'One more True Battle...' Kyle thought.
His last couple of True Battles shot through his mind.
Surviving on the new Planet against all the whales and getting past the Dimensional Collapse.
His fight against Long Transformation.
Then, Kyle looked at the unstable Energy.
'My survival chances were much lower during those battles. Just going for it should be a better option!'
Yet, as Kyle looked at the unstable Energy, he felt like his survival chances were even lower.
'But how?! It's only a 10% chance! The whale thing probably had a 70% fatality rate, and my fight against Long Transformation was probably a 50/50! Why does this feel so much worse?! Why do I feel like I would rather go through another fight than attempt this breakthrough?!'
At that moment, Kyle was reminded of Long Transformation's worries.
She had lamented that everything felt uncertain and that she felt like she no longer had control over her life.
Then, Kyle realized why he hated the danger during this breakthrough more than the danger of a True Battle.
'Control. It's about control,' he thought with furrowed brows. 'During a True Battle, it's all up to me. It's my power versus their power. It's my creativity versus their creativity.'
'Every time I move my body or launch an attack, the chances shift. My power and my actions are what decide the outcome. In a winnable True Battle, you only die if you make a mistake, and that's on you.'
'Meanwhile, this is just random chance! I can't control the strands at all.'
'One is playing poker. Luck is still a factor, but if you're a lot better in poker than your opponent, you will still most likely win.'
'This is just a slot machine!'
'I have no control over the result at all!'
'I get to draw one hand, and I'm forced to go all-in with whatever hand I have.'
'There's no skill. It's just pure luck!'
Kyle gritted his teeth.
'I hate this!'
As he weighed his options, his mind was torn between two directions.
His logic told him that he should just go for it. There was a 90% chance that he would succeed.
However, his instincts told him that this was a very bad idea.
'I really don't want to do this, but it's the right thing to do,' he thought.
As his decision slowly went in the direction of just going for it, his instincts became louder.
Do not do this!
You're making a horrible mistake!
Kyle gritted his teeth.
At that moment, he thought about Swamp Dragon, Sebastian, Manny, and Long Transformation. For some reason, he was reminded of his eventual betrayal.
As he thought about betraying his friends, his current situation didn't seem as bleak anymore.
It was almost like he feared betraying them more than dying.
Kyle took a deep breath.
'If I die, I die,' he thought.
Then, he pushed his Energy through his chest.
The bullet of Energy reached his heart and the Clusters in the area.
A strand shot out.
It hit a rib, destroying it.
The bullet continued.
It reached his Center and the Major Cluster beside it.
A strand shot out.
BANG!
The strand hit the Major Cluster beside the Center, destroying it.
Kyle's face turned white.
The bullet of Energy lost its power source and dispersed.
Kyle breathed heavily as his fears intensified.
If the strand had gone towards the other side, he would have died!
He had pulled the lever of the slot machine and got his money back.
He didn't lose his money, but he also didn't win anything.
Everything was back to zero.
Kyle rested for a couple of minutes, his instincts still shouting at him.
Don't do it again!
You were lucky this time!
Kyle gritted his teeth as he gathered more Energy.
The bullet of foreign Energy was recreated, and it stopped at the top of his chest again.
Kyle's eyes widened in a mix of terror and determination.
'Do it!' he thought.
'Do it! Just fucking do it!'
The Energy bullet shook in his chest.
Then, it moved down.
It moved towards the first couple of Clusters.
A strand shot out.
BANG!
One of the Clusters was destroyed, and the bullet vanished again.
Kyle's body shook in frustration, horror, and relief.
He let himself fall to the floor and just looked at the ceiling.
He had tried it twice already, and every single attempt required an insane amount of focus and willpower.
He was playing Russian roulette, and every single time he pulled the trigger, he heard from someone that he hadn't played according to the rules and had to go again.
How many times?
If this continued, he would get the bullet.
Were the chances actually not 90%?
The chance that he survived were 90%, but that didn't mean that the chance of success was 90%.
Kyle just kept looking at the ceiling.
His instincts had calmed down since he was no longer planning on making another attempt.
It was just too dangerous.
Kyle took a deep breath as he rested for several minutes.
For once in his life, he enjoyed the silence.
His mind wandered, and he was reminded of his conversation with the powerful stranger.
'Freedom, huh?' he thought.
'Having agency.'
Silence.
'What do I actually want to do?'
'What is it that I desire?' he thought as he looked at the back of his hand.
Kyle took another deep breath as he looked at his chest.
'You know what?'
All his Energy gathered rapidly.
Within an instant, the bullet of foreign Energy was created again.
'Fuck it.'
And without pause.
BANG!
It shot downwards.
No breaks.
No control.
Just brute force.
It shot through Kyle's neck.
No wild strands.
It shot through some Clusters.
No strands.
It shot past his Center.
No strands.
BANG!
It reached Kyle's twelfth Cluster, which immediately opened.
Within an instant, the entire Cluster fully opened.
The next moment, Kyle's entire body was filled with Energy.
Without his orders, the Minor Clusters sent their Energy towards the twelfth Cluster.
As the Energy passed through the twelfth Cluster, Kyle felt like the Energy was still his.
Then, the Energy passed through all of the Major Clusters again.
The Energy was just as powerful as before, but now, Kyle felt like it completely belonged to him.
Finally, the Energy circulated back to the Minor Clusters, changing them.
Their powers exploded, and Kyle felt like his power had increased substantially.
There was a unique feeling to this new kind of Energy that now coursed through his body.
It was so powerful, vast, and endless!
As Kyle felt his new power, one of his brows rose in uncertainty.
For some reason…
He felt like there had never been any danger.
However, he was certain that there had been danger.
This feeling of never having been in danger was familiar to him.
This always happened after his Momentum increased.
And sure enough, as Kyle looked at his Momentum, he noticed that it had grown a bit.
Not a lot.
Just a bit.
But it was better than nothing.
Additionally…
'I'm basically done now,' Kyle thought. 'I'm a Unique Primal. That would already be enough. Becoming a Legendary Primal is not a necessity.'
Kyle pulled out his Communicator and looked at the date.
'A bit more than 800 years are left.'
'Now, I have 800 years of free time.'
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