Chapter 20: Essence Imitation

I stared at the data stream on the monitor, my fingers twitching as the numbers ticked upward. The hum of the containment system filled the room, but it was Kael's voice that cut through the noise.

"Caius, we're burning through it," he said, his tone tight. "The Essence consumption is unsustainable at this rate."

I didn't need him to tell me. The readouts were clear—every second, the Celestial Essence reserves were depleting faster than we could replenish them.

Veyra leaned over my shoulder, her sharp eyes scanning the screen. "This isn't just inefficient," she said, her voice low. "It's reckless. We're consuming priceless resources for something that doesn't even have commercial value yet."

I clenched my jaw, my mind racing. "I know," I muttered, my eyes fixed on the fluctuating energy levels. "But we've already invested so much into this. We can't just—"

"We have to," Mira interrupted, her tone firm. She stepped forward, crossing her arms. "Caius, look at the numbers. The Essence is irreplaceable. We're using it up, and for what? To refine energy that we can't even sell?"

I turned to face her, the weight of her words pressing down on me. "So what's the alternative?" I snapped, my frustration boiling over. "Abandon the project? Walk away from everything we've built?"

Kael stepped in, his voice calm but firm. "No one's saying that. But we need to be smart about this. If we keep draining the Essence at this rate, we'll have nothing left. And then what?"

I glanced at the containment array, the faint glow of the Essence pulsing like a heartbeat. Veyra was right—it was priceless. And we were treating it like it was disposable.

"Alright," I said, exhaling sharply. "We'll scale back. Focus on stabilizing what we have instead of pushing for higher conversions. But we're not stopping. Not yet."

Mira nodded, her expression softening. "Agreed. We'll figure this out, Caius. But we can't keep consuming the Essence like this. It's too valuable."

I turned back to the console, my fingers hovering over the controls. The numbers on the screen glared back at me, a stark reminder of the cost of our ambition. The team was right. This wasn't sustainable.

But I wasn't ready to give up. Not if there was still a way to make this work.

I stared at the containment array, the glow of the Celestial Essence casting a faint, otherworldly light on the room. The team's voices buzzed behind me—Kael's calm, analytical tone, Veyra's sharp critiques, Mira's practicality—but I barely heard them. My focus was on the Essence, the way it pulsed in the array, the way it hummed faintly in my arm where I'd absorbed it weeks ago.

I could feel it still, a whisper of power buried deep, just beneath the surface. I'd been converting it slowly, carefully, turning it into something I could handle. Something that wouldn't kill me. But the truth was, I could do more. I could shape it, mold it, turn it into something entirely new—something no one else in this room could even comprehend.

But I couldn't tell them. Not Kael, not Veyra, not even Mira. This wasn't just a skill or a trick—it was something deeper, something tied to me in a way I didn't fully understand. And if they knew, if they realized what I could do with the Essence, they'd want me to use it. They'd push me to push harder, to take risks I wasn't ready to take. Risks that could expose me. Risks that could destroy me.

"Caius?" Kael's voice broke through my thoughts. "You're zoning out again. What's going on?"

I turned, forcing a neutral expression. "Just thinking," I said, my tone even. "We need a better approach. Burning through the Essence like this isn't sustainable."

Veyra snorted. "We've been saying that for hours. What's your brilliant plan, then?"

I glanced at the array, the Essence flickering like a trapped star. "We scale back," I said, my voice steady. "Focus on refining what we have, not pushing for bigger conversions. We conserve the Essence until we find a better solution."

Mira nodded, her expression softening. "Works for me. Less waste, more control."

I didn't look at her, couldn't. Instead, I kept my gaze on the containment array, the Essence pulsing faintly in rhythm with the energy in my arm. I could feel it, the potential, the power—mine to control, mine to shape. But not yet. Not here.

The team dispersed, their voices fading as they moved to other tasks. I stayed, standing in front of the array, my hand resting on the control panel. The Essence pulsed again, and I felt it, a faint echo in my arm. A silent reminder of what I could do—and what I couldn't let anyone else know.

I stared at the containment array, the Celestial Essence pulsing faintly like a trapped heartbeat. My fingers drummed against the console, the rhythm of my thoughts spinning faster than the hum of the machine. The realization hit me like a bolt—sharp and blinding.

I didn't need real Celestial Essence.

What I needed was something that mimicked its properties, something we could synthesize to serve as a placeholder for conversion. The real Essence was too volatile, too rare, but if we could replicate its function, even on a smaller scale…

I turned abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. "Kael," I called, my voice cutting through the low murmur of the lab. "Get everyone back here. Now."

He paused, his brow furrowing. "What's going on?"

"We're doing this wrong," I said, my tone clipped but urgent. "We're burning through the Essence because we're trying to use it as-is. But we don't need the real thing. Not for this."

Mira crossed her arms, her skepticism clear. "You want to… fake it?"

