The workshop was quiet, except for the faint hum of machinery and the pulse of energy from the egg mark at Jiro's waist. Rein's eyes were sharp, unreadable, but his tone carried a rare weight of seriousness.
"Remove your shirt, Tensai," he said. "Leave the weights. Sit in the lotus form. Today… you guide what your body has been preparing for."
Jiro's fingers trembled slightly as he peeled away the sweat-stained fabric. The marks along his arms and chest glimmered faintly, reminders of every drill, every hunt, every surge that had carved him into something more than human. He seated himself cross-legged, back straight, hands resting on his knees. The weight of anticipation pressed against his chest almost as heavily as the energy already swirling inside him.
"Focus on your meridians and veins," Rein instructed. "Guide the energy to your heart. That is where your Essentia will anchor. But be careful — you have three types flowing through you now. Sense them individually, or send the wrong energy to the wrong place, and it will tear you apart."
Jiro closed his eyes, feeling the faint pulse of the egg at his waist. The Vitanova mark glowed, faintly vibrating in harmony with the current of his veins. He could sense it: a subtle warmth winding along his arms and spine, another flicker of icy electricity in his head, and a deep, molten core inside his chest. Three energies — Essentia, Aetherion, Vitanova — all alive and coiling inside him like three serpents in a single cage.
He inhaled slowly. Then exhaled.
"Start with one," Rein's voice echoed, calm and patient. "Sense it, follow it, move it."
The first surge was Aetherion, the electricity of thought and raw energy. Jiro guided it toward his brain. Sparks danced along his nerves, making his skull thrum painfully. One misstep, one misplaced thought, and he could fry the very synapses inside him. He hissed, teeth gritted, veins pulsing like cords of white fire.
Next, Essentia — the life flame. It flowed toward his heart, burning and soothing simultaneously. The sensation was overwhelming; his chest felt as though it was both freezing and boiling at once. His ribs threatened to crack under the weight of the energy.
Finally, Vitanova — the evolutionary core. It coiled from the navel area outward, saturating bones, muscles, and skin. It pulled, stretched, reshaped, and threatened to tear him apart if he moved too fast or too slow.
Pain exploded in his limbs. Sweat stung his eyes. His body shook violently. For a heartbeat, he almost lost control — a flash of molten agony and lightning threatening to rupture every vein, nerve, and organ.
Then the egg mark pulsed, faintly vibrating, its instinctual intelligence guiding his hands and mind. The energies began to move in unison.
Jiro's breath came in ragged gasps. He could feel each energy finding its correct path: Aetherion to the brain, Essentia to the heart, Vitanova anchoring deep in the core. Sparks of fire licked his skin from inside, while electric arcs danced through his nerves. Bones groaned under the pressure, organs quivered like tuning forks of pain and power.
"Don't… stop… now," he whispered to himself, teeth clenched, sweat cascading down his chest and back. His vision blurred, sounds of the workshop fading into the pure rhythm of his body and the three energies pulsating.
It was unbearable. Every heartbeat threatened to shatter him. His bones felt like molten metal, his skin like it was being stretched and seared, his brain lanced with white-hot electricity. And yet… the egg pulsed softly, feeding, guiding, stabilizing.
And then — it clicked.
A surge of synchronized power coursed through him. The three energies aligned perfectly, no longer fighting against one another. Each meridian and nerve felt full, yet balanced. The mark on his abdomen glowed with a steady, radiant blue light, pulsing in time with his heartbeat.
Jiro's eyes snapped open. A calm clarity replaced the chaos of pain. He could feel it: the cores had formed. Essentia, Aetherion, Vitanova — perfectly nested, perfectly balanced, harmonizing inside his body. The egg dimmed slightly, no longer overactive, as if it now knew its duty was complete… for now.
Rein's gaze softened, just slightly. "You've stabilized the core," he said. "But this is only the beginning. Now your body can handle the flow, but what it can do… that depends on you."
Jiro flexed his hands, feeling the subtle hum of energy running through his veins, the warmth of his chest, the lightning in his mind, the adaptive pulse in his core. He felt stronger, sharper, and… alive in a way he had never experienced.
"I did it…" he whispered, voice trembling. "I… I really did it."
Rein nodded, turning away to give him space. "Rest. Your body has endured the formation, but tomorrow, you'll begin testing what this core can do. Your mind, heart, and body must synchronize further before you can fight properly. And remember… control comes first. Power comes second."
Jiro slumped back, exhausted, yet exhilarated. Pain was still lingering in every fiber of his being, but it was a different kind of pain now — a proof of survival, of mastery, of transcendence.
The workshop was silent once more, except for the faint, rhythmic pulsing of Jiro's core, and the egg mark at his waist, quietly watching, waiting for the next surge of growth.
******