GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

The forge is a creation of near perfection. There are other methods for forging but this is probably the best. It is also highly dangerous. There's always energy loss during energy conversion and in a situation like this, the energy loss is huge. It needs an absurd amount of control and redundant fail safes to prevent an explosion of cataclysmic proportions.

If care is not taken then an accident strong enough to kill a titan of law can occur because of the reactions of the forge. The major reason why the Ghastorix family allowed such a dangerous structure to be built in their city is that if an explosion does occur, the magnetic pillar will keep it localized. That means, whoever is within the forge can kiss their sorry life goodbye while everyone in the city will feel a minor earth shake. It is a good thing that his teacher is by his side to warn him.

Hadrick told him. "Watch out for the energy discharge. It's over the safe limit."

"I know," Soverick replied.

His 4 multicolored eyes remain fixed on the sphere. The tiny shifts in the multicolored multifaceted gems he has for eyes are more than capable of tracking all the minute changes in energy level and signatures.

The rotating sphere is the recipient of the forging process but it is not a willing participant. Action will always produce an equal but opposite reaction. The sphere is resisting changes and it is pushing back. The friction and its motion within the magnetic field are creating a ton of energy that is bent on escaping and will do so if they are given the smallest of chances. The energy runoff needs to be safely siphoned from the interaction or an explosion to cook a titan of law can occur.

This energy is mainly in the form of electricity. A cloud of charged particles has formed above the sphere releasing lightning bolts downwards. The array above the sphere collects the lightning and redirects them to the energy banks for reuse. But the process is not direct or automatic. It has to be done carefully.

Soverick carefully operated the discharge array to convert the wild lightning into usable electricity for the energy bank. He has to do it periodically during the forging process. The problem with it is that it has to be done by the same person. Only a single mind will be able to maintain equilibrium in the system by sensing the impacts of the changes to it. The need to pay attention to the forging and siphoning of energy stretches the concentration of the mind to dangerous levels. A slip can lead to disastrous consequences.

The vine beside him spoke up again. "Don't get distracted. Watch the artifact."

"I never get distracted," Soverick replied confidently.

The sphere wobbled slightly. The energy discharge affected the magnetic field holding it together but it is quickly restored to its proper shape. Soverick wasn't distracted by the increase in demand to siphon the discharged array. He has a powerful mind that is not taxed by the rigorous demands of the forging process.

"The kink is coming up. You have to be careful with the kink. Remember what I told you, just ease it into..."

"Done," Soverick said.

The vine floundered about for a while in irritation. Hadrick grunted and said, "I can see that. But you didn't use the 3 visor 3 order 7 step approach."

"I used a new method. It's the 9 visor 9 order 1 step approach." Soverick replied easily able to keep up with the conversation while handling the mental requirements of forging.

"I saw that too. The 9 visor 9 order 1 step is too dangerous."

"It was easy and it was quick."

"Hmmm." Hadrick grumbled, "Only you can say making 9 changeovers 9 times in one step of rune augmentation is easy."

The 9 visor 9 order 1 step is very efficient in terms of work output and time. With it, rune augmentation can be completed in 1 step instead of 7. But it has a prodigious requirement for mental effort though which makes it very dangerous to attempt in a situation where the mind is already being taxed by the forging process. Soverick can do that and more. He can still track movement outside his forge.

One of his four eyes turned to the left while the other three focused on the forging.

He said to Hardrick. "I have visitors."

"Yes. I think they are here to make you do something. I can't remember what it is."

Hadrick is aware of their presence. It was made aware when they entered the city but it disregarded them.

It said to Soverick, "They will have to wait. Just focus on your forging."

"I am always focused."

"Then why is one of your eyes off?"

The two eyes on the left side of his face focused on Hadrick. One of them looked at the vine beside him while the other looked at Hadrick's main body at the bottom of the city.

The eye said to Hadrick's main body. "I can focus on many things at once."

Hadrick became spooked. It used the vine to slap Soverick. "Stop doing that. You weirdo."

Soverick chuckled. He has changed over the years. The obvious changes are the new eyes that he got when he became a transcendent. Each eye has a different purpose and is independent of the other. They also don't change colors anymore. They have a white pupil surrounded by a multicolored iris and gold sclera.

Apart from them, the obvious changes, there is a less obvious change to his emotions. His eyes have seen a lot and he has been changed by what they saw. He has become capable of seeing the world in a different way and has become different as a result. It is difficult to think of people as living things when you can see down to the cells within them and analyze the transfer of energy within them.