The forge roared as it tried to heat the black stone, slowly increasing in temperature. Nova had already activated the Goldhearth and forging formations, and now he stood ready with his hammer.

'It's nearing the sweet spot now. I have to be careful so it doesn't lose its celestial properties. Hopefully I can at least melt them a little bit.'

Shivere and Collier both watched in silence, perhaps sensing the focus on Nova's face. He wouldn't hear them either way.

The rock was ready, letting out a resounding song in its most malleable form. Nova grabbed it with the pliers and put it on the anvil, preparing his hammer.

The failed soul stone proved stubborn, barely softening even at extreme temperatures. But he had worked with worse materials before. The new hammer performed well, not even budging under the heavy blows.

'Remove impurities, compact the material, make sure the surfaces are receptive to the celestial energy, create a breakable conductor from the outside… Formations of activation, ordering, amplification… Add a timer in case the activation fails.'

The steps went through his head with every hit, and soon enough, four stones had been combined into one. The color had turned a deeper black, and it was shaped like a dodecahedron.

[Finish forging process?]

'No, we have a long way to go buddy. Be patient.'

Nova wasted no time, moving on to the carving process to finish the planned formations. Every line was carved with the utmost precision, not leaving a single scratch out of place.

The work continued as the sun moved across the sky outside. Nova paused only to adjust formations or check the harmony between components. Once the shape was completed and filled with formations, the system again asked if he wanted to complete it. But Nova brushed it aside.

'That should do it for the inner storage. Now for the stronium.'

The metal was already in the forge, heated to the perfect temperature. But creating a sphere around the completed shape would be a challenge, even for him.

'I don't have the right tools, or the time to make one. The formation will keep it warm, so I just need to whack away until it's perfectly shaped. Uneven surfaces or weaknesses in the metal will make the bomb less effective, so I need to make this work.'

The first layer of metal soon embraced the stone, covering one half in a thin layer. Then another layer completed the shape. Then, ten more pieces of strontium were added in gradual layers on top of those again.

The heat bonded the metal together, but there were still weaknesses. So, instead of finishing, Nova cracked open the forge with a kick and put the bomb inside the remains, using the formation to keep the temperature increasing.

'Five minutes like this should ensure the layers merge completely. The stone will be fine as long as I keep the heat away from it using the formation.'

Five minutes passed quickly. Nova had unequipped the fragment while he waited, counting on his experience to tell him when the ball would be completed.

'Now!'

With the pliers and the hammer, he balanced the ball back on the anvil and started his final round of hammering.

[Fragment of Nova Gorton activated.]

The coal that had followed from the forge fell off with the first hits, falling across the floor and threatening to set fire to Nova's robes. Luckily, he had the awareness to kick it away.

Round, strong, compact, perfect. The sphere was beautiful, like spheres often were. It was too large for Nova to carry comfortably, but he would manage with a large backpack.

'Quenching would be a mistake here. Tensile strength might be weakened. Hardness isn't important. Slow cool, then the last few formations.'

He sat next to the anvil, controlling the formation to let the sphere cool down. Then he let the fragment fall from his soul, letting it rest. It only had a few minutes of time remaining.

"Fascinating process." Collier leaned forward on his anvil seat. His dark eyes tracked every detail of the cooling sphere. "I've never seen anyone forge and create formations at the same time."

Nova wiped sweat from his forehead. "Why not? It's an obvious way to improve things."

"...Well, the system asks you to finish, right? And what formations would we even use?" He gestured at the complex runes covering the sphere. "You clearly understand formations better than anyone I've met. Maybe that makes it seem simple to you?"

"You would make a great chronicler," Nova mumbled, once again faced with questions for answers. Tuck had been an expert in that type of conversation.

"A chronicler?" Collier's eyebrows rose. "Why do you say that?"

"An insatiable thirst for knowledge. That's one of the requirements." Nova watched the sphere cool in the dim forge light. "I've only met one, but talking to you reminded me of him."

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"...Hmm, I have heard that before. But I don't think they accept applicants—at least not from the church."

Nova pushed himself up from the floor and studied the cooling sphere. It was no longer glowing, but the heat radiated from the surface.

'It should be fine to carve now. Even if I do get burned, I regenerate in seconds.'

He picked up the carving tools again, sitting down by the sphere attached to the anvil. Layer by layer, he carved triggers into the surface. Then safeguards. Then amplifiers. Every line had to be perfect.

"Almost..." Nova's fingers trembled as he traced the final sequence. Sweat dripped from his chin onto the hot metal. "There."

The system prompt hung in the air, waiting for his input.

'It's finished.'

[Forging complete]

[Created: Celestial Stronium Bomb (Epic) {Grade 8}]

[A sphere of perfect roundness designed to store celestial energy and explode. Its many formations and complex ingredients work together to create a great burst of concentrated energy. It would almost be a shame to use it. Forged by Nova.]

[Enchantment: Celestial Storage Matrix {Grade 7}]

[A complex formation that allows the vessel to store and compress celestial energy far beyond normal limits.]

[Enchantment: Temporal Trigger Mechanism {Grade 6}]

[Creates a countdown that can be activated at will, activating any connected formation.]

