragon and the withered world outside was too vast; the rate of energy dissipation was terrifying. Having heard Zig’s words, Noelle understood what he was about to do.

"Noelle, I will do my best to maintain the reaction, but I don’t know to what extent I can succeed. I may lose consciousness soon. I will pour everything I have into the reaction at my heart."

"You have performed the experiment several times; you know how to proceed. After I lose consciousness, my body’s instincts will cooperate with you. Please, keep this process moving forward."

The intensity of the reaction at his heart continued to climb, like the state before releasing dragon breath, only instead of being released externally, the energy was accumulating internally. This brought an even greater burden. Zig, already extremely weak, began to "self-combust" to keep his body functioning as a "living forge."

"Yes!"

Tears in her eyes, Noelle nodded. She knew how dangerous Zig’s state was, but they had no choice. Either create mana and merge the two realms, or remain trapped forever in this world where everything had burned to ash, meeting the same death as the second-wave explorers. This was their final gamble.

Zig did not hear Noelle’s final response. His consciousness had already slipped into a profound darkness. Only his body’s instincts maintained the "reaction furnace" at his heart, responding to Noelle’s intervention.

Noelle pressed her hand against Zig’s body. The connection of their bloodlines allowed her to influence his form, maintaining the reaction at his heart and keeping it infinitely close to the required state.

Zig’s life force was also flowing away through this connection. She could feel her brother drawing closer to death. Maintaining the reaction furnace at his chest became increasingly difficult; Zig was too weak. If only they had started sooner...

"Crackle."

Before despair could take root, a variable arrived. The nameless magic armor that Zig had previously stripped from his body began to move on its own. It climbed onto the dragon’s form, aligning its tissues with the scars left by the armor’s removal, filling Zig’s broken, hollow dragon body with its own biomass.

The armor gradually shriveled and cracked, fragments falling to the ground. The nameless magic armor was using its own life to fill Zig’s. No one knew why it did this—was it unwilling to die in this realm, or had it truly accepted Zig as its master?

"Hum..."

A faint humming sound emerged. Fluctuations, never before produced in their experiments, began to ripple outward. A "point" of strange power gradually took shape within Zig’s burning heart.

Noelle’s control over Zig’s body became increasingly difficult; some things seemed to have spiraled out of control after crossing the critical threshold. But success was within reach. Gritting her teeth, she would not let their efforts dissolve into a dream.

"I didn't expect you to actually reach this point. This 'thank you' is the least I can offer. You will not fail."

The old man’s voice echoed in Noelle’s ear. A lantern was placed into her other hand, and she instinctively accepted the artifact.

The next moment, the singularity of mana truly formed within Zig’s body.

...

In the void outside, Avia was trying to guide Wang Yu to use the power of the Dream Deity to "occupy" the void. She even discovered that, within this space, it was truly feasible. At that moment, the entire void flickered.

"What is that!?"

Wang Yu stared, dumbfounded, at the sight erupting from a point in the void, accompanied by the projection of another realm’s reflection, tearing through space.

It was a pillar of crimson, dazzling beacon fire that reached the high heavens, and on a certain level, "pierced" through the void and the material world.