The glimmer of hope that had started to rekindle after being whisked away to safety was abruptly extinguished following Homer's grim revelation. Despite their distrust, the Radiant Mage had no reason to lie. His life was on the line too!
Unperturbed, at least on the surface, Jake had already begun fervently discussing strategies with Xi in his mind, searching for a way out of their misfortune. Even for him, things were looking pretty dire.
After a brief internal monologue, whose only audience was his Oracle AI, Jake once again questioned Homer,
"Does Corvac's artifact really contain that much water?"
His skepticism was warranted. The amount of water required to purify a groundwater source of such magnitude seemed astronomical. From his limited testing, even when filled to the brim, his own Goblet of Ethershine could only hold a fraction of this groundwater source, which was already significant in his view.