[Enchantment: Resonance Amplification {Grade 7}]

[Forces the stored energy to resonate at increasingly higher frequencies. Will expand in force until all energy is exhausted.]

[Enchantment: Sustained Reinforcement Ward {Grade 7}]

[Channels energy to reinforce the material with local energy. Limited by material property and available energy.]

[Enchantment…]

[Enchantment…]

[Enchantment…]

'Jeez, I should have asked for better pay for the forging. This was tiresome. And the day is young…'

"It's done," he said, voice rough from hours of concentration. "Just needs to rest for the evening. I'll design the formation for the moonlight in my room. And I might take a rest after that, to prepare for the rift."

"A wise choice." Shivere rose from her seat, brushing dust from her emerald robes. "Will you need anything else tonight?"

Nova shook his head. "Just rest and food. And maybe something to carry this in tomorrow."

"I'll have supplies sent to your room." Collier slid off the anvil. He circled the sphere, bending close to study the intricate lines covering its surface. "Remarkable craftsmanship."

"Thanks." Nova rolled his neck, working out the stiffness. "You'll bring the bomb along, right?"

"We'll handle it." Shivere moved toward the door. Her blue eyes reflected the dying forge flames. "Thank you for the show. It was quite interesting."

"Don't mention it." Nova headed for the exit. "I'll see you later."

He left the room with light steps, glad to finally have some time to rest. He still had four hours before the moon would be in position—four hours to rest.

'On rare occasions, I wish I could just let things be. Millie and I would have been fine this week. Annelie would resist it. And I have no love for the church. But… Even if they are the root of all my problems, most are unaware victims. Letting people die… I can't rest after making such a decision.'

This time, he was left alone in the long corridors, and the walk back to his room seemed longer. His muscles still ached from the blood refinement, and hours of forging hadn't helped. But he arrived without any issues.

Nova stepped into the room. His tired eyes found Annelie and Millie on the bed, both leaning over an open book.

"Nova!" Millie jumped up. Her bare feet pattered across the floor as she ran to the barrier's edge. She peered at his face, searching. "Animo said she kicked your butt!"

"Hah. She did, did she?" Nova fixed his gaze on Annelie. Her grey eyes sparkled with mischief over the top of her book, clearly hiding a smile. "I often let kids win when we play-fight, right? A serious fight would end differently."

"Of course! Nova is the strongest!" Millie cheered, back to her energetic self.

Nova flexed one small arm, making Millie giggle. Then he turned to Annelie. "Has everything been quiet here?"

"Mostly." She closed the book. "Though we heard some screaming earlier. From outside."

"Hmm… It's surprising there are still people walking around. But the madness is still spreading." He dismissed the barrier with a wave. Then his eyes landed on Annelie again. "...How did you get inside the barrier?"

"That old thing?" Annelie swung her small legs off the bed. "It only reacts to essence, so a complete seal lets me walk through it."

"Ah, of course. I figured no one here knew how to do that."

"They probably don't."

Nova slumped on the bed, feeling every muscle aching. The forging had drained him more than he'd expected.

"Nova!" Millie bounced on her toes beside the bed. "Can we go to the bath again?"

"Mmh, ask Annelie to take you again. I'll need to sleep for a while. And I'll be busy tonight as well."

"Annelie? Animo?" Millie sounded confused.

"My best friends call me Annelie." Annelie smiled at the confused girl. "You can call me that as well, Millie."

"Best friend?" Millie's eyes went wide. Then she jumped into the bed in front of Annelie, clasping her hands together. "Best friend Annelie, can we take another bath together? Please?"

"Of course." Annelie laughed at Millie's excitement. She glanced at Nova's exhausted form. "This tired boy needs his rest anyway."

"Yay! Let's go!" Millie jumped out of bed and ran to the door, eagerly gesturing for Annelie to follow.

"Thanks," Nova mumbled into the blankets. His eyes felt like lead weights.

Annelie smiled. "Don't worry about it. She's fun to be around. Especially in this dreary place." She bounced up from the bed and followed the energetic girl.

The door clicked shut behind them. Nova's eyes drifted closed. Then he forced them open with a groan.

'Mmh, formation… Right.'

He sat up, looked at the open floor, and started leading his essence along the marble tiles, tracing patterns with his fingers. The glowing lines slowly shaped into a large and intricate formation. Although it was much easier than the spatial formation with five participants, it still required some focus.

'It needs a measuring system, a gathering formation, a transmission formation to connect to the formation inside the bomb, and a simple halting function for when the measuring responds. Simple, really.'

The formation carved itself into the floor tile by tile. Runes and circles spread out like a glowing spider web, each line perfect despite his exhaustion. When finished, it looked like an intricate tapestry of light embedded in the marble.

[You have created the skill: Celestial Moon Priming (Grandmaster - 100%) {Grade 9}]

[A formation that gathers celestial essence from the moonlight and transfers it into a storage object. The formation will halt on its own when the storage is filled. Efficiency depends on the size of the formation.]

[A newly created skill has no basis for mastery. You have been chosen as the baseline.]

'Making every single combination of runes its own skill is… an interesting choice. Or does the system simply look at the function?'

Nova leaned back in the bed, not bothering to remove the robe. Then his eyes fell shut, and soon, his breathing slowed. It was time for a short rest.

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