Kyle consumed another Energy Stone and focused on the Energy coursing through his body.
It had been a century since he started absorbing Energy, and strengthening his Center had become really difficult lately.
Finally, he felt like he had hit a hard wall.
His Center couldn't be strengthened anymore.
'And that should be it,' he thought as he put the remaining Energy Stones back into his Soul Space. 'Finally, I can become a Unique Crusher.'
Kyle closed his eyes and pulled in the Energy around him, shoving all of it into his Center.
His Center was filled with liquid Energy, but there were also a couple of stones inside it.
As he pushed more Energy into his Center, he saw the whirl within it intensify. The solid stones swirled around, hitting each other.
Over time, the stones grew larger and began to attract one another.
Some time later, all of the stones stuck together, spinning in the middle of his Center.
The Energy moved back and forth, and the stones began to fuse together.
Kyle gritted his teeth as he pushed even more Energy into his Center. He felt like his Center was about to explode under all that pressure, but it kept holding firm.
'Just a bit more!' he thought as he felt like he was about to explode.
The new stone grew, the swirling Energy rounding its edges.
'A little more! Come on!'
The last bumps on the stone vanished, and it became a smooth sphere.
BOOOM!
At that moment, a wave of Energy came out of Kyle's body. The wave of Energy shook his house and traveled for thousands of kilometers.
Some of the Seekers on Orchis looked in his direction, but they quickly got back to their own things. Occurrences like this were normal. People broke through all the time.
After the wave of Energy vanished, Kyle sighed in relief.
He looked at the solid sphere of Energy in his Center, surrounded by liquid Energy. Half of the volume of his Center was solid, while the other half was still liquid.
'Finally, I'm a Unique Crusher!' Kyle thought with excitement.
As he kept looking at the sphere, one of his brows rose. 'You know, if I hadn't known about the Legendary Realm before this, I would now suspect that it exists. I mean, half solid, half liquid? Is there a way to make all of this solid?'
'Anyway, I should focus on becoming a Legendary Crusher.'
...
'But how?' he thought, blinking a couple of times. 'Like, what do I need to do? I can't shove more Energy into my Center. I feel like I will die if I do that. After all, the walls of my Center are not strong enough.'
'The Chief Overseer said that it's different for everyone. If your impact is too small, you can try everything, and you won't become a Legendary Crusher. If your impact is sufficient, even the most pointless act can make you advance. At least, that's what he said.'
Kyle scratched the back of his head.
'Not sure what I should do. I refuse to believe that I haven't done enough. If I can't become a Legendary Crusher with all the shit I've done and caused, nobody can.'
After some seconds of confusion, Kyle absentmindedly went through his belongings.
Energy Stones, metals, materials for Formation Arrays, weapons, Beast Cores...
'Huh?' Kyle thought as his eyes fell onto an object.
It was a 40-centimeter-long, grey horn.
'What was that thing called again? I think it was the horn of some kind of Karmic Beast or something. I remember getting this from the Natural Trial in which I became a Legendary Primal.'
As he looked at the horn, he felt strange. Somehow, it looked like it was shining, even though he could tell that it definitely wasn't shining.
For some reason, this horn felt really important and useful.
His eyes had often passed over the horn within the last couple of millennia, and every time, it looked plain and unassuming.
It was just the horn of a weak beast.
But now, it felt important.
Kyle pulled the horn out of his Soul Space and looked at it.
'I feel like... this can help me.'
Kyle looked at the horn for a couple of seconds before shrugging. 'Might as well try.'
Then, he increased the size of his head and ate the horn with one bite.
As soon as the horn entered his mouth, it broke down into tiny strands of Energy. There was barely any Energy inside the horn, and it also didn't seem different from Neutral Energy. It was just regular Energy.
Yet, as the Energy moved towards his Center, something around Kyle changed. The Karmic Bonds coming out of his body vibrated.
Red and green Karmic Bonds shook in unison, and as the Energy from the horn continued traveling to Kyle's Center, it transformed into something else.
The Energy still looked like normal Energy, but there was also something more to it now. Kyle felt like this looked familiar.
'This feels like the time I used Death to break down Laws, except that the opposite is probably happening. The Energy isn't being simplified but made more complex.'
Finally, the strand of Energy reached his Center, but it didn't truly enter. Instead of flowing into the middle, it flowed into the walls of Kyle's Center.
For a moment, Kyle's entire Center shone with a white light.
WHOOOOOOM!
An ungodly amount of Energy burst into Kyle's body without his permission. The Energy flooded into the walls of his Center, and moments later, even more Energy flooded into the Center itself.
The sphere in the middle of Kyle's Center consumed all of the liquid Energy around it and grew at a rapid pace. The pressure inside the Center increased, but it didn't hurt at all.
'It feels like this is supposed to happen.'
The sphere expanded rapidly, and within 20 seconds, it touched the walls of Kyle's Center.
Yet, it didn't stop.
More and more pressure was exerted on the Center.
CRK!
A small crack appeared in the walls of Kyle's Center. Such a crack represented a mortal danger, but Kyle didn't feel like he was in danger.
CRK!
Another crack.
Two more.
Within seconds, Kyle's entire Center was covered in cracks, and it began to shake violently.
Kyle's entire body shook, and he felt like he was about to explode with power. He couldn't resist the surging power inside of him.
"RAAAAAAH!"
And shouted.
BANG!
Kyle's Center exploded, the fragments of its walls turning into more Energy.
The Energy of the walls entered the sphere as well, and moments later, several crevices appeared on its surface. However, these were not signs of damage.
No, they looked like deliberate carvings.
The carvings shone with an azure color, the same color as his Infused Center Law.
A moment later, all of the Energy Pathways, which used to lead to Kyle's Center, rearranged themselves and connected to the carvings on the sphere.
Energy moved through Kyle's body again.
WHOOOOOOM!
And a powerful wave of Energy washed over Orchis.
Kyle looked with excitement at his new Center.
Although calling it a Center was no longer accurate. A Center was a container.
This sphere was not a container. It was the content of the former container.
A more accurate name would be...
The appearance of a Beast Core shot through Kyle's mind.
'A Core.'
'When I became a Legendary Primal, all of my Clusters vanished, leaving just my body.'
'Now, something similar happened.'
An excited smile appeared on Kyle's face.
"That confirms it!"
"I've done it!"
"I'm a Legendary Crusher!"
***
Creators' Thoughts
Warmaisach
Big shoutout to stn64 for the Golden Gachapon! I'm always shocked, when someone is willing to gift me such a great sum. I really, really appreciate it, every time.
tg://resolv?domain=StrongestHammerGod
The author's patreon. If he gets more than 1000€ per month, he will increase the number of words in the chapter.