"Not fake," I corrected, my mind racing. "Replicate. We create a synthetic version that's stable enough for conversion. It doesn't need to have the full power of Celestial Essence—just enough of its properties to function as a catalyst."

Veyra's eyes narrowed, but I could see the spark of interest. "You're talking about a placeholder," she said slowly. "Something that mimics the Essence's energy signature without the instability."

"Exactly," I said, my voice steady. "If we can synthesize it, we can control the rate of consumption. No more wasting the real Essence. No more risking burnout."

Kael glanced at the others, a hesitant nod forming. "It's not a bad idea. But we'd need to test it—carefully."

"We'll test it," I said, already moving toward the materials cabinet. "But we're not starting from zero. We've already mapped the Essence's energy patterns. We just need to replicate them."

The team exchanged looks, the tension in the room shifting. Veyra's lips curled into a faint smile. "Alright, Elarion. Let's see if you can pull this off."

I grabbed a handful of crystal fragments, my mind already racing through the possibilities. "We'll need to isolate the key energy frequencies," I said, setting the crystals on the workbench. "Kael, you handle the frequency modulation. Veyra, work on the matrix. Mira, get the containment system prepped. We're building this from the ground up."

The hum of the lab was a constant backdrop now, the whir of machines and the occasional crackle of energy becoming second nature. I adjusted the containment array, my fingers brushing over the controls as I monitored the latest batch of synthetic Essence. It wasn't perfect yet, but we were getting closer.

"Frequency modulation holding steady," Kael called from his station, his eyes glued to the monitor. "Energy output's stable at 12.26 terahertz."

I nodded, scribbling notes on my holo-tablet. "Good. Keep it there. Mira, how's the matrix holding?"

She glanced up from her workbench, her hands moving deftly over a cluster of crystal shards. "Structural integrity's solid, but the energy bleed is still higher than we'd like. I'm rerouting the feed to minimize it."

"Do what you can," I said, turning back to the array. The glow of the synthetic Essence flickered faintly—a pale imitation of the real thing, but functional. It was a start.

Veyra leaned over my shoulder, her sharp eyes scanning the readouts. "It's crude," she said, her tone blunt. "But it's better than burning through the real stuff. Still, we're not there yet."

"We'll get there," I replied, my voice firm. "We just need more data. More tests."

The hours blurred together as we worked, refining the process, tweaking the matrix, and adjusting the energy flow. By the time the lab dimmed to a low, ambient glow, my hands ached from handling the crystals, and the artificial Essence still wasn't where I wanted it to be. But progress was progress.

While the team packed up for the night, I moved to my personal workstation. The demand for crystals hadn't slowed, and I couldn't afford to let the business slide. I pulled out a batch of raw mana crystals, my hands moving with practiced precision as I began the conversion process.

The familiar tingle of energy flowed through me as I worked, transforming the raw mana into a fire crystal. It was a simple task compared to the complexity of the synthetic Essence, but it brought a strange kind of comfort. Here, in this small corner of the lab, I could focus on something tangible, something that didn't require me to push the boundaries of what was possible.

The fire crystal glowed faintly in my hand, its warmth a reminder of how far I'd come. I set it aside, reaching for the next raw crystal. The work was relentless, but it was mine. And for now, that was enough.

I stared at the glowing core of the fire crystal in my hand, the warmth seeping into my skin. The lab was quiet now, the hum of the machines a distant murmur. My team had left hours ago, but I stayed, running through another batch. Each crystal was smooth, efficient, but easy. Too easy. My mind drifted to the synthetic Essence project, the complexities of it itching at the back of my thoughts. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was stretched too thin—trying to do too much at once.

I set the fire crystal down, its glow dimming slightly as it cooled. My hands felt heavy, the weight of exhaustion pressing on me. I glanced at the workbench where the synthetic Essence prototype sat, barely functional but alive. Kael and Veyra had been making progress with the frequency modulation, and Mira had the matrix stable enough to test. But every time I tried to jump in, I felt like I was slowing them down. I wasn't a researcher—not really. My strength was in the doing, in the refining, in the crafting. The theoretical stuff? That was their domain.

I leaned back in the chair, my fingers tapping against the edge of the workbench. The decision felt inevitable, but it didn't make it any easier to swallow. I couldn't keep splitting my focus. If I wanted this to work, if I wanted to keep the business running and the team moving forward, I had to choose. And I knew what I had to choose.

I pulled up the holo-interface, my fingers hovering over the message function. The words came slowly, each one deliberate. "Team, I'm stepping back from the research side. Kael, Veyra, Mira—this is your project now. I'll focus on refining and production. Keep me updated, but I trust you to handle it." I paused, my thumb hovering over the send button. It wasn't a surrender—it was a strategy. I knew my limits. And right now, this was the only way to keep everything moving.

I hit send, the message disappearing into the ether. The lab felt quieter somehow, the weight of the decision settling on my shoulders. I turned back to the fire crystals, the familiar rhythm of refining already pulling me in.