The new passive ability brought some relief to my worn-out body. The pain was still there, but the muscles felt different—stronger, more stable.
They looked solid, like they could take a hit and still keep going.
I pulled my focus away from my body and turned it inward, toward the generator core.
My heart, which hadn't been a normal heart ever since I awakened my talent, continued to beat in a steady rhythm. I wondered how complex my heart actually was that it not only handled the normal functions of a heart but was also a core.
Even after all the work I had done, the carving, the bleeding, the pain, the Essence channels I'd engraved weren't being used by the core at all. Not a single trace of energy moved through them naturally. They just sat there, still and empty.
The System hadn't reacted either. No notification, no confirmation. Nothing.
I wasn't surprised, though. I had already expected that the System wouldn't recognize something unless I forced it to. This wasn't one of its pre-written paths. This was mine.
I let out a long breath and closed my eyes again.
Then I brought all of my attention to the generator core, watching the Essence floating inside, waiting.
I reached for it.
The moment my will touched it, the Essence stirred.
I didn't rush it. Slowly, I guided a small stream out and directed it into the nearest channel. It moved stiffly at first, like a stone rolling uphill, but I kept the flow steady.
When I saw the vision from the skill long ago, the walls had been carved, yes, but they never showed any full circulation.
Only symbols. Only paths. A few tiny connections, maybe. But no full loop.
That meant one thing: I'd have to build it myself.
So I began.
I traced a line from the core, my heart, and pushed the Essence toward my brain.
That would be the control center. The place where everything could be directed and adjusted. The heart would serve as the engine. The brain would steer.
That was the first rule I set for my circulation path.
From the brain, I directed the Essence toward three main points.
First, it flowed to the eyes.
Second, it moved down the spine.
Third, it spread toward my arms and legs.
Essence moved exactly how I willed it to, following the path I guided it through. I completed the loop by bringing it all back to the heart.
Then, I repeated the cycle.
Slowly, I settled into a steady rhythm. The Essence began to flow naturally, almost like it was getting used to the route I had chosen for it.
One circulation.
Then ten.
Then a hundred.
And more.
I stayed focused the entire time, never letting my mind drift. I wanted my body to remember this path. I wanted it to become instinct, like breathing.
Hours passed.
The only thing I did was guide the Essence, over and over again. And once I felt the circulation had settled deep into my body, I began the next step: condensation.
At first, it was hard to do both, circulating Essence through the body while also trying to gather and compress it inside the core.
But after five minutes, it started to feel natural. I adjusted to the rhythm and kept both processes running side by side.
Now, my focus was split three ways:
Keeping the bubble active around me,
Circulating the Essence through my body,
And condensing it inside the core.
It was exhausting, but I didn't stop. Every second pushed me closer to the body I was trying to build.
I started noticing that the channels were settling in. The constant flow of Essence was smoothing them out, shaping them to fit the movement better.
The resistance I felt at the beginning was almost gone. The Essence flowed faster now, cleaner, like the channels had become part of me.
I didn't know how much time had passed. My body felt heavy, but steady. The circulation didn't feel forced anymore, it felt natural.
Like something my body had always known how to do. And that gave me the confidence to take the next step.
I decided to push myself further.
I raised my right palm and activated [Havoc Sfera].
The moment I did, my heart gave a strong thump.
A wave of pressure hit me as I felt the system trying to take control of the Essence. It reached inside, trying to drag the energy out of me like it used to do before, through the old path.
Through the blood vessels.
But now, I was ready.
My focus snapped into place as my thoughts cleared in a flash. I saw the mistake, the skill was trying to follow the usual path, the one built into every human body. But I had changed. I had carved new channels.
My body had new roads now.
I grinned.
"Got you."
I grabbed hold of the Essence with my will and forced it to follow the new path I had built, my own circulation route.
At the same time, I kept the Essence resting inside the core exactly where it was. I didn't allow it to leak, didn't allow it to mix into the blood again.
The pressure eased.
A glow formed in my palm.
Slowly, a small spinning sphere of purple Essence rose from my skin, hovering just above my hand. It spun fast, tight, controlled, violent and beautiful.
My heart pounded again, but this time, it wasn't panic. It was pride.
Three things were already pulling at me, circulating Essence through my body, condensing more inside the core, and maintaining the thin Essence bubble that kept the pressure up around me.
Now I had added a fourth, forming and sustaining the Havoc Sfera at the same time.
Every part of my mind was stretched thin.
I took short, steady breaths. I didn't allow a single thread of my focus to break.
The moment I lost control, even for a second, the Essence would rush into my blood again, the sphere would collapse, the bubble might pop, and I'd fall unconscious, or worse.
But I held on.
I let the circulation continue. I felt the Essence flowing through the channels like a current. Each cycle made the paths firmer, clearer, more permanent.
At the same time, I pushed more Essence into the core and forced it to condense tighter. I shaped it into a dense cluster inside the generator core, layer by layer.
And all while that was happening, I kept the bubble steady, keeping the space and water current causing chaos outside.
And finally, the Havoc Sfera spun in my hand, small, focused and refined.
I kept going for another hour. My body was trembling, but I could feel it, I was close.
Just one final step left. If I did it right, everything would fall into place.
I stood up slowly, careful not to lose focus. The bubble around me still held. Essence continued to flow through the channels, the condensation inside the core remained steady, and the small spinning sphere above my right hand still hummed with power.
My eyes locked onto the spinning sphere above my palm. I had a feeling, this was it.
The final piece.
The last thing I needed to do for the System to truly recognize the changes I had made.
I focused my will and gave a clear command to the Essence.
The purple Essence, infused with my Sovereign's Mark, spun in tight, perfect circles.
I told it to slow down.
It obeyed.
The rotation faded, and the movement came to a full stop.
Now, it was just a floating orb of condensed Essence, still and quiet.
Then, I did the final step.
I willed the Essence to return, back through the same channels it had exited from. Slowly, it began to sink into my palm, slipping back into my body.
Surprisingly, it wasn't as difficult as I'd expected. The Essence responded smoothly, flowing into the circulating stream inside me.
Within moments, the sphere had completely vanished, absorbed and blended with the Essence moving through my channels.
It felt like something had clicked into place.
I clenched my left fist.
Then I activated [Seismic Burst].
The reaction was instant.
My heart gave a strong thump. Essence surged through the channels I had carved, rushing with full force toward my left arm. My fist lit up in bright purple glow as the energy poured into it, guided by my circulation path.
Strength exploded through my body. I felt it gather into my fist, layer by layer, like my entire body was pushing that one moment forward.
I took a step forward, twisted my body, and let out a deep roar.
Then I punched.
Boom.
A loud explosion rang through the water as my fist tore through the pressure. The entire Essence bubble burst outward.
The water around me scattered in every direction, forming shockwaves that spread far beyond my sight.
And then, multiple notifications echoed in my mind, one after the other.
I had done it.
The Essence that had surged through my body slowly began to settle. The power faded, and for a brief second, I let my shoulders drop in relief.
But then—
A sharp pain burst through my skull like a crack of lightning.
I stumbled, eyes wide, clutching my head as the pain tore through my mind without warning.